The Other F-Word

Proactive or prohibitive? Grow up everybody! No one is actually calling anyone's sexuality into question. Clan leaders: if you call a team mate a moron in the heat of battle do you really think he/she is mentally deficient? Probably not. Same thing here. Just a word, people.

Good post... FAG!!!

Hahaha! I joke, I joke! This is true, it's rampant among live, and I don't understand it. I like being polite, it makes me feel good. I don't like to trash talk, and I don't like hearing it either.

It's funny that you bring this up, because recently I found out that my daily UPS driver at work, who I've known for years, is an Xbox fan. So we exchange gamertags and make plans to play COD with his friends on the weekend. I hop into a game with them, and before we even start playing he is calling people on the other team "fags" and "homos" and I've got to tell you it was rather shocking. Especially because he is such a polite and good spirited guy in REAL LIFE, AND because he's around 35 years old(it's not just the kids on live).

Strange what the anonymity of the internet can do to people.

LOL, I agree. I must be very manly then, since I don't speak much. To me, the most annoying thing is hearing a kid who has to be between 9-13 screaming and just simply being annoying. What are they doing playing games like COD4, GTA IV, and Halo 3 anyway?

I have to admit, I agree with you 100%. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten out of a game because of all the whining and bellyaching. Either I cheat or someone is cheating. I've played matches where I ended up being 24-9 kill ratio and the next match I might end up being 9-20. Sometimes I'm good and sometimes I suck but I don't blame anybody else. Just stop crying. I hate to admit it but most of the time it's the kiddie gamers, it's annoying and I don't want to hear it. My motto: Just shut up and play! It's tough to admit but some people are just better than you.

Sometime, hopefully soon, people will realize that speaking and acting in such a vile way only hurts the online community that we are all attempting to be a part of. It is this kind of sad behavior that makes all gamers look terrible.
Thanks Dan for taking a few moments of your time to get people to at the very least think about what they do while online. This kind of behavior is inexcusable and really only makes those that partake in it seem even more pathetic and sad.
Sorry kids, but when you shoot back and say how you should be able to use that kind of language it just means that you are making my point. Grow up people, realize that there are many kinds of people in this world and there will come a time when you are expected to grow up and contribute to society in a useful way. In doing, so you will have to keep your bigoted comments to a blissful lull. All the better for the rest of us that don't care to attempt to rile up others by not having enough mastery over our respective languages to utilize original or exotic degradations toward those we pWn...peace out and send feedback.

That's How I Roll...

I think you guys are fucking crazy! Why are you so serious about this. Why do you care what someone which you will never see in your life says to you in a video game. Are you that petty? Does your life not have enough substance that you have to focus on dumb shit like teenagers calling each other fags. You guys really need to grow up.

I say it all the time its just the way I talk I call the enemy a faggot, it just part of trash talking! I don't take offense to what people say on a microphone I mean really its not that serious everybody and their momma say it, just deal..Q!

Thanks for this, Dan. I use my "file complaint" "avoid player" "mute" triple play on this all the time. If it slips out or the guy's mainly talking to his friends and I happen to be the one random in the room, I'll let it slide with just a mute, after I ask them not to use the language. Any refusals or escalation or repetition by them, and I file.

In fact I have gone so far as to twice call Xbox to report particularly nasty people - one racist and one homophobe - so that I could have them write down exactly what the guy said. I don't remember the exact words now, but I remember that the person taking my call simply said "Oh my God" on the other end of the line.

If we want a better Live community, then we as players need to use the tools at our disposal and help police it. How some of these people have 5-star rep is beyond me. Avoiding/reporting is SO easy, and even if it all it does is make it less likely I personally will hear them again, it's so worth it to take the 10 seconds to do it.

Anyhow - thanks for blogging about this. I'd love to hear you address it on the podcast as well.

Whenever someone calls me gay I either mute them and give them a bad review, or just roll with it until they shut up or leave.

Yet another symptom of Xbox Live's biggest ailment: the anonymous douchebags who can run their mouths off all day without consequence.

Personally I think Microsoft is too lenient with this. If a player has been given a lot of negative reviews for their voice conducted, is frequently muted by other players or directly complained about, then they should lose the ability to speak on Live. End of.

So many people don't speak on Live, or even don't listen to voice chat, because there is no consequence for being rude, disrespectful or downright insulting. If Microsoft started policing it more effectively, that could change. They might lose a chunk of their under 16 user base, but I think they'd get that back with interest from older gamers who are sick of putting up with this.

Thank you dan amrich that is so true i love playing xbox live but sometimes i am reluctant because of the people online i love playing call of duty 4 but when i get that headshot and the match ends all i hear is insults left and right and i am getting sick of it people on xbox live just need to grow up and realises were all playing to have fun

Thank you Dan Amrich! I'm gay and the popularity of these words used as insults bothers me very much. This should bother everyone, gay and straight. We are a community and we should stick up for each other.

It's good to see that there are indeed some straight men who are willing to choose to not conform in favor of doing what's right.

Thanks for the article: I am 'the gay', and the atmosphere of homophobia present in online gaming is a major turnoff for me playing. It's not that I'm so thin-skinned that I can't handle the occasional slur, but the word 'fag' is as bigoted as the word 'nigger'. The rest of society seems to have caught on to that fact, yet it somehow persists in online gaming. It's time to cut the crap and the lame excuses and acknowledge that using derogatory epithets against gay people, even out of context, is homophobic and lazy.

I am gay and I take great delight in confirming that when I've just trashed some little idiot on Live and he starts namecalling. It's funny how when you say "yes I know I am" they clam up totally and don't have a thing to say.

For a while I took to "straight bashing" them back to make the point, but really that doesn't solve the problem so instead I do what you suggest, call them on it and report them if they continue being dicks.

As you point out you don't need a hardon to play Tomb Raider and you know what? I don't get my jollies looking at Fenix' ass all day either - it's a videogame, I play it cause it's fun. So what if I give more head than headshots? I'll still kick your ass at Halo ;)

Why is it that the word gay has become so twisted? Some of my friends say, "That's gay," instead of, "That sucks," or something like that - even when what they're talking about is not happy/attracted to men!

(P.S. Love the podcast, Dan)

I agree with PC Mustang. Ban the children!

It truly doesn't bother me because I'm not gay. I find it tends to be the under 17 crowd, that aren't supposed to be able to buy the game, that general go with all the hate speech. With the older crowd, you might catch an expletive, but it's usually not directed at anyone. That’s generally been my experience.

It's Call of Duty 4's favorite insult. Most online gamers who spend all day long playing only one Xbox 360 game (Halo 3,CoD4,GTA 4) act like that. It's just how this community is.

This is Gay!!! LOL. Loved the article. Hell I always hear a lot worse than gay. There's alot of your mom this, I did this to your mom..., or many other stupid things coming out of stupid people.

It reminds me of the movie Idiocracy. This guy goes into hibernation for a government project and wakes up 500 years later instead of 1 year and all the smart people have been outbred by the idiots.

Dan, great article...I agree. Usually though, the nicest thing I get called after winning is "gay" or "fag"...from there, it just goes downhill...quickly. Anyways, I have attempted to ignore this, I have even threatened once or twice to report the offending party which resulted in the ONLY negative feedback I have ever received on my gamer rep. Seems they decided to get me before I could get them. Sigh. What is a gamer to do? Lately for me, it has been to avoid playing anything live, which sucks, because I used to really love it. BTW, I love the mag and the podcast! Keep it up!

Mrdirt's argument is the best I've heard in a long time.

I think in ten years, "gay" will have totally lost its link to homosexuality and instead refer exclusively to stupidity. It's just the changing nature of the English language. After all, gay originally meant happy and joyous.

I always ignore it -- after all, what do I care what some kid has to say when I BOOM HEADSHOT him? If anything, rile 'em up even more -- it totally distracts them from their game.

Hahaha...insults come and go, and this is just the primetime for the offhand homosexual comments. Gotta admit, it's annoying though

oh yea im 14 so I'm hearing most of this in high school
they only say these stupid kinds of things when they have nothing else to make fun of be cause your skills is of limits because its better than theirs

"F$#@ it all, fu*k this world, F&%#** everything that you stand for, don't belong, don't exist, don't give a SH!$, don't ever judge me"
"lifes so S#!ty, but aint if F^%$ing great!"
-those are what slipknot said, and what i live by

I don't get who came up with this gay stuff i started hearing it at school a year ago and now (for some stupid reason) about 90% of people say gay instead of stupid. i hear inanimate objects be in called gay all the time; "Aww the xbox/ps3 is gay". I've hear this probably over 100 times. it seems when every you tell some one what system you have thats what you will get as a response. Im not gay, but what do these people have against gays in general any way. As long as a gay person doesn't annoy me, his actions don't seriously affect me, and they not bothering me i don't care in general! I don't think I've ever use gay as a "new stupid" it just doesn't make sense! retard or just stupid or a cus word is more than fine for me.

MATE.FEED.KILL.REPEAT.
(((-(-(-_(-_(-_-)_-)_-)-)-))))

I wish i could get back at people who call me gay, but unfortunatly my voice is more high pitch than any normal 27 year old guy & anything I say will just be made fun of cuz of my voice. Any suggestions?

Right on, Dan. It's digg time. Everyone must read this.

Your totally right Dan these people need to grow up. I mean come on is that the best insult these people can come up with!If you're going to say it at least come say it to my face!When people say bad things to be on Live I usally stay quiet and don't say anything. But when they take it too far, I retaliate back!Again Dan your totally right that some people need to grow up or I'll make them grow up! BOOM HEAD SHOT!

I've been called gay many times on Xbox Live. Cry!

This article is very true. I can't tell you how many times I got called gay on Xbox Live. I also
think that it is an insult to the people their referring to.