Substantive advice in a Wired article for avoiding a toxic community

[ObiQuiet]

No discussion expected, just FYI:

 

http://www.wired.com/2014/05/fighting-online-harassment/

 

Start reading at the sixth paragraph which starts: "This process led them to a surprising insight—one that 'shaped our entire approach to this problem...'"

 

What I like about the examples in the article is that they cite statistics about their effectiveness.  .

 

TL;DR:

"But a week after switching the default, negative chat had decreased by more than 30 percent while positive chat increased nearly 35 percent."

 

" Now when banned players returned to the game, their bad behavior dropped measurably."

 

"And this system is not just punishing players; it’s rehabilitating them, elevating more than 280,000 censured gamers to good standing."

 

Much more detail here:

http://www.motivateplay.com/2013/03/gdc-riot-jeff-lin/

 

 

 

Respectfully yours, etc.

[Saintduiex]

I think this is very interesting data. My fear is that it will continue the poor interactions recently displayed between members.

I will allow this to remain open as long as it remains civil and does not become a continuation of the farming or Carta threads or sniping between members.

I think it could and should open an interesting dialog.

[Flip]

I think this is very interesting data. My fear is that it will continue the poor interactions recently displayed between members.

I will allow this to remain open as long as it remains civil and does not become a continuation of the farming or Carta threads or sniping between members.

I think it could and should open an interesting dialog.

There will always be sniping on the Internet. It's a guarantee when you are hiding behind a screen and reading text the way you want to see it instead of hearing it the way the speaker wants it to sound. The only work around is heavy moderation or bans until people stop but there are always new members.

[ObiQuiet]

A thought... in engineering disciplines any solution that doesn't solve close to 100 percent of the cases is instinctively and justifiably rejected. I suspect most of us here are engineers by trade or disposition. I am.

In politics, economics, and social policy, though, a solution that reduces a problem by even 30% (without causing an even worse side effect) may be well worth pursuing.

[Grim DeGrim]

Very thought provoking.  I certainly learned alot.  And was VERY surprised to see that there is a Tribunal in League of League (LoL), and the moderation approach used in Metafilter (I will not name it hear, but allow me to say that the terminology used is the same as Here).

 

Even the 1 change made by LoL, with the default chat...is very reminiscent of PoTBS in those first beautiful years when you could not understand the chat in area from other nations, unless you CHOSE to use a skillpoint to unlock diplomacy.  Cross nation flaming was close to non-existent.

[Cannonball]

When playing MMO's that had abuse, I've found the /ignore feature ideal. Not all players have that kind of self control, even I struggled with it at times wanting to shoot a zinger back at them.

 

Global chat is hardly healthy I would be happy if it never made it into Naval Action.

 

A "Report" button can be useful but it would also swallow man hours on the devs. Having a peer to peer evaluation is good way too, but again that takes time away from game play and or development.

 

Reasonable fix....

Limit chat options.

Players can only chat with their Faction

Local area chat

Ignore button

Report Button

[Flip]

Cross nation flaming was close to non-existent.

 

Except on the forums 

 

But seriously, the league tribunal leads to some pretty funny cases...

 

 

and someone has to sift them

[Brigand]

Very interesting and informed read.

Thanks for sharing,

Brigand

[ObiQuiet]

Nytmare posted this link to LoL's Tribunal FAQ in another suggestion thread here on 13 Feb:

http://na.leagueoflegends.com/tribunal/en/faq/

 

Here is the one for their LeaveBuster:  https://support.riotgames.com/hc/en-us/articles/201752714-LeaverBuster-FAQ

 

Note the AFK warning boxes; apparently care must be taken in choosing colors( ! ) for them:

One interesting finding was that showing a red message about negative behavior during the loading screen lead to a much larger decrease in toxic behaviors (in terms of attitude displays, abuse, and offensive language) than did the exact same message in a white font.  Additionally, showing a blue message about positive, cooperative behavior during the loading screen also lead to a decrease in a negative behavior, while no effect was observed for the same message in white.  And, interestingly, when the question “Who will be the most sportsmanlike?” (a positive behavior message) was presented in red, the toxic behavior metrics actually all increased.

[ObiQuiet]

Reasonable fix....

Limit chat options.

Players can only chat with their Faction

Local area chat

Ignore button

Report Button

 

Yes, that's right -- that covers just about everything.

From the http://www.motivateplay.com/2013/03/gdc-riot-jeff-lin/ article:

 

To investigate this idea the researchers conducted an experiment in which cross-team chat, as one of the main venues for negative interactions, was made optional for individual players.  And indeed, they observed a significant decrease in all measures (emphasis added) of toxicity (offensive language, obscenity, and displays of negative attitudes).  Moreover, the total percentage of games using chat remained the same (only 46-47% included no chat, both before and after).  Lin and team therefore concluded that shielding players from toxic behavior can in fact prevent it from spreading.

[Zehtuka]

In another initiative by Riot’s player- behavior team, League of Legends launched a disciplinary system called the Tribunal, in which a jury of fellow players votes on reported instances of bad behavior. Empowered to issue everything from email warnings to longer-term bans, users have cast tens of millions of votes about the behavior of fellow players. When Riot asked its staff to audit the verdicts, it found that the staff unanimously agreed with users in nearly 80 percent of cases. And this system is not just punishing players; it’s rehabilitating them, elevating more than 280,000 censured gamers to good standing. Riot regularly receives apologies from players who have been through the Tribunal system, saying they hadn’t understood how offensive their behavior was until it was pointed out to them.

Seems we are on the right path here.

[5KnuckleChuckle]

A good read for sure. While I realize I'm new to this forum I have to admit, it is the most civil and generally respectful forum I have ever had the pleasure to participate in...and I'm not even trolling here. I know I know, who is going to be the first to reply with a "Go f*@k yourself" lol

[SYN_Bloody-Bandy]

Yes, good thread.  And who hasn't "lashed out on occasion"?  I admit it, we are only human.  

I know of several communities that need to consider becoming more pro-active. 

Edited February 16, 2015 by SYN_Bloody-Bandy

[Magnum]

There will always be sniping on the Internet. It's a guarantee when you are hiding behind a screen and reading text the way you want to see it instead of hearing it the way the speaker wants it to sound. The only work around is heavy moderation or bans until people stop but there are always new members.

 

As recently retired and new to online gaming, I have no experience with other games at all.

 

I really hope we as a community can dampen toxic behavior by modeling better behavior.

 

I don't think the bad behavior is inevitable any more than I "expect" there to be a loud obnoxious lout at every movie I go to see, and guess what - there isn't.