When and how to file an Abuse Report

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Whenever you see anyone violate the Terms Of Service (TOS), or the Community standards (CS or Big Six), or the Welcome Area Guidelines^[KB], you should file an abuse report.

There are some grey areas, though. What does and doesn't constitute hate speech? Or harassment? Some things may be a bit borderline from a Mature/PG standpoint. If it looks wrong to you, report it. If it doesn't, don't. If the people who are offended do, and the people who aren't don't, then it helps customer service judge the severity of the incident.

If you're not sure what you should do, then you should file one. Nobody's going to be put out if it turns out to be (barely) alright. What will happen is that it will get bounced up through the customer service until it hits someone who can make the call. There may not be any real penalties beyond a warning if it's a grey area. After all, if you're not sure, then the person you're reporting may not be either. But they may also have been warned before...

What to do

1. Go to Help > Report Abuse...
2. Select a category - if in doubt, choose MISC.
   • If it's an object, use the blue button above the category box, and then left click on the object, if you can. That will include details about the object, it's exact location and the owner.
3. Fill in the summary as clear and short and simple as you can. Include the offender's name.
   • Try to be clear:
     • "Bob Avatar, repeated bad language, shoving and nudity."
     • "Sue Avatar, weapons fire in no-combat zone."
   • Rather than..
     • "Bob Avatar - being a jerk."
4. In the details section, put in anything you think is relevant and will help the abuse team assess the incident.
5. If it's visual, you can use the Include Screenshot checkbox. The screenshot is whatever your camera was looking at when you opened the report window.
6. When you're done, hit the shiny blue Report Abuse button at the bottom.

Things To Note

• If you are being pushed or thrown around by scripts, sit on something. Remain calm, and don't panic. Sit on an object, or on the ground. If you're not on damage enabled land, nobody can hurt you. Most offenders get bored pretty quickly and go away if you don't respond to them. Consider using the mute function.
• If you're on combat/damage enabled land, being shot at is not abuse. Look for a little red heart to the right of your Help menu at the top of the screen. If you can see it, you're in a valid combat zone, which means weapons fire is permitted. Use of weapons outside areas marked this way is not.
• If there are multiple incidents, file multiple reports. You can also file reports on things that you see happening, not just things that are done to you personally. Not every Resident is aware of the mechanisms, or remembers to use them in time of trouble. Help out your fellow Residents! Besides, reports from multiple people show the Abuse Team that an incident affected more people than a single report would. If twenty of you are affected, there should be twenty abuse reports. Not just one!
• If you are friends with the person, or have their calling card, you can remove them. This will prevent them tracking you if you decide to go elsewhere.

Liaison Response

Customer service will determine the level of disciplinary action to be taken. Lindens you may see in world will not be able to assist you in any type of abuse report follow up.

Under-age Users

Main Grid (Ages: 18+)

Anyone who admits to being under 18 years old: Please file an Abuse report and include relevant chat.

Teen Grid (Ages: 13-17)

Anyone who admits to being under 13 years old or to being OVER 17 years old: Please file an Abuse report and include relevant chat.

See Also

• Knowledge Base category: Dealing with Griefers
• Video Tutorial/How to report abuse and handle griefing
• GTeam Office Hours
• Category:Linden Liasons