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Microsoft updates Community Standards for Xbox, provides examples of "acceptable trash talk"

Neat

Neat

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
1,011
New York City
Microsoft recently updated their community guidelines for keeping Xbox Live a safe, fun, and welcoming environment for everyone. The document includes rules that aren't very surprising (nothing that promotes criminal behavior, no abusive messages, no piracy, no cheating, no fraud, etc), but the one section that sticks out is their section on "trash talk", and they went the extra mile by providing examples of what is and is not acceptable. Seems a little bizarre that the company is actively encouraging talking trash but I'll let you folks be the judge of that. Taken from this piece by Gamespot:

Microsoft said it understands that gaming competition is at the heart of many online experiences, and some multiplayer matches can "get heated." Some "trash talk" is acceptable on Xbox Live, Microsoft says, but it becomes a problem when it transitions to harassment.
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Microsoft officially describes trash talk as: "Any lighthearted banter or bragging that focuses on the game at hand and encourages healthy competition."

Harassment, meanwhile, is defined by Microsoft as: "Any negative behavior that's personalized, disruptive, or likely to make someone feel unwelcome or unsafe. To qualify as harassment, the behavior doesn't have to be drawn-out or persistent. Even a single abusive message could harm someone's experience. Know when to draw the line, when to back off. Know and respect the other player."
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Acceptable trash talk includes
  • Get destroyed. Can’t believe you thought you were on my level.
  • That was some serious potato aim. Get wrecked.
  • Only reason you went positive was you spent all game camping. Try again, kid.
  • Cheap win. Come at me when you can actually drive without running cars off the road.
  • That sucked. Get good and then come back when your k/d’s over 1.
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Going too far looks like
  • Get <sexual threat>. Can't believe you thought you were on my level.
  • Hey <profanity>, that was some serious potato aim. Get wrecked, trash.
  • Only reason you went positive was you spent all game camping. KYS, kid.
  • Cheap win. Totally expected from a <racial slur>.
  • You suck. Get out of my country--maybe they'll let you back in when your k/d's over 1.
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In terms of enforcement and consequences, Microsoft says it will temporarily suspend people in many cases. "We know people make mistakes, and we believe lapses in judgment can be significant opportunities for growth," the company said.

Players who are found to have violated the Xbox Community Stands may face temporary suspension of access to "features that are most closely associated with the problematic behavior." For example, you may be temporarily restricted from playing games online, sending messages, communicating over voice, or broadcasting gameplay, among other things.

People who repeatedly behave badly may be permanently suspended, with access to all game licenses and other content revoked forever. It sounds like you'd have to be a huge jerk to get banned. "We may permanently suspend a profile or device if we can no longer trust it due to a severe violation, or if our attempts to correct repeated negative behaviors are unsuccessful," Microsoft says.
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Full guidelines document here.
 
lt519

lt519

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,809
Missed an opportunity to put "What a Save!" in acceptable trash talk.
 
Mesoian

Mesoian

Member
Oct 28, 2017
14,613
Neat.

Can't wait for absolutely nothing of worth or merit to happen without extreme circumstances by the reporter being taken.
 

Deleted member 55421

User requested account closure
Banned
Mar 29, 2019
612
youd be surprised how enraging (also within the limits) and effective a text response of "get gud" will do to the other guy.
 
Bhonar

Bhonar

Banned
Oct 31, 2017
6,066
lol this is hilarious

as for those of you asking why accept trash talk at all, well that's a regular part of life and competition/sports

at least here you have the option to turn off voice chat, whereas in real life competition/sports you don't
 
Wandu

Wandu

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,047
Would "Get smashed. Can't believe you thought you were on my level." be acceptable?
 
sibarraz

sibarraz

One Winged Slayer
Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
14,175
I would rather have a racial slur for being latino than someone telling me to have a potato aim
 
Soulflarz

Soulflarz

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,243
"You suck. Get out of my country--maybe they'll let you back in when your k/d's over 1." is my favorite on this list
 
SuikerBrood

SuikerBrood

Member
Jan 21, 2018
14,558
I'm very unhappy that people are allowed to say I have potato aim.

Because I do and reality hits hard.
 
coma

coma

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,137
"That was some serious potato aim. Get wrecked." needs to be character dialogue in Gears 5 multiplayer.
 
Brix

Brix

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,256
Good on Microsoft. Last gen that community was so toxic. Had to mute so many bigots in that community.
 
Welfare

Welfare

You’re my Numberwall
Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,898
So you can be a big baby, just don't be sexist, racist, xenophobic, bigot, etc.
 
lt519

lt519

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,809
BioDigital Jazzman said:
Idk. I see a lot of twitch people saying it. I guess it means you aim like a potato. So you have no eyes
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I had to google it, my friends use it too.

Apparently a streamer was making fun of someone with a bad mic calling it a "potato mic" and then proceeded to whiff on killing him so the dude with the bad mic said he had "potato aim." Guess the rest is history?
 

Buddy1103

Member
Jan 8, 2019
540
i usually don't like trash talk at all because i feel it brings a negative vibe to teams that just snowballs until we lose. but i haven't really seen it directed towards me since i stopped playing Overwatch. the weirdest one i've gotten was a supposed 14yo kid who kept bragging how rich his parents were and how i was most likely poor lol.
 
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