Wow.com tracked down a forum listing from a concerned parent who said he canceled his son's account after discovering the 15-year-old boy was getting his erotic role-play on at the Lion's Pride Inn in the town of Goldshire on the U.S.-based Moon Guard server -- a place that's become a hot-spot for level 1 alt characters and WoW tourists looking to experience erotic role-playing. Call it the WoW Red Light District.
"As a paying customer for 6 years now, I just wanted to voice my extreme displeasure regarding this disgusting server. IMO, it should be shut down," the parent posted on the WoW forum. "T for Teen is one thing. What goes on in Goldshire on Moon Guard is appalling and beyond offensive."
Is that a Hanzo sword in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?
A Blizzard rep responded to the post, describing Goldshire as a place that frequently pops up on the developer's list of perennial problem spots. As a result, customer service reps will begin actively patrolling the area in an attempt to clean up lewd public behavior.
However, the Blizzard rep also noted that the company allows role-playing, even the erotic kind, between two consenting adults if the chat is private, and there is little the company can do to deter it.
"Members of our CS team will 'patrol' Goldshire on Moon Guard on a regular basis, and take appropriate action for individuals violating the Harassment Policy. Note that this pertains primarily to public messages (/say, /yell, General) and unsolicited whispers. We won't be showing up with that mythical crack of lightning -- we'll just be watching silently for any rule-breaking language and following up privately with the player[s] in question."
Sharkey says: Amazing how real-world issues have transferred so seamlessly into virtual worlds. Any of you WoW players ever checked out Goldshire? What did you think? A serious problem or a fact of virtual life?
