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Competitive Spirit

K54·2/3/2015, 5:00:21 AM·2 votes·553 views

I understand the summoner's code and its intentions, but human nature shouldn't be punished. Everyone is born with a different demeanor and mentality, so all individuals portray themselves in a unique way than others. Of course perception is reality, but I've never considered competitive trash talk to be "verbal abuse" in any way.

I've had my account suspended about 5 times because summoners consider my trash talk "toxic." Trash talk is healthy for all competition and it's everywhere. I'm an athlete (basketball, football, track), a military veteran (US NAVY 2nd class Aviation Mechanic, worked closely with Marines and Air Force), and an avid gamer (specifically fighting games), so I when I discovered moba (League of Legends in the 1st one I discovered and my favorite), it fit right in with my competitive nature.

I don't talk trash and "harass" others out of spite or to troll, I've never meant to depict myself as a toxic player either, but being able to manipulate the mental of others has always been a factor when there has to be a losing side. Alas, if you deem the "verbal abuse" too much to handle, this is an online game... muting is an option. Maybe I don't understand because of my upbringing, I could widen my perspective, but there is no logic in PvP combat without trash talk.

I believe all these games are based off of sports, and comics. For what knowledge I do have, there has always been trash talking in every comic book and every professional sport. Lastly, every single League of Legends champion has their own emotes, allowing you to taunt your opponent, but if I type a provocative comment in the chat bar, this is a violation of the terms and conditions?

There are so many elements to this game that are there solely for bragging rights. Champion efficiency, KDA ratio, elo, in game narratives such as "FIRST BLOOD" and "PENTAKILL" that are all in your face features. But the second you put any of that in the chat bar, "WARNING! YOUR BEHAVIOR..."

Someone help me understand what the problem is! Seriously. I'm getting the impression from Riot and my fellow summoners that my personality doesn't conform to your ideal gaming community. If this is the case, I feel there should be some type of mental screening before you can download this game. League of Legends is up there with renowned tournament games such as Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Tekken, NBA 2K, Madden, Call of Duty and Halo... all of those players talk trash, but it's healthy for games. It's not meant to be disrespectful, just showing your confidence. In League of Legends, there is a best team crowned every season, no way you're going to tell me that of all 10 participants in the final round of the tournament... NONE OF THEM ARE SHOOTING THE SH**!

9 Comments

AJStarhiker2/3/2015, 7:05:52 AM2 votes

As someone who was in the Air Force, I don't accept "I was in the military" as an excuse for poor sportsmanship. If you were in competetive sports, you should know that poor sportsmanship is unacceptable.

I'm betting you watched the Superbowl, and if not, I'm sure you've heard about the fight and ejected player at the end of the game. I have little doubt things were said that you would consider 'normal' trash talk in the moments leading up to that fight. The only difference is that the offender was right in front of the guy instead of a computer across the country/state/city.

It's not acceptable for pro athletes, and if computer gamers want to be taken seriously, they need to accept that harrassment is not acceptable for them, either.

AJStarhiker2/4/2015, 3:18:45 PM2 votes

When you're with your buddies (Military, sports, whatever), you generally know how much you can get away with when you trash talk. You know what they'll think is funny, and what's fighting words. And yeah, there's plenty of trash talk between branches, squadrons, platoons, etc. A popular one in my squadron (helicopters) was "If it doesn't hover, it sucks and blows."

There's trash talking and there's poor sportsmanship. It's not always easy to tell the boarderlines because people have different opinions and beliefs about what's acceptable. Your example includes "Douche" and "noob". You might think its fine, your buddies might know you're just venting and don't mean anything serious, but you can't control how a complete stranger views it and you have two clear insults in one sentance.

BTW: Reports have weight. If someone is constantly reporting but rarely gets the players punished, eventually their reports are little more than 'feel good' reports. You should also know that the popup doesn't necessarily come up immediately after the report was filed. From what you've said, I'm guessing you're playing multiple games in a row. That report you think was for the Leblanc quote was probably actually for a game or two before that one.

Raptamei2/4/2015, 10:10:14 PM2 votes

I don't mind trashtalking between teams, but most trashtalking takes place between teammembers. The team is losing and everyone wants to convince themselves that it's someone else's fault, so they gang up on whoever dies next and bombard them with insults and ask the other team to report them.

When trashtalking between teams occurs, it tends to consist of encouraging the enemy to do the above, wishing them cancer, telling them to commit suicide or baiting them into flaming you so you have an excuse to report them.

Trashtalking may be an important part of sports, but this community can't be trusted to stick to normal trashtalk and not behave like vile antisocial scumbags. They can't beat the opponent in a fair fight so they behave like a schoolyard bully in order to try and make the enemy surrender or afk. How on earth can this be defended as competitive banter?

Matthias91192/3/2015, 5:24:23 AM1 votes

Have you tried submitting a support ticket to see exactly what things you're saying are getting you in trouble? It may not be what you think.

It's very different talking trash with your friends/colleagues, beacuse they know you're not really serious. Riot is usually more lenient with "trash talk" directed at the enemy team than with toxicity towards your teammates. But if you're using R-rated (or worse) language all the time, yeah, that can be a problem. "They can mute me if they don't like it" doesn't fly with Riot.

Pro athletes can get fined large amounts of money or even suspended if they mouth off too much, so that's not really much of a justification.