Trolls and You: How to handle trolls in STO

Drozana regular Robas has written and sent a fantastic guide to RPers and general STO players who have experienced trolling and need help and people who are new and dont know how to deal with Starfleet Dental. 

Its really good and I read it and learned a lot and I will use some info about this to help myself in the future against the trolls because as you can believe they troll me all the time because I have this blog but someone has to do it and if it is me than so be it also I have a lot of free time to write it. 

QUOTE:

Greetings,

I have written a report (below - copy as much of the report as you like into your blog and you can credit me *Robas Zkali* as the writer).

PROTECT YOURSELF FROM THE TROLLS

Greetings players.  First, I would like to give a shout out to the Devs and those that work hard to keep this game alive.  I am pleased to have a decent game that is set in the Star Trek Universe.  I have always been a trekkie and love having a platform where I can dive into the Star Trek Universe AND get to know other people and develop friendships with those people.

Unfortunately, as with most other MMORPG's, there are certain groups of players that take it upon themselves to "police" the game(s) and attempt to make other peoples gaming experiences less enjoyable.  I am not going to sit here and say why they do it as I honestly don't know.  Also, I am not going to point fingers at any specific group within STO as there are many individuals that are like this.

To begin this report, I want to point out that I am NOT perfect in any means.  There have been times that I have found myself trolling others.  This is unacceptable behavior as when a player trolls, they are seeking their own enjoyment at the expense of another person.  As a regular game player it is not our place to point out someone else's conduct that we do not agree with.  If any of those few players I have offended read this, I want you to know that I appologize and seek your forgiveness.

Now - to the "meat and potatoes" of this guide.  How do we protect ourselves from being trolled or griefed?  Quite simply, you can't.  Someone that is trolling you will do it reguardless of what your actions are at the time you are being trolled.  There are some options available however to help.

THEY DANCE ON ME AND DOUSE ME WITH THE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS

This is the main tactic that a troll with use.  You can view this as they are "fishing".  By doing the action(s), they are baiting a hook and throwing it in front of you to see if you bite.  My advice: Do your best to ignore this behavior.  If you get all riled up and start yelling and cussing at them, then they have caught their "fish" and you are giving them ammo to reel you in.  Also, by violating STO's ToS, they can quickly send in a GM report against YOU, possibly netting you a ban or getting you silenced.  Even if it takes an hour, if you keep ignoring them, eventually something else will catch their eye and they will divert their attention away from you.

THEY CORRECT MY SPELLING MISTAKES AND CALL ME AN ERPER OR PEDAPHILE

Once again, these are fishing tactics.  You need to keep in mind that the person that is doing these things DOES NOT know you in real life.  Do your best to ignore it.  Also, feel free to report them as this is slander.

THEY KNOW INFORMATION ABOUT ME

I myself have been hacked in the past.  Recently, I had my personal ship setup/build posted in local chat and used as a method to tell me what a horrible gamer I am and try to get me to quit STO.  Unfortunately, people hack accounts.  To safeguard yourselves, be sure to update your account information via changing your passwords frequently.  Make sure in your account profile, you don't have real life information posted on you.  When you are posting on the STO forums or other online forums, refrain from posting anything that can be thrown back at you.  I am not saying to avoid anything.  Just be careful what you post.

MY FLEET WAS ROBBED OR DISBANDED!

Make sure that your fleets leader(s) are setting up appropriate safeguards to ensure that this does not happen to you.  As a leader of a guild/fleet, you can set options that restrict your members from making large withdrawls from the bank, promoting and demoting, changing fleet information, and more.  ONLY promote members into the higher ranks that have earned your trust.  NEVER promote someone to a high rank within your fleet right after they join because they tell you something that is "to good to be true".

With all this being said, the only thing that can ultimately protect you from a troll is YOU.  NEVER post something in any form of local chat *including fleet chat* that can be used against you later.  I do not condone role playing in a "sexual" nature but it you do, make sure you are using proper private channels.  Also, DO NOT instigate any questionable role play behavior with someone you do not know.  Another thing to keep in mind is that the games GM's or DEV's can monitor all private channels at any time.  By creating your account, you are agreeing to this fact.  *This can be found in the games Terms of Service*.

Thanks for taking the time to review this.  If anyone has questions or wants to chat, you can always contact me in-game via /tell using @chadhughes14.  My toons are Robas , Syan, and Kyr.