Forum Thread

Ive been a member of this community for a little while now, and in the relatively short time (compared to others) that Ive been active here, Ive seen quite a few usernames that should not under any circumstance have been allowed to even make it through registration. The rules clearly state that, for the sake of child safety, inappropriate usernames are forbidden.

Quote from Rules - PokéHeroes

"1.1 PokéHeroes should be a friendly community-based browsergame for every age. To ensure this, it is forbidden to use offensive swear words or to make any statement that is inappropriate for any age, or to provide links to any material [e.g, images, videos, audio] that contains inappropriate content and/or language. It is likewise forbidden to deliberately cause trouble or to discriminate other users in any way. This is valid for the whole site - including the forum, private messages, the pal pad, the chat, your 'about me', your user statuses as well as the nicknames of your adoptables and your own username.

If this rule applies to usernames as well, how is it that usernames such as [Censored] and [Censored] have been allowed to exist? Im aware that the second username mentioned may not be considered inappropriate, per se, but it doesnt take a lot for someone to decipher what the username was intended to read as. (Switch around the final two letters of the second word.)

I understand that the staff have quite a bit on their plate when it comes to managing user-made content here, but things like this simply should not be allowed. According to others, there have been multiple reports on the first account mentioned, and still, for nearly a month, it has remained on this "child-friendly" website. The lack of enforcement of the most important rule is genuinely astounding to me, and Im beginning to wonder if our reports are taken as seriously as has been stated.

I apologize if this complaint rubs some staff members the wrong way. I feel very strongly when it comes to protecting youths from inappropriate content and behavior. Im asking the staff to please please work harder at addressing our reports and protecting our younger players. Perhaps something along the lines of whats mentioned in this suggestion could be implemented in order to keep these kinds of usernames off of PokeHeroes. Perhaps it could go as far as not allowing usernames like that to even be registered. Theres an automated system to detect cheating with interactions, so why shouldnt there be one to detect and censor inappropriate usernames? Of course, a bot wont catch everything. There would likely still be a need for staff members to keep an eye out for usernames that may have slipped through the cracks. However, it would catch usernames that clearly violate the rules, such as that of the first account mentioned in this complaint.

I genuinely believe that what I and Morbid have suggested will make PokeHeroes a safer place for younger players. I really hope this is taken seriously, and that something will be done about not only the two accounts linked, but any inappropriate usernames that have been or will be created in the future. I believe implementing these suggestions will bring us one step closer to making PokeHeroes a better place. It wont ever be perfect, but I at least want it to be fun and safe for everyone. Thats all Im trying to accomplish. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. ❤

Thank you for your feedback.
Firstly, don't worry - we are taking all reports very seriously! And no, we are not allowing inappropriate usernames on PokeHeroes. Our moderators don't mark these reports as "done" until the issue has been resolved completely. Sometimes reports just need a bit more time.

Changing usernames is a little trickier and time-consuming than—say—deleting a feed. A username is a login credential which the user needs to sign in. If we change it without them noticing, they loose access to their account. That's why we always reach out to the user first (in case they are still active) and ask them to please change their username asap. This gives them a second chance, which I personally believe everyone deserves.
If they don't change their username within a reasonable amount of time, we forcefully change their username.

I nonetheless agree that three weeks (which is how long it took to change the first username you linked) is a bit long for that process. We are continuously working on improving our internal processes and this issue is something that we will investigate closely in the future.

Again, however, let me assure you that we have the best interest of everyone in mind. We don't like such usernames on PH any more than you do :)

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Also, FYI, I have removed the links from your post. I get that you need examples to prove your point, but technically that's considered "Naming and shaming". Please send examples to me or the moderators directly next time in case you find it necessary.

Im so sorry for naming and shaming in the initial post. I was in the process of editing all that out before you responded.

Thanks for the response. Im relieved now that I know some reports arent just brushed aside or ignored. Its understandable now why it might take some time for stuff like that to be sorted out. Im very glad improvements to how things like that are handled are in the works. Im looking forward to them! In the meantime, Ill do what I can to help you and the mods keep PH clean.

Again, thank you so much!! 😊