An Eye on Player Behavior and Reporting Improvements in Patch 9.2.5

[Lumy]

Patch 9.2.5 - New Social Contract

An Eye on Player Behavior and Reporting Improvements in Patch 9.2.5

As a part of our ongoing efforts to foster a fun, fair, and safe game environment for our community, we’re implementing some improvements to the system with the 9.2.5 update. We know how important it is for our players to be a part of a safe and supportive community, and we want to help foster that by providing you with tools and information you can use to help promote and create it alongside us.

Just the Start

Creating a positive experience in World of Warcraft is important to the entire team. As a part of helping drive that focus, we’ve pulled together a multi-disciplinary team to look at varying aspects of what we can do to help make things better. The 9.1.5 content update allowed us to provide additional updates to our reporting system that enable more visibility to player reporting by sending thank you messages to players who reported others for violating our code of conduct. Additionally, most players who are close to being actioned within the game are now receiving a warning message. This is only the start of what we have in store, and the 9.2.5 content update provides some further improvements to the system.

New Social Contract

When players first log in to World of Warcraft after the 9.2.5 content update goes live, they will be greeted by the new Social Contract. This contract will need to be read and accepted before a player can continue into the world of Azeroth. The contract outlines behavior that will help make your experiences more positive and provides an outline of behaviors that are not acceptable within the game. While you should only need to accept it once, there may be a future point where you’ll need to reaccept the contract to continue playing.

Reporting Player Behavior

We’ve modernized how reporting works in-game, making it even easier to report disruptive or poor player behavior.

• Right-click the player's name in chat or other applicable area.
  
• Click 'Report Player'.
  
• This will open a popup allowing you to select the appropriate reason for the report as well as allow you to add additional details.
  
• Click ‘report’.

You’ll receive a notice acknowledging your report and thanking you for your help in making Azeroth a better place to be. Should action be taken against the reported player, you’ll receive an additional thank you message in the weeks following your original report.

Streamlining the System

We’ve also taken some time to further streamline our system and penalties, allowing us to act more quickly, accurately, and (if necessary) more severely depending on the in-game violation.

Looking Forward

These updates are merely the beginning of our efforts to provide a better place to spend your time. We know that Azeroth is special to many of you, and we want to make sure it continues to be a place you want to call home.

[stoffe]

oh well. Time for me to stop typing in chat with randoms

[willtron]

Nothing about abusing the system where loads of people can report a single person?

[MiiiMiii]

I support this goal.

However, from examples I have seen very effective in the past on other systems, rewarding good behavior is more effective than punishing bad behavior. I am talking completely outside of gaming, in work environment and for instance dog training.

I will admit though, systems that try to "reward good behavior" in games (LoL commend, OW commend on end screen) never felt very rewarding and was mostly awarded to the best performing players or friends.

[Sentynel]

safe game environment

Lol, imagine feeling threatened in a video game

[Porkrind]

oh well. Time for me to stop typing in chat with randoms

Good, sounds like you're the problem they're trying to solve.

The game will be a better place without people shitmouthing everyone who isn't on their level or doesn't love idiotic politics talk with hate speech peppered in for a giggle.

[Caradras]

This sounds pathetic and patronizing. What is wrong with just putting someone on ignore?? Now everytime you say something someone else doesnt like you risk being reported. It is censorship plain and simple. All that is needed is to get rid of those gold sellers and boosters flooding every channel they can.

[aeuhe4yxzhds]

I dont like the new future where big corporations (especially american ones) try and control how people act,

[Celement]

We remember the breast milk blizz we likely always will.

[Lochton]

An Eye on Player Behavior and Reporting Improvements in Patch 9.2.5

As a part of our ongoing efforts to foster a fun, fair, and safe game environment for our community, we’re implementing some improvements to the system with the 9.2.5 update. We know how important it is for our players to be a part of a safe and supportive community, and we want to help foster that by providing you with tools and information you can use to help promote and create it alongside us.

Just the Start

Creating a positive experience in World of Warcraft is important to the entire team. As a part of helping drive that focus, we’ve pulled together a multi-disciplinary team to look at varying aspects of what we can do to help make things better. The 9.1.5 content update allowed us to provide additional updates to our reporting system that enable more visibility to player reporting by sending thank you messages to players who reported others for violating our code of conduct. Additionally, most players who are close to being actioned within the game are now receiving a warning message. This is only the start of what we have in store, and the 9.2.5 content update provides some further improvements to the system.

New Social Contract

When players first log in to World of Warcraft after the 9.2.5 content update goes live, they will be greeted by the new Social Contract. This contract will need to be read and accepted before a player can continue into the world of Azeroth. The contract outlines behavior that will help make your experiences more positive and provides an outline of behaviors that are not acceptable within the game. While you should only need to accept it once, there may be a future point where you’ll need to reaccept the contract to continue playing.

Reporting Player Behavior

We’ve modernized how reporting works in-game, making it even easier to report disruptive or poor player behavior.

• Right-click the player's name in chat or other applicable area.
  
• Click 'Report Player'.
  
• This will open a popup allowing you to select the appropriate reason for the report as well as allow you to add additional details.
  
• Click ‘report’.

You’ll receive a notice acknowledging your report and thanking you for your help in making Azeroth a better place to be. Should action be taken against the reported player, you’ll receive an additional thank you message in the weeks following your original report.

Streamlining the System

We’ve also taken some time to further streamline our system and penalties, allowing us to act more quickly, accurately, and (if necessary) more severely depending on the in-game violation.

Looking Forward

These updates are merely the beginning of our efforts to provide a better place to spend your time. We know that Azeroth is special to many of you, and we want to make sure it continues to be a place you want to call home.

Hopefully, they will read and understand the reports too.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

I dont like the new future where big corporations (especially american ones) try and control how people act,

New future? It’s been like that since the birth of capitalism all the way back to business owners cozying up to kings and queens to control markets.

[Very Tired]

Oh wow. A social contract all players have to sign? That'll solve everything.

[ketsui]

Oh wow. A social contract all players have to sign? That'll solve everything.

it won't solve it but it justifies banning you for toxic behavior as you agreed upon the terms

[Caradras]

it won't solve it but it justifies banning you for toxic behavior as you agreed upon the terms

Problem is that 'toxic behaviour' is so general it could be literally anything.

[Khaza-R]

Eh. Blizzard only 2 modes are going completely overboard or doing not enough. So either way, I am sure this is going to be end in failure.

[RobertMugabe]

Useless when only an automated system is working with these.

[Varodoc]

Lol, imagine feeling threatened in a video game

I mean, people nowadays are so soft and fragile that they feel threatened by anything.

Case in point, feeling threatened by pixel spit which is not even shown, but is just a line of text.

[Very Tired]

it won't solve it but it justifies banning you for toxic behavior as you agreed upon the terms

They've already been doing that for years before, as they should have been. They don't really need any extra justification.

[RobertMugabe]

I dont like the new future where big corporations (especially american ones) try and control how people act,

Of course, companies punishing you for breaking their ToS (which only states that you shouldn't be an asshole in their game) is the same as trying to control your behaviour ;

[Polybius]

This sounds pathetic and patronizing. What is wrong with just putting someone on ignore?? Now everytime you say something someone else doesnt like you risk being reported. It is censorship plain and simple. All that is needed is to get rid of those gold sellers and boosters flooding every channel they can.

Ignore doesn’t circumvent griefing. Anyone can literally abuse kick and chat “because I can.” The point is to stop the player from repeating the same crap and holding a captive audience.

Literally no one wants to hear the same bs in general, only for the same rotten apple to create an alt or change name. It’s not bEiNg oFfEnDeDlOl either, it’s just annoyance. Censorship my ass.