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Thread: Fur N Feathers Sexual Harrassment FAQ

  1. #1

    Fur N Feathers Sexual Harrassment FAQ

    Why do we need a FAQ on sexual harrassment in a game?

    Being a female that very often chooses to play characters of my own gender in games, I have personally endured a great deal of sexual harrassment from other players of online games. I have also witnessed the same thing being done to others. It has been made very clear by a number of male players that a lot of people do not consider harrassment of women in games to be anything that should upset anyone, since it is 'just a game'. Being the target of unwelcome sexual advances is VERY disturbing. I am not alone in my discomfort. Women, or even men who just PLAY women in online games deserve to be able to stand up for themselves and have just as much a right to enjoy their gaming experience as those who play males. No matter what your gender, online sexual harrassment is not just annoying; it's DISTURBING.
    After being unable to defend members of my own all-female org and witnessing the frustration of an ARK who responded to our petition in regards to a particularly nasty incident of sexual harrassment by a character named Attacklng that lasted around a half an hour and included a threat to repeat the performance, I realized that unless people knew exactly what FunCom dictates as proper petitioning procedure in disruption, nothing could be done to stop this kind of thing from occurring. There is no reason why people who behave in such a manner towards other players should be allowed to continue to do so again and again.

    My sincerest thanks to Guardian Cradlon2 of Rimor's ARK for giving me the exact guidelines to successfully file and escalate a complaint petition not only for sexual harrassment, but ANY form of game disruption. Your time and patience really DO make a difference to us, the players.

    What is considered sexual harrassment in Anarchy Online?

    When another character makes unsolicited or unwelcome lewd or sexual comments, remarks, gestures or other emotes that are offensive to you and refuses to desist when you ask them to stop, this is considered to be sexual harrassment. Just because you are playing a game does not mean that these actions cannot make you, the player feel uncomfortable or violated. This behavior is not just offensive, it is an attack on YOU, the person, not simply your character. You do not have to allow this to happen.
    What can you do when you are being sexually harrassed in Anarchy Online?

    There are ways to effectivley report sexual harrassment so that FunCom can weed out the people who perpetrate it. Unfortunately, if you do not know the policies ARK must follow to assist you, you are most likely to be out of luck. ARKs are bound to work within the guidelines set down for them by FunCom, and even in cases where it is patently obvious that a complaint is true, they can do nothing unless you provide them the exact evidence they need. And no, sadly, screenshots are NOT considered sufficient evidence. You must provide your ARK with a log.
    Steps To Successfuly Report A Complaint To ARK

    Log the incident as it is happening.
    Send a petition to ARK concisely explaining that you have been a victim of sexual harrassment. Timelapse, an ARK, suggests using this format:
    /PETITION DISRUPTION {NAME} {PROBLEM}

    This will auto-classify your petition as 'high priority' and allows an ARK to possibly catch your perp in the act, which is even more effective than the logs are.
    Send a copy of your logfile to support@anarchy-online.com along with an email explaining what has occurred and what steps, if any, have been taken. It is good to note the name of the ARK assisting you if he or she has already responded to your petition. It puts it on record how you have been treated by ARK and by whom. Trust me when I say it helps improve the service you recieve.
    Answer any questions your ARK may have for you. Try at all times to remain calm and nonconfrontational in doing so. ARKs are human and as far as I am aware are not paid in any way for the service they provide. Courtesy and a calm demeanour go a long way and may sometimes even encourage your ARK to want to go farther in assisting you. Besides, no matter how upsetting your situation is to you, the ARK was not the one who harrassed you.
    How do I log an incident?

    Go to your Friends tab in the upper right hand corner of the game window. It's the one with the '!' in a text bubble.
    Down at the bottom of your Friends tab, there will be a section that has GROUP, SHOW and LOG in bold letters. Beneath this is a list of groups available to you. Select the group or channel in which the harrassment is occuring by clicking the LOG box beside it. This will place a timestamp and start your log. You will know you did it right if you see a checkmark in the log box.
    When you are finished logging, go back and remove the checkmark from the log box. The log will appear in your Anarchy Online directory.
    To find your log, follow this directory route: Funcom>Anarchy Online>Prefs>(account name)>Char(character number)>Log. Your logfile will be in the Log folder.
    Be sure to log enough of the incident to prove that the incident is indeed a violation. I strongly caution that you try to remain calm and refrain from the use of profanity, as this will not help your case and may even get YOU a warning or worse. I KNOW it is difficult to maintain your cool in such situations, but it's worth the effort.

    Valor "DesertReet" Jones
    President of Fur N Feathers
    Rimor-Ka's only all-female all-adventurer neutral org

    (edited to include information from Timelapse)
    Last edited by Yin Koresawa; Aug 19th, 2003 at 20:30:40.

  2. #2
    /Applauds

    Although I am male, I have witnessed and been sickened by episodes of sexual harrassment in game. The sad thing is that in most cases, the offender(s) are not aware that their behavior is sexual harrassment.

  3. #3
    Thanks for getting this information out here, Desert Reet!
    Neala, Adventurer
    Iphimene, Bureaucrat
    Caelwynn, Meta-Physicist
    Unity of the Roses

  4. #4
    This includes repeating unwanted use of /backflip against someone.you will get warned if ARK catches you doing it.

  5. #5
    Originally posted by Snowkiten
    This includes repeating unwanted use of /backflip against someone.you will get warned if ARK catches you doing it.
    Don't get the /backflip reference at all.....

    Good, useful information here. It'd be better if I could say that it was pointless and irrelevant, because then it would mean that sexual harresment didn't happen in-game, but the small (probably in more ways than one ) mindless minority are present in most sphere's of life.

    We, as players, don't have to tolerate it, and we're NOT powerless to prevent it.

    Kudos to The Desert Reet, I take my hat off to you, Ma'am.
    There are times in all our lives when the questions asked of us will leave us no option but to give answers of which we are neither proud nor happy.

    At these times, remember that it could be worse. The question that we may have to ask could be "would you like fries with that?"

  6. #6
    I've never been sexually harassed .. Well, not by strangers anyway.
    I've never gotten a sleazy sex-related remark or invitation to cyb0r or anything.

    I've seen it happen to others, though.

    Is my avatar ugly or something?
    Didymus - Solitus Trader, Member of Instability

  7. #7
    Originally posted by WilloTheFist


    Don't get the /backflip reference at all.....

    Try tapping the key you have macroed to /backflip over and over , and you'll see what i mean

  8. #8
    Originally posted by Snowkiten


    Try tapping the key you have macroed to /backflip over and over , and you'll see what i mean
    Ah..... Now I see. goes from a /backflip to a /hump.......
    There are times in all our lives when the questions asked of us will leave us no option but to give answers of which we are neither proud nor happy.

    At these times, remember that it could be worse. The question that we may have to ask could be "would you like fries with that?"

  9. #9
    (Edited. Not appropriate humor.)
    Last edited by Malathion; Aug 19th, 2003 at 17:05:58.

  10. #10
    Very good info for new players to know. It took me a couple of tries petitioning to figure out what it takes to nail some jerk to the wall.
    -Finalizer Vixentrox-
    Former President and Founder,
    -Whisper's Edge-
    Former Member of the Atlantean CoT Clerical Staff

    Socializer 73% Killer 53% Explorer 53% Achiever 20%

    Kissysuzuki -
    WTB small enough brain and lack of imagination to be able to sit and solo hecklers for 5 days straight.

  11. #11

    please root this

    I've never said that before (please root), and I may never say it again. Ending the hassling of people is one good reason (might be sexual, might be something else): another good reason is that this is the best and most clear and most terse account I have yet read of how to petition successfully and deter and prevent prats from spoiling a great game.

    We'd all like not to have to log anything, but we all know there are (as Will rightly says) a tiny minority of idiots who know no better. Let's keep the game risque, and fun, and cheeky - no harm in that: but let's not allow a few fools to wreck it by turning off a lot of female players who are having a great time until someone behaves like a retarded bronto.

    The Desert Reet is a star for doing this.
    General of Angels of the Night ~Clan/Rimor~
    Join us!

  12. #12
    Total support on this issue.
    Ernest "Zane0" Bunke - Equipment - Perks
    Obsidian Order
    Advisor

    Fix 200+ Engineer Slayers

  13. #13
    I have a female opifex fixer, and a solitus female doc, and they get this stuff all the time. Thanks for posting this, as it gets quite disturbing and extremely annoying when it happens. When I see it happenning to other people, it gets me very pissed off, like when a brand new person who went AFK in front of Rome Blue Basic came back to find an Atrox clad in full nail armor spamming /backflip behind her. Totally sick. Most people don't even know that sexual harassment is a CRIME in the United States. People who do this are, in my book, only better than terrorists and virus builders.
    Slowly, one by one, the penguins rob me of my sanity
    Anualken Gimped old engineer.

    Omni-Tek Protects.
    Me, as drawn my MrFli.

    Old Engineers never die... they only fade away.

  14. #14
    /me cheers

    Thanks for the info. Good to know. My ignore list has been growing again lately. And unfortunately /ignore does not stop the gestures nor keep people from abusing you in public anyway.
    Gables - Retired 220 Doctor

  15. #15
    /me Applauds

    Well stated and well done.
    Harrasment in any form is wrong, i really hate sexual.
    In the real world sexual harrasment can get you fired from a job, your company sued.
    Not a good practice.
    Lazerous Keeper, My Dog of War and Love.



    And My Family:

    MrController Engineer Fun, Smart and Deadly.

    Slammabama Enforcer: Fat, Charming and Sexy.

    MrFatts Fixer: Fat and Sexy and Deadly, not to mention cute.

    LoveGal Meta-Physicist:
    Killing Clanners for the fun of it.

    "Sure my human is fat, but he is so freaking adorable it does'nt matter!"

  16. #16
    Actually, I suggest:
    /PETITION DISRUPTION {NAME} {PROBLEM}

    The name should be the first thing my eyeball will hit after seeing disruption, this way I DO NOT come to see you, I go to see the other person.

    This is standard for anything, if you called law enforcement services you'd hope they'd come after the bank robber before chatting with you. Same goes here.

    Also, I don't suggest a big long {PROBLEM} explaination, just get to the point of what we need to check out: training, sexual harassment, general harassment, cussing, etc. - in a few words. This saves alot of time by having you send the petition in faster and giving us less to read off the bat. When it comes time for details there will plenty of time for it.

    But if you feel we really need specific details, then go ahead and include it. Just remember we need to get out to SEE things asap.
    Last edited by CJ; Aug 19th, 2003 at 19:27:42.
    ~ CJ ~
    Formerly known as Timelapse


    Certified AO Forum Freak!


    ~ Check out our old comics here! ~

  17. #17
    I love the random hump, although I usually do it to other trox enfs so we can both challenger and bump uglies.

    Could never bring myself to do it to a female char though, just on the off chance that its one of the 10 real life women that play AO.

  18. #18

    Wow, so much support...

    First of all, thanks Timelapse! Your suggestions will go into my FAQ right away. It's people like you and Cradlon2 that keep my respect and admiration for ARK at the high level it is. You all don't get NEARLY the love you deserve for the effort and dedication you devote to us all. Never forget that your efforts ARE noticed and appreciated.

    I actually wrote the FAQ for my org, though when the problem that made it neccessary happened AGAIN last night it became painfully apparent that my org wasn't the only group who needed to know what to do when harrassment happens. Since I love new players and think it would be a tragedy to have any of them leave the game because of this kind of behavior, I decided that New Arrivals would be the best place to share what I know.

    I've met more than one person who, because they didn't know that ARKs have constraints and rules they must work under, have been frustrated when their petitions were unsuccessfully answered. Most of them never considered that the ARKs might also be frustrated and disappointed that they were unable to help. This type of petition is the worst. Whether it's verbal abuse, sexual harrassment or griefing, the -DISRUPTION- petition is one of the diciest categories to resolve fairly.

    People tend not to discuss unpleasant and uncomfortable things such as the harrassment issue and this has, quite unfortunately, allowed the problem to grow. I myself am uncomfortable with it, but I love Anarchy Online and am genuinely concerned about its players, so I bit the bullet and did the only thing I knew of to help make it less easy for people to abuse other people within the game world. If no one stands up and says "Hey... wait a minute. This IS happening and this is how you make it stop..." then the problem WILL only continue to grow more common.

    I don't want AO to lose its edgy, frisky, risquee side because there is a minority who abuses it. I've already seen the loss of two very funny emotes because some people can't seem to control themselves. I was very disappointed. Let's not allow the losers to get any more of our fun removed from the game.

    Thanks to you all for the support you've shown.

    Valor "DesertReet" Jones
    President of Fur N Feathers
    Rimor-Ka's only all-female all-adventurer neutral org

    I used to think about becoming an ARK. Then I realized I just don't have enough patience with being grumped at while I'm trying to help. So I became an org leader. What was I thinking??

  19. #19
    Originally posted by Whodonghide
    I love the random hump, although I usually do it to other trox enfs so we can both challenger and bump uglies.

    Could never bring myself to do it to a female char though, just on the off chance that its one of the 10 real life women that play AO.
    Twenty. There are actually 20 of us. Please get that straight. :P

    And this is good information for people to know. Sad that we have to know it, tho.
    Udon (doctor), Koyangi (trader), Jajangmyun (adventurer) of Shattered Dreams of Rimor. [website]

    (now in order of play/activity! along with some other lowbie alts.)

  20. #20
    I suspect there are far more than 20......
    -Finalizer Vixentrox-
    Former President and Founder,
    -Whisper's Edge-
    Former Member of the Atlantean CoT Clerical Staff

    Socializer 73% Killer 53% Explorer 53% Achiever 20%

    Kissysuzuki -
    WTB small enough brain and lack of imagination to be able to sit and solo hecklers for 5 days straight.

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