Extend lobby mute to lobby matches

[elexis]

After a 16k word long conversion on what can be systematically changed to shield lobby players from the damage of offensive chatters without removing them from the community and without Wildfire Games observing ingame chat, one very feasible idea surfacted, that a mute would not only apply to the lobby chat, but also extend to the ingame chat.

While we do have strong anti-smurf prohibition so that players can become familiar with people they would like to avoid, new players who don't know which people they have problems with will be affected by players who have been muted but not yet banned from the lobby. So this aims to shield new players, not the ones who are already familiar with their enemies.

While temporary and persistent bans also shield the community from offensive chat, there are also many members who either are not targetted by the chat or are targetted and are fine with it.

The most problematic people will not refrain from creating smurf accounts and changing their IP address in order to continue to play the game. If the mute tool becomes more effective, it thus qualifies as a deescalating means that can be used before the more strict ToU enforcements are applied.

One disadvantage to this tool is that it may change the behavior of people to be silent in the lobby but continue to be offensive in ingame chats. And then WFG cannot verify the reports, as the ingame chat is not under control of Wildfire Games, nor being hosted by Wildfire Games, and moderation thereof was meant to be prerogative of the participants.

So the tool may not the means to all ends, but the conclusion that a player should be muted ingame if he is muted in the lobby sounds valid to me.

That the player is muted should be indicated ingame, so that the other players know that they are not to expect a reply by that player.