That's Nothing to Joke About!

[Lady_Alizarin]

This post is a bit of a rant and it's been on my mind for a while now. This thread is in no way intended to offend anyone, I'm just ranting my opinions.

Lately on this game I've seen some players get harrassed by others because they were believed to be "too old" to play Feral Heart. I've seen younger players call older players such offensive names and say such rude things to them all because they are older. There was one situation where it happened to me too.

((In this situation, these character names were made up))

Dustypaw: -Uses a whole bunch of wolfspeak and many scientific words in her roleplay post-
Tornado: Woah man! Was that even English? o_O))
Ambertail: Speak English))
Dustypaw: That is English. Those are real words.))
Chipmunkkit: I didn't understand a word you just said))
Fox: Who do you think you are, Jimmy Neutron?))
Dustypaw: No :\ ))
Dawnstar: Let's just continue with the RP shall we?))
Dustypaw: I just learned all these words in biology class. I'm 12 years old and I seem to know more about anatomy than any of you.))
Ambertail: I'm 14 and I don't know any of those words))
Fox: I'm 21 and I don't know them either.))
Dustypaw: EEWW PEDOPHILE!
Dustypaw: GET AWAY
Dustypaw: Get away pedo!
Fox: That's not funny, Dusty ))
Dawnstar: Stop it! She is a good friend, no matter what her age is.))
Dustypaw: I was just kidding. sheesh -_-))

After that whole incedint, I pretty much lost all my respect for that player (Dustypaw).
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

No matter if she was kidding or not, it's NOTHING to joke about. Calling someone a pedophile like that is very offensive, disrespectful, insensitive, and VERY immature. It's not a name that can just be thrown around so carelessly. It's a very VERY serious accusation to throw on someone, and shouldn't be thrown around as a way of being a joke. When you call someone a pedophile, you are calling them a sick low-life that likes to prey on children and do very nasty things to them.
You're probably thinking, "Oh come now, Lady... they're just kids. They don't know what they're talking about. They don't know any better." That's NO EXCUSE! No matter if they are ignorant about the severity of such an accusation, it's still no excuse for them to go around calling older players that name all for fun. It's inexcusable!  
There are some that think if you're like 20 years old, you're OLD. Give me a break  . 20 is no where close to being old. Yes, it's older than you, but it's not like its they are "old timers". I've come across such conversations like this...

Bob cat: I'm 14
Julie cat: Me too! ^3^
Kyle skunk: I'm 17. How about you?
Angela cat: I'm only 3 years older than you. I'm 20
Bob cat: Dang that's OLD! XD
Julie cat: Wow you're old o.O
 
Being in your 20's is NOTHING close to being old. A human can live much much longer, 75+. When you're in your teens and 20s, you still have much more life to live.

I once ran into a  converstations on General chat where someone was saying that the game of Feral Heart should only be for kids and teens, and that everyone else should stay off. They also said that anyone older than 20 shouldn't waste there time playing an RPG game like FH and that it could lead to pedophillia. That's NOT true! And I have seen in other places in FH where people would say rude things like "Anyone 20+ on this game is a pedo! They should be avoided!" Not only is that a big lie, that's VERY poor judgement. A few of the mods are over the age of 18 and 20. Are they considered pedophiles too? I think NOT! They are here to help the players and take care of the game.

Many people tend to think that this game is only meant for kids. That's not true. This game is made for people of ALL ages, including adults. There are just as many young adults who play this game (in their 20's) as there are teens and pre-teens. This game is described as "an escape from reality", and that's what many of us want to do. There are plenty of college students who play this game, myself included. We want a little escape from the stresses of the real world; classes, work, paying rent, paying bills, etc. We DON'T come here to be judged by kids by being called pedophiles. We came here to play and have fun, like everyone else! Many of us have come to escape the stresses of reality.

The last time I checked the rules, I found this rule in the list. It seems like this rule is broken by so many players more than the others.

Respect Each Other
If you are caught Harassing and/or threatening other players inside the game it can result in a warning/kick/ban all depending on the severity of the case, having conflicts or arguments is one thing but personally attacking users with hurtful, racist and/or offensive language within the game will not be tolerated. FeralHeart has a wide user-base and a lot of different users log on every day to play the game. As a member of the game you should be polite to everyone no matter which age, gender or views they might have. If there's a problem within the game, block/ignore the users instead attacking each other for various reasons, possibly post a report to the Mods and Admins here on the forum if seen needed.

I cannot deny the fact that there are such players in this game who act inappropriatly to other players. Truth of the matter is, such players range in all different ages, not just adult ages. I've come across a few 13 year olds acting in sexually inappropriate behaviors.
It's not nice to stereotype someone over the age of 18 or 20 as being a "predator" that comes after kids online. It's true that there are some out there who do that, I can't deny that. However, NOT everyone is like that. But, if someone does start acting in an inappropriate manner the best thing to do is BLOCK them. They won't bother you anymore once  you block them.

Rant over.
What do you guys think? Do you think I'm just blowing off too much steam... or what?    

[morallydefunct]

I see what you're sayin', but really, they're just the younger members of Feralheart.
The first problem I see is wolf speak, well really, no one has the right to comment on someone's role-play and judge it by saying, "Uh, no. You used that word incorrectly.' or 'Uh, kid? I don't know what you're saying. Stop your wolfspeak.' Honestly, keep that to yourselves.
Pedophile. Hm. What a harsh word. Well, even if you're the older or younger player, guide that player to some common sense and tell her/him that it's not really a funny topic and that if it was a joke, then don't even say it. Really, there's things you can't joke about because it gives off a bad message. "EWWW Pedophile!!!" That's not a joke. It's an insult.

It's good that you still have respect towards that person. I know some who go through an ordeal like that will despise that person in every rp they happen to attend together.


I went through a similar problem as well. (Made up names just to protect the involved.)
Isaio:-Uses a lot of wolf speak and flaunts his name which is supposedly 'latin'-
Giles:Mind speaking.. English? I'm not good with literacy.))
Fallen:Literacy isn't really just wolfspeak, It's correct grammar, punctuation, ugh.  I'm not going to explain, too much.))
Isaio: Well, I'm more literate than you guys, okay? I learned all of these words from a wolf pack I'm in.))
Giles:...I'm 19.. and I don't even think those words are real))
Isaio: Well, maybe you're not smart enough to even know these words. They're real, though. Shouldn't you have a life when you are like, 19?))
Fallen:Uh... Isaio, he has the right to be here.. FH is for every age..))
Isaio: You guys are overaged babies. You can't even take a joke. Bye.))

Giles, (Which was Isaio's friend.), never talked to him again, but I still talked to him and eventually got him to shape up.

[Genesis9]

I find it really upsetting to hear that people are targeting older players like this. I know that people have always been...uncomfortable with the idea of older players, but usually players who i've talked to seem to get over it and just continue on as though it's not such a big deal. But to hear that younger players are starting to see us older folks as sexual predators?! And making jokes about it no less....it's just as bad as all these stupid 'rape' jokes I keep seeing people make! Neither of these terms should ever be used in game, weather it be in a joking manner or otherwise. It's not funny and very offensive, not to mention it makes me, and no doubt other users, uncomfortable about freely giving out their age for fear of the backlash that will come from it, when it shouldn't be such a big deal. I joined FH when I was already 18 years old, so I can't draw from whatever the younger players must be feeling when faced with older players, and for a long time I almost thought I was one of the few that hung around FH, but lately I have come to realize that this is not the case, there are quite a few older players out there, and they are probably the best part about FH! It's great that I can meet up with friends my own age and role play with em. And I don't think that anyone has the right to judge any of us so harshly and without thought.

[morallydefunct]

Jokes about rape is the lowest form of humor in my eyes. It's shallow... But I see this EVERYWHERE.

Sometimes, I'll get on with some old friends and they'll be joking about rape or sexual innuendo.

Whycan'tyougetnewmaterial?
Every time I heard some stupid joke. It's not funny. You know who reads those jokes? Immature kids. I hate it when I hear these jokes. It's uncomfortable because it's very nasty and when you hear one of those jokes, you probably blush in embarrassment. (I do. o3o Don't know about all of you. xD)

I'd rather claim school is fun than make jokes of.. this.


This is what happens when technology is used in the wrong way. xD

[BouncyLion101]

Oh, dear..first judging a player because of their character's gender and now THIS?

Age has nothing to do with this game, it's just a nice game to relax and have fun with friends and to roleplay.
Why must people call older players "pedofiles" simply for being older? I myself am a younger player, yet I have never called an older player names because of his/her age.
I've also never seen it happen, but it looks like it's pretty common now. :/

I hope the younger players stop being so rude to the older players, it shouldn't be an issue to tell your age and then get bombed with insults. :I

[KibaWolf73]

The moment I finished reading this, the following words came to my head: Where's all the damn respect for people much older than you?!
But honestly, all the hot-headed pre-teens and teens who think they know everything who go around, bashing people make me both fall out of my chair laughing and go into rage mode. It's a total nonsense, disrespecting people.. But almost all the kids are like this nowadays, unfortunately..

Being called a pedophile because you're hanging with younger users? Simply put, immature. It's almost as if you were saying that your teacher was a pedophile because she spent time with you and your classmates.

That guy who said that adults should live their life instead of playing a RPG probably didn't know that adults, like any other humans, have free time, hobbies, passions.

I think I'm going to end this here. Surprisingly, there are, few, indeed, educated kids who use their common sense. Unfortunately, rarities are those.

~With that being said, your fellow non-native English speaking teenager Kaitlyn flies away.

[Blueyi]

I have no proof of what have been above, but I also seen some offensive things.

Everyone jokes about 'crack' or 'cocaine' WELL GUESS WHAT! My brother did crack before and it really hurt me. I say 'That's sorta offensive, my brother has done it before..'
and one went like. 'Well maybe your brother should stop doing it and stop over reacting.'
I was like: ...


Matebegging and Mate-desperate.
All because if someone says 'i need m8' doesn't mean you call them MATE-BEGGER! It's actually mate-desperate, I'm against the need and put want but still.
You don't shout out that. That is disrespectful and rude.

Screenshots I have.
There is a person who insults someone that had said something about a pack.

for bigger picture, click Here
Okay, seriously. You don't /caps sing/ in General. Sometimes people are just trying to roleplay, maybe new and don't know how to turn general off. Best if you knock it off like that.

for bigger picture, click Here
Do I have to explain...

for bigger picture, click Here
There are more, but, still. This is upsetting.

for bigger picture, click Here

Even if I am over exaggerating, I have rights to. That is just... terrible.

[Lady_Alizarin]

It especially makes me wince when one of my much, much older friends is dragged in; he's often on FH to keep an eye on his daughter, given some of the questionable chatter that goes on. I recall one event where his daughter was talking in general and mentioned her father (who was online with her)-- and his age. She left in tears after everyone demeaned him- and accused him of being a pedophile, from what I've heard. Luckily, he gave them the (polite!) verbal beatdown they deserved, but-... Well. It's not something that's easy to shrug off.

Wow... just wow O_O
That was downright wrong for those people to call that father a pedophile. He was doing what any good parent would do, watching his daughter to make sure she was playing in a safe enviornment. I bet the ones who called him a pedo were a bunch of ignorant kids. I would NEVER say that to someone... EVER. If I was a parent, and found out that my child spoke that way to an adult over the internet, you can bet they wouldn't go back to online blogs until they grew up a little... That's just shameful. I applaud that man for keeping his cool and giving them the "polite" beatdown. In a situation like that, he had to be the adult and defend himself. It was his right to watch his daughter online.
I know for sure that those people wouldn't have had the guts to tell call that man a pedophile to his face in reality. But since this is the internet, people can say whatever they want and they don't give a rats behind who they say it to either.

I have no proof of what have been above, but I also seen some offensive things.

Everyone jokes about 'crack' or 'cocaine' WELL GUESS WHAT! My brother did crack before and it really hurt me. I say 'That's sorta offensive, my brother has done it before..'
and one went like. 'Well maybe your brother should stop doing it and stop over reacting.'
I was like: ...

Drugs are not something to joke about either, because you never know who is listening. I was once RPing with a few warrior friends of mine and one of them started joking about drug abuse. I told her that there is nothing funny about drug abuse and that it is a serious issue. I had a classmate who lost his life because he was experimenting with the bath salts. My family was friends with his family, too. When he died, it really broke his family's heart. Anyway, I told her that she shouldn't be joking about that kind of stuff and that it wasn't funny, but she was all like "drugs are always fun to joke about XD". My respect for her went down quite a bit after that.
I don't think she would fully understand, until something like that happens to someone she holds dear to her. God forbid that it happens, because no one should go through that.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

I don't understand why some people on this game think it's okay to joke about serious topics. People going around and calling people pedophiles on this game is just as bad as people going around insulting people based on where they are from.
One time in general chat, something like this happened...
*Note: These are made up names.

Wolfiewolf: Are there any Polish people online tonight that I can play with?
Lion girl: Nope :\
WolfPup: Im American!!!
Hyena F: Me too! -brofists-
Fox guy: I'm Canadian
Wolfiewolf: Any Polish? (from Poland)
HannahDoggy: I am German, but I can speak a little bit of Polish
Wolfiewolf: Cool. Wanna RP?
WolfPup: NAZI!
Hyena: A nazi!!!!
HannahDoggy: I am not a nazi!
WolfPup: YES U R! You a GERMAN so u r a NAZI!
Hyena: Yeah! Thats right!
Horsegirl: No she's not!
Wolfiewolf: That's not nice guys
Lady: Yeah, stop guys
IwuvWolfs: Nazi ALERT!

Then more and more players start spamming general chat with there talk of Nazis. That's when a mod stepped in.

MOD: You better stop right now! This is a warning.
WolfPup: Sorry mod
Random person: Hi MOD!
Hyena: Uh oh! Mod is mad
Fox guy: See what you guys have done?

then the mod spamming starts.

I've seen that happen more than once on this game. I've reported a few people over it, but of course it won't stop people from doing it.

[Tanglemask]

I find this extremely disrespectful and down right rude. Joking about pedophilia isn't something you should do, same with the rape jokes, drug jokes, etc. A vast majority of my friends are older than I am, it's really how I was raised I guess. Even though I had my two bros, who are 2 and 4 years older than me, I really was surrounded by adults. Mainly family members. The fact that people just wimmingly scream pedophile makes me sick because even if you are joking it is serious. Being falsely accused can RUIN someones life. And do NOT get me started on the rape jokes.

Another thing that got me was a wolf running around with the name "Suicide," I felt completely sick to my stomach. I don't care who you think you are but that is NEVER something you name a character as. For me, I was personally hurt because I struggled with suicide for a long time and Feral Heart was an escape. I got to be another person, I wasn't me and dealing with real world problems. I'm sure there are others out there that are like that and seeing that name could have been a trigger. I wish I got a screenshot but I didn't think till last minute. I had to get off.

These things shouldn't be taken lightly and yes I get it they're young but they need to grow up and see they're crossing a line. What seems like harmless and just a joke actually effects others. I, without a doubt, know that somewhere on FH someone has to have completely felt like sh*t because of these things. And while I'd love to report every single person I see, I'd rather not flood the mods with unneeded messages. So instead, this is where we use utilize the block system. This should be flown across the sky for some people. It can prevent drama later on.

And uh yeah... That's my little rant.

[Silhouette]

I think my response to the entire first post here can be summed up in a single word:

"Ugh."

The "But theyre JUST kids" excuse.... Seriously? To me those words translate to"But its JUST a baby." No. A baby dosent know right from wrong. A THIRTEEN year old on the other hand DOES and should have more respect. Theyre just choosing not to.