Forced Positivity: You're Wrong if You Aren't An Optimist

Greetings, my name is Trigillass, a long time League player who has seen the game since it started and has played it on and off up to now. This is purely an opinion piece based on observation and is open to criticism. I will do my best to provide a valid argument for and against the topic. Do also note that this topic will not cover every faucet and every angle. Such a thing takes far more time with one person only. Let's begin.

PewDiePie commented in his video "Forced Positivity on Youtube" that, "It's either you're happy or you're depressed. But what if you're just fine? They ask you how you are and you say you're fine but you're not really fine because you can't get into it because they would never really understand." League shares a similar situation where in the game, players are either labeled positive or negative with no in between. The words can change here and there but the main idea is this; League promotes positivity and shuns negativity. But so what? Positive is good right?

Let us start with what happens when you have positive extremes. This includes forced assistance and entitlement. Forced assistance is when one player comments on how best to play the game to another without any warrant by the other player. Although some see it as helpful and a "good thing" to do, it can be distracting and even obnoxious in it's phrasing. Players do not appreciate having their every action monitored and corrected, a habit that forced assistance enables. Plus, this relies on the presumption that the other player does not know what he is doing, something they either already know or might learn over an extended period of time. The initiating player might be under the illusion that he must use his greater knowledge to help the inexperienced, something that may prove false if the second player is more experienced and is simply making mistakes.

Then there's entitlement. Also known as Narcissism, this generally means the player feels they earned special treatment and obedience of others. The rank of a player is a contributor to this, players who obtain gold and above shunning anything beneath their rank and enabling their Narcissism. Something seen as a "good thing" that requires time and dedication to earn can be turned into an annoying method of proving superiority. From many of the analysis of how ranked matches work, obtaining higher rank relies on winning streaks, a luck based system over a skill based system. Flaunting a rank that requires more luck than skill paints the entire idea of "pulling rank" as ridiculous.

Onto negative extremes. This includes toxicity and triggering. Toxicity, in terms of medical definition, is the degree to which a substance can damage an organism. In this case, it is the degree to which negative comments and actions can damage the gaming experience of other players. The problem is that it takes very little to do so, especially in a game that is competitive. A single misclick here, a bad gank there, and the game might be ruined for that team who will try to find blame in each other as a reaction. Ironically, this has its greatest impact when toxicity enters the chat box, not the actions themselves. Even those who comment on poor plays and misbehavior just contribute to the toxicity, despite their best efforts to phrase positively. One such solution is to simply mute the individual problem but unless coordination is at a decent level, this can cause yet more mistakes and hardship.

And finally, triggering. Triggering is an act or event that serves as a stimulus and initiates a reaction or series of reactions. Much of the time, triggering results in negative reactions, causing players to dodge ques, throw matches, and play poorly. This can happen for a variety of reasons, from simple to the complex. Simple reasons may be choosing the wrong champion, making a mistake, or reading slanderous statements. Having the champion you play often be banned is a common trigger for players before the match even starts, sometimes resulting in a dodge. Complex reasons can be specific choices, team composition, or mismatching personalities. Having different strategies and ideas of what "The team does" can lead to many other negative interactions like toxicity and feeding.

But those are extremes. What about the rank and file? The ones who aren't overly positive or negative? Where do they fit in this model? The sad part is they are forced to pick a side. Which such a charged environment, they must choose a side or remain silent. A phrase that fits with this situation that is, ironically, in the Bible, Mathew 12:30, is "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters." It fits the League player mentality rather well. If any player is not willing to cooperate to their teams whim, they are "trying to feed" or "trolling". If they are not with you during team fights, they are "standing around doing nothing". Rarely does the team label non cooperation as a potential language barrier, ill attention span, or an unexpected distraction. Rarely does a team label missing a teamfight as miscommunication, poor engagement, or an accident. Such labels are considered negative, despite the benefit of their use. And trying to defend ones actions? Toxic. And trying to help others understand why it happened? Toxic.

Can it be fixed? No. Not unless the internet in its entirety does the same. It wont either, for to do so undermines the freedom of expression that makes the internet popular. In League, many choose to group with those who will somewhat forgive and understand. Even those groups aren't perfect but it beats the alternatives. League itself even promotes this style of play, offering greater rewards to pre-assembled teams. Another method of forced positivity, the bribe. Can you truly say that you can be yourself while playing this game? If so, take another look. What you see might startle you.

Trigillass, Unranked