Reputation

One possible solution is incorporating a mandatory reputation system. Currently, there are several games that feature a reputation system which assigns some sort of value or set of values to a player based on how his “character” is perceived by others in the game. For example, if Player A is harassing Player B, Player B can report Player A’s harassment and his/her reputation goes down. This, in turn, affects Player A’s reputation in the game. Alternatively, if Player A behaves well enough for Player B to take notice, their reputation goes up.

So what’s a reputation good for? Some games, like Halo 3, ban players from using their online service if too many people report them as being either inappropriate, lewd, or belligerent. Additionally, good behavior can be incentivized. A good example is in Halo: Reach, where players receive credits after matches for acts they performed (number of kills, number of medals, etc.). These credits can be used to purchase better armor for a player’s avatar in the game. Halo: Reach incentivizes game completion by offering large credit jackpots to players who routinely finish games. This is to counter unsupportive players who quit at the sign of trouble, or quit if they don’t like the chosen game type or map. Our solution would include another way to achieve these incentives, by communicating in such a way that others take notice and can report back.

Simply put, through a reputation system, bad behavior can be punished and good behavior will be rewarded.

The main concern for the reputation based solution is this: it solely depends on the players in the game to hold each other accountable. The reputation system gives them the tools to do so but it is their responsibility to actually use it. In addition, while the system is designed to curb cyberbullying and griefing, it opens up one more avenue for each. If players decide to gang up on an innocent victim, they can all negatively effect his reputation without the victim ever actually doing anything of harm to others.