Griefer

A griefer is a player in a multiplayer video game who deliberately irritates and harasses other players.

History

The term was applied to online, multiplayer computer games by the year 2000 or earlier, as illustrated by postings to the rec.games.computer.ultima.online USENET group.^[1]

Overview

A griefer is a player who does things in a game to deliberately cause annoyance ("grief" in the sense of "giving someone grief") for the griefer's own enjoyment. Such a player is a particular nuisance in online gaming communities, since griefers often cannot be deterred by penalties related to in-game goals.^[2]

Exact griefing methods differ from game to game. Common methods include:

• Player killing in games that do not have separate areas, or an option, to keep those who want this type of gameplay from attacking those who do not.^[3] This does not include games that are designed with constant player combat in mind.
• Intentional friendly fire or deliberately performing actions detrimental to team members' game performance, including wasting key game elements and colluding with the opposition (referred to as "ghosting")
• Any methods of reversing another player's progress (such as randomly destroying other player's creations in Minecraft or Terraria)
• Written and/or verbal insults, false accusations of cheating/griefing
• Stealing other players' items and/or experience (when done for the purpose of harassment, not self-gain)
• Spamming
• Camping at a corpse or area to kill someone as soon as they resurrect
• Acting out-of-character in a role-play setting
• Luring many monsters or one big one to chase the griefer and then rushing to where others are, for the purpose of getting other people killed by this surprise mass of monsters. The line of monsters in pursuit looks like a train, and hence this is sometimes called "training".^[4]
• Blocking another player's way so they cannot move or get out of a particular area, or access an in-game resource (such as a non-player character)
• Creating multiple subscription accounts
• Deliberately blocking shots from your own team, so they can not damage the enemy.

The term is sometimes applied more generally^[5] to mean a person who uses the internet to cause distress to others as a prank,^[6][7] or to intentionally inflict harm, as when it was used to describe an incident in March 2008, when malicious users posted seizure-inducing animations on epilepsy forums.^[8][9][10]

Combating griefers

Many subscription-based games actively oppose griefers, since they drive away business.^[11] It is common for developers to release server-side upgrades and patches to annul griefing methods. Many online games employ gamemasters that reprimand offenders. Others have opted for a crowdsourcing approach, where players can report griefing. Malicious players are then red-flagged, and are then dealt with at a gamemaster's discretion. As many as 25% of customer support calls to companies operating online games deal specifically with griefing.^[2]

Blizzard Entertainment has enacted software components and rules for its forums to combat griefing.^[12] To prevent non-consensual attacks between players, some games such as Ultima Online have created separate servers for those who wish to be able to attack anyone at anytime, and for those who do not.

When Everquest was released, Sony included a PvP-switch where people could fight each other only if they had enabled that option. This was done in order to prevent the player-killing that was driving people away from Ultima Online, which at that time had no protection on any of its servers.^[13]

Second Life bans harassment (defined as being rude or threatening, making unwelcome sexual advances, or performing activities likely to annoy or alarm somebody) and assault (shooting, pushing, or shoving in a safe area, or creating scripts/scripted objects that target another user and hinder their enjoyment of Second Life) in its community standards.^[14] Sanctions include warnings, suspension from Second Life, or being banned altogether.

See also

• Cyber-bullying
• Troll (Internet)

References

External links

• Globe and Mail: Frontier justice: Can virtual worlds be civilized?
• "Ready, set, game: Learn how to keep video gaming safe and fun."
• Documented incident of griefing during a virtual interview, see also Anshe Chung
• Research Paper on griefing. To view this PDF paper, the host website requires a subscription to the digital library.
• "Feature: The Griefer Within", GamePro.
• Mutilated Furries, Flying Phalluses: Put the Blame on Griefers,, WIRED MAGAZINE: ISSUE 16.02
• Griefer Madness: Terrorizing Virtual Worlds
• Can you grief it? - feature article at VideoGamer.com.