How to Respond to Abuse and Harassment on Chess.com

You should never have to accept or live with any form of abuse or harassment online.  You are not to blame for this abuse no matter what your profile picture or user name is (please follow the guidelines here).

I discussed one type of abuse and harassment here that can be particularly hurtful and harmful to others.

What should you do when you witness or are the target of abuse or harassment on chess.com?

• ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS report offending users or comments using the built-in report tool.  This will alert the moderation team.  Moderators or staff will review all reports and determine what actions are appropriate.

• You have the power to block users.  This will prevent that user from sending you game requests, sending you DMs and commenting on forum topics or blogs you created.

• After you report the user or comment, you may also notify a moderator by DM.  This should include urls to the offending user or comments with an explanation.  Please be aware this is not an official way to report issues.  Moderator may not see or respond to DMs immediately (or at all).  Noter: Moderators cannot share details or actions taken against any other users.

• If the abuse is persistent, I urge you to reach out to Chess.com staff by visiting https://chess.com/support.