When Regulation goes too far...
(Link above for people who haven't seen it yet)
Alright If memory serves I haven't created a discussion on the Boards before (and If I did it was a while ago) so please bear with me.
OK so about 3 hours ago (At time of writing) Videogamedunkey made this video saying farewell to League because he isn't having fun anymore, and was banned for being "toxic" to a person who was intentionally ruining his game because he didn't get his role. if you haven't seen it I would definitely watch that before continuing because some of what I'm talking about may not make sense as a result.
Firstly I want to say that I do not agree with about half of what the video said, but there are several points that I DO agree with because I cannot refute them. Cheaters should be banned, people who AFK consistently should be banned, People who spout all kinds of retarded shit telling others to kill themselves WITHOUT provocation other than "That person is doing bad" should be reformed or banned. When I myself entered this game toxicity was a real problem. People doing all of the above were everywhere and Tribunal couldn't keep up with it all so it continued to fester like a plague, which is why people like me became so adamantly against toxicity and lauded riot as heroes with every step they took to remove it from the game.
But now I think we've all gone too far (both Riot itself and the community as a whole) now I've had these thoughts about the game for a while Dunkey's video is just being used as an example because it was the final 'nail in the coffin' as it were that convinced me that my stance on toxicity is no longer the correct one, there was a time when it was (circa season 3) but that time has passed.
The first warning light clicked on when I looked back and realized that the Tribunal has been down since pre-season 4, the communities voice on what is or is not toxic, has been lost for far longer than it should have been. Instead we have this automated system in place that looks at what is said, presumably with context of the situation (but how can we expect an automated system to understand provocation, lets be real) and in clear cut cases, dole out punishment (fair enough) and in murkier waters, hand it to a higher up to decide what happens, this would be fine if the case actually underwent peer review, but that was the Tribunals job, and it's still gone.
Warning: I don't know how much of my previous paragraph was accurate this is simply my impression of how the system works based on what Riot has stated, if anything is inaccurate feel free to correct me
The second warning light clicked on when after the introduction of chat bans, I simply began to see people talk in-game less and less. I myself cannot remember the last time I talked in-game (when I wasn't playing with friends) that wasn't making a call or berating my own stupidity, if Riot checks my history, they will probably find a few instances but they won't find many and that's the problem. The chat-ban system has created an environment of fear, where people are being nice to each other or shutting the fuck up, not because they actually want to be nice, but because they are terrified that giving any form of criticism will get them banned. Well that might seem fine, but its making the game more stressful to play and creating an even bigger environment of feeling helpless when you get someone who does bad because most people won't tell them how to fix his mistakes out of fear of him thinking the you are just being a dick and smashing that report button, and presto! chat banned for legitimately trying to be helpful and salvage a bad situation.
Even if this part IS inaccurate a lot of the time, this is still the consensus among a lot of people who play this game, the environment of fear an automated system with no peer review created is real
The third warning light was when I actually went ahead and re-read the summoners code and found tenant #4 and it reads:
Enjoy Yourself, but not at Anyone Else's Expense
"Short is the joy that guilty pleasure brings." -Euripides
Making games is our business, so it should come as no surprise that we want you to have a lot of fun. We want you to get excited, to have tension-filled moments, and to celebrate your success. This doesn't mean that we're okay with you ruining anybody else's day.
Remember, taking a jab at your friend in the middle of the game is a lot different than making a glib remark at a complete stranger. Someone who is unfamiliar with what you consider playful may take your comment as an attack and react unfavorably. If two players on a team start fighting, good communication and teamwork become nearly impossible. Once communication breaks down, the likelihood of victory is drastically diminished. It isn't uncommon for simple, good natured teasing to spiral out of control into a loss, so do yourself a favor and don't run the risk of sabotaging your own success.
That got me to thinking, why do we have a RULE in place that says "don't be mean" when what constitutes as 'mean' is entirely subjective and riot obviously understands this since its written in the rule itself: "Someone who is unfamiliar with what you consider playful may take your comment as an attack and react unfavorably" but the rule goes on to say "so do yourself a favor and don't run the risk of sabotaging your own success." OK this sounds all well and good until you think about what it really says to me: "Tolerate everyone, including the guy actively breaking this and other rules because someone else will deal with the rule breaker if you don't comply you too could (read: WILL) be punished."
That was what I PRESUMED, and then it was confirmed when I looked further and found tenant #7
Be Resolute, not Indignant
"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
Intrinsic to the idea of competition is the notion that, when our pride is on the line, emotions tend to run high. Every person that we encounter is going to carry a different set of circumstances with them into the game, and therefore is going to have a different level of tolerance for frustration. If you end up in a game with an abusive player, don't lower yourself to their level. Instead, politely ask them to calm down.And remember, even if you're having a bad game, quitting or going AFK just ruins the game for the rest of the players. If someone's really starting to bother you, the mute and ignore commands are always there to resolve the situation.
And remember, while nobody likes being insulted, it pays to take a moment to consider the circumstances. Remember that this is a competitive game, and, more often than not, the other player is just venting their frustration. Try not to take it personally. Everyone has a breaking point and everyone rages sometimes. At some point you may find yourself in the other person's shoes.
And now it is confirmed the rules pretty much state "don't be mean or be punished, and if someone else is being mean, be understanding or be punished" Why is it beginning to sound like I'm the only one being punished in this relationship Riot?
As I already stated, the fourth and final nail was Dunkey's video. Specifically the part where he got banned for Violating tenant 7 and 4 (and 9 I guess, the vaguest rule of them all) all in one fell swoop for the crime of being mad at someone who was being a dickhead and specifically out to ruin that game for everyone. Yes he said some serious shit that I am against most of the time. But MOST of the time the attack comes unjustified, done basically because someone gets mad that somebody else is feeding or kicking the shit out of them
Riot you guys love quotes, I can tell because they're plastered all over the Summoners code. Here's a quote for you:
_“The rights of private persons amongst democratic nations are commonly of small importance…the consequence is, that they are often sacrificed without regret, and almost always violated without remorse. But it happens that, at the same period and amongst the same nations in which men conceive a natural contempt for the rights of private persons, the rights of society at large are naturally extended and consolidated”
- Alexis De Tocqueville_
How is this quote relevant? You have 2 (arguably 3 but I won't worry about tenant #9 right now) RULES in place, an automated system that enforces them, and a Diehard group of followers (of which I used to be I will remind) that actively encourages putting in more and more regulations that not only make it impossible to be allowed to be mean to others, but also deliver valid criticism, and finally don't even allow you to tell other people NO without risk of being banned. Our rights as individual players, take a MASSIVE backseat to the community as a whole, we have majority rule without minority representation, and there doesn't appear to be one person at Riot fighting for the "player" rights over the "playerS" rights. Which is how we ended up with a situation like Videogamedunkeys. Banned for talking back to someone who was the cause of the problems in that game.
There was a time when we needed all the rules as I already stated, but we DON'T anymore, people are a little bit older, a little bit more mature, and I think that it is time we started peeling back these regulations on toxicity before we go from a preachy KILLL THE TOXIC ONES community to a dead silent one because talking at all has become a flogging offense. Sometimes people need to learn to just suck it up and not take everything people say so seriously, and either ask them to stop or mute and report if they don't stop. You'd be amazed at how many people in the game nowadays DON'T actively want to sabotage the entire game and will stop bragging if someone asks them too, or at least stopping giving that particular person a hard time.
I was certainly amazed to learn we actually have ONE rule against toxicity let alone THREE, that's just going overboard and fuck you tenant #9 for demanding that I be a representative for the entire community every single time I play a game. No seriously here you go (if you care)
Lead by Example
"Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions." -Harold S. Geneen
If you share our vision of a game where players exercise good sportsmanship, help each other improve and form lasting friendships, you've got to start living the dream before anybody else is willing to do so. It's all well and good to say you're on board for the revolution, but if you don't first make yourself a paragon of model behavior, no one is going to be fooled. Nobody's asking you to be perfect, but we do want you to, whenever possible, strive to uphold the same standards of behavior that you expect everyone else to maintain.
That is an actual fucking RULE, now if you've read this far thank you for bearing with me I would like to point out a couple things before I go
1. I have never been banned for anything ever (at least to my knowledge, if a Rioter can prove otherwise I would very much like to see it) 2. I have never been chat restricted 3. I used to be one of those anti-toxicity nazi's that expected everyone to be extra special nice to each other, so if things have gotten so bad that I realized how stupid I've been, this is probably a legitimate problem and not just me being crazy.
NOW THEN: LEMME KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS THINK OF THIS IN THE COMMENTS.
Ok one last thing for real this time. A quick poll in regards to Dunkey's case specifically I don't expect it to bring him back, but I thought it might show him that people do care about seeing the innocent suffer, and will speak out on their behalf.
