The guy was wrong to react that way, it's undestandable that he had a problem with his mental health but at the end of the day choking the little shit was a bit overboard. A clip round the ear hole would have sufficed. But there's still one thing that really bothers me about this article:
Whilst it's okay for everyone to point out the game is an 18 to begin with, it's even more important to point out that online interaction is not rated by PEGI/ESRB. When a parent purchases a game with online functionality they should seriously consider the community they'll be opening up to their child. The fact that the kid's playing it in the first place combined with the above quote tells me that the mother has no knowledge of that particular online online community and isn't fit to judge the actions that come about because of it.
TL;DR - Parents should know what they're getting their kids into. Interactions online are unrated and a lot of the time not policed. Death threats are traded like common insults. This article is proof that people who play online are far too secure in their anonymity. The kid's lucky, if this were somewhere else and the he was tracked down he might have met the barrel of a gun instead.
The anonymity of the internet is abused by people like that child; it was just incredibly unfortunate that he was unaware of how thin that shield really was in that case.
If you read the article it seems the source of the attack was from the smack talk. But at what point does smack talk become straight up verbal abuse? Some people don't seem to know the difference between the two; but I consider the second I become a personal target of their spewings that it's no longer smack talk and simply abuse. It's all fine to say that I'm going to have my ass handed to me, but anyone who plays online can tell you that the language and phrases often become much more personal and colourful in their words.
Whilst it's okay for everyone to point out the game is an 18 to begin with, it's even more important to point out that online interaction is not rated by PEGI/ESRB. When a parent purchases a game with online functionality they should seriously consider the community they'll be opening up to their child. The fact that the kid's playing it in the first place combined with the above quote tells me that the mother has no knowledge of that particular online online community and isn't fit to judge the actions that come about because of it.
TL;DR - Parents should know what they're getting their kids into. Interactions online are unrated and a lot of the time not policed. Death threats are traded like common insults. This article is proof that people who play online are far too secure in their anonymity. The kid's lucky, if this were somewhere else and the he was tracked down he might have met the barrel of a gun instead.
The anonymity of the internet is abused by people like that child; it was just incredibly unfortunate that he was unaware of how thin that shield really was in that case.
