[UPDATE] Microsoft Devastates Autistic Child By Labeling Him a Cheater

[TheDoctor455]

See, that he's autistic makes me more likely to believe he wasn't cheating. Getting obsessed over things is something autistic people do, and videogames, with their clearly defined rules and ways in which to get achievements, are a pretty good outlet for autistic children in particular.

So I believe that it's entirely possible it looked like he was cheating, with a high score over a short amount of time or something, but in reality it was only possible because as an autistic he was so obsessed with getting achievements he played it too much.

Yeah...
And since Microsoft doesn't seem willing to investigate further... as far as I can tell from the article...
It seems clear that Microsoft isn't handicap accessible.
Of course... I think if the kid can get that many achievements again in a similar amount of time... I think that would prove the kid's case.
Either way... Microsoft should apologize.

 

[Pilkingtube]

I feel a bit stupid asking this.. but why do people care so much about achievement points? I thought the point in a game was to have fun, not rack up an arbitrary number? :S

 

[charlest92]

If Your gamerscore did somthing it would be worth mentioning like for every 20,000 points you accumulate you get 1600 ms points then I would care but the gamerscore does fuck all. The kid is autistic and my neighbor has a relative that is autistic, when they play a game they do not stop untill they get the 100% complete bars for the games acheivements/score. I had an iquery for my gamerscore going up 3000 in the span of about 18-20 hours because I had purchased 2 new games that were pretty short and I played one of them on hard from the start and got 120-150 Gs per chapter for 8 chapters thats 960 on its own for beating the game and with a total score of 1650 it was easy to discover what the rest of them were and get them.

 

[theonlyblaze2]

I'm fairly sure Microsoft know when someones cheating or hacking. They're saying someone tampered with it, maybe they're right?

But it still sucks for that kid ._. I hope he gets his achievements back and can go on doing what he loves.

I honestly believe they don't. I bought my 360 about two years after it came out. I got about three thousand gamerscore before ever plugging into live, only to have it taken away for being a cheater. I honestly didn't even know what gamerscore was or how to cheat on it.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Microsoft says it's confident that someone (probably named Jackson) tampered with Jackson's account to boost his score in an illegitimate manner, and doesn't currently plan to give him his achievements back.

"Fuck you, kid. We know you didn't do wrong, but we're not gonna do anything about it."

Many years ago, this would have shocked and angered me. These days, par for the Microshaft course.

When they say someone they don't mean someone other than him.

The word "tampered" implies it though. But sure, if you honestly believe that he cheated on his score, then he should have all of his trophies taken away, his score reset and be labelled a cheater across the whole of XBox Live.

Perhaps a bell around his neck as well? Or would that be going too far? I mean, as it's obviously so important, how would people measure their worth without it?

Unless they're autistic, of course, where someone incapable of understanding emotion is suddenly the focus of a a large amount of emotional recoil from having a label splashed onto the screen. Yeah, that actually could severely hurt someone whose self-worth is linked to arbitrary numbers. It's a good thing that never happens, isn't it?

 

[Ekit]

It seems a bit too much to put "Cheater" by his name.

You don't tattoo "Murderer" in murderer's foreheads.

 

[Baldr]

Before I made my judgment, I wanted to know how easy is it to realistically change a gamerscore. After a 10 sec search and watching the first video on youtube. It is really easy to do, and after understanding what they did, how easy it is for Microsoft to detect(Because the programs actually change the gamer profile file.)

Just after learning how easy it is, I going to side with Microsoft on this one, but think they should change their profile system security so it is harder to edit.

 

[DEAD34345]

See, that he's autistic makes me more likely to believe he wasn't cheating. Getting obsessed over things is something autistic people do, and videogames, with their clearly defined rules and ways in which to get achievements, are a pretty good outlet for autistic children in particular.

So I believe that it's entirely possible it looked like he was cheating, with a high score over a short amount of time or something, but in reality it was only possible because as an autistic he was so obsessed with getting achievements he played it too much.

Yeah...
And since Microsoft doesn't seem willing to investigate further... as far as I can tell from the article...
It seems clear that Microsoft isn't handicap accessible.
Of course... I think if the kid can get that many achievements again in a similar amount of time... I think that would prove the kid's case.
Either way... Microsoft should apologize.

That's a very specific form of autism, and you shouldn't just assume the kid is like that.

Besides which cheaters should be labeled cheaters, and i think that autistic people and other mentally (Or otherwise) handicapped people in general mostly just want to be treated the same as everyone else, as much as possible at least.

 

[Smooth Operator]

I'm fairly sure Microsoft know when someones cheating or hacking. They're saying someone tampered with it, maybe they're right?

But it still sucks for that kid ._. I hope he gets his achievements back and can go on doing what he loves.

Every detection system has it's false positives, and I'm sure this isn't an isolated case, but unless you are autistic noone will care or believe you, or even make a news story out of it.

 

[Joepow]

It's annoying how many people assume the kid is innocent just because he is autistic.
Which, of course, is the whole point.

 

[kickyourass]

I'd need more information on the circumstances before I can really say anything. Like how did they conclude that he was cheating? That's kind of an important thing to know. If he really was cheating then go ahead and do whatever you do to cheaters. If he wasn't and someone tampered with his acount or something then stop being douche bags and give hime back his gamerscore.

 

[TheDoctor455]

See, that he's autistic makes me more likely to believe he wasn't cheating. Getting obsessed over things is something autistic people do, and videogames, with their clearly defined rules and ways in which to get achievements, are a pretty good outlet for autistic children in particular.

So I believe that it's entirely possible it looked like he was cheating, with a high score over a short amount of time or something, but in reality it was only possible because as an autistic he was so obsessed with getting achievements he played it too much.

Yeah...
And since Microsoft doesn't seem willing to investigate further... as far as I can tell from the article...
It seems clear that Microsoft isn't handicap accessible.
Of course... I think if the kid can get that many achievements again in a similar amount of time... I think that would prove the kid's case.
Either way... Microsoft should apologize.

That's a very specific form of autism, and you shouldn't just assume the kid is like that.

Besides which cheaters should be labeled cheaters, and i think that autistic people and other mentally (Or otherwise) handicapped people in general mostly just want to be treated the same as everyone else, as much as possible at least.

True...
the "handicap accessible" thing was a bitter joke. I've got a pretty serious case of ADD myself... not the same as autism of course, but it does have its really annoying moments.

Anyway...
The point I was getting at is that Microsoft should have gotten some solid evidence of cheating before labeling him or anyone else a cheater.

 

[Sansha]

So because he's Autistic, he gets a sympathy vote?

Boo fucking hoo. This happens all the time.

 

[Gaderael]

I have a brother who is severely Autistic, and if he was able to play video games, and he was cheating, I'd want him to be treated no differently then some kid who doesn't have any sort of disability or handicap. The only issue I have with the punishment is the permanent 'Cheater' tag on his account. That's a little too harsh. I could understand if there were sentence limits on how long that stays, like a month, or six months, but FOREVER is a little too harsh. Hell, if he had committed a real crime, his sentence would be buried once he turned eighteen.

 

[Digikid]

Microsoft are a bunch of morons. THey have screwed around with my account for a while as well. They once stood for quality.....not anymore and this story just confirms it.

 

[Zakarath]

...Big deal. I don't really see this as newsworthy, apart from the touch of dark amusement it gives me via my schadenfreude and misanthropy.

 

[Spy_Guy]

plz vac unban me! it was my brother who got on and i got my acc haced and now i cant play my games anymore! u are unfair to you're customer! i will never buy another vavle game again!

An example of someone claiming they're not cheating


While this certainly isn't Valve taking action, I think they're lying somehow. No matter how autistic and obsessive you are, I believe there's a 98% chance that you won't be able to farm achievements quickly enough to start raising red flags. That's why I call shenanigans.

The reason I blame his mother for this is because it's probably her decision to take it to the media, and the "Autistic" angle is making me see red. I'm autistic myself, and I think stuff like this gives people like me a bad name.

As for the debate on "three strikes, etc." I think that's not really right. While you may encourage forgiveness, and you don't want people being branded cheats due to stupidity when they were younger, I think a zero-tolerance policy is the way to go.

I have many great friends who've managed to get VAC-bans and cite "young and stupid" as the reason, but if there weren't harsh penalties for cheating, it'd devalue the game/gamerscore, as stated above.

Case-in-point: Prestige Hacking in Mw2.

Also, I notice I'm not exactly being neat here, but I found another quote here:

Microsoft says it's confident that someone (probably named Jackson) tampered with Jackson's account to boost his score in an illegitimate manner, and doesn't currently plan to give him his achievements back.

There's a really nice, simple policy in order to keep cheat-enforcement manageable:
Your account, your responsibility

If someone tampered with his account, then he should have kept a better watch over it.

P.S.
This is a part where I can say that I'm unenlightened. Microsoft's anti-cheat is automated at some level, isn't it? Because if it wasn't that'd be unmanageable, as well as very prone to human error.
I've made this post under the assumption that it is largely automated, if it isn't shame on me. Some of my points still stand though...
The one about VAC will be remarkably ignorant though.
D.S.

 

[bak00777]

my friend tried to cheat, he added a bunch of achvs and tried getting free Cr in Halo Reach. Microsoft labeled him a cheater, and took away his achvs. This is no different. Microsoft knows their stuff, and if this kid was cheating then he deserves the same punishment. Equality means everyone gets punished the same.

 

[zehydra]

the autistic child hopefully has learned a lesson about gamerscores.

 

[Kingsnake661]

I can't tell if he was cheating or not.
Just because he has autism doesn't mean he's not capable of cheating or lying.

It's bad PR if this continues though, so they'll probably restore his achievements.
If he's cheating then he gets away with it, if he's not then I hope everything works out.

Eh, it's a gamer score... I just can't see why MS would be willing to dig their heels in over THIS perticular issue. In the grand scheme of things, even if the kid DID cheat, i didn't get the impression his gamer score was like one of the top ones. So who cares? it's not like he's setting the all time homerun record or anything... >.>

I can't see taking a public black eye over this, it just seems... pointless.