Is racism as hip as it was 30 years ago? Of course not. Things change constantly, sometimes it merely requires effort.

You_Remind_Me_of_my_Famous_Friends

In all seriousness, why do people say that it is impossible to rid the internet of such behavior? Anomininity is a reflection of an individual, who is in turn a small reflection of their society. (Although, society's been going down and down for quite a while now...)

Maybe the decades of the 1990s and early 2000s have just shown that the internet shouldn't be available for everyone for nothing. If every site just took some time for quality control like Kotaku does, it wouldn't be such an issue.

Spiraldo

I'm of the view trying to sanitize and eliminate these elements is not only detrimental to the community, but that it leads to a cold humorless community with a false sheen of politeness, and an unwarranted/unrealistic level of self-importance. We are talking about games after all. I couldn't care less what anyone says to me online.

MattB

TearsandScreams

Wrong. You're playing semantics. If you pick a flower in a field, is it morally wrong? Depends on whether the owner of the field is okay with it! Ethics and morals always depend on others, they don't exist in a vacuum. Just because something is technically "stealing" doesn't make it morally or ethically wrong. Since you specifically state that taking the money won't hurt anyone else, how can it possibly be morally or ethically wrong to take the money?

At any rate, I disagree. If people were inherently egoistics, modern society as we know it would be impossible. Fact is: altruism is an important character trait in humans which allowed us to become the dominant force that we are. Studies actually show that altruism is such an important part of humans that giving money makes humans happier than keeping it.

L_K_M

L_K_M

Anonymity (a.k.a. "John Gabriel's Greater Internet Dickwad Theory") is an important reason, but not the only one. If you've participated in other communities, you'll quickly realize that the gaming community is among the most vicious, hate-filled and defensive.

Go ahead and read any Mac community discussion site. There are very few threads which devolve into ad-hominems and name calling; the Mac community is generally helpful and honestly interested in discussing their topic. But of course, the Mac community is more homogeneous than the gaming community.

So go read Slashdot. Sure, there are tons of "frist porsts" and troll posts, but even when reading at -1, the vast majority of posts are at least topical, and most posts offer some kind of insight. There's actual discussion going on there, with the comments most often offering more than the comment did.

So what makes the gaming community so vicious? I think there are several factors. Anonymity is an important factor, but adding to that is probably that many people reading sites like this one are teenagers. Furthermore, many of these can only afford one console and become helplessly partisan, feeling the need to attack anyone saying anything bad about their console, or anything good about any other console. Which is somewhat understandable; nobody wants to be the kid stuck with the 3DO, so kids do what they believe will help their own console.

So we're stuck with constant flame wars. I don't think it's possible to educate all gamers and get them to behave nicely. Banning or blocking flaming users is probably the only "solution".

L_K_M

DavidTheMan

Sunjammer

kidko

Thing is, I don't have it but, I thought Xbox Live already had that? Maybe it doesn't do the job.

Basically you just need the ability to rate people's behaviour after each game (maybe an 'are they an arsehole? y/n' type rating), and the system can then filter games based on that, so you're playing in a game that requires 4 stars or whatever. If you only have 1 star no problem, but you're playing against all the other 1-stars only. Obviously these ratings will be heavily abused but on average it should work out, with some other statistics (i.e. if your rating is shit, ratings you give also don't count for much).

There's a vague statistical possibility that you could even cluster people in some more intelligent way than a simple rating - rather than just a rating, people would essentially have 'the rating that people who behave similarly to you would give them'. So that for example, if you happen to object to swearing even when people aren't being arseholes, the system would notice and cluster you with other people who object to swearing. Unfortunately I think that although that could work well from the statistical oh-look-we-can-work-out-nice-groupings viewpoint, it would probably be difficult to use it to find a large number of players for a multiplayer game.

quen

I think there is a major problem when you start commanding people to do something about it, when they have their own way of doing it. It's almost the same gang mentality to recruit people in the same peer-pressure manner, "Either you are with us, or against us"

To your examples, there's a HUGE difference between seeing someone get beat up and doing something about it, and dealing with someone with the same bravado you get from not having to face someone directly so you can stand on your little soap box and type with fervor your opposing view. Yes, that's right, anonymity can breed the same kind of spineless inspiration against the intolerant, because you can use the same kind of tactics as them. In the end, It's just a vicious cycle that goes no where. Sure, you can say, "No! I would act the same way if i had to deal with someone face to face!" But, I don't know you, what you do, whatever.. so I can just to come to the assumption that it's a lie.

Going back to trying to "recruit" people for your side it's ignorant/presumptuous to assume all people who aren't on your side is close-minded retards who is going to have their thumbs up their ass next time someone gets attacked based on intolerance.

Like everything, it just exists. Always has, always will. Humans are absolutely incapable of being 100% universally getting along with each other no matter race/creed/religion/what not... we just aren't built that way. We were built with a conscious mind that can make free decisions (more or less, depending where you live) and free choices (ditto) for who we get along with, why, and what we say and do around them. Trying to change some strangers mind and assimilate them to your cause just so you can be naive and think your one step closer to snuffing out the intolerance of the world and preventing wars like WW2, is child like.

You will have people on one extreme side or the other. The thing that people seem to completely miss, is that there is a GREY AREA. Yes, people are not all one or the other. They may lean one way or another, but it's not in one extreme direction.

Monstercloud

Try putting yourself in a place where you don't need to verbally put others down to feel great about yourself? Try it.

Wolf_Dog

No muss no fuss and I never hear from them again. I must have avoided a few thousand people over the last couple years. Feels good on the inside. If everyone took a second to avoid the bad eggs, they'd all have one star rep and be playing each other instead of me. That'd be nice.

If you look on Live, it's almost always people with like, 3000 gamerscore or less who are the total tools. Not always, but it's like the newer you are to Live, the more likely you are to believe that's how you're "supposed" to be, from reading all this crap. It's like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

lionkitten

I agree with some people here that part of the problem is the anonymity. However, another part of the problem is that a lot of gamers don't get the much needed fresh air and exercise they need to be positive human beings. I can't help but wonder how someone who plays WoW for 12 hours a day non-stop can do anything other than become a big, fat, condescending, selfish troll. All that negativity builds up over time and has to be released somehow. Some people just don't get the exercise and time away from gaming to release it.

Just my opinion.

DugDawg

smuckers is good

You don't know them? 50/50 chance they know eachother, meaning they have a tribe and you're not in it, ergo you need to work for acceptance. Until then you're nobody.

People hate being nobodies; a lot of people get defensive about their nobody status and feel like outsiders; sometimes being an outsider can result in feelings of agression towards the insiders.

Enter anonymity. Perfect excuse to exercise those feelings of agression in a "safe environment".

To me it's always this balance that creates hostility. In a group of friends, abrasive talk is lined with understanding. In a group of strangers it's cause for concern.

I've never played games with people that didn't know eachother and experience the XBLA potty mouth hysteria i've seen if i've been playing with friends and an outsider has joined up. It's double crap if a group of outsiders show up. Then we have tribal warfare.

Sunjammer

chiefpoopingpants

With that in mind I can't help but think that the problem is people's ethics or more precisely; the reason they follow ethics and it's an interesting topic in my eyes.

I was discussing a book with a friend recently and in this book the main character rapes another of the characters. I was appalled and stopped reading shortly afterwards but my friend argued that the reason the man had did this is because he had thought he was trapped in a dream and that the fantasy world he was in was not real. This woke me up to the realisation that where my morals and stuff are absolute, not everyone functions along these same lines. For most, morals are based more on external circumstance than on internal motives.

I follow my moral code because I want to be a good person; if I met myself I'd want to be someone I could like and I keep in mind the simple motto "Do as you'd like done to yourself". It's simple but comfortingly effective. My moral code isn't enforced through threat or punishment but simply empathy and my own personal goal of being able to smile without guilt at myself in the mirror.

With this in mind I think the problem is morality. People need to learn to follow morals for the right reasons, not because they have a punishment hanging over their heads. Whether this is a matter of upbringing or maybe even something that's personal I honestly couldn't guess though =o

All that aside, someone earlier commented on ethics in a theoretical situation with stealing money; the caveat being that it wouldn't hurt anyone else and you wouldn't get caught. Looking at this I see that 'nboody would get hurt' and to me that means that you're not stealing... after all if it belongs to someone then you are hurting them on either a financial or at least a moral level (due to the simple principle of it). Therefore I would take the money that has been left lying around without an owner =3

Obviously, in real life I could probably never really KNOW that nobody would get hurt and so I'd probably hang about to see if it's owner turns up for a bit before taking it to the police or lost property. I'm quite bad for losing stuff so I know how good it feels to get something back because people were nice =D

Um... I hope I covered my point there... I have a bad habit of going off on tangeants ^^;

Geminosity

With anything people care enough about to become emotionally invested in, there is a potential for a perceived slight against that view to result in combative and argumentative behavior. And in any such discourse, adding anonymity into the mix only serves to exacerbate those tendencies. So is this problem able to be fixed? No, no it isn't, as it merely is a nasty part of the current human condition being exposed. And I think it is folly for Michael and Angela to ask "Can we nurture a community that responds to these situations in a useful and instructive way? Can we engage a critical mass of gamers willing to model respectful disagreement and thoughtful discourse?", when they are putting themselves in the position of deciding what is classified as "thoughtful" and "useful". I've seen before where comments on Brainy Gamer have been lambasted not on their merits, but on their fervor, and great offense taken at any strong disagreement to the view of a given post.

Now don't get me wrong; I think that hate speech and petty insults should thrown out with the bath water, however, I think there is no stopping fervent and heated disagreements in any situation of conflicting views in human nature. If Michael and Angela want to ban IPs and delete comments, feel free. All that accomplishes however, is a metaphorical closing of the shutter doors to the whelming mob outside; it won't make them any smaller, it won't make them go away.

KidU

Like it or not, the hardcore gaming audience is still mostly young males. Young American males are not known for their civility. Even many adult males when surrounded by a lot of other males in a competitive situation (i.e. playing a game online) tend to become kind of assholes. Anyone who's ever been to a sporting event or a pickup football game knows that anonymity has little to do with that.

Combine the above with the fact that a priori a loud asshole will be heard while a person politely sitting quietly will not, and suddenly all gamers start seeming a lot like assholes.

sethmad

If every single person got along, the world would be a boring place.

*goes back to game*

GTFO, you stupid nub, I own you AND your mom!

Tyber_Zann

Malvolio the Magician

This Michael doesn't seem to be so brainy at all and Angela is from "lol we're so special' group which means exactly the same.

What they don't realize is that it's a certain degree of anonymity that keeps online games so popular.

Mayu-mayu

Are you really that closed minded that instead of dealing with a bigot you stay away from a confrontation?

When someone gets beaten up in the street do help or do you look away and walk past as quickly as possible? Oh god do you stand there and watch?

This isn't a problem of anonimity its a worldwide problem! Racism and Discrimination is on the rise. In europe and russia extreem right wing fascist kids are being given a green light in the name of freedom of speech and democracy.

Well guess what? Calling someone a F***** or N***** is NOT part of free speech. It's rasicm ad discrimination and i don't know in what country you live in but in my country those are crimes. Too bad no one pays any attention to the law anymore.

Did you know that you can DO SOMETHING about bigots and racists? Report tem on xbl (no don't give them a bad report FILE A COMPLAINT. It's easy and just a few button presses away. Here you can send a little mail about someone to comments@kotaku.com and on a forum you can report someone to the admin or appointed moderator.

Don't just sit on your lazy ass and let this kind of shit happen! Get up! Do something about it for once! This world CAN be a better place but it wont just happen overnight whilst you do nothing about it!

Don't turn a blind eye to racism and discrimination! Seriously YOU can make a difference.

If you don't, and you really don't care anymore, we're doomed to keep ging through genocide after genocide like we saw in WWII, the bosnian war and what we now see in darfur.

Go ahead, ignore this comment. And ignore that bigot on xbl. It'll bite you in the ass eventually.

Cchrist

I personally agree that such an image could do with changing. I mean, would we tolerate it in any other environment where we'd play with other people? Football (not the American kind)? Basketball? Other public team sports?

Some people are taking the article's point a little too far, I think. They're not saying things should or shouldn't be handled a specific way. They're asking for discussions on fair ways that it can be handled.

StormTec

Are we that hyper-sensitive?

Who really cares what someone you don't know and will probably never meet, says about you in an online game???

Hey I have a great idea, let's make a law stating that people who say mean, ugly things shouldn't have the right to speak anymore. Let's BAN everything we don't approve of in life.

There, now our world is all pretty and clean!

We can call it, "Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Village", and we can sing and dance and hold hands all day...wheeee!

We don't all need to think alike, and we don't all need to get along.

If someone hates on you for being better than them in an online game, take it as a compliment!

who cares

But Bah to education...Enough dogmatic teachings. "I have no need to take up each thing that wants to throw its cause on us and show that it is occupied only with itself, not with us, only with its good, not with ours. Look at the rest for yourselves. Do truth, freedom, humanity, justice, desire anything else than that you grow enthusiastic and serve them?"

Lavatikov

"Why can't there be world peace?
"Why can't black, white, yellow, pink, brown people get along?"

well, 2 questions, if you can solve, maybe you could get the real answer of this one

cjlopez

If I was in the situation you posited, I would gladly take the money--because it isn't stealing. After all, if taking the money harms no one, then it necessarily means that I am not depriving someone of their hard-earned property.

Things get trickier, though, if we remove the "harms no one" part of your statement. I've never been in that type of situation, but I would like to think that I--and many other people--would not take the money precisely because it is ethically wrong to steal another's property. And while none of us have been in that exact predicament, we've been all been in similar situations to lesser degrees. Most of us aren't going to take a $20 bill left on a friend's coffee table, for instance. Nor are we going to bash in a car window to take the contents within (which, I think, is a closer real-world analogue to a situation wherein we could profitably steal with little to no chance of being caught).

I believe (or would like to hope) that empathy plays a much bigger role in prompting proper ethical behavior than mere deterrence. People are better than that; there are countless examples of many people who put the needs and emotions of others above their own base desires.

JustThisGuy

The public can watch an anime, enjoy it, and not condemn anime culture. The public can watch a sport game, enjoy it, and appreciate its worth. The public cannot play an online game and form a meaningful opinion without being subjected to offensive behavior. Gamers have no safe medium to display their "good" side.

CatPope

Blah8

CatPope

When I watch college sports on TV, I am not confronted with an announcer ridiculing me and attempting to rub his genitalia in my face. If I play some soccer/football with a group at a park, I choose who I play with.

When I watch a debate on TV or discuss politics with coworkers/friends, they do not call me a "noob" for being uninformed about an issue.

In online gaming, the only means of experiencing the venue is also riddled with the dregs of our culture. Sports and politics have a veneer that hides the antisocial members. People who enjoy sports might never enter a sport oriented chatroom or forum. Hell, I actually enjoy sports commentary. Game commentary... not so much.

I am also of the opinion that anonymity is not the real problem. I think the real problem is that interaction on the internet is uninhibited by social cues. On the internet, people "speak" based upon no social perception other than their own emotions. In real life, one might realize that most people in a situation prefer polite interaction and civility. Or, if the case permits, people may enjoy trash talking each other. But these judgments are based off of subtle social cues (body language, peer reaction). In video games, these don't exist. Thus, some people fall back on that which is most comfortable rather than what is appropriate.

Of course, even in real life, there are people who are purely antisocial. They cannot understand or learn basic social guidelines. These "assholes" are normally shunned in adult society (I think young people often confuse antisocial behavior with dominant behavior and reward it). In the video game world, there is no means to shun or segregate. It is much too large of a community.

Oh, god, I just meandered though some pointless BS. Sorry about that.

CatPope

Chikebo

The fanboy/girls are usually very insecure about themselves so they identify with a product; and take any focus not positive towards it as a deeply personal insult.

string_theory

RonJeremy4Pres

Exactly. It's about deterrent, or the lack of, when online. The few consequences available, such as a ban, in many cases really aren't severe enough to discourage such behavior either.

And it is in no way a gamer culture specific problem. And I really do resent the notion that it is. A quick visit to the any politics or sports forum will quickly reveal the exact same behavior. In fact, just a few minutes ago I had to stop reading the comments section on an article on espn.com, because the idiocy was giving me a headache (Lakers fans, sheesh).

It is a very common phenomenon, and it will never go away. It will always be a constant battle that no matter how zealously waged, can never be won. The best we can hope for are places like Kotaku, where there is a concerted effort to snuff it out.

The only way it will ever stop is if the people change, and deterrent is no longer necessary to keep people acting like halfway decent human beings. ...and the world becomes a glorious utopia.

Fury-genesis

xkotaku

Sure, you can try to just block the intolerant out, but then you get the people who are over sensitive about issues start pushing for their right to
not be offended. It ends up snowballing until your entering 12-digit numbers to play with friends with no voice support (Insert wavy guy here).

Homosexual/Racial insults/stereotypes exists... it just does. You don't have to "Toughen up", but try to accept it exists, and move to another game or start making friends and only play with them... or ignore it all together.

Don't say "We're not interested in being scolds or behavior police" followed by "but", because that ends up being the label put on such people, and the circle of intolerance continues..

Monstercloud

Roto13

@GregoriusH: Really? 80% of the time? 100% of the time I've heard it is because they are winding someone else up or cannot form any other cohesive phrases. Either way they are spouting off with the specific intent to offend, not as part of their comedy routine. If you would be so kind as to stop excusing the behavior, that would be delightful.

shini

Evil Tortie's Mom

First of all, to convince a parent that gaming are "good for our souls", you need to makes things clear: Games are not like gaming forums (though some of them looks exactly like one, specially those with live chat).

Second: Usually, prejudice, cussing, and misbehaving on games and forums are usually done because of anonymity and lack of maturity by the people using the service.

So, it's not really that kids will become devils after visiting some forums... it's spoiled brats that needs more education at home.
Moderators on forums must keep a close look at what's happening and expel some people if needed.

Like they do around here, in blogs like Kotaku and Gizmodo.

Just like when you're on a meeting, a movie theater or some public space... if someone is causing trouble, there should be people monitoring and if needed, expelling troublemakers.

And if there are no good monitors to keep it a clean and calm space, just avoid those places or start complaining to the owners.

Because I think it's nice and all to ask people to have a better behavior on public spaces... but lets face it: There will always be people trying to create problems, trolling, being fanboys, cussing and doing stuff like that. Specially on games.

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

Meanwhile, the dozens and dozens of groups they frequently rally against gaming have several big names (Hilary Clinton, Joe Lieberman, Jack Thompson, and probably many other senators/conservative activists (is that actually a position) who would jump on the bandwagon).

I don't think it's that gamers don't care - gamers care, they really do. It's just that the news outlets just don't pay attention to gaming blogs and news sites. And most creators, developers and publishers won't stick their necks out to defend themselves, lest it impact sales (for the most part, at least - I was surprised when Microsoft stuck up for Mass Effect). And, unfortunately, gamings biggest opponents don't respect game journalists (remember when Geoff Keightly went on Fox News).

And of course, ESRB doesn't help with their draconian rating practices. They'll give in to opposition without the slightest bit of hesitation, and they're who the game industry leans upon.

Spacetree

No. It's *exacerbating* the prejudices of the previous generation. You are not going to convince me that "faggot" is being used in some ironic, anti-establishment sort of way. It is an ugly word, a hateful word, and no amount of rationalization is going to change that.

PopSchiller

Cogito

demonknightinuyasha

ShaggE

+ Watch video

UFO

At any rate it's pointless. No one controls a culture, they kind of just happen all by themselves independent of the conscious control of any one person. It's the reason why there'll always be hippies with long hair, and why no one will ever convince 4chan that Milhouse is a meme.

That kind of politically incorrect obnoxiousness is an integral part of the game culture I think. It's a kind of reaction against our current social climate's attempts to enforce politeness and 'moral decency' and political correctness. GTA is pretty much the most iconic game we have because it represents that reaction.

When someone calls you a faggot on Xbox Live 80 per cent of the time they don't mean anything by it. It's just meant to be funny in an odd, roundabout sort of way; it's like laughing at the prejudices of the previous generation. Okay, so society at large might not get the joke, some people might be offended, but who cares? I think as a general rule everyone needs to stop being offended so easily.

These sort of articles always read like, "Okay, here's what game culture needs to do to become an acceptable part of the larger culture". In most instances though, I don't think gamers want to be a part of mainstream culture . Our reactions to certain Fox news beat ups and Jack Thompson and all those other anti-gaming idiots shouldn't be interpreted as pleas for mass cultural acceptance, but as pleas, or warning or threats, to leave us the hell alone.

But as I said earlier, I can't speak for everyone, or even anyone other than my self.

GregoriusH

In every other form of entertainment, when people suggest such things, they are met with heavy opposition from the fans. In gaming? The gamers just shrug and say "yeah, you're right" and that's it. When was the last time you heard anyone other than me railing against the assholes in the ESRB? I'm betting it's been a LONG time, if ever. No, gamers will sit there and say "yeah, the ESRB is necessary because games can ruin a kids life and if a parent accidentally let them play a game the ESRB doesn't think they're ready for, they'll be a killer for life." Hell, the creator of God of War, when that 13 year old shot his friend over an entirely unrelated matter whil ethe game happened to be on in the room, what did he say when the report called and asked what he thought? He said parents should watch what games their kids play. Do you know what that translates to to a non-gamer? It translates into "Yes, if people play these games when they are young, them turning into murderers is certainly a very plausible outcome."

If gamers don't wake the hell up, grow some spine, and stop dropping to their knees in front of the ESRB every time some minorly controversial content is put into a game, they will see their hobby raped by powerhungry executives at the ESRB, by busybody anti-intellectual parenting groups that have been fighting entertainment since the beginning of time (and never finding a victory so total and so easy as they've found in the gaming industry), and by companies that want to exude a "family image". And why shouldn't they? The gamers sit back and take it. Every time.

And please, if you're going to respond to this with some inane "if the ESRB wasn't around the government would be censoring games" crap. The government doesn't censor any other form of entertainment, has never been involved in censoring any form of entertainment (in the USA at least), and would face massive opposition if they ever tried. Not from gamers, of course. Gamers don't mind. But Constitutional scholars would go nuts.

otakucode

Paul Soth

Without slipping into a rant psychoanalyzing the needs of immature people, I'll just toss this into the fold: A major factor in ethics is the deterrant. Most people refuse to believe or even acknowledge this, because it paints people as selfish, brutish morons, but the fact remains that it is true. (I've even been told, and I absolutely believe, that people are born as ethical egotists). The threat of consequences is often the only thing that will stop a person from acting unethically. I'll pose an example to illustrate my point:

If you were given the opportunity to steal a million dollars; you know that you would never be caught, under any circumstances, and you know that taking the money wouldn't hurt anyone else, would you do it, even if it was stealing? A truly ethical person would say "no," because stealing is against his or her moral code. Most normal people (myself included) would say "yes," because our actions are easily justified.

This same situation occurs all the time in the aforementioned chat rooms/boards/LIVE. People are given an opportunity to (at least to them) entertain themselves, and they know that there will be no real consequences. It's much easier for them to ignore how they can potentially ruin others' fun, or hurt others' self-esteem, because they understand that nothing will happen to them. Thier names are secret, thier faces are hidden, and thier location is safe.

There are only two ways to combat this behavior: adding consequences (eg, bans), or education. Adding consequences is the easier and more attractive approach, because it is easier to understand, but all too often the ban/mute/etc. is unheeded because the punishement isn't severe enough. The only other way is through education...that is, teaching these immature people that what they're doing is, in fact, unethical. Unfortunately, by the time they're spouting off homophobic slurs on LIVE, it's all too evident that the people responsible for delivering this education are sorely lacking in one of thier own, either in the same topic, or just in parenting in general.

Yes, this sort of thing goes on. It has for a long time and it will continue to. There isn't much we can do to combat it. That being said, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't TRY.

I'm a proponent of the addition of consequences because education never fails; consequences are OUR way of rendering an education to these asshats, namely: "That shit doesn't work here." Eventually, they'll get the message; people always do.

I'll close with this: Kotaku is one of the finest places on the internet because of this very reason; the banhammer swings often and justifiably so, telling the fanboys and trolls "That shit ain't welcome," and it works. If moderators and server owners allow douchbags to roam free, how are they any better than the parents that refuse to discipline thier children? They're sending a message that "Do what you want, it doesn't matter."

Only in the most educated enviroment will people turn to a norm that doesn't involve such hate, and until more gamers grow up (both mentally and morally) then this will continue to happen.

If you read that all the way through, thanks. One last comment: that picture? Awwwwwww :)

Cogito

Gamers ought to be able to respect each other for what they have in common, especially given games are under near-constant assault from some pretty badly-informed people, but to expect much more out of anybody on the internet is a bit much imo.

evslin

...Oh, how I miss the Yahoo! message boards!

Mr. Fap☆Fap!

ocalot

:P

metadae

Sailorcancer

It doesn't matter how many ID's you pull out of a thread/topic/article, I've never met the people first hand and never will, and i can't understand why that pushes people to tear into each other.

I feel out of touch with the whole Online thing, which is a large reason why I'm anticipating the implementation of Home. Ripping out the "Do or Die" competitiveness that intense gaming entails more often than not. I hope it will bring Gamers looking for fellow Gamers together in the right way.

Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science.

Erwin

On XBL, mute, mute and mute some more.

Xiedo

"How can we constructively address members of our community who use the public and anonymous nature of our forums and comment areas to attack or berate others? Is banning specific commenters or IP addresses the best solution? We can moderate and filter, but is there something meaningful to be gained by allowing such people to publicly have their say? Can we nurture a community that responds to these situations in a useful and instructive way? Can we engage a critical mass of gamers willing to model respectful disagreement and thoughtful discourse?"

They had a lot of terrific things to say (as did Leigh in her columns). I find the questions above the most interesting. It is so difficult to try and meaningfully engage someone who is being blatantly awful. You see that behavior and think that you may get that person to see reason with a thoughtful response. Usually, it goes in one ear and out the other. I sometimes wonder if people like that see the internet as one big video game in which their actions have no real-life consequences.

hikergirl

There are people who are just jackasses; whether in real life or in game. These people can be catalysts to destructive gaming. If one person starts shouting obsceneties it infringes on other people's happy space (I seriously have no idea how to describe what I'm thinking) and in turn these other people will begin to get upset and at some point may lose their temper and here, we can see the dark side has come full circle.

This is all just speculation, though, I'm a "ninten-fag" (read: don't have 500 dollars for a PS360 that might break anyway [I'm not saying that I hate either console, I'm just really afraid of spending that much money and having it break after warranty]) so I don't get to talk to the people I play online. (Yeah, I prefer it that way except when I'm with friends)

Channing

ocalot

It becomes apparent that a significant amount of people are only polite in real life due to the consequences of being rude. Once online, such consequences are few and far between, and the facade is dropped.

It's a shame. I genuinely feel like Xbox Live is crawling with assholes, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. It's sad that this is the state of things.

What ever happened to the Golden Rule?

UltimatePancakeSensation

Let's face it, a lot of people are assholes. And when you give them the opportunity to be assholes without consequences, they will always revel in their assholeness.

Only solution to those kinds of things are eliminating assholes in real life, or a machine that allows you to reach into your television or monitor and punch people in the face.

Fury-genesis

enigma89

Where all the "if you're online you're asking for it" posts? Oh well, it's early.

kingclip

xBallers- people who go on XBL and make hateful statements (racist, homophobic, etc), because they don't have the balls to say the same comments to people's faces. In this way, they "grow balls" on XBL.

Possible reasons - insecure, friend-lacking, no life, think they look cool (esp. in front of friends), self-hating, no self esteem

YesILikeGuys

NitrousO

...oh wait, XboxLive...

D=

(俗・ ) Grey Gecko

Xiedo

What...they get banned? Some intend on the pursuit from the start, but most just make another account as if nothing ever happened. Anonymity is the true culprit here, not gaming. Gaming is the just the venue most traveled by the trolls of the internet.

Figcoinc

If you replace gaming with let's say a group of people that watch a movie together in a chatroom, I doubt they're going to to hate on each other.

It's just one of the pros/cons of online gaming. That is why Nintendo doesn't allow people to communicate, instead relying on cutesy, but useless phrases like "Hello there, friend!".

While the problem will never go away, I think by discussing it, we can definitely lower and decrease the bad encounters we all have while trying to enjoy gaming with people online.

DigiMish

I don't think it's something possible to stop. I mean give people near anonymity and ability communicate whatever they want with almost no repercussions and it's just going to create a hostile environment.

In my recent outtings on XBL, it seems to have clean up a little bit, but there's always going to be that person every now and that swears, yells racial comments, etc.

The best the community can do is start setting up as a group and denounce this kind of activity. Too many time we respond in they same way they talk and that just adds fuel to the fire.

It's not something that will just go away, it'll always be with the community, but we can certainly try to decrease the frequency it occurs.

exkon

SeedyROM

Otherwise it's no different from real life, where everyone is taught that fags are queer and that they are in fact, fags.

Well. The majority anyway.

Solving it on the internets and LIVE's and other Microsoft sponsored venues (woo advertising) is really no different then trying to solve it in real life, which is nigh impossible, as obviously, even education hasn't helped. Again, with the majority anyway.

I'mma be in my corner wishing for world peace while we wait for people on LIVE to say the word "faggot" for the last time.

BlackDove

Give someone a voice without a face and they'll usually be rude.

See: any forum or chatroom on the internet ever.

karasu is my homeboy

ninjadude14