Does trash talking have a place in gaming?

This is something that's been in my mind for a while, at least as long as I've noticed gaming communities throw shit at each other, some of which raised the heads of feminists and other people that think like them and wonder if they're going too far. It reached a head when people like Anita Sarkeesian caught heat for saying a few things that got people pissed off, and continues to be brought up by the recent news of a Hearthstone tournament in Finland being declared male-only.

So, is there? I understand that a lot of people participate in some of those flame wars for shits and giggles, but is it really necessary to have it there as part of a community?

The question is irrelevant. The answer is obviously no, all the stupid shit people say has no place in gaming.

What you really wanted to ask is how to get rid of such stupid bullshit. I don't particularly know any good solutions beyond making the world suck less.

If you know someone personally, and you're good friends with them, you have the benefit of knowing that whatever's coming out of their mouth is just a result of them getting into the game with you. After all, what's a little playful ribbing between friends?

Out in the general public, though, you don't have that luxury. And especially on the internet, where words are taken at face value by necessity. Otherwise innocuous taunts can be perceived as very real threats. In this environment, you really do need to watch what you say.

(That said, trash talk is not something I personally practice, regardless of who I'm playing with.)

edited 2nd Jul '14 6:56:32 PM by KylerThatch

This "faculty lot" you speak of sounds like a place of great power...

Yeah, keep the trash talking [[http://wikirby.com/wiki/Kirby's_Avalanche inside the game itself]].

• Edit, mistake when I posted from the phone, never mind.

edited 2nd Jul '14 9:08:22 PM by tsstevens

Currently reading up My Rule Fu Is Stronger than Yours

No.

-obligatory Well! What is it?-

And then there was silence

I'm alright with fraternal ribbing between friends. I'm not fine with it being a cultural norm.

ALL CREATURE WILL DIE AND ALL THE THINGS WILL BE BROKEN. THAT'S THE LAW OF SAMURAI.

"trash talk" is fine when it's good natured.

"U FUKIN SCRUB NOOB, PULL YER HEAD OUT OF YER MUM'S ARSE, WHICH I FUCKED LAST NIGHT, YOU SUCK SO BAD" type things really need to die.

I'm baaaaaaack

I keep my trash talk clean. Like, 'Hey Laserlips, your Mama was a snowblower'-type clean. And I don't do it in public, only with my brother. Because we both loved the Short Circuit movies growing up.

I'll get into it a little with buddies but that's it. I really tend to stay fairly quiet on most games, barring intense stupidity.

I'll use text-chat a bit, but even then, I rarely trash talk.

edited 2nd Jul '14 7:50:07 PM by joesolo

I'm baaaaaaack

I'm too busy either guiding my allies or volunteering to cover a dangerous area to trash talk. I don't use a mic, so I have to type everything out and there's no time to do both.

That is, when I actually play multiplayer. I have people issues to start with, so I prefer my game time to be solo.

There's trash talk and there's simple abuse. Calling someone emotionally crippled may slide in Call Of Duty, but going on about how retarded someone is because they are not god tier like they are in Tekken is not okay. Having those who treat a game as more serious a career than open heart surgery and demands everyone else make it as important really takes all the enjoyment out of playing.

On Anita Sarkeesian sure you can condemn her for the things she has done wrong. Personally myself I would like to direct her to games and media that are not all "shoot shoot shoot lol hit the Troll button then play as a terrorist" and those that show women and feminism in a positive light. When we start having death and rape threats, or people like that Basement-Dweller when Angry Joe addressed the issue, then you start making Warren Meers look good and when you make him look good that is honestly as sad as it gets.

edited 2nd Jul '14 9:17:17 PM by tsstevens

Currently reading up My Rule Fu Is Stronger than Yours

So how do you suppose one solves the problem of communities of games like League of Legends and DOTA 2 throwing all sorts of shit at each other? Admittedly, according to someone I've talked to, said communities tend to do it for the lulz and tend not to take it too seriously or personally, almost as if they take in the trash talk as part of a larger whole. These types tend to look at any attempt at moderating said talk as draconian censorship.

These are often violent, brutal games we're talking about. You get it the worst in the Fighting or FPS genres, and those are some nasty things we see on the screen. Trash talking and total abuse are kind of par for the course when combined with what we're playing. You're often outright killing off characters. In many people, even the sanitized sight of that can still build up stress, and the trash talking is a way to burn it off on your opponents.

I suggest that those who act in such a way are the same as those who troll political discussion, religion, they are immature children ego masturbating. I highly doubt anything you can say or do would have any impact, but a comment shaming how sad they act and then ignoring them if they don't get the hint sounds reasonable.

Currently reading up My Rule Fu Is Stronger than Yours

In League Of Legends you have the option of reporting toxic players at the end of a match, said toxic players get sent to The Tribunal, where people judge whether they deserve punishment or not. Get sent to The Tribunal enough times, and you can end up permabanned. Riot has reported that the number of toxic players has gone down significantly after this and other measures where implemented.

edited 2nd Jul '14 9:42:55 PM by Naspah

I think the gaming community as a whole has lost it's trash talking privileges. I mean, professional sports has actual money and prestige on the line, were they ever in a habit of telling their opponents that they deserve to die in the Holocaust with the rest of the Mexican Jew lizards?^note Hey, that's me!

edited 2nd Jul '14 10:27:35 PM by Rotpar

"But don't give up hope. Everyone is cured sooner or later. In the end we shall shoot you." - O'Brien, 1984

The big difference there being that the athletes are blowing off their internal stresses and excitement by fucking PLAYING THE GAME. They take the hits and run it off. Non-motion controlled video games don't have that same thing.

Besides, how many fucking FIGHTS with blood and injuries have erupted from the fans of sports who DON'T burn off their steam from watching their favorite players in action? I think when we see motion control and wide open spaces become The Norm of video Games, we'll see trash talk evaporate under the weight of actually fighting each other instead of just sitting there twiddling our fingers. I know when I was boxing my brother on the Wii we didn't do nearly as much trashing as we did when we were using regular old controllers. The most we did was joke around with dad when he was comparing the gameplay to cats pawing.

Doesn't The Tribunal have a few problems of its own though? Like certain players who were unjustly accused of some wrongdoings ending up being banned for life or something?

Yeah especially in the FGC but there's a pretty clear line. The minute you start calling people homophobic/racist slurs and how you're going to rape their sister or whatever other grade A doofery you just need to turn off the game and reexamine wtf you're even doing with yourself. like why even reduce yourself to something so low? Notice a lot of times it's people with massive insecurities and stuff who do exactly that sort of thing but yeah, that nonsense is just unacceptable.

Despite however much Anita did wrong I have a huge issue with the rape and death threats being sent towards her for obvious reasons, if anything that all really did the complete opposite of dissaproving if misogyny and sexism is present in gamers. So essentially those idiots proved her right....

Honestly? I would care less for trash talk, I always been the kind of person that would only insult someone if they started insulting me first (I have a lot of occurrences of this in Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead with pubstompers) or would just simply ignore it.

I doubt we will ever get rid of it of the trash talking without causing all gamers to suffer and that really is the sad part

Its cool as long as it doesn't get too personal.

youtube.com/Fire Trainer 92

Pretty sure that's just going to make them fire back and probably go off to be even worse about it (whether through the same means or worse means.)

Cultural norm is the most significant reason. I'm plenty insecure myself, but most of the time when the trash talking starts, I just get the hell out so I don't have to deal with my problems ignoring them and enjoying the game as it is or whatever.(Most of the time, if I can turn off chat, I also do that instead.) Given how strongly they defend themselves, it's pretty obvious they believe they're in the right(even if they only have this mentality when they are safely anonymous like on the internet), and that it's not their problem others are insecure enough to be affected by their insults.

MMORPGs are serious business.

That's just a lack of empathy and common respect more than anything else. What do you mean by cutural norm? Online cultural norm? There's a serious problem if acting like a socially backwards mongrel bigot is freakin normal.