Call of Duty Community Not Misogynistic, Says Sledgehammer Co-Founder

[Brittany Vincent]

Call of Duty Community Not Misogynistic, Says Sledgehammer Co-Founder

According to Michael Condrey, the majority of the Call of Duty community is "very healthy, engaged and thoughtful."

It's not uncommon, as most gamers who indulge in multiplayer will tell you (especially women), to hear insults, sexist and racist slurs, and other general types of negativity slung around left and right during online games. Not in the Call of Duty community, attests Sledgehammer co-founder and head of development Michael Condrey attests, speaking with the BBC in a recent interview.

"The community as a whole is very healthy, engaged and thoughtful and probably like anything anywhere well outside of gaming."

Condrey attests that, while there are several instances of people behaving badly out in the wild, it doesn't necessarily encompass the entire Call of Duty community. "I certainly wouldn't characterize the community of fans I know and had the pleasure to engage with as toxic or misogynistic," he explained, going on to elaborate that "Sledgehammer and Advanced Warfare have pretty low tolerance for toxic behavior."

While Condrey's experiences indicate that he generally encounters positive companions in-game and pleasant online multiplayer sessions, it's hard to overlook the fact that in any given game of Call of Duty or other game (especially shooters) you'll most likely encounter at least one person a night who claims to have done sordid things with your mother or another who delights in tossing out the most insulting communications he or she can.

Source: BBC [http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/29876839]

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[synobal]

Nope pretty sure all gamers hate women and that we are all really just angry white neckbeards living in our moms basement.

 

[Erttheking]

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Oh good one! The online gaming community isn't a cesspool of thought! Keep telling yourself that. HA!

 

[Areloch]

Are you trying to say that the millions of people that play Call of Duty DON'T hate women because they're women?

Well, that couldn't possibly be true...

 

[Pink Apocalypse]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

Oh my god, MY SIDES.

If I ever again make the mistake of wading into the sewage of a CoD lobby, I'll record it next time. My very brief foray into trying out Ghost made me swear 'never again', when I was dumped into a screaming match with every foul, vile, offensive word and phrase you could imagine, followed by my departure, followed by my in-box getting filled up with c**t, b***h, w***e, just for showing up, getting offended and leaving.

I didn't know who Condrey was, but Best. Comedian. Ever. I have to look for any stand-up dvds he might have.

 

[The Lunatic]

So, is this a new thing?

Just label everything as "Misogynistic" and hope something sticks?

 

[Erttheking]

So, is this a new thing?

Just label everything as "Misogynistic" and hope something sticks?

Someone has to do it first for it to be a thing. Not sure what you're talking about, this article doesn't even cover an incident like that...you did read it right?

 

[UberPubert]

I really don't get where the reputation for most online games having bad communities comes from

On smaller, team-based games like MOBAs you'll definitely catch some flak from overcompetitive players taking their frustrations out on people they perceive to be losing them the match, but on completely random arena shooters like CoD? Nobody cares because the outcome of the match really isn't that important, it's over in ~10 minutes and your performance isn't going to be hindered by your team.

My personal experience with Cod4 MW, World at War, Cod MW2, and Black Ops 1 is...silence. Most people I encountered didn't even have their mics plugged in as far as I could tell, much less insulting other people.

 

[The Lunatic]

Someone has to do it first for it to be a thing. Not sure what you're talking about, this article doesn't even cover an incident like that...you did read it right?

Did you?

He said, he wouldn't characterise the community as misogynistic. Which I guess implies he feels there is an element of the community that is.

Could you please tell me what part of online chat in a video game is oppressive towards women?

Could you prove to me, beyond any doubt these people actually hate women?

Could you say with certainty that these aren't just the inane ramblings of dumb (And very loud) kids with microphones?

Words without intent are entirely meaningless. I don't get upset by rappers saying the word "******", despite being one. Just uttering the word doesn't mean you hate gay people. Why would anyone assume, without knowing a single thing about the person that they "Hate women" based on what? 5 seconds of their voice during a video game match?

Does this mean practically everyone in Australia hates women for using the word "****"? All British people for the word "Twat"?

Please. All it does it basically make the word meaningless.

 

[Erttheking]

Snip

Yeah...you didn't read the article. Because you know who the article said accused Call of Duty fans of being misogynistic?

NO ONE!

So I'm not replying to what you said here, because it's talking at length about something that didn't happen.

 

[Something Amyss]

He must only play private matches.

Well, obviously. He works for a CoD company. They'd probably threaten to murder him over a patch. Totally healthy, engaged, and thoughtful.

 

[Vigormortis]

I really don't get where the reputation for most online games having bad communities comes from

On smaller, team-based games like MOBAs you'll definitely catch some flak from overcompetitive players taking their frustrations out on people they perceive to be losing them the match, but on completely random arena shooters like CoD? Nobody cares because the outcome of the match really isn't that important, it's over in ~10 minutes and your performance isn't going to be hindered by your team.

My personal experience with Cod4 MW, World at War, Cod MW2, and Black Ops 1 is...silence. Most people I encountered didn't even have their mics plugged in as far as I could tell, much less insulting other people.

You're forgetting three things:

1: Admitting that the vast majority of online gamers aren't racist, sexist shit-heads undermines the notion that the gaming community is a cesspool in need of cleansing.

2: Guilt by association is the new method of witch-hunting.

3: Confirmation bias makes fools of us all.

 

[The Lunatic]

Yeah...you didn't read the article. Because you know who the article said accused Call of Duty fans of being misogynistic?

NO ONE!

So I'm not replying to what you said here, because it's talking at length about something that didn't happen.

Let's look at that quote again.

"I certainly wouldn't characterize the community of fans I know and had the pleasure to engage with as toxic or misogynistic,"

You see, the key word here is "Characterise".

When people talk about characters, they tend to mean a defining trait of a person.

So to imply that the community has character is to talk about it's most prominent traits.

To then say "I wouldn't characterise them as misogynistic" is to imply that, whilst they have those traits, they are not a defining element of their character.

Even the threat title focuses on the "Apparently not misogynistic" element. So, there's clearly some implication that it is.

So, please, if you could answer the questions, please do.

 

[UberPubert]

You're forgetting three things:

1: Admitting that the vast majority of online gamers aren't racist, sexist shit-heads undermines the notion that the gaming community is a cesspool in need of cleansing.

2: Guilt by association is the new method of witch-hunting.

3: Confirmation bias makes fools of us all.

To be perfectly frank, I wouldn't even agree with people saying that the online gaming community is full of assholes, never mind bigots. That seems pessimistic at best, and misanthropic at worst. I'd definitely characterize most people I randomly meet in multiplayer games as "generally okay".

 

[UberPubert]

Not sure, but it has been shown that these individuals aren't picky they will target anyone ... of course most sensible people simply just mute the bastards and get on with the game...

I wish more people would make use of the mute button. You really don't need to listen to anyone unless they're on your team, and even then...

 

[Erttheking]

Yeah...you didn't read the article. Because you know who the article said accused Call of Duty fans of being misogynistic?

NO ONE!

So I'm not replying to what you said here, because it's talking at length about something that didn't happen.

Let's look at that quote again.

"I certainly wouldn't characterize the community of fans I know and had the pleasure to engage with as toxic or misogynistic,"

You see, the key word here is "Characterise".

When people talk about characters, they tend to mean a defining trait of a person.

So to imply that the community has character is to talk about it's most prominent traits.

To then say "I wouldn't characterise them as misogynistic" is to imply that, whilst they have those traits, they are not a defining element of their character.

Even the threat title focuses on the "Apparently not misogynistic" element. So, there's clearly some implication that it is.

So, please, if you could answer the questions, please do.

...No. Not at all. Christ he's DEFENDING them. And as someone who has spent the last five years writing, to characterize something means to give a trait that describes them. It does not just apply to the most well known traits. Ergo "I wouldn't characterize them as misogynistic" = "They are not misogynistic"

So I will answer your questions when they actually relate to the topic. And as of the moment, they do not.

Also I can't find this "Apparently not misogynistic" in the title. Really you seem to be pulling things to be upset about out of thin air.

 

[Shamanic Rhythm]

"The community as a whole is very healthy, engaged and thoughtful and probably like anything anywhere well outside of gaming."

Insert several gifs of Bender going 'laugh harder' at this point.

I can't think of any community outside of CoD where the word f*ggot is used so frequently, unless there's some group purely dedicated to slow roasting meatballs over a fire made from bundles of sticks.

 

[Erttheking]

...No. Not at all. Christ he's DEFENDING them. And as someone who has spent the last five years writing, to characterize something means to give a trait that describes them. It does not just apply to the most well known traits. Ergo "I wouldn't characterize them as misogynistic" = "They are not misogynistic"

So I will answer your questions when they actually relate to the topic. And as of the moment, they do not.

Also I can't find this "Apparently not misogynistic" in the title. Really you seem to be pulling things to be upset about out of thin air.

Very well, if you can't understand the English, there's little point in debating the matter.

However, if you ever find yourself in a situation of having questions asked you can't answer, there are more dignified ways to try and weasel out of it.

I'm sorry, I'm not the one who made up a definition of a word on the spot because it better suited my argument allowing me get angry at someone for saying the exact opposite of what he actually said.

Also, I'm an English Major. I study the language for a living.

Don't you dare fucking tell me I don't understand the language I study.

Because I actually double checked this before replying.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/characterize

char·ac·ter·izedchar·ac·ter·iz·ing
Full Definition of CHARACTERIZE
transitive verb
1
: to describe the character or quality of
2
: to be a characteristic of : distinguish

I don't see anything limiting the verb to most well known traits.