Please consult this behavioral guide
What exactly is this thread about?
(TL:DR at the bottom) (I originally created this post on EUW Boards, but wanted to hear your opinions and suggestions here as well, so I could improve it and raise awareness))
Over the course of one month, I've been paying a lot of attention to all the threads that have been created here on Boards so far ( primarily involving Player Behavior ). I wrote down some of the common questions/complaints people have when it comes to reporting, flaming, penalties and more. I've come to a conclusion that a vast number of players is unfamiliar with valid and exemplary behavioral patterns and how flaming ( or any other penalty ) is being dealt with. So, I've decided to create this thread in order to clarify some things and hopefully shed some light on these „mysterious“ things.
The very first thing I'd like to address is flaming and this misconception that follows this issue when it comes to players dealing with such negative behavior. Flaming is, unfortunately, a very common thing in League of Legends ( and games in general ), and it gets even worse when we count in the fact that many players hold a lot of erroneous views and methods on how to respond to it. Before I get to all the issues regarding this topic, let me first define the word „flaming“.
_Flaming is considered to be every act that, at its core, has the intention to insult, provoke or belittle anyone you're speaking to or trying to address. _
Let's get started.
#ISSUE #1 - FLAME
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- I'M BEING FLAMED – I FLAME THEM BACK – I GET PUNISHED – WHY?!?!
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This is a very common misconception that a lot of people have a hard time understanding ( or don't even bother trying to understand it, for the sake of their own arguments ). Comments like "you're only reading my chat logs“, "they provoked me so I had to strike back“ etc. are not valid nor important. You have to understand that there are certain rules that have to be respected. If you choose to break them, that is completely up to you. It's an unsolicited act on your end. Just because someone is flaming you, doesn't mean you should do the same. Fighting flame with flame will not solve any issues; it will only create more disputes and quarrels, which will drastically reduce everyone's gaming experience. If you're being flamed, and you strike back using the same method, answer this question: how does that make you any different? Just stop for a second and think about this from a logical point of view.
##EXPLANATION =/= JUSTIFICATION When faced with toxicity, people usually tend to strike back in the same way they were hit, acting as if they're somehow immune because they were the ones who got attacked first. Sadly, this leads to people holding this fallacious belief that they're protected against any kind of penalty, as long as they're not the ones initiating a dispute. I hate to break it to you, but that is not true. Not true at all. If someone is being toxic and is provoking you or anyone else, you SHOULD use the mute button and focus on your game. Once the game is finished, you have the power to report them. That is ALL you SHOULD do upon encountering such misdemeanors. Everything else ( contributing to a fight, flaming someone back, insulting them etc. ) is completely arbitrary and uncalled for and will get you penalized. Please understand that you are not allowed to break any rules, regardless of the situation you're in. Respect the rules and they will respect you. Explaining why you flamed someone might be useful to a certain degree, but it is not a justification for your act. Sorry, but it's not. To simplify: flaming (under any circumstances or for whatever reason) is not allowed. I repeat: flaming is not allowed.
This issue is also followed by comments such as "FIX THIS RITO WHY WOULD YOU BAN ME I DID NOTHING WRONG“, "14-day suspension because I was provoked by someone else. Absolutely unfair!“ etc., which just goes to show that people have a deep misunderstanding of how the system and rules work.
Also, my absolute favorite: "My reason for flaming is..." No. Just stop. There is not a single valid reason to flame someone. Whatever you write past that sentence is completely irrelevant and won't help you with your case. No amount of explaining can condone flaming/toxicity.
TL;DR: if you're being targeted by a toxic player mute them and don't sink down to their level of behaving, otherwise you're no different from them, no matter how hard you try to convince yourself or anyone else that you are.
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- BUT I'VE BEEN PLAYING SINCE - - - / I PAID A LOT OF MONEY FOR THIS GAME!
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Both of these things don't matter when it comes to punishing someone. The amount of money/time you've put into this game is not something that can make you less eligible for a penalty. All players are treated equally, regardless of your rank, level, budget etc.
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- RIOT IS BANNING PEOPLE FOR NO REASON
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No, they're not. Every penalty is issued based on evidence and logic. Penalties are not arbitrarily thrown at people. If you break the rules, you get punished. As simple as that. Depending on the level of a violation, the most suitable and reasonable punishment is chosen, ensuring a fair and efficient judgment for everyone.
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- THE SYSTEM IS BAD AND IS NOT PUNISHING FLAMERS! WTF!?!?
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I stumble upon this one quite a lot and it makes me giggle every time. Just imagine if the system were as bad as you're portraying it. This whole place would be one giant hell hole. The system is protecting us to the best of its abilities, remember that. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely. Will there be any improvements? Absolutely. But saying that people who flame or are being toxic in general don't penalized is just ridiculous and flippant. Hold your horses.
##Then why am I not getting a message that tells me that a penalty has been issued?
Simple answer: these do not pop up every time.
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- FLAMERS ARE JUST CANCER
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No, they're not cancer. They're irresponsible players who will get penalized for breaking the rules. Calling other people cancer doesn't really contribute to anything except interminable negativity.
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- REPORT CALLING
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This one is really annoying because people think that reporting someone 9 times will somehow increase the chance of that person getting penalized. One report is enough to trigger an investigation. You don't need 9 people for your report to be valid. Therefore, report calling serves no purpose and is treated as negative behavior, so try not to do that. Reporting someone should be your own decision and announcing it won't really help you achieve much. If anything, it will just provoke the player you're addressing with that call, which may lead to unpleasant scenarios.
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- RIOT SHOULD IMPLEMENT HARSHER PUNISHMENTS!
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I mean, there really is no need for this. The current system offers a wide selection of penalties, including chat restrictions, low priority queues, going all the way up to temporary and permanent suspensions. They're pretty stringent already, so I don't know what kind of additional punishments people would like to see.
#ISSUE #2 – RESPONSIBILITY I think this one is pretty obvious, but for some reason, people are more than ready to act as if they're not aware of this. To put it simply:
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- WHAT TO DO AND WHAT NOT TO DO AS A PLAYER
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##What to do?
• protect your account by acting responsibly • respect other players, both in victory and defeat • ensure a comfortable environment for you and all the players you're playing with • report people who are breaking the rules
##What not to do? • serve your own justice • give yourself more power than you're allowed to have • act as a vigilante • use various excuses for being irresponsible • try to justify negative behavior
Seems pretty easy to abide by, right? Well, evidently it's not. But that doesn't mean you should neglect these and not try to improve your behavior. I won't really go into details about these because I think they're pretty much self-explanatory. However, I will clarify one thing:
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- THIS PERSON BROKE THE RULES – LET ME WRITE A POST ABOUT THEM ON BOARDS AND EXPOSE THEM
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Also a pretty common sight here on Boards. Please restrain yourself from doing this. It is against the Universal Rules and is pretty much pointless. Starting a witch hunt on Boards won't solve anything, nor is this the right place to report people. This is a discussion platform for people to talk and share their ideas, interact with each other and discuss various topics. Using Boards to report people is about as useful as a chocolate teacup. It serves no purpose. The only thing you're doing is breaking the rules, and you do not want to be doing that! As I said, don't give yourself more power than you're allowed to have. If you want to report someone, then do so in the post-game screen using the report option, or contact the support is needed. While you're on Boards, focus on the issue itself, not a player.
#ISSUE #3 – MISCELLANEOUS Let's talk about some other things as well.
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- PEOPLE REPORT ME FOR NO REASON – I DON'T WANT TO GET BANNED!
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Just because someone reported you doesn't mean you will get penalized. There actually has to be a breach of contract for you to get punished. If you're abiding by the rules, you should be fine! No need to worry.
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- CAN YOU REMOVE MY PERMANENT SUSPENSION? I'VE REFORMED! I PROMISE I'LL NEVER FLAME AGAIN
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While it's more than pleasant to hear that your behavior has improved, that won't really help you get your account back. Permanent suspensions are not rescinded under any circumstances ( unless you're experiencing a chargeback/security ban ). Riot is pretty adamant when it comes to permanent suspensions. If you wish to continue playing, you'll have to create a new account. But, don't let that discourage you. If anything, respecting the rules will make it less likely for you to get punished again.
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- WHY ARE INTENTIONAL FEEDERS NOT GETTING BANNED? ONLY TOXIC PLAYERS ARE!
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First of all, let's define this mysterious term called "intentional feeding". What is that? It's when you're feeding, and you're doing it purposefully ( hence the name "intentional feeding" ) in order to sabotage your team by actively and consciously dying over and over again ( trolling ). Now that you know what this actually means, let's get back to the topic.
It's because flaming is more common and way easier to detect than intentional feeding. Unless someone specifies that they're going to feed intentionally, you're gonna have a hard time proving someone's intention. There's a huge difference between having a bad game and actually working against your team/trolling. The system responsible for punishing intentional feeders is not perfect and still requires a lot of upgrading, which is why it's hard to actually determine whether someone's feeding with the intention of hurting their team or just having a bad game.
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- MY FRIEND FLAMED ON MY ACCOUNT AND I GOT PENALIZED! WHY!?!? IT WASN'T ME!
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Because account sharing is against the rules and is punishable. Why? Read the question again and think of all the problems that can ensue from it. _Hint: _ > A: It wasn't me, it was this* person! > B: Proof? > A: ...
Okay, so, I think I've pretty much covered all the common questions and complaints I see here on Boards on a daily basis. Let me know what you think and if I should add more things to the list. I hope this will at least help some of you get a clearer picture of how you should behave and interact with other players, what to do and what to avoid doing, how to fight toxicity etc.
TL:DR - don't flame ( no excuse ), don't ask for your permanent suspension to be revoked ( unless it's a chargeback/security ban ), don't fight toxicity with more toxicity, you won't get banned if you didn't do anything wrong ( regardless of people reporting you ), report calling is bad, don't serve your own justice, account sharing is bad, don't expose people on Boards as it is against the rules...
