Author Topic: Dobromir retires  (Read 7697 times)

Anaris

  • Administrator
  • Exalted Emperor
  • *
  • Posts: 8525
    • View Profile
Re: Re: Fallangard
« Topic Start: July 09, 2013, 04:43:16 AM »
This disgusts me. This is something that the Magistrates should be investigating: the case of a long-term player being harassed both IG and OOG to the point where he quits, just because he wanted to keep his private life private.

I completely agree.

I believe this is, in spirit, related to the case of Woelfy, where there was no one message that clearly crossed a bright line, but rather a pattern of harassment and insinuations, both IC and OOC, that in this case led to many other people nodding and saying (effectively), "Hey, yeah, we should be persecuting this guy's character and realm for something in his private life that we really have no business caring about one way or another!"

The trouble is, it's hard bringing such a case. You'd basically need to be able to present the entire IG message log and IRC log (as well as a number of forum threads) from the period in question, given the number of comments, implications, and insinuations that made up the harassment. Anyone not involved in the situation—and I say this as someone who was only involved somewhat peripherally—would have a hard time understanding the level of frustration, isolation, and alienation that is created by such an insidious (and insidiously successful) smear campaign, without immersing themselves in it.

And, frankly, we saw what happened with Woelfy's cases. The first time the harassment against him was reported, he was punished. The second time, he was reported for finally no longer turning the other cheek, and punished again. And when he tried to send in the information that was requested of him to investigate the actual harassment and punish those responsible, he was met with silence.

So...yeah, the Magistrates should be investigating this. But to be brutally frank, I have no confidence in their collective ability to effectively police, punish, and deter harassment campaigns that have even the slightest subtlety to them.
Timothy Collett

"The only thing you can't trade for your heart's desire...is your heart." "You are what you do.  Choose again, and change." "One of these days, someone's gonna plug you, and you're going to die saying, 'What did I say? What did I say?'"  ~ Miles Naismith Vorkosigan