Discussion about in-game chat filters

[Ether]

We can't make generalisations that everyone will be mature enough to handle offensive language. Parents may not approve Aion for their children if they discover everyone swearing in game. There's a good chance that those who aren't mature enough to keep swearing to a minimum will be blabbering such words every 5 minutes.

Unless there's a better way, a system that enables the chat filter to be turned off or on would be ideal. When turned on, I personally like the moderate filtering best, but different settings appeal to different people.

[plasma06]

their should be a on and off button, i like to know what people are saying and i don't care if they are saying that im a f**king rtard,By the way im not.You should be able to add words you don't like say for religion to your own filter that way every one would be happy.

[Pancak3s]

Originally Posted by Ether

Parents may not approve Aion for their children

Thats why games are rated. Dont let the rest of us suffer because some parents lets an 8 year old play a "Teen" or higher rated game.

"hey man... im eating some good g****s.... um... g****s..... G R A P E S DAMNIT!

[Necrosis]

Disclaimer: Nothing I say is intended to be offensive to any person, company, or organization. If you are offended, then I apologize but it is up to you to deal with it.

-- Reality --
A chat filter will NOT fix any of your problems; not a single one. You can sit here pretending to shield your players from reality, but it wont.

The claim is that a filter will promote friendly behavior and prevent aggressive behavior... WRONG! You can force people to use different words, you can force them to not see certain words, but this will never, and I repeat NEVER, revert verbal aggression.

-- Practical Application --

There are only two reasons for having a chat filter.

1) As a parental feature to enable so they feel more comfortable allowing their child to play.

2) As an optional feature to enable if a player wishes to consent to censor off words they do not wish to see.

-- Howto --

Now, if you want to implement a good filter system this is how to do it.

a) Chat filter must be a toggle somewhere in the options. If enabled, it should censor only the words that are in the filter list (see b) with something like asteriks, but maintain the rest of the message so that it can be read.

b) Filter list. This is the list, stored in a text file on the client machine that is nothing more than a list of all the words that are to be censored by the client. This list should already be populated with a default set of words that the user can add to and remove from.

c) The filter MUST be performed client side. The server will always recieve the string of text unaltered and will send it unaltered to the clients. It is then up to the client to censor words in the filter list. Benefit includes less processing on the server.

d) Filtering must be very well implemented. A good algorithm needs to be used so that you censor out actual words from the filter and not just parts of other words. For example: "Taking mass hits here", a poor filter will turn that sentance into "Taking mas* *** here" and I no longer understand what it says. The algorithm needs to be good enough to not filter that out. Being a programmer, I can sit here and write a paper on how you can accomplish this in a given computer language, but obviously you dont want that, I suspect you just want to make us feel like NCSoft is giving us false attention.

e) There is no one easy solution for censor bypassing, and the more you refine it the more you will start screwing up what I mentioned in 'd'. Quite frankly, if your TOS states that you are not allowed to use certain words, then you should ban players for using them. At least then you will ackgnowledge that you are enforcing your own rules, instead of ignoring the problem and trying to mask it in a pathetic grasp of keeping paying customers while trying to hide the fact they are breaking the terms of their service.

-- More Reality --

Yes I sound cold, but it's companies like yours that come up with these "solutions" to problems they create and then it causes a problem for all the innocent people. RF Online, for example, has such a bad chat filter that I could type out a normal sentance and it will not even SEND this message to the server. My job is to now retype my message differently somehow hoping the worthless filter wont hyjack my message again, and I may opt to just give up on typing the msg entirely. Alot of help that is to the community, when I cant even communicate to someone. And in my earlier example back in 'd', it can still ruin an entire sentance making it completely unknown as to what was said. Again, it does not help make a better community.

You may want to rethink your EULA, because offensive words and aggressive behavior are two different things. Just because someone uses an offensive word does not mean they are being hostile or offensive towards someone. Likewise, being aggressive does not require offensive words, and yet that is the destructive behavior that it sounds like you want to discourage. If I kill someone with a pencil, does that make all pencils a weapon that nobody should be allowed to have in public? The trick is finding the REAL problem, and then building a solution on that, and a chat filter is not addressing the problems you have presented.

[Pancak3s]

the funny this is... if they make a list in a file somewhere of offensive words and dont offer an option to turn the filter off... just delete all the words in the file ... ive done that many times in multiple games, and it makes playing so much better

edit: i totally agree... using offensive words should not be a violation of the EULA. You can say words many different ways... and no matter what you say and how you say it theres always going to be someone who thinks its offensive...

For example in RF Online i said to someone "Want some wamburgers with those Frenchcries?" I got reported and got my first strike for being "racist towards the French nationality".

Its BS really.

[Gauron]

I say a filter with an on off choice.
The filter should be like any other filter and filter out the most know curse words. There’s no point trying all those different settings just give up the universal language filter and let us choose to turn it off.
As people say the game is directed at teens and above they would of encountered all the words the filter blocks out and be able to fill in the **** in a conversation. I don’t mined having a filter on as long as it’s not like RF-online where it won’t send a message if it finds what it believes to be a curse word.
In the beta if you have multiple servers you should make it where one server has the filter in place and on serve with it off. If you end up with having only one test server and you plan to test it over say 6months do the first 3months with no filters and the rest with the filter on. That way you can see how players react to not having the filter and react to the filters.
With all filters as you know the problem is the parameters. In some instances it very hard to carry on a conversation, explain something or give instructions when were constantly fighting with the filters parameters.

Either way you decide to do it just make sure there’s an on off choice and it’s printed in big bold letters on the instruction manual letting people know they have a choice so they don’t moan.

[Exode]

There should be a Full on, and None what so ever, and if you have your chat filter off and they do too, people should not be able to get in troubble for it, but for bypassing a filtered system with profanity, the violater should get some punishment.

[Empyreal Rhapsody]

I would find a game nigh-on unplayable if there was no option to turn a chat filter off x_x

[SilverNight]

I've always liked the /filter on; /filter off option. I myself prefer no filter, I absolutely hate seeing stars and have almost never ran into anyone using profanity overly much. Also, for those that do something that has always been great is an in-game black/ignore-list. Very usefull for those that do take it too far.

[Iven]

I prefer a filter with an on off option and two levels of filtration.

[Angules]

Originally Posted by CrazySteveo

Aggressive filter by default with the option of turning it off.

enough said.

Agree with this Just Make it on and if the user wanna disable it then up to them

[gr4vity]

I wouldnt want any chat filters, or at least an option to on/off it.

[DKShadow]

A chat filter kills a game if it's filtering too many words. In Lineage II for example, you cannot even write "Bastard Sword", which is a damn weapon in the game. Kinda strange filtering words you chose to use yourself, isnt it

Chat filter shouldnt be agressive, if even present. If people cannot handle the words sometimes being said on the internet, they either need to grow up or go do something else. It'd be like putting people in jail for talking smack on the street - There's freedom of speech afterall. Ban people when they are being offensive and racist on PURPOSE, but not otherwise.

I say no chat filter!

[Aseenus]

the best way is to have an option..

like in WoW you can have it on so that no swear words go through and show up as **** stars or you can have the option to turn it off so that you can see all profanity!

NOTE!!!
Make sure that swearing in game is not an offense, if people don't like profanity tell them to turn on the filter and if they don't mind it then tell then to take it off! it sickens me how in WoW the profanity filter is there but you can take it off yet when you swear at someone they report you to blizzard or swearing.. why then is there an option to turn it on/off ?

It doesn't matter who it is, one day every single person is going to swear in an MMO its just the way the cookie crumbles, one day everything could be working perfectly fine then boom someone does something so stupid that you get really frustrated. Some people swear way too much thats why the profanity filter should be there, also some people are young so thats also another reason, just make sure that Using profanity in game can not be reported or else there would be no reason for the filter to be turned on and off!

[Anuxinamoon]

lol how about a curse counter. you can only say 10 obscene words a day, after that you get it sensored. at each increment you get a more severe censoring.

I would prefer a severe filter on by default and the option to turn it off. Similar to guildwars. My partner was over the moon when he found the chat filter: Off button.