WatchKeeper Harassment
One of the ongoing problems of WatchKeepers is the tendency of visitors to AWNewbie, tourists and citizens alike, to start picking fights with WKs. So far, there haven't been too many guidelines on this issue and how WKs deal with it varies from WK to WK. Even with me, whether or not the troublemaker gets booted really depends on how patient I am at the time. What I hope to accomplish with this page is a discussion (as opposed to the guidelines) on what WK harassment is and isn't, what you really ought to do and how you ought to go about it. It's certainly true that what happens really is up to the temperament of both the WK and the visitor at the time however if you manage to keep a level head you'll be able to weather the storm rather well. I won't say that I'm innocent - I've gotten angry at just about anyone who provokes me enough. But the idea here is to give something to refer to, some idea of how to act, so that we'll have less problems overall and a better experience for everyone.
Okay, before I begin, I'm not gonna hold back so prepare yourself for some swear words. (Like we haven't seen those before, anyway.) The first question I want to tackle is just "What is WK harassment?" It's clear that certain people will take offensive to some things, and some others won't. However, going by accepted standards in the AW environment, here are some scenarios that can be looked at as either harassment or not harassment. Names have been changed to protect the guilty :) Note that I used whisper when dealing with these situations!
"Tourist": hey Ryan
Ryan: Hi :)
"Tourist": Are you the keeper of this world?
Ryan: Yep, I'm the caretaker of this world, can I help you with something?
"Tourist": fuck you, you ejected me the other day
In the above situation I would probably go against the WK guidelines and just eject at this point without any more words said (that is, if the CA bot hasn't already done so). Not only has he said the word that many consider to extremely vulgar, but I think it's clear that a warning wouldn't be too productive. If you're more patient than I am, you might want to try whispering something. In any case, a 5 minute eject would be fine. You already know he's a troublemaker anyway from what he said about being ejected previously. (Someone came into my world and actually did this to me - then went into AWNewbie and spouted off a chain of cuss words and was promptly ejected by the CA)
Joe Citizen: Hello
Ryan: Hello Joe Citizen, how are you?
Joe Citizen: Ryan. You're doing a lousy job here, why aren't you watching the tourists?!
Ryan (to Joe Citizen): What's the problem?
Joe Citizen: You bastard, you aren't doing your job
Ryan (to Joe Citizen): I'd appreciate if you didn't use that language out loud ..if you have a problem we can discuss it in private?
Joe Citizen: this world is rated PG I can say whatever I want
Ryan (to Joe Citizen): Sorry, but that's not how it works ... can you please calm down and tell me what's making you angry?
Joe Citizen: shut the hell up Ryan
Ryan (to Joe Citizen): If you don't want to calm down, I'm going to be forced to eject you from the world ..I don't really want to do that :(
Joe Citizen: eject me you asshole
In the above case, the second line by Joe Citizen wasn't enough to warrant a warning or an ejection. I choose instead to whisper him (never have confrontations out loud!) and tried to see if I could find out what his issue was. He choose to continue his half of the conversation out loud (shortening my patience there, had he whispered he would have delayed ejection for a while and may have decided to stop). It's not uncommon for certain citizens to hold a grudge against "authority figures" like GKs, PKs, and WKs. Sometimes citizens like to enter and just challenge you so that they can complain about it later (If you are not a WK and are reading this, and you fall under this category, I strongly suggest you don't try to pick problems in AWNewbie). In this case, I don't expect any WK to have to deal with a disgruntled citizen for too long. If it was a tourist I would suggest holding out a little longer. Later on in the above example, we have the official warning. If you have to threaten ejection, at least say you don't want to (of course, it just means filling out paperwork). In Joe Citizen's last line, he decided to ask for ejection. If someone literally asks for ejection, feel free to give it to them. Asking for an ejection like this is definitely WK harassment, not to mention every line of his before that.
"Bob the Builder": stupid WK! help me!
Ryan (to "Bob the Builder"): what's wrong?
"Bob the Builder": someone is building lots of nasty signs next to my house!
Ryan (to "Bob the Builder"): okay, I'll delete those ..sorry for the wait
In the above scenario, what Bob said was more out of frustration then out of spite for anyone. I've seen this happen a few times where a tourist who feels like they're being ignored will say something like to get attention. I recommend ignoring it and not making an issue out of a comment like that. Instead, I'd focus on what is making the tourist angry to begin with and try to fix that. Usually the tourist will apologize for what she/he said. If not, well the problem is over anyway, and you didn't need to warn or eject.
Ryan: Hello everyone!
"Ryan sucks": Hi
Ryan (to "Ryan sucks"): Can you please change your name?
"Ryan sucks": why?
Ryan (to "Ryan sucks"): Well, obviously you're trying to stir things up with me. I'd appreciate it if you would please change your name.
"Ryan sucks": What if I don't?
Ryan (to "Ryan sucks"): Well I can't force you to change your name however if you choose not to change it you will be removed from the world :( And why go through that over something like this?
"Ryan sucks": fine
"Guy": better?
Ryan (to "Guy"): yep, thanks :)
In the above situation I managed to convince the tourist to change their name. Using a WK name in an offensive manner is WK harassment. This scenario shouldn't be too different if the tourist had "<insert tourist name here> sucks." It doesn't make too much difference, it's still not appropriate for the public environment of AWNewbie. Even if someone does change name, they are still a potential troublemaker. Watch out!
Ryan: Hello AWNewbie! :)
"Blah": I hate you
Ryan (to "Blah"): Is something wrong?
"Blah": I don't like you
Ryan (to "Blah"): Sorry to hear that.
"Blah": you are a fucking asshole
Ryan (to "Blah"): Please don't whisper me things like that
"Blah": wutever asshole
"Blah": you suck
"Blah": im sick of ur shit
"Blah": r u listening to me????
"Blah": say something
"Blah": fuck you
Ryan (to "Blah"): I'm not going to ask again ..please stop whispering me or I'm going to eject you
"Blah": no, fuck you asshole
Okay, time to analyze this one. Here the troublemaker decided to harass by whisper. I decided at the end to just ignore him and hope it stops. That didn't happen. So I gave a warning however my warning was inappropriately phrased there. What I should have said was "What you are doing is considered harassment, I can you remove from the world if you do not stop, so please stop whispering me." Had he gone on then, you should have ejected. WKs do not need to sit there and just take abuse for the entire time they're on duty.
Joe Citizen: why did you eject me?
Ryan (to Joe Citizen): Hi, I'm sorry but I can't really get into a discussion right now about ejects ...if you feel like the eject was wrong, you can use the form at http://awcommunity.org/awnewbie/unfaireject.htm to report it
Joe Citizen: no, I want to know NOW
Ryan (to Joe Citizen): I'm sorry, but it's not a good idea for me to discuss ejects while on duty ..after I get off duty I will be happy to talk to you about it
Joe Citizen: no, you shithead, I want to know now
Ryan (to Joe Citizen): First, please don't use language like that in AWNewbie, and second, you will have to be patient if you want me to talk to you about this
Joe Citizen: damn WK
Joe Citizen: go ahead eject me again
Joe Citizen: I'll call AWI and report you
This is a very common occurrence. Often, someone who has ejected will return - this time with an even bigger gripe. If they want to know about their eject, refer them to the unfair eject form. Do not argue with visitors about ejects! On-duty time is not the time to discuss ejecting rules, and it's just going to cause a disturbance. Also, if someone threatens to report you to AWI or to me or to whoever, you do not need to worry if you have followed the WK guidelines and procedures. Keep in mind, I do not expect perfection, but you do need to know how to handle these types of situations :)
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