Before the banhammers. Before Discord mods. Before GMs roamed the servers like digital sheriffs, MMO communities had to police themselves.
In this episode, Boss Mode takes you back to the Wild West of online gaming, when players built their own systems of justice: vigilante guilds, public blacklists, trade chat courts, even full-blown in-game trials. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it went hilariously wrong.
Inside this episode:
· Ultima Online’s Sheriff Guild and the first “walls of shame.”
· Kill-on-sight lists in MUDs and EverQuest vigilantes hunting griefers.
· WoW blacklists and RuneScape’s trade chat “courtrooms.”
· Vigilante guilds that became heroes… and others that became villains.
· Balmung’s infamous in-game trials and public executions.
· How community-driven justice shaped the moderation systems we use today.
Before there were mods, there was us, and the justice was as chaotic as the games we played.
Episode Sponsor:
Boss Mode Fashion, because even if your DPS is trash, your fit doesn’t have to be. Find your next respawn-ready outfit at bossmodefashion.com.
Got a grief story or redemption arc worth sharing? Email podcast@mmomadness.com your tale may end up in a future episode.
"We’re going beyond the patch notes… and pulling the mask off the madness.”
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