Xbox 360; Sexual Orientation banned
Well well well…… we already had some kind of news like this before. A guy had a xbox gamertag (read; name plate) “theGAYERgamerâ€.But he got banned from Xbox Live…. The reason; Xbox doesn’t find the name offensive – but the “greater Xbox Cummunity†does…..
And now a lesbian gamer got banned – because she is mentioning her identity “as lesbian†in her profile.
Her explanation on Consumerist.com;
I had a similar incident, only my account was suspended because I had said in my profile that I was a lesbian. I was harassed by several players, ‘chased’ to different maps/games to get away from their harassment. They followed me into the games and told all the other players to turn me in because they didn’t want to see that crap or their kids to see that crap.
As if xbox live is really appropriate for kids anyways! My account was suspended and xbox live did nothing to solve this, but instead said others found it offensive.
Microsoft even gave an explanation to Joystiq;
“As stated in the Xbox Live Terms of Use, a member may not create a gamertag or use text in other profile fields that include comments that look, sound like, stand for, hint at, abbreviate, or insinuate content of a potentially sexual nature. Profiles that do are asked to change the language and suspended until changes are made. In regards to sexual orientation, for gamertags or profiles we do not allow expression of any type of orientation, be that hetero or other. Players can, however, self identify in voice communication where context is more easily explained to all players involved.
“Harassment of any kind is not condoned and is taken very seriously; we strongly encourage Xbox Live members to immediately report inappropriate behavior through the compliant tools in the service so that it can be investigated and the appropriate action taken.”
“The Xbox Live community grows daily, and we continue to explore methods and levels of enforcement to enhance the ways our members connect and have fun, while adhering to a code of conduct that encourages respect and keeps the service safe and fun for all our members.”
Well well….. a hard one uh…??
What do you think; should people be banned because of those expressions..??
Sjeltur thinks; I do not see WHY someone would want to put those expressions in their gamertag…. But as long as they are not really offensive… uh…. why should they be banned..??
Because “to protect the online childrenâ€â€¦.??
First of all; is it even smart (and protective) to have your child on Xbox Live..??
Furthermore; you want to protect them from what exactly..?? => you want to hide gay people from your children…?? Or your children from the gay people…??
Really; at them moment your child is playing for a long time on xbox live, they will already float away from this world…. and if you are also going to “deny gay people … you make them even float away more…..
At that point; are you even from this world…??
What do you think…??
Source; Consumerist.com (the first article)
Source;Â Consumerist.com (the explanation of Xbox)
You can argue if it’s a good idea or not to ban tags and profiles like that, but the bottomline is that Xbox Live is a private initiative by a private company, it’s not public property. Not much you can do if Microsoft wants to uphold these terms and conditions.
This is (maybe) true….. BUT; decisions like this – do reflect on a company.
And if a lot of people tell them they are doing wrong…..
I don’t think many people will tell them.
And, what is exactly wrong with these terms of use set by a private organization that you voluntarily agree with? The lesbian in your example should have known that her account was going to be suspended as she violated the terms of use she voluntarily agreed with. She says: “my account was suspended and xbox live did nothing to solve this”, and this clearly shows she doesn’t know the terms of use she agreed with, as these terms clearly state: “suspended until changes are made”. So it was not up to Xbox Live to do something, but up to her to make the changes so she was in compliance again with the terms of use.
To be clear, these terms of use should be for everybody. A straight person should not be allowed to put it up either. If Xbox Live allows straight people to do so, but not gay people, then I think Xbox Live is clearly in the wrong.
My point was also a bit more about the fact that some people are willing to ban this….
So; NOT Windows (read; Xbox) – but some gamers seem to have problems with such a gamertag…. And they use the defense of “protecting children”….
That is the part of my concern….
Well, it’s pretty clear from their terms of use that Xbox Live *does* have a problem with such a gamertag!
Some gamers have problems with it for different reasons, I agree that “protecting children” is lame defense, and probably it’s homophobia more than anything else that these people react on a tag like that. But, in the end it doesn’t matter, the outcome is still that she has to change that tag, simply because it’s a violation of the terms of use.