 Known as griefers, snerts, cheese players, twinks, or just plain cyberbullies, chances are that one of these ne’er-do-wells has bothered a kid near you at least once while playing online multiplayer video games such as Halo 2, EverQuest, The Sims Online, SOCOM, and Star Wars Galaxies. Griefers are the Internet equivalent of playground bullies, who find it fun to embarrass and push around others. What griefers doTypical griefers: taunt others, especially beginners (also known as newbies); thwart fellow teammates in the game; use inappropriate language; cheat; form itinerant gangs with other griefers; block entryways; lure monsters toward unwary players; or otherwise use the game merely to annoy a convenient target or to harass a particular player who has reacted to their ill will. Although they are only a small percentage of the video-game community, griefers have some game companies concerned they’ll lose subscribers. As a result, many game sites and providers are less tolerant of griefers and employ new methods to police for them and otherwise limit their impact. The best way to deal with griefers is to educate yourself and prepare your kids to deal with them on their own terms. Here are ten tips to help you handle griefers. 10 tips to deal with griefers1. | Ignore them. If your child doesn't react to them, most griefers will eventually get bored and go away. | 2. | Change game options. Have your kids play games with changeable rules or options that prevent certain griefer tactics, such as eliminating teammates. | 3. | Create a private game. Most newer, multiplayer video games and related sites allow players to form their own exclusive games that permit only their friends to play. | 4. | Play on sites with strict rules. Play on game sites with enforceable codes of conduct or terms of service and live game administrators who can ban serial griefers. | 5. | Do something else. If a griefer continues to bother your child, have your child try a different game, or take a break and come back later. | 6. | Report game glitches. Work with your child to identify exploitable glitches in the game or new methods to cheat. Report these to the game site administrator. | 7. | Play games that limit griefers. Suggest to your child that he or she play newer games that provide specific resources to deal with griefers. Kids can use these resources to report offenders to game administrators, block or mute messages, and to vote griefers off. | 8. | Don't fight fire with fire. Make sure your child doesn’t use griefers' tactics against a griefer, as this will likely encourage more bad behavior, or worse, label your child as a griefer. | 9. | Avoid provocative names. Your child can preempt any problems if he or she avoids screen names or nicknames (often referred to as gamertags) that could encourage griefer behavior. | 10. | Don't give out personal information. Griefers (or anyone else) can use real names, phone numbers, and home or e-mail addresses, to further harass your child or cause other problems. |
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