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The Washington Post Decries 'Toxicity' in Videogames (siliconvalley.com)
This week the Washington Post shared the story of 20-year-old Sam Haberern, who was playing Call of Duty on his Xbox when the other players "started asking him whether he had ever testified in court or murdered anyone."
"They said they were from Maryland and that they were going to come and kill me," he said. By then it was 3 a.m., and Haberern decided to quit. One of the gamers in the party then sent him a message via Xbox Live. It contained his home address. Next his house phone rang, then his mother's cellphone. A message appeared on his TV screen from one of the party members -- it was asking why he didn't answer... Haberern contacted Microsoft, which makes Xbox, via its website and reported what happened. Unsatisfied with that process, he then typed a Reddit post, which would go viral, asking what recourse was available to him. The varied and ultimately unsatisfying answers centered on a common theme: There was no good solution.
Toxic behavior in competitive activities is not a new development, nor is it exclusive to video gaming, as social media users can attest. But its persistence amid a rapidly rising medium -- both in terms of users and revenue -- spotlights the question of why undesirable or, in some cases, criminal interactions have been so difficult for the video-game industry or law enforcement to eliminate. Now, with technological advances in online multiplayer games and video gaming's increased prevalence worldwide, a growing percentage of the population is becoming unwittingly exposed to a slew of abusive acts that are only becoming more visible. While game publishers, console makers, online voice-chat applications and even the FBI are aware of these issues and working to confront them, complications stemming from modern technology and gaming practices, freedom of speech concerns, and a lack of chargeable offenses on the legal side make toxic elements a challenge to extinguish.... Ambiguities within the U.S. legal system have played a role in constraining the efforts of law enforcement during the era of online gaming.
After the death threats, Haberern didn't contact the police, but questioned whether Microsoft was creating a safe environment for kids.
The next day, he was back to playing videogames. "But I definitely don't accept invites from people."
Toxic behavior in competitive activities is not a new development, nor is it exclusive to video gaming, as social media users can attest. But its persistence amid a rapidly rising medium -- both in terms of users and revenue -- spotlights the question of why undesirable or, in some cases, criminal interactions have been so difficult for the video-game industry or law enforcement to eliminate. Now, with technological advances in online multiplayer games and video gaming's increased prevalence worldwide, a growing percentage of the population is becoming unwittingly exposed to a slew of abusive acts that are only becoming more visible. While game publishers, console makers, online voice-chat applications and even the FBI are aware of these issues and working to confront them, complications stemming from modern technology and gaming practices, freedom of speech concerns, and a lack of chargeable offenses on the legal side make toxic elements a challenge to extinguish.... Ambiguities within the U.S. legal system have played a role in constraining the efforts of law enforcement during the era of online gaming.
After the death threats, Haberern didn't contact the police, but questioned whether Microsoft was creating a safe environment for kids.
The next day, he was back to playing videogames. "But I definitely don't accept invites from people."
Statistically, your kids are more likely to be shot outside of school than at school. So you're increasing their odds of being shot by pulling them out of school.
That's a false statistic. You aren't even validating your claim, but given that school is only 1/3 of the day (at most) and less than half the year, that assertion on your part is meaningless.
Which means you are just a hypocrite blathering your own baseless rhetoric for stupid reasons.
Why do you ruin your posts with stupid content?
Well...a murder simulator like COD is likely to draw a lot of toxic pricks. I don't think you could argue the game itself is completely neutral in this. I say that as someone who likes to play these multiplayer shooters. When I go to the opera, I don't run into a lot of jackoffs who want to talk shit and dox people. I don't find a lot of this toxic behavior at the handball court. Also, I've never had a telemarketer threaten to kill my family.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Is there a single reason why your game console, let alone random people on the Internet, should know your real name and home address?
I would not share such information with a toy. Heck, even the people with whom I play racket sports in real life don't know more than my first name, and there is no reason why they would need to know more.
I'd say that there should be no way to get personally-identifying information out of Xbox Live. I can't say that there isn't.
Assuming truth to the contrary of reason using the god of the gaps. Off to a grand start.
I'm not sure where the association with Smollett comes from...That whole process was complete before I ever heard the name "Smollett", and I read the news daily.
Great! Proud of ignorance. Unable to research on your own. Unable to see the difference between professional agitation and fact publishing.
But yeah, this is definitely part of the liberal media's War Against Gamers, which I guess is like the "War Against Christmas"
Correlating an event which one can witness first-hand with a politically charged falsehood. Could you be any more transparent?
One bad person did a series of bad actions, therefore a hitpiece in toxicity in video games. No personal responsibility, nothing more than a single anecdote, yet a whole industry is to blame.
Grow up. Open your eyes. Stop lying. Read more.