Hey Dolls,

Life has been super crazy lately, am I right? Globally we are dealing with a pandemic and locally we are hopefully following the guidelines set in place to keep us safe. That's a bit about my post today: safety. I want to talk about Stardoll's security and specifically, what happens when you report someone. So I reached out and talked with Stardoll's Head of Security, Raul.

He gave an interview last June with some really good information which I encourage you to check out here.

Here are the questions I asked Raul:

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Hi Raul. Thanks for agreeing to this interview. I am seeing lots of talk about reporting and I just want to get the facts.

What happens when you report someone?

Hey Rachel. Your report gets sent to my security team to review. If the One-Stop Rules are being broken, a warning could be sent, or action may be taken. It depends on a variety of things ranging from what rule was broken to how long a member has been with us, and I often speak with our other departments that work with members to get a better understanding and context. I mentioned it a bit in my June interview.

 

Is there a hierarchy of rules? Like are some worse than others to break?

None of the rules should be broken. But anything that could scam another member will lead to account closure quicker. This could be something like asking for passwords, sharing links to phishing sites, selling items for more than 600 SD/SC, offering to sell Stardollars for real money, selling accounts, creating copies of others' StarDesigns, etc.

Additionally, Stardoll has evolved over the years and our rules reflect that. What may have been acceptable 5 years ago may be against the rules now, and vice-versa, so I encourage everyone to review the One-Stop Rules often to ensure they're not breaking them.

 

If I report someone for something, how do I know you're handling it? Can I check in on it to see what happened?

Once you've submitted the report, your work is done. My team investigates. We have access to lots more information than you as a member do, so we can see perhaps things you wouldn't be privy to. It may seem like nothing is happening, and sometimes that is the case, especially if you report someone for something that is no longer against the One-Stop Rules. But sometimes it seems like nothing is happening because we have to build a case and collect evidence, and that takes time. Unlike TV shows where a rule-breaker's story gets wrapped up in an hour or less, it may seem like someone is still breaking the rules when we're in the 'gathering more information' stage.

Regarding checking in after, please don't. Just as if someone reported you, you wouldn't want me telling others what we have uncovered with your account, we won't share information about other accounts with you. I know this can be frustrating for some people who feel they deserve to see justice immediately.

 

If I report someone for something, should I encourage my friends to also report them?

Please don't, unless they are experiencing the same thing and can use the report tool where it's happening to them. Often members will try to 'report bomb' another member in the hopes that they'll get the account closed. This actually just bogs down my team because the reports don't lead to actual infractions against the One-Stop Rules and are based on heresay. This behavior is also bullying, and you as the reporter can get a warning to knock it off, as bullying is against the One-Stop Rules. Don't waste my team's time with this; it's not necessary.

 

How do you determine if something meets the criteria of racist, sexist, xenophobic... etc. from the first tenate of the One-Stop Rules?

That's a good question. It's not easy, honestly. Since we have an international audience, and laws regarding certain 'protected classes' we list are not consistent across the world, we know that for some people in some places, their rules and standards are quite different. We try to evaluate the context of the reported item. Is it coming from a cruel and bullying headspace, or a headspace that needs more education? The rules are still the rules, and you are expected to follow them, but how we handle a specific incident might change based on the context, and again, this is where it helps to chat with our Customer Support and Engagement teams to get a more fleshed-out version of who we are dealing with and their history in our game.

 

What about rule breaking that takes place away from Stardoll.com?

We are aware it happens. Occasionally we can link it to activities that take place here, and we take action. If someone approaches you on another platform to break rules and you want to report them, it's best to engage with them here and report that action where it happens, as we have the access to see everything here. Often these are also cases where we build up evidence over time before taking action.

 

How come some accounts are closed by Stardoll staff but then are given back?

As I can't discuss another specific account with anyone other than that account's owner, I couldn't get into details. Occasionally, accounts in the past were closed for reasons that aren't against the rules now. Occasionally, a staff member made a mistake when closing an account. Sometimes an account was taken over by a bad-actor and was closed, but is re-opened for the original owner. This is quite rare, and usually when it happens, we receive a huge influx of messages from others insisting we re-open their closed accounts immediately. Please don't do this. You don't know the specifics of why another account may have been re-opened, and sending rude messages to our Customer Support team insisting they re-open your account that cheated and copied a couple years ago will only take time away from other dolls who are asking for assistance.

Raul, thank you for you time and insight, and for helping us to KEEP IT REAL with Rachel!