Yeah, there still seems to be quite a bit we don't know about this (not that it's really our business in the first place). Thanks for letting me know about those details. It's was difficult to jump to conclusions with so many possible factors that could have been in place.D_987 said:
[UPDATE] Microsoft Devastates Autistic Child By Labeling Him a Cheater
- Thread starter Tom Goldman
- Start date
To be fair, in the first story they actually say "1500 Achievements".Talcon said:
As for the free month not working. Like he really deserves it?
I love the fact how she says "MY child". Microsoft would be stupid to Rambo in on the kid's gamerscore and take it out if there wasn't genuine reason to be believe he hacked it. Simply because he has Autism doesn't mean he should be let off lightly. Everyone would be pissed if they lost their proper earned gamerscore, so they should just go away and let the issue die.
"Hey, everybody! This small child is a cheater! Slander him right now! Oh and even if he didn't cheat, who gives a shit? Cos at the end of the day, we're a gazillion-dollar company and we can do what the fuck we like!"
Fuck you, Microsoft, you selfish, childish, moronic bastards.
Fuck you, Microsoft, you selfish, childish, moronic bastards.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107371-Autistic-Xbox-Players-Mother-Admits-He-CheatedSendura said:
He did cheat, and the mom knew that he had cheated this whole time, and had even warned her son against cheating before he cheated. But hey, why let a little thing like facts get in the way of your Microsoft bashing, right? Bottom line: The facts say that the selfish, childish, moronic bastard in this story is the kid's mother.
Well, I suppose you can't blame her for wanting to keep her son happy.GamerMage said:
On the other hand, if you're letting your child play videogames until his thumbs are literally rubbed raw, perhaps you were never going to win parent of the year anyway.
Oh well done, Microcrap, you've actually managed to do something RIGHT for once. I'm still gonna continuously bash you, though, for all the other fuck ups you've made in the last 7 years since the soddin' console came out!mjc0961 said:
You're correct, though and I agree with you. This mother is a silly ***** for fighting Microsoft even though she knew she and her sweet little cherub of a son were in the wrong all along. What a bloody hypocrite. Thanks for showing me this article, by the way.
I can't believe she used his Autism as an excuse, though. I'm Autistic and my mum never made excuses for me. When I did something totally stupid, I still had to take the fall for it and my Dad still threatened to beat the living shit out of me whether I was Autistic or not. Just the same punishment as my "normal" sister. He never hit me, but he did stop things like that from happening again. Maybe Jennifer ought to think about doing the same thing to Jackson every time he challenges a companies policy and terms of use, eh?
I feel bad for him and everything, but isn't putting this on the news going a little too far?
Eh, maybe not... Maybe I'm just cold...
Eh, maybe not... Maybe I'm just cold...
I think this is hilarious. "Cheater McCheat", I wish I had a gamer tag like that, I'd trade my achievements in for it in a second. He cheated, and got what he deserved, autistic or not, it's his problem. It's only some stupid pictures and numbers on an Xbox, nothing important.
He'll live. Stop giving credit to Microsofts actions by getting mad and let it go. They're just assholes anyway.
1) Yes I am aware of Autism and what it entails, I didn't just pick my nose while studying Psychology for 8 years.jmarquiso said:
2) For sure. They should be able to petition the cheat branding be removed and merely lose all their current achievements. However I think you should be working harder to get permanent records of criminals expunged if this is your feeling. Since I hardly thing Xbox achievements should be the first priority (of this correct) feeling you have.
3) Steam is a pleasant service indeed. I don't quite see how mentioning that to me when my point is that we are setting up our kids for failure.
The US is ranked very low on global education but our self-esteem ratings are #1. Effectively we are buttering our children for no reason. I'm not going to go out of my way to combat it, if the majority of voters feel it's a good idea then they can deal with the consequences I suppose.
I've met people with many different cognitive and developmental disorders, not one of them appreciated being babied, this is anecdotal of course but it's my own experiences regardless.
1) Why must every statement on the internet be taken personally? No, I wasn't being smug or directing any attention toward you and your apparent coursework in psychology.theultimateend said:
To respond, in general - if you read the post I made originally - I said something along the lines of "notice the story doesn't mention if he cheated or not. If he did, he should be treated equally." Later, I modified the statement, which, I admit now that I should have been edited within the post. That was - "I would also add that Microsoft should look at their cheating policy..." meaning that this isn't just a black/white cheater/non-cheater issue, and Microsoft should probably take a look at its policies.
You responded to that by saying, basically "children shouldn't be coddled."
To further clarify, my response being that he IS autistic was to clarify that this child wasn't a "child in general" and does have specific issues relating to his autism. To clarify - these virtual achievements possibly mean something deeply to him as autistic children (don't know about him specifically) tend to latch on to things like this with emotional connections. This isn't true of all members of autism spectrum, of course, and may not even apply to him. And yes, I believe the mother is using her child's illness to garner sympathy, especially with the news brought to light.
2) I completely agree. This isn't the most important place to stand for justice and juveniles. Would it surprise you to know that I have supported the latter cause in means other than a forum post? Because it's irrelevant to the issue at hand. In the issue at hand, Microsoft has a blanket policy which isn't easily changeable, apparently. However, in this specific case there was good reason. The mother certainly went to the news prematurely, and this was hardly a grave injustice in the world in general. Even when I saw the original story, I hardly found it newsworthy to begin with - though there was one thing I found interesting, and I'll expand on that later.
3) I brought Steam up as a competing service that handles cheaters in a completely different manner. They manage to deal with them and allow for them simultaneously, banning cheaters to non VAC servers when it comes up. And while it does have its own problems of permanence, it doesn't do the same as what Microsoft did here. A permanent, non-negotiable scarlet letter is cruel punishment for a child, especially over virtual goods. Now, how Steam handled Drunken Fool may be something to look into - although even Drunken Fool understood and accepting the consequences (likely because he is an adult and knew what he was doing).
You see my inclusion of Steam as a non-sequitor, well, so is this nations education system. Yes, we have a lot of trouble with our education system, and yes we rank incredibly low because of the way we handle children. We've become a litigous society heavily involved in the idea that our children can do no wrong, and in that environment we've created an entire generation of children with false senses of entitlement.
Sometimes, consequences need to be allowed, and parents need to step aside. So on this, we agree, though my view may be more nuanced on a case to case basis.
We aren't talking about the general issues of education. I have a specific case here. Yes, he did, in fact, cheat. Microsoft didn't answer at the risk of a PR hit, why? To protect the kid's privacy. The mother went to the local news and asked for sympathy. The local news affiliate got a "great" david vs. goliath story with all of the emotional pitfalls. It helped that Microsoft was a local company and therefore they got a local issue - that (fortunately for them) became an internet-wide viral news story, one for gamers everywhere. But the story was irresponsible, as they didn't bother to get the whole story before filming emotionally heartbreaking footage of a woman bravely fighting a brave company. Further, they missed out on an even bigger issue altogether, and the point I mentioned I'd come back to later -
Here was a sensationalized story about video games, and it was largely POSITIVE about video games. There was no negative angle looking at whether the games could and should affect this boy so emotionally. Here was a child who literally poured his life into a virtual world, and no negative spin. What they sorely missed here was an opportunity to talk to a neuroscientist, neurologist, psycholoigist or other autism expert on whether video games were positive or negative for those with autism, or specific parts of autism spectrum. I'd be incredibly interested in that, really, which could cause so much trauma that a mother had to go protect her child over that.
In other words, what the story missed were the stakes of the matter. Because honestly, missing virtual goods are rather low stakes to begin with, and are certainly not important enough to report. But they were important to him, and I wanted to know why. If it was negative, I wanted to hear that. If it were positive, I wanted to know that. Opening a door to whether video games having acceptable therapeutic value would be an incredibly interesting story, and one that would actually be in the global interest.
Not the manipulative, poorly researched video that the station packaged.
I suppose he could just get a new account.
Gamerscore's just a number though. I don't see any real reason for Microsoft to get all menstrual over cheaters making it bigger.
Not the same as cheating online.
Gamerscore's just a number though. I don't see any real reason for Microsoft to get all menstrual over cheaters making it bigger.
Not the same as cheating online.
I agree with this comment this is just another person in our lovley world who wants the rest of us to go " OMG her autistic son is being bullied by Microsoft ahhhh what a shame .... " which btw is not the case Im sure if he didnt cheat Microsoft wouldnt have tampered with his Gamertag or took his acheivements and even if they did im sure it was mistake.inFAMOUSCowZ said:
"Devastates"? Really? The kid's "devastated" by this? Upset sure, many kids would be, but "devastated"? That word is used to describe the emotional state of a person after losing a loved one or after losing their home. It should not be used to describe the emotional reaction of a 13 year old kid to losing achievement points. Come on.
Yes, the kid was autistic, yes, he probably played on his Xbox more than usual, yes, I agree, a kid can feel bad about being labelled a cheat.
But he's 13.... a teenager.... and it's just.... achievements. He'll get over it. There's nothing to report here. This is a non-story.
The kid (or someone with access to the account) cheated, got caught out, and doesn't like losing the points. But was he emotionally "devastated"? Huh. Kids must be more fragile these days. Surprised they don't live in foam rooms, wear crash helmets all the time, and wear containment suits to go outside.
Yes, the kid was autistic, yes, he probably played on his Xbox more than usual, yes, I agree, a kid can feel bad about being labelled a cheat.
But he's 13.... a teenager.... and it's just.... achievements. He'll get over it. There's nothing to report here. This is a non-story.
The kid (or someone with access to the account) cheated, got caught out, and doesn't like losing the points. But was he emotionally "devastated"? Huh. Kids must be more fragile these days. Surprised they don't live in foam rooms, wear crash helmets all the time, and wear containment suits to go outside.