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MIC: Overwatch players turn to Reddit to share their stories of Harrassment
- Thread starter EdibleKnife
- Start date
Recently, Siege on PC has been a bit of a let down in this regard. I've seen way too many people typing things like "Sieg Heil," in the text chat, as well as liberal use of various slurs. It's unfortunately come to be expected of online games, but it's made all the more frustrating because Siege only has an option to "report suspicious behaviour."
Not concerned, frustrated, because generally categorizing a broad group of people is never a good idea.
Also typing out more than one question mark suggests your blood might be boiling to a point where discussion is pretty senseless, so I'll just leave it at that. I'm sorry for putting some emotional believes in my comments, if you would go back and try to ignore those and concentrate on the actual opinion/advice I have you'll see that there's no sense in antagonizing each other as we're pretty much on the same side on this.
Like I said, activate only after being reported, since, as I stated, online harassers are usually repeat offenders.
And again, you already waived your privacy rights. Overwatch specifically records text chat logs already when a person is reported. And it's not a private space, public voice chat in a video game is just like it sounds. A public setting. There's no right to privacy that can be claimed in the first place.
And again, I have a device in my pocket that can tell when I speak naughty words at it. There are consumer devices that can auto-translate into foreign languages. Recording, transcribing to text and sending to mods who review reported users with specific flagged instances? Not a huge undertaking. At all. Data already gets exchanged to Blizzard at a phenomenal rate, why would some voice recordings for the few reported users somehow break them as you imply?
I'm glad you're more concerned about the victimizers being victimized, than the people who were actually victimized.
You're being way too sensitive.. just saying. He was just giving GOOD advice.
Professor Beef
Banned
This. They could even take after the PS4's share function and have it set to record the last few minutes. I don't see how something like that is "impossible" at all.
#NotAllGamers
Laughing Banana
Weeping Pickle
I guess we'll just have to see. If it's really as easy as you say, than I am sure one of these days, soon, one of the big guys like Blizzard will implement such a system since it seems like it is such an ideal solution to catch and excise online harassers after all.
dehydratedbabies
Member
Doesn't DOTA 2 have a pretty good report feature? I'm not 100% on how it works on the back end but if you report people you give a reason and then, if they are banned/punished etc, you get a note next time you log in saying action has been taken against another player.
That could be a text ban, a voice ban or time out of the game I think.
Does OW have something similar?
fabricated backlash
Member
Nothing has been done by either communities or developers to curb stomp problems like that. And the supply of young adolescent boys with shit personalities is constantly refreshed.
Actually that frustration applies in the same way to people generalizing about for example women and gaming wouldn't match and as such harrassing them is ok. But as I said in the edited version of that post, you're in a heightened emotional state and apparently must leave those emotions somewhere. It's fine, I can take it.
I've constatnly report toxic behavior and I've yet to get any follow up of any sorts so i doubt it.
I'm glad you're here to logically rationalize the frustration of being a non straight white guy in a public video game voice chat for us in an obvious state of hysteria. Whatever would we do without you.
Permanently A
Junior Member
I wonder if they could apply general voice recognition technology to monitor all VOIP communications to flag slurs and certain keywords. Then have human monitor the flagged messages and determine if a ban is necessary.
Of course, this is a lot of money and time spent on something that isn't really profitable, so I doubt it will ever happen.
Don't think he has mentioned your sexual orientation or skin color once.. But you keep mentioning it, so you must be pretty emotional right now from another incident.
Like I said, publishers would actually need to truly desire a tolerant gaming environment, which I don't believe they do, since it would thin out their player base because people will believe it's their right to be shitstains on chat, and thus cost them money. And also forces them to acknowledge the problem and be accused of "OMG CENSORSHIP!". Easier to just put the onus on players, as is the norm for this industry.
That was my point in the first place: the solution is available if they put any amount of thought into it, but they don't, ergo they aren't committed to making online gaming a tolerable environment, no matter what their PR says to the contrary.
Like your input has? Go back a couple pages.. your posts provide no feedback to the actual topic at hand whatsoever. You just bring out the "you must be a straight white male card". Ignorance at its finest.
Thank you, I appreciate your opinion. Since I am aware of being on a forum I did not expect everyone to be nice and/or rational. If I wanted my opinions validated and just feel good about myself I would've talked to friends who felt the same way instead of putting my opinion into a place where I have no idea how it chives.
Just as when I play videogames online I don't enter public voice chat for a second, because I do know and expect people being disgusting in some circumstances I understand to bring out such disgusting human behaviors, because I have experienced them which in turn led me to find my own working solutions to this which I then shared on here
dota's report system is alright, but the actual punishment end of it is awful most of the time since
1. it's completely automated (if you get reported enough times within a moving window, you'll get punished; there's no actual evaluation going on)
2. the punishment of being put into low priority queue is worthless (its rehabilitative/dissuasive effect is about zero based on how often repeat offenders get put back into it, and it's too short to keep them out of the general population, especially since you can pay for bot matches to expedite the process)
That's really what it comes down to. None of these companies have the nerve to lose a few profits to create an atmosphere that is more welcoming and may actually grow the community into something much more.
The internet is chaotic and people have just passively accepted it without trying to turn it into something better.
But this is better than nothing right? I mean, one of my friend's got a chat ban once and it was super debilitating for him - and really frustrating for us trying to communicate.
Surely if people were routinely banned from voice and text chat in OW some people, at least, might try and curb their behaviour?
rochellepaws
Member
It's turned me off playing overwatch on PC as well. I'm unfortunately used to harassment in online games on occasion but it became tiresome having to deal with it so frequently and affected my enjoyment of the game. It was my first time playing an online shooter and I'm reliably informed that such behaviour is "part of the culture" in the genre which is a shame.
Similar to Rocket League I've found that the community was quite nice and polite for the first few months but has become increasingly toxic the older it gets.
Overwatch on PS4 hasn't had the same issues from my experience as most players don't speak and typing isn't possible.
Similar to Rocket League I've found that the community was quite nice and polite for the first few months but has become increasingly toxic the older it gets.
Overwatch on PS4 hasn't had the same issues from my experience as most players don't speak and typing isn't possible.
Keep in mind that simply because a person isn't being openly harassed doesn't mean they're not receiving private messages to that effect. When I'd play online with my last girlfriend, there were rarely visible signs but she'd often tell or show me the kinds of stuff guys would send her and it was exhausting just witnessing it.
Having said that, Overwatch doesn't seem any worse than any other game. People like to call out certain genres or games or groups of people as worse than others. I maintain that all groups are the same in that there are both good and bad people in them. That's just human beings.
Fucking Brawndo is the most human of us all. Brawndo, the thirst mutilator? Think on that.
Right. As a man, I dislike being yelled at in video games. It's asinine and doesn't improve anything. Usually it's just an annoyance.
I can only imagine the exasperation of having to play the mute-the-assholes mini game when I'm online because others feel compelled to express anger at me over my existence.
As I've said in this post already, I don't consider Overwatch an outlier or more egregious than any other game. Assholes in every group.
I want to enshrine this post on some kind of wall dedicated to preserving stupidity for the ages. It manages to say so much in so few words.
It's absurd to think the only thing holding back the key to a harassment free environment is lack of will. From the outset Blizzard designed Overwatch to minimize harassment through things like getting rid of the scoreboard. They did this because they recognize having a toxic environment cuts into their bottom line as people get fed up. There is no way Blizzard is simply ignoring this.
That doesn't mean people shouldn't push Blizzard to do more but maybe the problem that plagues not just Overwatch or gaming or the internet or life in general is complex and requires more than the half thought out ideas people can throw out on a message board. Consider that even your solution still has the human bottleneck to parse the flow of shit.
How the hell does one take a game that serious that they equivalize losing a video game with people who aren't playing effectively to people disparaging one's race, gender, or just, well, being?
What a shitty thing to say.
Not sure if it's still going, but I thought the tribunal system in League of Legends was pretty good.
People active in reviewing tribunal cases are mostly people who care enough about the community and its' behaviour.
Maybe something like this could work in Overwatch. Or even a central repositry for all game reports linked to your XBL/PSN or steam profiles. Crowd source the moderation from people who care.
Together with incentives, it could work.
Also, how much do developers actually want to ban toxic players, like financially.
People active in reviewing tribunal cases are mostly people who care enough about the community and its' behaviour.
Maybe something like this could work in Overwatch. Or even a central repositry for all game reports linked to your XBL/PSN or steam profiles. Crowd source the moderation from people who care.
Together with incentives, it could work.
Also, how much do developers actually want to ban toxic players, like financially.
CyanideFuse
Member
Yes this. It always annoys me to see threads where people are having a go at silent players. As a woman gamer I feel I HAVE to keep quiet for my own bloody sanity and I would never entertain the notion of speaking online.
Life has enough ass ache in it and I play games to have some time to myself and escape from things. I do not play to introduce gutless little turds into my life; it would take an iron-skinned person to brush off that shit in the OP. It is fucking disgusting and 99.9% of it is spouted from anonymous, insecure gutless boys (of whatever age).
I used to play Hawken to death during alpha and closed beta tests and, this is the only time in any game, once divulged my gender (after too many drinks and arguments within the chat window). The feedback was pretty polite in that nothing lewd was said but people were still surprised I was a female for whatever reason...
Overwatch is a game I played a fair bit on release but gave up as the chat window was full of putrid bile towards everyone, regardless of who they were, and I fell out of love with the game. I wanted to communicate as the game needs this but, again, I would NEVER dare to do this. The game must be truly wonderful to play with people you know, or are at least polite and decent.
I would like it if more games had 'tactic wheels' available so you could at least, even if in vain, communicate tactics rather than having to type it out.
Edit:
I am still reading through this thread but I have to say I love the messages that allude to there not being a real problem and to just move on. This is easier said-than-done and the 'sage' advice that these posters provide either:
1) Have not suffered such vulgarity as the sit in the OP, or
2) Have a personality that can brush it off. But just because your personality allows for this does not mean other people can do it.
Edit 2:
Priorities people!
Edit 3:
A great post.
Garrett Hawke
Member
This is awful and just further evidence that mainstream "gamer culture" is terrible.
Blizz needs to be active on it like Riot.
Blizz needs to be active on it like Riot.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
The only way you're going to hurt these kinds of people is by taking the game away from them. By that I mean bans. Not only would I ban them, but I'd prevent them from engaging in the special holiday themed events even after the ban was lifted.
Maybe then they would consider how they're treating their fellow players.
Maybe then they would consider how they're treating their fellow players.
7DollarHagane
Banned
There is unfortunately not a purity test before you become a videogame player. The only thing required is some cash and an internet connection. Almost anyone in the world can hop on overwatch and be on the microphone.
And so when it's opened up to the entire population of the internet, there's going to be assholes and trolls and racists and sexists and homophobes. Until they are eradicated from the world population, this will be a thing that happens, because they feel they are anonymous.
As a result the only practical solution is one where the non-toxic users are given tools to silence the toxic ones or silence all voice chat entirely. That and a little thicker skin to realize just cause some random person said a thing on the internet does not make that true either about them or true to what the person on the other end really thinks or how they behave in their normal life.
Yes, it should be pushed back at when it happms, yes the people involved are jerks. But just realize how little value and importance this verbal garbage has and mute and enjoy the game if you do actually normally enjoy it.
Also at this point isn't overwatch actually a bigger or just as big game as call of duty and CSGO? Yet we somehow expect a better level of discourse and behavior than those games have thrown at us for a decade or two? It's an insanely popular game with a huge playerbase. That's going to attract all kinds of people.
Spinosaurus
Member
This is one of the biggest reasons why I stopped playing. I see my friends deal with harassment even when they're not on voice chat. (which would've been awful, since they're women. :/ )
One of them made a thread in the Blizzard forum over this and most of what she got were people telling her to "lighten up", "it's just how it is" or "stop being sensitive". It's just way too common to deal with.
One of them made a thread in the Blizzard forum over this and most of what she got were people telling her to "lighten up", "it's just how it is" or "stop being sensitive". It's just way too common to deal with.
stargateheaven
Member
I'll say this about comp
This thread has totally justified my choice to avoid that queue like the plague
I fail to see how a gold skin for weapons and a skill rank are worth people so hungry to micromanage the play of others that they are willing to completely derail a thread about harassment to justify it
This thread has totally justified my choice to avoid that queue like the plague
I fail to see how a gold skin for weapons and a skill rank are worth people so hungry to micromanage the play of others that they are willing to completely derail a thread about harassment to justify it
Garrett Hawke
Member
but have you ever tried signing out of twitter?
disgusting........people should be held accountable. Sadly all is fair when you can hide like a punk behind a monitor with anonymity.
It's easy also to see how fucked up it is. Go into a public female community on xbox, read the activity feed and just look at the members comments in the section of what kind of messages they receive
Yes, losing in a video game is somehow worse than harassment. What the fuck am I reading
It's easy also to see how fucked up it is. Go into a public female community on xbox, read the activity feed and just look at the members comments in the section of what kind of messages they receive
Yes, losing in a video game is somehow worse than harassment. What the fuck am I reading
Reading this doesn't surprise me, but I'm glad my girlfriend who plays Overwatch with me doesn't have to suffer it. Sticking to text only chat is a good way of hiding her gender. Of course, we also stay away from Competitive where voice chat is more necessary & harassement more frequent.
It suck that we have to do this to have a good gaming experience, but there is not much else to do unfortunately. We're still having tons of fun in QP & Arcade so I don't feel too bad about it at least.
It suck that we have to do this to have a good gaming experience, but there is not much else to do unfortunately. We're still having tons of fun in QP & Arcade so I don't feel too bad about it at least.
I don't have a Twitter so I'm not sure what it is you're implying here
Enter The 36 Chambers
Member
Not to handwaive this or anything.
But with the internet, looking for group sites and apps on consoles, privacy controls, party chat and the good old mute button.
You kinda only have yourself to blame if your getting abused in voice chat.
Anytime I play I'm in a party with my friends so it's just us. On a system level I have all people who aren't friends or in the party blocked from communicating with me over voice.
In this day and age there's so many ways to block out random people's voices, that it's kind of your own fault if your listening to it.
But with the internet, looking for group sites and apps on consoles, privacy controls, party chat and the good old mute button.
You kinda only have yourself to blame if your getting abused in voice chat.
Anytime I play I'm in a party with my friends so it's just us. On a system level I have all people who aren't friends or in the party blocked from communicating with me over voice.
In this day and age there's so many ways to block out random people's voices, that it's kind of your own fault if your listening to it.
Enter The 36 Chambers
Member
Right.
Randoms are avoidable, entirely. If people choose to enter these toxic channels how isn't it their own fault?
Of course it's mostly these losers on the other side of the mic that are the cause.
But if you run into a burning building of your own accord, and then get burnt.. Well it's kind of your own fault.
The facilities are there to never have to speak to randoms on your team. You can assemble your own team and ensure no one's a dick before you play with them through the various system levels and online.
Iriscomeback
Member
ffs, there should be a zero tolerance policy with this shit.
One warning and if it happens again permaban. Come on Blizzard/Sony/Microsoft...
And not just Overwatch, everywhere.
One warning and if it happens again permaban. Come on Blizzard/Sony/Microsoft...
And not just Overwatch, everywhere.