Boards›Player Behavior

How I use the referral system

SteelMankind··2 votes·438 views

So we all know that the new automated referral system rarely results in anyone actually getting punished. Personally, I have only ever received one notification saying that a player I reported was punished. That's why I started thinking, "Hey, Riot's given us this tool, and it doesn't really do it's intended job. Why not be creative and use it for something else?"

The best revenge vehicle to ever grace the Rift. Jungler won't give you blue buff? Reported for unsportsman-like conduct. Someone implies that you're bad or that they're better than you? Reported for vulgar abuse. Bot feeds Lucian? Reported for intentional feeding.

Obviously these reports won't actually result in anyone getting punished, since they don't actually deserve them and its unlikely that others will report them. But it feels so good on the reporters end - you can win any transgression with a "Muted and reported. Enjoy! :)" in chat. This mentality has made me a much less toxic player since I get the revenge I need without actually looking bad myself.

For the passionate members of the community, I highly suggest using the report system liberally. It's so much more effective than uselessly raging in chat and risking getting reported yourself.

17 Comments

Deep Terror Nami6 votes

I'd advise against saying even "muted and reported". It's an inflammatory remark meant only to get them riled up, and doesn't improve the weight of your report. Telling people they'll be reported is considered negative behavior that may be punished.

As for using reports liberally, it depends on what you mean. You should only report people that you think are exhibiting negative behavior that may and should be punished. If you report for anything and everything you'll lose weight in your reports and the people that deserve to be punished may not be.

You didn't win anything if it ends up with you being punished and your reports having no weight. You're absolutely right that you should avoid getting into arguments though, just skip the passive-aggressive retort.

Edit: Oh, forgot. You only get the notification when your report triggered the punishment. If you don't get it that doesn't mean your report won't contribute to their case later.

SteelMankind1 votes

By "using reports literally", I mean reporting for literally anything that makes you feel upset in the slightest. While it's regrettable that I lose my voice in punishing the actually toxic players, it's unlikely that my report would make the difference. And even if it did, they would probably get reported by someone else next game.

Kei1431 votes

using the report system as a venting tool? wise. It is as you say, you no longer "contribute" to the actual punishments if needed.

Also, i do wish that they brought back "unskilled" as a reporting option, with the notation at the bottom saying "this is just a venting tool and does nothing".

scazzman1 votes

[{quoted}](name=Deep Terror Nami,realm=NA,application-id=ZGEFLEUQ,discussion-id=8R2AiiEE,comment-id=0001,timestamp=2016-06-14T06:37:19.112+0000)

I'd advise against saying even "muted and reported". It's an inflammatory remark meant only to get them riled up, and doesn't improve the weight of your report. Telling people they'll be reported is considered negative behavior that may be punished.

As for using reports liberally, it depends on what you mean. You should only report people that you think are exhibiting negative behavior that may and should be punished. If you report for anything and everything you'll lose weight in your reports and the people that deserve to be punished may not be.

You didn't win anything if it ends up with you being punished and your reports having no weight. You're absolutely right that you should avoid getting into arguments though, just skip the passive-aggressive retort.

Edit: Oh, forgot. You only get the notification when your report triggered the punishment. If you don't get it that doesn't mean your report won't contribute to their case later.

question about this. what exactly determines what makes a report "valid" i only report toxic players. however im concerned that my reports are losing weight because theyre "toxic but not enough to be punished" because the only time ive ever gotten the popup are if someone else reported the guy as well

LuluInWonderland1 votes

{quoted}

question about this. what exactly determines what makes a report "valid" i only report toxic players. however im concerned that my reports are losing weight because theyre "toxic but not enough to be punished" because the only time ive ever gotten the popup are if someone else reported the guy as well

The specifics are proprietary and Riot won't say for fear of exploitation (i.e. people avoiding specific things they check for to avoid getting flagged). My understanding (based on their public statements) is that they utilize an engine that tries to analyze chat, gameplay stats, etc. across the reported matches to determine if the user engaged in what it has determined is bad behavior. It tries to separate out a bad game (i.e. feeding versus intentionally feeding or afk farming) or being salty for a match versus actual abusive behavior. It's not perfect and has plenty of faults. It generally errs on the side of needing proof that something bad was done to punish somebody.

Riot also won't tell you the weight of your reports or how close you are to being punished...again for feat that people would hover right at the border. That said, the weight of your reports normalizes over time as well. So just report what you think is wrongful behavior that was intentionally done. If enough people report for the same type of activity, then that will naturally be taken into account with the analysis (the benefits of big data).

For example, I recently had a Lucian intentionally take my first camp off me as jg Naut...putting me far behind (~2 levels) as I couldn't clear any other camp on the map until I recalled. I didn't say anything in chat about it even once except "...". Is that reportable? Maybe... depends on if enough other people report for the same behavior. That said, he and his duo queued bot Soraka trolled > 40 deaths bot lane with Soraka having an essence reaver, ie, and then bought a needless (because the other 3 of us were actually holding out over 40 minutes and had a chance to win again). Both teams reported them both for that and I'm pretty sure he's banned for a while now. :)

Mig892 votes

Doesnt every non legit report lower the weight of your future ones? If you report everyone for every little thing, when you want to really get someone your report may not even matter?

LuluInWonderland1 votes

Umm...no. Sorry (#notsorry) to burst your bubble, but just reporting somebody doesn't result in punishments. It only means the system looks at their behavior across multiple matches. Also, reporting people who are not breaking the rules makes your reports have no value in the future (i.e. they get completely ignored). Maybe it works for you to release some stress, but that's all it does.

The reason you're probably not seeing that message about the person being punished is because you're trying to abuse the system and now your reports are worthless. Congrats.

SteelMankind1 votes

Fine by me. The stress release factor is extremely important to me - prior to how I report on a whim nowadays, I would often hurt myself to release my anger at players I encounter in my games.

LuluInWonderland1 votes

{quoted}

Fine by me. The stress release factor is extremely important to me - prior to how I report on a whim nowadays, I would often hurt myself to release my anger at players I encounter in my games.

You should see somebody about that. Seriously. No game should do that to you.

SteelMankind1 votes

Says you and your personal ethics. Plenty of people willingly do things which harm themselves (drugs, alcohol, childbirth). Besides, I don't even do that anymore now that I just report people.

Nik Nikerson1 votes

childbirth

Oh you.

Nik Nikerson1 votes

And how exactly does this "get revenge" on anyone?

SteelMankind1 votes

Because you can write a little rant about the person you're reporting when you send the report. Similar concept to writing an angry letter and throwing it away.

Nik Nikerson1 votes

That's not revenge though. Revenge means inflicting harm on another. What you're describing doesn't do anything to the other player.

SteelMankind1 votes

If you say so. Point is, it makes me feel better, and that's all I really care about.

FrankerX1 votes

announcing to report can get you banned. check some chatlogs on this board

ModPrandine1 votes

So we all know that the new automated referral system rarely results in anyone actually getting punished.

Another day another salty player who thinks that because people aren't getting punished as quickly as they'd like the report system doesn't work. Hate to burst your bubble here pal, but just a quick look through this forum will prove otherwise.

Also, just so you know you can actually punished for continuously making false reports, so even if it makes you feel better, you're actually doing more harm than good and actually putting your own account at risk. Seriously though, why even bother to do things in-game that you know will just get you in trouble? It makes no sense.

For the passionate members of the community, I highly suggest using the report system liberally. It's so much more effective than uselessly raging in chat and risking getting reported yourself.

You should take your own advice and use it for what it's actually intended to be used for rather than just as a threat/venting tool for when things don't go your way.

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