An Appeal to the LOL Community

I have played LOL for a few years now. Like every game, it has always had trolls and unpleasant players. I am fine with that when it happens occasionally, but in the past couple of months it seems worse than ever. Often I'm not directly involved, but it's not fun to watch someone else be put down either.

Now, before you lay into me, a couple of points:

I realize I can play normals, but I enjoy the competitiveness of ranked. Being an ass is not synonymous with competitive. For me, normals is boring, with nothing to work towards. Additionally, normals is not free of people raging either... it is just better.

Secondly, I am often told to mute people, which I will. This detracts from gameplay though. League is a team game and games both go better and are more fun when there are effective interactions between teammates. It is also one of the best ways to improve ones own playing.

What I really want to say is , the anonymity of the internet gives people the courage to say what they wouldn't face-to-face. This can be wonderful, but it is another person who is reading your comments. As a pharmacist who works in mental health, I mean it whole-heartedly when I say that those words you spout without thinking can do true damage. Most people will feel shitty for a moment, then brush them off, but if someone is already in a dark place or having a bad day, comments can stay with them and do real damage. Should you be able to say if someone screwed up? Yes, but there is a constructive way to do that. The easy answer to this point is for people who can't take the "criticism" to not play the game. That's the key word though: game. No one logs on to be abused; it is supposed to be fun. Finally, what about the person whose friends play league? He or she should be able to play with them without worrying about some unknown calling them garbage or terrible or worthless.

In the end, this post is not about me. I get called worse things all the time in my job. It's detestable to watch someone make a single bad call though and get reamed out by the people who are supposed to be his or her teammates.

TLDR: Think about your words before typing them. If it isn't something you would say to a person standing in front of you, don't say it.

About me: A self-aware bad player with a valid opinion.