Here is a copy of the email I just sent to player support. I did this for 3 reasons: to elicit a response here, to make them aware of this event, and to maintain transparency to our community...

FeRaLcHiLdE

Please read and comment on my forum post. Since you at Gray Area Labs have done little to enforce your own policies (as stated in Terms Of Service), your community of customers have been forced to struggle with abusive behavior on its own. Most are afraid to actually stand up for ethics and have their voice heard. I am not, and this is not my first action to catch the community's attention in this manner.


I suggest not deleting or banning me or my posts. I am acting as a voice for what my moral guidance demands, and you have become a part of that, perhaps even legally: I still have legal action pending against a player who has violated both California and US Federal stalking laws (which you failed to deal with when I reported to you). That said, every screenshot, forum post and email I have generated may be considered evidence in a court of law in the future. You positive support of my actions would go a long way to bolster your public reputation which has suffered in the Shadow Cities community to date. Your condemnation will set a precedent for allowing abusive behavior using your property. Either way, please comment in a comprehensible manner (the form-letter type comments just anger the community).


"That this is a game does not undermine the fact that it is a social network with real people behind those glass screens... Putting up with slander, name calling, threats and in-game abuse like camping is not OK just because some players have psychological or sociological imbalances... ...you will find that however annoying I am, I am right about this."


http://www.shadowcities.com/forum/topic/3468/


http://on.fb.me/LQ5Vmg

Erinye
I am unclear as to what your goal is. Are you protesting alt farming? In game stalking? What is your purpose?

Protesting harassment beyond game play intent, undermining, false witness, accusing, slander, name calling, belittling, and verbal abuse (as texted) in all forms, as well as abusive actions from in-game camping to real-life stalking. GA has created a TOS for SC that prohibits such bullying behavior yet neglects to enforse it. My purpose is four-fold really:

1 - Awareness of these abuses and that they are not acceptable behavior.
2 - Pushing Gray Area to enforce their policy so that these abuses are not creating an overall atmousphere of drama and negativity.
3 - Stating that I personally am fed up with this type of behavior and won't stand for it (quitting and deleting the app won't make it go away, just cause me to not witness it).
4 - Standing up for what is right, simply because it is right (in the field of ethics we say "doing good for good's sake") and nobody else will.

FeRaLcHiLdE
4 - Standing up for what is right, simply because it is right (in the field of ethics we say "doing good for good's sake") and nobody else will.

After all, having nobody standing up for what is right is precisely how our societal standards of morality erode. E.G: 2 generations ago in this country, the behavior I protest would not be accdepted in public AT ALL. It is my belief that the advent of non-personal online social networks has accelerated the interpersonal abuse cycles in our nation (I could be wrong).

If you know anyone from India or Thailand or many other parts of the world, you know that they have not lost their moral compass as a culture and will not tolerate such blatant social abuse publically.There are actually laws in this country, civil and criminal, designed to put these abuses in check. The are not being upheld here.

Being the only one in this protest, has it crossed your mind that maybe you're the problem?

It's just a question, but have you reflected on the fact that it's possible you are taking things to heart far too often.

Reminds me of a funny story I heard:

A woman calls her husband who is driving home from work.

Wife: "Honey be careful, the news just reported that there's a madman driving in the wrong direction on the highway."

Husband: "One?!?! Sweetie, there's hundreds of 'em!!"

MrReas
Being the only one in this protest, has it crossed your mind that maybe you're the problem?

It's just a question, but have you reflected on the fact that it's possible you are taking things to heart far too often.

Yes it has, thank you for bringing this up. I spent many years of my life believing I was in the wrong for holding the opinion that people treating other people badly bothered me. The past few years however, as I have re-entered college and become involved with several charitable organisations, I have seen a much larger picture and realised my sentiment was not wrong. While I may not be an expert at organising and implementing good works, I continue to be commended by experts in the fields of: Ethics (my professors at a world famous UC), advocacy (for disabled, homeless and others), and religion (ministers from Christian, Buddhist, Hindu and other faiths).

The big picture, as I see it now, is that most people most of the time in most places are not willing to overcome their foibles to become better people nor work to create a better societal environment for us all. Even fewer have the courage to recognise wrongs openly and stand up for what is right. That means that though we all have an inner morality, it takes work above and beyond self-serving behavior to act well. This means maturity in some cases, governing in others, and in all cases overcoming destructive animalistic impulses to reach a higher human potential. THAT can be scary stuff.

Without fear, there is no courage. I for one, have the courage and willingness to take a few lumps if it means stepping up and speaking out for what is right. So if I am the problem here, than it is only a problem for those who are not willing to see their abusive behavior changed for the better; only a problem for those that would rather shirk morality than display the courage to challenge immoral behavior.

As to taking things to heart: yes, I do - when it comes to humans wronging other humans, that really bothers me (especially when it is done cruelly for amusement). That is who I am. That is how my compassion and love for all of us drives me to act. I may be a minority, but at least I have a good fellowship here in this minority. Do the names Vandana Shiva, Martin Luther King or Mother Theresa ring a bell to anyone? I may never be known among those famaous ranks, but I am comfortable with this for I have never sought fame, only to make a positive change in our society, however small.

What I am not comfortable with is humans being abusive to each other at ANY time, even in a game. Trust me, this event is a tiny part of my work that includes advocacy for the disadvantaged, illness recovery, feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, and allowing the underpriviledged a voice in both international radio as well as local music venues from a non-profit production company I founded.

Sentrosi
i think you are taking this game way too seriously. if this social network has been abusive to you, why not find another one? im sure there are plenty of others out there. if someone's stalking you through this game, why not quit altogether? is the fun you get from playing this game much more important than your personal safety? you have the right to protest, but it would have been nice if you did it in such a way that your own teammates were not compromised in the process.

For me it is not about taking a game seriously - I could argue that thoses angered by my actions are taking the game more seriously than I do. This online application is entertainment but it is also a platform in which we interact with our fellows. I cannot and will not just roll over and let people use any such platform to be abusive to one another if I can do anything about it, however annoying that may be. Where does it stop, I ask. Is it ok to be abusive just because this network allows us to not see each others faces? No. Is it ok to be abusive here because we choose not to in other areas of our lives? No. Every act, no matter how small, has an impact on the world. Since so few care to take responsibility for the problem of abuse here, I have stepped up and placed the burden - and blame - on my shoulders.

As to compromising team mates: really? Are points worth more than people's dignity? No. At worst I nulled my in-game score (yes I crunched the numbers); at best, I lent a positive score to my team while making a more important point than simply earning energy points for a team that has little real value in the world. After all, the round ends (win or lose) and another starts. There is no way to win this game - it just continues on.

Perhaps I pissed alot of people off, and I will not apologise for that for two reasons:
1 - if something so small as my action angers a person, they have bigger problems than this game and should address those personal issues rather than continue through life letting their resentments affect those connected to them.
2 - sometimes it takes pissing people off to catch their attention to wake up and behave at their full human potential rather than passively let their lives be wasted in unconscious existence.

So I counter: the recent Occupy movements were designed to upset a system that takes advantage of the masses for the unethical gain of a few. Would they have succeeded in catching anyone's attention if they avoided conflict, were afraid to speak out or lacked the courage to stand up for what is right in the name of NOT angering anyone?