skillzdadirecta Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 FINALLY I didn't work on this story but I wish I had. I think all gamers of color have had similar experiences and cope with them the same way. The scary thing is I have nieces and nephews who are now of the age to start gaming online and I do NOT want them subjected to this shit that has gone unchecked for waaaay too long. Hopefully scrutiny like this will force companies to FINALLY get this shit under control. EDIT: Mods I posted this on the wrong board... feel free to movie this to the gaming board if you feel like it's more appropriate there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 I think one of the reasons my non-IRL friends list on Xbox is mostly POC is because they don’t have to worry that I’m going to launch into racist tirades or invite others into a session that would do so. Other than people I know in person, I don’t have hardly any white Xbox friends because casual and overt racism is quite common when playing with randos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggie Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 One of the best parts of PC gaming is/was the ability to rent servers over which I had full admin control where I could kick/ban any degenerate assholes that dared pull that shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
number305 Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 2 hours ago, Biggie said: This form of racism is acceptable tho right? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwinIon Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 I vaguely remember that event with TerranceM. I think it was a Dreamhack Austin maybe? I'm actually a little surprised that it hasn't gotten much better over time. You could have made this exact same story in 2003. I would have hoped that a combination of people being more aware of this problem, companies being more aware and trying to shut it down, and just the average age of gamers getting older would have lessened the constant racism, sexism, etc. Even as a straight white male the general behavior of people in online games has largely kept me off anything with voice chat for the last 20 years. There have been a few exceptions, mostly raids in WoW or Destiny, but other than that I pretty much avoid voice chat, and that's kinda sad, because so many games get so much better if you have a group of people willing to communicate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skillzdadirecta Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 I emailed the the reporter who did this story this morning after seeing it to tell him what a good job I thought he did. I've worked on his pieces before but never met him and I was really bummed that I wasn't assigned this story. I have personal experiences myself that mirror a lot of the gamer's in the story's experiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggie Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 58 minutes ago, number305 said: This form of racism is acceptable tho right? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 I think it was MS that way back in the early days of Live had settings to digitally alter your voice. It would be cool if there were tools built in to change the sound of your voice, like using the audio version of an avatar. And they need to do a better job of policing reported bad behavior. I don’t know why there isn’t a way to see the status of a moderation request. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 4 hours ago, skillzdadirecta said: I didn't work on this story but I wish I had. Heck you could have brought it up years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skillzdadirecta Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 29 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said: Heck you could have brought it up years ago. Well I wasn't working for them "years ago" so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CastlevaniaNut18 Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 2 hours ago, number305 said: This form of racism is acceptable tho right? I’m probably gonna regret this...but this isn’t a serious post...right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 1 hour ago, skillzdadirecta said: Well I wasn't working for them "years ago" so... 2020 is 10 years combined! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skillzdadirecta Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 Just now, Keyser_Soze said: 2020 is 10 years combined! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_MH Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 What drives me crazy about this is that we should now have the technology to deal with this stuff. It seems like it would be incredibly easy to just automatically listen for key words and just straight ban repeat offenders, even if nobody is reporting it. I'm going to assume nobody is doing this because they don't want to have to deal with the fact that they're likely be banning a TON of paying costumers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skillzdadirecta Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 Just now, Ghost_MH said: What drives me crazy about this is that we should not have the technology to deal with this stuff. It seems like it would be incredibly easy to just automatically listen for key words and just straight ban repeat offenders, even if nobody is reporting it. I'm going to assume nobody is doing this because they don't want to have to deal with the fact that they're likely be banking a TON of paying costumers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 3 minutes ago, Ghost_MH said: I'm going to assume nobody is doing this because they don't want to have to deal with the fact that they're likely be banking a TON of paying costumers. Reminds me of this mobile game I was playing recently. There is a reg there who is pretty toxic in the world chat and he got reported and banned for a bit. But he got mad saying, "I spent a lot of money on this game" and "It was just a joke" - I guess people think that the amount of money they spend entitles them to say anything they want. The other part is just how bullies try to justify their actions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skillzdadirecta Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 Is it "THE" problem? No. Is it "A" problem? Yes. Huge tech company's unwilligness to address this issue and neglect portions of their paying customers is the MAIN problem and that is what I hope stories like this can change. Folks inability to see or acknowledge this is also part of the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercury33 Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 6 hours ago, Man of Culture said: Ah yes, the real problem. Edgy 14 year olds and college frat bros on Xbox who learned a few slurs and didn't have parents who cared enough to smack them upside the head. Ding Ding Ding!!! Congratualtions!!! You’ve just been inducted into the D1P Stupidest Fucking Takes of All Time Hall of Fame!!! You must be so proud 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggie Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 35 minutes ago, Mercury33 said: Ding Ding Ding!!! Congratualtions!!! You’ve just been inducted into the D1P Stupidest Fucking Takes of All Time Hall of Fame!!! You must be so proud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xbob42 Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 I'M GONNA SAY IT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodporne Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 I remember signing on to RDR2 Online when it first came out and I'd say it took a maximum of five seconds for the first 'faggot' to drop and the next ten minutes was a free-for-all of random slurs of any and all kinds. Lots of high-pitched screeching, wailing and generally 'just nuke this planet already' behavior. Don't know how some people put up with this shit on a regular basis as part of their gaming. This seems like the norm based on my (limited) experience versus being some sort of niche behavior that can actually be controlled and/or moderated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_MH Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 4 minutes ago, Bloodporne said: I remember signing on to RDR2 Online when it first came out and I'd say it took a maximum of five seconds for the first 'faggot' to drop and the next ten minutes was a free-for-all of random slurs of any and all kinds. Lots of high-pitched screeching, wailing and generally 'just nuke this planet already' behavior. Don't know how some people put up with this shit on a regular basis as part of their gaming. This seems like the norm based on my (limited) experience versus being some sort of niche behavior that can actually be controlled and/or moderated. It is the norm and the number one reason I don't bother with online gaming much. Every publisher claims that this behavior is unacceptable and not allowed, but they don't actually do anything about it because they actually don't care. You can report people but unless they have a racist username, nothing is done about it. The GMA segment touches on the problem here. Since such a huge percentage of devs are white they can argue to themselves "I'm white and I get called the n word five minutes into a match, so it's not ACTUALLY racist, it's just shit talk." They can justify it as such because it doesn't register as a slur that hits them personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_MH Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 8 minutes ago, Man of Culture said: Anyone who gets hit hard by a slur spoke aloud by some random 500 miles away is emotionally incompetent and possibly narcissistic if they out that much stock into their immutable characteristics. That being said, Ubisoft seems to be the only one who actually gives a damn, unfortunately it seems they only really give a damn about Siege. I see hundreds of people banned almost daily for toxic behavior. You get a nice ticker on the upper right hand corner of your screen of who they banned and why and on a good day, sometimes that shit scrolls for a straight minute. Can't really say the same for For Honor though. Edit: in my 20+ years of experience with online gaming, most of this casual racism comes specifically from males aged 12-21 with zero parental supervision. Too young to know any better, too stupid to behave like a normal human and parents who don't really pay attention. That's bullshit hand waving. It puts the onus of poor behavior on the victims of that behavior and the not perpetrators. It doesn't even matter of nobody is truly offended. I have kids. We're all brown-skinned Americans. Do I want my kids being exposed to that kind of talk when there older and in their early teens? No, I don't. Should the result then be to just tell my kids that they aren't allowed to play games they like online because publishers are afraid of upsetting a large chunk of their white, young, male customers? That would be bullshit of a highest variety, but if my kids were 12 or 13, you bet my ass I wouldn't be letting them go online for that very reason. I don't give two fucks if it offends them or not, I just don't want them to internally normalize that kind of racial abuse/language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPCyric Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 26 minutes ago, Man of Culture said: Anyone who gets hit hard by a slur spoke aloud by some random 500 miles away is emotionally incompetent and possibly narcissistic if they out that much stock into their immutable characteristics. That being said, Ubisoft seems to be the only one who actually gives a damn, unfortunately it seems they only really give a damn about Siege. I see hundreds of people banned almost daily for toxic behavior. You get a nice ticker on the upper right hand corner of your screen of who they banned and why and on a good day, sometimes that shit scrolls for a straight minute. Can't really say the same for For Honor though. Edit: in my 20+ years of experience with online gaming, most of this casual racism comes specifically from males aged 12-21 with zero parental supervision. Too young to know any better, too stupid to behave like a normal human and parents who don't really pay attention. What about someone who constantly gets slurs spoken against them that it makes them depressed and then they commit suicide? Not everyone is as tough as you seem to be and there is no reason for anyone to tolerate racist fucks. Edit: Not all kids can be taught how to have thicker skin some are more sensitive than others btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 I'm watching this thread very carefully. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 52 minutes ago, Bloodporne said: I remember signing on to RDR2 Online when it first came out and I'd say it took a maximum of five seconds for the first 'faggot' to drop and the next ten minutes was a free-for-all of random slurs of any and all kinds. Lots of high-pitched screeching, wailing and generally 'just nuke this planet already' behavior. @best3444 can really be an a-hole sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_MH Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 9 minutes ago, Man of Culture said: No it's not bullshit hand waving. A) Your 12 year old kid should not be playing Siege or Call of Duty, let alone online. That's just straight up irresponsible parenting. B) I'm Puerto Rican, my daughter is mixed ethnicity? So fucking what? C) All Publishers need to do is make it standard practice for their developers to provide mute, block and report functions across their online games. If their game becomes a phenomenon (e.g. Siege, Fortnite) then they should have additional methods of moderation including live humans that catch what the bots don't. You should make sure your kids know how to use them. FTR, I'm on board with game account and console bans for idiots acting like racist/sexist dip shits online, so don't think I'm not. It's also not incorrect to say that people need thicker skin, teach your kids to not be pussies the second they hear something they don't like. I was playing Doom at home and Mortal Kombat in the arcades when I was that age. It's fine. Even then, it's not just M-rated shooters that are issues. Have you ever been in the lobby of any online game with chat? Have you seen the Internet as a whole? Just because you normalized the behavior, just because I've grown numb to it, doesn't mean that's the best we can hope for our kids. That's bullshit and you have to agree with me here. My job as a minority with brown kids is to protect them as best I can. However, it would really be pretty damn nice if we could move forward in society as a whole where I didn't really have to anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
number305 Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 6 minutes ago, Man of Culture said: If you suspect that your kid can't handle it, remove them from the environment. That's your job as a parent to protect your kid and if you know you can't control the environment and you know that the people who run the environment have no incentive to change it, then it's incumbent upon you to make sure you remove your child from it. Anyway, your kid is more likely to get bullied and killed by their high School peers on Facebook than through Call of Duty. The answer is not running from racisim. The answer is to confront it and make the world a better place. I'm white and so is my family - but I don't let my 11 year old's play online games because of all the garbage out there. Even if they wouldn't get harrassed I do not want them accepting that as normal behavior. But I don't sit on my hands either. I'm here to support any movement that can make the online community a better place than the cesspool it currently is. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggie Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 16 minutes ago, Emperor Diocletian II said: I'm watching this thread very carefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skillzdadirecta Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 23 minutes ago, Emperor Diocletian II said: I'm watching this thread very carefully. It's going exactly the way I expected from exactly WHO i expected it to come from. No surprises here at all... typical "It's not the racists who are the problem but the people who react/speak out against racism are the real problem" bullshit that has become so popular in recent years. It's so fucking comical at this point that it's not even worth responding to really. I WILL say some supposedly "Non-racist" folks get REAL vocal whenever issues of race are brought up. What's that old saying? "A hit dog will holler" EDIT: It's not just so called "Adult games" that experience this shit either... Roblox has some prety vile shit in it too. There are just folks out there who get off on trolling people online. Some of them are even in this thread 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShreddieMercury Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 I'm baffled by how it's somehow an issue to... think that racist online behavior is an issue? Rather than recognize that the insane, toxic, racist, misogynist, etc. environment of online video games should not be tolerated? What in the fuck is this thread. I don't give a shit how old they are, fuck racists, and more generally, fuck gamers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CastlevaniaNut18 Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 I’m so glad I don’t play online. Local co-op with friends, ftw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 DOTA gets a bad rap for having a toxic community but you rarely hear racist stuff or cursing stuff. I mean some people get mad but it's mainly for mistakes being made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skillzdadirecta Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 17 minutes ago, ShreddieMercuryRising said: I'm baffled by how it's somehow an issue to... think that racist online behavior is an issue? Rather than recognize that the insane, toxic, racist, misogynist, etc. environment of online video games should not be tolerated? What in the fuck is this thread. I don't give a shit how old they are, fuck racists, and more generally, fuck gamers. Thankfully it's a very vocal minority who see the reaction to the issue is the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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