Boards›Player Behavior

Language filter

ianatorlol·2/4/2018, 10:13:27 AM·2 votes·1,257 views

I don't understand how it's justifiable to ban someone for using bad language. If you don't like what someone is saying there are plenty of tools available to fix the situation. While it may feel bad in the moment (to be on the receiving end of offensive language), how long does it last? For most people all it takes is to re-queue, but by the time you wake up the next morning you will have forgotten all about negative words from the night before. Given that those on the receiving end of language suffer in a negligible way, banning is exponentially over the top. That kind of retaliation has a lasting negative impact on the person who was banned. The words have been forgotten as quickly as they came, but all the time, effort and money invested into an account is completely gone. The punishment does not fit the "crime."

Solutions I have for the situation? People who frequently report others for "offensive language" should have a language filter forcibly turned on. If they dislike bad language, that is a fact that they know about themselves. "I don't like bad language", "I should not have to tolerate bad language" if that's a fact you know about yourself, you should have the language filter turned on. If you are not willing to do this yourself, but repeatedly report others for bad language, you're the kind of person who should have it on. All the tools are available in the game so that you don't have to be subjected to language you aren't comfortable with. It is not reasonable to take away from others, when they have not taken away from you. If you feel like they have "taken away" from you, by exposing you to offensive language, you are responsible because the default setting is "mature language filter on."

The situation stated above may make the "victims" feels worse. They know that their language filter is off but one day they log on to see that their language filter is back on, and cannot be turned off? This would be a clear indication that they have lost some control and could possible make them feel worse about a bad situation, (still not as bad as completely abolishing an account) so I'll provide a healthier solution.

Have a stealth chat nerf to those who repeat offend. Repeat offenders may have language filter turned off and can see the profanity they type, but everyone else in chat views it as a language filter on, only for the repeat offender. This will cause everyone in the match to instantly know that this person has a problem with offensive language. This would allow them to feel like their getting the most out of their trash talk, but little do they know, their message is not being received as intended.

Both of these suggestions are absolutely more healthy than the abuse of power banning system that is in place. 3

I find that the 50 game chat ban is also a step in the wrong direction. A good portion of offensive language is just for stress relief. The chat ban eliminates the possibility for productive communication with team members, in between bouts of "stress relief."

I do want to clarify that flaming/abusing teammates is always a problem. I see absolutely no problem with trash talking the other team, if getting into the opponents head is a tactic, I don't see why this should be prohibited. The above suggestions and tools already in the game make trash talking opponents a non issue. Trash talking your team is an entirely different monster. Though I think the solutions above address the issue adequately, it would still be nice to see the community pull back from flaming teammates. If a party member is doing poorly, and for some reason the words you use against them actually has a negative impact, the problem is going to get worse. If your team has you on ignore, any useful input you have will go unheard, also making the situation worse.

In closing: Exposure to negativity develops character and strength and is a net positive thing. It is possible to get to a point of intellectual and emotional maturity where words do not negatively effect you. It is healthy to develop this kind of resilience but it is an uncomfortable process and this is absolutely not the place to teach others these skills. My suggestions are tools to protect both sides more fairly because the current system is not healthy.

There are plenty of problems with online gaming. Toxic misuse of power is not an answer. Lets be more intelligent than our problems and engineer games and communities everyone can enjoy.

12 Comments

Butt Ρlug2/4/2018, 4:12:20 PM2 votes

I don't really know if you get why we report toxic people. Personally i never feel offended, victimized or anything like that, i don't think anybody really feels victimized by it..

But if two people starts flaming each others i will report those people, why ? Because usually once someone starts flaming, the chance of winning the game are highly diminished. I don't care what they're arguing about, all i want is for my teammates and the enemy team to do everything they can to win the game, i don't want them to miss cs or hide under turret for 20s while writing something totally useless in chat.

I want them to focus on the game instead of focusing on the chat, it'll be 100 times more effective to go place a deep ward, steal an enemy jungle camp, take scuttle, come gank another lane, anything but starting an in-game chat war..

More often than not once someone starts flaming someone else, it ends up by one of those people constantly writing things in chat, trolling, inting or going afk, and while they are doing that they aren't doing something useful in game !

BSing is authorized, for example i used to love spamming teemo's laugh, emotes and so on, you can say "haha nice ult" when an enemy missed his ult because that's funny, but if you said something like "haha nice ult %%%got !" i don't want you in my games..

For me it's really not about being victimized and so on, it's about enjoying the game, if one of my teammates tilts and go afk because an enemy is harassing him, i'll report both of them.

Dolyna2/5/2018, 12:58:34 AM2 votes

{quoted}

I don't understand how it's justifiable to ban someone for using bad language.

People aren't punished in this game for bad language, outside of hate speech. If you have a problem with Riot banning people because of using hate speech... well, you're out of luck. That policy isn't going to change.

Kantala2/4/2018, 12:46:09 PM1 votes

I only have one thing to say about this.

If you hand over irrefutable proof of someone committing a crime, like say murder or drug trafficking, should you go to jail for the crime instead of the person you reported?

Think about that and let it sink in that you're suggesting Riot punish the majority of the playerbase instead of the 0.006% of players that earn themselves up to a permaban.

Anastaecia2/4/2018, 1:12:29 PM1 votes

People try so hard to make something into something that it isn't.

The language filter has nothing to do with the punishment system. It is there for people that would prefer not to see "cuss words".

Only excessive use of "cuss words" or using them to directly harass somebody is going to be punishable. Hate speech (a specific short list of cuss words) IS punishable (since the word itself is harassing).

It's rather a simple system that people try to make into something more complex.

Just follow the Golden Rule : Do unto others as you'd have done to you. (Translation for the internet generation - "Don't be a douche to your fellow gamers!")

Hμghes2/4/2018, 3:15:05 PM1 votes

Mexican or Spanish ppl overall which reply to everything with "yea bro" and then spam some spanish shiet cause as premades they dont have to participate in Dragons, Barons or Teamfights overall are getting reported for Hate Speech right of the bat.

Yesterday i played 3 Matches after a 10day pause and nothing is ever changing. Just that the Game gets more Toxic every Year