Thinking Tribunal :: Theoretical Testomonial
First, allow me to begin with my sincere hope that this thread was posted in the proper section of these boards. If it was not, I ardently request for a moderator to move it into the section that would best house it. This is my first and only post on the League of Legends forums, and I apologize for any undue inconvenience.
I have been playing LoL for a number of years now, at times rather casually, and at other times more seriously, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, more actively. I have been through bugged patches and less than stellar releases. I have been through balance changes and attempts from riot to enforce or instill any number of things into its player base. I whole heartedly believe that riot makes the best attempts it can to offer innovation to its players and to protect the overall health of its player base. That being said, LoL suffers from an incredibly insidious problem; an issue that, despite the best efforts of staffers and players alike is as pervasive as ever.
I am speaking of course about the ever-touted toxicity.
Now, who am I to speak on this matter? I am, effectively no one. I am not a streamer or youtuber of any particular notoriety. I am not a Challenger or a Pro player, in fact, I rarely play ranked, and my win-rates across the board, whether normals or ARAM or any other game mode, are nothing more than average. This should be important: I am no one special, I am simply one of thousands of players that experiences League of Legends as a game, at the bottom of the totem pole, and I am content with this.
A casual scroll through the forums will reveal countless posts and complaints about player behavior, thoughts on combating toxic players and reformative efforts; it is a horse that has been beaten to death, resurrected, and then flogged some more. So why then, would a nobody like me decide to now speak up and add my own opinions on the subject? Like many, I have reached a breaking point with the current system in place to combat undesirable behaviors; and rather than allow this to fester, I have some ideas to offer on the subject.
Before I begin, allow me to paint a picture, as I should hate to appear a crying victim of the cruel, cruel world of a competitive game. I understood from my first match of League that the atmosphere of the game almost encouraged toxic behaviors; it is a game wherein you are randomly (or not so randomly) matched up with strangers and forced to work together for a common goal, despite differing playstyles and opinions on tactics; a game where you are trapped with teammates for the next 20-45 minutes or so (some games are longer or shorter, obviously) with no escape without punishment; a game where you may be expected to play a position or fulfill a role you do not wish to play or do not excel at; a team game wherein a few simple mistakes early on can spell disaster for the entire team later.
Realizing this early on, I chose to take my own combative actions. I begin every match with the same phrase "Good luck all :D Let's have a nice match ^_-" typed into all chat. (One day, I should really look into some sort of macro for this, but I've gotten rather quick at typing it out.) Now, this seems like a simple phrase, an expansion on the standard "GLHF" that more than a few players start a match with, but I had specifically chosen this not only to inspire goodwill and excitement, but to show a commitment to the sentiment expressed there. Anyone can throw 4 letters into chat out of habit.
Every match, I offer this message to both teams. The list of responses is endless, but here are a few of my favorites:
- "Kys"
- Go die
- F$#k You
- You aren't toxic enough for this game, I'm now going to -insert threat here-
- F#&k off, you aren't my real dad.
Now, some of these are obvious attempts at humor, while others are simply malicious. Regardless, my response never changes. "AAAAAAAND muted. Hope your day is as pleasant as you are." I usually do not in fact mute the player, as I recognize that I may need information from them in order to fulfill my role on the team. If the negative behavior continues, then I do indeed mute and move on with my life. I am here to play a game, not be brought down by the negativity of another player. This is why the mute button exists, and I make full use of it; I make certain to report the player at the end of the game. More often than not, I am 'rewarded' with an instant feedback report, letting me know that the player who was shouting racial slurs, or homophobic statements, or death threats, or what have you in chat has been punished. "Great," I think, and move on to the next game, "justice has been served." I have suffered no real harm by making use of the systems provided, and in the end, this person that was breaking rules was punished by the instant feeback system.
This system works, in my opinion.
But, as every player knows, toxicity comes in more forms than simply screaming obscenities and slurs in chat. These behaviors are much harder for an automated system to recognize and punish effectively:
- That player that instantly locks a jungler in draft, when they have been assigned the support role.
- The player that brings along smite as a laner, and runs around stealing camps from your team and the enemy jungler alike.
- The player that feeds intentionally by running up lanes 1v5 to dies.
- The griefer that teleports away from every team fight, or hides in a bush for 20 minutes.
- The AFK'er that sits in base for 5 minutes, runs out to kill a handful of minions, then returns to base.
Its easy enough to report a player at the end of the match; but how often does a feedback report pop up? In my experience, it has not happened yet. Multiple players report the same thing; browse through the forums and there are plenty of stories. I would like to believe that this is because such actions are nearly impossible for an automated system to punish on its own. So what can we do?
Bring back the Tribunal.
In cases of reports involving griefing, intentional feeding, or other such subjective behaviors which a computer program cannot reasonably come to a decision: do not use a computer.
Many other games/platforms have a user-based peer review process for community and content guidelines, as LoL used to have as well. The following is my elaborated suggestions regarding the re-institution of the Tribunal system in today's League of Legends atmosphere.
Which reports are handled by the Tribunal?
End of game reports alleging griefing, trolling, or intentional feeding are handed off to the Tribunal for review, while the automated system continues to handle reports of offensive language and harassment. Additionally, any reports of offensive language that are not confirmed by the instant system would also be sent to the Tribunal.
Who mans the Tribunal?
In any system manned by one's peers, there is always the possibility that the very people that system is intended to punish/catch in bad behaviors can end up as part of the "overview board" for such punishments. To prevent this, the Tribunal should not, in my estimation, be manned by every player of League of Legends. Rather, a sampling of members (Honor 5 players, perhaps) that have shown on a consistent basis to having a dedication toward improving the experience of the game through reports. This group of players would be responsible for reviewing reports of misconduct and voting on whether to punish, or not.
A group of Tribunal members would be selected from each of the 'areas' of the game: Bronze, Silver, Gold, ect as well as different game modes they inhabit: aram, normals, twisted treeline, rotating game modes.
A big job, how to keep it fair and honest?
Becoming a member of the Tribunal would be an honor, but it would also hold a weight of responsibility as well: these players are responsible, ultimately, for decisions regarding other players in their region. Of course, Tribunal members would be subject to oversight themselves regarding their administration of punishments.
They would also be rewarded for their efforts. Perhaps a handful of blue essence on a per case basis, similar to other peer review processes from other games, in appreciation of their work and the time spent to make the game a better place to be.
Instant feedback for reporting
Players should be notified that their report has been sent to the tribunal for review, and perhaps notified of the result (either punished or not) after a verdict is reached. This would prevent players from falling into the belief that their reports do nothing, or from falling into toxic behaviors themselves.
In a post made by LYTE roughly two years ago, as the instant feedback system was launched, it stated that the Tribunal was always intended to be rebuilt to function in conjunction with the instant feedback system. After such a long time without the Tribunal, and watching toxic behaviors run rampant, I cannot help but feel that now, more than ever, is the time to bring back this system. Perhaps as I describe above, perhaps with other improvements and/or differences.
Changes need to be made, and I implore everyone to voice their supports or oppositions. Thanks so much for your time.
TL;DR :: Bring back the Tribunal for player behavior reports, the time has come.
