I am going to assume this was prompted by
the article about what ArenaNet security chief Chris Cleary did to a hacker in their game.
ArenaNet gets away with "name and shame" by following a set playbook. They have their User Agreement that dictates what is and is not acceptable in their game, and they have a list of actions that correspond to said breaches in the user agreement. They stick to those rules, with the
only flexibility being that some offenses can be appealed whereas more serious infractions - like hacking or botting - are permanent bans.
Further,
they do not generally go out of their way to name and shame, instead they have a forum subsection where users can ask to know why they were banned or to otherwise appeal their case. What ends up happening is that the offender names and shames
themselves.
Examples:
or how about this gem?
And many, many more posts. Some of which are actually pretty damned hilarious.
Following such a system does four things:
- It allows individuals who feel they were wrongfully banned/suspended to defend themselves
- It allows PGI's moderation team to demonstrate that they are on the case and dealing with negative members of the community.
- It is almost always a blast to read through and tends to make the community like the developer more since the response can be no BS, slap em in the face, here are the facts you piece of scum, sort of events.
- Due to the public nature of it, it puts pressure on others who might have been willing to cheat, exploit, bot, or be intentionally toxic in the community as now they know if they get caught they stand a good chance of public ridicule.
I think
as long as the initial conditions are met, I am all for it. Set ground rules are required. Set repercussions for violations are required. After that, the devs get to blow off steam, be
human, gain popularity, and deal with troublemakers all in one fell swoop.
"But what about the personal shame of being named?"
Don't want the time? Don't do the crime. Seriously. Why should any developer or community pander to individuals who can be documented offenders? If the individual is bad for the game and bad for the community, the community owes the individual no niceties. Whatsoever.
Edited by Pariah Devalis, 10 May 2015 - 06:37 AM.