Griefer

Griefer, a form of cyberbully, is an individual who harasses other players involved in a video game. The term may be derived from the idiom "give someone grief" which means to criticize them angrily (The Free Dictionary).

Online games have evolved into an experience that can be shared among players, whether they are a group of friends or strangers around the globe. When you log on to the internet to play one of these games, known as Massive Multi-player Online Games (MMOG), you can compete, interact, and join alliances with others who could be located anywhere. Players generally use an alias to protect their offline identity. Not all of these players, however, are interested in playing the game by the rules, or even playing the game at all. Griefers are bullies who seek to entertain themselves by irritating others instead of playing the game.

Tactics a griefer may use include name-calling and insulting a player over the video game's instant messaging tool and repeatedly targeting another person in order to continually wound or kill the player's character in the game.

While cyber bullies can be difficult to deal with, griefers can be reported to the game administrators. The administrators will usually ban the griefer from the game for a certain period of time as punishment, or ban the player altogether if the activity continues. If you or your child witnesses a griefer while playing a game, the best action to take is to submit a report to the game administrator.