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)