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#### On Monday morning, Nov 21, my character was sexually harassed and the offender pretended to rape me. The player was not suspended, even though another player who only joked about rape was.

I'm a in a group that takes shifts on Wickdoon Mood to tend the trees there. While on shift, a typical troublemaker became aggressive and raped my character. He went up behind my character moving rapidly back and forth. He then commented on the state of my ass after performing the action, and taunted me by laughing with the '3' key.
I was horrified, and I told only close friends about what happened. I had never used the 'abuse' system and was hesitant because of the nature of the abuse. Live chat finally encouraged me it report. When did, I recieved this message from staff:
"Thank you for your report. We have taken note and will keep aware of any further reports related to this player. I suggest that you block this player to keep them from harassing you. In the future please use the 'Report Abuse' right away so that we can see the context and what was said. Thank you."
The ToS state "...all of your activities in connection with the Service ... are automatically logged" and yet there are no records of the event, not in local, or private, or live help chat? Even worse was the insinuation that my rape report wasn't good enough to do anything except 'keep aware' of him until he abused someone else. I tried dismissing it as a mistake on behalf of staff for losing or erasing the logs, and assumed Tiny Speck only punished players who interfered with the game itself.
Then I learned Tiny Speck suspended a player for saying 'rape' as a joke. I am furious. If a rape joke is a suspendable offense, a rape act should be worthy of a ban. My rapist is permitted to walk around free to taunt me, while a controversial character makes a dumb joke and gets the boot. I joined glitch because a friend told me it was not a place where I could get murdered, assaulted, or raped. Now every time I see my rapist online I want to play less and less, and I'm now at the point of quitting.
So I want justice. Either way Glitch is going to lose a player. Tiny Speck can either ban the rapist troll (they know who it is), or forfeit a long time benefactor and contributer.
Since glitch is one big community, I would like to appeal to that community now. If I've ever traded or cooperated with you, partied with you, had an engaging conversation or in any way treated you with kindness, please stand up for me now in the comments and vouch for my honesty and good character.
I cannot continue to play in the same game as the person who raped my character. If Tiny Speck really wants to make a statement about rape, punish the actual rapists, not just fools who make dumb jokes.

Posted 12 months ago by zZzZzZzZ | Permalink

### Replies

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- Again, as a representative of the wickdoon group at that time, I wanted what was best for the street even if it meant talking to people I didn't like. I am angry *now* because I saw that one player's complaint about rape got a clearly punitive result and mine did not.
  At this point, I no longer care what action staff take. Everything I've done I've tried to do to make the game better. I've thrown parties, started groups, bug tested, contributed ideas, made lots of friends, and was never harsh with anyone unless they were needlessly cruel. I'm leaving, but I will do one more act of kindness before I go. Most of my networth will be liquidated and given to the Party of the Month group. I became well known in glitch for my giant street party, and I might as well fund several parties before I leave, even if I won't be there for them. Thank you for those who defend me in the forums, you are truly good friends.
  Posted 12 months ago by zZzZzZzZ | Permalink
- ...and so it ends.
  Posted 12 months ago by Sloppy Ketchup | Permalink
- I have something to add, one day, it will be revealed, then people will understand a bit better. For the sake of doing so.
  Posted 12 months ago by Rook | Permalink
- Vermilion, the only reason we know the player was punished is because he chose to reveal that in public. It is possible the person harassing you was likewise punished but is choosing not to admit it.
  That said, I'm sorry that the unwelcome behavior of one person ruined Glitch for you forever. That's a shame.
  Posted 12 months ago by ✰ Lorelei ✰ | Permalink
- @Rook: you keep posting outright lies about the situation so it's hard to value anything you say
  Posted 12 months ago by psibertus | Permalink
- Well, then I'll just have to post it, and whenever I'm unsure I point that out with words like theory, etc.
  Posted 12 months ago by Rook | Permalink
- Rook, probably better idea NOT to do that.
  Posted 12 months ago by WindBorn | Permalink
- your theory that I actually said rape is a pretty misleading theory to be posting, especially as neither me nor Vermilion has said that I did.
  Posted 12 months ago by psibertus | Permalink
- Once the horse has died, you probably should not waste time trying to beat it (or poke it with a pointy stick).
  Posted 12 months ago by ✰ Lorelei ✰ | Permalink
- I like turtles.
  Posted 12 months ago by Sloppy Ketchup | Permalink
- I like to flog dead horses.......
  Posted 12 months ago by psibertus | Permalink
- I like turtles too, Sloppy!
  Posted 12 months ago by Myuki | Permalink
- OK fine Windborn I WON'T do it .
  And if you have read my posts Psibertus you would see that I don't even think that you come near to what I think he was talking about.
  Posted 12 months ago by Rook | Permalink
- @Windborn
  I personally don't like it when law people tell me that something is THE TRUTH. I have a good friend who is a lawyer and who always tells me that he loves to do something that is actually morally not accepted, because there is no law against it and thus it is ALLOWED.
  Laws are all fine and good. They are important to govern a society, to give a society certain regulations so that it can function and to set up rules how to deal with people who break those regulations. Fine. But laws are not everything.
  If your law (and I say "your law", because Glitch is a global community, and different countries handle different matters in various matters) says that "rape" is exactly defined as "such and such", that is fine, and it is a valuable piece of information, but it is not "THE TRUTH".
  I think the reason why several peole here said that what happend is "not rape" was purely to put some perspective into this whole matter and to take some steam out of the discussion. If a person in Glitch threatens to kill you, then tells you it stabbed at you with a tinkertool and you are dead, will you feel dead? Will your friends mourn for you? No, because you simply don't believe that what this person said is actually true. The same could be said for this incident here: If you, as the victim, take it seriously, and actually believe it happened, then yes, it happend (in a way). But there's a different side to the story: You could also ignore it as some weird kind of fantasy that does not have anything to do with you.
  That's, I believe, why some people said: Cool down, everybody, it was (if it happened, and the accused person denies that it happened, but let's put that aside) a quite despicable act and it was harrassement and it should be reported. But it was not "rape".
  And frankly, I don't want to play a game where people actually run around scared or disgusted, because they fear their avatars can be raped if they don't pay attention. That's why I agree with the proposal we should be a bit more careful with our wording here. By calling it rape, we just add to a certain hysteria that cannot be good for the spirit of this game.
  None of this can be compared to what could happen in the real world. In the real world, even an attempted assault of dry-humping involves some form of physical contact. No physical contact has been forced on the user here. No drastic pictures have been shown to the user.
  So my point is: Please let's take a breath and deal with the matter as it is. How to deal with people who harrass you or insult you or whatever wording you could come up that describes written offenses, is a very valid question and is worth to be discussed in this community.
  But I refuse to discuss how we deal with "rapes" in Glitch. I don't think a discussion like this can bring us any further.
  Posted 12 months ago by Louis Louisson | Permalink
- When I mean truth, not about the situation, but just a fact.
  Posted 12 months ago by Rook | Permalink
- Can anyone point to statements by me that what took place in the game was rape?
  In the very first comment I made about the incident itself (and not about staff response to the report) I said, "that kind of behavior in real life can get you charged with illegal sexual contact,"
  Over the past few days, we have seen a lot of nonsense posted in this forum about things not being "real rape" or "actual rape". While it is true that in some countries a man can beat, threaten, and have forcible intercourse with his wife and it is not legally rape, that's not universally true. Even in the US and Canada, where most Glitch players live, "real rape" and "actual rape" are much broader concepts than 'violent stranger vaginal penetration'.
  When there is so much misinformation being posted here, it seems reasonable to see some of these comments as teachable moments and begin to question the assumptions of what "real rape" and "actual rape" might be.
  One of the first steps is to point out that the legal definition of "real rape" and "actual rape" include a much larger range of behaviors than 'violent male stranger forcibly penetrating the vagina of a female'.
  Posted 12 months ago by WindBorn | Permalink
- I guess this is probably going to be my last comment since it's kinda going around in circles.
  Windborn you kinda keep going back to "legal definition," and as Louis said the law can define a lot of things. And you said it yourself that the laws change depending on countries and whatnot.
  I only had one point really. Ask people on the street, ask rape victims what happened to them. I know that there are broad behaviors as you said, but most would say something along the lines of, "non-consensual intercourse." The moment someone hears the word rape, this is usually the thing that pops into someones head.
  and yeah I know you don't agree with me and will probably go back to the legal definition again, but that's just my own opinion.
  Posted 12 months ago by Vinchon | Permalink
- ask rape victims what happened to them
  As a survivor of sexual assault, I don't need to ask anyone else. I have my own experience to refer to.
  If you want to claim that what happened to me wasn't "actual rape", all I can say is thank god you weren't on the jury that convicted him.
  Posted 12 months ago by WindBorn | Permalink
- I play Glitch because it is supposed to be adult, and civil in addition to imaginative and delightful. I know I would have felt very uncomfortable if what happened to Vermillion had happened to me. I would not like another player being personally antagonistic, regardless of the specifics. It is one thing to have 'tree wars' in the spirit of the game, and something else entirely to intentionally try to intimidate another person. This may happen in other games, I do not know. But it certainly is not in the spirit of how I feel Glitch is to be played. Fortunately I have not had to deal with this type of behavior as yet, and hope I never to have to.
  I think Vermillion used the word 'rape' in order to compare what had happened to him and the other recent herb garden incident and how the two were dealt with. And that what happened to him was arguably at least as explicit and hostile as the other incident-if not more so. This was harassment with sexual overtones. It is obvious that it has upset him deeply. And, although I have had only recently been interacting with him in game, how I have seen him behave is always calm, courteous and fair.
  Whether you call this behavior 'rape', 'sexual harrassment' or just plain antagonistic, I would not want to think that TS tolerates this kind of intimidation. This is what any resolution should focus on, more than a definition of virtual 'rape'. Read again what Lorelei said about not acting like a jerk and making other players uncomfortable. It is very sad. Vermillion has been an asset to the game and I would regret losing him. Or, for that matter I regret that ANY player be made to feel this uncomfortable.
  Posted 12 months ago by bludwaggie | Permalink
- I'm probably going to receive a lot of negative reaction to this, but I feel I must say it:
  At some point, you really need to step back and remember that this is a Flash-based video game playing in your web-browser. If some immature player moved back and forth and spouted off about a poorly-executed virtual "rape," at worst, you should have been upset that players like them have found this game.
  I have seen some of the players that have added me to their friends list on this game log staggering amounts of time in this game. Literally, they are on almost every time I log in and for the duration of the log in. I worry that some people are in situations that allow them to devote so much time to this game that they are becoming unhealthily attached to their avatars.
  This almost harkens back to those 90's news stories about kids getting so involved in their video games that people were worried they would try to emulate them.
  Everyone, take a step back and breath. It's a virtual world with virtual people that you are viewing through a monitor. Block the dumb players and move on. If the term "rape" here was used in place of "harassment," then it was a poor substitution.
  Posted 12 months ago by Zinfidel | Permalink
- You say nothing was done. TS does not discuss disciplinary actions with any but the disciplined party, but Stoot's comment ("What makes you say nothing was done?") insinuates that TS took whatever action it considered appropriate. What you really mean is that you don't like what was done and you won't be happy until the accused party is banned from Glitch. To achieve that aim, you have crafted this big drama post, claiming you were raped in the game and the other player is an "actual rapist" You are screaming that you will sit in your house and not come out or --gasp-- maybe even quit the game if that player is not booted.
  Then leave.
  Stop stomping your tiny, pixelated feet and rending your gaments and go.
  TS has done whatever it sees fit about your complaint. The fact that that action does not involve booting players on the say-so of someone who is obviously lying is reassuring to me. Yes, lying. You weren't realy raped. You were harrassed in the game and that needs to be dealt with and it has been dealt with. If you do not like how it has been dealt you are free to go. I'd even say you are free to make a reasoned and unsensational post about how changes are needed in the way that players harrassing others should be dealt with. That's not what you did.
  That you would dare to suggest such a serious crime was perpetrated against you on this day, December 6th, the 22nd anniversary of the day a misogynistic gunman murdered 14 woman in Montreal and wounded 14 more people is sickening. As Pope Joan stated, your trivialization of violence against women is an offensive fiction..
  Posted 12 months ago by Billy McBinky | Permalink
- I suspect Vermilion has first-hand experience with sexual violence and lives with the same daily fears of abuse and harm that most women do. I wouldn't claim that his outrage trivializes violence against women.
  Posted 12 months ago by WindBorn | Permalink
- >_______________________>
  Posted 12 months ago by Sororia Rose | Permalink
- I am so sorry this has happened Vermilion !
  Vermilion has always had nice , pleasant , and helpful dealings with me , and those i have been around.
  Posted 12 months ago by serenitycat | Permalink
- I just overheard someone begging Vermillion for the name of the "rapist" (please use heavy air quotes here) so that everyone could "make his life miserable." I think that literally everyone currently involved in this situation in any way needs to stop right now because this is getting ridiculous.
  IT'S A GAME.
  Posted 12 months ago by Rev. Desdemona | Permalink
- - Salutes - (Vermilion). "Si vales, bene est, ego valeo."
  Posted 12 months ago by Hellyeah | Permalink
- I am shutting this thread down now as the nature of the comments here has grown overwhelmingly antagonistic. For all those who in the future are upset about the outcome or attention paid to any of the help cases they have filed, I would implore you to bring it up with staff through the same system. We will be more able then to answer your concerns promptly and to the best of our abilities, and there will be less opportunity for the kind of negative attention these public threads tend to attract.
  Posted 12 months ago by Blanky | Permalink
- Thank you Blanky!!
  Posted 12 months ago by Innie✿, Obviously | Permalink

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