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The real problem with toxicity

bloks2··3 votes·867 views

I found this comment on another thread here, and I feel like it offered some good insight into why toxicity in game is such a problem. The original thread can be found here http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/player-behavior-moderation/sRy8qGEF-dont-be-so-sensitive

>While I can see your viewpoint, I think you are completely missing some other possible viewpoints. Yes, there are those of us who are somewhat thick skinned who can brush off negativity without any real issues, but this is only a portion of all players. Keep in mind that some players choose League of Legends as their "escape" from the real world. Maybe they have rough home lives, low points in life, or other circumstances that make the real world not so fun. Instead of spending all of their time in what may seem to be an awful life, they come to connect with other players online where this person now has a clean slate. None of their real life issues have to follow them into the game, and they can find human connection of some sort that isn't vulgar (and for some of these people, this will be the only human connection they see for quite some time that isn't vulgar). When you talk down to someone like this on the internet, you are crushing their last possible outlet of decent human interaction, and can push them to find other escapes from the real world such as substance abuse, self-harming, or even suicide.

>In a perfect world everyone would enjoy their reality much more than their online human connections, but that simply doesn't happen. You could be the one to make or break a person. I know it can be tough to stand in someone else's shoes sometimes, especially if you've never been in a situation they are going through, but this game really is the only enjoyable part of some players' lives, as morbid as that may seem. Please keep this in mind and try to remember there is another human being on the other end of that character who might be 0/7/3 or who may have just missed smite on baron, costing you the game. It is easy to criticize someone for his or her mistakes, but at the end of the day what may be "just a game" to you is a lifeline to someone else.

3 Comments

ReadyxPlayerxOne1 votes

Don't make us all out to be babies in need of a nanny. Or psycho's.

I'm a well adjusted, successful adult (on most days) and my problem with toxicity is that it detracts and interrupts a game that I enjoy and want to play like I would a sport.

Would it make sense to enjoy being part of a basketball game and one player on your team or another is yelling shit like:

YOU FUCKING RETARD WHY'D YOU MISS THAT PASS? I WAS OPEN JACKASS, FUCKING GIVE IT TO ME NEXT TIME YOU DUMB FUCK! THESE GUYS ARE LIKE KINDERGARTEN MODE, NOT EVEN JUNIOR VARSITY.

Or after the game, when you're there literally just to have fun they yell shit like:

DUMB FUCKS THAT CAN'T EVEN DRIBBLE!!! USELESS POINT GUARD CAN'T EVEN MAKE A FREE THROW.

Would it be fun to play with that guy? Would the teams vote to kick the asshole off the court? Would they probably kick his ass in the parking lot?

Now if all that's true. Same shit would apply online about how people feel about that asshole.

bloks21 votes

The problem with your argument is that it isn't "all true". If you have an issue on a sports team with someone being an asshole, the best solution is find the way to peacefully have him removed from the team. If you take it to the parking lot to kick his ass, then you are stooping to his level, and now either you are all off the team or you all act like it never happened and the tension and assholery escalates.

The same thing happens in league. If you consider yourself to be a mature, well-adjusted adult, then the ONLY response to someone being negative is to report them and have them removed from the game. Dropping to their level and fighting fire with fire serves no purpose other than to put yourself at risk for being reported as well.

As for me making everyone out to be babies - well I really wasn't. The entire point of my post was to help others see that there is another person behind each character in game. Sure, 95% of us can see toxicity and either shrug it off, or maybe get mad a little and be fine shortly after the game, but I was really trying to make a point about the small percentage of players who could really be affected by the negative words and actions. "Don't be a dick" is already a commonly accepted rule in life, but for some reason that rule flies out the window when we have anonymity. The point I was trying to convey is that whether you are a dick in real life or behind a computer screen, the impact on someone else's life will still be the same. We just don't act so foolish in real life because being an asshole isn't taken well by most other people, so we see other people impacted negatively by our actions much less.

ReadyxPlayerxOne1 votes

{quoted}

The problem with your argument is that it isn't "all true". If you have an issue on a sports team with someone being an asshole, the best solution is find the way to peacefully have him removed from the team. If you take it to the parking lot to kick his ass, then you are stooping to his level, and now either you are all off the team or you all act like it never happened and the tension and assholery escalates.

The same thing happens in league. If you consider yourself to be a mature, well-adjusted adult, then the ONLY response to someone being negative is to report them and have them removed from the game. Dropping to their level and fighting fire with fire serves no purpose other than to put yourself at risk for being reported as well.

As for me making everyone out to be babies - well I really wasn't. The entire point of my post was to help others see that there is another person behind each character in game. Sure, 95% of us can see toxicity and either shrug it off, or maybe get mad a little and be fine shortly after the game, but I was really trying to make a point about the small percentage of players who could really be affected by the negative words and actions. "Don't be a dick" is already a commonly accepted rule in life, but for some reason that rule flies out the window when we have anonymity. The point I was trying to convey is that whether you are a dick in real life or behind a computer screen, the impact on someone else's life will still be the same. We just don't act so foolish in real life because being an asshole isn't taken well by most other people, so we see other people impacted negatively by our actions much less.

Make any excuse you want, call me wrong or anything. I don't care about you or anything you're saying to me. A post where you try to explain "the real problem with toxicity" and go on to summarize it as 'people might have issues and the games their escape... is just really fucking insulting.

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