Policy

I have questions about abuse reports and how they are handled. Does LL have a set procedure on how they are handled? If so could you give a little overview?

I don't intend on breaking the TOS but sometimes people are falsely reported. I want to know how this important procedure should go, in case I ever need it.

So, you get a notice of when you have been reported? What do these notices contain? I have heard that in many cases people are unsure of exactly how they were supposed to have broken the TOS. Will the notice be clear and specific? If not how do I make a reply?

Then you can send your input to the [email]abuse-manager@lindenlab.com[/email]? Then LL investigates? Then the abuse-manager lets you know any results?

or do you get the consequences right away as if you were quilty (which I could understand... some behavior has to be stopped right away) then have to clear it up with the abuse manager to get any reports or consequences removed?

Many people claim they get no reply from the abuse manager. Is there always a reply and if not why? How long should I should I expect a reply to take? If there is not always a reply, is there any way to check my record and make sure a false report is removed? Is there any consequences for someone who fills out an obviously false abuse report?

Thank you for helping me to understand all this.

Whimsycallie, got your email and now I'm here! Whee.

Alright, I'll explain about how it works, and answer your questions in point form:


* Abuse reports are sent by using Help > Report Abuse. A dialog comes up with instructions. From there, they go directly into the abuse queue, which is investigated by our Abuse Team. We've made great moves lately to improve the reporting tool, and in a recent version of Second Life--and in response to much Resident demand--we added extra categories and made it clearer to understand how to use it.

* If you get reported, no, you don't get a notice. You receive a notice of disciplinary action if you're found to be doing something in violation of the Community Standards, but it does *not* show the name of the reporter, if any.

While I haven't examined many abuse reports personally, I've seen some that were very clear, such as "Wearing giant penis attachment in PG area.", as shown in the Police Blotter: http://secondlife.com/community/blotter.php (which doesn't show *all* disciplinary actions, as I explained earlier). Can't get much more clear than that. However, in some cases, yes, more clarification is needed, and I've shared suggestions from Residents with my fellow Lindens on how to make that better. After all, it helps to know what you did. (That doesn't stop some people from feigning knowledge, even if a Linden Liaison saw them griefing in the act, for example!)

* A notice of disciplinary action contains general info, mention of the specific offense, the time you'll be disciplined for, as well as--when applicable--notes applicable to your case.

* If you're earnestly sure there was a mistake made, and have proof your discipline is unjustified, yes, [email=abuse-manager@secondlife.com]abuse-manager@secondlife.com[/email] or [email=abuse@lindenlab.com]abuse@lindenlab.com[/email] (leads to the same place) with specific details why, as much evidence as you can show to demonstrate your appeal, and why.

You shouldn't expect a reply *unless* your appeal is successful, which happens rarely. It's not uncommon for some people with their side of the story to write in angrily without evidence-in-hand (aka "UNBANN ME NOW!", and not surprisingly, they aren't replied to. This is consistent with our policy of not investigating incomplete abuse reports.

* False reports get removed from the queue, they're absolutely *not* kept on your record, because they're... false! Overall, you shouldn't be worried if there's no proof to substantiate it, hearsay and rumors aren't considered. Sending many false abuse reports may be grounds for disciplinary action--because that'd be spamming!

* I'm informed by the Abuse Team that reports can take up to 2 weeks to resolve right now, which we all know is really long. We, without a question, want to cut that time down and improve responsiveness in the future as we continue to scale. The ameliorated Abuse Reporter is one step towards that because it (1) cuts down on false reports and (2) categorizes things better, helping us to be organized.


So feel free to show this to anyone who's curious, and I hope it's helped increase your understanding about our policy behind abuse reports.