Mute
A mute is a form of damage control, used by in-game Player Moderators, as well as a form of admonition used by Jagex Moderators, and Customer Support to those who are guilty of breaching the hardest-weighted Code of Conduct.
Mechanics
Mutes are a way of deterring further rule breaking by trouble players by stopping them from being able to communicate via any type of chat function. They are typically given out by Player moderators as a warning to curb abusive behaviour. Temporary mutes given by player moderators are quickly investigated by Jagex moderators to see if further punishment is warranted which can last up to 48 hours. There have been some instances where reports or mutes from normal and player moderators have resulted in mutes spanning several months or even permanently as dictated by Jagex. Temporary mutes may also be implemented automatically if the game detects blacklisted phrases, such as gold-selling website addresses.
Muted players may not post on the official RuneScape Forums. Muted players can continue to play the game somewhat normally; however, the lack of verbal communication limits them to using emotes or external forms of communication. A muted player will not be able to talk in-game or on the forums. If a player is on their last chance, and they commit an offence, they will be permanently muted or possibly permanently banned. Also, if a player is muted for website advertising or real-world item trading, the player may become banned by Jagex right away. Mutes may be appealed if the player is past the green zone of the Offence System.
Mutes are not obvious to the player. Anything they said in chat is only visible to themselves, similar to a shadowban.
Criticism
The mute system has faced criticism from players for perceived flaws and issues. Among these are that player moderators are able to immediately mute players for one hour, even with insufficient or no evidence to support the mute. Additionally, players have pointed out problems with the appeal system, citing long appeal processes that sometimes take longer to resolve than the mute's duration.
Trivia
- In RuneScape, it is possible for muted players to have a slightly less limited form of communication via the Quick Chat feature. This system does not exist in Old School RuneScape.
- Muted players chat messages will begin with lower case, and only visible to the player. (this is no longer accurate in OSRS, chat message begin with uppercase and are only visible by the player)