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Inside the Largest Virtual Psychology Lab In the World
bearhuntz writes: Riot Games has been using League of Legends as a psychology lab to run scientific experiments and reduce toxic player behavior for a while now. This article explains some of the experiments they're doing, and what the results have been. "For example, one product is a restricted chat mode that limits the number of messages abusive players can type per match. It’s a temporary punishment that has led to a noticeable improvement in player behavior afterward —on average, individuals who went through a period of restricted chat saw 20 percent fewer abuse reports filed by other players. The restricted chat approach also proved 4 percent more effective at improving player behavior than the usual punishment method of temporarily banning toxic players. Even the smallest improvements in player behavior can make a huge difference in an online game that attracts 67 million players every month."
ah. that's better.
The largest virutal psychology lab. The scientists have just been conditioned to think it is.
This is a common practice used by a huge number of consumer facing businesses. Just off the top of my head I imagine Youtube, Facebook and Amazon all eclipse League of Legends in terms of A/B testing
There is no memory shortage. yes I have heard of XFCE. Go away.
I played derivatives of it like hon or maybe dotA, I forget. But in my brief time playing trying to get the hang of it, I just remember being told that I was a retard and a faggot and that I should kill myself. I think I missed something in mid as well.
I've played fps with voice chat, and people get mad when objectives fail but I think most people are just doing their own thing and try to make up for crappy players by upping their own game. Some don't even care because it's more about having fun than anything else.
Nothing in dota, lol or hon can be fixed with a mute button or a report button. I'm convinced the game mechanics simply flips a switch in normal people. Like an exaggerated version of that shitcocks image that is used to explain forum trolls.
Real terrorists are born of actual life conditions that social media butterflies and game-playing losers could not imagine in their most lethargy-fueled nightmares.
It is amazing how much time first-worlders can waste and still continue to exist, even prosper.
I can't see this absurd status quo continuing much longer.
So why are you posting here? Shouldn't you be posting on site with no moderation?
Priest: "Universe from nothing, no laws of physics, sped up time"+ huge discrepancies. Creationism? No. Big Bang Theory
I was expecting this to be about slashdot.
Trolling is a art,
Why not let abuse take place online in virtual environments?
Because it sucks and leads to much more offline abusive behavior by otherwise good people after they have been repeatedly harassed.
Instead, this psychology of banning and throttling likely leads to more offline abusive real-life suffering.
The opposite is true. Because the natural abuser is inclined to fight through any system thrown at them, throttling and other attempts drain their energy more than simply letting them post would, leading to more relaxed (or at least less) behavior offline.
Not to mention, we all know that trolls online are probably losers who would never in a billion years have the nerve to say or do anything offensive offline...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Turning ingame chat OFF does a lot of favours for the game - I don't even see what other players are typing while I'm shooting the snot out of them from clear across the map.
Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
Instead, this psychology of banning and throttling likely leads to more offline abusive real-life suffering.
Factless speculation.
Actually, when people behave better online, and are surrounded by people behaving better online, the net result is better real life behavior.
See I can do it too.
- Holy crap, I've got MOD points! Who thought that was a good idea.
Perhaps the research could help over time those distinctions exist and pair like-minded people together.
I thought most modern games already had systems to at least try and match players with similar skill levels.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
... Because then people would stop playing their game and start playing one made by devs who cared?
...addressing the common theme in the above comments collectively. Trying to make people act less anti-social, in a privately run setting, is horrible censorship and a terrible evil? Trying to get people to act civilly is more unethical than telling people to kill themselves? Are you serious? I hope you don't take that approach raising kids, or managing workers. Jesus Christ.
Back in the good ol' days on freenode, there was a #politics which had a no kick/ban policy, and a ##politics which was like every other irc channel, with active mods. Guess which was more popular? The little girls who run freenode became so jealous of the fun we had in #politics that they had to shut it down.
I loved the freedom of the old #politics, under aksis who set up the no kick/ban policy. I would argue with the bigots and racists and other trolls. I could make them shut up or leave, just with words, maybe half the time?
The way to deal with toxic memes is to come up with better memes to fight them. Censorship leads to supertoxicity, which comes out in other ways (real-life violence, other forums).
Besides, technology provides the solution to this particular social problem: /ignore. Filter speech at your client; don't restrain free speech.
I really think the toxic community is produced by the game mechanics. The whole notion of a hero that can 'carry' the team coupled with the fact that a player death feeds the strength of said hero makes dying really problematic. The carry hero is going to grow too strong to defeat after a few kills thus making the game bitter for the losing side. As a result, its your own teammates that berate and thrash you, not the opposing team. I do feel like Blizzard's latest rendition of this MOBA model (Heroes of the Storm) has took a step in the right direction to prevent the toxicity by changing the penalty of death and dramatically reducing the strength of a 'carry hero',
So do a real psychological study, not like this one which doesn't examine the potential ramifications of banning and throttling.
Because that creates more work for the client, which isn't actually something most clients want? If it's a political control thing it's completely redundant. There is never anything of intellectual value discussed in a LoL match.
Supporter of the +1 Over Dramatic mod option. In memory of apk.
Actually, yes, it does. Along with paying that money they also sign an agreement to abide by Riot's terms of service. If they violate those terms, Riot Games is fully justified in terminating their service entirely.
Supporter of the +1 Over Dramatic mod option. In memory of apk.
That's kinda what's being done here. By limiting the amount that toxic players can say, the proportion of good messages is increased, increasing the 'normality' of the chat in general.
Supporter of the +1 Over Dramatic mod option. In memory of apk.
What if they were having fun trolling online, and the only harm done was a few thin-skinned squares had to type /ignore? What if they could vent against bullying without any consequences, like being called "toxic"?
The more one of your players dies, the stronger the other team gets. It often literally is that player's fault you lose.
I'm trying to get S2 to reduce that effect because it heavily limits the effect of your own play -- making it approach a game of chance, rather than skill.
There is a large medium difference, and if you don't get that, the discussion can not be had.
League isn't a hangout place, its a entertainment medium. You go there to do something, and interaction is a secondary concern.
You describe #politics as a place where you go for the sake of interaction, where the contrast with ##politics also makes it seem that the latter is filled with butthurt banhammers.
s/bigot/murderer/
You're an idiot who can't differentiate between "existence" and "action," and it's because of simpletons like you that the SJWs you hate so much are able to continue to spread their hate, hypocrisy, and propaganda and keep their credibility among the other idiots, who parrot their own bullshit memes right back in and endless cycle of reality-defying masturbation.
By 'here' I mean in League of Legends, as described by the article.
Supporter of the +1 Over Dramatic mod option. In memory of apk.
Sounds like the system worked perfectly then. Others were not affected by your miasma, and depression would naturally lead you to interact less with others.
Your mental health is nothing compared to the tens or thousands of mental states you negatively impacted.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley