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MIC: Overwatch players turn to Reddit to share their stories of Harrassment

Nepenthe

Member
I mean people play video games to have fun right?

Being called a nigger isn't fun.

You can either play the game for the gameplay and ignore the assholes.. or you can just sit there and feel bad about yourself (but that wont get anyone anywhere).

You can think my effort is half-assed if you want to believe that, but its real talk and the reality of things AND the only possible way to have a positive gaming experience.

Can you stop being a typical male gamer for, like, one post? Just one, and stop posting shit like this--

"The illusion of caring".. this just makes me believe you're overly sensitive to things.

Like this dumbassery right here, this typical gamer shit where being numb to misogyny is touted as some sort of fucking Biblical virtue (big talk coming from a man). If I am pissed, what does it matter to you? Are you bothered that other people are bothered by stuff you let slide by? Then work on making a better community and actually being a compassionate person.
 

Strakt

Member
Being called a nigger isn't fun.



Can you stop being a typical male gamer for, like, one post? Just one.



Like, this dumbassery right here, this typical gamer shit where being numb to misogyny is some sort of fucking Biblical virtue (big talk coming from a man). If I am pissed, what does it matter to you? Are you bothered that other people are bothered by stuff you let slide by? Then work on making a better community.

Idk but it seems like you're taking your problems out on the wrong people. I'm going to stop responding to your posts because you're overly sensitive and thats VERY clear. Have a nice day and remember to spread your day with some positive energy =)
 

kcxiv

Member
There should be better ways of handling this. Perhaps month-long chat bans in non-party voice channels on console, and on PC.

The ability to talk to other players should be revocable.

i been banned for a week in OW from voice chat! lol Me and some dude got into it. Him and his group all complained. He started it. It happens.
 

kcxiv

Member
I shouldn't be surprised there are victim blamers here.
This is not okay. Being horrible to anyone is not okay.
We shouldn't accept it as such.

Agreed.

when people talk shit, just tell them to fuck off and suck a dick and its pretty much over after that. Its just words. Dont let that shit prevent you from enjoying a good game.

Gotta toughen up. Words dont mean shit when they come from someone you dont know!.
 

Crosseyes

Banned
i been banned for a week in OW from voice chat! lol Me and some dude got into it. Him and his group all complained. He started it. It happens.
People who let that happen then should be barred from playing. The only way to make thing get better is to honestly, totally purge the toxic players from even playing the game.

Racist and sexist players shouldn't just feel unwelcome to play the game. They shouldn't be allowed to.
 

Strakt

Member
Can we please ignore this troll?

These competitive players typically have a superiority complex.

Other people's feelings be damned, as long as they have a high Skill Rating.

So yeah, I assume many of them are white and straight.

Yes.. i must be the troll when you post shit like this. Learn to love everyone equally.. you'll get very far in life if you do =)
 

Nepenthe

Member
Idk but it seems like you're taking your problems out on the wrong people. I'm going to stop responding to your posts because you're overly sensitive and thats VERY clear. Have a nice day and remember to spread your day with some positive energy =)

Don't be a coward. Answer my question: How does me giving a damn because I've been personally affected by an issue you eagerly enable through a continued inability to empathize with women actually affect my argument?

Can we please ignore this troll?

I thought the issue of this topic proved that ignoring problems don't make them go away.
 

kcxiv

Member
People who let that happen then should be barred from playing. The only way to make thing get better is to honestly, totally purge the toxic players from even playing the game.

Racist and sexist players shouldn't just feel unwelcome to play the game. They shouldn't be allowed to.

Racist and Sexist should NOT be welcomed, i agree with this part, but people just talking shit in general should be ok. In the end though, they give you the option to block and mute people. Its there for a reason.
 
I mean people play video games to have fun right? You can either play the game for the gameplay and ignore the assholes.. or you can just sit there and feel bad about yourself (but that wont get anyone anywhere). You can think my effort is half-assed if you want to believe that, but its real talk and the reality of things AND the only possible way to have a positive gaming experience.

"The illusion of caring".. this just makes me believe you're overly sensitive to things.
Skrakt will only start caring about victims when they too get fucking sick of this shit and play attack Torb with the turret in base.

You know what to do ladies and/or minorities.
 

Crosseyes

Banned
Racist and Sexist should NOT be welcomed, i agree with this part, but people just talking shit in general should be ok. In the end though, they give you the option to block and mute people. Its there for a reason.
It would be far more efficient to just purge the game of players who would keep forcing people to put them on mute than put the onus on normal players to ignore and tolerate their presence.

Getting into it over picks and player skill could be met with a warning or two before a ban but any directed sexual attacks or any utterance of nigger or faggot really should lead to permanent removal of that player from the community.
 

Snagret

Member
Yes.. i must be the troll when you post shit like this. Learn to love everyone equally.. you'll get very far in life if you do =)
You must be the most emotionally numb person on the planet if you really think there's no such thing as condemnable behavior.
 

Strakt

Member
Skrakt will only start caring about victims when they too get fucking sick of this shit and play attack Torb with the turret in base.

You know what to do ladies and/or minorities.

I have plenty of friends that play Overwatch who are females / males / different skin colors / accents / etc... Hell, I'm indian and sometimes people talk shit. You know what we all do? We don't let it get to us because the words are coming from someone who you've known for less than 5 minutes. Once again, in a game that has 25 million players+, you'll ALWAYS run into toxic players every few games.. if you get upset every time you do, then you won't enjoy the game for what it is. So once again, its better to not get upset and just mute/report them.

You must be the most emotionally numb person on the planet if you really think there's no such thing as condemnable behavior.

Emotionally numb because that user decides to target a particular skin color and sexual orientation? Right..
 

Snagret

Member
I have plenty of friends that play Overwatch who are females / males / different skin colors / accents / etc... Hell, I'm indian and sometimes people talk shit. You know what we all do? We don't let it get to us because the words are coming from someone who you've known for less than 5 minutes. Once again, in a game that has 25 million players+, you'll ALWAYS run into toxic players every few games.. if you get upset every time you do, then you won't enjoy the game for what it is. So once again, its better to not get upset and just mute/report them.



Emotionally numb because that user decides to target a particular skin color and sexual orientation? Right..
No, you're emotionally numb because
you really think there's no such thing as condemnable behavior.
 

Nepenthe

Member
You're right, sorry.

But it feels like we're talking to a wall here...

Pinning gamers' asses to the wall for all of the terrible shit they enable would go farther towards making gaming culture more tolerable than being silent and thus rewarding them with a platform to be depraved.
 

Strakt

Member
No, you're emotionally numb because

Never said that though. I simply said there is nothing that can be done about it.

Heres a good read for you and everyone else in this thread:

"The human energy system includes the upward and downward flow of universal energy into the human body and the seven major chakras, or energy vortices, which attach to the spinal column. These and other parts of our energy system are very dynamic and change quickly based on what we think and feel. If our thoughts are not positive, our energy system reacts by pulling in negative energy and can become blocked. Old behavior patterns repeat themselves, preventing us from moving towards our greatest intentions. When our energy system is clear, however, we are able to project positive energy."

With that said I hope you all have a wonderful day.. =)
 

Mael

Member
Pinning gamers' asses to the wall for all of the terrible shit they enable would go farther towards making gaming culture more tolerable than being silent and thus rewarding them with a platform to be depraved.

How come the industry find creative ways to deal with cheaters but harrassers are getting a free pass like they're stand up citizen?
 
Anyone saying "just ignore it" is missing the fucking point.

It's annoying as fuck. It's not cute. It's not funny. And I mean I've been online gaming so long I've heard it all but I'm at a point in my life I don't even voice up with anyone.

Shit, lemme give you a last recap of my session trying to run coop in The Division:

"Hey, we don't play with dudes without a mic..."

*puts on mic and speaks politely*

"No niggers either!*

*Gets kicked*

Problem is I don't see MS or Sony dealing with this shit to weed out the scumbags.

Never said that though. I simply said there is nothing that can be done about it.

Heres a good read for you and everyone else in this thread:

"The human energy system includes the upward and downward flow of universal energy into the human body and the seven major chakras, or energy vortices, which attach to the spinal column. These and other parts of our energy system are very dynamic and change quickly based on what we think and feel. If our thoughts are not positive, our energy system reacts by pulling in negative energy and can become blocked. Old behavior patterns repeat themselves, preventing us from moving towards our greatest intentions. When our energy system is clear, however, we are able to project positive energy."

With that said I hope you all have a wonderful day.. =)

What does this have to do with being called disgusting remarks on online gaming? Why is the onus on the recipient of such verbal abuse instead on the person to not be an asshole?
 
I have plenty of friends that play Overwatch who are females / males / different skin colors / accents / etc... Hell, I'm indian and sometimes people talk shit. You know what we all do? We don't let it get to us because the words are coming from someone who you've known for less than 5 minutes. Once again, in a game that has 25 million players+, you'll ALWAYS run into toxic players every few games.. if you get upset every time you do, then you won't enjoy the game for what it is. So once again, its better to not get upset and just mute/report them.
Okay so your solution is thus:
- Don't ever solo queue.
Aka don't use a feature of the game and always rely on friends/people with their own schedules and time frames. Guess you're fucked if you have a kid or something. Do you think everyone who plays OW has a group to play with IRL/Online? You and I are lucky enough to have this luxury.
- Women/Minorities should get thicker skin or uninstall
So if they can't handle the fact that 'gamers' who send them rape threats or call them some racial slur, they should just not play?

Let's follow that to the logical conclusion:
Some fuckboi calls a woman a cunt and tells here to get raped ---> woman decides to follow your advice and uninstall ---> One less sane person in OW and the fucker gets away with it scot-free to make life miserable for more people.

Victory?

-Mute and report in competitive
Are you all serious with this? You can't mute on higher SR, you might as well give up then. No callouts, no communication, no synergy. And the other team can communicate properly == get fucked boyo.
Note: This on serious bizness on PC. I play both PC and PS4 and the playing field is even on PS4 because both teams generally don't communicate there. But on PC you have to.

Your solutions aren't solutions mate. You are correct that people aren't giving solutions here either but no one is.
 
Last time I was playing Overwatch competitive, someone on my team saw the enemy Pharah and blurted out "nigger in the trees! Nigger in the trees!"

Taking the opportunity to mention that they had a black guy on the team and that I found his comment most interesting indeed, team convo got pretty quiet for the rest of the game. It continues to fascinate me that young, white males are able to generate and perpetuate the worst lessons they have learned through life.

I suppose the real question is what is it in the upbringing of these white males leads them down the misogynistic, racist, often homophobic path with such boldness and disregard? I don't think I've met a person of color or a woman online and seen them exhibit these kinds of behaviors or disregard. Ever.
 

Nepenthe

Member
Never said that though. I simply said there is nothing that can be done about it.

Eliminate free voice and text chat in games. Solved the problem.

How come the industry find creative ways to deal with cheaters but harrassers are getting a free pass like they're stand up citizen?

Gaming is a business and a service centered around a presumed majority straight male audience. Going after the locker room talk would hurt the bottom line.
 
I suppose the real question is what is it in the upbringing of these white males leads them down the misogynistic, racist, often homophobic path with such boldness and disregard?

It at this point has to be the longstanding normalization, 'just shrug it off/ignore it/grow a thick skin' defeatist attitude seen even here that got us where we are. When nobody ever challenges them with the revolutionary idea that they're playing a game with other human beings, and not just random targets for abuse, they're free to think it's funny, normal, and acceptable to hurl everything into their mic like they're 12 and just learned a new slur. The shield only grows thicker the longer the discussion circles around 'it's normal you can't do anything about it' instead of 'here are the things you can do about it, however small.'
 

gogosox82

Member
This is unfortunate, but I play Overwatch on PS4 where there is no text chat, and I only voice chat with friends.
So I've had ZERO problems.

Same here. Play on ps4 and no text chat and I'm never in voice chat unless playing with friends. Makes playing the game easier.
 
Two things specifically need to happen in Overwatch PC:

- I should be able to right click a player icon while holding Tab, and choose to mute/report that player from the tag / scorecard screen. The party window feels too disconnected for doing this quickly.

- If a player is reported enough for verbal harassment, or types in a clearly inappropriate word, then that player gets muted/squelched to all other non-party players by default in that match and at least a fair amount of future matches. The worse the harassment, the longer the automatic mute/squelch is in effect.
 

Strakt

Member
Okay so your solution is thus:
- Don't ever solo queue.
Aka don't use a feature of the game and always rely on friends/people with their own schedules and time frames. Guess you're fucked if you have a kid or something. Do you think everyone who plays OW has a group to play with IRL/Online? You and I are lucky enough to have this luxury.
- Women/Minorities should get thicker skin or uninstall
So if they can't handle the fact that 'gamers' who send them rape threats or call them some racial slur, they should just not play?

Let's follow that to the logical conclusion:
Some fuckboi calls a woman a cunt and tells here to get raped ---> woman decides to follow your advice and uninstall ---> One less sane person in OW and the fucker gets away with it scot-free to make life miserable for more people.

Victory?

I solo q'ed over 600 matches between season 1, 2 and 3.

No I'm not saying women should get thicker skin or uninstall. A female friend of mine has been told plenty of times (if they lose) that shes shit, should get raped, etc... if she's playing bad.. you know what she does? she mutes them. why should you let some random person you'll never see or meet affect your mood or positivity that you have going? im not saying the toxic persons behavior is welcomed.. im saying that since there are no other options to prevent this kind of behavior, you have to accept that you'll run into toxicity and just have to mute them.

Eliminate free voice and text chat in games. Solved the problem.

Sure they should do that in quick play, but not in a competitive mode where people want to climb ranks.
 
In my experience, people who play Overwatch get salty the easiest in chat, but there is far less name-calling outside of calling you shit at the game. I play on PS4, and there are girls who queue in competitive pretty often, and most of the time people are pretty civil comparative to other games. I'm sure it happens, though. Some people fucking suck and will be an ass online through anonymity. Happens on every website and every game, just to different degrees

My son has been dying to get Overwatch, is the community decent on PS4? Honestly this is like the 4th time I've heard stuff like this about the game, and since communication is pretty important in games like this, I've just shut him down everytime.
I queue comp when I'm in chat, and most people are pretty friendly. A good deal of swearing, but that's to be expected in any online multiplayer game. It's a lot more stable than any other FPS I've played on console
 

markwaters

Neo Member
Emotionally numb because that user decides to target a particular skin color and sexual orientation? Right..

Ah! So now you're getting it! Now imagine someone ignoring literally everything you say and calling you out about being white and straight constantly. What happened to your thick skin?

This is the crux of the issue. The difference is that when you're white and straight and people target those identities, they're not threatening to rape and lynch you. They're just pointing out how good you have it that you can ignore all forms of harassment and suggest people get thicker skin because people don't go out of their way to target you and prevent you from enjoying things the way everyone else does. Still, it's not great to have literally everything about you reduced to the way your posts (or your voice, or your appearance, or whatever) come off, right?

Saying that changing this toxic culture isn't actionable is something you tell yourself because you don't feel like doing anything about because it doesn't affect you. But there's tons you can do; you can start by recognizing it and condemning it.
 
My son has been dying to get Overwatch, is the community decent on PS4? Honestly this is like the 4th time I've heard stuff like this about the game, and since communication is pretty important in games like this, I've just shut him down everytime.

It's decent in the sense that you can just turn off voice chat and there's no text communication like their is on the PC. I want to play it with him on the PC as we don't have two PS4s and two TVs so the PC is ideal but it sounds like the community is straight shit.
 

Kiyo

Member
-Mute and report in competitive
Are you all serious with this? You can't mute on higher SR, you might as well give up then. No callouts, no communication, no synergy. And the other team can communicate properly == get fucked boyo.

If this is really true, wouldn't it eventually push down all the toxic players to a lower MMR (or whatever Overwatch uses) and out of the range of matchmaking that positive/communicative players are in?
 

Toni

Member
Literally came here to post this.

The problem is and always will be that people like act differently when it comes to online because there is the element of acting tough behind a screen and also the fact that you're pretty much anonymous.

No idea what the fix is, but what certainly would help is more people speaking about it and contacting developers and publishers, as im sure if they started to get bad press around these things then they would look at it. Also I think people that aren't involved have a part to play. Personally I pretty much always party chat (Xbox One), but if you're in a game and you're hearing this sort of stuff if you aren't backing up the victim then there's something wrong with those people too.

Easy.

Contact Sony to settle a company agreement where Blizzard has the right look up the harrasser's PSN account information to identy and get them convicted of sexual harrassment with feferal law and/or have Sony ban them indefinetly from online gaming. To achieve this, Blizzard will have to Update the Overwatch user agreement so players can consent to these strict conditions, or block them out of online gaming completely, or a major portion of it if they decide to not consent. (ONLY online private matches can be played, everything else blocked).

And watch how these individuals cease to exist.
 
- If a player is reported enough for verbal harassment, or types in a clearly inappropriate word, then that player gets muted/squelched to all other non-party players by default in that match and at least a fair amount of future matches. The worse the harassment, the longer the automatic mute/squelch is in effect.

Overwatch has pretty decent mechanics in its bans, like timers on requeue that grow depending on the severity of your offense. Although I don't know that we've heard about abusive language earning people such bans (which they definitely hand out for in-game griefing like throwing/feeding/idling). But it would be nice to hear from Blizzard as strong a message against harassment as they give about aimbots. Battle.net bans need to start happening. Just keeping them quiet isn't really going to cut it, if they can't learn to play with others then they should just lose that privilege entirely.
 
its lame on pc because you have idiots that spend all game typing the spawn room berating other teammates.

mute someone and they proceed to type it all out which is probably worse.
 

Strakt

Member
Ah! So now you're getting it! Now imagine someone ignoring literally everything you say and calling you out about being white and straight constantly. What happened to your thick skin?

This is the crux of the issue. The difference is that when you're white and straight and people target those identities, they're not threatening to rape and lynch you. They're just pointing out how good you have it that you can ignore all forms of harassment and suggest people get thicker skin because people don't go out of their way to target you and prevent you from enjoying things the way everyone else does. Still, it's not great to have literally everything about you reduced to the way your posts (or your voice, or your appearance, or whatever) come off, right?

Saying that changing this toxic culture isn't actionable is something you tell yourself because you don't feel like doing anything about because it doesn't affect you. But there's tons you can do; you can start by recognizing it and condemning it.

I'm not white though. I just think it wasn't necessary for him to target a particular category of people on NEOGAF. It just seems like he's holding onto a grudge from a past experience in a game, and taking it out on people here who are actually giving him real advice that he tends to ignore.
 

Roxkis_ii

Banned
In the hundreds of competitive overwatch matches I've played.. this has never helped me personally. You speak out against a toxic player, and they just start yelling all sorts of racist shit, afk in base, and anything else that comes into their 12 year old brain. I found it better to just mute and tell the team to mute him, and communicate with the rest of your team.. that way not everyone on your team is tilted and at least you can still bring some positive energy to the rest of your team


It's always going to be people who are assholes, but sometimes there are people who are just having a bad day. Telling someone, "Hey Chill out with all that, let's focus on trying to get this win" at least presents resistance. Sometimes someone might actually chill, other times, it's nothing you can say to a person. You have to at least give people crap for bad behavior. Else is only going to get worse.
 

Nepenthe

Member
No I'm not saying women should get thicker skin

FOH. Your entire shtick this whole thread has been telling women to get over it and that any display of emotion in regards to targeted harassment is a failure on part of the victim, all bookended with that shit-eating smiley.

im not saying the toxic persons behavior is welcomed.

You're saying nothing can be done about it except ignoring it. That is enabling a problem, i.e., being welcome to it.
 

Murkas

Member
And after all this, people on this and other forums still wonder why people don't want to be associated with or even label themselves as a 'gamer'.

Let's be honest, gamers fucking suck.
 

Onivulk

Banned
I thought Overwatch was just okay at first.

Then I learned that you can disable all forms of chat.

Overwatch is fantastic.
 
My son has been dying to get Overwatch, is the community decent on PS4? Honestly this is like the 4th time I've heard stuff like this about the game, and since communication is pretty important in games like this, I've just shut him down everytime.
I'd take precautions to disable Voice chat in OW on PS4, but just letting you know, on consoles communication isn't as vital because a majority of people never use mics or headphones. And even when they do, they don't talk. So it is a level playing field.

All my own experiences obviously, but this garbage still exists on PS4. Just less of it.
 
No I'm not saying women should get thicker skin or uninstall. A female friend of mine has been told plenty of times (if they lose) that shes shit, should get raped, etc... if she's playing bad.. you know what she does? she mutes them. why should you let some random person you'll never see or meet affect your mood or positivity that you have going? im not saying the toxic persons behavior is welcomed.. im saying that since there are no other options to prevent this kind of behavior, you have to accept that you'll run into toxicity and just have to mute them.
The fact you have a friend that actually deals with this shit and you're still not showing any empathy is bonkers to me.
 

ACE 1991

Member
Never said that though. I simply said there is nothing that can be done about it.

Heres a good read for you and everyone else in this thread:

"The human energy system includes the upward and downward flow of universal energy into the human body and the seven major chakras, or energy vortices, which attach to the spinal column. These and other parts of our energy system are very dynamic and change quickly based on what we think and feel. If our thoughts are not positive, our energy system reacts by pulling in negative energy and can become blocked. Old behavior patterns repeat themselves, preventing us from moving towards our greatest intentions. When our energy system is clear, however, we are able to project positive energy."

With that said I hope you all have a wonderful day.. =)

This is some good ol' fashioned trolling right here.
 
It should be illegal for teenagers to be given the power of anonymity.

This might have unintended side-effects on the internet :V

But yeah if you're an abusive jerk online the publishers of the game and the platform holders should have every right to take your toys away permanently.
 
Community is as toxic as it gets, I have been rocking a mexican flag as my avatar since It dropped on me from a lootbox, I shit you not I could count with the fingers of my left hand the games were people were not complete racist shitbags towards me. T

he moment someone starts yelling over the mic I just know is someone not worth listening to. It sucks and wish there was a balanced way to prevent it, but I don't think there is, even the report system is usually abused.
 

Strakt

Member
FOH. Your entire shtick this whole thread has been telling women to get over it and that any display of emotion in regards to targeted harassment is a failure on part of the victim, all bookended with that shit-eating smiley.



You're saying nothing can be done about it except ignoring it. That is enabling a problem, i.e., being welcome to it.

If you want to interpret it that way.. feel free to. This thread is about Overwatch.. once again a game with 25 million+ players.. which you have no control over. I am providing the simplest solution to move past the toxicity and to spread your day with positive energy. You don't have to agree with me and thats fine.. but I've played enough of this game to know that 90% of toxic players can't be controlled and the best way to have a good gaming experience is to mute them and report.
 

ACE 1991

Member
This might have unintended side-effects on the internet :V

But yeah if you're an abusive jerk online the publishers of the game and the platform holders should have every right to take your toys away permanently.

Young teenagers don't yet have the mental capacity for empathy that adults have. I think a lot of this horrible behavior online has to do with that.
 
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