Racism, misogyny, death threats: Why can’t the booming video-game industry curb toxicity?

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As the gaming world continues to rise in prominence and cultural visibility, abusive behavior by players has been hard to root out and, to some, threatens to curb the rapid growth of gaming and esports.

Young people “don’t tend to report it, so it can go on and [they can] be victims for long periods of time,” Osofsky said, especially if parents don’t ask. “It’s still hard for young people, and older people, to talk about the fact ‘I have a problem and need help.’ ”

Riot Games announced it would be studying and trying to reduce toxicity more than five years ago and began adding in-game tips to encourage positive interactions. That brought down verbal abuse by about 6 percent and offensive language by 11 percent, according to With the gaming industry booming — game sales topped out at a record $43.4 billion in revenue in 2018, according to an ESA/NPD Group press release, up 18 percent from 2017 — publishers would seem to have little incentive to put their houses in order. But industry observers see a potential brewing storm for the gaming industry. Asked about potential consequences, Pachter said, “same as Twitter, stalled growth.

“I think it’s going to get worse before it gets better,” he said, expressing surprise at how little impact the 2017 fatal swatting incident of Gaskill had on gaming companies’ efforts to combat toxicity.Short of actions taken by game publishers and gaming platforms, parties trying to wrestle with toxicity are left in a chase mode, with few ways to punish perpetrators. Ambiguities within the U.S.

“It’s an evolving area,” McQuade said, which sometimes leaves prosecutors feeling as though they don’t have the legal “tools,” or precedents, to make a case.

 

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The G A M E R S have arrived

It starts at the top, just look at the top 'gamers' on YouTube.

One minute it's a bastion of forward thinking journalism, the next it describes the world's most lucrative entertainment industry, for years now, as 'booming' for a report about a problem older than gaming itself - toxic masculinity.

Stop Jump masters from dropping directly below the ship in Apex Legends.

Geek culture promotes being your authentic self but it turns out that for many people their authentic self identifies as an arsehole.

i guess since you lost the 200 million lawsuit against Covington your next choice is to mock gamers for the next step instead of white kids in maga hats simple targets for your shitty agenda but we'll do more than just smirk and laugh your days are numbered far left

it's in their culture

because it's too convenient to blame all of the criticism you get on those things even when that's simply not the case.

WP obviously doesn't see the gaming industry is about to burst its bubble.

FakeNews

Booming social media industry, booming film industry, booming music industry, booming retail industry, booming...

your joking right? Please tell me that this is all satire

Woe is you.

It would cost money fellas

I ask this question 3 times a day AT LEAST

It’s called freedom of speech and is in effect regardless of people’s feelings. Stop trying to control how people speak and think.

Lol dumb

You expect things from video games that not even the POTUS can commit to

All sorts of people play games, and most people are horrible monsters. Case closed

Why is a newspaper owned by the richest person in the world, which regularly advocates for dropping bombs on foreigners who resist the efforts of US corporations to extract their wealth, so concerned about gamers being rude on the internet?

MinModulation what is this trash

We should all be asking the same of WaPO and all MSM.

We don’t have many minority makers.

If you get triggered over what a stranger says during a video game match then you need help.

Because they monetized it instead.

As someone who enjoys video games now and then, I still don't see why one should be racist or sexist when it comes to who plays these games. They're fun for everyone. 🙂

Lmao did I time travel back to 2011?

Nordic THQ literally hosted an AMA on 8chan today.

Because it's not the video game industry's responsibility to curb toxicity. It's the job of the parents of the gamers to raise them as good people. If the gamer is an adult, then they just suck as a person, which it isn't illegal to be an asshole. It may violate some Terms of Ser

Men run it and they make money from other like minded men.

I have a script ready to go for a full-length non violent feature film and accompanying non violent video game but cant get funding. What can I do?

Because the World is 7.5 Bn. To kill misogyny is to equip the World with pepper spray and revolvers and pistols, minimally. Feminism TrueFeminism 2A UDHR W/o the self-defence, the World is robbed of its feminism (and the rest, mental health, etc). 'Stop the cruel disarmament'

Why can’t WaPo curb its own toxicity?

Bc no one cares. Video games are supposed to be about the fun and those things can be fun to some people. Would you rather people be expressing that in real life or a video game? I know is a poo rag but damn this takes the cake even if the cake is a lie.

Why can't we all get more comfortable with censorship?

Because you can't regulate what every single person says online in every situation, and nor should you. Block, mute, report. These are fine.

This artical just gave me autism.

It's all the racists, misogynists, and potential murderers in it. Both as fans, and developers.

Reporting live from 2014

Bulllshit, such a Lame article for the SJW

Because these are mostly homely incel trolls with poor social skills who couldn’t go on a date if their lives depended on it 😂

You really don’t understand trolling do you?

Fake hate blogs can’t touch free thought.

15 years later.

Same reason we see the same thing in movies. This is a free country not communist china.

Talk about having your finger on the pulse of 2007.

You forgot the rising misandry too.

oh man you guys picked a hell of a day for this

Because they're dealing with children.

Because there’s a vocal constituency within the gaming community that is deeply racist, misogynistic & homophobic. The gaming industry has grown deathly afraid of crossing this constituency because of its rabid propensity to attack (even dox) their “enemies” on social media.

Well they are more benign than the Catholic Church

quit trying to control and regulate anything you feel is 'toxic' you can mute/ignore/disable chat in almost every multiplayer game if you dont want to participate

Omg we got crybabies on the game as well

Racism. Misogyny. Death Threats. TRUMP 2020..

Because for every DNA genotype/phenotype there are winners and losers.

Apparently Wall Street ivy league suits think gaming stocks aren't booming. But I think what does the stock market know about gamers The gamers are keeping it real, and just like porn it's selling. Violence and sex sells🤡 hypocritical article.😱 Hate on the politicians 👿

Because it adds another element of fun to the game.

gaming has so much toxic masculinity in its little section of society. I hope the more mainstream members of that community can help curb the issues we see in the gaming community

How can they? Honestly, all you can do is report it but unless they record everything then it’s just a he said he said situation.

Yeah, have fun being in COD lobbys back in the day, todays people are way to sensitive to hear the stuff that went on there. Made kids boys and boys men. They should never monitor video game chats.

Here we go, attack video games now. Hands off pal...FarCrygame your game is dope!

WASHINGTON POST COVERS OBAMA'S BORDER CRISIS IN 2014, CLAIMS NO BORDER CRISIS UNDER TRUMP:

It doe$n’t want to $$$$$$

Because they can't handle the fact that someone is better than them

Asking this question on Twitter is 🤣 Twitter is like 1000x more toxic than online gaming. And thats saying a lot. To answer the question though: Its the internet. duh.

Um.... Probably because it's mostly teenage boys.

It's vital to educate and not censor gamers from the harsh realities of life.

Oh, shut up. Everyone is welcome as long as you don't try to be a jerk and ruin it for everyone else. You're toxic.

Because it learned from the best... Mainstream media and the agents of sponsored propaganda.....

For the very same reason you can't curb toxicity in this twitter feed, which is quite extensive. Toxic behavior is a small part of multiplayer gaming. Fortunately muting, blocking, etc exist in nearly all games. While the game can't block it, its very easy as a user to avoid it.

... kinda a dumb question ...

More call out the music industry.

Keep your speech and thought policing out of gaming. Or anything else for that matter. It's always the same garbage with you authoritarians.

Because people can hide behind their gamertag, have no repercussions, and when upset and offended resort to their baser instincts and attack with cheap shots...

Because it's 50% teenage boys, & it's anonymous Wow, mystery solved

Article written by people who don't even game. 🙄 'Toxicity' coming from people who think everything is 'toxic' if they don't agree with it. 😑 It's called PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. Keep personal information off your Gamertag, mute players that you don't like. Is it that hard?

Receiving a death threat or insult online is a joke. No one should really care what people say online. I know I don't. I get threats all the time. So what. Let the haters hate.

Why do people love donuts and not broccoli?

Lol. Irony - The WP advocating for removing these things from video games. 2 months ago raved about Snoop Dogg and what an iconic figure he is... 😂🤣🤷🏼‍♀️

Why can’t the fashion industry curb toxicity? Why can’t politics curb toxicity? Why can’t academics curb toxicity? Why can’t religion curb toxicity? People who wear adult diapers because they don’t have enough self-worth to get up and go to the bathroom are not the answer.

Cause most players are highly addicted. How video games companies transform children into junkies:

You can not play or participate if your a snowflake..... it’s that simple

N

You just spread fake news,only realDonaldTrump has power to make America great again

Cry about it some more

Because of the deeply depersonalizing effect that anonymity has

The online gaming environment is a microcosm of the rest of society. Civil discourse needs to become the norm of the day if we expect our 'hobbies' to change. Pointing the finger at Video Games as the scapegoat of societies problems however is merely ignoring the larger issue.

SJWs who are not part of the gaming community need to mind their business and stick their noses somewhere else. Players of all races and ages get into verbal fights. It's part of the culture. Go pet your cats and leave gamers alone.

Triggered!

If it would just become gender neutral then the world would be a better place. More comedy from the Jeff Bezos Washington Post

Why single out the games industry ? Every online space that allows voice or text chat ends up with angry, anonymous people lashing out at anyone who will engage with them.

Why can't we hold other people accountable for actions they aren't committing and have no control over? I don't know, Thought Police, enlighten us. I'm glad you're getting sued into bankruptcy.

Yes liberal press! Send the young boys to the right! YEEEES!

Western Decay ?

Why can’t America?

Why can't the over-funded 'news' industry stop manufacturing outrage about imaginary phenomenons?

Video games aren’t meant to be PC. Your staff wouldn’t have lasted a day on the old Xbox live.

Cool, now do rap music

Because video games cater to the immature who don't socialize face to face, hence don't get laid, hence frustration.

I've noticed there's racism and misogyny in black barber shops too. I think you should address that also.

Propaganda to control creators who refuse to tow your ideological line.

Why do we expect them to be better than society writ large?

Growth sees more people introduced to a product or service. While that brings more toxicity with it, it also brings even more positivity.

Oh, at first I thought this was about potus

Why can't the press do it?

Because it's not profitable to do so?

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