Redeem your 
Ms. Netiquette,
I have a question that I am sure is asked by plenty of people about Pogo’s policy on banning names in rooms. Why is it that certain people can break rules right and left, continually harass and make fun of people, make rude comments and generally do nothing but be an all-around pain YET when someone says any comment back to them, they are the ones that end up getting banned?
Seems like whoever does the banning doesn’t read all that goes on in the chats and only sees certain things and not the reasons WHY people get upset at others and say things back to them.
If Pogo actually reads the chat it seems like they would notice a trend of who gets reported and notice that in a room there are plenty of people reporting the same person yet it doesn’t seem to matter, that person sends in a report saying everyone is harassing them and Pogo starts banning others when Pogo SHOULD ban the person that starts all of the stuff in the first place.
One evening this last week , I personally submitted 17 reports on one guy for stalking, harassing, impersonating my name with a name almost like mine yet NOTHING was done.
It seems to me all Pogo cares about is collecting money from club members and the heck with anyone that wants to come in Pogo, talk with friends and relax without having to put up with stalkers, perverts, back-stabbing liars and people that come in rooms just to cause problems with others.
Whatever happened to Pogo being able to ban ISP’s? Or guides that come in and monitor the chat without being seen so they can see what all that goes on?
Unhappy Player that is MAD
| Dear Unhappy Player that is MAD,Well, your name certainly fits your letter! I will grant you that! And while at first glance your letter does appear to be the sort of angry rant I would normally skip, you do pose many, many questions that bear some clarification. So, having just poured myself a nice spot of tea and placed a couple of shortbread cookies in a plate by my side, I am fully armed to take on your questions one by one!
First you ask why some people get away with all sorts of abuse, while people responding to that abuse are the ones who get banned. It’s not a simple question, as every situation is different. However, it is most often the case that the suspended player’s response to the abuse contained a Terms of Service violation. Abusers are tricky, and they learn the system and do what they can to work within that system. Many abusers will skim the Terms of Service, or use multiple accounts, or play all sorts of games to get other players upset. They are hoping that someone will say something that is a TOS violation, and then they will take that opportunity to use the Report Abuse feature. What is one to do? As difficult as it is to practice, the answer is simple: do not break the Terms of Service. Next you raise the issue of multiple reports made against a single abusive player and why that might be ignored. While every Abuse Report is reviewed, it can take time before action is taken. Keep in mind that we have literally thousands and thousands of game rooms on Pogo, and several hundred thousand players online at any given time. Managing the Abuse Reports is no simple feat and requires a fully dedicated team of individuals who may have four abuse reports in their queue at one moment and 42 in the next. These reports come from all over Pogo, and the representatives really do not have time to investigate each and every situation fully. Thus, they specifically look for Terms of Service violations and they act upon those. Now on to your next issue! You personally submitted 17 reports and felt that nothing was done. Believe it or not, we only want and need one report from you. Multiple reports from a single player from a certain room are marked as duplicates and not reviewed unless there is a significant period of time between them. If the report you sent contained actual Terms of Service violations, then something should have been done. If the abuser has created a screen name spoofing your own, then their account should have been canceled by our team. If you’re certain that your report contained such things and that the spoofed account still exists, then your best bet is to contact our Customer Support department and discuss the situation. Please note that when you report someone, we will not tell you what action we took against the person you reported. Your next sentence appears to be said out of anger. The team here is dedicated to creating the best casual game destination on the Internet. We certainly do not want our players to have to put up with abuse, and that’s why we do provide you with the mute, friends list and report abuse features so that you may have more control over your experience. Regarding your final two questions: the banning of ISP numbers is generally ineffective, as abusers are most often able to obtain new ISP numbers in less than two minutes. We have a dedicated staff of representatives who do monitor the abuse reports. Now let me impart upon you some words of advice. If you chat online you will no doubt face abusive people. You can let them have power over your experience, or you can recognize that you have the power over them. They are looking for one thing, and one thing only: attention. When they receive attention, it encourages them to continue. If they receive nothing, they are powerless. Mute them, report them, turn off chat, find another room, or start up a private chat with a friend. Do what you have to do, but do not give them the satisfaction of a response. |
Ms. Netiquette,
First of all, I want to thank you for listing all the letter language that saves us time while we play the games. I have short term memory and don’t always remember the letters, so I copy and pasted and now I have them taped by my computer while I play one of my favorite loves, Pogo games.
Here comes the but…. upon entering any game room first thing that appears in chat is: “best place to meet people and have fun!” (at least that’s what I remember). I was so taken aback today. It is not the first time. Everyone was putting their scores up on the challenge we were working on. Everyone was saying “wtg,” “gj,” “right on” etc… I was almost done with 3777/4000. So I decided to put mine up.
Not one person even acted like I was there until about 10 minutes later. Then one said wtg. I let this person know I appreciated it.
Please let the people out there know that some of us are seniors, we have little contact with the outside world due to health issues and a little acceptance makes our day. We do not want attention, we just want someone to acknowledge we are there and in doing so, perhaps we could make a friend. This saddened me and I could not enjoy my victory. Just by saying “Hi” at the beggining of a game or “wtg” or “gj” which only takes a second or two, you could be making someones day!
Nevertheless, I will continue to reach out to others and enjoy playing Pogo games.
Thank you,
Appreciates Pleasantries
| Dear Appreciates Pleasantries,It is unfortunate that you felt snubbed during a challenge. However, you must learn not to take these sort of things personally. It’s likely that when you put up your status, the others were so involved with the game they did not even see that you had stated something. This is a game environment and people do become engrossed in the game that they are playing so much so that they forget about the chat element. So, if they say “wtg” then be thankful, and if they don’t, assume that they just didn’t see your message.
That all said, it is an act of kindness to encourage and congratulate players on their progress. While it’s not required, it certainly is a nicety that is simple to do, and as Appreciates Pleasantries has pointed out, it can really make someone’s day. |
Dear Ms. Netiquette,
You know you touch on every issue, but I’ve never seen you discuss this.
I’m concerned about people giving out too much information to someone they don’t know.
I’ve seen young people do it all the time, and I was in a room with a teenage member when this happened. Fortunately I know her mom too, so I was able to alert her mom that she gave her HOME PHONE in a chat room!
Her mom has caught her giving her address out to older guys.
While it’s great that Pogo allows us to talk to people all over the world and connect us with others of similar interests, kids need to be alerted to the dangers of giving personal information on the net. It takes only two pieces of information to find anyone, and the stories I read on the news all the time are devastating.
Please alert the young community of Pogo players that not everyone, as nice as he or she may ‘seem,’ is always honest and as nice as he or she seems.
The Majority of the people are very honest and trustworthy, but there’s always the few that aren’t.
M.
| Dear M,I could not have said it better myself. Thank you for sending this valuable reminder to parents and to those who have children using their computers. |
