Original Post:
The likelihood that players have come across at least some form of toxicity in League -- be it slurs, hate speech, negativity, etc. -- seems to be pretty high.
If you try to discourage it, how do you go about doing so? If you are someone who has been toxic before or remains to be, why do you act in such a way?
I have now included a survey to try and better understand the causes and effects that toxicity has on players.
Angry Monster3 votesI am going to ask you what is toxic.
Is it toxic to say GG at 20 min cause you did poorly and you think the game is over? (that being negitive)
Is it toxic to call some one out on constantly questionable play? (could be considered blaming)
Is it toxic to have to afk due to an emergency.(well afk)
We all(thinking people) agree that racism, sexual conduct, pure rage outs(flipping tables) is toxic. But you said being negative is toxic. I think that being negative can be practical. We all have had games where someone said we are throwing guys bad paly after bad play when ahead. Technically they are be negative therefore under your post toxic.
Lets pull back a bit from this buzz word a bit. I know that the word toxic is in vogue since riot actually uses it. Before league we do not use the term toxic. We used more precise terms rager, afker, know it all, asshole, buzz killer/kill joy ect. To be toxic means i can be any one of thing or more that I just listed. i think the term Toxic has grown out of its original meaning. Lyte and his team first used it to explain the worse of the worse. Now it includes the guy having a bad day.
EMOFRATPARTY1 votesYou make a good point regarding "negativity" being lumped into the overarching theme of "toxicity." I think they are two separate concepts, but within negativity you can find toxicity.
It's important to make a distinction and understand what is and is not harmful to the community, so my word choice there may not have been optimal. I appreciate you pointing that out.
I think Lyte and the Social Systems team drew a solid line in the sand today regarding this topic.
Angry Monster1 votesjust got on guess I need to go find his post.
Edit Can you link me to what Lyte said? I am short on time and will not be able to get on the forums for another 8 hours.
SpellFlinger2 votesKill em with kindness!! that is usually my approach. Sometimes I Just ignore who ever is being toxic immediately if im not feeling too "kind". there has been a few times that I have just feed the troll and gave in, becoming a toxic asshat myself. Fortunately that will only happen if Im a lil drunk while playing. Soooo not often.
EMOFRATPARTY1 votesWell at least you own up to it. I've been there myself as well (not the last thing, but the "giving into troll-dom" thing). It can be hard to find the best approach, and I'm sure it's contextual. However, I think is certainly a good way of going about doing it.
What kind of results did you find when using this tactic? If you answered the survey, don't worry about a response.
MrBuffington2 votesI just ignore the toxicity and try to focus on the game. I usually try not to aggravate the situation, it never works for me. Instead, I just focus on objectives, communicating with my team, and playing the game well. Worse case I mute some people, but that rarely happens.
EMOFRATPARTY1 votes@Sir ArmaMalum apologies for deleting the original post, I actually didn't mean to do that. I'm going to quote your original response below.
I find asking questions often helps out. Some people just rage due to lack of control and/or lack of awareness. Asking questions like "What is this conversation accomplishing?" or "Then what do you suggest as a helpful alternative?", the key is to ask an engaging question, something that will actually force them to think, because if they take a moment to actually pause and consider most people are much easier to deal with. Of course, it only work half the time because there are some people who are simply being rude because they can get away with it. If that turns out to be the case the mute button is a beautiful thing, because if there is no response to their behavior then they'll realize it's just a waste of time.
EMOFRATPARTY1 votesI try to go about it the same way and I've found that to be the most effective thing to do. It's a lot easier, and much faster, to type our immediate thoughts rather than consider them.
It seems like the mute option is the de facto "don't feed the trolls" option.
SteampunkJester1 votesok theres alot about this topic i wanna touch down on..
and first im gonna explain how i was when i first got this game..
I got to this game from dota2 and i have to admit they have their moments where one guy just really knows how to infuriate you but i let it go in dota2 but then i got bored of dota2 due to lack of friends getting on and went on to this at first i didnt really pay attention to everyone till my 5th game and thats when i figured that League is on a whole other level of pissed off people and it has even affected me, ive been calm and ive been nice nothing works, been cases where i said i dont wanna argue with anyone and ended up getting reported by everyone, that was some time ago. as my time here with league i grown onto the game cause the champions and the lore and whatever ideas they came across etc etc but my in game experience overall has been a nightmare nonetheless people that just dont care what you say or do you get reported, weather i be quiet or not i still get lobbed into the problem thats how far people will go. my lastest game i made about 3 statements
Harmless and nothing to do with anything about raging people like this just grouped up on me for no reason thus i got reported by everyone how this toxicity thing goes i dont think i can handle it anymore it has affected my playing, my attitude, my self esteem and destroyed literally everything about ranked playing. and honestly i think thats where the toxicity started was ranks.. i hear so many egos flaring about color of their ranks (bronze,silver,gold etc) and people use this to the maximum to make a anyone skin crawl with frustration agree to disagree i understand muting everyone is a great way to avoid confrontation but ive been reported while having everyone muted :/ one of my favorite games and the toxicity is killing my love for this game tremendously
Koraji yo1 votesShould be noted. People who quit, give advice, feed, troll, etc isn't a toxic player. A Toxic player is a player whom just spits out shit , cussing out teammates and\or allies alike. Broken Summoners Code =/= Toxic player.
And you ignore toxicity. Replying in any way only furthers the problem. So hit the ignore on the scoreboard. This isn't to say don't be nice to them at all. Even if someone is a raging asshole of a jungler, if they get a good gank, say GJ. etc. But when someone is being toxic, calling everyone shit, swearing out his team. he's having an emotional response to his game. You can't use any kind of logic to calm them down. Emotions arn't swayed by logic.
Linna Excel1 votesTurn off chat if I have to. That's about all you can do.
MPendragon1 votesI'll be honest. I tell them to shut the fuck up and play on.
2WhiteAndNerdy1 votesIf someone on the enemy team is being a jerk just respond to everything they say, even if it's not aimed at you, with "k". I have driven some players crazy doing this and they go on tilt. It's also pretty funny for your team too, so it boosts morale as a bonus.