In Ultima Online, our goal is to build a strong community that offers a comfortable atmosphere for all of our players. This means seeing that players have the ability to combat antisocial behavior.
Some tools created to achieve this purpose include the "Ignore Player" option and the obscenity filter. The "Ignore Player" option permanently blocks all of an offending player's comments, and you can also choose to block certain offensive words through the UO Obscenity Filter. To access these tools, double left-click on your in-game character to bring up your paperdoll, and left click on the 'Options' button.
Should these options not resolve the situation, we also provide a tool to specifically report harassment.
The Harassment Tool
The harassment tool was created to give players an effective way to combat antisocial behavior in-game. It has been perceived by some, however, as a way to circumvent the GM queue, which serves to diminish its effectiveness at eliminating in-game harassment. In order for the harassment tool to be successful, it's important to see that it's only used in cases of actual harassment. This document should answer most questions about the use of the harassment tool.
What is NOT harassment?
First we should point out that anything considered a valid play style in Ultima Online is not considered harassment. In other words, player killing and thievery, including res-killing, is not considered harassment. By valid, we mean that there are game mechanics created around these play styles in Felucca, such as stat loss, the thieving skill, bounty systems, murder counts, the existence of guards, etc. Ultima Online is a role-playing game that encourages various play styles, and players should seek ways of protecting themselves against these play styles through game mechanics rather than calling on customer support staff for help in these cases. Note that this does not include player-killing in Trammel. Trammel was created as a safe land where players cannot harm other players, and violating the intended game mechanics in that area is not considered a valid play style.
What IS considered harassment?
Harassment consists of flagrant misuse and abuse of game mechanics with the intention of distressing and offending other players. So what's a game mechanic? Game mechanics allow players to interact with the world and each other. For example, the ability to block a doorway is a game mechanic. The ability to create macros with large amounts of text is a game mechanic. Use of game mechanics like these is by no means considered harassment in and of itself. The key to determining whether the mechanic is being misused or abused is to determine "intent". What was the person trying to achieve through their actions? Were they purposefully trying to disrupt someone else's game? While an action may cause others distress, it is not considered harassment until it is determined by OSI/EA that it was done to intentionally cause distress or to offend other players.
Also considered as harassment is any behavior that is incessant, inescapable, derogatory and directed specifically at you or your group. This includes the act of intentionally targeting and disrupting player events, which is never considered acceptable. An important point to note regarding this type of harassment is that a genuine attempt to alleviate the situation must have been made. This could be an attempt to leave the area or the offending player, or simply the act of asking them politely to stop. If a sincere attempt has been made to solve the problem and the offending player persists in the harassing behavior, it can be considered harassment, and the harassment tool should be used at this time. For more information, see How do I report harassment below.
Behavior that is always considered harassment includes derogatory and/or hateful comments that are sexual, racist, religious, or related to gender or creed. Origin has a zero tolerance policy towards harassment of this kind, as stated in our Terms of Service, and violation of the above can result in immediate and permanent account suspension on the first offense.
So what happens when the harassment tool is used?
When a player uses the harassment function, GMs are automatically sent an account of the incident through email, providing them with a log detailing the recent text in the area. The player does not need to do anything further, and the GMs will make the determination once they access the sent logs as to whether the case of harassment can be proven as valid. While this also places a call summoning a GM to witness the scene, you may not see any outward sign of a GM appearing or speaking, since the harassment process is kept separate from most service calls, and any information gathered on the scene by the GMs may be used along with the logs in determining the action taken on the harassment call.
To be fair in our judgments, it's necessary that we either witness the harassment in person, or that we can prove intent through the log sent by the harassment tool. Since screenshots and journals can be altered, we cannot accept those as proof of harassment.
As a way for us to keep track of all harassment calls, records are kept on the accounts of all parties involved when the harassment tool is used, detailing the results of our investigation.
What are the possible outcomes of a harassment page?
Valid Harassment
The call is considered valid when, either through the text logs or through the eyewitness account of a GM, it can be proven that the player was harassed. A mark is made on the account of the offending player, and appropriate discipline is decided on a case-by-case basis depending on the severity of the offense and presence or absence of previous marks on the account. See Penalties for harassment below. Since we are not at liberty to discuss players' accounts publicly, players who submit valid harassment logs will not be notified when action is taken against the offending player.
Physical Harassment
Physical harassment, or grief play, is harassment that distresses or aggravates other players, and consists solely of actions, rather than speech or text. Physical harassment must be witnessed by a GM to be judged as valid. If the harassment call is received after the grief play is no longer occurring, we cannot verify the validity of the call.
No Harassment Found
It is determined that the person submitting the call had reason to believe they were being harassed, but upon review, we have determined that the situation either did not qualify as harassment, or the harassment cannot be proven by the included log file. Neither the player submitting the harassment call, nor the player accused of harassment is disciplined in these cases.
Invalid Harassment
Any use of the harassment tool that is not at all related to harassment, or is simply an attempt to get ahead in the GM queue, will be considered Invalid Harassment. We understand that even these calls can be the result of unintentional mistakes, and we will generally allow players a free instance or two without punishment. If the tool is being consistently and blatantly misused, it is possible that the player submitting the logs will receive a warning or temporary suspension.
Mutual Harassment
When evaluating harassment calls, we do look for provocation and instigation. Provoking another player into saying or doing something that violates the Rules of Conduct can result in the call being judged as Mutual Harassment. This includes any instance where both players are determined to be harassing each other, such as retaliation after being murdered, shouting matches, etc. These calls are judged on a case-by-case basis, and depending on the circumstances, either all, one, or none of the participants will be disciplined.
What are the penalties for harassment?
Origin condemns all forms of harassment in Ultima Online, and this type of disruptive behavior will not be tolerated. Harassment is a severe offense in UO and a clear violation of the Rules of Conduct and Terms of Service.
A judgment of valid harassment can result in penalties placed on the harassing party up to and including immediate account closure, based on the severity of harassment and the player's past account history.
To report harassment, double-left click on your in-game character to bring up your character's paperdoll, then left click on the 'Help' button. On the next screen, you will be given a brief description of the harassment logging feature, and a brief description of our harassment policies as they relate to the Terms of Service. If you would like to continue your harassment complaint after validating your situation against these guidelines, check the box that says "Yes - I want to send a harassment log to the GMs". You will then be asked to enter a short description of the problem. Be sure to include the name of the person you are reporting, and the reason for your complaint! This makes it much easier for the GMs or those reviewing the logs to quickly identify the problem. A log of your journal will be sent, and a GM will be summoned to your location to intervene if necessary. The log will then be reviewed by our service department as soon as possible, and appropriate action will be taken.
If you make a mistake and wish to cancel your help request, you have the option to change your help request before your log is sent. Just choose "No - I meant to choose help for another matter", or "Cancel - I need no help at this time".
ORIGIN understands the seriousness of harassment and appreciates players' support of these policies.
