Online gaming and streaming culture were already “toxic” prior to the pandemic. Sure you’ve been around one of those people who thinks the whole reason for being there is to spoil it for others. Whether you’re in a ranked match, a MMORPG guild, or sitting at a table playing a casino real money game and a window of strangers.
Here is the positive news. Over the past few years I’ve watched this industry grow and evolve, I can say that it’s improved in how it deals with those toxic gamers and how they go about trying to protect themselves from that.
Why This Problem Continues to Occur
This is the same question that arises in any online environment where users are competing, collaborating, and/or just talking to strangers. A person has a bad night or month and decides to let out their frustrations on somebody who happens to be in their lobby. One factor is unknown. A fictional character does not appear real until someone has seen one of his outbursts, which is another part of the phenomenon.
That doesn’t excuse it! But, knowing why helps you not take it personally and that’s a major part of the solution.
A Toxic Player’s Symbols
There is no such thing as toxic behavior. It also shows up in some familiar forms, and once you know what they are, you can more easily dismiss them.
The type of meltdown. If anything goes wrong, they get angry (usually out loud) in voice chat and attribute responsibility to anyone but themselves.
- The saboteur. Even more obnoxious, but quieter. If they are bored or stirred up, they will intentionally throw matches, obstruct a path or waste resources.Â
- The guardian. They pick who is “allowed” to play the game and who isn’t, and they feel a great sense of pleasure identifying you.Â
- The troll. I’m not even angry. They will continue to prompt until they get a response, whether good or bad.Â
You can stop wasting time attempting to reason with them once you know which one you’re dealing with. These four have no intention of speaking. They wish to know what to do.
Account Security is Secondary to Strategy
The best habit I have developed over the years is to mute early and mute often and it’s okay to do it.
Once I thought that if someone muted me, then I lost my argument. No, that’s not right. The player who keeps going even though they don’t have as much fun is the one who must and moves on. The player who had still been posting his frustrated messages was the loser 20 minutes later.
The Mute Button Will Not Be Perished
If they go from “having a rough game” to “trying to ruin yours”, turn a deaf ear to them. Do not delay in asking them to be silent. If you see a hostile username or someone is already playing in the lobby, most games will let you do so before even starting a game. Make use of that.
Being Purposefully Boring
Occasionally you can’t completely mute someone because you’re either in a shared voice channel or the game depends on their calls. The secret at that moment is to be uninteresting and bland. A response is expected from toxic players. Take away one of their rights.
Tell them anything short and meaningless like ‘rotating left,’ ‘need a heal,’ or ‘on it’ to them. Avoid showing emotion or retaliating; instead, focus on not engaging. When someone refuses to cooperate, most trolls quickly become disinterested.
Different Playbooks, Different Communities
Since the level of toxicity varies, the approach to addressing it should also differ.
Team Games with Competition
Team-based games and ranked shooters are the most stressful, as stress tends to reveal people’s negative traits. Here, focusing only on your performance and employing brief, useful callouts rather than lengthy discussions is the best course of action. Players who are currently alone are usually the ones targeted by the toxic players, so playing with just a friend is less likely to be targeted.
Lobbies for Battle Royale
Particularly when proximity talk is enabled, random squads provide their own unique brand of mayhem. Rather than trying to generate the dynamic if other players are antagonistic, it is often faster to just play in your area of the map. There is a reason why ping systems exist; instead of depending on those who have already revealed their identities to you, rely on them.
Extended Communities
Discords, guilds and servers are not the same because you interact with the same people throughout months of time, not minutes. Here, reputation is more important. Be someone that other people want to hang out with, and leave a guild where a toxic person is tolerated just because it would be awkward to kick them. Someone’s negative attitude is not worth your time.
Additionally, conducting some research before making a commitment can be very beneficial. When you’re exploring guild options, it’s important to understand how the leadership addresses disputes before you may need their assistance. The question of “what happens when someone is toxic in chat” has already been thoroughly considered by a community. If someone says, “We just deal with it,” it often translates to no one does and you soon will find out.
When It Stops Being Annoying
The majority of toxic interactions last for about 10 minutes, after which you typically move on to your next game. However, if the trend shifts, it is worthwhile to pay notice. A difficult lobby is not the exact same as dreading an activity you used to enjoy, feeling stressed several hours after logging off or simply staying clear of the web altogether due to the expectation of confrontation in the lobby.
If you’re familiar with taking a step back, it’s quite acceptable. Take some time to try a single-player game or play games with friends with less apparent stakes. There is no such thing as a “real gamer” who will have to endure something that is making them worse.
I have gone through these breaks a few times and typically after a period of time when each ranked session felt like a duty more than a game. But, when you came back a few weeks later with smaller bets and expectations, the fun would almost always return. If your burnout is caused by a toxic situation, it’s still a burnout and should be treated as such: get out of something you love before it becomes something you fear.
Joining the Fix
Players who improve online environments typically don’t take any major actions. “Good game” is something they really mean. They don’t tease one who is clearly new and they help them. They speak up when they see or hear something that isn’t appropriate.
You don’t need to be happy about all that every day. It’s a thing that happens to everyone at times. But while they’re playing the same game, the small glass half full attitude is cumulative and hard to discount, and it makes a strong dent in the perception of difference between groups.
How We Move Forward
Lastly, game companies are investing not just in free games but also real money. The rate of dealing with repeat offenders (as compared to 10 years ago) indicates that behavior scoring, endorsement systems and better reporting of repeat offenders have all been very effective in the past few years.
Players, however, must make use of the tools if they are to work! If the player reports, avoids interaction or mutes a player who is obviously looking for a fight, the player who is being reported and the platform monitoring the report will be notified. The noisy, irate minority is in no way going away. It’s never done so. But it doesn’t need to set the tone for the evening.
