Contents
I'm being harassed!
Reporting harassment
Preventing communication
I'm being threatened to be hacked
Harassment in a forum thread
Harassment in a private message
How Enforcement works
What else can I do?
First, some guidelines.
Hello there! From the sound of things, you are having trouble with harassing or inappropriate users on Xbox LIVE. I know that this can be a frustrating or even scary experience, and I want to assure you we will do everything we can to help you out. That said, we do have some ground rules that we ask you to abide by when utilizing this forum. Please check these out before continuing on. Thank you!
- No "Name & Shame" - do not call out other users' Gamertags, no matter what the reason.
- No vulgar language - do not post the harassing content you have received.
- No personal information - this includes names, phone numbers, email addresses, and service numbers
I’m being harassed on Xbox LIVE!
If you are receiving communications from a user that are threatening, derogatory, sexist, racist, vulgar, or in any way hurtful to you, you can do something about it! There are two general steps you should take when you come across harassing or offensive material on Xbox LIVE: file a complaint and block communication. Below are steps on how to quickly accomplish these plus other helpful tips for helping us make your LIVE experience the best it can be.
How do I let Microsoft know about harassment?
Don’t you worry, we have a convenient way for you to report this user to us so we can make sure he or she isn’t harassing anyone else. Follow the steps below, which only take a minute or two, and we'll have all the information we need to investigate:
- Open the player's profile by doing one of the following:
- From the Dashboard:
- Press the Guide button and select Friends.
- Scroll right to Players, then select the user.
- From a game lobby:
- Select the user.
- Select View Profile.
- Select File Complaint.
- Review the information here and when you're ready, select File Complaint again.
- Select one of the following reasons for filing the complaint:
- Profile: The player’s gamertag, personal picture, or personal information contains inappropriate material.
- Gamertag
- Personal Picture
- Personal Info
- Player Content
- Text and Voice Communications: The player used vulgar, hateful, harassing, or threatening language in voice or text communications.
- Text Message
- Voice Message
- Voice Chat
- In-Game Voice
- Video Communications: The player was vulgar, hateful, harassing, or threatening in video communications.
- Picture Message
- Video Chat
- Tampering: The player tampered with a game, an Xbox 360 console, Xbox LIVE, or the feedback system.
- Feedback Tampering
- System Tampering
- Cheating
- Select File Complaint. Select Don’t File if you decide not to file a complaint.
Notes:
When you block communication, it will remove the message from your inbox. If this is your only communication source with the offending user, please make sure you file a complaint before blocking communication with that user.
Filing a complaint won't mute, block, or help you to avoid a player.
Filing a complaint is serious business! Before filing one, make sure the user is indeed violating the Code of Conduct. you can view the Code of Conduct for Xbox LIVE by pressing (X) on the first screen of filing a complaint. Once you are ready to continue, click on “File a Complaint” and follow the prompts carefully.
Choose the most appropriate options to describe the issue so Enforcement can take the appropriate action when investigating the complaint.
How do I prevent them from contacting me again?
There are a couple different methods to keep your inbox free of harassing messages. Look below for the situation that best describes you and follow the suggestions there. It wouldn't be a terrible idea, since you're here, to read through all the suggestions so you can be ready in the future if anyone does try sending you harassing messages.
I’m receiving harassing text/voice/picture messages.
If you are receiving these types of messages, you can block communication with that user all together. Just open one of the messages in question and select “Block Communications”. This will prevent the user from sending you any more messages.
IMPORTANT:
Do not engage in communication with users who are harassing you. This only fans the flames and makes things worse for everyone. Also, by responding to a user, you will unblock communication with them and allow them to continue sending you messages.
I'm receiving harassing messages from multiple accounts.
If you find you are receiving messages from only a few other Gamertags, you can get by with just blocking communication individually with these users. However, if you find you are receiving a lot of unwanted messages, you can always set your Online Safety settings to only allow communications from users on your Friends List. This is really easy and only takes a couple of minutes. Follow these steps:
- On the Dashboard navigate to the Settings Hub and select Privacy.
- Select Change Settings.
- Select Customize.
- Select Voice and Text.
- Set this to Friends Only or Blocked.
I’m being harassed in a game.
If you are being harassed over voice chat, you can block the user from speaking to you. This is called Muting the player and most of the time can be done right in the game’s lobby. Just select the offending user, open their profile/information/gamercard and select “Mute”.
Alternatively, you can also press the Guide button on your controller (the large silver button with the green X on it) and select “Friends”. Tab all the way over to the right until you get to the recent players menu. This should show you all the people you recently played with. Find the user on the list and press (A).
I'm being “followed” in ALL my games!
If you suspect a user is "following" you into multiple games, he or she may be getting this information from your game history. You can hide this information by editing your Online Safety Settings as such:
- On the Dashboard navigate to the Settings Hub and select Privacy.
- Select Change Settings.
- Select Customize.
- Select Game History.
- Set this to Friends Only or Blocked.
I'm being threatened to be "hacked"!
Strictly speaking, you cannot be "hacked" on Xbox LIVE; that is to say no one can forcibly take your information from our servers. Please make sure that your WLID and password are both strong and secret. Do not share this information with ANYONE! Also remember that no Microsoft of Xbox employee or support agent will ever ask you for this information.
If someone on Xbox LIVE is threatening to "hack" you, or they are asking for your WLID and/or password, you should let us know! These activities are strictly against our Terms of Use and we are serious about its enforcement. Please file a complaint and block communication as outlined above.
Phishing
Some people will attempt to gain access to your account by "phishing" you, or in some way trying to trick you into giving them your secure information. This could be in an email, forum post, private message and can look like it is coming from a big company, prize organization, or even Microsoft. One more time: Microsoft will never ask for your WLID or password. NEVER GIVE THIS INFO TO ANYONE!
For more information on keeping your account secure and safe, please take some time to check out the support doc on Account Security.
I'm being harassed in a Forum thread.
This is the easiest form of harassment for us to take action against as the Forum Support agents will handle it ourselves! All you have to do is report the offending post by clicking on the report icon, the small circle with a slash through it. Please enter a brief but detailed explanation of why you are reporting the post. This only needs to be a couple sentences long. Don't assume the offense is obvious; it's much better if you describe why you were offended in the report. Then, these get queued up in the order they were filed and we take a look at these every day.
For more information about reporting an offensive or harassing Forum post, please check out Fyerball's post for examples and specific steps.
I'm being harassed in a Forum private message.
These messages don't have a report option, so we have opened up an email address for you to send us information regarding private message harassment. IMPORTANT: this email address is for Forum PM harassment ONLY! We do not handle Xbox LIVE or open Forum harassment here. Please don't abuse this system and ruin it for others!
Alright, now that we have that out of the way, if you are receiving harassing PMs, please send an email to XboxFA@microsoft.com. Include your Gamertag, a brief description of the the offense, and a screenshot of the private message(s). If we don't have this information, we won't be able to adequately help you, so make sure you have all three things in your mail before clicking send.
How does Enforcement work?
Action on a complaint is not instant. It can take up to 24 hours for an Enforcer to respond to your complaint, but can take longer to take action based on the investigation that will follow. Sometimes action is taken quicker than other times. For more insight into this process, please read/watch/listen to the following links:
XBL Police (article)
PAX East 2010 (60 minute pod cast)
Secrets of XBL Enforcement (article)
Vulcan Technology (8 minute video)
A Reading from the Book of Enforcement (12 minute video)
PAX East 2011 How XBL Policy Enforcement Works (8 minute video)
PAX East 2011 Conclusion (60+ minute pod cast)