So, I wrote to the GM email and asked them this same question. It's only the second time I've emailed Blizz but both times I've been left wondering whether there's an actual human who reads these or just an autoresponder that looks at keywords and sends back the form response closest to the question it thinks I'm asking. In this case the answer was, thank you for contacting account administration (I didn't) about your account (What?), if you're being harassed (Where did I say this was an individual issue?) open a ticket, and we'll take appropriate action against all parties involved, including the petitioner if we think it's necessary (Way to intimidate people out of writing tickets!).
Now, as I said, I really don't think it's practical to ask people to take the time to type up a ticket every time they see this kind of thing. It would take way too much of our game time, and you're not going to find a lot of customers willing to pay Blizz to police their chat for them. So I wrote them back and told them no, their problem is bigger than that, and they need to put a Report Violation option next to their Report Spam option, and those reports need to actually go somewhere, and by the way thanks for the craptastic response (except I said it with better grammar than that).
I don't usually get all soap-boxy like this and far be it from me to worry that some kid's delicate sensibilities are going to be traumatized by a d!ck joke in Trade, but this is different, and it's gotten out of hand. The N word is the new Ch uck N 0rris, and I'm sick of it. I pay for this game as a means of entertainment and relaxation and the people I pay need to get more actively involved in stopping asshats from creating such a hostile environment for their customers. Saying "Well we typed up some terms of use that say not to do that" is not good enough. A rule only becomes a rule when you make some attempt to enforce it. And telling your customers to enforce it among themselves doesn't count.
So, yeah, I'll let you know if I hear anything back, because I feel certain you want another lecture from me on this topic as soon as possible!
If you experience similar problems on your own server and are so moved, by all means join me in expressing your distaste for this kind of language to Blizz.
I do think they care about the quality of their product and their customers' experiences more than your average company, and I think they'd want to take this seriously.
Edit: Hee. I didn't realize Alla censored the CN word.
Edit #2: I received a response directing me to the Suggestions forum as the appropriate venue for my request for a "Report TOS Violation" feature. I'm satisfied with this answer; if that's their procedure for processing customer feedback, I'm happy to follow it.
Edited, Feb 8th 2010 7:42pm by teacake