Hello.
A couple of things, before we go in. (Actually, like 5.)
- I filed a report with the FBI, through NCMEC, back before 2010. Back before TBC; so, probably before 2007. (The above screenshot was generated today.) If you want to know all the details, you’re gonna have to ask them. This happened more than 14 years ago, and, to be honest, where the fuck the screenshot I took, are, I don’t know. I considered it ‘good enough’ to just tell the FBI. I didn’t regularly keep screenshots of my reports through NCMEC, because, most of the time, I WAS REPORTING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY TO THEM. Once the NCMEC webpage confirms receipt of the URLs or information I’ve sent, I DON’T WANT THAT SHIT ANYWHERE NEAR ME.
- I might have reported semi-anonymously through the NCMEC form. (I think I might have given my full legal deadname; so, surprise, if you do a FOIA and find this, there you go.)
- A lot of people have been asking me for screenshots of the exchange between me and the GMs. Screenshots don’t prove shit. Also, AFAIK, even though I was hitting Print Screen as fast as I could during the exchange, I distinctly remember only getting the latter half of it, which vexed me. I think I later went back and tried to scroll the chat log, but, as the GMs had banned me for a second, I’m pretty sure the first half might have gotten wiped.
- I don’t remember if only one or both were present, though I know more than one person talked to me.
- ANY SCREENSHOT I COULD POST COULD JUST AS EASILY BE RECREATED IN A PRIVATE SERVER / SERVER EMULATOR. LOOK AT THE PICTURE ABOVE. Can you tell if it happened on a live server? It’s just not proof. The FBI should have an actual record of what I reported, replete with all the names, and probably times, but especially dates.
This is something that happened nearly two decades ago. I’ll tell you as much as I can remember that happened, but, it’s going to be spotty.
The Events as I Best Remember Them
- Happened on US-Alexstrasza. I was fucking around in Darkshore, when I found two people ERPing. Didn’t think much of it until one of the participants started sending me Whispers (private messages). They were apparently underage, and they initially were talking in General(?) chat about this person trying to groom them. After hearing a bit of this, I decided to report it to the GMs. My reports were closed without action about twice, and the third time I reported it, the GMs confronted me.
- Some unspecified time later, I was in Eastern Plaguelands, probably(?) exactly where the above screenshot was taken. A GM FUCKING APPEARS IN FRONT OF ME. I am, at first, excited. Then, I get scared. I remember him opening up with a threat.
- By the time I read through the threat, he had banned me for a short duration. Could’ve been 1 minute; could’ve been ten. Was very short, but I was panicking the entire time.
- I had multiple GMs talking at me. Was at least 2. I remember trying to screenshot before he banned me, but it was quick.
- On this note, I believe I also sent an additional report into the NCMEC, detailing what happened here; that I was threatened physically, for reporting a pedophile. Well, as physical as can be, through text. It was some sort of bodily threat: something stupid, like a GM threatening to stab me. It was the funniest part of the encounter. I remember laughing. I remember putting that in the report.
- General consensus about all the messages I was being sent by GMs was this: one, they were threatening me, because I had reported a pedophile. Two, at least one GM made it clear that I would be perma-banned if I pursued this matter, about the pedophile.
- I then told them, probably swearing a lot, that I didn’t give a shit, ban me, I already reported it to the FBI, you little shits. Something like that.
- That’s when they fucked off and left me alone. But not before informing me that my account was on some form of ‘final notice’, where whatever ban I incurred next would be a permanent one, and my account would be deleted, or some shit.
A lot of people are asking me, what happened next?
Well. I honestly don’t remember. I think I might have gotten some sort of response from who I reported it to; but memory is hazy on that. I know that, whatever information I gave them about my identity, I had put it in the body of the message: not in the fields for name, address, etc. I remember being distinctly surprised that whomever messaged me, had taken the time to hunt me down.
But then, that doesn’t really matter, because…
… the person I reported, found out.
Three Years of Hell
There’s a lot of haziness to what happened after I reported them. But, what I do remember, is, somebody else later mentioned the report, even though I had mentioned it to no one else. Whether or not this was the same person as the person I had reported (I think it was: there was a time when they said something like, ‘don’t you remember me?’ and then mentioned the name of the character they had used, when they were grooming the kid), I don’t know. But they had it in for me.
As identity is practically impossible for just another player to confirm or otherwise ascertain, I don’t know. But, over the years, they kept yelling at me. At one point they actually tried to frame me as a pedophile; but, given that I hadn’t done anything and I barely even talked to anybody, it was just them chasing me through Shattrath, saying I was a pedophile.
Of course, the GMs wouldn’t do shit about them.
In any case, said person claimed a few things: that I had ‘ruined their life’; that they had had their child taken away from them; that I had ruined their love life, because, ‘it was just ERP’.
I don’t know.
They claimed to have friends in high places. So maybe the GMs told somebody.
The whole thing is creepy as fuck.
Whether or not you believe me, I don’t think that really matters. I made at least one FBI report about it. I thought that was good enough?
Well, whatever.
US-Alexstrasza was full of shit like that. Pedophiles, I mean. One time, in Nagrand, there was an underage kid, they kept talking about how much they loved swimming. One of the server pedophiles kept on asking them if they had any underarm or pubic hair; if they shaved. Brrrrrrrr…
Christ, that place was a mess.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Yeah, I know Executioner, as an enchant, didn’t exist in the time-period mentioned. Like I said, these aren’t screenshots from the event. They’re presented as proof that anybody can make a fucking screenshot. In fact, even the so-called ‘secret’ watermark that Blizzard supposedly put into the .tga screenshots, I could probably spoof those. It’s not hard with the right software.
I can spawn pretty much anything in this engine, mod it, and even make race-agnostic quests and raids. Don’t pretend that any visual evidence I can provide you is iron-clad. It ain’t.
This is why I keep on saying that the report is with the FBI. Nothing I say is going to be as iron-clad as I actually fucking contacted the FBI, at the time. I’ve had a lot of people go, ‘show screenshots’. That’s not gonna do shit.
Also, funnily enough, when I mentioned this, multiple people came forward, all mentioning different incidents that they thought were these. None of them were. One person said ‘YongYea’ chronicled this: I kind of doubt that, but okay.
One person reported that they were groomed at the age of 13 or 14 by a GM. Sweet merciless fuck.
It’s fairly clear to me that Blizzard was pretty corrupt.
Knowing that other people had to deal with shitty GMs, I feel very comforted.
I used to think that I was the only one they hated.
ADDENDUM: Upon announcing that I was going to do a ‘write-up’ on this on my blog, somebody decided to DDoS it. They’ve been doing it, I think, for the past 3-4 days, or maybe even 5. But, it started right back up when I said something. And, it stopped— right when I said I’d just post it on Twitter.
Ha! You fuckin’ wanker! I thought it was just weird, transitory net problems!
Now I know you’re watching me!
Get a hobby!