Stalking/Harassing

Our #1 complaint in Halsoft is stalking and harassment. Most of the time the stalking/harassment complaints come from failed vp relationships. Both of these words are sorely misused online. It won't take long for you to figure out the difference between a legitimate complaint and a false one. Stalking/Harassment charges are very serious and carry criminal implications, therefore take each one seriously, but also take the time to find out the circumstances and talk to both parties involved if possible. If it appears the charges are legitimate please let Dawg know immediately.

Talk to Involved Parties

Get both parties in IMs and get each side of the story if possible. Suggest one or all of the following techniques: ignore, name change, frequent different rooms from each other. These actually WILL work! Be careful not to appear to take sides, be professional at all times. In most cases you will find out it is a he/she said "I don't like him/her" situation.

We have no control if they are being harassed in another chat program; MSN, Yahoo, ICQ. All you can do is suggest they change their names in these programs or using their block feature just as they would in VPchat.

If at any time a chatter mentions the situation has followed them into their real life via mail, phone, etc. suggest they call their local authorities immediately. If the complaint is just that, a complaint because one doesn't like another anymore, their whole attitude will change once this suggestion is made. If they are concerned enough to call the police you can always remind them of the X on all online programs until the situation is resolved. If they think it's serious enough to be frightened, then maybe they shouldn't be in chat.

We will not at any time remove someone just because a chatter says "whathisname is following me, he won't leave my room when I tell him to". Empower them to take care of themselves. VPchat has a very handy feature built into the product. It's called IGNORE. And of course there are plenty of rooms they can visit, and the ability to change their nickname. People must be willing to help themselves before we can help them. If they make excuses not to use your advise then they're not seriously looking for help, they just want to complain.



When to Involve Administration

How do you decide when to call in administration? The best advise I can give you, is call them when YOU feel uncomfortable with the situation. Never be afraid to message an administrator, even when in doubt as to whether you should or not. In time you will gain the experience to know how to deal with each situation.


Safe Chatting


If someone has their phone number, address, naked pictures it's almost always a case of THEY gave it to them or THEY gave it to someone else who gave it to them. Or they were in a compromising position via web cam.  Pictures can be grabbed from web cams.  They have to take responsibility for their own actions. Point out the safe chatting rules to them on the Community Standards URL

If this information has been uploaded to a members page (http://members.vpchat.com/membername) we can deal with it.  If it is on anyother server they need to contact the person in charge of that server.  For instance if it is on geocities, they can email the problem to abuse@geocities.com or webmaster@geocities.com.  We have no control over sites not on our servers.

http://vpchat.com/standards
Don’t give out personal information while chatting. Halsoft is not responsible for any problems resulting from the exchange of personal information.