Does Behavior History and Context Need to Be Considered when Giving Players Punishments?

I received my first chat restriction on my account after two years of being an honorable player on Friday. I have been an honorable player for these years, reaching Honor Level 5 within a few months after it's release and had already reached Checkpoint 1 of Honor Level 3 this season. This chat restriction was the result of a single game that I played with three friends and one randomly-matched player. During this game, me and one of my friends got into an argument on Discord, resulting in him server muting me. This led the argument into the in-game chat, with me typing my responses while my friend gave verbal responses. After the game, I had received a 10-game chat restriction, much to my dismay. *In these chat logs, I was the only player speaking, and most, if not all of my messages were directed at Username 1 with apparent harmful intentions. I DO NOT CURRENTLY HAVE THE CHAT LOGS, THIS POST WILL BE UPDATED WHEN I RECEIVE THEM. After reading the logs and the reform ticket, I asked all three of my friends if they reported me. They all denied it, claiming the randomly-matched player reported me. (Sidenotes: I am not blaming or holding a grudge against the random player who supposedly reported me. I did not use all chat once during the game. None of the things I said were directed at the random player we were matched with.) After all of my friends had denied reporting me, I sent a support ticket questioning the restriction.

Here is my ticket:

> I believe I am true by stating that one bad day can ruin everything. Last night, I was playing Leauge with three of my friends, (Username 1), (Username 2), and (Username 3) (if you have to check my friend's list for proof). In this game, we were in a voice chat on (Username 1)'s server, when we got into a heated argument, that ended up with me getting server muted. I then continued the argument to the in-game chat, with (Username 1) continuing his responses in voice chat. These messages were quite vulgar in their responses, and I do feel that they were unwarranted for the poor player we were matched with who had no idea what was going on. After the game, I saw I had a chat restriction, so I asked all three of my friends if any of them reported me at the end of the game, and they all denied it. I believe them. So this leads me to the assumption that the other player we were matched with reported me because they did not understand the context and just saw it as random toxicity. I have never had a reform card on my account, and I am almost always an honorable player, as evident by my quick acquisition of Honor 5 last season and my checkpoint at Honor 3 this season. I hope you understand my argument, and I will try to make sure this doesn't escalate to this point again. > > Sincerely, > GodOfAllLlamazII

I am willingly choosing to omit my friends' account names since they do not have any effect on the outcome of this situation and they do not need further involvement in this scenario. Today, I received a response from a Rioter, whose name I will once again omit because they do not need to be revealed in this post.

Here is the response:

> Hey there GodOfAllLlamazII, > > Chat restrictions are placed when an account is using chat in an unnecessary and usually negative manner. They are intended to help the player in question be mindful of what they choose to say in chat given that the things they were saying before were only hurting others or their game experiences directly. They are the first penalty on our Instant Feedback System and are intended to only really be a warning that the way chat is being used needs to change. > > No one wants terms like cucks, retards, garbage, asshole, or threats to run it down mid in their game. I understand sometimes that harsh words can be seen as jokes between friends, but be aware the in-game chat box isn't a place just for you and your friends to chat. Everyone else on your team sees what is said, and everyone in the game sees what is said in all chat. Others can be offended by the things you chose to bring into their game experiences. If you want to talk with friends in this manner, it is best to bring it to a private conversation outside of the game. > > If you have additional questions or concerns, please let me know.

After receiving this response, I was still confused and took the discussion to the League of Legends Community Discord, where after having a lengthy conversation with one of the moderators, they suggested I make this post. In this conversation, we discussed the following questions:

1. Is a single game worth the restriction? Shouldn't these restrictions be placed after extended periods of toxicity?
2. Do players who get the first warning deserve to lose all of their honor levels and start from before square one?
3. Usually, when a person is angry, their anger can influence their decisions. Do you take this into consideration when administering punishment to players?

Here is the consensus we came to:

1. A single game can be worth the restriction if a large quantity or all of the messages in the log are deemed harmful, offensive, or harassment, it is worthy of the restriction.
2. The loss of honor is meant to be a lesson to the players to not be toxic again.
3. There is some leeway in this category, but repeated behavior patterns will result in a punishment.

The problem with this, in my opinion, is the reform card lacks context. All of my messages look like they were out of nowhere, when, in reality, they were a result of an outside influence. There is no evidence of (Username 1) stating anything in the chat at all, so it all appears as just me. What's even worse is that this is the only thing that I can remember in the two years that I've had this account where I have interacted with another player this way. I am usually courteous and respectful to my teammates, and even encourage players who are bantering or upset to cheer up and look towards the bright side. This game appears to be an anomaly in my history, and I believe that needs to be taken into consideration with this punishment, as well as the Honor I have lost as a result.

However, this does not mean I was in the wrong. The argument the Rioter made was completely right; I was using the chat inappropriately and I paid the price for it. I just want further reform for the future of the future of this system so undeserving players do not get penalized too harshly.

The most ironic thing about this whole scenario was the fact that we actually won this game that I got my restriction from. And what's even more ironic was the player I was arguing with, (Username 1), had even given me a tilt-proof honor at the end of the game.

What I want you, the reader, to take from this post is that you need to be more careful when using the chat in League. Try to be positive and don't let others get under your skin. Hopefully, you will never end up like me, getting to my point, having a meltdown over a simple chat restriction. Yet, I only have this fear because I do not want to fall down the path of the permabanned, which could end up happening in the near future if I continue with this kind of behavior.

Best of luck, Summoners! -GodOfAllLlamazII

*EDIT There's a silver lining to this restriction! I ended up making 3 new friends in League through funny, though limited, conversations during these restricted games. I am and will continue to have fun with this game in the future and I hope you all do too!

[slayer-pantheon-thumbs] -GodOfAllLlamazII