griefing

Im new to SL and have been reading many of the posts here. They are very helpful but I keep seeing comments about "griefers/griefing". I can see they are bad but what do you have to do to become a griefer (so I can avoid becoming one by accident!).

Well I just read Ajax's thread and Seola's response so I guess I now know. Thanks. I look forward to meeting a ton of you guys out there!!!

Don't harass other people with words, actions or objects. Don't create malicious scripts. Don't accept things from people you don't know and release them into the world to replicate. Just generally be aware that there are people out there with malicious intent and stick to the people you know or seem trustworthy..like people with ligitimate businesses and reputation.

Personally I think its really hard to "accidentally" be a griefer. It may happen sometimes with "ojbects" being given to the unsavy newbie but is usually cleared up by looking at the "creator" of the object rather than the owner.

Sooo, unless you purposley make a script that is intended to replicate and crash the grid, harass people needlessly or shoot/bomb people (this can happen by accident by accepting something that is called "bomb" or "tool of mass destruction" from your freebie box you got at some club etc).

Best bet, if you're unsure, ask someone. If you don't know what that object does in your inventory, get rid of it. Seeing you don't know what it is, it can't be all that important to you. If you think "bomb" means something sweet and innocent, go ahead and drop it, but don't claim innocence when its named "weapon of mass destruction"

A griefer is someone who derives pleasure from ruining the good times of as many other people as possible by whatever means are available. On the low end of the griefer scale are people who inhibit movement and such, on the high end are technically sophisticated people like the ones who brought down the whole game the other day.

The best way to avoid being a griefer is to apply the golden rule. Prior to taking any action ask yourself "would I want someone to do this to me?". If the answer is no and you do it anyway, you're on the road to griefer status.

I think that the fact you even asked this question is a sign that you're pretty unlikely to become a griefer.

The basic definition might be that a griefer is one who is attempting to impede the Second Life experiences of others.

For example, they might follow you around, verbally harassing you. They might throw objects at you. They might attempt to publish information about you in the game. Or they might take actions that cause the whole system to slow down or crash (which impedes everyone). It's hard to list everything people can do that's unacceptable in the game. It doesn't mean everyone who insults you is guilty of griefing, it's a matter of degree.

The TOS explains everything in detail, but a good rule of thumb is if someone asks to be left alone, you probably should. There is no rule of any kind that forces you to "do" anything in -game, if someone tries to tell you that as well. If you feel harassed, you can leave the area, you can file an Abuse Report via the Help menu, or contact Live Help.

One thing to note is it's not ok everywhere in SL to shoot people - usually there are signs or notices telling you if it's ok to use weapons or not. If you search for "Combat", you can find places you can fire weapons.

I would have given that resource if this was a fantasy type MMO, but since this is SL, it's not really possible to kill steal, team kill or ninja loot.

Thanks everyone. So far the people here have been very helpful. I definitely do not want to get that label. I'm looking forward to the site getting back up so I can try out some of the new ideas I've learned here. (and maybe meeting a few of you!)

Its simple ... go to any sandbox in SL ..stand in one spot for 30 seconds.. you will be caged or set on fire .... right click on the cage and look at the profile of the owner of the cage , Get out of the cage by clicking the roof and selecting " site here " then follow the owner and watch him/her ( mostly him's )... TADDA ! thats a greifer and thats what you want to avoid being

Be a decent person, a productive member of this whacky little society, and you'll probably turn out ok.

You've probably nothing to worry about if

1) you don't live in your parents basement.

2)you have had, or at least can have, a boyfriend, girlfriend, or any kind of friend.

3)you're sense of humor is too developed to find fart jokes highbrow comedy


Anyone else want to add to the list?

and to conclude, you don't have to be a nice person to be a non griefer, some peoples have tendencies to extrapolate griefing to general little disturbances