Black Ops Swastika Emblems Will Earn Xbox Live Ban

[scorptatious]

You'd think the developers would've thought about this kind of thing ahead of time. If you're going to allow players to completely customize something, there will always be players who will do this kind of thing. Just look at the stuff players can make in Halo Reach through the spawn points.

 

[Booze Zombie]

I don't get it, didn't the nazis only use that one swastika, not all of them?

 

[JDKJ]

Pahahahaha! I have been reporting those douchebags since I first saw them, the SS symbols too. In fact I saw a couple of SS emblems when I last played the game a couple of hours ago and the people using them where arses in-game too.

I have also been reporting every stupid penis emblem too. Cleaning up Black Ops 1 idiot at a time.

Maybe by doing this most of the people who go into Objective based games for kills will disappear too, we can only hope.

I sincerely hope you aren't prone to being a full-time snitch in the real world, too. If you are, be careful. There are some parts of the real world where the snitch is considered the lowest possible form of human life (in some prison systems, for example, the snitch is ranked below the child molester) and, when discovered, is quickly exterminated like a flea-infested rat. Matter of fact, that's what a snitch is often called: "a rat." They're also called "finks" (sometimes combined with "rat" to create "rat-fink"). And "squealer." And "tattle-tale." Or sometimes, but less recently so, "stool pigeon."

Oooooh scary, I am so frightened of the 12 year olds who made those swastika and penis emblems... Heres how I roll, you threaten me and I will give you my address... that way you can be good to your word and try it or you shut up right then and there. Either option, I win.

Oh and I dont appreciated the tone conveyed in your message either, I sincerely hope your next veiled threat is less obvious Mr. "Something bad may or may not happen to you in real life... who knows? Not me, I'm just saying.".

I am whats known as a "decent human being", if I can prevent something bad happening I will and I am also big enough and scary enough to not take crap from pussies over the internet because THEY did something wrong and werent willing to take the consequences.

Are you what I've seen referred to as "an internet gangsta?"

internet gangsta: The "internet gangsta" derived from the lowest depths of the world wide web. AOL is believed to be responsible for this, thus they are sometimes referred to as an "AOL gangsta" or "internet hard ass." They have no clue about what real gang life, struggling, fighting, slangin', or jail is like, outside of their computer monitor. They often have a group of other internet gangstas to accompany them on their many trips to the "internet slums" where they can let all the others in the chat know of their reputation and ability to do a drive by typing on your e-mail or send you a gangsta virus. They often talk in online ao133t and say things like "dont mess with me", "my crew will fuck you up", and "I represent crips, southside AOL fo' life ni**as." All threats made by internet gangstas should be chalked up to complete and total bullshit, seeing as the user can't:

A.) Run his mouth in person, and,
B.) Is a mid-upper class whiteboy with something to prove.

Also see: "internet tough guy" and "internet thug."

Source: The Urban Dictionary

And I've no control over what you may or may not appreciate but no one - at least not I - is threatening you. I merely thought it prudent to advise you that the role of the real-world snitch is a dangerous one and one which should be played with all due caution. Consider that before you rush to click the "REPORT" button. Or has the time for consideration already passed?

Haha, yeah... I am an internet hard ass, thats why I give people my real address when they threaten me so they can either live up to their word or shut the fuck up. Oh wait, no... thats not an internet hard ass is it? You just decided to put on your selective reading glasses so you could get some insults in. Oh and you were making threats, like I said though... they were veiled, you just dont want to be reported so you hid that fact and now that I pointed it out you are pretending they arent even poorly veiled threats.

Fuck off you troll.

Maybe if you didn't use a thoroughly played-out expression like "Heres how I roll," you wouldn't strike me as such a wanna-be. If you ever get anywhere near a 'hood that isn't gated, you may realize that "this is how I roll" went out of style with "bling-bling."

And so what that you pass out your address on the internet like flyers for in-call hookers on the Las Vegas Strip? You and I both know (or at least I know) that no one's actually gonna attempt to visit you at that address (assuming it's your real address in the first place). Contrary to your belief, the internet is not serious business.

And even though I still don't see where I made any threats, veiled or unveiled, you can report me all you'd like. Go right ahead. I don't care. What's the worse that can happen? They ban me? So what? I ain't like you. I happen to know, unlike you, that the internet ain't serious business. I only urged caution before you, as is your own self-confessed practice, rushed to report someone and ended up having some moderator think you're a paranoid idiot. But suit yourself.

And, perhaps, since you are a self-confessed professional snitch, you should drop a dime on your own self for telling me to "Fuck off you troll" (read the Escapist forum rules). Then, you can be just like the cat chasing its own tail or fighting itself in a mirror.

 

[Flac00]

I see irony in this, controlling content in a community seems all too common.

Stop being a pussy. There is a difference between censoring horrible material and nazis. For one, they are censoring nazis. Stop drawing conclusions of modern society to a radical group that should be hated by everyone on the planet. Your not helping.

Stop being a pussy? what? at what point does that make sense and bedsides it was a light hearted joke, you dick.

Sorry, I thought you were one of those people who think our country is fascist or some bull like that. My bad

 

[Quiet Stranger]

This man is clearly a stupid moron head

 

[Korolev]

Xbox Live is not a government service. It is not a public, free-to-use service. It is not a service necessary to preserve life or the enjoyment of life (believe it or not folks, you don't NEED Xbox live). It is not counted as a public space.

You can draw a Swasika on your shirt and walk out on the street RIGHT NOW, and you won't be arrested. You'll get hateful stares, abusive comments, flak from the public, but you WON'T be arrested, because the first amendment guarantees that the GOVERNMENT WILL NOT INTERFERE.

Microsoft AIN'T the government. Xbox Live, Steam, PNS, all are NOT public spaces. They are corporate run services for entertainment.

Just like how a bar can toss you out for being too rowdy or rude, Xbox live has the absolute right to ban you for violating its terms of service. Read the terms of service when you sign up - they can ban you for being offensive.

If you STILL think you have a right to parade your Swastika on Xbox live, then go ahead and hire a lawyer and go to court. You'll be laughed out of the court in seconds.

This isn't about free speech - it's about neo-nazis all butt-hurt over the fact that the public doesn't like them. And we don't have a duty to like them. We can despise them as much as we want.

 

[JDKJ]

Xbox Live is not a government service. It is not a public, free-to-use service. It is not a service necessary to preserve life or the enjoyment of life (believe it or not folks, you don't NEED Xbox live). It is not counted as a public space.

You can draw a Swasika on your shirt and walk out on the street RIGHT NOW, and you won't be arrested. You'll get hateful stares, abusive comments, flak from the public, but you WON'T be arrested, because the first amendment guarantees that the GOVERNMENT WILL NOT INTERFERE.

Microsoft AIN'T the government. Xbox Live, Steam, PNS, all are NOT public spaces. They are corporate run services for entertainment.

Just like how a bar can toss you out for being too rowdy or rude, Xbox live has the absolute right to ban you for violating its terms of service. Read the terms of service when you sign up - they can ban you for being offensive.

If you STILL think you have a right to parade your Swastika on Xbox live, then go ahead and hire a lawyer and go to court. You'll be laughed out of the court in seconds.

This isn't about free speech - it's about neo-nazis all butt-hurt over the fact that the public doesn't like them. And we don't have a duty to like them. We can despise them as much as we want.

Just because there may not be a constitutionally protected right to express an opinion in a particular forum and just because Microsoft may be well within their rights to take a particular action regarding expression of opinions in their forums doesn't at all mean that for them to take a particular action is always a sensible action or an action that should be beyond scrutiny and criticism. And the consumers of Microsoft's products and service aren't as powerless as you make them out to be. Never heard of a boycott? Or voting with your feet? Enough people do that and I'll bet that if anyone's laughing, it won't be Microsoft.

And if you clicked through a Microsoft TOSA or EULA, I'm not sure why you're such a fan of either. Did you read the fine print? If you didn't, lemme give you the Reader's Digest version: "We, Microsoft, can fuck you, the consumer, any way we want, at any time we want, and there's nothing you can do about it. We will always win and you will always lose. Why? Because like a big dummy you agreed to our terms and those terms are completely one-sided and only benefit us, Microsoft."

If you don't believe that Microsoft doesn't give a rat's ass about the people who shell out hard-earned bucks on their products and service and thinks that an agreement (which they know 99% of users never bother to read or don't fully understand) gives them the right to squat over their customers and do whatever they like, then perhaps you should give a close read to Mr. Toulouse's statement:

"The Xbox Live profile and in game content you create is accessible by everyone. You do not have the context inside of it to explain your long winded contrarian view that your pithy text that violates the Terms of Use or Code of Conduct is actually intended to change people's minds about a commonly held understanding."

You don't sense the contempt in Toulouse's voice for his customers? And, when you read between the lines, how he's saying, "You agreed to our terms of service and so, if you don't like what we've decided, too bad and I could care less?" Even if he's 100% in the right, I don't think that's any way to address your customers. Not if you value them as customers and appreciate their business.

And I suspect that if you scroll through and count the number of posters who have raised the First Amendment or free speech in opposition, you'll find that there aren't many of those. Your "This is Not a First Amendment Free Speech Issue" monologue while legally correct, also seems somewhat needlessly made.

 

[DiMono]

Context changes everything, and most people alive today don't know that the swastika has any significance beyond the Nazi party. In the context of what people currently know or don't, they're absolutely right.

 

[StarStruckStrumpets]

I'm not too arsed about this. The majority of the players with Swastika emblems are the ass-hats that think the genocide is funny, or they're 15 year olds that try way too hard to belong to a regime that is long since dead.

Ban the wankers, they deserve it for being who they are.

 

[General_Potatoes]

Are dick emblems allowed??

First time i played online there were a lot of people using them so im guessing yes

 

[xen0blade]

As a former US Marine, I will gladly die in defense of my country. Part of that is agreeing that people have a RIGHT to express their opinion. Having said that, as a Jew I find swastika's offensive. Is Microsoft within their right for banning the emblem? Yes. It isn't freedom of speech. For one, your ability to wave symbols is not exactly protected by the US Constitution! For example, if I was a member of a political party that had the Swastika as it's emblem, flying a flag properly (IE below the US and State flags) is 100% legal. However, flying it So to all of you "It's my right!" idiots, maybe you should learn something about the country in which you live. And for all of those not on US soil, ignore this. What you do in your country is, in fact, not my problem. Treat these Nazi bastards as you see fit. Oh, and since I obviously forgot, 2) If you want the right to wave your swastika, it's my right to call you an idiot and report you for being offensive. Go play with children your own age. I'm guessing 12 years old? Just a guess....

 

[PredatorKing]

If only Notch would do the same thing. I can only drop the banhammer so many times...

Minecraft mod, eh?

OP: I think he should also ban everyone who's emblem says "FAIL", AKA 97% of the player base.

Does this mean I can't have my male-fail emblem?

 

[EliteSoldier666]

FFS if the swastika is so offensive then wat about the grim reaper or 666 the devil existed before us.my emblem is the grim reaper & clan tag is 666 so how the fuck is the swastika offensive.if so then y the fuck the zombies mode are named nazi zombies u racist fucks.

 

[EliteSoldier666]

they just want to make money coz they know ppl will put the Emblem & ban them so they will get another account.microsoft money greedy bastards. like they said they gonna ban u if u hack the game, they just ban ur xbox so u will buy a new 1 y not ban their IP Address. they wont coz they want u 2 get a new console.

 

[YesConsiderably]

FFS if the swastika is so offensive then wat about the grim reaper or 666 the devil existed before us.my emblem is the grim reaper & clan tag is 666 so how the fuck is the swastika offensive.if so then y the fuck the zombies mode are named nazi zombies u racist fucks.

My guess is becuase the grim reaper doesn't actually exist, and even if you believe in the Bible, 666 has no relevance. The number of the beast is actually 616.

You'd know that if you were at all educated.

As for swastikas, i don't really care at all. I kind of think that if it's positioned correctly (so that it more resembles a square than a diamond) then it should be allowed, but frankly i'm far more annoyed about the word filter.

Essex should not be a banned word.

 

[JDKJ]

As a former US Marine, I will gladly die in defense of my country. Part of that is agreeing that people have a RIGHT to express their opinion. Having said that, as a Jew I find swastika's offensive. Is Microsoft within their right for banning the emblem? Yes. It isn't freedom of speech. For one, your ability to wave symbols is not exactly protected by the US Constitution! For example, if I was a member of a political party that had the Swastika as it's emblem, flying a flag properly (IE below the US and State flags) is 100% legal. However, flying it So to all of you "It's my right!" idiots, maybe you should learn something about the country in which you live. And for all of those not on US soil, ignore this. What you do in your country is, in fact, not my problem. Treat these Nazi bastards as you see fit. Oh, and since I obviously forgot, 2) If you want the right to wave your swastika, it's my right to call you an idiot and report you for being offensive. Go play with children your own age. I'm guessing 12 years old? Just a guess....

Your post appears to have some intended text missing. If you intended to say something to the effect of "flying the swastika improperly (e.g., above the U.S. flag or a state flag) is illegal," you may want to double-check that position. The Federal Flag Code (4 U.S.C. §§ 4-10) does not provide any penalties for non-compliance with its guidelines nor does it include enforcement provisions. Rather, the Code functions simply as a guide to be voluntarily followed by civilians and civilian groups. If you choose not to follow the guidelines of the Federal Flag Code and instead fly your swastika above the U.S. flag, that is in no way "illegal."

Moreover, laws which have attempted to make desecration of the U.S. flag and state flags (e.g., by mutilating, defacing, physically defiling, maintaining on the floor, or trampling upon a flag) a criminal offense have all been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court if done as an expression of opinion (see, e.g., Texas v. Johnson and United States v. Eichman). If I want to douse the U.S. flag and the flag of Texas in gasoline and set them both ablaze as an expression of opinion, that's my constitutionally protected right. In fact, a favorite gimmick of the Westboro Baptist Church is to tie a U.S. flag to an ankle and drag it on the ground as they march back and forth on their picket lines.

That America would recognize and protect a right of its citizens to burn their own flag as freedom of speech is almost enough to bring tears to eyes and makes me want to bust out singing "God Bless America" at the top of my lungs.

 

[Corporal Yakob]

This guy is an emblem nazi.

ZING!

Also in regard to this: my emblem (on the PS3 version) is a black heraldric Dragon on a white circle on a black square, do you think I'm safe?

 

[Desert Tiger]

I don't own an X-box, but if I did my gamer emblem would be a Swastika composed entirely of dicks.

 

[JDKJ]

This guy is an emblem nazi.

ZING!

Also in regard to this: my emblem (on the PS3 version) is a black heraldric Dragon on a white circle on a black square, do you think I'm safe?

Probably depends on whether or not the depiction of your heraldic dragon exposes a huge dragon dick. If your dragon is dickless, you're probably in the clear. But, if you ask me, a dickless heraldic dragon doesn't really create a good impression.