Abuse and harassment in SL and the role of Linden Lab

AzizaRomana · August 29, 2013

Nothing in SL is so well tucked away as the role of Linden Lab regarding harassment and abuse by fellow citizens. There is no possibility to directly talk to some one of the Lindens about it or do anything else but file an abuse report.

Even then no answer but an acknowledgement of the complaint (automatic generated ) is received. No follow up when and by whom the complaint is dealt with, and no answer of the outcome.

Residents of SL are screaming despair to the people that offer a surrounding to fellow human beings, ignoring even the basics of human rights when harassment or abuse reports are filed. It doesnt even seem to matter if the abuser admits doing it .. nothing is done, the person can continue its path of making life miserable of his/her fellow residents..

Maybe we should alter the name resident... maybe we should call all people signing in with their last name 'Milkcow' as for sure Linden Lab does know how to contact you when you owe them money... and ohh yes it is possible to do such!

It would be a good thing if here in the forums, people will state their abuse and what has been done about it by Linden Lab, so ultimately new residents will be warned what they get when they sign up and even consider spending 1 single Linden.

Call me inworld and i will set up a booth for all people that has a rightfull claim, getting together and showing what is happeing out there WILL make a difference!!!

AzizaRomana 'Milkcow' Resident

AzizaRomana · August 29, 2013

Nothing in SL is so well tucked away as the role of Linden Lab regarding harassment and abuse by fellow citizens. There is no possibility to directly talk to some one of the Lindens about it or do anything else but file an abuse report.

Even then no answer but an acknowledgement of the complaint (automatic generated ) is received. No follow up when and by whom the complaint is dealt with, and no answer of the outcome.

Residents of SL are screaming despair to the people that offer a surrounding to fellow human beings, ignoring even the basics of human rights when harassment or abuse reports are filed. It doesnt even seem to matter if the abuser admits doing it .. nothing is done, the person can continue its path of making life miserable of his/her fellow residents..

Maybe we should alter the name resident... maybe we should call all people signing in with their last name 'Milkcow' as for sure Linden Lab does know how to contact you when you owe them money... and ohh yes it is possible to do such!

It would be a good thing if here in the forums, people will state their abuse and what has been done about it by Linden Lab, so ultimately new residents will be warned what they get when they sign up and even consider spending 1 single Linden.

Call me inworld and i will set up a booth for all people that has a rightfull claim, getting together and showing what is happeing out there WILL make a difference!!!

AzizaRomana 'Milkcow' Resident

Monti Messmer · August 29, 2013

Hello, even i agree with you on how Lindens deal with abuse reports i highly doubt anything ever will change that.

SL isn´t like a forum where it´s only words, here you can abuse people with e.g. wear a racist tattoo ....

They do not have the manpower or the tools to investigate all that possibilities.

Again, the "support" in SL is not as supposed and so i decided to ignore, mute, ban and walk away...more and more walk away from being inworld.

Monti

Iyoba Tarantal · August 29, 2013

Aside from a few idiots insulting my avie in a way that would make fourth garders look like Nobel Prize winners, most of my complaints against other residents have revolved around money, the root of all evil. I have been ripped off three times, twice for making poor choices about renting retail booths, and once because I rented from a friend who was less than responsible. He was speculating on land, renting it out, and then absconding. Though this transaction made me extremely angry at the time (It was a breach of trust!) Linden Labs did nothing because that is policy, and I never reported it for that reason. Meanwhile, I searched for a means of retaliation and found none. My anger cooled and we became friends again.

Actually, I have had good luck with abuse reports. I have filed three of them, and all of them have left me satisfied. Of course I filed the reports about folks who either abused resources (Filled a sandbox with tons of moving, rezzing, particle spewing objects) or who despoiled sims that are funded by tax payer money with non-PG items. The other area where Linden Labs is very responsive has been removing ban lines from abandoned, mainland property. Where possible, I have gone to the landlord or neighbor first and often gotten good results. I also inform land owners about squatters and unintended sandboxes.

I don't think I've ever informed about insults or the content of someone's speech or expression if it did not steal from taxpayers or make it so I could not use a sandbox or walk through a sim. Personally, I believe people are entitled to express their opinions and one person's sick joke or political statement can be something offensive to another. That's not a battle I'm going to fight by bringing down the law. I may confront the person who has offended me. I may walk away. I may try to educate that person who is ignorant.

Neither Second Life nor "real life" have laws against idiocy. If they did, then the jails would be overflowing and we might both be behind bars.

Griffin Ceawlin · August 29, 2013

AzizaRomana wrote:

Nothing in SL is so well tucked away as the role of Linden Lab regarding harassment and abuse by fellow citizens.

Not really. There are pages and pages dealing with harassment and abuse and what to do about it in the KB and in the Wiki. And, yes, parts of them deal with the "role of Linden Lab", as do parts of the Terms of Service and Related Policies, which I'm sure you've read in full, right?.

There is no possibility to directly talk to some one of the Lindens about it or do anything else but file an abuse report.

I imagine that there are not enough hours in the day.

Even then no answer but an acknowledgement of the complaint (automatic generated ) is received. No follow up when and by whom the complaint is dealt with, and no answer of the outcome.

Yeah, it's been that way as long as I can remember and it's not likely to change.

You receive an automated response by email. If you need to add more information after submitting a report, please submit a new report. We try to resolve abuse issues as quickly as possible, but response times vary depending on the number of backlogged abuse reports. For privacy reasons, we are unable to share the details of an investigation into an abuse report..

Residents of SL are screaming despair to the people that offer a surrounding to fellow human beings, ignoring even the basics of human rights when harassment or abuse reports are filed.

Do "human rights" extend to pixel people? I think that's debatable.

AzizaRomana · August 29, 2013

Do "human rights" extend to pixel people? I think that's debatable.

I would think as we are a full grown community in SL, as which is stated by LL, everybody is so high about abuse and harassment towards others, we all think we are humans when we press the keys and SL by means of LL is happy enough to cash Lindens for land, uploading items and many many more items I can bring forth here, I think.. but hey maybe I am wrong here that human rights.. all daily normal rights as stated and valid in the world on the other side of the screen could be applicable..probably..

AzizaRomana · August 29, 2013

To all people that DO feel abused and harassed by others in SL and really want LL to act about it, I will try to set up a booth for you on my land to gather all information openly.

Most of us just pull up their shoulders, but when we dont try something we have no change upfront at all.

Im me inworld under AzizaRomana Resident

Perrie Juran · August 29, 2013

You really need to think this through again.

First of all you seem to think that Linden Lab has never thought any of what you had to say. If you hadn't, may I suggest that you read the Community Standards: http://secondlife.com/corporate/cs.php

Secondly, you are expecting a level of service that simply isn't possible. We out number them (Linden Lab) a Million to One. Just how many people do you think Linden Lab would have to employ to give the One on One kind of attention to all the Residents that you are calling for? And how will Linden Lab pay for them?

Now, I will agree with you that their are Abuser's who should be sanctioned and it appears that they aren't. But one of the reasons for that is Linden Lab is having to sort through so many "cry baby" Abuse Reports it hinders them from dealing with the more serious issues.

It is probably a good thing that Linden Lab doesn't tell people the results of their investigation. Because many times the response to the person reporting the abuse would really be, "You need to grow up." And I would not be surprised if that really would be the majority of the time.

Yes there are Serious things Linden Lab needs to deal with but some of the things people complain about are in the category of the ridiculous.

Coby Foden · August 29, 2013

Iyoba Tarantal wrote:

~~Linden Labs~~

did nothing...

Hey!

The company is:

http://lindenlab.com/

:matte-motes-yawn: :smileywink:

Griffin Ceawlin · August 29, 2013

AzizaRomana wrote:

To all people that DO feel abused and harassed by others in SL and really want LL to act about it, I will try to set up a booth for you on my land to gather all information openly.

Why not have a whole sim devoted to it? I suggest naming it "Grudge City".

AzizaRomana · August 29, 2013

Love the Idea )

Amethyst Jetaime · August 29, 2013

LL is not responsible for how other residents behave, which is made clear in the TOS which you must agree to in order to use SL. Most of these cases are about resident to resident disputes and LL will not involve themselves in them unless they see behavior that rises to the level of a violation of the TOS, such as a serious threat to your RL, true griefing that threatens the stability of a sim or the grid, or theft of identity or L's through hacking into your account etc.. This is how it should be IMO.

We are all adults (or older teens) who presumably know how to handle bullies without running to mom for help. I have no idea what your situation is but there are very few situations where ignore, block/mute, eject, ban, tp out etc.doesn't work. You can even permanently derender the avatar of the person bothering you if you have Firestorm so you won't even see them. This person can only harass you if you let them. Don't accept anything from them, don't talk to them, don't go where they can find you. Not reacting at all or being available is the best thing you can do as these people do this for attention. If they get no attention they will eventually get bored and leave you alone.

If you really do have a problem and have to submit an AR do it right or your AR will not be acted on. State your problem clearly, without whining, include the specific date, SL time, and location, note which specific provision of the TOS the person is violating and provide proof in the form of pictures, chat logs etc.

As far as residents screaming in despair, changing last names to milkcow, and your other suggestions, that's just all drama on your part. Most residents rarely have a problem. I've been here 7 years and haven't had one that I haven't been able to quickly resolve and dispose of myself nor have any of my friends. I do know that drama attracts drama. So examine your own behavior, who you hang with and where you go in SL as these may be the root cause of why you are having problems,

AzizaRomana · August 29, 2013

Good to see that people assume so much without knowing what is going on. Having your answer here like that really doesnt make any sense and is of no help. It will only cause LL to act less and less and hide behind your skirts.

Just as much as you are not aware what is going here I dont either from your side and I will refrain from posting things like: , if you have no problem it is probably not much of a life ..

I can tell you, I am well aware of the problem whats going on and why I put down this thread here.

Now going back and forth demeaning eachother is not a solution either, so I dont rewrite my words, I just apologize for them.

Right now I am reaching out to people who need help with their complaints (read my words correctly), real complaints to offer them a way of trying to do something else than just loose the report in fastness of the SL grid.

Anyone can IM me inworld and I will set up a booth with complaints.

Perrie Juran · August 29, 2013

AzizaRomana wrote:

Good to see that people assume so much without knowing what is going on. Having your answer here like that really doesnt make any sense and is of no help. It will only cause LL to act less and less and hide behind your skirts.

Just as much as you are not aware what is going here I dont either from your side and I will refrain from posting things like: , if you have no problem it is probably not much of a life ..

I can tell you, I am well aware of the problem whats going on and why I put down this thread here.

Now going back and forth demeaning eachother is not a solution either, so I dont rewrite my words, I just apologize for them.

Right now I am reaching out to people who need help with their complaints (read my words correctly), real complaints to offer them a way of trying to do something else than just loose the report in fastness of the SL grid.

Anyone can IM me inworld and I will set up a booth with complaints.

OMFG you have got to be kidding me.

First off, NO ONE HERE CAN READ YOUR MIND. All we can do is read is what you have wrote. So it is not a matter of us assuming anything. We are simply responding to what you wrote.

Secondly, and I think I can speak for most of us who post regularly in this Forum, we are in agreement here that there are issues that Linden Lab needs to do a better job of handling. We don't let Linden Lab "hide behind our skirts." I'll let you guess where you can stick that kind of comment.

Linden Lab has given us tools for handling harassment and griefing. And when people use them, they work. The only people I have not seen them work for are people who didn't utilize them from the very start.

What ever it is that you have issues with we don't know.

But what we do know is the majority of issues we see people complain about here amount to nothing more or less than people needing to grow up.

Second Life is made up of people. And people will bring their prejudices with them into Second Life. So just like Real Life, In Second Life you are going to run into them. Do you go running to your Mother crying, "That person is prejudiced," every time you meet one? So why would it be different in Second Life? Sometimes the smarter thing really is to just get on with your life.

eta:spelling

Czari Zenovka · August 29, 2013

Coby Foden wrote:

Iyoba Tarantal wrote:

~~Linden Labs~~

did nothing...

Hey!

The company is:

http://lindenlab.com/

:matte-motes-yawn: :smileywink:

May I "borrow" that graphic? This is one of my pet peeves as well.

*Takes up her stand next to Coby*

Solar Legion · August 29, 2013

Use the tools you are given within each clientt to report harassment.
Learn how to properly file an abuse report.
Understand that Linden Lab is under no obligation to assist you with simple user to user disputes.
Understand that an avatar has no "human Rights" whatsoever.
Understand that it is up to Linden Lab to decide what the proper response for a report is.
Understand that Linden Lab is under no obligation to give you any information pertaining to a filed report.
Understand that this is how they have operated since the very beginning - nothing you do will change it.

Dresden Ceriano · August 29, 2013

I'm constantly abusing myself and so far LL hasn't lifted a finger to ~~help~~ stop me.

...Dres

KarenMichelle Lane · August 29, 2013

Dresden Ceriano wrote:

I'm constantly abusing myself and so far LL hasn't lifted a finger to

~~help~~

stop me.

...Dres

squirts some mustard on Dres's head as the alter ego bashes it over and over....

Marigold Devin · August 29, 2013

AzizaRomana wrote:

Nothing in SL is so well tucked away as the role of Linden Lab regarding harassment and abuse by fellow citizens. There is no possibility to directly talk to some one of the Lindens about it or do anything else but file an abuse report.

Even then no answer but an acknowledgement of the complaint (automatic generated ) is received. No follow up when and by whom the complaint is dealt with, and no answer of the outcome.

Residents of SL are screaming despair to the people that offer a surrounding to fellow human beings, ignoring even the basics of human rights when harassment or abuse reports are filed. It doesnt even seem to matter if the abuser admits doing it .. nothing is done, the person can continue its path of making life miserable of his/her fellow residents..

Maybe we should alter the name resident... maybe we should call all people signing in with their last name 'Milkcow' as for sure Linden Lab does know how to contact you when you owe them money... and ohh yes it is possible to do such!

It would be a good thing if here in the forums, people will state their abuse and what has been done about it by Linden Lab, so ultimately new residents will be warned what they get when they sign up and even consider spending 1 single Linden.

Call me inworld and i will set up a booth for all people that has a rightfull claim, getting together and showing what is happeing out there WILL make a difference!!!

AzizaRomana 'Milkcow' Resident

I think the abuse reporting system in world works just fine. Unfortunately people abuse it, use it willy nilly, for petty schoolyard things.

There should be no more for anyone to have to do than click the button and report the abuse, and leave the rest to Linden Lab.

I truly do not know why you are quite so emotional and trying to rally some kind of vigilante group to do what now...get together to show LL what is happening out there?

What IS happening out there where you are? I am 99.99999% sure its something you or your neighbours could be dealing with all by yourselves with the tools LL have built into the system. And while you're distracting them with petty nonsense abuse reports, they are distracted from dealing with important issues that affect the grid as a whole.

Marigold Devin · August 29, 2013

Amethyst Jetaime said:

"As far as residents screaming in despair, changing last names to milkcow, and your other suggestions, that's just all drama on your part. Most residents rarely have a problem. I've been here 7 years and haven't had one that I haven't been able to quickly resolve and dispose of myself nor have any of my friends. I do know that drama attracts drama. So examine your own behavior, who you hang with and where you go in SL as these may be the root cause of why you are having problems,"

Well put, Amethyst. I've been a resident for more than 5 years and for those occasions when an abuse report has been necessary, all have been swiftly dealt with.

Marigold Devin · August 29, 2013

Dresden Ceriano wrote:

I'm constantly abusing myself and so far LL hasn't lifted a finger to

~~help~~

stop me.

...Dres

Oh holy sh1t, I've gone and p1ssed myself. I knew the Tenalady day would come.

Coby Foden · August 29, 2013

Czari Zenovka wrote:

Coby Foden wrote:

Iyoba Tarantal wrote:

~~Linden Labs~~

did nothing...

Hey!

The company is:

http://lindenlab.com/

:matte-motes-yawn: :smileywink:

May I "borrow" that graphic? This is one of my pet peeves as well.

*Takes up her stand next to Coby*

Yes Czari. :matte-motes-big-grin: :smileywink:

Amethyst Jetaime · August 29, 2013

AzizaRomana wrote:

Good to see that people assume so much without knowing what is going on. Having your answer here like that really doesnt make any sense and is of no help. It will only cause LL to act less and less and hide behind your skirts.

Just as much as you are not aware what is going here I dont either from your side and I will refrain from posting things like: , if you have no problem it is probably not much of a life ..

I can tell you, I am well aware of the problem whats going on and why I put down this thread here.

Now going back and forth demeaning eachother is not a solution either, so I dont rewrite my words, I just apologize for them.

Right now I am reaching out to people who need help with their complaints (read my words correctly), real complaints to offer them a way of trying to do something else than just loose the report in fastness of the SL grid.

Anyone can IM me inworld and I will set up a booth with complaints.

I assumed nothing. In fact I stated that I had no idea what your situation was and gave you the best advice I could and that I know works, from my many years of experience in SL dealing with children and drama llamas. It is also true that a majority of the people that have problems with others brought it on themselves directly or indirectly for the reasons i stated, and as other posters have attested.

The fact that you took it so personally and responded the way you have and that abuse and harrassment is so prevalent in your SL, tells me you DO need to change something, be it your friends, the places you hang, or being more careful about how you interact with others.

And what is with the passive aggressive "I will refrain from posting things like: , if you have no problem it is probably not much of a life ..". saying you won't post insults then insulting me? This exactly what I am talking about when I said you need to examine your own behavior and how to interact with others. The reason I have no problem with this kind of BS is because I know what I'm talking about and swiftly deal with potential situations that arise like an adult and then just get on with my own very full SL rather than dwell on it.

Setting up a "booth" and publicly posting your grievances with other people and/or LL and encouraging other to do the same is not the adult thing to do. It will have zero effect on LL and is guaranteed to bring more harassment and abuse into your life because it will only attract the kind of people you should be avoiding.

PS: when you get your booth set up please post its location here in the forums so we all know where we should avoid going.

Paul Hexem · August 29, 2013

Amethyst Jetaime wrote: