Why You Should Never Text Strangers on PlayStation Network
It won’t come as a big surprise to hear that strangers playing online games aren’t necessarily “nice”. Anyone who has ever been in a Modern Warfare 2 lobby has battle scars to back it up. But even in 2022, the trolls are alive and well, aiming to turn your online gaming into a living hell. If you instinctively respond to harassers to tell them what’s what, here’s a tip for you: don’t do it .
In a now-deleted post on r/PS4 , Reddit user findclarityhere told his story of messaging with a group of strangers on PSN. According to Redditor, this group constantly harassed them in Red Dead Redemption 2 , making the game virtually unplayable. Just like in real life, finding clarity here sent a message to the group, essentially telling them to switch off.
While Redditor went so far as to call strangers “losers,” the insult was apparently unforgivable, with the group saying it found clarity here for harassing them , using the post as evidence. Almost instantly, PSN banned Redditor from online gaming for seven days. Justice.
Although the story itself has been removed by r/PS4 mods, the discussion below is very active, with readers sharing similar stories of frustration with the PSN trolls. One user spoke about his child’s experience in RDR2 online mode and how he was killed every time he appeared in the game. The child has quit playing, which is probably the goal of every online troll. Others have spoken more broadly, saying it’s never a good idea to text strangers in online gaming, while others vow to give up online gaming forever.
There are a few things to unpack here. First, I tend to agree that it’s almost never a good idea to text strangers who are trying to chat with you, whether on PSN or anywhere else on the internet. “Don’t feed the trolls” is a saying for a reason: anonymous assholes generally don’t like any attention, even if you’re trying to keep your cool. Of course, their ultimate goal is to piss you off, laugh at your anger, or play the reverse UNO card and make you suffer the consequences of their bad behavior.
Unfortunately, it seems that PSN’s policy in particular is one of zero tolerance: if they get multiple reports against you and see that you interact negatively with those reporters in any way, that’s a ban. Is it a bit extreme to ban a paying customer for a week for calling another player a loser? Probably. But given how toxic online gaming can be, it’s good to know Sony is taking its anti-harassment action so seriously .
So the moral of the story is: don’t message strangers on PSN. I mean, never send messages to strangers, especially on a platform that can quickly punish you, not trolls. Make no mistake: the trolls are well aware of PSN’s position here and will use it against you. The best approach is to simply block any harasser you come across and try to play your online games in peace.