Do you think the (online) gaming community is more toxic and hostile now than it was in the past?

[Uriel_Hayabusa]

Because I don't.

In recent years the behavior of gamers has been criticized by the (press) many a time. According to them, the community is toxic, intolerant towards different opinions, eager to make death threats and so on. A recurring thing I've noticed in many of these criticisms is the claim that it's only been getting worse ''in the most recent of years'', as Jim Sterling said in his Jimquisition-episode Joy Begets Anger.

I don't agree. The way I see it, the gaming community has always been toxic and hostile.

I've been frequenting online gaming forums for well over 10 years now - and that's a statement of fact, not bragging - and I remember plenty of toxicity even back then. Posting about how much I loved The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was frequently met with sneering dismissal from devoted A Link to the Past-fans. My enjoyment of Final Fantasy X enraged people who thought the game couldn't hold a candle to Final Fantasy VII. I've been told I had crap taste, I've been told that I should be punched in the face, I've been told to die of cancer. The list goes on.

So when I see a Facebook comment like this on the aforementioned ''Joy Begets Anger''-video:

I can only speak from my own experiences so here goes-
It appears to me that the old school gaming community puts the modern gaming community to shame, the old school guys are passionate, enthusiastic, and they welcome discussion of games with open arms but not only are they willing to talk games, they are *happy* to 'talk games', there is none of this hateful rage or bickering, no whining and no complaining. Its all love, and everybody is every-bodies friend and that's because they know that they all share the same passion. They're the complete opposite of the modern gaming community, in every way.

I can't help but wonder what they're talking about.

P.S.:

Phew, even if this topic gets no replies I sure feel relieved to get this off my chest.

 

[josemlopes]

I, on the other hand, do. I've been gaming since I was about 7-10 years old. I'm 33 or so now, and I feel that in the intervening years the attitudes and interactions have become much, much worse. Obviously, way back then there was no online, but people did communicate via magazines and such (though I probably didn't get into those until I was 13 or 14 - had a letter published in Games-X), and I don't recall the level of toxicity I see today.

No one from a magazine would publish a letter saying the things that can be said on the internet so your point there is kind of moot.

Also there was no tweeter where you can instantly and effortlessly scream at someone, and to be honest, most of the gaming community was still rather young people, people that werent going to send an angry letter to some specific dude of PR from a specific publisher, they probably didnt really knew what a publisher had to do other then giving money to the dev.




Then its all about the type of games, for example, I have been playing Insurgency, everyone helps eachother and never goes after useless profanity even though its a multiplayer only shooter.

Project Reality, another online shooter only, same thing. Hell, even MTA:SA (a mod for GTA San Andreas that adds multiplayer) has people treating eachother nicely, in one RP server right as I entered (spawning at the airport) another player from my nationality was driving around the street I was and since buying a car is a long process he offered to give me a lift to a place where bikes are given. Well, shit, never had that sort of interaction before and it was in a GTA game of all places (the criminals are still rather, you know, criminal like).

 

[josemlopes]

No one from a magazine would publish a letter saying the things that can be said on the internet so your point there is kind of moot.

Agreed - I'm not really sure I was making a point. I feel the gaming community used to be supportive and, well, nice. Absolutely not saying that a lot of people online aren't decent; I think most are, but those that aren't can be so unredeemably vile that it sours the whole experience.

Yeah, I guess now its just showing its real face but that is going around with everything because of how easy it is to say something public to everyone.

A wine related forum (eh) probably has the same problems with people saying that wine people (eh) seemed so supportive back then when all there was were magazines about that subject and now everyone is trashing everyone on the internet.

I dont know if you remember (or how it was with you) but at my school talking about games was even more toxic then in here.

 

[josemlopes]

A wine related forum (eh) probably has the same problems with people saying that wine people (eh) seemed so supportive back then when all there was were magazines about that subject and now everyone is trashing everyone on the internet.

Actually, I lurk on a few homebrew forums (more beer than wine, but a bit of both) and I generally find they are supportive of one another - happy to share recipes and experiences, etc. But, having said that, brewing doesn't have the cultural weight of gaming nor many of the issues surrounding it. Maybe it relates to the creativity element and the desire to build something - I'm referring strictly to those who produce (which is who the sites cater for), not those who consume. And maybe game development (rather than consumption) is the same - I wouldn't know though.

I guess.

Maybe comparing with forums more focused on books, movies, music or art in general would have been more appropriate

 

[Aesir23]

I'm not sure if it actually is more hostile but it definitely seems like it. I remember playing Delta Force 2 online quite a bit "back in the day" and I usually had the time of my life. There was a bit of trash talking (there always is) but generally the people were pleasant. Now I avoid online gaming like the plague because of how vile it seems to be.

 

[PainInTheAssInternet]

=
I can only speak from my own experiences so here goes-
It appears to me that the old school gaming community puts the modern gaming community to shame, the old school guys are passionate, enthusiastic, and they welcome discussion of games with open arms but not only are they willing to talk games, they are *happy* to 'talk games', there is none of this hateful rage or bickering, no whining and no complaining. Its all love, and everybody is every-bodies friend and that's because they know that they all share the same passion. They're the complete opposite of the modern gaming community, in every way.

Sounds like a textbook case of the Law of Entropy, otherwise known as "Everything was better back then," nostalgia, rose-tinted glasses, self-delusion etc. etc.

I can't remember a time where I would label the community who has access to a microphone as anything other than irredeemable. I've come across two people I can remember who didn't fit this, but it has been woefully accurate in every other circumstance. I've only been playing online since COD 4 so my experience is limited. My motto is "If they have a mic, they have nothing worth saying." This also extends to games where you're supposed to be cooperating, but really the other player(s) couldn't care less about your presence. No, it is not just 13-year-olds. I know the voice of a guy who is at least 30 when I hear one.

 

[ElMinotoro]

I used to think the community was getting better but then I realised it was just the TF2 servers I was playing on were so cool and inclusive, having a no nonesne approach to aggresive idiots. Then I started playing competitive in UGC and it's a pretty hostile crowd with people calling each other jews and faggots, being a bit weird about the women and using "rape" to mean "we did poorly".
Many of these players are very young and I remember being young and not thinking that the words I used mattered because I knew what I meant. But the language you use shapes the way you see and experience the world and the language of those around you affects the language choices you make.

All I can say is that I think as people get older this kind of behaviour diminishes. I'm 30 now, I don't have time for a lot of bullshit children want to spew out in games or in forums. Maybe it doesn't diminish and they're all a pack of arseholes.

 

[Rayce Archer]

I played Counter-Strike for the first time in 2002 and I can verify: Gaming used to be MUCH MUCH WORSE.

The angriest Gamergate neckbeard would dampen his shorts in fear and shame after one hour with old-school Counterstrikers, who would not only assail you with a litany of vulgarity sure to result in an immediate server ban today but would then follow it up with team-neutrally gangbanging anyone new to the server who they didn't like, then spraying building-sized scans of Witchblade covers until the offending presence crashed from a memory leak.

Today I can jump on a CS: Source or DoD server and just play and the worst that's likely to happen is that if I suck someone else will teamjump to get away from me.

 

[CpT_x_Killsteal]

I'd say no. It's just grown and communication has become a hundred times for frequent and easy. There's always been the same portion of shitheads, the number is bigger, but the percentage is the same.

I think the reason it seems there's more, is because people only talk about the arseholes they encounter, and rarely the people who say nothing (the majority) and the genuinely fun strangers to play with.

 

[UniversalRonin]

I have always preferred LAN to Online gaming (Except for the odd foray into DDO).
Last time I played CS Source, (2009) everyone was an utter jerk, and I didn't bother playing again. don't remember the time I played Online before that, and haven't really done it since.

 

[Barbas]

Well, I reckon it's more inclusive than it was before because it's always getting more inclusive. I don't think you'll find it really got better just by going back x number of years, though. Some games have communities with better reputations than others, which I think is primarily because of the people they attract. Where you get younger people, you usually get more casual slurring, dribbling and blowing of raspberries - sorry, younger people. :C

Spoiler

[HEADING=2]Parents gonna parent.[/HEADING]​

 

[remnant_phoenix]

I, on the other hand, do. I've been gaming since I was about 7-10 years old. I'm 33 or so now, and I feel that in the intervening years the attitudes and interactions have become much, much worse. Obviously, way back then there was no online, but people did communicate via magazines and such (though I probably didn't get into those until I was 13 or 14 - had a letter published in Games-X), and I don't recall the level of toxicity I see today.

Even going back only ten years to playing Everquest online, I don't recall there being the amount of sheer rage over games. Sure, people used to get wound up by all the trains in Paludal (?) Caverns, or if you accidentally killed a goblin they had 'camped' - seriously some people thought they could claim the whole of East Karana because they had a tiny chance of getting a high-quality lion pelt there.

But it wasn't like it is now. There wasn't torrents of abuse. I didn't feel the need to block people as my default mode online. I wasn't a fag, a ****, a dickshit (actually never been called that), etc., but over the last five or so years I've increasingly been all of those things and more (except the last one). I don't know - maybe I'm just showing my age and I'm all rose-tinted and such, but people just didn't seem like such dicks then.

And I don't even play LoL or DOTA, just Words With Friends against my mum.

I agree.

This is just one anecdote, but as a Secondary teacher, I can tell you that, compared to how things were when I was that age, the students I teach today are much, MUCH more likely to get heated, confrontational, and offensive regarding Xbox vs Playstation fanboy wars, bragging about how awesome they are in Call of Duty, belittling people for playing certain types of games, etc.

 

[Colour Scientist]

I have no idea.

I've always played video games but I've never really had any friends who played so my exposure to the gaming community only really happened in my late teens when I started frequenting gaming sites.

I don't really have a point of comparison.

I have to say though, I was probably happier being blissfully unaware of how unwelcome I seem to be in some areas of gaming culture or how toxic and angry some of the sub-communities that come under the banner of "gamers" are.

That said, I've met and/or talked to some wonderful people so you have to take the good with the bad, I guess.

Edit: Sorry, I was rambling a bit there.

 

[fatlas]

Newer players seem to have thinner skin which makes it seem like the online gaming community is more toxic than it was before. At least that's what I think, but maybe I'm just too old now at the age of 30 and want those damn whiny kids to get off my e-lawn.

 

[Zhukov]

Nope.

I actually think people are a bit more polite now that voice communication is common.

In my experience, hearing someone's voice humanizes them that little bit more and so folks are that little bit less likely to start heaping abuse on each other.

Not that it doesn't happen of course, by God does it ever happen, but not as frequently as I remember it happening back in the days of type-only.

 

[krazykidd]

I remember when games were about fun and less about issues people make up. I blame facebook. It made people think that their opinion is important and worth telling EVERYONE. Back in my day, we could play as males, females , animals, insects, geometrical blocks, and whatever crazy thing a devolper could think of.

Now people are too hung over about what ever flavor of the month issue it's cool to be mad about. Remember when immersion was the cool thing to complain about? Can we go back to that? At least it was more productive than these made up gender war issues.

 

[fix-the-spade]

I can't help but wonder what they're talking about.

That's a question with a yes no answer, I can remember some really good gaming communities and some really horrible ones.

Way, way back in the days of Netmech (1996!) that used to have a fantastic community, griefing and trolling were pretty rife thanks to the available connections and odd weapon balance turning jump jet mechs into teleporter equipped death genies, but the whole thing played out in good humor.

Quake on the other hand was very elitist and competition focused. There was plenty of modding and fun too, but God help you for entering into a clan server without a pristine roller ball and your eyes on stalks.

Then Counter Strike came along and everything got really nasty for a while, then it even out a bit a couple of years later.

In the fifteen years since then what has really struck me is the decline of games being actively adminned (or even having that facility), Xboxlive and PSN basically have no function for removing a toxic players on the fly. This ruins a lot of games for me when that little squeaker starts calling me racial epithets and I can't lean over to the admin and say now can I burn his soul from the server?!

Badmins can be annoying, but you can easily cycle through servers until you find a good one, arse holes are harder to avoid and their ability to get away with has definitely made the last eight or so years of gaming less pleasant than the preceding eight.

However there are a bunch more communities than their used to be, so the number of pleasant ones has gone up along with the bad ones. So it's kind of yes and no, there are a lot more self entitled little wretches kicking around than there used to be, but plenty more nice places too.