In the latest Sessler's Soapbox, a regular video diatribe by G4TV personality Adam Sessler, he expresses his severe distaste for the bigotry and homophobia found on Xbox Live. Having actually spent time at GDC discussing this very issue with Sessler and his wife -- she's a lovely and charming woman by the way -- let's just say that Sessler is actually quite restrained regarding his feelings on the issue in the video we've placed after the break.
Although we joke about it in the picture above, Catan is one of the rare Xbox Live games where civility can be found. However, we understand that trash-talking is part of the competitive Xbox Live experience, so might we suggest theShakespearean Insult Generator for those compelled to disparage others. And parents, please control your children online.
In addition to the bigots, there are always a couple level-headed people in a game. Add them, and build up your friends list that way until you get to a point where you only play with people on your friends list.
I can't remember the last time I played a game with the general public, and I'm on Live every night.
Well, to be perfectly honest, it's a large trend amongst people under the age of...I don't know... 30 or so, to use the word "Gay" as a word meaning something similar to the phrase "sucks" as in "This sucks" etc. In other words "This sucks" = "This is gay" it can also be said that "This is gay" is the same as "This is lame" etc.
In other words, most of the time, when someone says the word gay, or uses the term "You're gay" or "You're a *ag" it doesn't mean that they are literally implying that you are a homosexual. It simply means that they think you (or anyone else the insult is pointed at) is lame, or that you suck, etc.
Most of the people using the term "Gay" aren't homophobic in the slightest, and honestly, most of these kids don't even realize that a gay person would probably be offended by their language (not that they care, since this is a free country and offending someone is generally acceptable for children these days).
Basically, a lack of parental supervision is to blame for most of what ails voice chat. The other half is MSoft knowing that trying to get rid of people that curse/are racist is a foregone conclusion (you can't possibly kick EVERYONE, so they don't really kick anyone).
I play TF2 mostly and people seem to keep their mouths shut unless they are saying something productive...unless you don't switch to the class that they think the team needs more of, or the medics don't heal them constantly, or they keep getting sniped or backstabbed, or the team loses a match, or they think your name is dumb...
I don't really mind the constant stream of cursing and racism (mainly because noone ever shouts out "YOU LIMEY MOTHER %%*%ER!!!!" and thus none of the racism is pointed at me) but what really grinds my gears is when people curse constantly while they are helping my team go down in COD4. It's no coincidence that the foul mouthed prepubescent kid is also the lowest scoring person on the team (in COD4 or Halo 3) and the reason the team is going down in flames.
It's unrealistic to attempt only playing with people you know. Even if you could, there is no guarantee that they won't curse. About the only guarantee is that people you know IRL probably won't shout the N word at the top of their lungs like the 10 year old kids in Halo 3. That's something though, right?
It's close enough. I guess Cracker or Red Neck are closer to being racial slurs, but those only really apply to people in the south.
The point being that noone ever uses any racial slurs that apply to me. That doesn't mean I particularly like it when people use the N word, or the J word etc, but just that I'm not personally offended every time like Adam Sessler seems to be. I know it's his soap box, but honestly, unless Microsoft records every single voice conversation on Xbox Live...what way is there to get rid of racists? I mean, can you take the word of one prepubescent kid against another? The reporting system has been a failure since the day it was first devised.
I hear N%%%ER so much (from both whites and blacks) its sickening. Sessler is right, its mostly said by 10 year olds that dont know what they are saying. however, even when i hear other brothers say it online it bothers me. Dont get me wrong; me and my friends call each other that all the time, but we only do so when we are in private chat - i cant wait till we get group chat. my xbox live friends list is comprised only of people i've known since elementary school; we have the ability to know how to use the word with each other whether it be in endearment or to get a rouse out of the other. But we NEVER use it in a mixed crowd. Lots of people that arent black find the word as offensive to them as we do, and some of us are smart enough to recognize that. The younger or dumber brothers dont understand that - or dont care, so they toss it around all the time online, which gives the kids, the bigots, and even the non-bigots kind of a 'permission' to throw it around too. But then the brothers wind up getting mad when they hear it come out of a white mouth (no-matter the age).
Then the arguments ensue. Nobody wants to hear those. Personally, I rather lose EXP points than stick around the match and hear it.
Look. until we can learn to stop loving the words we hate so much, we cant expect the bigots to start to hate the words they love so much.
I'll admit, I curse quite a bit online(not over the top, but I do let off a string or 2 if I'm pissed). And yeah, I, unfourtunately, use gay(meaning stupid) quite a few times on the net, Most times unintentionally.
I see nothing wrong with a tad bit of cursing, but when it gets to the point that its the online thing coming out of your mouth, its rediculous. And all the other crap, is just plain annoying.
I'm a tactician by nature, so I try to coordinate with my teammates online. Sometimes it works. Sometimes I have to deal with the idiots, most of the time ten year olds. It just pisses me off when I'm forced to mute people that act like that. For all I know, They could still be good teammates and be listening to me and letting off information about the enemy's position etc, but if they're muted, Its worthless.
Right now, i'd love to hit Live in something. But none of my buddies are on/want to play, so I'm not gonna bother. Because I'd rather not suffer the ear abuse and I hate playing in silence.
I'm definitely try to only talk to my friends online, but my friends just don't play as much as I do. I would love to be able to go online and find a group to play with who don't spew out ignorant crap and also who just want to go out there and have fun, and not take games like it's life and death. The fact that I can't keeps me in single player most of the time, and it's really disappointing especially with the quality of online gaming today.
Racist comments and those that slander homosexuals are horrible and inexcusable, yeah, but I don't think we're moving in any sort of positive direction if religious profanity and scatological vulgarity are considered acceptable alternatives.
If you really wanna be accepted as normal by the mainstream, Sessler, clean up ALL your language, or why bother?
Great link to the Shakespearean insult generator, Joystiq. What ever happened to finely tuned put-downs?
AMEN! Well done sessler! I gotta share my story...
Bought halo 3 when it came out, played the campaign went to online. It was fun for a while (love halo online!) but then it slowly started in... racial slurs, just horrible horrible remarks etc... So i put halo away and played other games (not online). me and my brother decided to pick up halo 3 again a few weeks ago. We load on and get in a room and the first thing we hear is some kid calling us all sorts of names. We just entered the room!!!! I had no idea who they were! My only reply to them was "you are ruining Xbox live". and of course I got an onslaught of more swearing and racial slurs. I left the room and shut off the xbox. I have not played since.
This is a serious issue, developers have to figure something out and quick. Online is gonna be a cornerstone in the game industry and it wont hold up if you have to work together with a bunch of racist hate mongers.
Again... Thank you sessler! you have a platform to say something and let it be heard. it needed to be said
One of the things that I was looking forward to with Live was being able to talk to people while I played. Clearly this can't be the case because I just appreciate being called horrible names. What it has done is made me develop me own groups of friends on the Gamerchix forum who I can game with without worrying about some one's ignorant, unsupervised pre-teens!
I had heard so much profanity on Live that I decided to make a chart on what the 3 words I heard the most: 1. The C-word 2. The F-word 3. Douchenoob Even I'm confused at the last one.
This is horribly late but I want to go on the record with this...
I played Tetris Worlds Live back in 2003, and found that the people I played with on that game were pleasant and nice. Made some interesting friends, too.
When I got my 360 in 2007, the first game I played online was Texas Hold 'Em, and found myself wondering what the f%$^ happened to the civil people. (To wit: I was kicked from a game for being audibly American after speaking only the phrase "I don't have anything to say." after being prompted to speak by several dozen Scottish-flavored f-bombs.)
I don't actually even KNOW where my 360 mic is now. Additionally, I do not care.
I mostly played Stranglehold on xbox live and out of hundreds of matches only 2 people ever talked and they were just new people to the game asking for a little bit of mercy so they could try to learn the game a bit. I think this may be more game specific than all of xbox live.
This is the reason why I wont ever play public online games with my 360.
I used to love multiplayer back on my PC when everyone was anonymous with text input, but when microphones and teamspeak came about, multiplayer games took a dive. I just don't want to hear wannabe gangsters, hicks, racists, and everything else. I don't mind if I see this stuff being typed because it's not as intrusive.
Microphones are only reserved for personal friends, nothing else. I unplug my headset for any online games I play that doesn't have friends in them because it's a waste of humanity.
Shockingly one of the few games i've played on xbox live and not had someone telling me what they did to my mother was Saints Row. It was probably some of the most fun i've had online.
Really now what did anyone who has ever played an online game expect. This isn't a new phenomenon. This "is" what online gaming is. It's one of the reasons I don't play online games anymore.
I know a lot of the younger gamers were promised this great online experience, With these publishers promising how much fun it's gonna be. In reality though most of these games are absolutly no fun to play unless you have an established clan that plays regularly schedualed matches.
This Is not a new thing. I've been playing games online since there was an online. And even then whether it be an FPS or an MMO or a MUDD on a BBS. This sort of trash talk has been going on since 14.4 external modems.
Sessler you just gained some huge respect from me. I totally agree with you.
I had a guy in GTA IV call me a c*** sucker and some other things because I won the match. Needless to say I made him more angry when I said, "Dude your immature, its just a game." He then responded back with the c*** sucker comment again.
Thank god. It is so refreshing to finally hear someone with a mouthpiece in the gaming culture to say something like this. I love gaming, and I can't tell you how sick it makes me feel to be associated with what appears to be 90% of the community.
The way I handle this is in my privacy settings. You can set it so that you only hear people on your firends list. This has the unfortunate side effect of sometimes not hearing intelligent and friendly teammates but getting rid of the whiners, racists, bigots and griefers is worth it.
