BGA has a serious bully problem

[amargasaurus]

I'm a beginner to most games. I came here because I love boardgames, I want to relax, and to explore as many of them as possible.
But the BGA environment does not encourage beginners at all. If you make an honest mistake, especially in coop games, there is a high probability you will get insulted or passive agressive comments in the chat by the more experienced players, which is the opposite of what should happen in a cooperative game. This was players with 100% reputation as well.
I probably made a dozen reports so far, and I haven't gotten an update on them at all.
Yes I give thumbs down, but there are so many rude players here that it's ridiculous. It's gotten to the point that I experience this every day. Such players should not be allowed to play.
The situation honestly discourages me to play at all, and I've been spending less and less time here.
I'm sure I'm not the only one

[Cappa]

Red thumb, ignore chat and move on.

People * online and in real life, unfortunately nothing you can do but ignore them.

*Moderator edit: please refrain from swearing on BGA, this is a family-friendly platform.

[amargasaurus]

well that's the thing, you should be able to do something here, but I get no updates on my reports. is this normal?

[FDHenneberg]

Not sure how long this takes normally. But what I’m sure about is that reporting them only makes sense if they really insulted you, using words that are usually seen as insults. If it’s just being rude and aggressive, typing ?????? or seriously?? , reporting won’t help. It’s well-known that most cooperative games on BGA frequently have that kind of interaction. Just have a look at the forums for Hanabi, hearts and others. These are full of similar complaints. You could have a look in the community tab if there are special groups for friendly players of certain cooperative games. Apart from that, there’s a group called talkative and friendly games. Whenever I want to play a co-op, I go there, but it might take a while to find someone there as most tables are for games that aren’t cooperative.

Edit: Do you restrict your tables to beginners and apprentices? This should also help to some extent.

[ChiefPointThief]

Not surprised to see you are a Hanabi player. Called it before looking at your profile . Try to find some kind players to play with and once you do stop playing with random ppl. Not only does Hanabi community have a bunch of toxic ppl but those same ppl will report you if you say something about their toxicity

As for the moderation process unfortunately it isn’t the most efficient

[ShassDow]

I'm a beginner to most games. I came here because I love boardgames, I want to relax, and to explore as many of them as possible.
But the BGA environment does not encourage beginners at all. If you make an honest mistake, especially in coop games, there is a high probability you will get insulted or passive agressive comments in the chat by the more experienced players, which is the opposite of what should happen in a cooperative game. This was players with 100% reputation as well.
I probably made a dozen reports so far, and I haven't gotten an update on them at all.
Yes I give thumbs down, but there are so many rude players here that it's ridiculous. It's gotten to the point that I experience this every day. Such players should not be allowed to play.
The situation honestly discourages me to play at all, and I've been spending less and less time here.
I'm sure I'm not the only one

Welcome to BGA's Hanabi community of players, which is reputed for its toxicity.

[tbhp]

If you make an honest mistake, especially in coop games, there is a high probability you will get insulted or passive agressive comments in the chat by the more experienced players, which is the opposite of what should happen in a cooperative game.

Well, that's not exactly true. A cooperative game entails working with other people, yes, but that's also precisely why people may get angry when the other players are not playing the way they would want them to. It can be frustrating to lose a game you are playing well because your teammates are making obvious mistakes.

When you are playing against someone, you are just trying to beat your opponent, so you have no reason to be mad with the way they play.

All in all, I have seen very little bullying in the games I play here, compared to the video game community which is a lot more toxic. But I don't play any coop games, and I'm not surprised that in this particular format even people who are otherwise well mannered could become frustrated.

[PotatoOmelette]

I'm a beginner to most games. I came here because I love boardgames, I want to relax, and to explore as many of them as possible.
But the BGA environment does not encourage beginners at all. If you make an honest mistake, especially in coop games, there is a high probability you will get insulted or passive agressive comments in the chat by the more experienced players, which is the opposite of what should happen in a cooperative game. This was players with 100% reputation as well.
I probably made a dozen reports so far, and I haven't gotten an update on them at all.
Yes I give thumbs down, but there are so many rude players here that it's ridiculous. It's gotten to the point that I experience this every day. Such players should not be allowed to play.
The situation honestly discourages me to play at all, and I've been spending less and less time here.
I'm sure I'm not the only one

You must be new not here but in the whole internet... From reddit to youtube, every online game PC or console, even commenting in a blog or a news webpage. It is all the same, you should ignore them. It is better to live in peace that leave them to affect your mood, don't waste your time and energy reporting them. For every rude player there are tons of nice people. Focus on that.

[Gooorn]

On the other side of the same coin some beginner takes even the most friendly advice as an insult....

[don1991]

Be patient on the moderation reports. Sometimes they can take up to 2 to 3 weeks but if someone has insulted you - and you report it - then they will be dealt with. It is just that the moderators have a large quantity of reports coming in, so it takes time to get through them all.

Here is a link to the moderation policy. As someone else mentioned, if they are just trying to hurry you, they may only get a warning (though I would hope that with repeat offenses, that they would get a higher penalty after time - the policy does seem to suggest this).

https://boardgamearena.com/doc/Moderationpolicy

Also (and I learned this the hard way) - don't retaliate or call them names back, otherwise, they can complain about you and even if they started it, you both will get punished. If you so much as point out their bad behavior - for example, telling them that they are being rude - you still could get penalized as well. So just ignore them, report it, and there will be consequences.

I have learned that the moderation here works kind of like an elementary school. Bullies and the bullied often get treated alike and if you retaliate / fight back, then you get punished too. I personally don't see this the fairest policy out there, but this is the way it is; therefore, we have to abide by these rules. I do suppose that in part, this is because it can sometimes be difficult to see who started an issue, without poring through and analyzing an entire chat. And I don't think the moderators have the time or patience for this.

Very sad, but there are many people who are "keyboard warriors" and seem to think that they are more powerful because they cannot be seen. I would think that most people would not act like this in person. As someone else suggested, other than reporting the player (and just be patient for the process to work through because if it is a legit complaint - it will be dealt with), using the red thumbs to ensure you don't have to deal with those players again is an excellent remedy.