Xbox Live to subscribers: Don't be gay

[Zelgadis 638]

The Consumerist:  Identify yourself as gay on Xbox Live and get banned

Wow...  I was thinking about getting an Xbox, but now I don't think I will, what with the bricking and the bugs and having to pay for their online service... 

Microsoft says, in another link from the above page, that they do not allow anyone to even insinuate their sexual orientation in their profile.  Yeah right, I'd love to see them ban someone for saying they're straight.  It'd never happen.

Even dumber is that they're banning people who have the three letters "g a y" together in their name.  Seems they have some kind of script that seeks out the word "gay" and "lesbian" in their system.  What?  It doesn't also look for the word "straight?"  What a shock!

Jerks...

ISF

[your_adress_here 11]

They probably use this as a measure to help with all the immature 13 year olds playing Halo all day. Why? Because people who are gay probably get a lot of negative attention from them. It just seems like they're trying to protect you.

[SimHoTToDDy 2,939]

By banning you?

I suppose it is a "don't ask, don't tell" sort of policy. Couldn't they just filter out the words and bar progress until it could be adjusted while the account is being created( I'm sure there are expletives already on the exclusion list)? It is unfair that existing tags are being suspended after the fact rather than when they did not fully function.

Language filters are fine, but banning outright is a bit over the top.

-Todd

[Wrightguy0 40]

"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."

"Today I received a message from another gamer calling me a fag. I am a lesbian, so they aren't too smart if they cant get their anti-gay slurs right."

X-box seems to attract the dumbest people in America, doesn't it, and everyone else seems to suffer i don't want an x-box fr several reasons.

1. there are only a few games I like

2. there are way too many problems with the system

3. poor customer support

4. you have to pay for X-box live

5. the popularity of X-box live and the system in general brings the most maladjusted, immature, whiny tweens ever spawned by Satan to troll and spam the online community

now banning gay people because they're gay is just the poisonous icing on the cake of stupidity that is Microsoft, and I will be bringing this up at my next Pflag meeting

[Kevin 101]

That is outrageous. I suppose the reasoning behind the filter is to prevent harrassment, but outright banning of members simply for declaring their sexual orientation? 

Its not like Xbox live is some G-Rated safe-haven in which all members are free from harrassment anyway. There is no censor over the microphone or text-message system... not to mention the games themselves fully embrace violence and, at times, very adult themes.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention zel

[LarksTonguesInAspic 28]

A real head-scratcher. Why? Well, UberLord Billy isn't religious, at all. He doesn't consider religion to be a "cost-effective use" of his time. Also, the Gates Foundation has been known to invest in/fund hardcore gay porn, to the tune of $10 million last I heard. So, where or who did this come from? It's not homophobia on the part of Bill Gates, that's for sure.

[hym 358]

Originally posted by: Zelgadis

The Consumerist:  Identify yourself as gay on Xbox Live and get banned

Wow...  I was thinking about getting an Xbox, but now I don't think I will, what with the bricking and the bugs and having to pay for their online service... 

Microsoft says, in another link from the above page, that they do not allow anyone to even insinuate their sexual orientation in their profile.  Yeah right, I'd love to see them ban someone for saying they're straight.  It'd never happen.

Even dumber is that they're banning people who have the three letters "g a y" together in their name.  Seems they have some kind of script that seeks out the word "gay" and "lesbian" in their system.  What?  It doesn't also look for the word "straight?"  What a shock!

Jerks...

ISF

quote>

This is being blown into something that it's not.  The article leaves out quite a few important bits of information.

If you read previously confidential documents from the development of Halo 3, you'll see that Microsoft knew that there were problems with its XBox Live service, but didn't know of a good way to deal with it.  Back in 2006, users used to be able to register with the word "Jew" in their names.  Microsoft did some digging and found that most of those names were being used in a manner offensive to Jewish individuals.  Since then, the word "Jew" is on the blacklist of non-usable words.  The same problem also holds true for the use of "gay," "lesbian," and so forth.

Also, this is not Microsoft's first effort to improve the Live service.  This is another step in a series of changes Microsoft has made in an effort to make Live a more friendly and welcoming place.  Furthermore, Microsoft isn't the only company to make use of such technologies.

"Straight" may not be on the filter, but it has uses in game contexts that the words "gay" or "lesbian" do not have, so it shouldn't be a surprise that it's not included.

Finally, a convenient fact that the article didn't mention: A little bit of online research will show you articles where Microsoft is reconsidering the policy.  That said, I have to question the integrity of the article you provided.

[Haljackey 17,398]

...Another reason to get a PS3. Sure it may cost more, but you get free online play, blu-ray player, and you'll get none of the crap you just mentioned. Mario Kart on the Wii online is also fun.

I've never used teamspeak, mainly because I never wanted to. There's nothing like a bunch of 12 year old boys shouting "noooooob!" and the lot as loud as they can.

[panthersimcity4 162]

lol, yeah..... Xbox Live is pretty awful.

I'm thinking of making my own n(oo)bish screename something along the lines of: "XXxxXXLesbianJewishInnocentBoi4evurzXXxxXX"

[zane900 1]

that's absolutely horrid! morons, all of them...

[Duke87 1,070]

The problem here is that in America there are an awful lot of parents who do not want their children exposed to or associating with people who identify as being homosexual. That's an awful lot of customers Microsoft stands to lose if their system gets too many people expressing their gay pride on it. On the other hand, the number of proud gays is likely much smaller in comparison - so the number of customers lost by banning them is also, logically, smaller.

So, as bigoted and unfair as it may appear.... it's a business decision, not a moral one. You have to alienate someone, so alienate the smaller group.

Though, that's working with the assumption that only gay people will be bothered by this policy... which obviously isn't true. They probably will be bothering more people this way, all things considered.

[ShortStraw 1]

This is a situation I would have expected to arise a lot sooner, it's not surprising to me that it has arisen in this way but still, I'm seeing a lot of people missing the point of microsofts official position.

This is an issue about language filters, freedom of speech, how far can a private company go to regulate the verbal behavior of their public forums? The fact that micosofts language filters block "Gay" words doesn't make them a homophobic company anymore than they are racist for blocking "Jew" or "The N Word".

If there was an easy fix for this, microsoft would have nailed it already. They have a surplus of brain power up there. The problem is that they're in a crossfire between gay activists and homophobes, straddling a freedom of speech/expression mine field.

Personally, I don't fool with xbox live anymore. In my own personal experience the stereotypes of poorly behaved immature and foul mouthed players has been 100% dead on accurate and takes away too much from the gaming experience. I already did my jr high playground time and have no desire to repeat those days. I understand why xbox live has to be more heavy handed than most gaming forums in their language restrictions. I usually totally support absolute freedom of speech but I can only imagine how offensive xbox live would be if their players were completely uncensored. . .

[NYM1980 3]

With any game your going to get children acting like...well, children. Even adults acting like children. I can see banning people for using the word gay in an offensive way, but isn't banning something for being gay illegal? Alot like fireing someone for being gay. Thought only our Military could do that LOL

[Jezus53 18]

Why is everyone bashing live? I guess I'm alone in saying I love it! And I have only heard two or three "children" on live when I play, but I don't play Halo, I play Call of Duty, which seems to have a much more mature audience. Anyways, the filter is supposed to stop people from writing offensive things, everyone knows that and if you don't, well you do now. As for not allowing sexual orientation to be mentioned, I agree 100% and I think if you say you are straight you should be banned till you fix it. But notice the key thing I said, "...till you fix it." As far as I understand, she stands no chance of getting back on live with that account. That's just wrong and the policy should be fixed.

[BrnoutJerzey 0]

you do realize they only ban you if you are reported by a user/multiple users, right? When you sign up for xbl, it clearly says not to write anything having to do with that or anything "vulgar" so whoever decided to put "im gay"! in their profile is absolutely retarded- there's really no argument here.

[Zelgadis 638]

Originally posted by: BrnoutJerzey

When you sign up for xbl, it clearly says not to write anything having to do with that or anything "vulgar" so whoever decided to put "im gay"! in their profile is absolutely retarded- there's really no argument here.quote>

Interesting.  I've never thought of the simple act of being me was "vulgar."

ISF

[confused04 14]

So we have to protect our children from gays... but not from decapitations, prostitution, drugs, violence, war, sex, and other immoral things... Yea... seems stupid.

Now personally, I have no problem with them censoring "gay" out of the screen names... cause that can be used in screen names such as "gay killer" and stuff like that which would not be cool, but then you can't really justify "gay bud" either.

manticorefan: although I know you dislike proving yourself (as your signature suggests) I cannot find any source that says that Microsoft invests in gay porn, not even from a biased nutty website. You're entitled to not source yourself, but then I'm entitled to call shinanigans

[LarksTonguesInAspic 28]

Originally posted by: confused04

manticorefan: although I know you dislike proving yourself (as your signature suggests) I cannot find any source that says that Microsoft invests in gay porn, not even from a biased nutty website. You're entitled to not source yourself, but then I'm entitled to call shinanigans quote>

Game on.

From Lifesite News, Tuesday, July 27 2007 (sent to me via email, yes I keep them that long):

...PROMSEX, which is probably the loudest and most aggressive of the organizations, is reportedly funded by the $30 billion Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, whose founder, Bill Gates, has recently invested in the homosexual activist publishing company PlanetOut that displays hard-core homosexual pornography.

And from their website, Thursday, July 5 2007 [link]:

NEW YORK, July 5, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The UK Independent revealed today that Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates has acquired a major stake in a homosexual activist publishing company.  SEC Filings reveal that Cascade Investment, which invests Gates' money, is among a group of investors that has bought a $26.2 million share in PlanetOut, a publishing company which runs Out magazine as well as the dating website Gay.com which is used primarily for sexual hook-ups and all-gay RSVP Cruises. According to Pink News, the new investors, including Mr Gates, will collectively own a majority of the shares in PlanetOut, likely to total 56.3 per cent of the company.

Now you should be able to find more information on the whole thing. I didn't say MS did, I said UberLord Billy did. Which as you now know, is true. No shenanigans necessary.

Edit: It occurs to me, then you couldn't use Enola Gay as a name, the name of the bomber that dropped the A-bomb on Hiroshima. Or be Mitch Gaylord. Or be NE Patriots DB Randall Gay, Cowboys WR Everett Gay, or Memphis Grizzlies player Rudy Gay.

[Barbarossa 51]

.

  Edited September 1, 2012 by Barbarossa  

[panthersimcity4 162]

Originally posted by: Zelgadis

Originally posted by: BrnoutJerzey

When you sign up for xbl, it clearly says not to write anything having to do with that or anything "vulgar" so whoever decided to put "im gay"! in their profile is absolutely retarded- there's really no argument here.quote>

Interesting.  I've never thought of the simple act of being me was "vulgar."

ISF

quote>

I don't think it's so much the "lifestyle" of homosexuality as much as the "sexual" aspect that is considered vulgar. I mean, a straight person shouldn't go running around saying "I like to have sex with women!" on their profile. I suppose there should be a line drawn between the non-sexual aspect of gayness and the sexual aspect.

For example, if someone put something like: "I love the rainbow flag!" in their profile, that would be an acceptable gay thing, but putting something like "I like to have sexual relations with ____!" might be a bit innapropriate.

[Kevin 101]

Originally posted by: panthersimcity4

I suppose there should be a line drawn between the non-sexual aspect of gayness and the sexual aspect.

For example, if someone put something like: "I love the rainbow flag!" in their profile, that would be an acceptable gay thing, but putting something like "I like to have sexual relations with ____!" might be a bit inappropriate.

quote>

I don't see how that could possibly be inappropriate on a service that allows games with strong sexual content and violence. Not that I think sex of any sort is inherently vulgar... I'm just saying that there is clear hypocrisy on the part of XBL.

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: Zelgadis

Interesting.  I've never thought of the simple act of being me was "vulgar."quote>

And it's not, but people don't look at it that way. It's hard to bring up homosexuality without raising a few tempers, due to it being a controversial matter.

Consider that a not insiginificant number (perhaps even a majority) of Americans consider your lifestyle to be immoral. And then consider that in the minds of those people, putting "I'm gay!" in your profile is likened to putting "I'm a pedophile!", "I'm a Nazi!", "I'm a Satanic heathen!", "I'm a rapist!", "I'm.... you get the idea.

It also doesn't help that the word "gay" is actually used in a vulgar and pejorative tone more often than not. A couple hours ago someone in my dorm was describing my (over)use of Pikachu's Down+B attack in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as "gay" in various ways, some containing other profanities. Guys my age just use the word that way.

[Jezus53 18]

Originally posted by: Cheese89

Originally posted by: panthersimcity4

I suppose there should be a line drawn between the non-sexual aspect of gayness and the sexual aspect.

For example, if someone put something like: "I love the rainbow flag!" in their profile, that would be an acceptable gay thing, but putting something like "I like to have sexual relations with ____!" might be a bit inappropriate.

quote>

I don't see how that could possibly be inappropriate on a service that allows games with strong sexual content and violence. Not that I think sex of any sort is inherently vulgar... I'm just saying that there is clear hypocrisy on the part of XBL.

quote>

Those games are not supposed to be played by the people they are trying to keep sheltered from that type of material. That's why the games are rated. But I think everyone agrees that the ratings mean nothing. Basically, the games are only ment to be played by certain age groups, but your profile can be seen by everyone. So that 12 year old boy is supposed to not be playing games above his age group, but he can easily see your profile since it's not catagorized by age. but like I said, 12 year old boys play vulgar games all the time, but that's not Micrsoft's or anyone elses problem excpet the parents. I hope I'm making sense.

[Patricius Maximus 236]

The kind of censorship Microsoft is promoting with their media, I don't believe will go over very well with consumers. Even though many Americans approve of state censorship (in one form or another), that number drops to negligible when that censorship hits them.

On the ratings/age issue, the ESRB game rating system is intended to be used by parents (and by extension all people) to get an idea of what kind of content a game has in it. For instance, the ratings E, T, and M are more associated with a particular kind of content, rather than an age group that should play it. While the current ratings systems are not bad, I believe that informing someone of the content of a game is better than saying what age should play it. For instance, "fantasy violence and language" is more informative than "Teen".

Helping consumers (including parents) make an informed choice on what they're purchasing is always a good thing.

Lastly, if you don't wish to have any interactions with or exposure to homosexuals or even their existence, why don't you stay home and destroy all forms of communication with the outside world? Substitute blacks for homosexuals if you don't get my point.

Duke raises a point with the use of the word "gay". It's nowadays used by many people as a general pegorative. Interestingly enough only a century ago it was a synonym for "happy". Amazing how words can shift entirely in meaning in a short time.

[earwax_man 18]

What?!

How can that be allowed? Can't people be what ever they want? Wow, people these days

[ODST_27 1]

You guys are making this out to be way worse than it actually is.

"Microsoft does nothing to stop this or prevent it, but instead sides with the homophobes."

Uh, actually they are. They don't allow you to use gay or lesbian in your name, thus preventing this entire thing. And also, you can report the harassers, that's what the feature's for. MS knows that 90% of the names with gay or lesbian in them are negative, so they're banning the use of the word. They did the same thing with the word "Jew." She says that she was being harassed, so she wants MS to do something about it, well they did, and now she's angry at them. Honestly, anyone with common sense knows that there are many, many little kids on XBL who will harass you if you have gay or lesbian in your name, so why even put it there in the first place?

And what's with all of you bashing XBL? It's not like it's the only service that does this, look at one of the PSN's Terms of Service rules:

"You must not:

ii. take any action, or upload, post, stream or otherwise transmit any content, language, images or sounds in any forum, communication, public profile, Online ID or otherwise via PSN which we in our sole discretion find offensive or vulgar. This includes any content or communication that we find racially, ethnically, sexually or religiously offensive, defamatory or threatening"

Honestly, what do you expect MS to do? Monitor every game conversation taking place, then ban ones who swear at and harass people? No, they can't, that's why the report feature is there. Even if they did Monitor your conversations, I'd guarantee people would be complaining about that too.

[smstevenms 7]

So this topic comes to ST!

IMO, this is a moot topic. For one what does SEX have to do with gaming online? Does anyone go to Xbox Live to have SEX, no. They go or have a subscription to Xbox Live to play games. Why does SEX have to invade every corner of or society?

Sexual orientation always seems to be grouped with ethnicity & religion, when there is no comparison. If we lived in a perfect world parents wouldn't buy there children gaming units but instead have them playing outside, reading books and so on. So since that's no longer the norm, they should have there Xbox or PS3 in parental lock right out of the box. Then you could have settings so that no 1 under a certain age would see your name if inappropriate or any words you speak, or for that matter never see you (the adult) online at all.

Forcing everyone to except you for you as you are is just not going to happen, only in a socialist wet dream would this be possible. Why can't people be expected to a certain standard of decency, why must the whole world know what's in your closet?.

There are many reasons that Microsoft did what it did, many things could lead to this or that. Answer this, how does having your sexaul orientation broadcasted help, you or anyone for that matter, in gaming?

[PColumbus73 0]

Obviously this is a very tender issue. I am an openly gay person; however, I don't feel the desire to apply my sexual orientation into my screen-name. I feel that in applying that label to ones self from the get-go, you really set yourself up for personal attacks and vulgar remarks. Microsoft could easily be omitting the use of 'Gay/Lesbian' in screen-names for that reason.

I think this should extend to people reporting something that they find offensive and/or vulgar. If someone is making an inappropriate comment involving genitalia or excessive swearing, I think it's your responsibility to report the individual(s) for making those comments. If you are harassed, you have the ability to stop it. If you were being verbally harassed in a real-life situation, the police are there to protect you! Same thing in X-Box Live or here in Simtropolis, Web Admins aren't there just to be buzz-kills!

[ianpaschal 77]

I expect it's the same reason why I use the name "a vegetable" in Halo or other people use "your mom".

In Halo, updates as to what's happening in the game are displayed in the form:

You killed __________

or

You were killed by __________

Which, when I'm playing reads as:

You were killed by a vegetable

As hym pointed out, if a user were to use "a jew" as a name, the game would read:

You killed a jew