[Global] Death Threats

[TeamTyler]

Alright, so there's something I'm sick of. Death threats. Death threats can have a serious impact on the life of another human being. Being told to kill yourself isn't nice, people actually kill themselves because of this. Depression and suicide suck, we all know that.

If you are one of those players who call out others for being bothered by death threats because it's Minecraft, then I would like to ask you to take a good look at yourself. Has anything happened in the game or in the forums that you disagreed with? That you may have felt anger or were annoyed? What about balancing changes, or content additions. Did you ever feel that these changes were wrong, or should be different?
Maybe you'll say that you don't care because "it's the internet/it's just a game/etc". How come one of the leading internet movements is to prevent harassment and cyberbullying? And how come that cyberbullying and digital harassment is illegal in the majority of US states and EU countries? As people commit suicide over harassment?
You may also think "If you're killing yourself over an online game, you shouldn't be playing it", well congratulations, that's just disgusting. That's like saying "If you're killing yourself over your life, you shouldn't be living it!" Irony? Clearly.

Alright, we all know the impact of death threats. Death threats are considered harassment here, right? Wrong. If you're going to stoop that low and tell someone to take their life away, you should be off the server/out of the area. I'm suggesting that death threats are a much harsher punishment. Harassment to other users is normally a /kick or a /mute. Occasionally a /ban if it's extreme. I think the appropriate punishment would be one of the following on the poll. These were just ideas from friends and other users. Vote for the one you feel is most appropriate.

Also, stop using "It's just a game/It's the internet/etc" as an excuse. Yes it's a game, yes it's the internet, but it's still wrong to do so.

I'm suggesting to make death threats a harsher punishment than normal harassment.

 

[MyMixtapeOnFire]

I believe it should be punishable, but just like many other offenses, people mean things in very very very different contexts, and certain people perceive things differently. If me and a buddy were having fun, and I said something dumb, and he said "kill yourself", someone may take offense to that even though he meant nothing by it.

It's unfortunately a by-product of the not-so-great humor and community of the internet in itself. It's quite frustrating to see, and I completely agree with your post in most senses. But one thing I completely cannot agree with in your post is the "it's just a game." Because, well, it is. At the end of the day, if you are not mentally stable enough to realize what someone over a game tells you to do, playfully or not, should not actually influence your decisions, then I don't think you should be playing it. I understand some people, especially younger, are easily influenced, and we should make this a safer-haven for them, but I feel as if making this more strict on some servers (such as our no-swear zones on skyblock and islands) would work perfectly.

Thank you for bringing this to the attention of the staff members and community.

 

[TeamTyler]

ut one thing I completely cannot agree with in your post is the "it's just a game." Because, well, it is. At the end of the day, if you are not mentally stable enough to realize what someone over a game tells you to do, playfully or not, should not actually influence your decisions, then I don't think you should be playing it.

I am aware that at the end of the day it IS just a game, but I don't feel it's a reason to give death threats and be rude. Then again, welcome to the internet for me I guess lmao
Thanks for your friendly response!

 

[ChocBar]

First, the difference between harassment and bullying must be agreed on. I think if people would quit calling one incident of someone typing kys bullying, it would be easier to have an productive conversation on the topic. People are quick to label any rude behavior as bullying.

IMO harassment is being annoying, using unwanted pressure or intimidation etc.
IMO bullying is REPEATED and PERSISTENT aggressive behavior towards a person.

The current punishment path for both chat violations is a mute. If a player evades the mute or the mute does not stop the behavior (for example, continuing in party chat) a temporary ban may be given.

Under the current system, harassment is what is most often seen in MineVast and is treated as a chat violation. It begins with a 30 minute mute and the length of the mutes is progressively increased until a perm mute is earned.

Cases of TRUE bullying are handled on a case by case basis and can easily earn a perm mute or perm ban.

Let's face it, the majority of players are dealing with personal issues. Many are depressed or facing bullying in real life. MineVast should be a place where they can be free of harassment and bullying and be able to enjoy themselves. If people are going to "joke" about killing each other, or telling others to kill themselves it needs to be kept out of MineVast public chat. If it is truly joking between friends, these jokes can be made in Skype, Discord, plot chat, party chat, or any number of places. But it has NO place in MineVast public chat, whether you are friends or not.

No one wants bullying on MIneVast and I personally will not tolerate it. I have given many perm mutes and some perm bans for true bullying. Staff are expected to bring any known incidents of bullying to my attention so I can deal with them swiftly.

 

[JuanitoG]

Staff please delete this post that I made..

 

[ChloeMonster]

I am not a fan of these new phrases such as kys and kms either. But sometimes its hard to tell whether the person is joking around with friends, or they are making an actual death threat. Since this is the case it is harder to determine what is happening in the situation. If someone reports a death threat though I am sure staff will be right on it to make sure either person gets the punishment staff sees fit.

 

[Its_Kat]

I am not a fan of these new phrases such as kks and kms either. But sometimes its hard to tell whether the person is joking around with friends, or they are making an actual death threat. Since this is the case it is harder to determine what is happening in the situation. If someone reports a death threat though I am sure staff will be right on it to make sure either person gets the punishment staff sees fit.

I agree It's not always the easiest to tell what's real and what's joking around. Personally I think the phrase Kys is stupid and just a new way of saying I'm mad at you for whatever. If a player is seriously going out of their way to say cruel phrases like these to another player repeatedly, they will be punished.

 

[PolarisStar]

I completely agree with you, TeamTyler. Harassment is very selfish and it actually does cost hundreds of thousands of deaths a YEAR. And some people might think (like you said) "oh its just a game" but some players do take it seriously, and what you might not know is if that player who you are harassing might already be in depression, they just don't like to show it (who does?). Now I'm going to say to ye people who have been harassed through a game: these people who harass you, don't listen to them! If they say something to you, don't every take is seriously! Even if it looks very much so like the person is serious!