Some Thoughts on Griefing

I want to talk about griefers. A griefer is essentially anyone who comes into a grid with the specific intention of disrupting activity, harassing other avatars, or with the intent of real destruction. This may include destruction to region or grid functions or assets,  the nature and reputation of the business, the businesses and ventures of other residents, by creating massive social drama therefore driving people out of the grid, poaching, and a variety of other activities with the intention of damaging the business and residences. 

Cliff and Cat strive to do everything they can to prevent griefing. I strongly assert that we most likely have the superior grid technology across the hypergrid. I say this from a place of understanding much of the tech, and as someone who has looked into what it takes to run a grid. I spent months exploring the Hypergrid before settling here in AMV. Several  criteria formed that decision - the tech, the tech support and services, and the community. In all honesty, the community was more of a bonus for me - but did contribute greatly to the decision. 

We have a highly successful grid. As a consequence, there is some envy and outright jealousy across the hypergrid. Chris McCracken and Cliff have some great tips for securing regions. It is a good idea to disable object entry/rezzing/building for people that are not in your residential group. You might consider disabling scripts as well. Keep in mind, if you are having special events or want your grid to be visited by the public, this may create frustration. 

It's pretty essential to keep your residential groups separate from your promotional groups or ANY group that allows others to self-join. You can set your default entry status with no advanced permissions, however, I set mine and add the people I really trust. Any self-join groups I have don't have perms on my land. 

Griefing by creating drama and harrassment is a bit harder to manage and far more insidious. It can be hard to determine: Is this a personal issue for me or someone else, or is this something that Cat and Cliff should know about? It's a tough call. And right now, I treat it with extreme caution. While I don't want to be an alarmist, I am taking the attitude: If I see something, I say something. I don't report every little thing, however, if I see something odd, I report it. I capture the gen chat or DM; I take an image of the profile and the avatar; and I pass the information on to Cliff. What he does with it is up to him. So far, I have been right more than wrong. 

I use my best judgement. And at the end of the day, I consider my commitment to the grid, the community, my investment, and to my own personal well-being.