Chapter 19. Managing Deviant Behavior in Online Worlds

By Talin

KEY TOPICS

What Are Some Kinds of Undesirable Behavior?
Why Undesirable Behavior Is a Complex Problem
Why Do People Engage in Abusive or Undesirable Behavior?
Establishing a Code of Conduct
Detection
Verification
Corrective Action and Remedies
Encouraging Desirable Behavior

AUTHOR NOTE

Talin is one of those interesting, highly educated thinkers of the gaming industry with many years of experience in both solo and persistent world (PW) games . Talin left the industry for greener pastures, much to our detriment. He sees the problems and solutions to " grief " players more clearly than many of us.

This article has been around for some time, but the points Talin makes are still applicable today. Handing this article to a community management team will probably save them a ton of time, heartache, and grief.

This article attempts to outline a number of strategies for managing "deviant" or undesirable behavior in massively multiplayer (MMP) online worlds.

What is "deviant" behavior?

Webster's dictionary defines the word "deviant" as "straying from the norm" ”in other words, behavior that is outside the envelope of what is considered customary.

Unusual or idiosyncratic behavior is not in itself harmful and can sometimes be of great value. (The "good Samaritan," as described in the Bible, was certainly a "deviant" by this definition.) However, when we think of a person who is a "deviant," we typically connote a more pejorative meaning: someone whose behavior is somehow perverted, twisted, corrupt, or destructive.

Such "deviant" behavior may not be rare or idiosyncratic at all! If the online environment is such that destructive and abusive acts are encouraged and rewarded, then such behavior all too quickly becomes the norm.

Thus, we can only speak of behavior being "deviant" in the context of an online world where there is a code of conduct , and in which the vast majority of players adhere to this code. In this case, "deviant" behavior is simply behavior that violates this code of conduct.

I think it's important to avoid pejorative language, and in particular, "moralistic" language when discussing undesirable behavior. The issues here can be both sensitive and emotionally charged. It's all too easy for us, as the creators and maintainers of the system, to feel "besieged" by a deluge of abuse and to think of our less tractable customers as "bad" people. But the line between desirable and undesirable behavior is fuzzy and often crossed inadvertently and innocently. What may be "bad" in our view may be perfectly legitimate in the value system of the customer. Many of the violators of our codes of conduct are not "scum" but merely overzealous.

That is not to say that we do not have the right to take punitive action to protect the integrity of our world. But in my view, such action should be taken dispassionately and without moral condemnation.

I believe that the best policy is to always treat our customers with a high degree of respect, even when they have gone "astray."