What Would You Do?

[Captain Del]

I'm sure you've all seen at one time or another ABC's show What Would You Do?, where they create situations using actors in public places, to see how people respond. I decided a few months ago to try and experiment within POTCO, and then publish the results in my blog - but I decided to bring it to another level today.

Unlike last time, I decided to use other actors this time (portrayed by my very own Partners) in order to spruce things up a bit. These four pirates would go and mock an innocent, basic, level 1 pirate - vulnerable to online bullies in any way possible. This player would be played by myself. And the scene of this conflict, took place in various parts of the Caribbean, all where bystanders went about their business. Now, who would step in?

Our first spot was Tortuga, Antik, populated with around ten pirates just standing around, chatting. The group made fun of my pirate's chat options, pirate, name, and so forth.



In the 10 minutes we spent there, and the five times I pleaded them to stop, nobody stepped in.

We then turned our attention to a more populated location - Tortuga, Andaba. Because my partners were uncomfortable being mean, two of us switched roles - Crestshot now played the role as victim, and I played one of the aggressives. We viciously tore Crest apart, but just when it seemed nobody would step in, one lone person did.



I didn't get many screenshots, because I was amazed by this pirate's actions. He not only confronted us, but he explained to us how it is a responsibility that we teach the newer pirates in the game how to play, instead of mocking them. He defended our victim sternly, not even giving in to classic bullying techniques that not many people know how to combat.

When we revealed that this was all an experiment, we were even more stunned by his humbleness. The pirate purposely asked us that we not show his name in this post, as he doesn't like the attention. We ended up having a long conversation about online bullying, with him concluding, "It's a shame not many pirates stand up."

Thousands of people every day are confronted with cyber bullies - even the smallest of conflicts can often lead to somebody undergoing emotional distress, regardless of that person's intent. Today, we have seen that not all hope is lost, when it comes up to standing up to in-game griefing.

I plan to keep up with this experiment for a while now, to help bring all of us to the realization that bullying and griefing in this game is as much of a problem as anywhere else. And, I leave you with this question - if you were standing by, watching us dig in to this innocent player - what would you do?

*Specific screenshots have been left out or edited to protect the identities of the subjects in our experiment.

[titanic95594]

Wow Del! That was a smart experiment! I applauad to the pirate who standed up.

[Tiberius Fireskull]

Every time I've seen someone picked on in this game, whether or not the person is a level three basic or a level 50 Veteran Player, I've always stepped in to help them. There are two reasons for this. The first is that I absolutely have no sympathy for those that make fun of others. If I see you making fun of someone, I'll simply crush you with words and send you on your not-so-merry way. I normally am quite compassionate, but I have no tolerance for griefers. The second reason is simply because I care about those that get picked on. I don't like to watch others in pain, and if I can stop it, then I will. I truly wish everyone was like that one pirate that stood up.

Del, good experiment you and Partners are doing. I'd be glad to be a part of it if you want me.

[The Skirata Clan]

It's a really good experiment and all but I am just glad nobody reported "the bullies" and said nothing.

[Mr. Awesome]

Having had basic access for way to long I have been picked on. And whenever I see a person getting bullied, in game or in real life I feel it is my duty as a human being to step up and defend them. To the pirate who stood up for crestshot, I salute you.

[SEAKING23]

Its funny how people stand up to Navy NPC's and (some) will Bravely (or as brave as you can get in-game) combat enemies much higher levels than them, or rush to a dying player in an invasion, but they don't stand up to cowards who pick on people who would run away from an ant if it was stronger than them. Its a shame.

[Captain Celtics]

lol, Delmaria Fatskull.

Anyways that was an intriguing experiment.

[AdmiralSavvy]

Great idea, Del. :] Kudos to you and the other PNC people who did this. If you're about to do this and I'm not online, just shoot me a PM or get me by other means and I'll try to come online.

Anyways, I'm really glad to see that there are some people out there who will stand vigilantly beside a victim of bullying because they know that it's wrong. They're not afraid to be ridiculed themselves, as long as they're helping someone. If the guy who stood up for Crest is reading this, kudos to you, mate!

To be honest, in the game, I haven't been very attentive when it comes to other players who I happen to see. I'm sure that there have been a few times when, regrettably, I did see something of this nature, but failed to do anything. (Not talking about RL by any means; that's different.) This experiment has made me rethink that.

[Dark_Pixie]

Interesting. I guess people are so used to this bullying that they walk right past it. Me, I'm a meddler, and I always step in to argue for the lower levels. I think people should give more respect to the lower levels, rather than treating them like dirt because of some numbers on a screen.

[HammyTheSquirrel]

yeah... the level doesn't mean anything. For all we know, a new player being picked on could be the Prime Minister of Canada or the President of the United States. I feel that players should at least know that noob means newbie and newbie means to be new at something,... not to be horrible at it or not very smart about how it works. All these immature players need to smarten up. IT'S A GAME! Why criticize other people for NOT being gamers? It's probably good that some players around for three months aren't already level 30... that just means they have a life (unlike me ).

Interesting. I guess people are so used to this bullying that they walk right past it. Me, I'm a meddler, and I always step in to argue for the lower levels. I think people should give more respect to the lower levels, rather than treating them like dirt because of some numbers on a screen.

I sincerely agree. Especially the numbers on a screen part. C'mon... this is Disney. Whatever happened to "family friendly" or "Fun for the whole family". Can't judge a person by their game stats.

Shame...