World of Warcraft scans your chats in real time – and offensive messages will be filtered. Censorship or a really good feature?
The next update of World of Warcraft is already available on the PTR. The Patch 10.1.7 Fury Incarnate not only brings new content for Night Elves and Undead but also some comfort features. Blizzard wants to moderate the chat between players in real time – toxic messages should be automatically filtered out.
How will this work? With Patch 10.1.7, the chat in World of Warcraft will be moderated in real time. This means that if the game detects that a message contains offensive words, the filter will act automatically.
If the game detects a potentially toxic message, it will immediately be hidden and you will be presented with an option to display the message if desired.
If you still want to see the message, the “Report Player” option will immediately be displayed below, allowing you to report the message and the corresponding character right away.
By the way, the system is only active for characters that are not on your friends list. Chat messages from friends are generally not filtered.
What does reporting bring? The reporting system in World of Warcraft is controversial. Although Blizzard has not confirmed this, parts of the sanctions seem to be processed automatically. This has caused problems in the past. A “crafting cartel” simply silenced unwanted players by repeatedly reporting them to eliminate competition.
Currently, players in WoW are struggling with the new mega dungeon:
What does the new system bring? The new feature is likely to protect players who simply do not want to come into contact with toxic messages. At the same time, it also makes it easier to report the respective offenders directly, as this option is displayed much more prominently rather than appearing only via a right-click on the name.
It is, therefore, another step towards making World of Warcraft a friendlier environment.
Is the feature mandatory? No. If you do not wish for messages to be filtered, you can simply disable that in the options. All messages will then be allowed through to you. You will, of course, still have the option to report an offensive message.
What do you think of this innovation? A good thing to reduce toxic comments? Or does it do nothing at all?
