Harsh Criticism & MY GOD BRING BACK THE TRIBUNAL?

Let me share the chat logs I was chat restricted for, people: Yeah, nope. Because you can't read further. It's pretty pathetic, because there was a lot more to read. Essentially, Riot takes all of the 'bad' things you said automatically, crops anything the system can identify as 'neutral' or 'pleasant', and presents them without context to explain WHY a player is talking in caps or using certain words (in this case, imitation. It's the sincerest form of hating someone's guts but trying to get a message across).

If you notice, it essentially tries to demonize the receiving player by removing context completely. But even without context, you can see a pretty clear picture here. Varus repeatedly bothers everyone on the team for ganks- I move to gank for him. He shoves his lane after I ask him in chat to bait his laner in, he dies, starts complaining again. Was I harsh in explaining that he needed to get it through his thick, mostly hollow skull that noone can gank with his lane shoved? Definitely. If you'll note, more pleasant snippets of conversation with my support are cropped.

And what do I get for (repeatedly) explaining a basic mechanic of League to a feeding Varus? (Who, for context, blatantly posted in chat, "That's it, no ganks, I'm trolling you now") A chat restriction. Now, I know it's quite likely this post will be ignored- no Rioter has ever earnestly responded to a blatant flaw in their system.

But -MAYBE-, removing the human, community-centric element of player discipline was the laziest, least effective move you ever made. I have never ONCE seen any evidence of toxic in-game behavior being disciplined- I can only assume the 'intentional feeding' category is a placebo. More than chat, more than even AFK teammates, intentionally sabotaging or griefing your teammates ruins games- and the players that do this are unequivocally wanted OUT of the community, most of whom could care less about 'a little salt'. Racial slurs, demands for players to kill themselves, and similar harassment- certainly. Restrict it. Habitual rage-quitting? Definitely stop that, but for players who just can't connect- maybe use your built-in ping detection to determine if it's a connection error, as a from-level-1 AFK game is still somewhat winnable, as long as it doesn't give the enemy an advantage. This isn't something you can solve with an automated system, however- and they don't punish the people who, however occasionally, intentionally and maliciously ruin games for other players and get away with it because your system is only written to punish AFK and chat-using players.

Here's where I have a problem: A real human being could look at my chat logs and note that I'm a heavy communicator. When something goes wrong, I'll explain what to my teammates. I'll instruct players on better build paths for a given game. I'll type out my intent in chat before I make a major play (such as an Azir siege, or in this game, a pre-game discussion with Thresh to work out CC-chaining tactics). As that type of player, I'm also going to let someone know if they're behaving in a stupid manner (e.g. repeatedly making the same mistake and/or refusing to learn or take advice/pings that can save them). As a player that relies on communication in my attempts to at least put my team in a carriable state for myself or another teammate who is ahead, if not set them on a path that will make them somewhat relevant? A chat restriction is a vastly unfair and disproportionate punishment. For malicious, outright toxic players, a chat restriction is just an invitation to display toxic in-game behavior while they can't use the chat- as mentioned previously, this isn't something a script can detect- and if one was made to do it, a lot of (admittedly very bad) legitimate players would be filtered out by the system.

In other words: Either bring back the tribunal or create a real 'elo hell'. A hell independent of actual rank, fueled by toxic players exposed exclusively to one another. A prisoner's island is not a bad thing- tie it into the honor system, if you really want to take control of player behavior away from the community. Reports, or 'dishonors' by a player with a HIGHER 'honor score' will lower yours, while all honor will raise it. To prevent the 'prisoners' from perpetually keeping themselves and legitimate players down-scored, reports from a significantly lower source could be ignored. At a certain threshold, you are silently, automatically moved to a 'prisoner's island' queue. An interactive system like this accomplishes two things- it makes the honor system actually relevant at the lower ranks, and allows PLAYERS, as opposed to an extensively flawed automatic system, to control who they see in their games. Continuous offenders who noone in the community wants to play with will be dropped from normal queues, while players with a net positive or neutral effect won't be punished for a bad game or the automatic discipline associated with the word 'report'. (It's a real thing, check this board. You threaten to report that feeder, you can be met with something as harsh as a ban! Thanks Riot, for taking power away from the legitimate players of your community and adding more frustration to the mix.) This also eliminates the frustrations associated with upstanding players feeling their reports are ignored- if the person ruining the game for your team is free game with their reports being ignored, THEY will not feel empowered to elicit a reaction and then turn around to exploit trigger words on the automated discipline system. Likewise, positive players will have their positive behavior reinforced with the power to actually stop repeat trolls from being in their games.

Wasted breath, I know.