Update the server hosting rules: Properly and definitively define "hate speech"

[McGarnagle 94]

In the dregs of a whiney, complaint threat on Reddit, an actually interesting point was brought up that I was able to confirm here.

 

There seems to be no specific rule against harassment of players in servers by admins. Meaning essentially that, aside from hate speech, Admins can say basically whatever they want on the chat, up to and including in-game type threats (e.g. empty threats to delete character), revealing position on map to other players through chat, and anything intended to ruin the experience of others, shy of outright bigotry or the flagrantly illegal. Hilariously, players harassing others is grounds for a kick (how they determine true harassment from role-play is beyond me), but there is no mention of Admins harassing people whatsoever. Understandably, this could be considered "common sense," but one cannot set policy, or avoid setting it, on the assumption that everyone has common sense.

 

Full Disclosure: I have never encountered this myself, and it seems easy to profile the type of servers where this might happen, but the fact that it's possible at all is alarming to me. Besides, other players have reported this kind of behavior, officially and in places like Reddit, so it happens to at least some segment of the user-base. This hardly seems acceptable for reasons too numerous to list in full.

 

We live in an age where Terms of Service and EULAs are 50 pages long, just to install a freaking web browser, so it's hard to see much besides a lack of awareness on the part of the (presumed) legal team. If it seems I'm grasping at straws there, it's because I totally am. In the absence of information, ignorance and assumption will breed. I don't know what goes into this, so you have to tell me. And unlike some customers, I'm actually trying to be understanding here.

 

We have very little feedback relating to server abuse (linking to the report page and rule list is not feedback), and it isn't just limited to this situation. Enforcement of the existing rules is a problem in and of itself, but we can't even begin broach that if the rules themselves are incomplete and static. Additionally, we can't do our part to work with the devs unless we know what to do and can see a tangible result after doing it.

 

The current "reporting" system for server abuse is famously pointless, and that is another big problem. There's been a server with a Message of the Day that says "welcome to the rape train" for weeks. I'm sure we all remember Einstein's definition of insanity as referenced in Far Cry 3...

 

But I have faith in you guys! Obviously, the rules are just a placeholder and are in Alpha. Maybe they're mostly complete, but just not implemented yet, like the Ruger :P. Really, all I'm asking for is something along the lines of: "potential and real abuses of server hosting privileges are things we monitor, and the rules will be updated as necessary through the development process and into release."

 

A little bit of reassurance goes a long way in turning angrish, ranting redditors into loving, loyal customers. For a chatty customer like me, it means buying more games from the same publisher just to reward good policy, as well as easy recommendations to friends.

 

Reference: Server Rules as presented to the typical DayZ user

 

tl;dr? If you're too lazy to read it, you aren't mature enough to have an informed opinion about this. Go away.

[Nicko2580 398]

It's their server. They pay for it. You're on it by their consent. As far as I am concerned they can be as bigoted, racist and outright rude as they like. It's a free world. I don't agree with anyone who is racist or homophobic or bigoted and I will simply log off their server if I am seeing that type of bullshit but 'hate speech' itself is a notoriously bullshit piece of terminology anyway. You cannot punish people for speaking their views, even if their views are despicable. Down that path dictatorship and thought crime lie. No one is seriously going to be incited to riot or form the Fourth Reich while playing DayZ.

If you're offended, that's actually a choice you've made. You could simply ignore it, or move to a server where the admin isn't a dick.

If you're offended by the way an admin acts on his own server that he is paying good money for, don't play there. It's pretty much that simple. I don't think we need some sort of Code of Conduct to avoid racists and homophobes. 

Admins who are abusing the actual game mechanics and griefing other players by using server resets or other things you've described however - yes, I agree there needs to be a better way to report them and have their servers blacklisted. Enough reports should remove their server from the search function for a period of time.
 

Edited February 28, 2014 by Nicko2580