Forums are different than the game though. On the forums you can get banned. I can personally vouch for this as I do believe I have the longest record of infractions in the history of the game. It would take me three screen shots to show the lost of all the infractions/bans, I have received. I have had a ban time of a year a half [not back to back, total].

 

They absolutely do make every effort to see the rules on the forums obeyed or punished for lack there of. Even three month bans aren't enough to stop people from breaking rules because the rules on the forums are far too 'anal'. I'm not a malcontent, I'm not a 15 year old looking for attention, I'm not looking to come across as a 'bad ***', I'm a normal guy who speaks like a normal guy and responds like a normal guy, yet, I get 3 month bans like a kid get's tootsie rolls on Holloween.

 

As far as I am concerned, the rules on the forums are too much, which is exactly the reason I do not support that kind of rule enforcement in the game. It sucks to be banned from posting but I've put up with it, if they were to ban me from playing the game? No chance would I pay them one cent for time I am not able to play which would mean, in effect, I'd unsub. I'm not paying for services not rendered to me, I don't care what the rules of TOS state, you ban me from playing a game I have already paid for for that time period, that is the last time I will pay them.

There is no way, I am the only person that would feel that way.

 

Short of threatening lives, I don't care what anyone says in chat, you should not be banned for a service you have already paid for because someone doesn't have mental fortitude to deal with bad words.

 

If that's the kind of game you are looking for, go play LOTRO, they follow that kind of puritanical rule enforcement and that's why they don't get any money from me anymore.

 

It's okay to slaughter jedi children in mass, order the deaths of innocents, kill people for no reason other than they miffed you are you have a force choke option, it's fine to destroy entire worlds and civilizations, it's perfectly fine to kill companions, throw people off cliffs, kill wildlife so you can get +5 more to your whatever the F stat, blackmail people to have sex with you [sith Warrior, sith woman who's husband youve been sent to kill on DK vanilla storyline], lie to the jedi council because you want to hit the skins with Kira, Practice Polygamy [These are my wives, Vette and Jaesa], and pretty much kill anyone you feel like it so you can see cutscenes with your character cutting down whoeverthe F with a lightsaber.

 

All that's perfectly fine, - but don't be a potty mouth.

 

Wanna find a fool proof way of seeing this game die? Start enforcing TOS in chat.

 

It's far to late for any of that. They can strictly enforce TOS in game, or, they can continue to make a reasonable profit return, they can't do both.

 

The level of hypocrasy over this is mindboggling. There isn't one person in this game who doesn't use the very words that they are complaining about seeing in the game when it suit's their moods. People can use every ethnic slur that has ever existed since the dawn of mankind for people who are of Italian descent, I couldn't possibly care less. If a black person calls me a Honk-E, why would I get offended, he's right, I am one. If a gay person wants to make fun of the fact that I'm straight, go for it, that's not going to offend me. That's like me being offended if a girl makes fun of the fact that I'm a guy, which, in reality, is an impossibility because I like being a guy.

 

Call me stupid, call me dumb, call me thoughtless, call me forgetful, call me slow, call me brutal, call me a whimp, call me any insult you like, it's not going to make me not want to go into WZs and kill everyone I see, in fact, it may very well make me want to do it even more, but certainly not less.

 

Where do you draw the line here? No personal insults or just the words themselves? So is it okay to say "Man, The Last Jedi was total s**t" [which it was btw =] ], but not "Your DPS is total s**t"? Or I can't even use the words when they aren't even an insult to anyone, just a 4 letter word?

 

If the mere use of a 4 letter word troubles someone even when it not an insult in any fashion, that person should be ashamed of themselves. If someone finds those words offsensive because they are religious, that's their damn problem. Take that up with God. You're religious hocus pocus is your problem. No one has the right to hold other people up to their own personal standards by rule enforcement of morality. Bad words, are moral issues, they are not a threat to society, as 99% of society use those words.

 

There is not one sane guy, not one, who doesn't use 4 letter words on a daily basis. I don't consider any man who doesn't use 4 letter words sometimes because of religious mores as sane. - I'm not saying people shouldn't be respectful of one another, of course they should when possible, but that's just it, it's not always possible. If someone is mean to you, you are pefectly justified to return the favor. That doesn't make you "just as bad as them", it makes you a normal human being. People, who never use bad words, ever, are not normal human beings.

 

If the people who want such strict enforcement of chat as is being discussed get their way, it will mean the end of this game. People will not pay for a service they are not getting, even if they are technically breaking the rules of TOS.

 

Precedent is a legal consideration and a mitigating factor in courts of law. If a person who was arrested under a legal statute dated from the 1800's which is still tecnically on the books for engaging in oral sex outside of marriage [look it up, they still exist believe it or not] and was brought before a judge, that judge would throw that charge out in under 10 seconds on the basis of precedent. Precedent being that that law has not been enforced for decades and has not been pursued as such.

 

 

There is only one problem with dealing with people in this game, and it is the same exact problem as is in every single MMO in the world, ever, and that is, you can't hit people.

 

I only logged in to say this guy has a good head on his shoulders. Words on a screen, all you have to do is look away or ignore it. Unfortunate for you that so many people are doing it, but in that case maybe you're the small minority that can't handle stupid banter on an online game.

 

What are people who type "cuck" and flavor of the month insults on general really doing to you? Are they somehow stopping you from playing the game itself or are you simply offended over what someone decides to type out?

 

And this is coming from a guy who's sick of reading garbage on general chat as well, AKA politics. Either I tune it out or stop looking at general chat.

 

Calm the **** down.

I know I'm late to the game in this thread, and it is true that I haven't read all the responses. Let's also stipulate that the internet doesn't convey sarcasm well, or -- in this case -- lack thereof.

 

To DWho and DEnrique, what do you want to use general chat for? That's not being snarky. The first thing I do when creating a character is set my chat tabs, and I ALWAYS turn general chat off. I'm a vet of WoW Barrens chat, I know there is nothing to be gained by engaging.

 

If you're looking for a channel to find like-minded folks to group -- create one! Word will spread. Ditto with RP.

 

Don't get me wrong, I agree with your diagnosis. But I think you are swimming upstream and / or playing whack-a-mole.

 

To wit: General Chat will always be a toxic cesspool. Given there are alternatives to mitigate the problem, why not utilize them?

 

Hugs,

 

Dasty

I know I'm late to the game in this thread, and it is true that I haven't read all the responses. Let's also stipulate that the internet doesn't convey sarcasm well, or -- in this case -- lack thereof.

 

To DWho and DEnrique, what do you want to use general chat for? That's not being snarky. The first thing I do when creating a character is set my chat tabs, and I ALWAYS turn general chat off. I'm a vet of WoW Barrens chat, I know there is nothing to be gained by engaging.

 

If you're looking for a channel to find like-minded folks to group -- create one! Word will spread. Ditto with RP.

 

Don't get me wrong, I agree with your diagnosis. But I think you are swimming upstream and / or playing whack-a-mole.

 

To wit: General Chat will always be a toxic cesspool. Given there are alternatives to mitigate the problem, why not utilize them?

 

Hugs,

 

Dasty

 

Mostly I find it irritating that I have to turn off chat to keep from being bombarded with toxic filth from a few dozen posters who could easily be suspended or banned and clear up the problem more or less overnight. I used to spend time on fleet, or later on the guild flagship answering questions about the game posed in chat or helping someone with a flashpoint or mission they were having trouble with (after having played all of the content over and over since launch, this was actually an enjoyable way to spend time in the game). That is impossible now, because if the person asking the question/help is not shouted down immediately by one of the trolls, filtering legitimate requests out of the steady stream of filth is nearly impossible.

 

What i really want is a separate General chat where people who want to get away from the current general chat and have a rational discussion or even just chat can go. Unfortunately, without moderation, that would just be another chat for the trolls to troll (hence the problem with creating a "new" channel now). Outside of that, an expanded legacy ignore list which prevents the people on it (and any of their alts) from being grouped with me at all (whether that be missions, OPs, flashpoints, PVP, GSF, or whatever - it would be nice if it could make them disappear from my screen as well) would be acceptable although it would have to be a constantly updating list as when a troll stops getting responses they just create a new character not on peoples ignore lists.

 

All in all I see three options right now:

 

1) stop playing the game altogether

2) go full "single player" with the game and stop interacting with anyone

3) set aside time to "police" chat myself and report transgressors and hope Bioware does something about it.

 

Edit: One other thing I find irritating is how family unfriendly this Star Wars game is (especially since the IP is owned by a supposedly family friendly company). I can't let my children play the game without constant supervision (and its not about the language or the innuendos, they are old enough for that. It is the blatant disrespect for other people that is allowed to go on in chat)

Edited January 13, 2018 by DWho

Mostly I find it irritating that I have to turn off chat to keep from being bombarded with toxic filth from a few dozen posters who could easily be suspended or banned and clear up the problem more or less overnight. I used to spend time on fleet, or later on the guild flagship answering questions about the game posed in chat or helping someone with a flashpoint or mission they were having trouble with (after having played all of the content over and over since launch, this was actually an enjoyable way to spend time in the game). That is impossible now, because if the person asking the question/help is not shouted down immediately by one of the trolls, filtering legitimate requests out of the steady stream of filth is nearly impossible.

 

What i really want is a separate General chat where people who want to get away from the current general chat and have a rational discussion or even just chat can go. Unfortunately, without moderation, that would just be another chat for the trolls to troll (hence the problem with creating a "new" channel now). Outside of that, an expanded legacy ignore list which prevents the people on it (and any of their alts) from being grouped with me at all (whether that be missions, OPs, flashpoints, PVP, GSF, or whatever - it would be nice if it could make them disappear from my screen as well) would be acceptable although it would have to be a constantly updating list as when a troll stops getting responses they just create a new character not on peoples ignore lists.

 

All in all I see three options right now:

 

1) stop playing the game altogether

2) go full "single player" with the game and stop interacting with anyone

3) set aside time to "police" chat myself and report transgressors and hope Bioware does something about it.

 

You do know that you can create a custom channel, and then moderate it yourself. Make a PG13 general channel, advertise it on fleet for like minded folks, anyone goes on there and talks trash, you can kick them.

You do know that you can create a custom channel, and then moderate it yourself. Make a PG13 general channel, advertise it on fleet for like minded folks, anyone goes on there and talks trash, you can kick them.

 

Only the person who creates the channel can kick people. So as soon as I went off line, there would be no "moderation"

 

Edit: If the channel was permanent and could use my ignore list to keep people out, it might have posibilities

Edited January 13, 2018 by DWho

Only the person who creates the channel can kick people. So as soon as I went off line, there would be no "moderation"

 

Edit: If the channel was permanent and could use my ignore list to keep people out, it might have posibilities

 

See now that is a compromise I could get behind. They should allow more permanent options toncustom channels.

From sex to politics the Fleet chats have become very disgustingly toxic since the server merge to the point where any of us that ask that the topics be taken elsewhere people start trolling and I have hit my max on the ignore list, and I am sure I am not the only one.

 

People say to turn of the chat but I shouldn’t have to do that especially when I watch the chat for OPS groups that are forming and those heppen in the General Chat so to turn that off I would miss opportunities to join OPS groups.

 

My suggestions:

Expand the ignore list limit

Or

Make a general OPS chat (like the trade and pvp chat) for people to be able to form an ops group that way if nothing else.

 

I tend to ignore the Gen chat, it is just elevator music to me.

I only report/ignore gold spammers, the rest can spew their hatred all day long; sticks and stones may break my bones, but words never hurt me.

 

Reponding to trolls is the wrong approach, if you ignore them they will get bored stop.

It sure would be nice to use General chat seeing as this is supposed to be a social game

 

But General is not the only chat channel. Trade, PvP, Guild, and other personal channels all exist for the pleasure of interaction. There is no way to police SW's version of Barren's Chat, so the only option is to take matters into your own hands. My way of doing that is to either extend my ignore list, or disable chat. Then again, most visits to fleet are so brief I forget to toggle it off, or even to read it. I'm sure this only really affects the Strongholders, and Fleet Campers who are chilling in chat waiting for a queue to pop. This is why I have everything I need in my SH on Manaan and on my Ship. Self sufficient and happier for it.

You do know that you can create a custom channel, and then moderate it yourself. Make a PG13 general channel, advertise it on fleet for like minded folks, anyone goes on there and talks trash, you can kick them.

 

Another excellent option.

To DWho and DEnrique, what do you want to use general chat for? That's not being snarky. The first thing I do when creating a character is set my chat tabs, and I ALWAYS turn general chat off. I'm a vet of WoW Barrens chat, I know there is nothing to be gained by engaging.

[ ... ]

Dasty

Ok, I feel this question is also posed to me, because I have been a proponent of an increase to player tools to fight toxicity.

 

For me, I am most likely to use General Chat to recruit for my guild. There isn't a different channel that it's appropriate to do that in... and every player who leaves General Chat is one less person I can recruit... and people who leave General Chat because they don't like the cesspool, are the kinds of people (that sensibility at least) that I want in my guild.

 

Now... my online gaming started in MUDS -that's text based gaming, and generally small communities. The nature of MUDS also tended to synonymous with gameplay that wasn't user friendly or intuitive (unless you played Zork). So, there was a rich tradition of being Stewards and Ambassadors for the game; when noobs had problems, senior players would step up and educate. In SWTOR, if someone is a noob, that's my mindset; Help and Educate. Sometimes it's me asking the dumb question, because I've forgotten more about SWTOR than some people will ever learn.

 

I would also like to use the General Chat to.... Chat. About General Things. Have a genial conversation with someone, even if only a few messages. This sort of brief interaction is a golden moment for me; a shared moment with another human being. It doesn't have to be deep, but it's an integral part of why I play MMOs and not single player games.

 

And.... I just don't accept this "Scorched Earth" approach to General Chat. The notion that it's too toxic. It's a lost cause. The inmates rule the asylum. Just turn it off and forget it exists. No... no, no, and also... no. General Chat should be for people who want to enjoy the game for what it is... not for people who find enjoyment in harassing, belittling, verbally assaulting, or otherwise impinging on the enjoyment of others. THOSE are the people who should be off General Chat. If this causes them to also quit the game, I'm OK with that too.

In the end, it all boils down to society's changing. There have been developments in society which made people become more rude in recent times. It has to be found out what long-term developments led to society becoming that rude.

 

In the end, I fear that we are all part of an GIGANTIC "society experiment" which has been started at one point.

 

For example here in Germany, ca. 10 years ago there was a shift towards economy and away from social oriented polirtics. Wages were cut, and this created what we call here a "precariate" which has led to people becoming more and more uneasy and unsure about their future - with that low wages - meanwhile the profits of rich people went up. This led into a behaviour of peoplebecoming more and more selfish and rude - even ambulancepersons / paramedics are now attacked by people ! (Especially by drunk people.) Decades before, these helpers were protected by a kind of social taboo, because they were essentially helpers, and everyone could be in need of them one day. But now, they get attacked by aggresive and rude people if they want to help injured people. Not to mention policepersons, who are nowadays getting attacked by aggressive and rude people as well.

 

This gigantic social experiement can be titlöed as "how develop people when their future becomes more and more uncertain and more and more endangered by poorness because of low wages ?" Rich people just don't care about that, because they can freely move money around in the world so that they won't even pay too much taxes. The burden of taxes lasts on the middle and lower social classes. This social gap expresses itself in more and more toxic and rude behaviour.

 

People are more and more becoming selfish because ther's the riusk of poorness every day at their door. Uncertainty leads imho to this toxiticy we all see in the chat and in worldwide forums.

Another cheese off, saw someone blasting mine and another person’s business in the fleet chat under one of my alts calling the other person a catfisher and I said nothing as I didn't want people to know it was me but it is disgusting how bad this chat is in the game, I get the person is trying to help keep others from falling into it but honestly why drag the person (me in this case) into it and why do people got to argue about it? This is just absolute toxicity in this game. Edited January 14, 2018 by DarthEnrique

I know I'm late to the game in this thread, and it is true that I haven't read all the responses. Let's also stipulate that the internet doesn't convey sarcasm well, or -- in this case -- lack thereof.

 

To DWho and DEnrique, what do you want to use general chat for? That's not being snarky. The first thing I do when creating a character is set my chat tabs, and I ALWAYS turn general chat off. I'm a vet of WoW Barrens chat, I know there is nothing to be gained by engaging.

 

If you're looking for a channel to find like-minded folks to group -- create one! Word will spread. Ditto with RP.

 

Don't get me wrong, I agree with your diagnosis. But I think you are swimming upstream and / or playing whack-a-mole.

 

To wit: General Chat will always be a toxic cesspool. Given there are alternatives to mitigate the problem, why not utilize them?

 

Hugs,

 

Dasty

I watch the gen chat mostly for opportunities to do OPS groups or form them, other than that I don’t even talk in it.

I have turned on my General chat before only to get terrible messages from players who seek to troll others, and other bad things. Yesterday I tried to sell a lightsaber for a good price and this guy whom I wont name for obvious reasons acts like a cheapskate and offers me offensive memes as payment. I can barely say even a simple hi without getting trolled, yelled at, or both. I once nearly lost my patience and nearly wanted to tell the Fleet that everyone in game seemed so mean, but I didn't. However the game's toxic chat makes me want to ignore almost the entire player base sometimes (not everyone is bad in game). I find it sad many can't say a simple word without getting targeted in a toxic way. The toxicity has even deterred me from playing the game at times. Edited April 16, 2019 by Zolcor

I keep a separate chat tab named "Social" in my chat box. On that tab, I have all the normal channels turned on for if I ever want to see what's going on in the main chat channels. But my General tab has the main channels turned off, including emotes because of the many RPers on the fleet who post very often.

 

That way, the default when I log in is to have peace and quiet, but the social tab is there if I ever need it. You can do this as well by right-clicking on your chat box, create a new tab, then right-click the tab and go to settings to select which channels you want on or off for that tab. I think relogging/loading screens will always default your character's selected chat tab back to General though, so keep that in mind.

 

Also, the ignore feature is great. Many of the regulars who run their mouth do so on a normal basis. If you keep ignoring them, you'll at least get rid of the bulk of the toxicity.

From sex to politics the Fleet chats have become very disgustingly toxic since the server merge to the point where any of us that ask that the topics be taken elsewhere people start trolling and I have hit my max on the ignore list, and I am sure I am not the only one.

 

People say to turn of the chat but I shouldn’t have to do that especially when I watch the chat for OPS groups that are forming and those heppen in the General Chat so to turn that off I would miss opportunities to join OPS groups.

 

My suggestions:

Expand the ignore list limit

Or

Make a general OPS chat (like the trade and pvp chat) for people to be able to form an ops group that way if nothing else.

 

Literally every public chat has been like that.

Heh you should have seen general chat on Ossus the other day. It gave fleet a run for its money.

You could just like...not read it? I don't see why this is so hard. Just read what you want to read. No one is forcing you to read everything in the chat box.

Obviously they can't. All the credit spammers prove that people can get in the game and say (in chat) anything they want even if Bioware doesn't want them to.

I have turned on my General chat before only to get terrible messages from players who seek to troll others, and other bad things. Yesterday I tried to sell a lightsaber for a good price and this guy whom I wont name for obvious reasons acts like a cheapskate and offers me offensive memes as payment. I can barely say even a simple hi without getting trolled, yelled at, or both. I once nearly lost my patience and nearly wanted to tell the Fleet that everyone in game seemed so mean, but I didn't. However the game's toxic chat makes me want to ignore almost the entire player base sometimes (not everyone is bad in game). I find it sad many can't say a simple word without getting targeted in a toxic way. The toxicity has even deterred me from playing the game at times.

 

Welcome to the internet. Enjoy the ride.