So I realize this is just a symptom of the internet, but I think the amount of people that can get away with being so nasty and horrible to people is ridiculous. For example you can ask someone to play a game of ball race with you and get told to “Shut up you fucking nigger” for a recent example I experienced. I understand I can block and mute these people but seeing this done in a game that already has parental controls is a pretty big deal. I’m not sure how the moderation application even works but I really think it would benefit if we could report these people or have more active moderators in the bigger severs such as New York or Frankfurt. I only play on american servers so for all I know this could just be a symptom of Americans playing but I think this is a large issue that is getting over looked. This toxicity also draws away players and doesn’t really have a welcoming feel. I don’t remember the last time I had an experience with a player where I thought they were nice. Maybe I’m just too sensitive but if not wanting to be thrown racial, homophobic and sexist slurs is too sensitive then maybe I should stop playing this game because its really hard to feel like its worth continuing in such a toxic player base.
This just happened in New York 1 for example.
I agree that there should be moderators/“hall monitors” but then people would just not say anything when they are on the server. Maybe make it so that moderators aren’t labeled anywhere, but then again people would eventually put 2 and 2 together and know who is a moderator based on someone getting a warning/muted/kicked every time “X” is on the server. Maybe give moderators a live server chat log and give them the ability to do stuff from there.
We have chat filters (which you have turned off, based on your screenshot), and player blocking. You can also turn off the chat, under parental controls.
We have plans for better moderation, but right now those are the tools you have. We don’t ban people for bad chat, but we may look into chat banning. We have talked about a report system.
For respectable members of the community would be nice to have a moderator signup someday so in cases like this you could send warnings to players which would appear on their HUD.
(I’d imagine something like the “Are you still there?” button except with a warning for their hostile / offensive behaviour and why the warning was issued, which would be closed by clicking an ‘Okay’ button), for those bind spammers and generally toxic players that attack others for simply talking.
Warnings would be sent, and if persisted can result in a temporary ban from official plaza servers, but you can still play / join games from the menu.
Or a nicer more gentle approach, a simple chat silencing so they can continue to play but can no longer voice chat / text chat.
I can only take so much of the chat before I disable it as well. It goes past being a nuisance to the point where it actually disrupts the experience. Especially when I’m trying to introduce my friends and family to Tower, the last thing they need to see is the n-word plastered on screen 50 times. Something should be done about outright hate speech.
The chat filter is on by default. If they use the n-word, it displays as ******, unless you turned off the chat filter. And you can block them with a few clicks. Until we have a reporting system and a way to better monitor chats - this is the approach you can currently take.
Banning from the Plaza is literally taking away access to a huge part of the game. We could never do that. A chat ban, however, is much more acceptable.
But… trap characters are usually… you know, gay.
Aaanyway, I agree with some sort of moderation, just make the rules perfectly clear and exempt the condos from them (and maybe gameworlds as well).
It’s times like this that i’m glad I can’t even see the chat very well. Then again, since I couldn’t see it well in the first place, I never knew chat could be such hot garbage, it kinda reminds me of how Twitch chat can be.
I don’t know what transphobic comments like this have to do with the subject? Just proving my point here to be honest.
Oh yeah there are some twitch chat regulars playing for sure.
Saying “traps are gay” isn’t transphobic, it’s a crappy attempt at a joke. In theory, it’s supposed to be funny because it combines the usual, somewhat offensive insult “X is gay/ you are gay” with the fact that most traps characters in anime and manga legit act gay/ are gay.
I’d definitely support chat cool downs. It works pretty well in DotA 2 where people who are particularly abusive have to take a time out from using chat features. Doesn’t prevent them playing the game but hopefully reduces some of the toxicity.
US Servers sure seem to be a lot more toxic than the other servers…
Probably because US servers tend to have a lot of people in them. With so many people, it’s kinda inevitable that some toxicity happens.
Please don’t. The filters exist for a reason, we have parental control for a reason. Do not hamper the free expression of others getting on a game to talk shit and have a good time, just like they do elsewhere on the internet, because OP thinks he’s the arbiter of objective morality and thinks that everyone should only talk a certain way in his presence. Increase and improve his client-side capacity to filter things he does not like, I am all for that, but do not censor the greater public and introduce word moderation when filters exist. People deserve to freely express themselves.
Part of what makes this game great is that open expression, the ability to jump on a fun game and not have to take it super seriously, nor worry about the overzealous moderation that plagued gmod. Free expression is a double edged sword, you have to take the good with the bad. The moment you bring in moderation because “someone said offensive memes, oh no” is the moment you start limiting peoples ability to express the same thoughts, feelings, and jokes that are expressed elsewhere online. You are also giving jokes which by their nature aren’t serious more emphasis than they deserve, as well as indirectly encouraging people to say even more controversial things.
By censoring people because those have the ability to mute and filter the chat on their side got offended, you change nothing. Those people will still make jokes and say things like “TRAPS ARE GAY”, all you are doing is creating a more tense environment whilst doing nothing to change the nature of the people who want to say those things. You will cause animosity towards the moderation team and by proxy the developers for censoring jokes. You will just cause people to push those boundaries when you ban people from the experience over offense. Why can’t people be offended? If that is a problem for them, why can’t they just use the tools you have provided? Let them customize their word filters if you want to give them more control, but do not punish people for making jokes on the internet. It’s a surefire way to turn people against you and to cause problems whilst solving nothing.
Furthermore, what happens when a moderator on a power trip (as they often are) decides that they are the arbiter of objective morality and starts banning people over swearing, or even something like an argument? This game doesn’t need that shit. Ever.
Or, how about we don’t have a secret word police? Why would you want to hide moderators? When they eventually get discovered they’ll get personally attacked over their bullshit, having them upfront and labeled at least means people won’t say naughty nono words in their presence, and it means that PixelTail is at least being upfront and transparent about what they are doing to stop the memes.
Isn’t the point of moderation to stop people from saying certain things? Why are you trying to encourage a “we’re always watching” type situation so people slip up and get jumped on by the secret police? Just have a labeled moderator so people don’t say things while they are around. Or, just filter the words you don’t like in your personal chat filter and let other people say what they want? Why do people who are offended take priority over everyone else? Should we also ban the furry condos and certain images because they aren’t family friendly? Will people filter through memes to decide which ones people can/cannot express with a “controversy meter”? This can only end badly.
While I’m not offended by the content that gets posted in chat, I definitely see merit in temporary chat bans. Just because someone is fine with seeing swearing in chat, doesn’t necessarily mean that they want to see racism, sexism, etc. That crap is definitely a negative in any community, and I honestly don’t get how you think that these people can freely use the same language on anything besides a private chat.
Now that’s not to say people can’t say whatever they want; I’m just saying they shouldnt be able to say whatever they want on official Pixeltail servers. It looks bad for the devs if the first thing newcomers see is the N word plastered in chat. However, you’re at your condo with friends? Go wild, make your own rules, whatever! In a sense that’s kinda how society works as a whole isn’t it? Yes we have free speech and freedom of expression, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna go out in public and use every derogatory term I know. In my opinion, it would be wise to implement the chat ban, and maybe make it last for a day at a time or something.
The majority of people are indifferent to it, and judging by many of the condos and the public chat many people even participate in expressing edgy things for the fun of it. So why is it that because a minority takes jokes out of context and they find it offensive, we for some reason have to prioritize those people to the detriment of everyone else? If the chat filter can be developed to curb racism sexism etc, why do you then need to have active censors around the clock? You have the filter, you don’t have to experience those things anyway so long as more time is invested into fleshing the filter out.
Enable the filter by default for ever new Tower Unite user, that way only people who want to see the “n word” on servers can turn it off. Problem solved, no families or little billies can see it by default, and those who want to talk about anything they want can do so without the need for overzealous moderators that plagued Gmod. Moderators have their own bias, their own understanding of what is correct and how heavily their definition of correctness shall be enforced. It’s never as simple as “we only deal with one specific tiny thing but anything else is fair game.” People having a political discussion? That argument is offensive so both of you shut up or face the wrath of the moderators e-penis. People saying “you’re a fucking idiot” in a context? Doesn’t matter, might offend people who don’t know how to use the chat filter, that’s banned. Discuss feminism in recent events? Banned, the moderator doesn’t like it. Arguing that with the moderator? “My word is final, argue with me and I’ll chat ban you.”
That kind of banning power if Gmod and other online games are an indicator, is far more abused than a few people making edgy jokes that could just be filtered out by default. Let clients and consumers decide their preferences for themselves, and turn on the filter by default so everyone is happy. No need for the word police, no need for people to get offended, no need to hamper peoples expression of edgy jokes that they express everywhere else anyway.
I… can’t agree, honestly.
People shouldn’t be able to be racist/sexist/homophobic/whatever in a public lobby, because
a) It ruins the experience of other people, who often get enough of that shit in real life
b) It destroys the image of the game (“Yeah, it’s full of homophobes and racists, don’t play that game”)
c) It encourages even further racism/sexism/whatever. It shouldn’t exist in real life to begin with and not at all in a game that can be moderated, and is all about having a good, worry-free time
I’m not saying we need our own version of the SS, banning people for the smallest of offenses, but some basic moderation is needed. You can’t have people going on official public servers and being assholes to everyone who is different than them.