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A question about a Friends "name" related ban, and what the community thinks about it.

LogicalThinkTank·6/13/2018, 7:44:10 PM·2 votes·2,365 views

So Let me first start off with: I AM NOT TRYING TO UNBAN OR DEFEND MY IN GAME LEAGUE FRIEND IN ANY WAY, NOR AM I TRYING TO DISCUSS HIS CASE. THIS POST IS TO DISCUSS WHAT IS AND ISNT ACCEPTABLE IN NAMES AND PUNISHMENT REGARDING "OFFENSIVE NAMES"

So First off, I DO ASK if this violates the naming/shaming rule that a mod edit out my friends name, but If it does not; My friend had the name "FiggerNaggot"

Now before I give my opinion on this, my question is: Should this name be considered "offensive" and be punishable and why or why not?

Onto my thoughts: When I originally first saw this dude in a game on my team I saw his name and I thought "oh yeah thats a name Im reporting" except he actually was quite friendly and did pretty well, and added me after so I didnt report his name, because he wasnt toxic.

Fast forward, and I play some games with him, and we are in voice chat, I notice that players right off the bat without even knowing him, in pre game chats, start to flame him over the name, and he would tell me and friends in voice chat "Ok yeah the name could be "construed" as 'offensive' but its not actually saying the offensive words, and its just a name. I dont understand why people have to be so toxic over a name without even knowing if im fun person to play with or not"

That got me thinking to when I felt the same way, I had that "knee-jerk" reaction to his name, but realized the name is only a play on words, and not actually offensive (unless for some reason the community will now equate "figger" and "naggot" which arent even words, to be considered toxic)

This leads me to the point and question Im trying to make: He did say that he has received report after report over his name for well over 2-3 months and Never gotten a ban over it, he mentioned something about even contacting riot support to make sure his name was ok, and he said that riot support said it was fine; RIOT ALLOWED HIM TO HAVE THIS NAME AND ALLOWED THE NAME TO BE CREATED.

Which makes me wonder a few things

  1. If Riot doesn't want offensive names, why cant they have a tool/system similar to the chat restriction system that monitors in game names and can ban ones with outright offensive material in them or keep them from being created in the first place.
  2. Does my friend deserve a ban over his name based on the name itself?
  3. If you answered yes to the above question: Do you then think that the system is too loose because almost anything can be considered offensive then? IE: somebody could have the name "Imredneckrandy" and somebody named randy could in theory report it for being offensive.
  4. Should my friend get a ban even though RIOT potentially allowed this name, despite the play on words?
  5. should JUST offensive names be banned, or should play on words be looked into aswell?
  6. what if the player isnt toxic? Tell me what you think! Im curious what the community thinks about this topic, Including reds, mods, advisers etc.

AGAIN PLEASE READ THIS DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT ADVOCATING FOR OFFENSIVE NAMES OR TRYING TO GET MY FRIEND UNBANNED I AM MERELY CURIOUS OF THE OPINIONS AROUND THIS NAME AND NAMES LIKE IT AND WHAT EACH PLAYER THINKS OF IT.

47 Comments

ModThe Djinn6/13/2018, 7:53:40 PM10 votes

Should this name be considered "offensive" and be punishable and why or why not?

Absolutely. It's painfully apparently that's he's trying to circumvent the rules on names by using a commonly known swapping property (the spoonerism) to get two hate speech words into one name. If I saw that on the boards it would be instantly perma-banned until such time as the individual changed the account name and came to the Moderation Discord to prove that fact.

  1. If Riot doesn't want offensive names, why cant they have a tool/system similar to the chat restriction system that monitors in game names and can ban ones with outright offensive material in them or keep them from being created in the first place.

I believe they do, actually. The catch is that people can do things like your friend did to bypass it with names that are obviously still offensive. If "Aardvark" were a banned word, do you also ban "4ardvark" and "Aardv4rk" and all the other variations that obviously mean that word? You really can't do that for everything.

  1. Does my friend deserve a ban over his name based on the name itself?

Yes. It brings hate speech into each and every game he is in.

  1. If you answered yes to the above question: Do you then think that the system is too loose because almost anything can be considered offensive then? IE: somebody could have the name "Imredneckrandy" and somebody named randy could in theory report it for being offensive.

No. The things that get hit are pretty much just hate speech, crass sexuality, and things related to real-world dictators or violence against people. While "ImRedNeckRandy" might be slightly insulting, it isn't a common derogatory term.

In short, the rules don't say "you can't do anything that offends people." They limit certain types of words and behavior, and, while one of those behaviors is intentionally trying to offend people, they do understand that sometimes people are offended by things that are relatively harmless. "ImRedNeckRandy" would be in the latter category (could take offense, but no inherent offense), while your friends name is in the former.

  1. Should my friend get a ban even though RIOT potentially allowed this name, despite the play on words?

Yes. See point #2, and the fact that the "play on words" is an obvious attempt to use hate speechl.

  1. should JUST offensive names be banned, or should play on words be looked into aswell?

When offensive, they should. I don't think the username "Djinn Gimlet" is harmful, for example, despite being a play on words (and a delicious drink), but "FiggerNaggot" definitely is.

  1. what if the player isnt toxic?

The behavior is toxic even if the player isn't. Bringing hate speech -- even if "hidden" in this way -- into the game is inherently a violation of the rules, and is just as toxic as typing it into the in-game chat.

Umbral Regent6/13/2018, 8:02:46 PM7 votes
  1. I believe it has to do with Riot wanting the community to help decide what is and isn't acceptable. I don't speak for Riot, but, it falls pretty well in line with the idea that the community should have a say in what does or doesn't get punished - or, rather, what they do or do not see in their games.

That said, it also has to do with the fact that it would be extremely laborious to try and set up a system that accounts for every variation of every offensive word that they don't want to see used for a screenname. There are umpteen different variants of given letters with different accents, variants taken from different languages with various alterations (strikethroughs, accents, etc.) - it's ultimately much more cost-effective to punish the player after they've made the offensive screenname than to try and make it physically impossible to have that screenname period.

  1. Yes, the ban for the name was warranted. Your friend may try to tiptoe around the fact by saying "it's not directly saying the words...", but the fact of the matter is, it is. It doesn't take a mathematician to rearrange letters in title case, and it is abundantly clear what his intent was. That he tried to circumvent the system in such a fashion is extra reason to punish him.

  2. No, the system isn't too loose. I don't imagine that a screenname like "Imredneckrandy" would require a name change or a punishment, but, if people find reference to the redneck stereotype offensive, then, it would only be fair.

  3. Yes, again, the ban is warranted. The issue isn't Riot allowing the name - it's players. You have to remember that for a name to be changed or punished for, players have to report it as offensive in the first place. Do not blame Riot for the actions of the playerbase - yourself included.

  4. Plays on words should certainly be looked into. People think they're clever up until their decidedly sly offensive screennames come back to bite them in the ass.

  5. Whether or not the player is toxic is irrelevant to the subject of their screenname. They chose a screenname that blatantly uses hate speech twice. I don't care if that player is friendlier than The Djinn, Riot makes it abundantly clear in the ToU that hate speech and offensive screennames aren't allowed.

The following are examples of behavior that warrant disciplinary measures:

xi. Selecting a Summoner name that is...offensive...racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable.

They knew full well that their screenname was against the rules. They can try to sidestep the punishment all they want, but they got what was coming to them.

ZackTheWaffleMan6/13/2018, 9:26:00 PM4 votes

Is that name against the rules? Yes. Is it offensive? Debatable. Should it be against the rules? See above.

Icestar11866/13/2018, 9:30:00 PM4 votes

It's a play on words that happen to both be hate speech, which is zero-tolerance. I'm not sure why this is a question.

Karunamon6/13/2018, 9:47:21 PM3 votes
  1. Because it's nearly impossible to come up with every variation of hate speech imaginable. When you try to do this, you wind up with things like the s%%%%horpe problem

(oh bloody hell it happened here too... see what I mean?)

  1. Yes. It's obviously an attempt to cram a racial and a sexual slur in there. Your friend isn't fooling anyyone.

  2. No, because there is no ambiguity here. When there is an ambiguous case of someone getting banned, we can talk.

  3. Yes, again, because it's plainly obvious what he tried to do.

  4. Not as long as those plays on words aren't obvious attempts to cram hate speech in a summoner name.

  5. Doesn't matter.

Aneirin6/13/2018, 9:09:32 PM3 votes

At the end of the day the way I look at it is would you say it to your CEO or girlfriend's parents or school principal or anyone else in a position of authority that you didn't know personally?

Quinzley6/13/2018, 8:01:21 PM1 votes

Personally I find it funny. Some people might feel offended by it while others will laugh. I see no reason to get it banned, except some people feeling offended by a joke.

The Ecdysiast6/13/2018, 10:54:03 PM1 votes

If they really did say name was okay, then all he should need to do is send in another ticket with the emails attached that say Riot Support told him the name was okay.