Something I needed to get off my chest.......

[Jirel of Joiry]

Okay I read a lot about what we need to do to bring back players to UO. How do we attracted new player, etc., etc. I have seen may good and bad ideas. Why is it NO ONE will tackle the one thing that I feel like has cost UO more players than changes any dev. team has made or any expansion. It is the proverbial elephant in the room That is Griefing/Bullying. Yeah let's call it what it really is, bullying pure and simple. Bullying is NOT something that happens to kids. It can happen to adults too, in the work place, online, heck one could be bullied by your neighbor association aka "the lawn Nazis". In 12 years of UO I have seen more people quit because of this and UO's procedure for handling which is basically let the bully win. We're always told to stand up to a bully, but UO says leave the dungeon/area/chat, put them on ignore and page. The problem with that is, you gave the bully what he wanted. I'll us an example we can all relate to:

Player A is killing dragons in destard. Player X, our bully, shows up. Player X decides he don't want to share the spawn with Player A. So Player X starts luring spawn on Player A. Player A asks him to stop. He launches some "colorful metaphors" at Player A and continues his anti-social behavior. Player A according to UO's procedure must leave destard, then page a GM, and wait for said GM.

Congratulations, Player X just got exactly what he wanted, the spawn all to himself. I've seen the reverse too, where a player goes to a dungeon to hunt and a player that is already there engages in the same anti-social behavior. The bottom line is the way it is handled NEEDS TO CHANGE. What I don't get is why EA Games, or for that matter the gaming industry as a whole doesn't get on the Anti-Bullying bandwagon? Geez, everywhere you go you see anti-bullying campaign slogans. John Cena and his muscle bound compadres are even telling us to "Be A Star" and stand up to bullying. After watching a WWE show I find it ironic, but I digress, at least they are trying to do something positive.

UO problems are complicated by the fact that many of us use TeamSpeak or Ventrilo. We use AIM, ICQ or some other instant messenger. Some guilds exchange phone numbers and text one another. This is all well and good, nothing wrong with making friends. The problems start when the relationships go south for one reason or another. Often time harassment/bullying can start in one medium and carry over to another. I often think the GMs fail to understand the complexity of the situation and the little box on the harassment Gump barely gives you enough space to put name-shard-facet much less explain a situation. Also we have players who claim griefing/bullying is "their play style". Bull-crapping shenanigans! Bullying is NEVER a play style.

I also think using a player's real life issues as fodder should be a zero tolerance thing. Obviously banning doesn't work, we've all seen perma-banned players come back. How's this for an idea, UO jail. Instead of banning toss their chars into UO Jail. They could log into their accounts but the chars would be in jail, they couldn't recall/sacred journey out until their jail sentence was up. They could not use chat or anything. This is jail bro. If they have multiple accounts tied to the same Master account then guess what...jail just got crowded. If one acct. gets jailed on a master account then all will be jailed. This would prevent a bully from coming back in game on an alt. account after getting a account tossed in jail. Also it needs to be made fully clear that after a char/acct. has been "paroled" from UO jail if they go after another player for retaliation they can expect to spend one MONTH in jail. I know this isn't supposed to happen but it has happened.

When Lord British started UO, he set it up so that we the players would administer the punishment /justice. That went to the wayside with the addition of Trammel. I am not disrespecting Tram, it was a needed addition and I live there. It has left players at the mercy of the GMs to deal with the bullies. I think it is high time that we the players start working together and with the GMs/Devs to take back UO from the griefers/bullies. I think one way we can start is by using the strategy we use at the
University I attend. We have a campus motto: "See Something, Say Something" . It doesn't just apply to seeing crime, or something weird on campus. It applies to domestic situations, harassment,, and other sorts of things. So if you see player bullying another player, don't be a bystander! Page a GM! Even if its in general chat. I know I am no "Disney Princess" or "Miss Congeniality". Many of you will say I deserve whatever I get, but I am talking about everyone in UO. No one deserves to be bullied, not even I no matter how terrible you think me to be. Peace UHall Bros. and Sis'.

 

[cazador]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Flagg]

Okay I read a lot about what we need to do to bring back players to UO. How do we attracted new player, etc., etc. I have seen may good and bad ideas. Why is it NO ONE will tackle the one thing that I feel like has cost UO more players than changes any dev. team has made or any expansion. It is the proverbial elephant in the room That is Griefing/Bullying. Yeah let's call it what it really is, bullying pure and simple. Bullying is NOT something that happens to kids. It can happen to adults too, in the work place, online, heck one could be bullied by your neighbor association aka "the lawn Nazis". In 12 years of UO I have seen more people quit because of this and UO's procedure for handling which is basically let the bully win. We're always told to stand up to a bully, but UO says leave the dungeon/area/chat, put them on ignore and page. The problem with that is, you gave the bully what he wanted. I'll us an example we can all relate to:

Player A is killing dragons in destard. Player X, our bully, shows up. Player X decides he don't want to share the spawn with Player A. So Player X starts luring spawn on Player A. Player A asks him to stop. He launches some "colorful metaphors" at Player A and continues his anti-social behavior. Player A according to UO's procedure must leave destard, then page a GM, and wait for said GM.

Congratulations, Player X just got exactly what he wanted, the spawn all to himself. I've seen the reverse too, where a player goes to a dungeon to hunt and a player that is already there engages in the same anti-social behavior. The bottom line is the way it is handled NEEDS TO CHANGE. What I don't get is why EA Games, or for that matter the gaming industry as a whole doesn't get on the Anti-Bullying bandwagon? Geez, everywhere you go you see anti-bullying campaign slogans. John Cena and his muscle bound compadres are even telling us to "Be A Star" and stand up to bullying. After watching a WWE show I find it ironic, but I digress, at least they are trying to do something positive.

UO problems are complicated by the fact that many of us use TeamSpeak or Ventrilo. We use AIM, ICQ or some other instant messenger. Some guilds exchange phone numbers and text one another. This is all well and good, nothing wrong with making friends. The problems start when the relationships go south for one reason or another. Often time harassment/bullying can start in one medium and carry over to another. I often think the GMs fail to understand the complexity of the situation and the little box on the harassment Gump barely gives you enough space to put name-shard-facet much less explain a situation. Also we have players who claim griefing/bullying is "their play style". Bull-crapping shenanigans! Bullying is NEVER a play style.

I also think using a player's real life issues as fodder should be a zero tolerance thing. Obviously banning doesn't work, we've all seen perma-banned players come back. How's this for an idea, UO jail. Instead of banning toss their chars into UO Jail. They could log into their accounts but the chars would be in jail, they couldn't recall/sacred journey out until their jail sentence was up. They could not use chat or anything. This is jail bro. If they have multiple accounts tied to the same Master account then guess what...jail just got crowded. If one acct. gets jailed on a master account then all will be jailed. This would prevent a bully from coming back in game on an alt. account after getting a account tossed in jail. Also it needs to be made fully clear that after a char/acct. has been "paroled" from UO jail if they go after another player for retaliation they can expect to spend one MONTH in jail. I know this isn't supposed to happen but it has happened.

When Lord British started UO, he set it up so that we the players would administer the punishment /justice. That went to the wayside with the addition of Trammel. I am not disrespecting Tram, it was a needed addition and I live there. It has left players at the mercy of the GMs to deal with the bullies. I think it is high time that we the players start working together and with the GMs/Devs to take back UO from the griefers/bullies. I think one way we can start is by using the strategy we use at the
University I attend. We have a campus motto: "See Something, Say Something" . It doesn't just apply to seeing crime, or something weird on campus. It applies to domestic situations, harassment,, and other sorts of things. So if you see player bullying another player, don't be a bystander! Page a GM! Even if its in general chat. I know I am no "Disney Princess" or "Miss Congeniality". Many of you will say I deserve whatever I get, but I am talking about everyone in UO. No one deserves to be bullied, not even I no matter how terrible you think me to be. Peace UHall Bros. and Sis'.

Way I see it, it isn't an elephant in the room as much as a headache in the hangover; Something that is unpleasant but absolutely integral. Just part of the human nature. I don't believe griefing or bullying has ever caused some mass exodus away from UO. Certainly not ever since Trammel got brought in all those years back. Besides, where would these people have moved? Every exodus needs it's safe harbor; It's not like post-2005 community of UO would be somehow worse than what other MMos have.

Generally speaking, UO's community is very old. Sometimes the age shows in positive ways. People in general are more patient, helpful and kind than in your average MMO. if some half a dozen Luna Banksitters spot a new player, the said newbie is usually borderline overwhelmed by money, attention,help. Community, as far as MMOs go, is quite polite and awesome.

Additionally,players being harsh evildoers or victims in digital environment isn't always entirely a negative experience that everybody wants to avoid at all costs. Look at Eve Online. World in there is exceptionally cruel and evil. It is one of the game's major selling points. The game thrives on it.

I always think it is a little pointless self-abuse when UO's community blames itself for being too small and for game being too quiet. I got GREAT news for you!! It isn't your fault. Or mine. Or that griefer's.
UO doesn't have that many players because it is 17 years old. UO doesn't have that many players because it has been on life support for..what, 10 years. UO doesn't have that many players because three separate dev teams have failed replacing the original client three times.

UO doesn't have that many players because various gigantic *** ups in early 00s/late 90's alienated huge portion of playerbase who never stopped liking the game. Resulting situation where majority of UO players enjoy their game in custom made free shards is unfortunate,unique and absurd.

 

[MalagAste]

Problem is folk think that the internet makes them able to be completely anti-social... they can hide behind a disguise of anninemity..... and be complete jerks.

I have no idea why folk feel the need to grief and bully and hack and destroy others gameplay. Sadly this sort of behavior seems to be encouraged. Griefing has been allowed it continues to be allowed and the victims continue to be treated as though they asked for it.... or somehow promoted getting griefed.

 

[Promathia]

Welcome to the Internet, where people are jerks for no reason.

 

[Lord Nabin]

Get your guildies and friends and go have fun.

As for the drama, just say next and move on.

Honestly who cares what others think, you are an Avatar pursuing the 8 virtues

*rises from the fire and lifst a glass of good old Moonglow red in salute towards your direction *

 

[Uvtha]

Mainly because it's not a problem in UO any more than it's a problem anywhere, and honestly I think its even LESS a problem in UO than in other mmo's since the player base tends to be older. Griefing WAS an exceptional issue in like 98-2000... it's not anymore.

On the other hand there are some people who just love drama and rant or throw a fit (often publicly) any time they are feel slighted or otherwise mistreated, which draw people seeking to grief others like a moth to a flame.
Of course I play on a shard where you can still kill people if they are being jerks, so that helps, but we still have our share of drama queens.

 

[Assia Penryn]

I'm with @Lord Nabin. I've had folks try to make life miserable, particularly when I ran PTC back in the day. Whether it is in-game or RL, you have to learn to let it go. If someone is stealing spawn etc, I'll just leave and come back later. Who cares if they "get what they want"... by staying there you aren't getting what YOU want, so go find something else that makes you happy. A bigger ass than them will come along soon enough and make the bully's day miserable. Don't waste your time

As to those who quit because of bullying... it sucks, but to be honest it is in every social platform out there to some degree or another.

 

[Xalan Dementia]

UO was one of the first MMO's and one of the first to experience the "Sh*t on in real life, so i'll Sh*t on others in this virtual world" type of player. Unfortunately all games played online have these players and until theres a way to scan a players mind before letting them log in, we will not be able to stop them from entering our world. We just have to learn ways to rob them of their joy, the joy of pissing off the average human being.

 

[popps]

I think the bottom root to the problem, as well as to others in the game (scripting, cheating and so forth...), is a larger and more stable presence (and in game assistance) of GAME MASTERS.

I have read on Stratics' Forums that Broadsword is working on a better assistance from Game Masters in the game be it about griefing, cheating, scripting or whatever. Let's hope it gets done and the sooner the better because that would make Ultima Online playing a much better one ESPECIALLY for new or returning players who often may need in-game assistance not being so used to the game as Vets.

So, I think that the ONE solution to the problem is a faster assistance from Game Masters.

Players need to SEE that if they page a GM, one will be there in like 5 or 10 minutes, not who knows when....

 

[Uvtha]

I'm with @Lord Nabin. I've had folks try to make life miserable, particularly when I ran PTC back in the day. Whether it is in-game or RL, you have to learn to let it go. If someone is stealing spawn etc, I'll just leave and come back later. Who cares if they "get what they want"... by staying there you aren't getting what YOU want, so go find something else that makes you happy. A bigger ass than them will come along soon enough and make the bully's day miserable. Don't waste your time

As to those who quit because of bullying... it sucks, but to be honest it is in every social platform out there to some degree or another.

Really I don't get the stealing spawn thing... especially in tram. Is it discourteous? Yeah, probably, but the fact of the matter is the spawn doesn't belong to anyone, thus it can't really be "stolen". No one is doing anything you can't do right back to them.

Any time someone tried to "steal" a spawn I was working (rather than just kill me, which is rare) I just refused to be run off, and started kill stealing them back if the spawn was so small that there was only room for one person (swoop, miasma, in olden times etc). Eventually they usually leave. Or of course, I could just accept that it was someone else's turn at the area, as I don't have exclusive rights to occupy it when ever and how ever long I wish.

It just seems like people want to play a game they have complete control over, which is not what MMO's are about, and I just don't feel like that's something that needs to be addressed by the dev team.

 

[G.v.P]

OP...font color...why... :'(

 

[Uvtha]

OP...font color...why... :'(

She's griefing you.

 

[G.v.P]

She's griefing you.

I'll lure monochrome on her ;P

I'll copy and paste in word document in a second though lol

 

[G.v.P]

I haven't really felt bullied in UO since I was maybe 14 or 15-years-old, back when I started T2A. A friend of a friend of mine was a wretch and a name caller, and I was new to PvP and not really mature enough to deal with the less than helpful criticism. Even before that, I think I have mentioned how sour I felt after the first--and only--time I ended up dead next to a house's trash barrel. After that, I had the knowledge in place not to be caught off guard again.

Neither of these occurrences made me want to quit the game, however. In the latter scenario, I wandered a bit until I found someone who helped get me new gear, and on my feet. It wasn't the gear that made me happy, what made me happy was that the chance of finding someone decent in the game outweighed the chance of finding an *******. I learned there were far less bullies than allies. As for the former scenario, I went on to re-form a guild with moderate success, by which I could help train other players in a more friendly environment (and even before then, I enjoyed open PvP in T2A, probably at its peak during the waning years of Order/Chaos and the introduction of basic special moves, like the disarm thief).

Bullies aren't ideal, but there's progress to be made as a mentor. One thing I noticed in the OP was that UO needs to do a better job of policing, but then there are a lot of out of game things mentioned, like phone numbers, and things like that. A friend of mine ended up being stalked by a former friend met in UO, and when things like that end up happening, there's honestly little UO can do about it. The more privacy you revoke the more you need to cover in post. Unfortunately, that's just a lesson learned, whether it's UO or a Pyramid Scheme, or whatever else you can think of that's generally frowned upon.

Anyway, the short answer to simple things like Player X invading a spawn area is to go to Fel and to have the opportunity to kill Player X with Guild A. The long answer is UO addressed these Trammel issues with things like Peerless hunts, which, according to new loot data obtained by players, will possibly be the best way to get loot again.

I am not sure I agree bullying is a more pressing matter than outdated graphics, rigid, tile-based gameplay, outdated and incongruent systems (like how weapon speed almost matters more than weapon type, aside from the use of specials, or how shields differ little other than STR requirement), a bug list that is quite long, a split community (CC vs. EC) in a split community (Fel vs. Tram), ghost town shards, rampant cheating, unfair veteran rewards, broken AI (inability of monsters to teleport), failed PvP systems (Factions), unequal pet options (I've tried my best), a constant devaluation of rares through replicas and the like, and, oh, how about the absence of LB, and how no one ever filled the heart and soul of the in-game politics after he left?

This patchwork game generates a niche audience of hoarders and collectors of a bygone era of gaming, ready to go down with the ship. And honestly, I will probably lure stuff on people on that final day, because that's how UO has been from day one: kill or be killed, forge alliances, own a shop (once you can afford it), and all that jazz. But to end on a somewhat positive note, the Vendor Search is probably the most significant improvement to UO in the history of the game, and we got the change for free. Ah, that ship is smooth sailing, after all, but don't board lest ye find pirates.

 

[James Moriarty]

After a long break I have come back and I play on Europa. for the last week or so I have been collecting blackthorn artefacts to get myself some of the new armour that you get from collecting the artefacts.

Every single day I have been getting grief 4 or maybe 5 times a day from the same player who is luring greater dragons into the room I am hunting in. The player is in stealth mode and using herding to lure the dragons around to me. I cant see them, so I try tracking them but I can only see they are in Bake form and cant get a name.

So I cant page on them and I cant do anything as I am playing in trammel.

Its getting to the point where its putting me off playing UO again. I just don't understand why people want to grief others like this and put them off playing the game.

If anyone knows a way from me to report this guy I would be more than happy to hear how it can be done. But right now its getting the point where im thinking I just may not bother subscribing for another month of this crap.

 

[FrejaSP]

To the OP

Before Trammel and before Siege, when all was complaining of PK's and asked for a PK free shard, Designer Dragon, one of the Devs at that time said. It would be much easier to make a Dark Shard than a Happy Shard.
The Trammel rule set stopped the PK's from attacking you and the thieves from stealing from you but they are still there. If they can't attack and kill you, they will try to lure the spawn on you. Sure they can't get your loot but they can still play with your feelings and get a reaction that way.

My advice is, never show him your feeling. If he try to take over your spawn, call a few friends with Dragons too, kill the spawn so fast that he don't get much of it and ignore him. You said your self, he got what he wanted, this is the key, don't give him what he want, don't give him the joy from making you mad.

If you in old days or on Siege, keep complain, that someone kill you or steal from you, they will keep bugging you. If you take it with a smile or get help to kill the bugger, he won't be a problem for long

We are getting the counselors back, they may help, as they will spare the Devs a lot of work. The new loot changes will make more places worth hunting and may make it easier to find an other place to hunt.

You have the choice, play somewhat safe in Trammel or go to Felucca or Siege, where you can set your dragon on the bully

 

[icm420]

I think the bottom root to the problem, as well as to others in the game (scripting, cheating and so forth...), is a larger and more stable presence (and in game assistance) of GAME MASTERS.

I have read on Stratics' Forums that Broadsword is working on a better assistance from Game Masters in the game be it about griefing, cheating, scripting or whatever. Let's hope it gets done and the sooner the better because that would make Ultima Online playing a much better one ESPECIALLY for new or returning players who often may need in-game assistance not being so used to the game as Vets.

So, I think that the ONE solution to the problem is a faster assistance from Game Masters.

Players need to SEE that if they page a GM, one will be there in like 5 or 10 minutes, not who knows when....

I used to feel this way as well, however since coming back I've paged 3 or 4 times and I had a GM show up within 5 minutes everytime. Lucky perhaps? Point is I've certainly noticed an improvement in gm response and only once did they say, sorry we can't help you. That was an issue with a hair dye I used that did nothing. Even then the GM talked to me for a good 10 minutes discussing options.

I also had a very very cool thing happen.. I had a character with -2 phyiscal resist (bugged so im told) well the old way of fixing this was to delete and reroll your toon. Instead I was 'reset' to normal and didn't have to remake. I was very pleased about that.

OH and he said thanks for playing ULTIMA ONLINE! no more automated dark age bs lol

 

[Uriah Heep]

Bullying doesn't exist in UO.

Now give me your lunch money!!!

 

[popps]

If anyone knows a way from me to report this guy I would be more than happy to hear how it can be done. But right now its getting the point where im thinking I just may not bother subscribing for another month of this crap.

Even if you cannot report the name of the player's character, I think it might still be worth reporting the incident while it is happening specifying that this behavious has been ongoing for several times already from whom you think is the same one individual hidden in animal form and luring Greater Dragons to your hunting area in Trammel which is against UO's rules.

It might be that you get lucky and a Game Master is online and is free to check on the incident right away which would have him see the hidden player and take actions.

As an alternative, you might want to e-mail Mesanna about this, she might be able to flag your GM request in advance so that when you page for GM help they are already advised and might come look as soon as you page for one....

Good luck.

 

[popps]

I used to feel this way as well, however since coming back I've paged 3 or 4 times and I had a GM show up within 5 minutes everytime. Lucky perhaps? Point is I've certainly noticed an improvement in gm response and only once did they say, sorry we can't help you. That was an issue with a hair dye I used that did nothing. Even then the GM talked to me for a good 10 minutes discussing options.

I also had a very very cool thing happen.. I had a character with -2 phyiscal resist (bugged so im told) well the old way of fixing this was to delete and reroll your toon. Instead I was 'reset' to normal and didn't have to remake. I was very pleased about that.

OH and he said thanks for playing ULTIMA ONLINE! no more automated dark age bs lol

That not just good news, that is GREAT WONDERFULL news !!!

Having fast and problem solving real in-game customer support from Game Masters is paramount, IMHO, to have happy players and thus players continuing playing Ultima Online because their problems in the game, if solvable, actually DO GET solved timely .......

 

[Kayne.]

TL;DR

It's a game. if you want a perfect experience go play a single player game. Online games are online games.

 

[Gidge]

In life there are people who feel they don't need to wait in line. Who feel they are more important than others and deserve the item, attention, etc before everyone else. Many times in line I have stood up for the person(or people) in front of me when someone felt the need to "skip the line" be it a long shopping line, a government issue, a line for a food vendor at an event. I am very short (under 5) and don't think twice about calling someone out and saying.... Hey you, excuse us but the back of the line is that way. I find if I speak up people tend to jump on the bandwagon to express their concern as well.

There is a a certain politeness that tends to fall the wayside online in general.
People don't quote people.
People don't say, excuse me but... blah blah
May I make a suggestion?
Do you mind if I join you?
Is it alright if I just kill a few for a quest/item?

But if someone approaches you... (not like the person that is blatantly dragging dragons (*snickers* dragging dragons) I try to strike up a quick conversation if they hang out just a bit. But that is no guarantee for grief prevention.

 

[Ender]

That is FAR from the biggest cause of player loss....

 

[Uriah Heep]

Bullying doesn't exist in UO.

Now give me your lunch money!!!

TL;DR

Huh?

 

[Flagg]

Best way to " fight bullying" in an online game is stop being extremely vulnerable for it. Those who get very upset by trolling/griefing and treat it as some massively big, absolutely game devastating huge deal are the ones most rewarding to troll or grief. Imo Griefing in modern day UO really isn't a huge deal, it isn't a big problem and it isn't a phenomena in any way exclusive to UO.

 

[Marquis de Sade 209]

The only time I have ever gotten angry at anybody is when I am in the Abyss, doing a spawn and some moron swoops in and kills the boss. One such loser was killed after the second time of trying this and brought his ghost close to me for a rez. I refused of course and he asked in gen chat for a rez. I don't verbally abuse but grief in other ways if somebody is obviously a selfish dumb ass. If I go somewhere where somebody is already hunting i will leave and usually get the same respect in return.

 

[Viper09]

The best way to fight bullying in a MMO is to stop feeding the trolls and don't fight back; ignore them and move on (please don't confuse this to RL bullying solutions, that's an entirely different arena). Most of the time all they want is attention or a fight. If you keep fanning the flames, guess what? It can keep burning, sometimes a lot more intensely, too.

 

[Viquire]

Antisocial behavior is the best reason I can think of to find or create an outstanding guild and be a part of regular together activities.

 

[Spiritless]

I'm now more inclined to grief the OP in UO, purely for using that font color.

 

[Goodmann]

It seems like many people think just because there killing monsters/spawn that it's there area or people will be nice and move on... They have instanced corpses for you to share killing monsters and get loot. You do not own that area just because you were there first. I think anyone that pays there monthly subscription are entitled to kill whatever they like. If you have problems farming spawn in tram go to fel and then you can settle the problem yourself.

 

[azmodanb]

i was somewhere hunting the other day... cAme on in with my GD and started killing... guy comes out to me... gives me the comment... "you just come in here and start killing my spawn??"

i said to him this is everyone's spawn.. and i will be happy to share... he proceeded to attempt to kill everything... no turns...

which is that players choice.. i just continued to attack every other one... he finally left... i don't know why.. i was being fair.

point being people need to remind themselves its an mmorpg.

people lead all the time in blackthorrn... i just kill what they lead and say thank you!. they stop pretty quick after

 

[kronides]

I was in Terathan Keep fighting for peculiar seeds yesterday, and I was the only one there for an hour or so. Eventually, some tamer comes in, ignores me when I say "hi," and goes about trying to take the place over. I don't care, there's like 15 places here to fight, so I just move over some, and keep killing things. Then he starts training the avengers onto me for no reason, so I invis and force him to kill them, and move to yet another place.

I always introduce myself and attempt to strike up a conversation when a player comes on my screen, and usually, it works, even at IDOCS. But not always. Some people just don't want to be friends, and some are even worse than that--they're not happy unless they're making you miserable. If they don't want to be social in an online game, I figure that they're the ones with a problem, not me, and if the situation is bad enough then I am not averse to leaving. I see it as depriving them of their entertainment when I leave, not as letting them win, and anyway, I have 80,000 other things I can be doing in-game and out-of-game that I'd rather be spending time on than squabbling with some ******, or letting him control me by causing me to worry about what he is doing.

Roll with the punches is the moral of the story, I suppose. Give heed to your actions, not to those of other people.

 

[G.v.P]

I have 80,000 other things I can be doing in-game and out-of-game that I'd rather be spending time on than squabbling with some ******, or letting him control me by causing me to worry about what he is doing.

That's the important thing. They say the best revenge is living well, and really, as long as you don't invest everything into one thing, I'm not sure how bad things could get with simple situations like that...where you run into *******s. I guess it's a delicate thing, though, like how people used to take rotations at Swoops when its loot was good. Remember that? Haha. It's really the only situation I can think about in UO in which we collectively started to take turns...and to me, I felt the reason was mostly because it just took too long to loot them. By the time you were done you'd have to find the next one in the desert jk.

Funny enough, that great swoop loot--one of the rare social points of UO--was crushed, the loot deemed as too good.

 

[Aran]

Okay I read a lot about what we need to do to bring back players to UO. How do we attracted new player, etc., etc. I have seen may good and bad ideas. Why is it NO ONE will tackle the one thing that I feel like has cost UO more players than changes any dev. team has made or any expansion. It is the proverbial elephant in the room That is Griefing/Bullying. Yeah let's call it what it really is, bullying pure and simple. Bullying is NOT something that happens to kids. It can happen to adults too, in the work place, online, heck one could be bullied by your neighbor association aka "the lawn Nazis". In 12 years of UO I have seen more people quit because of this and UO's procedure for handling which is basically let the bully win. We're always told to stand up to a bully, but UO says leave the dungeon/area/chat, put them on ignore and page. The problem with that is, you gave the bully what he wanted. I'll us an example we can all relate to:

Player A is killing dragons in destard. Player X, our bully, shows up. Player X decides he don't want to share the spawn with Player A. So Player X starts luring spawn on Player A. Player A asks him to stop. He launches some "colorful metaphors" at Player A and continues his anti-social behavior. Player A according to UO's procedure must leave destard, then page a GM, and wait for said GM.

Congratulations, Player X just got exactly what he wanted, the spawn all to himself. I've seen the reverse too, where a player goes to a dungeon to hunt and a player that is already there engages in the same anti-social behavior. The bottom line is the way it is handled NEEDS TO CHANGE. What I don't get is why EA Games, or for that matter the gaming industry as a whole doesn't get on the Anti-Bullying bandwagon? Geez, everywhere you go you see anti-bullying campaign slogans. John Cena and his muscle bound compadres are even telling us to "Be A Star" and stand up to bullying. After watching a WWE show I find it ironic, but I digress, at least they are trying to do something positive.

UO problems are complicated by the fact that many of us use TeamSpeak or Ventrilo. We use AIM, ICQ or some other instant messenger. Some guilds exchange phone numbers and text one another. This is all well and good, nothing wrong with making friends. The problems start when the relationships go south for one reason or another. Often time harassment/bullying can start in one medium and carry over to another. I often think the GMs fail to understand the complexity of the situation and the little box on the harassment Gump barely gives you enough space to put name-shard-facet much less explain a situation. Also we have players who claim griefing/bullying is "their play style". Bull-crapping shenanigans! Bullying is NEVER a play style.

I also think using a player's real life issues as fodder should be a zero tolerance thing. Obviously banning doesn't work, we've all seen perma-banned players come back. How's this for an idea, UO jail. Instead of banning toss their chars into UO Jail. They could log into their accounts but the chars would be in jail, they couldn't recall/sacred journey out until their jail sentence was up. They could not use chat or anything. This is jail bro. If they have multiple accounts tied to the same Master account then guess what...jail just got crowded. If one acct. gets jailed on a master account then all will be jailed. This would prevent a bully from coming back in game on an alt. account after getting a account tossed in jail. Also it needs to be made fully clear that after a char/acct. has been "paroled" from UO jail if they go after another player for retaliation they can expect to spend one MONTH in jail. I know this isn't supposed to happen but it has happened.

When Lord British started UO, he set it up so that we the players would administer the punishment /justice. That went to the wayside with the addition of Trammel. I am not disrespecting Tram, it was a needed addition and I live there. It has left players at the mercy of the GMs to deal with the bullies. I think it is high time that we the players start working together and with the GMs/Devs to take back UO from the griefers/bullies. I think one way we can start is by using the strategy we use at the
University I attend. We have a campus motto: "See Something, Say Something" . It doesn't just apply to seeing crime, or something weird on campus. It applies to domestic situations, harassment,, and other sorts of things. So if you see player bullying another player, don't be a bystander! Page a GM! Even if its in general chat. I know I am no "Disney Princess" or "Miss Congeniality". Many of you will say I deserve whatever I get, but I am talking about everyone in UO. No one deserves to be bullied, not even I no matter how terrible you think me to be. Peace UHall Bros. and Sis'.

Nah, everyone just needs to get a tougher skin.

And do me a favor next time and just use black text.

 

[Petra Fyde]

Safest way to make sure everyone can read your text regardless of what theme they're using is to leave it at default.
Red, green or blue is visible on most themes, very pale and very dark colours should be avoided.

 

[Petra Fyde]

. Some people just don't want to be friends, and some are even worse than that--they're not happy unless they're making you miserable. If they don't want to be social in an online game, I figure that they're the ones with a problem, not me, and if the situation is bad enough then I am not averse to leaving. I see it as depriving them of their entertainment when I leave, not as letting them win, and anyway, I have 80,000 other things I can be doing in-game and out-of-game that I'd rather be spending time on than squabbling with some ******, or letting him control me by causing me to worry about what he is doing.

Roll with the punches is the moral of the story, I suppose. Give heed to your actions, not to those of other people.

That's how I see it.
I usually think to myself 'if you want the spot that badly pal, have it. There's a whole lot of other places I can find to hunt in.'
I tend to time my leaving with his appearance accompanied by a nice bunch of lured mobs though. Can I admit to a bit of a grin when I think of him left with the problem he intended for me?

 

[Lady Michelle]

Game bullying will never go away, because there is no way to stop it. Unless you walk away like many have pointed out. It don't bother me and I have no problem sharing a spot I have helped many Warriors back in the day work up skills while monsters are targeted to my Dragon.
The bullying we need to worry about is when it turns from game bullying to real life bullying. I have seen at times go kill yourself not cool at all.I would never say that to my worse enemy.
Also remember its NOT your spot anyone is welcome to hunt there so stop getting bent out of shape, because someone else whats to hunt in the same spot your at get over it.

 

[G.v.P]

Nah, everyone just needs to get a tougher skin.

And do me a favor next time and just use black text.

Dude, I said that like a month ago.

 

[Aran]

Game bullying will never go away, because there is no way to stop it. Unless you walk away like many have pointed out. It don't bother me and I have no problem sharing a spot I have helped many Warriors back in the day work up skills while monsters are targeted to my Dragon.
The bullying we need to worry about is when it turns from game bullying to real life bullying. I have seen at times go kill yourself not cool at all.I would never say that to my worse enemy.
Also remember its NOT your spot anyone is welcome to hunt there so stop getting bent out of shape, because someone else whats to hunt in the same spot your at get over it.

It's just words on a screen. If you don't like them, stop reading them.

Oh no he told me to kill myself, welp guess I have to now because someone I'll never meet told me to! Pfft.

The best way to deal with someone on the internet who says something you don't like always has been, and always will be, to ignore them.

 

[Goldberg-Chessy]

What a shock
Jirel again posting drama about her supposed ingame issues. Has it been 3 months already?
It's so weird that everyone is out to get you and you are unable to just move away or not read their text.
It's about time the devs put some type of ignore feature in the game so all the sensitive people didn't have to get so offended when hanging around public areas.
Ohh wait...

 

[Lady Michelle]

It's just words on a screen. If you don't like them, stop reading them.

Oh no he told me to kill myself, welp guess I have to now because someone I'll never meet told me to! Pfft.

The best way to deal with someone on the internet who says something you don't like always has been, and always will be, to ignore them.

How can you stop reading something that you already read? I know and doubt you would kill yourself, but seriously you never know what that other person is going through in real life. No one have a clue what that persons self-steam is at. Due to someone thinking its cool to pick on, and belittle someone. This is something you should never take lightly,because you never know one day it might happen in your family( I seriously hope it never does).
My sister thinks her daughter does nothing wrong perfect lil angel. This perfect lil angel is a bully, and takes sharing to a whole different level. She takes a toy that belongs to someone else, and wont let them play with it. She gets in their faces threatens them if they tell they will be in trouble. I told my sister, and she didn't believe me. I did one better I taught the youngest one if anyone tells you not to tell someone something its because they will be the one in trouble not you. So when you here those words you go tell their mom. LOL so the perfect lil angel got busted, but my sister is still in denial. When she is here is never gets away with it under my watch. Bullies due come in lil 9 year old girls.

 

[Aran]

How can you stop reading something that you already read? I know and doubt you would kill yourself, but seriously you never know what that other person is going through in real life. No one have a clue what that persons self-steam is at. Due to someone thinking its cool to pick on, and belittle someone. This is something you should never take lightly,because you never know one day it might happen in your family( I seriously hope it never does).
My sister thinks her daughter does nothing wrong perfect lil angel. This perfect lil angel is a bully, and takes sharing to a whole different level. She takes a toy that belongs to someone else, and wont let them play with it. She gets in their faces threatens them if they tell they will be in trouble. I told my sister, and she didn't believe me. I did one better I taught the youngest one if anyone tells you not to tell someone something its because they will be the one in trouble not you. So when you here those words you go tell their mom. LOL so the perfect lil angel got busted, but my sister is still in denial. When she is here is never gets away with it under my watch. Bullies due come in lil 9 year old girls.

If words on a screen are too much for you, it's time to take a break from the computer and get some help. But mostly take a break from the computer.

 

[Aran]

What a shock
Jirel again posting drama about her supposed ingame issues. Has it been 3 months already?
It's so weird that everyone is out to get you and you are unable to just move away or not read their text.
It's about time the devs put some type of ignore feature in the game so all the sensitive people didn't have to get so offended when hanging around public areas.
Ohh wait...

Now now Goldy, that's not all Jirel posts about. There's no need to imply she's a one note complainer. I've seen her post about plenty of other things, you just notice the negatives easier than the things that aren't negatives.

 

[Herman]

If words on a screen are too much for you, it's time to take a break from the computer and get some help. But mostly take a break from the computer.

Lol I almost envy you must be a blessing to be this naive

 

[Petra Fyde]

There are some borderline trolls developing here. Let's take the sarcasm down a notch please.
I'll provide cuter trolls instead

 

[cazador]

We can't have PvP debates..but we can have a whole thread dedicated to E-Bullying in UO..one of the easiest things of all to avoid in game.."ignore them, or recall away"


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kelmo]

I see a lot of "blame the victim"... typical.

 

[Aran]

I see a lot of "blame the victim"... typical.

Well maybe she shouldn't have been riding that blaze cu in Felucca.

 

[kronides]

I see a lot of "blame the victim"... typical.

Hi Kelmo,

I don't blame the victim; I blame the perpetrator. It nonetheless remains so that you can't do anything about other people's behavior, except not allow them to grief you.

It doesn't really matter whose fault it is. Does a different assignment of responsibility change the situation?