Contradictions and The Summoner's Code

It took me a while to think this thread over, and longer still to figure out where to place it. As it directly impacts the way we play the game it would seem the best place is Gameplay & Balance. For anyone who wants to read the Summoner's Code before we begin here is a link.

A thread posted earlier today (now deleted) got me thinking about how one should handle a toxic player. The thread author did not put a whole lot of effort into their thread, but they were adamant about their beliefs on the subject. To paraphrase greatly they said "screw the Summoner's Code, I will treat kindness with kindness and disrespect with disrespect".

It had been a while since I read the Summoner's Code, and so I decided to reread it. What I read did not quite sit well with me, and here are my thoughts on it.

Support Your Team

The first rule of the Summoner's Code is to support your team. Riot has been pushing to make teamwork a focal point of the community for a while now, and it is backed by this rule. Here are a few quotes I find particularly important.

> Once the game gets into full swing, you have to make a choice between being a positive force for your team, or contributing to your own demise.

> Be open minded when considering the needs of your team.

> And most of all, if you're having a bad game don't take it out on your team!

Each quote is made in the context of being a team player, from champion select to the end of the game, however the Summoner's Code is used for out of game activity as well. These quotes directly play into other rules, and really lay down a good foundation for a community.

We are encouraged to support our allies until the bitter end, but there's a catch. Riot has drawn a line in the sand that we are not allowed to cross. On the other side of this line is what many, including myself until very recently, consider retaliation. When someone is raging at and belittling a member of your team it would appear that the first rule would support defending said team member.

In the 7th rule it does mention muting, however we all have a basic understanding of tilt. When tilting we do not make the best decisions, and those decisions can end up ruining the game. According to the first rule we have to consider the needs of our team, and make a choice between being a positive or negative force. If you have an ally who is being harassed it is therefore your duty to assist them. Are we really required to politely remind them to use the mute button, instead of show them that we are on their side in this conflict? According to the first rule of the Summoner's Code I would argue we are not.

Enjoy Yourself, but not at Anyone Else's Expense

As I said in the first part it would appear the Summoner's Code wants us to defend our allies should they be in distress, be that from a gank or a player using toxic language. The usual argument put forth against this is that of the mute button, which is an argument I've personally used, however that argument seems to contradict the fourth rule of the Summoner's Code; Enjoy Yourself, but not at Anyone Else's Expense.

If you are not on tilt muting a toxic individual is quite easy. It's even easier if you are not the target of the harassment. If an ally is on tilt, however, it's not always so easy for them. The 7th rule says to politely ask the toxic individual to stop. If this doesn't work simply mute them.

If an ally is being harassed, your suggested action is to mute the harasser. Would this not be abandoning your ally? Are you not muting the harasser to protect your own entertainment at the expense of your ally? It would seem as if the suggested action is for people to play into the Bystander Effect, which also seems to be a direct violation of the 4th rule.

Yes the 4th rule is written to deter people from being the harasser in this situation, but guilt is not only earned by action. Inaction can be just as bad, which is why in reality it can lead to jail time.

Build Relationships

As suggested by the 1st and 4th rules we are to band together with our allies. This is also covered by the 5th rule; Build Relationships. Most of this rule's text is about adding people to your friends list for later games, but the provided quote is what I wish to focus on.

> "No man is an island..." -John Donne

In League of Legends no player is expected to stand on their own. This is a team game, and as such we have a team to stand beside us. If we do not stand together we will fail. Occasionally a player ends up on our teams who works against this very thing.

If we are to truly stand beside our team we cannot falter. As the first rule states: > For better or worse, our fates are intertwined with that of our teammates.

This holds true even into a situation where a team member is working against the team. It also goes against the suggested action of rule 4. If a team is not allowed to stand as one, even if it is against another team member, that team will fail time and time again.

I would argue that any player who is actively working against a team is not a part of that team. It does not matter which side of the map they spawned on, if they are working against a team said team should be allowed to band together against that player. Retaliation is not the same as self defense, after all.

Be Resolute, not Indignant

This leads me to my last point. The title of rule 7 is Be Resolute, not Indignant and yet the entire rule is written to support a passive resolution to problem players.

Are we to be resolutely passive? This honestly sounds absurd to me. To be resolute you must take a stand. There are many ways you can take a stand, both violent and non-violent, however by definition taking a stand is not a passive action. It is not possible to act non-confrontational and yet be resolute without being artificially ignorant to the situation at hand.

I've always understood the rules to be a way of rising above toxicity in common understanding. They were about being constructive and supporting your fellow player. They were rules of action. I still think the spirit of the Summoner's Code is one of action, however in word I'm no longer sure.

I don't often see harassment in game, but when I do I will gladly defend whoever is the target. To me it plays into the provided quote for the 7th rule: > "It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience." -Julius Caesar

Defending another is not a negative thing. It's not an "eye for an eye" strategy. Ideally it is about showing the harasser their words will not divide the team and ultimately will not harm their intended target. More often, however, defending another is simply about redirecting the harasser's attention. I know my tilt limit, and if a harasser is targeting one of my team members I will gladly take the brunt of their words. I will take that burden so my ally does not have to.

And yet if I do so I may face punishment. The largest difference between retaliation and defense is intent. Unless I am mistaken no computer can judge intent just yet, and so punishment is a real fear. I've dealt with Riot's Support channel a number of times, and I've been given the impression that if I am wrongfully punished they will fix it for me, however it is a temporary fix for a long lasting issue. The Tribunal, whether it worked or not, was supposed to cover issues like this by allowing real people to judge intent. Actions speak louder than words after all, and speaking out in defense of another person is an action that should be allowed by default by whatever system we use.

Parts of the Summoner's Code appear to agree with me, but others do not. It is a contradiction that does not sit well with me. Conflict is a part of life, and so we must either pretend it does not exist or embrace it in a constructive manner. That is the intent of the Summoner's Code, is it not? To create a constructive environment for our community?

From my perspective it would appear Riot wants us to let the rules deal with our problems for us. They want us to hide behind them and use them as a shield to protect us from negativity. Negativity is a part of our world, and if we do not confront it on a personal level we, as people, will never overcome it. As the provided quote for rule 2 says:

> "When you confront a problem you begin to solve it." -Rudy Giuliani

Because of these contradictions something has to change. It is ultimately up to Riot to decide between their non-confrontational policies and the spirit of the Summoner's Code, but the player cannot be expected to uphold them both. I've made my case as best I can, and hopefully one of these will be rewritten. I know my preference, but in the end consistency is all that matters.

Thank you for your time.