Boards›Player Behavior

At what point is a toxic person abusive enough to get penalized?

Ashtwee·12/3/2017, 2:22:28 AM·3 votes·645 views

I've played so many games where people think it's okay to flame others for their own mistakes, always telling one or two people to uninstall or telling the enemy team to report so-and-so. There are also the more toxic players who tell people to kill themselves. I've personally been told to "go die in a car crash." Most of these people get away with saying these things all the time. Now, I'm not too sure how the reporting system works, but I know people who do get bans for flaming usually only do from using racial slurs. And by racial slurs, I mean using the n-word or a sexuality-offending word once. One of my friends got a 15-day ban from calling someone a fa**ot, and I'm sure he said some things that were worse, but just that one word got him banned. I know with league being played by such a wide range and large number of people, it's probably impossible to penalize all the bullying that happens in game. However, shouldn't there be something done to improve the reporting system? I would think someone who gets their words censored often in game would get at least a similar penalty to someone who says the n-word once. I don't see people getting bans for telling others to kill themselves either. Of course it's not hard to just mute other players, but that could be the same for people reporting players for using the n-word. Besides racial slurs, which I personally think are horrid insults, aren't there worse things to say to people? Telling someone "slit your throat" or "hang yourself" is just as bad, if not worse, right? Is there a point were something is more okay than another? Is something too small to make a big deal out of? Does something happen often enough to make a big deal about it? In my opinion, toxic people are like little children: their words can be annoying, baseless, rude, and occasionally emotionally taxing; but they can be ignored. However, most people can handle one obnoxious child. What if every single game you see an obnoxious child? More than one obnoxious child? "Just stop playing, take a break" right? These questions might not matter to a majority of players because at the end of the day, you'll never ever meet those people in real life. I just think that if people can press charges against verbal harassment in real life, then it shouldn't be okay for people to get away scot free for doing it online. I'm tired of having to play games with people that make games less fun. It's not just league, but this is the game where I interact with other people the most. Along with the pain of dealing with cyberbullies (yes, they're real even if they aren't relevant to you), I'm also interested in the psychology associated with "safety behind a mask." I know Riot does have a team studying this as well, and there are a handful of books about video game psychology. If anyone is really interested in psychology or is really bored and wouldn't mind reading into why people act the way they do in video games, I recommend checking out one book named "Getting Gamers" by Jamie Madigan. Thank you for reading my rant, Ashtwee

9 Comments

TheProfezzor12/3/2017, 4:56:39 AM3 votes

I question your choice of friends if they are saying the N word in this day and age.

Final Spark Lux12/3/2017, 2:34:09 AM2 votes

People who harass people, regardless of using slurs or not, will get punished as long as you report them through the in game system with a brief summary of what happened. It may not seem like it's taken care of, but it will be. Just because you don't receive a message saying they've been punshed, doesn't mean they haven't. You can trust that they will receive a punishment if they've violated Riot's rules; all there is to it. It may just seem like nothing is happening because for whatever reason, you've been unlucky enough to get toxic players multiple games it a row. Don't reply to them; mute and report after the game. It sucks to deal with players like that, but you take solace in the fact that you're potentially saving someone else from having to deal with that, and making the community less toxic by reporting them. That's how I like to look at it.

Constipated Kiwi12/3/2017, 4:06:25 AM1 votes

That's so true. I find that, especially in this generation, there's a hierarchy of "offense." All derogatory, offensive, and threatening comments are equally bad!!

koshkyra12/3/2017, 1:55:17 PM1 votes

I was wished stage 4 cancer on myself and all the members of my family, didn't get a "a player you reported was punished" message.

Woodakoodashooda12/3/2017, 6:28:02 PM1 votes

I honestly have no idea how much is too much in the automatized eyes of Riot's system.

I do know it is a better system than the days of the tribunal in which anyone who was reported for anything was immediately sentenced punishment and many thousands of innocent players suffered unjustly because the system was based on the idea that a community could responsibly handle its own shit.

It was a joke.

The best way to ensure that your reports are taken into consideration is only to submit legitimate reports against players for genuine infractions. This means not to report someone simply because you were upset over something they did in game. Only report players who actually and deliberately break the rules. In this way, the system will always recognize your reports as generally accurate, increasing the chance of a player receiving a penalty for their misbehavior.