Simple Solution to Gaming Communities

Nothing too substantial today, just an outlet for me to rage a little.  Previously I talked about how terrible many gaming communities are, and how this truly makes me wonder about the true nature of people.  Recall I mentioned a couple posts ago that one of the top League of Legends player's account was hacked, and another top player (and rival) played a match with the hacker on this account knowing that it was hacked.  I won't go into more detail, however the consequence for this person that played with the hacker turned out to be....a ONE WEEK ban.  Seriously.  Read that again.   One week.  Instead of cursing and raging for the next couple paragraphs, I will offer an ultra-simple solution to all of these terrible gaming communities!  Grow a pair and lay down some law.  Actually CARE about your online community!  This person should have been completely and permanently banned.  This person has been in trouble for his actions in the past.  He is very well known for his pisspoor attitude and tendency to rage, along with some questionable morals.  Who cares that he is a top tier player?  Ban him.  Permanently.  I have lost a good deal of faith in the developers of League of Legends due to them passing up this chance to make a critical statement.  Namely, they could have thrown the gauntlet at people like this, saying "we don't care who you are, if you are wrecking the community you are DONE."

Think of the possibilities.  Game developers are completely able to ban people from their games.  They have the technology and the lawful right.  I know that this can be hard to monitor, and could open an ugly can of worms.  Everyone gets mad and frustrated at some point.  This is understandable.  There is a difference between a few cuss words, and calling people the N-word and calling anyone that moves "gay" in nearly every match you play.  Seriously.  League of Legends has a quick and easy to use report-a-player function to inform Riot Games when players are using such racial language, or otherwise griefing other players.  The problem is, the consequences are so minimal.  There are too many people like this to report as well.  The idea is great, but the implementation doesn't work.  When they receive frequent (and proven) reports of these behaviors, these people should simply be banned permanently.  I realize they hate to do this simply for the money they would lose, however the number of players these types of people drive away from the community is countless.  I refuse to play unless I have a group of friends online, because without them I am almost guaranteed to end up on a team with at least one player out to ruin everybody else's game. 

Blizzard Entertainment, creators of World of Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo, tried to step up to the plate.  They were going to implement a system that would require a user to post on their forums with their REAL NAME.  This idea was met with extreme backlash on many fronts, and I believe they have delayed, modified, or scrapped this plan.  I honestly haven't checked what ended up happening, however if you Google it I'm sure you will be met by a storm of articles.  This idea can open up a world of pain, not the least of which could be some privacy concerns.  However, at least Blizzard is showing that they are trying to push something forward to help the ailing gaming communities.  I am actually sort of a fan of the idea, but I acknowledge that it really isn't at all practical.  I applaud their effort at least.

If developers actually cared about their communities, they would be trying desperately to do something, anything, to fix the terrible state of online gaming.  Sadly, the only real threat you hear is getting banned, which doesn't happen because it means they have one less player continuing to buy content for their game.  I dream of a world where someone is willing to stand up and be willing to take a hit to their wallet in order to get something done right, and maintain the best product possible.  Riot Games had a golden opportunity to show players that they care about the people that play their game.  They could have made a statement that childish, disruptive, vile, and horrid people would not be welcome to play, paying or not, so that decent people could have a good game wouldn't need to deal with their total nonsense.

I for one, am not holding my breath.  I'm just vastly disappointed that a company that has produced a game I play and enjoy very much passed up an obvious chance to make a change.  I don't want to sound too down on Riot Games or League of Legends.  The game is great, provided that you have 4 other people you know to play with to avoid the terrible teammates.  Anyway, I'm done with this rant.  More Gaming Triumphs and Failures coming in a day or two.