When to use the report feature

[Jake]

When and when not to report someone.

There appears to be some confusion on when the report feature should be used in the game seeing as there is one necessary report to every one-hundred we get. The report system is to report any activity that threatens the safety, security, or good-feeling in the game. It is not something to play around with. If a player is still continuing to bother you after you reported them, then please use the "block" feature so the player is no longer able to contact you.

If we have too many useless reports, we have a bigger chance at missing an opportunity to take care of an actual problem.

When to report someone:
They are harassing you
They are trying to use inappropriate language past the filter
They are making you feel uncomfortable
They are making fun of you
They have an offensive name
They are asking for your phone number, address, name, email, so on.
They are breaking the no-dating rule

When NOT to report someone:
They will not respond to your messages
They will not follow you
They will not join your party
They do not want to be your friend
They are someone from school you don't like
They are a friend you want to mess with
They reported you

I am not saying limit how many times you report, the report feature is for you. This is just to make it clear that we really cannot have a bunch of useless reports clogging up what the feature is really for. To help keep the game safe for everyone.

Together, we can keep the game a safe environment for everyone of all ages.

I will modify to this as things change.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. That is why we are here.

[Mark]

I just want to expand on how the reporting system works and what exactly a "false report" is.

When you report a player it goes to a special inbox of sorts (sort of like an inbox in your email) for Game Moderators to look at. From here Game Moderators are able to see who filed the report against the offending player, the offending playing, and what the offending player was reported for. From here a Game Moderator investigates each report (generally by checking the chat logs) one by one. So if someone was reported for... let's say bad language, then a Game Moderator will sit there and read the messages the player sent to see if they did in fact use bad language. If we find a report is valid, then the Game Moderators will take the appropriate disciplinary action against the player, often discussing with other Game Moderators what the proper punishment is.

Now let's say you didn't break any rules and you are reported anyway. This is a false report!! It has to be handled exactly like a real report until we can find proof that no rules were broken. Reports like these stop us from investigating valid reports and from working on other features for the game. If it is a false report and we cannot find any evidence of rule breaking then nothing happens. No action is taken against the reported player because they did not do anything wrong. If a player is banned or kicked from the game it is because they did something to deserve it. We do not kick or ban players for fun or for no reason at all. We have begun, however, to give warnings and bans to players who have been abusing the report system by sending false reports. When you send false reports you create excessive and unnecessary work for the Game Moderators

On this note, please do not report players who you think are false reporting. When we investigate the reports it is extremely obvious which reports are false and which reports are valid and it something that is harder for you guys to see on your end of things.

Thank you!