Psa

[Motherland]

Grooming.
This has recently come to my attention because of events that have happened to me, that have also happened to my family, and a few of my friends. I feel as if this PSA could help someone somewhere, and therefore I want to talk about it, and possibly open a discussion about it.

To start off, I won't drill into your head "Oh if you feel uncomfortable, tell an adult, or someone of authority" because it was drilled into my head so much as a child Im completely numb to it. We have all been children, and some are still children, and this can happen to ANYONE by ANYONE.

Grooming. When I was still in middle-school, I was friends with my school resource officer (I'll call him bob, that's not his real name.), and I thought he was the coolest guy ever. Bob spoke to me like you would with another adult, and that made me feel close to him. We spoke about how awful the kids at the school were, and he made me coffee, and we would just hang out in his office for hours on end just talking. After just a few weeks I felt uncomfortable, and I didn't quite know what to do. Bob complimented me a lot, and always wanted to hug me. It was only after I spoke to my mother about my feeling of discomfort that she told me I was being groomed.
Being groomed is something that can happen to absolutely anyone, any gender, and sexual orientation, and I feel as if that's stupid to say, but it's hard for some to still comprehend. I doesn't take sexual contact or harassment for you to be officially groomed. There are plenty of warning signs.
The most important thing you can do, when you start to feel uncomfortable with someone in your life, is to trust your gut instinct. Grooming can even happen to adults.

My message to you, is to trust your gut instinct around a person. If you feel uncomfortable, speak to someone you love about the incident. Think about what might make you uncomfortable about them, and take in the warning signs.

Please watch this video, by the lovely (licensed therapist) Kati Morton. Last but not least, please be safe.

 

[Winterless]

Ye I'm pretty sure there was a pedophile on the server the other day

it got handled tho

 

[Motherland]

Ye I'm pretty sure there was a pedophile on the server the other day

it got handled tho

Click to shrink...

I'm sure there are plenty of them on the server. It's a huge server, and you can also be groomed over the internet, but it is harder to detect. You see, being over the internet is like reality, except with a veil. You never quite know if someone is joking, and you could probably never get that twist in your stomach, because they are not there in real time.
Take into considering every joke told to you, how they treat you, and if they offer you things that you couldn't otherwise get. The biggest theme to keep in mind is that they are looking for vunerability. Vunerability and naive behavior. Even if you aren't Naive, you could become a victim, because anyone can have a weak time in their lives, where they are looking to others for approval, or acceptance.

 

[HeyoBiggums]

People are out there to find you, and do terrible things. Usually folks who bait you and whatnot, as @VanCeryneia said, look for naive behavior. Their motives and intentions, are evil. What you can do to keep yourself clear from them, and avoid them, is your business. There are many articles on the news of children being abducted by pedophiles, by playing video games, and tricking them into being a 'friend'. The majority of the stories of online meetups with pedophiles are not pleasant, and the mental and emotional scarring that takes place to the victim is horrendous. There are people who want you, for crazy reasons. It is a very serious matter. I'm not saying to push away your friends from Massive, Just watch people for odd behavior, like Bob, continuing to compliment you, or try and engage in strange conversations about your real life. You probably won't want to continue chatting with them. If they always chat about that.

I'm posting this because we only talked about how to avoid them. But this is all about what could happen to you if you were to fall into a trap, while it is rather extreme of me to say this sort of stuff, and I highly doubt you all reading this will do so. I'm sure many staff members can agree that safety is a priority. Safety is something we cherish. Some players on Massive, use this as an escape from their lives, like me. I don't want to see any of my friends/family of Massive, fall into a trap and go through something terrible. Never meet up with somebody from online that has the slightest bit of sketchiness. If you are, and the individual's not giving odd behavior in the video above, always have a parent watching you at all times, with the police on speed dial. Keep an eye out for your surroundings, and watch everywhere, because people will do anything, and people like that, are unpredictable. I'm not telling you that you shouldn't meet up with people, there are people who have been brought together through Massivecraft, and they see each other in real life. A great example being @BillyTheScroofy and @MantaRey, can you imagine the safety precautions they took for each other to see one another in person for the first time? Not only love relationships are made, but irl friendships are made. I caution you when speaking with people, and meeting up. Why would I just post this? Because, I care for you all and I love spending time with you people. I would hate loosing one of you to those types of people.

 

[Motherland]

People are out there to find you, and do terrible things. Usually folks who bait you and whatnot, as @VanCeryneia said, look for naive behavior. Their motives and intentions, are evil. What you can do to keep yourself clear from them, and avoid them, is your business. There are many articles on the news of children being abducted by pedophiles, by playing video games, and tricking them into being a 'friend'. The majority of the stories of online meetups with pedophiles are not pleasant, and the mental and emotional scarring that takes place to the victim is horrendous. There are people who want you, for crazy reasons. It is a very serious matter. I'm not saying to push away your friends from Massive, Just watch people for odd behavior, like Bob, continuing to compliment you, or try and engage in strange conversations about your real life. You probably won't want to continue chatting with them. If they always chat about that.

I'm posting this because we only talked about how to avoid them. But this is all about what could happen to you if you were to fall into a trap, while it is rather extreme of me to say this sort of stuff, and I highly doubt you all reading this will do so. I'm sure many staff members can agree that safety is a priority. Safety is something we cherish. Some players on Massive, use this as an escape from their lives, like me. I don't want to see any of my friends/family of Massive, fall into a trap and go through something terrible. Never meet up with somebody from online that has the slightest bit of sketchiness. If you are, and the individual's not giving odd behavior in the video above, always have a parent watching you at all times, with the police on speed dial. Keep an eye out for your surroundings, and watch everywhere, because people will do anything, and people like that, are unpredictable. I'm not telling you that you shouldn't meet up with people, there are people who have been brought together through Massivecraft, and they see each other in real life. A great example being @BillyTheScroofy and @MantaRey, can you imagine the safety precautions they took for each other to see one another in person, for the first time? I cannot imagine! Not only love relationships are made, but irl friendships are made. I caution you when speaking with people, and meeting up. Why would I just post this? Because, I care for you all and I love spending time with you people. I would hate loosing one of you to those types of people.

Click to shrink...

well said, daughter. remember! pedophiles are not the only people who groom. adults also groom other adults, that they find vulnerability in.

 

[BillyTheScruffy]

Its really just a matter of maturity, frankly. Exercise judgement of character and watch for anything that you believe your Grandmother wouldn't approve of. I personally believe that anyone over the age of 18-19 should not meet up with anyone younger than that nor should you meet up with anyone over that age if you're younger than those ages. Especially if you're leaving in different countries.

One of the best rules of thumb I could give is this: If you think your parents would disapprove, it probably isn't the best idea. Speak to your folks, let them know and see how they feel about it.

 

[Motherland]

Its really just a matter of maturity, frankly. Exercise judgement of character and watch for anything that you believe your Grandmother wouldn't approve of. I personally believe that anyone not over the age of at least 18-19 should meet up with anyone younger than that nor should you meet up with anyone over that age if you're younger than those ages.

Click to shrink...

well said, billy

 

[Wumpatron]

People are out there to find you, and do terrible things. Usually folks who bait you and whatnot, as @VanCeryneia said, look for naive behavior. Their motives and intentions, are evil. What you can do to keep yourself clear from them, and avoid them, is your business. There are many articles on the news of children being abducted by pedophiles, by playing video games, and tricking them into being a 'friend'. The majority of the stories of online meetups with pedophiles are not pleasant, and the mental and emotional scarring that takes place to the victim is horrendous. There are people who want you, for crazy reasons. It is a very serious matter. I'm not saying to push away your friends from Massive, Just watch people for odd behavior, like Bob, continuing to compliment you, or try and engage in strange conversations about your real life. You probably won't want to continue chatting with them. If they always chat about that.

I'm posting this because we only talked about how to avoid them. But this is all about what could happen to you if you were to fall into a trap, while it is rather extreme of me to say this sort of stuff, and I highly doubt you all reading this will do so. I'm sure many staff members can agree that safety is a priority. Safety is something we cherish. Some players on Massive, use this as an escape from their lives, like me. I don't want to see any of my friends/family of Massive, fall into a trap and go through something terrible. Never meet up with somebody from online that has the slightest bit of sketchiness. If you are, and the individual's not giving odd behavior in the video above, always have a parent watching you at all times, with the police on speed dial. Keep an eye out for your surroundings, and watch everywhere, because people will do anything, and people like that, are unpredictable. I'm not telling you that you shouldn't meet up with people, there are people who have been brought together through Massivecraft, and they see each other in real life. A great example being @BillyTheScroofy and @MantaRey, can you imagine the safety precautions they took for each other to see one another in person for the first time? Not only love relationships are made, but irl friendships are made. I caution you when speaking with people, and meeting up. Why would I just post this? Because, I care for you all and I love spending time with you people. I would hate loosing one of you to those types of people.

Click to shrink...

Speaking to the last point, there should be some degree of caution when meeting people from online in the real world. I was fortunate enough to develop and IRL friendship with @Rochelle_ and @Empaul who I consider to be two of my closest friends. From meeting them I was able to have a relationship with one of their friends. I'm a twenty year old college student from the Detroit area, but I could have easily been someone else entirely. So with that in mind, just be smart and never meet someone privately, do it in a public space. Like we met in the largest mall in the state, which fortunately we were all who we claimed to be online. But yeah, online friendships are great, but similar to the OP, you need to be cautious.

 

[Legoclub22]

It's always okay to cut someone off if you feel they're being weird. Additionally, if they can't outsmart you, they can't hurt you. There's no way someone on the internet can get to you in real life, or make you do anything. If someone threatens you, consider if they can actually do that. Whether they can or not, contact authorities. Be it the Staff, or Police in severe cases. You can't really get in trouble for being deceived.

Generally, don't let yourself fall into a place where they hold power over you. If they ever start doing anything that makes you doubt yourself, block them. If they did anything that breaks rules, report them right away.