PSA: Common posts on this board
Mostly creating this so I can link back to it in the future, and because a number of riot support articles don't cover these, are outdated, or both.
Unofficial Player Behavior FAQ
Why can't people just disable chat for themselves?
Because the chat is intended to be used as a strategic tool, not a place to unload on people. Since statistically most games are not toxic, what will happen is that people will disable the chat and refuse to communicate with their team. There are tricks you can use that make it impossible for you to type, but it is recommended instead that you modify your mindset and don't put anything in the chat box if it's not to help your team win. If you can't work past the temptation to flame, you won't stand a chance in ranked.
Why was I punished for what someone else did?
Nobody in the years-long history of this game has been banned for the actions of another. What probably instead happened is you started trolling in the chat box. It doesn't matter who started it or what they did - you are expected to mute trolls rather than start trolling them back and making your team have to mute another person rather than hear one side of your slapfight.
If you're not sure, post your chat log here and we can probably tell you what's wrong. Please don't argue when you're told what in your chat is reportable. The IFS is based in part on player reports, so if enough people think your chat is toxic, they are correct.
Do not edit your chat log, do not make excuses, and for the love of Aurelion do not attempt to use "context" as an argument for why your chat was toxic. You and you alone are responsible for your chat at the end of the day.
The community is so sensitive and it is impossible to chat normally without getting a punishment.
Statistically, most players never get a punishment. Of those that do, most of them never receive a second one. Most people will never have a single run-in with the IFS. This is a myth than permabanned players like to spread, but it says more about them than it does the system.
Why can't toxic players be shuffled off to another queue so we don't have to deal with them?
Because Riot is big on reform rather than punishment. Statistically, most players never get a punishment. Of those that do, most of them never receive a second one. Putting someone in a "prisoner's island" makes it less likely that they'll change their behavior, which is the ultimate goal. Yes, we know DOTA2 does it. DOTA2 also has about a quarter of the player base.
I got reported by a premade full of trolls
The IFS discards reports that show no toxicty. If you weren't toxic in chat, those reports will have no impact on you.
Why am I getting hit with LeaverBuster penalties? I was disconnected due to (bugsplat/power outage/internet failure/having to leave)
Leaverbuster penalties only start kicking in and growing for habitual leaving. If you're getting long penalties, it means that you're showing a pattern of leaving games. If you bail out of games due to trolls, and then your game crashes later, you've still established a pattern.
If you're having legitimate infrastructure problems, there are a number of things you can try do to remedy these:
- UPS batteries for flaky power (make sure your router/modem are plugged in!)
- Hextech repair tool for client issues. Also try turning off any overlay programs like Steam, Discord, Overwolf, etc. Remember that this game has tens of millions of active players - the problem is more likely to be your computer than a legitimate bug.
- Talking to your ISPs tech support, or failing that, using a VPN if you have bad routes to Riot's servers
I know what you're thinking, and it sucks if you're getting hit by something that you legitimately can't control, but you have to remember that League is a team game, and leaving your team down a member because your computer, power, or internet is flaky isn't fair to them. (Seriously. 4v5s are not fun for anyone involved.) If either of these things will be a major issue for you, for the sake of your frustration and everyone you might play with, please find another game to play.
Another thing to keep aware of is that there is no technique in all of computing that can determine why the remote side of a connection disconnected without trusting the client. Trusting the client would leave any such system open to being manipulated.
And finally, you should remember that you should never queue up to a game you don't know you can finish. The average time for a game is around half an hour, but could stretch to over three times that amount. Don't queue up if you have an appointment an hour away, or are going to get called to go eat dinner or go to bed, or have to go to work soon.
Why was this person I reported not punished?
Not every report ends in a punishment, even a valid one. In its current iteration, the instant feedback system (IFS) that scans chat for toxicity requires a certain level of toxicity over a certain period of time before issuing punishments. Except in extreme cases, a single game of toxicity won't lead to someone getting a chat restriction.
Also, how do you know they weren't? Yhe first step for non-extreme toxicty is a chat restriction, something that you won't have any ability to see. A person has to be punished for extreme tox once, or lower-grade tox three separate times before they receive a temporary ban.
I got banned even though I had thousands of dollars of purchases on the account
Bans are not removed unless they were placed in error. Spending lots of money is not an entitlement to ignore the rules that bind everyone.
But Tyler1 got unbanned!
Tyler1 didn't get back any of the accounts he lost. He was placed under an "ID ban", where Riot will proactively scan for accounts owned by a person and ban them when found. It took just under two years for the ID ban to be lifted.
Why is nothing being done about the intentional feeder I just had?
Please consider that you're wrong about their intent.
- Poor play is not intentional feeding.
- Not following the meta (champions, build paths, macro, micro, etc) is not intentional feeding
- Not following your desired or optimal play plan is not intentional feeding.
Intentional feeding is with malicious intent, causing the enemy team to be advantaged. If someone isn't actively trying to make the enemy team win, they are not intentionally feeding. If they actually want to win, but are doing a comically bad job of it, they are not intentionally feeding.
Please don't post game stats like KDAs, gold, etc in an attempt to bolster your case. These can only show a game outcome, and it is highly likely that legitimate play in a one-sided stomp could produce stuff like what you're going to show. The only real way to judge intent is by watching replays, and even this is dicey.
Feeding should be reported in postgame, or optionally, in a ticket.
Why can't we report players during champ select?
Because this will absolutely lead to bullying and false reports, and won't save you besides. Even if you could report someone in champ select, you'd still be obligated to either play out the game or dodge the lobby.
Why can't we votekick players out of champ select?
For the same reason you can't report in champion select - this will lead to repetitive kicking for not following the meta.
Why isn't there a dedicated dodge button?
Because dodging shouldn't be encouraged at the risk of causing longer queue times. There's already a token LP loss for doing so.
Why can players ban my declared champ?
Bans are completely free-form and have no rules attached to them. Any player can ban any champion for any reason. That can include not wanting to play against.. or with. It's considered bad manners, but it is not reportable. This is just a danger of playing draft mode.
Riot isn't doing what I want them to, and the game is dying/will die if they don't change.
League of Legends has over 80 million players each month, and it is the largest MOBA in the world. When LoL gets down to DOTA2 levels of players, we can talk about how its dying. For right now, this isn't even close to accurate.
Why isn't the tribunal coming back?
Short answer: Way, way too many people for it to scale. Months-long backlogs were common. The sheer number of games played makes an automated system like the IFS not just a nicety, but a necessity.
