I don't understand griefing

[RobDaBank]

This is why I don't wear a headset...

 

[GigaHz]

For those who say it's just a game: Let's say you are playing a sport with your friends like basketball and someone comes in and stabs the ball. Yeah, you can get another ball, but I'm not going to just laugh that off. Ignoring the cost, you just ruined my mood and my friends' moods for a cheap laugh.

That's a bit different because Basketballs cost money. If someone, friend or stranger, came and destroyed your basketball, they damaged your property and owe you compensation.

Griefing doesn't force you to stop playing the game completely until you buy a new copy.

Yes, it is just a game. Greifing is also very avoidable. It's as easy as leaving the room or ignoring the person.

 

[orangeban]

I suspect that you don't understand griefing because you are a nice person who doesn't enjoy human suffering.

I'd wager that people enjoy it for the same reason that people enjoy pulling the wings off flys and throwing stones at dogs. Because they aren't such nice people.

 

[-Samurai-]

Nothing gives me more joy in the world than griefing a bunch of annoying kids who treat a game of Call Of Duty so fucking seriously in a hardcore match. Even better, they deserve it.

But why?

Because they shout orders are you and act as if they are the best player in the world when they're just annoying little pricks. I was gaming online with a headset when I was 13, I never acted like half of the annoying kids you hear about on XBL do.

Yet when you go out of your way to ruin the fun of someone else, you're acting like a typical 13 year old. Weird.

OT: For me, it isn't about the game being ruined. I can mute annoying kids and I can find a new lobby. Me leaving isn't a "rage quit", it's me being smarter than you.

It's about my time being wasted. Between working 2 jobs every day, I get only a few hours of free time after work and before bed. I like to come home from a long days work and relax with one of my favorite activities. What I don't need is some unemployed teenager trying to waste my time.

And the "you take the game too seriously" excuse is pathetic. Some people just need to grow up.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Well, you see, there are people who are so useless, whose existence is so pointless, that the only way they can make themselves feel like they matter at all is to disrupt the happiness of others. Up until recently, the activities of these people was constrained to their own physical location, and restrained by the chance that someone near them would punch them in the face. The Internet has removed these limitations.

At least, until I perfect the technology that allows you to punch someone in the face over the Internet.

 

[Sansha]

You don't have to understand it, you just have to ignore it.

Generally, though, people hate and love antagonizing each other. The internet is different because there's no consequences for it.

Why is it fun? Well, just look at this:

Now do that yourself. Notice the intense amount of lulz it generates to crush a camper's skull with a helicopter. There's your answer.

That's not 'griefing', that's 'fucking around'.

 

[Cowabungaa]

That's not 'griefing', that's 'fucking around'.

Somehow I doubt the targets will agree with you. It's usually like that with griefing.

 

[immortalfrieza]

could someone explain to my why it is fun to wreck peoples game times?

There's two types of people who grief, those who have been playing a multplayer game for a long time, got bored and instead of simply quitting playing like sane people, decide the only entertainment they can get out of playing that game anymore is to laugh at pissing people off. The other are simply people that are just as much pricks in real life as they are in video games.

So in short, it's all about douchbaggery.

 

[Woodsey]

Sometimes, the knowledge that you could be in tears of laughter in about 5 minutes is too hard to resist, and so you go ahead and shoot your entire team.

 

[ThreeKneeNick]

Griefing is the truest form of video game interactivity - don't just play by the rules, make your own. And It's also interesting to observe people overreacting over something as benign as stuff happening in a video game. That spitting in someones food analogy ... please! Being angry at a video game griefer is like dreaming your girlfriend cheated on you, and being angry at her when you wake up.

 

[Xenowolf]

They enjoy people's angry/irritated reactions. Also, schadenfreude. Really, I thought this was common knowledge.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Because some sick bastards just want to see people suffer and watch he world burn. Its the same reason some murders gets their kicks out of mutilating people but expressed in a different form. The human mind is a dark and sadistic place its only a thin veil of social norms and pressures that keeps us from tearing each other part like deranged howler monkeys... that and the fact that not all of us are jackasses. I shall join you in shaking my fist impotently as griefers, the annoying pricks.

 

[hiphopstoner]

i cant tell you player bashing is a load off of insecurity of not being able to perfom at your best or better then the others... it also can occurr from boasting

 

[deleted_by_strongbad]

Because people are self-centric petty little shits. We all have that streak, in some it is more enforced/embraced than in others, and so at any time you interact with large pools of people you will encounter people who embrace that tendency to the point of wasting their own time just trying to make other people miserable for their own sadistic pleasure. Though the exact why has countless drives from their own day being terrible because of an obnoxious coworker to them just being a horrible person. Mostly, it just boils down to them being a miserable little shit.

 

[TitanAtlas]

Well i play a LOT in the minecraft free servers, and i hate griefers and griefing.... but i have to admit i have done it couple times.

But these times, were because i ended up in the worst rooms, with the worst Moderators ever. The most arrogant and retard people one could ever encounter. Out of irritation i ended up griefing a little :S

But in everywhere else, i always create and i can make cool stuff. The only problem with my buildings is that i'm always expanding them, making more and more, and that takes a lot of time

 

[WaruTaru]

For those who say it's just a game: Let's say you are playing a sport with your friends like basketball and someone comes in and stabs the ball. Yeah, you can get another ball, but I'm not going to just laugh that off. Ignoring the cost, you just ruined my mood and my friends' moods for a cheap laugh.

That's a bit different because Basketballs cost money. If someone, friend or stranger, came and destroyed your basketball, they damaged your property and owe you compensation.

Griefing doesn't force you to stop playing the game completely until you buy a new copy.

Yes, it is just a game. Greifing is also very avoidable. It's as easy as leaving the room or ignoring the person.

Stabbing the ball might have been a bit too much. It's probably more in line with griefing if the person tossed the ball up a tree and it got stuck there. It'll give the person some lulz as he watch our attempts at getting the ball back. Especially if we can't climb trees.

 

[Sansha]

That's not 'griefing', that's 'fucking around'.

Somehow I doubt the targets will agree with you. It's usually like that with griefing.

I disagree. What I see in the video is a guy fucking around, playing the game within the rules and social acceptance, but in a funny and 'not a single fuck given' style.

If I met this guy or someone just like him, I'd switch to his team and join him on his parade of lunacy. It looks like genuine fun.

 

[MammothBlade]

Griefing gets a reaction out of people... 'tis fun to be sadistic, in moderation.

I once found a huge stack of lava, then torched a whole forest in Minecraft and got away with it. Was cackling the whole time. Good thing I chucked the lava from my inventory.

 

[Vigormortis]

Happy to help. Though, I must say that I didn't even read more than two posts in this forum until just now.

Honestly, most people grief because they like to see some others suffer, or rather just revel in the misery of others. It is sad to say, but take some enjoyment from others misfortune, a "Haa, glad I'm not him" sort of mentality. If you don't get angry, they have no misfortune to gain happiness from.

However, when people are doing it online, they are typically venting; they can't get that release from griefing others in real life - they just can't bring them selves to do it to others, to there face, and witness the consequences of their actions (one of the few reasons why I sometimes like society - it frowns on this type of behavior and acts accordingly). Since they wont do it in real life, they do it on the internet, where they have absolute anonymity which gives them a safety net from the consequences of their actions, and the large audience of those around give them the validation of their actions.

Either that, or they are absolutely horrible human beings.

I'm inclined to believe the latter.

I look at it this way. If you were to take the actions of most internet/gaming trolls and griefers, and apply them to real world actions and people, most of those acts would land someone in jail. Whether for harassment or assault.

The irony here is, a lot of the people (even in this thread) who defend trolling and griefing, would be absolutely appalled if they saw someone doing the same thing to someone else in real life.

Consider this example: (one I think everyone in this discussion should consider)

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Let's say we have a friendly, casual game of chess going. Team play, round-robin style. Just a couple of people, some casual friends perhaps. One member from each time sits down to face one member of the other team, in turn, until everyone has faced everyone else.

Now, we're on; oh I don't know; game three. The two opposing players sit down to the table, shake hands, and wish each other good luck. They flip a coin to see who goes first, one making a joke about wishing he had a mirrored coin.

Black wins the flip.

Black makes the first move, opening with the classic Queen's Gambit. White recognizes the move and makes a quip about it.

Several minutes pass. Both players enjoying the game. Making idle chit-chat. Laughing and carrying on. Suddenly, one of the other players from Black's team comes over to the table. He stands there a moment, hovering over the side of the table. Watching.

The two players simply acknowledge his presence, say hello, and offer him a seat if he'd like to watch the game.

The guy doesn't say anything.

The two continue with their game, going back to their conversation. However, several moves later as Black is about to move his Queen, the third player quickly reaches down, grabs the Queen, and tosses it onto the floor.

Black looks up at him in shock. He doesn't understand what he's doing. He says, "Hey! What the hell man?"

The guy just smirks.

Black picks the piece back up and puts it back on the board, shaking his head as he does so. White isn't sure what to say.

Seconds later, the third player grabs the Queen again and again tosses it onto the floor. Black, getting rather annoyed at this point, says to him, "Damn it! Cut it out! What's your problem?" The guy, again, just smirks.

As Black reaches down to pick up the piece, the guy kicks it away from him. Black, being fed up at this point, stands up and confronts him. He says to him, "Okay. What's your deal asshole? Why are you being a dick?"

The guy gives a dry laugh and responds, "Chill out bro! It's just a game. You mad? Don't take it so seriously."

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Now, I want anyone in this discussion to consider this rather short story. I want you to consider how you'd feel if you were present in the situation. Whether you were the Black player, the White player, or just a side observer.

Then ask yourself this. How would you feel? How would you react? What would you say? What would you think of the third player?

If you would be angry and disgusted by the mans actions, then I hope you're not someone who's okay with online trolling and griefing, because that would be the epitome of hypocrisy.

If you would be okay with the mans actions, and even encourage him to continue, then you're just as big an asshole as he is. (and I'm willing to face Mod wrath to say that)

 

[Vigormortis]

It really depends. A deeply rooted pleasure in humans is to bring misfortune to others, assuming the misfortune isn't serious. It's funny to listen to people get so angry over little things, like being inconvenienced in a video game.

The thing is, that video is neither trolling nor griefing. At worst, it's maybe a breach of server rules. (because of the spray, depending on the server)

He's not ruining the game for others. He's not actively seeking out people to harass them. He's simply playing mind games. The only reason his actions are even working is because those players can't think with anything but what's in their pants.

Where griefing is fun for me is when me and my friend get tired of playing Battlefield 3 normally we do 'shenanigans.' Where he flies me to the enemies helicopters spawn, we wait for their helio to show up, I hop out, lay C4 on it and wait for someone of the other team to get in it and fly away. When they get far enough to think they're fine I blow the C4, hilarity ensues. The point of this little anecdote is to explain that my griefing isn't about pissing someone off, it's about playing the game in a hilarious way to calm me down after a couple of shitty rounds.

But again, as I've said with others, this is not trolling or griefing. You're simply playing the game in an inventive way.

Are you purposely singling someone out? Are trying to harass someone with the sole intent on ruining the game for them? Do you go out of your way to belittle someone, beyond the usual teasing and 'joking around'?

If not, you're not griefing or trolling. You're just playing the game.

If yes, then you're griefing and trolling. And, you would have done a LOT worse than what you described in your story. (more than likely, to your own team)