If you've played any online video game, chances are you've probably been a victim of griefing. As its name suggests, griefing is when players pick on (or grief) others in games for their own personal amusement. It's a frequent occurrence, over a quarter of customer support calls made to online games companies complaining about it. Technically it can also happen locally with console gaming: just imagine someone jumping in front of you while playing something on the Kinect or snatching your shiny new 3DS away from you (indeed, the Nintendo 3DS is apparently going to feature more prevalent online multiplayer and sharing capabilities, so stamping out potential griefing should be high on Nintendo's agenda). If the mere thought of this doesn't get your blood boiling, let's take a look at examples of griefing that crop up in some of the video game world's most popular titles.
Mouthing Off
Possibly one of the most irritating parts of in-game chats. With your opponents (or sometimes teammates) seeming to be either under fourteen years of age or unable to use the English language you are bombarded with lines of often offensive nonsense. Why can't you guys just get on with playing the game? You might have less reason to rage then.
"Stealing"
Both in and out of inverted commas, really. Whether it's in-game stuff or your whole account (which you pay real money for), it's hugely frustrating. As a matter of fact, the latter is equivalent to real theft, resulting in the griefers potentially being faced with criminal charges.
Hacking
Very unsportsmanlike. Whether it's phishing to steal passwords and other account information or in-game hacks in order to enhance the performance of the griefer, having to experience hacking is never fun. Some video game companies (such as Steam) work very hard to make their servers hack-proof in order to avoid this kind of griefing.
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