Griefer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Griefer is a term for a player who, in an online, multiplayer computer game, deliberately sets out to harass other players. A griefer is a kind of troll, though the term is often used as an insult towards PvP gamers in general.
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[edit] Overview
Griefers differ from typical players in that they do not play the game in order to achieve objectives defined by the game world. Instead, they seek to harass other players, causing grief. Rather than helping a party to kill a zone boss, a griefer may attack the party instead, lowering its chances of success. It is important to note that griefers do not always grief. A player may be a griefer at certain times, and a player using acceptable means to pursue game objectives at others. Further complicating the matter is the fact that some griefing activities, such as ninja looting and spawn camping, can further game objectives such as acquiring better equipment and gaining status, respectively. Generally, players are griefers if their in-game conduct violates the behavioral conventions, either explicit or implied, of in-game society in such a way as to frustrate and anger other players.
Actions considered to constitute griefing in at least some contexts include but are not limited to: kill stealing, player killing, spamming, team killing, ninja looting, spawn camping, and corpse camping. Using exploits in order to harass other players also constitutes griefing.
[edit] Usage
Griefer is the noun form used to refer to the playing causing grief.
To grief is the verb form. It appears to be ambitransitive; however, no linguistic research has been done on usage variations to date.
Griefing is the noun form used to refer to a griefer's activity. It is the gerund form of to grief.
[edit] Examples
In MMORPGs, when players move between zones in the game world they typically arrive in the destination zone at a preset point. A griefer may lurk nearby and spawn camp. A similar tactic used by griefers in MMORPGs is corpse camping.
Training is another method of griefing popular in MMORPGs. It involves a PC goading mobs into attacking his/her character, and then moving the character to an area populated by many other PCs, usually a spawn point. The griefer then utilizes a technique, such as an in-game command or leaving the zone, to lose aggro, or mob interest. The mobs then attack the other PCs, often killing them. This is a form of monster player killing.
In Quake-based Team Fortress capture-the-flag games, griefers somtimes loiter in the exit of an ammo room. This traps their teammates in the room (which is bad because capture-the-flag games often depend on controlling game territory) until an enemy kills the griefer or a medic's stun grenades knock him out of the way.
In Diablo, griefers often use trainers (unrelated to the term training above) to become invulnerable, thus allowing them to attack other players without fear of reprisal.
[edit] Social Aspects of Griefing
While clear examples of griefing exist, much of the difference between griefing and non-griefing activities depends on individual players's understanding of the social norms of the in-game world. Activities one player considers griefing may be understood by another to be part of normal gameplay. While certain behaviors are generally recognized by the majority of players in a game as griefing, the ultimate classification of any single act as griefing rests not only on the intent of the perpetrator, but also the target's understanding of the norms of the game world and reaction to perceived violations.
A number of gaming groups are believed to exist for the sole purpose of griefing. Again, the classification of these groups as griefing groups is subject to individual analysis.
[edit] Combating Griefers
Many subscription-based games have taken steps to combat griefers, as they reduce the amount of enjoyment non-griefers take in the game. However, as the opportunity to grief is present in the functional requirements of multiplayer games in general (spamming is a unavoidable given non-restrictive player to player communication) or in the defining qualities of the game itself (spawn camping is unavoidable in a PvP game with defined spawn points), griefing is impossible to ignore. Also, some griefing activities are easier to curtail than others. While (spamming can be prevented with an ignore function, preventing spawn camping in the FPS genre requires randomizing spawn points, complicating game balance issues. This is not impossible, but would remove the strategy aspect of some team-based first-person shooters. Also, since much griefing involves manipulating exploits, only by eliminating all of them can programmers remove those opportunities. Given the scope and complexity of most multiplayer games, this is unlikely.
In light of this, most games allow either for server admins to reprimand offenders (up to and including banning certain IP address from logging onto a local server) or, as in the case of MMORPGs with persistent worlds, have a reporting process by which the activities of certain players can be brought to the attention of GMs. The GMs then decide on any disciplinary action (if appropriate).
