A Different Mindset on Dealing with Toxic/Troll Players

xPlainDollx·May 23, 2016·3 votes·726 views

Most of my posts in the forums have been about player behavior and the community. To be honest, the reason why is because there are so many people that will genuinely try to ruin your week and people that get so tilted that they will yell at everyone on their team for playing poorly, even if they are the problem. In the time that I've played League, I've seen little, if any, improvement in this behavior despite Riot saying that they are working to weed these people out. Thus, I propose this to the players that are sick of these toxic people: Report everyone that is being toxic, raging at teammates, being a troll etc. and if you don't feel that anything is changing, then stop playing. I'm starting to believe that Riot doesn't care as much about toxic players as they say they do because they haven't lost any money over it. If people get sick of these toxic players and start leaving in droves, maybe it will wake them up and they'll actually do something legitimate about the problem.

Side note the inevitable Riot employee reading this: I hope with the fullest of my being that you really do care about your community and that they really do want these toxic players gone. I have hope in humanity still but think about this from my perspective: I've been playing league for a little under a year and have seen no improvement in the community and very few of my reports actually do anything. There are a lot of other players that have been playing for a lot longer than I have that also feel that reporting players really doesn't do anything either. Something needs to change, as I said before, if you really do care about us. If not, and you have some half-hearted, stock response you're going to give me, then save your time. I'm smart enough to be able to tell if you're actually being sincere or not.

10 Comments

scazzmanMay 23, 20161 votes

the reality. riot doesnt care about toxic players. 12 year old kiddos have taken over. and thier mommies wont spend money on RP if league has a bad reputation of people swearing at each other. so riot throws more and more carrot/stick at the problem when it's not something carrot and stick will fix. to make it look like they're actually doing something. and because flamers and people who "type too much" are more noticable than passive aggressive trolls or feeders. theyre the ones getting targeted. not the people who are actually the problem

xPlainDollxMay 23, 20161 votes

I understand that. However, there has to be something said for restraint. If someone is not playing well (whether they are trolling, feeding, having a bad game, or just not very good) try to be kinder and more supportive with your criticisms. "Flaming" someone just makes you look worse and makes them a victim. Yeah, it can be frustrating if you're playing ranked and someone is trolling or not playing well, but it happens. All you can do, is tell the other team to report them (if they're a troll). If they're just struggling try to be kinder with your criticisms. If they get pissy with you, then just leave them alone. Sure, you can get frustrated with them and if you have mean things that come into your head, that's fine. Here's the thing though, you're obligated to put it in chat. Do what I do, say it in your head (or out loud if you don't care or if no one can hear you) and then just continue on playing. If someone is trying and isn't playing well, chances are, they know it, and you flaming them is just making it way worse.

FiruMay 23, 20161 votes

A few things.

First, Riot does care. They invest substantial resources in trying to develop a Player Behavior System. Is it perfect? No. But they are constantly trying to improve it, regardless if you agree with their decisions or not.
Second, the average age of a video game player (and I assume a League player) is closer to mid-twenties to mid-thirties. This "kiddos" argument is not based on any evidence.
Third, most parents do not know the content of online interaction that their children experience. So even if your "kiddos" point was true, this one is not.

There is a ton of research supporting my second and third statement. Check PsycINFO or Google Scholar (this is the easiest and free way) for academic research on the topics.

disregardableMay 23, 20161 votes

You could just mute them as soon as they say anything negative. That generally makes games a lot less shitty.

xPlainDollxMay 23, 20161 votes

Yeah, it does, but I generally want to leave them unmuted just in case if they have something to say that is actually about game strategy. That's why the chat is there, I think.

disregardableMay 23, 20161 votes

That's like leaving a serial killer with a knife in case he needs to cut a steak dinner: the inevitable result is a lot more harmful than the possible result is beneficial.

xPlainDollxMay 23, 20161 votes

Who's to say that player isn't going to be toxic in other games? I get that, but muting a toxic player doesn't stop them from being toxic. It just turns a blind eye to the problem.

disregardableMay 23, 20161 votes

It makes a game actually fun instead of a frustrating chore. You're recommending people quit BEFORE trying to have fun.

CavemanteroMay 23, 20161 votes

Honestly, if you can't handle any toxicity then you actually should just mute your entire team as soon as the game begins. Strategy is actually so poor now in this meta there's really nothing good that a teammate will say that you can't learn from experience or on a strategy guide or video. This game isn't a social game unfortunately. It's a competitive game and even your own teammates see you as an enemy because of how poor of a state the game is in right now.

It's not turning a blind eye to the problem, its actually the best way for you to deal with it. I don't play muted because I can handle toxic teammates although I'd prefer not to have toxic teammates like you. It just isn't realistic in a competitive environment like this because the health of the game suffers from the elo system.