Last week, a disgusted Xbox Live member wrote to the Consumerist about being forced to change his Gamertag. Apparently, enough people found “thegayergamer” moniker sufficiently offensive so that Microsoft bowed to community complaints. Here’s what Grant had to say:
I have had a bad morning. Last night when i tried to sign into my xbox live account “thegayergamer” I was told that it had to be changed. I figured that it was just from people reporting it as an offensive name being that the greater Xbox live community isn’t exactly welcome to gay people, i spend a lot of time muting people on Halo3. I assumed that once i called Microsoft they would straighten things out.
I talked to a supervisor there, Roxy, who told me that she didn’t personally find the fact that my gamer tag had gay in the name offensive, but that the greater Xbox community did, so i would have to change it. I hope I’m not the only person who finds this don’t ask, don’t tell policy disgusting… eek
When stories of Grant’s frustration hit the web, many people complained because, although the Xbox Live community has a terrible reputation for amassing the most vile, racist, and homophobic people on the planet (video link is NSFW), Microsoft has always been vocal about its efforts to moderate those members. Still, people complained that Microsoft’s decision to ban the Gamertag was hypocritical, posing the question of whether a nickname like “thestraightergamer” would be met with the same intolerance. Microsoft defended its position, saying that any Gamertag with similar sexual references would also be banned because Xbox Live is a public service and they don’t want to deal with innocent kids asking their parents about sexual topics after seeing these names online.
I don’t think that announcing your sexuality to a group of strangers is the smartest thing to do. But really? Would Microsoft ban a Gamertag like “thestraightergamer?” I don’t think so. Because “thestraightergamer” isn’t necessarily a sexual reference. Of course, neither is “thegayergamer.” But I’ll accept that when most people in today’s society hear ‘gay’, they immediately associate the term with sexuality rather than happiness, its original meaning. That’s understandable. Even so, this is not how moderation should be handled. On GameSpot, and presumably on most public forums, members are allowed to report posts, usernames, reviews, etc. that they feel are offensive. The moderation team and administrators, however, always have final say. I also understand that the individual opinion of one customer support rep does not necessarily reflect the views of the company, but I can’t help but be disgusted at the general lack of consideration here.
It’s a shame that a story like this comes at the same time as a ruling in California lifting the ban on gay marriage. I imagine a day within my lifetime when children will look back on ridiculous human rights violations like these with the same consternation that you or I would view restrictions on a women’s right to vote, the ability to practice whatever religion you choose, or even slavery. Discriminating against someone for their sexuality will eventually seem as crazy as judging people based on skin color, gender, or religion. I’d like to think that the citizens of this country are intelligent enough to agree. Unfortunately, stories like this one make that ideal seem a bit farther off than I’d like.
This is the first I heard of this story, and it’s quite interesting. Like you said, I’ve always liked how we handle things at Gamespot. No matter what a person says, it’s likely to offend at least one person, but just because some people are bothered by it doesn’t necessarily make it bad. I also think it’s funny how Microsoft used the “it’s for the kids excuse.” You don’t see them going after names that might scare kids, you know? Just looking on my friends list, I’ve got names that include killing, burning, zombies, blood, curses, etc. If “thegaygamer” is harmful to kids, so are those, you know? Microsoft’s logic doesn’t hold up. And anyway, children aren’t likely to ever even see his gamertag–he’s an adult gamer who most likely plays adult games.
Sad situation. I’m pretty disappointed in Microsoft.
[...] It looks like Microsoft could have a bit of PR trouble coming there way. Coming shortly after “thegayergamer” debacle, Microsoft has pulled the overzealous ban-hammer again. This time, the unlucky Gamertag is [...]
The Xbox Live community is really pathetic, I wish Microsoft would do something to better police it so that games can be fun online.