Boards›Player Behavior

Is reporting verbal offenses necessary?

Awf Meta·4/1/2018, 6:56:27 AM·2 votes·604 views

I'll share my opinion first. Feel free to ignore my opinion, vote, and comment with your own opinion.

I vote no.

I view reports as an emotional retaliation. The mute button or a chat filter solves the problem of verbal offense. To report afterwards, is an escalation. I have to ask myself, "why would I want to escalate?". The answer I came up with was, "they should pay for their offence." That is most definitely an emotionally charged desire of retaliation.

I'd like to use the rest of this post to explore other perspectives.

"Reporting prevents others from having to suffer." That statement is full of assumptions. An assumption that everyone shares my opinions. An assumption that the accused is incapable of change. An assumption that my report will prevent them from offending again. It is also hypocritical in that reporting people has a chance to cause them suffering.

"Punishment encourages the offender to reform." I can agree. However, I think League has some room for improvement. The timing of punishment is often too late. The accusation is often too vague. The severity of punishment is sometimes disproportionate in relation to the offense. Also, the assumption that everyone shares my opinions on what constitutes "acceptable" language.

36 Comments

Sp33d Zer04/1/2018, 8:36:37 AM6 votes

If you cannot follow the rules set forth, you need to be ready to accept punishment for it.

If I'm speeding down an empty highway and there is a cop tucked on the side of the road he is fully within his right to pull me over. I am not being dangerous to anyone other than myself given that the road is empty, but I am not following the rules of the road.

If I am at work and I start cussing out a customer, I am reprimanded because I cannot keep my calm and act appropriately for the situation.

The same kind of logic follows suit here.

AJStarhiker4/2/2018, 1:21:37 AM3 votes

I probably report what people are saying to other players more often than what was said directly to me. Why? Because win or lose, it's no fun trying to play when teammates are arguing.

Anomander4/2/2018, 1:38:12 AM2 votes

I report people not because I was affected by what they said/typed but to prevent it from harming others in the future. This is the actual reason i report violations of the summoners code.

"Reporting prevents others from having to suffer." That statement is full of assumptions. An assumption that everyone shares my opinions. An assumption that the accused is incapable of change. An assumption that my report will prevent them from offending again. It is also hypocritical in that reporting people has a chance to cause them suffering.

Your logic is completely false. It has nothing to do with others sharing my opinions but the rules as outlined by riot. If they change and are never toxic again then they will never be punished and it was a one off report. IF they offend again and get reported again they will eventually receive a justified punishment. Suffering for the actions of another is different then suffering because of one's own actions.

"Punishment encourages the offender to reform." I can agree. However, I think League has some room for improvement. The timing of punishment is often too late. The accusation is often too vague. The severity of punishment is sometimes disproportionate in relation to the offense.

The punishment is often too late I agree with that.

The Accusations are based on a individuals actions within a confined parameter.(the game) Their actions in the game can be verified and punished according to the guidelines set forth by riot. However vague it might seem it is very easy to verify.

The severity of punishments are very clearly outlined for those who bother to read their punishments and the escalation of the punishment tiers. The only exception being a first time offender perma ban(and those really can't be defended)

Also, the assumption that everyone shares my opinions on what constitutes "acceptable" language.

It has nothing to do with assumptions. The IFS is programmed to learn based on the community and combined with 0 tolerance for hate speech.