Elder Scrolls Online Spam: Can It Be Stopped?

Can anything be done to stop Elder Scrolls Online spam?

It’s safe to say that spammers are the bane of the internet, and regrettably The Elder Scrolls Online isn’t immune to inappropriate messages. Almost immediately after ESO went live, Zone Chat was inundated with annoying posts from carnival hucksters — most notably ESO gold spammers pitching their schemes. Yes, the messages are irritating (especially if you want to use Chat), but can anything be done to stop Elder Scrolls Online spam?

Elder Scrolls Online Spam

As a player, here’s a few tips when it comes to dealing with Elder Scrolls Online spam:

1. Do Not under any circumstances visit an ESO gold or other spam site being touted in Chat. They’re all scams, pure and simple.
2. Do Not reply to the spam, because you’ll just be wasting your time. The spammers are relying on bots to do their dirty work and they won’t respond to you.
3. Do report and ignore the spammers.

How To Report Spam

Seriously, we all have better things to do than spend time reporting Elder Scrolls Online spam. When you’re in the middle of a quest or crafting, you’re probably not even paying attention to Chat. With that said, if you happen to find yourself using the Chat system and a spam message appears, take a moment to report it. Here’s how:

• Right click the spam message
• Select “Report Player” and the Customer Support box opens
• Use the subcategory drop-down menu and select “I want to report spam”
• Enter a description of the problem (for instance write “Gold spammer”)
• Click “Send Mail”

The Reporting System Could Be Better

The reporting system for Elder Scrolls Online spam is a tad wonky, and ZeniMax Online Studios could make our lives easier by streamlining the process. On Reddit, a gamer with the handle “barduck”made the suggestion that we simply Right Click and select “report player for gold spam.” This is a great idea to simplify the process, and would most likely result in more spam being reported.

Does Reporting Spam Do Any Good?

Due to the amount of Elder Scrolls Online spam, it may seem as if nothing is being done. Action is being taken though, and accounts are being banned.

On April 9, Community Manager Jessica Fulsom had this to say on the ESO forums:

Today, we made our first major strike against those who choose to cheat in ESO, permanently banning thousands. This is only the beginning of our ongoing efforts to keep the game free from botters, speed hackers, and gold spammers. We want to thank everyone who has sent in-game reports about these individuals in ESO—your reports helped us identify many of the accounts we banned today. Please continue to report any botters, gold spammers, and speed hackers you see in-game, and we’ll continue our efforts to keep them out of Tamriel.

Final Thoughts

The amount of Elder Scrolls Online spam is frustrating, but it’s encouraging to see that action is being taken against the spammers. The game is only about a week old, and hopefully spam will be eradicated completely as the game matures. Until that time, we need to use the tools on hand to report the spammers. It takes a community effort, but together we can take a stand and fight back against Elder Scrolls Online spam.

Until next time, fellow travelers!