There's a simple answer to your questions though I doubt you'll like it. Simply put, Riot won't remove features just because people would abuse and misuse them to be jerks to other people: instead they'll just remove the jerks and be done with it. Also, one report is as good as 9 reports in any given game, and if they're false reports, then the person who made the report will be the one who gets punished instead of you.
From Understanding the Tribunal:
1) What's the point of having a language filter if I can get banned for 'adult' language?
a) We aren't out to punish players who use adult language; in fact, very few players are ever banned for saying stuff like "f***, I missed that skill shot" or "damn, fing close game!" However, the language filter is not an excuse to verbally abuse someone in the game. When you verbally abuse or harass someone by calling them "fing *****" or "ngger noob", that's when you've crossed the line and will be punished by the Tribunal. I've said this before and I'll say it again, we aren't trying to clean online games of adult language; we're trying to reform or get rid of jerks who like to verbally abuse and harass other players.
4) That player in my game was far worse than me. Why am I banned???
a) I'll keep this one simple: retaliation isn't OK. Reacting to a toxic player by being toxic just incites that player to be even worse--it also ruins the game for up to 8 other players. It is far, far worse to watch two people yelling at each other all game than it is to watch 1 player ranting into blank space. Almost everyone in the game can find someone out there that behaves worse than they do--but so what? Finding someone worse doesn't justify your behavior or justify retaliation. We expect more out of our players. What players often don't realize is... those other players in your game that you thought were worse? Nearly 100% of the time, those players were banned even before you were. If someone is being toxic, just report them and move on. If you retaliate, both of you will be banned. It's really that simple.
From Ulanopo's Knowledge Base:
I want to complain about my ban, but I didnt link my Reform Card.
We get a lot of that here and, sadly, youre not likely to get much in the way of sympathy or help until you post the Card. We need the context and we need to know that were getting the whole story. Dont take it personally, just post the Card.
Freedom of Speech!!!!!
Doesnt apply. No really. If were talking about American law, the First Amendment only applies to the government making laws that prohibit speech and, even then, freedom of speech isnt absolute. For example, you cant incite a riot, plan to kill the president or yell fire in a crowded theater.
Also, theres nothing in the First Amendment that protects you from the consequences of your speech. People are fired all the time for making derogatory comments about their employer. My workplace, for example, has a social media policy that says that I can be terminated for badmouthing the company. They dont ask for passwords and access as some companies have been known to do, but it wouldnt be all that difficult to find me on the internet, knowing my real name, phone number and address.
People who report are simply being oversensitive. The mute button exists for a reason.
Lets start with the Riot quote on this (link (http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?p=30696571#post30696571)):
Why is verbal abuse punishable if there is a mute button/language filter?
Players shouldnt need to rely on features like the mute button or language filter to engage with other players in positive ways. When a player verbally abuses another player and forces him to use the mute button, they have already created a negative experience for that player.
Simply put, Riot says no. You can scream and cry all you want, but it is their house and their rules.
With that out of the way, I think the topic deserves some further discussion. The theory is that, if people resolved to care less, then they would be happier. I often refer to this as Argument from Stoicism and I think it is a fairly weak philosophy because it places the burden on the person being expected to endure the behavior rather than the person exhibiting the behavior. You should be able to handle it is just a flimsy excuse for being a bully or a jerk. I have to be the bigger man so that you can do whatever you want? That hardly seems fair.
There is also the issue of how I spend my limited free time. Like most people, I am constantly required to make value judgments between the different forms of entertainment that are available to me and, let's be honest, we live in an age of nearly limitless entertainment options. If I'm having a bad day in League, I can just fire up Steam and play a whole bunch of games that don't require me to put up with someone's BS.
This is not an issue of weakness or thin-skin; it's a question of choosing activities that don't leave me feeling frustrated and angry. Too many of those experiences and I'll just find something else to do. Riot knows this.
EDITED 18 JULY 2014
If you kids report and punish things like this, youre going to be in trouble when you get out in the real world.
This is a subset of the oversensitivity argument, but I feel it warrants separate treatment.
You're making the highly unwarranted assumption that the people who punish for "noob" lack real-world experiences. If you were to ask the TBI regulars, you would find that almost all of us are at least in their late 20's, if not significantly older. Most of us have at least undergraduate degrees. So, this idea that we're all naive little children is more than a little silly.
Also, we know that professional players dislike people who spend their time typing because math. Not only are the report rates for the highest tiers not significantly lower than anywhere else (this from Lyte), but the pros know how that kind of behavior affects play. Someone who is on tilt is throwing the game just as much as the person who is playing poorly.
The truth of the matter is that the loose cannons end up having their misbehavior overshadow their skill. Look at Dennis Rodman. There has never been a better rebounder. Ever. But his legacy is not that he was basically a human vacuum. No, it's that he was out of control, both on and off the court.
In short, this is a stupid argument if you know anything about the people who are reporting and punishing you.
I should be allowed to speak however I like to people who started it or are griefing me.
I was provoked or taunted. I should be allowed to defend myself.
Why did you vote to punish me when others were behaving worse?
You should know that Riot specifically instructs jurors to ignore most of the conduct of people in a case other than the accused. The reason for this is rather simple: rather than one person causing trouble, you now have two or more. In my more cynical moments, I have phrased it thus:
Timmy, Tommy and Sarah are trapped in an elevator.
Timmy loses his temper and soils himself.
Tommy gets angry at the smell and decides to retaliate by soiling himself.
Now Sarah is trapped with two smelly idiots.
Dont be Timmy or Tommy. Stop ****ing your pants.
An informal poll of the Tribunal regulars shows that most jurors are willing to excuse a certain amount of response to someone who is attacking you, but that it isnt considered an excuse for you to become toxic in response. You get MAYBE one or two lines of response. Anything more than that and youre part of the problem.
From Lyte (link (http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?p=27540071#post27540071)):
We strongly believe that it is not OK to retaliate. If a player refuses to cooperate and says something negative, then players should ignore the player and report them after the game. Players can ignore or mute players by pressing the Mute button on the Scoreboard [when you hit TAB] in the game.
Emphasis mine.
Riot bans people because they make money off of forcing people to create new accounts and repurchase the skins.
Just stop. This is a really silly argument. I didnt pay for my account any more than you did and while I have bought a number of things, I didnt have to. Theres nothing relevant to competitive play that I couldnt have bought with IP.
Also, Riot actively discourages people from making new accounts.
From Lyte: (link (http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?p=33432435#post33432435))
Actually, if we're permabanning you we don't want your money or your time. Just find another game.
(Help from MadmanWithBox)
