Gaming and Poor Sportsmanship

[BomberBill]

I work full-time, am nudging 30, and, in my spare time, I enjoy the odd game or two online.

Increasingly, I'm finding there to be an ever growing element of aggressive tantrum throwing gamers out there. I'm not talking about kids alone here either, instead (and more appalling in my view), I'm finding grown men to be spewing their guts out over the most benign of issues; this is particularly the case when it comes to them losing "team" matches.

"Its just a game, man" seems to have been lost on many. In fact, the competitive nature of many online games these days is so prevalent that for casual gamers like myself its often frustrating and downright disappointing to log on to see some guy chucking a spat at others or yourself just because you made a mistake.

I dont know if there's many others out there finding the same. All I can say is, that I find it to be horrendous behaviour, particularly when I know its adults being irrational and ridiculous online. Primarily, we play the games for fun -- that should never be lost on the greater gaming community, or so I hope.

 

[stemnin]

Yeah, I get angry, especially in BF2.

 

[robwright]

More than anything, this is primarily the reason I don't play multiplayer online nearly as much as I used to. I'm so sick and tired of the petty insults, poor sportsmanship, foul language, racial/ethnic/gender/sexual orientation epithets that I'm entirely reluctant to fire up Call of Duty 2 of FEAR online unless I'm going to play with friends. The thing that is probably most disturbing about this is that it reminds me of the kind of taunting and abuse that I expect from the jocks and popular kids back in high school. So now I have to deal with the same type of verbal diarrhea, except from geeks and nerds. So sad...

I've always leaned toward the single player experience over multiplayer, and the over the last few years the apparent increase in bad behavior has simply pushed me even further to single player. One thing I will say is that I've found there's less bad behavior online with RTSs like Starcraft and Company of Heroes as opposed to FPS games. Just my personal experience, not sure if anyone has seen the same sort of thing.

 

[stemnin]

In games like Starcaft, it's usually a bad idea to type, it was a strategy I sometimes used, just get in a casual conversation to distract the person (dont do it halfway, start it at the start). I usually only say the f-word to someone if they tk'd me for no apparent reason, they usually apologize for it though after... In battlefield you can't really type, and when you're dead, alive players don't see what you typed. And there's no time to type gg at the end of a round, pisses me off, although I usually gg after a ladder match.

I also turn off voip on most games, except battlefield 2. There's something wrong with voip from games like source........ it sounds the same from the xbox360 and ps, it's nothing compared to programs like Teamspeak.

My point is, I don't usually type bad words, occasionnaly my acadian (new brunswick, not the acadians like the scorpion king) heritage comes out and I start swearing in Teamspeak, but there's no one under 18 and it's not directed towards anyone in particular, just my own stupid failings.

 

[kanoobie]

I agree with you that the competitive nature of some online games (especially FPS team matches) can bring out the ugly side of some people. What I find extraordinary is that most adults I meet in person usually act much friendlier than someone I might meet playing an online game. (I could never imagine an adult coming up to me and actually trying to insult me in the same manner used to insult people in online games. :lol: ) I think I do a good job keeping true to my good nature as I pump my opponents full of virtual lead . I also think some of the people that spew verbose insults are actually kids and I do not want to use any abusive language around kids. I think most adults recognize that "it is just a game" (they just tend to ignore the fact that they are adults ), but they use the fact that it is a game to act immaturely by venting their anger and frustration on others. The instances of bad sportsmanship (trash talking in this case) among rivals is unfortunately too common during online gaming. I have learned to develop a thick skin from playing online FPS for many years. There are some servers that have rules and moderators that try to create a more enjoyable playing environment, but there will always be people online that are quick tempered, verbally abusive, annoying, and downright unpleasant: therefore, if you can not tolerate some of the player interactions you might experience during online play, your only solution is to avoid playing online.

 

[stemnin]

Or do what most people do that play online - avoid people. Like in Guild Wars, the hero henchmen are awesome (better than most players, and don't leave your group yadda yadda..), but after a while I missed the interaction and finding a human group became alot harder.

 

[kanoobie]

Forming LAN parties is one way to have more control over who you play with, but LAN parties require some level of planning and more time invested (something the OP was relatively short on when it came to gaming).

 

[infornography42]

Yeah, thats why my living room has been transformed into a LANning room. Several friends have computers over and we just don't bother with the general gaming population.

FPSs are the worst though, by far. I haven't enjoyed an online FPS experience since the original Tribes.

 

[Wolfy]

Insults and poor behaviour happen in anything competitive from work to sport to gaming. You'll always get people who do it. It's arguably more prolific or intense when it's online cos you have your keyboard warriors as they hide behind anonymity.

Personally I don't pay any attention to it. I'm lucky in that the game I play online is Eve Online and the ppl I play with all have a laugh and even if someone makes a mistake the only insult thrown is a friendly jibe even if the mistake costs everyone in the group a chunk of money etc.

Anyway, it's a part of life is the ultimate point I'm making. Ya just gotta deal with it.

 

[tmeacham]

I think it's rude and uncalled for to throw insults at random strangers, but at my previous job we had a 360 in a conference room and we frequently played Call of Duty 2 during lunch. I have to say the trash talking was loud but always in good fun and no one ever got angry.

Well, I did a few times, but that was because we were being raped in a CTF map. I hate that...

I mostly stay away from the multiplayer gaming unless it's with people I know. I don't want to take the time to find that one exploit that can be used to own everyone, and I don't enjoy being exploited by it.

 

[stemnin]

We play quake 3 alternate fire break/lunch/whenever.. can't swear though.. so hard not to.. except calling each other bastards..

 

[antikristuseke]

I do tend to get angry at my own stupid mistakes and sometimes at others aswell, but i never insult people or curse at anyone over TS, usualy just curse out loud when the mic is on mute.

 

[BomberBill]

More than anything, this is primarily the reason I don't play multiplayer online nearly as much as I used to. I'm so sick and tired of the petty insults, poor sportsmanship, foul language, racial/ethnic/gender/sexual orientation epithets that I'm entirely reluctant to fire up Call of Duty 2 of FEAR online unless I'm going to play with friends. The thing that is probably most disturbing about this is that it reminds me of the kind of taunting and abuse that I expect from the jocks and popular kids back in high school. So now I have to deal with the same type of verbal diarrhea, except from geeks and nerds. So sad...

I've always leaned toward the single player experience over multiplayer, and the over the last few years the apparent increase in bad behavior has simply pushed me even further to single player. One thing I will say is that I've found there's less bad behavior online with RTSs like Starcraft and Company of Heroes as opposed to FPS games. Just my personal experience, not sure if anyone has seen the same sort of thing.

Thanks for contributing Rob (I know you're a busy chap, so I appreciate it).

Yeah, it does appear to be the case that FPS online games seem to attract a "rougher" element (extremely subjective, I know, but from my own experiences I can say that would be primarily true -- in most instances, that is).

And it is off putting. I primarily enjoy RTS games; my favourite to play online is Kohan 2. Tragically, I've not felt like heading back there much of late simply because of the poor attitudes of many players there.

Online gaming -- like any other human interest/sport/hobby that is competitive -- attracts all types. But what does it say of people's character when we consistently see many displaying poor grace when they lose? Or when we consistently see the "stronger" players blaming the "weaker" players for a team loss?

We play to win, sure, but winning isn't everything. Putting forward the effort to win should be more than enough, particularly when it comes to recreational pursuits like gaming.

Not to sound ridiculous, but I'm glad to read here that others are also concerned by what they're experiencing online. At first I thought it may have only been a few, but over the years I see that its a solid percentage of people who behave poorly online.

 

[BomberBill]

Yeah, good points that you make there.

And that's the thing: in "real" life, adults (for the majority), do not verbally abuse people over something as benign as a game loss. People are not as quick tempered when they're actually having to face each other in person; neither are they as irrational.

Which strikes me as being terribly hypocritical. Just because the "gaming world" is virtual, doesn't mean that it's open slather on "doing and saying" whatever one wishes. In fact, if ever a place has needed both common courtesy and common decency, its the world of online interaction.

Sure, many juveniles behave poorly online and I'm sure most adults recognise delinquent behaviour online when they see it and choose to shrug it off, or, if they're feeling obliged, say something to try and teach the kids to behave better.

Maybe its because of the games I play, but I do tend to see an every increasing amount of grown men (and women -- rarely, true, but still some ladies cant control their tongues online) who behave poorly and this disturbs me.

 

[BomberBill]

Or do what most people do that play online - avoid people. Like in Guild Wars, the hero henchmen are awesome (better than most players, and don't leave your group yadda yadda..), but after a while I missed the interaction and finding a human group became alot harder.

Ah, you raise a good point there too. I tire of the "AI" in every game after a while. Sure, programmers often do a terrific job at creating challenging and interesting AI opponents, but they're not often half as fun as playing somebody else from around the world. I particularly find this to be the case for RTS games.

And its natural for us want to interact with other humans in our online "virtual worlds". It makes the experience so much more enjoyable. We only have to look at the Sims and WOW to see how true that is.

Which is one of the reasons as to why I started this thread: to lament the fact that the enjoyment of that "interaction" is being heavily sullied by the poor sportsmanship and poor behaviour of many who play online. It is still the case -- for the most part, that is -- that in many sports poor sportsmanship or poor behaviour because of a loss is not only frowned upon, but unacceptable to many who are associated with the game -- players and spectators/supporters/fans alike.

I truly don't see why the online gaming world should be any different.

 

[BomberBill]

whilst i'm all for having fun and all that, i do find that i get annoyed at people who do not play as a team.

so yes, i may have thrown an insult or two if they muck about. if people wan't to do what they want, play with bots or a single player game.

as to the competitiveness, i won't insult a rival player unless i know them. then again, in CS:S for example i only play on one server. i have been playing there for over a year and so "know" most of the reg's. this greatly increases the enjoyment of the game i find as even when playing bad, you can still have a joke about it.

true, you will always get some people who irritate you perhaps by their attitude in chat or their playing habits( why do grown men spawn fire i do not know) but this can be greatly reduced by playing on well admined servers.

If someone is not contributing to the team game, or they're "mucking about" then I can understand a stern word or two being said. I'm more so talking about those who lose control online for no good reason other than the fact that they lost and they feel obliged to "blame" somebody for it (often the new person who, despite his/her best efforts, was simply not up to the same skill level as the other players). But skill level should never be an excuse for somebody to chuck off at another player. In fact, the "veteran", in that case, should feel obliged to help the new player out, regardless of whether a loss was incurred. That's my perspective on that. If, however, its as you say and a new person is rude and ignorant of the team's objectives, then sure, a stern word (not blatant swearing and foul language), but a rational yet stern word or two is fine by me.

And you're right, admin servers do help, to a certain degree.

 

[BomberBill]

Insults and poor behaviour happen in anything competitive from work to sport to gaming. You'll always get people who do it. It's arguably more prolific or intense when it's online cos you have your keyboard warriors as they hide behind anonymity.

Personally I don't pay any attention to it. I'm lucky in that the game I play online is Eve Online and the ppl I play with all have a laugh and even if someone makes a mistake the only insult thrown is a friendly jibe even if the mistake costs everyone in the group a chunk of money etc.

Anyway, it's a part of life is the ultimate point I'm making. Ya just gotta deal with it.

I understand what you're saying, Wolfy, but mate, I dont believe that foul language and irrational verbal spews are a common "part of life" that we have to accept. Sure, you're right, there's always an element of people in life that behave how they wish and don't give a damn about what others think of them. But, for the majority, people don't easily act irrationally in real life and I don't see why the gaming world should be exempt from everyday decencies. I don't believe we have to "accept" it, is what I'm saying.

I do understand what you're saying though. I'm just suggesting that the common decencies that people afford one another in real life are often not the same as the traits they display whilst online and I think that's a shame -- for all of us.

 

[BomberBill]

I think it's rude and uncalled for to throw insults at random strangers, but at my previous job we had a 360 in a conference room and we frequently played Call of Duty 2 during lunch. I have to say the trash talking was loud but always in good fun and no one ever got angry.

Well, I did a few times, but that was because we were being raped in a CTF map. I hate that...

I mostly stay away from the multiplayer gaming unless it's with people I know. I don't want to take the time to find that one exploit that can be used to own everyone, and I don't enjoy being exploited by it.

And that's a fair point too: there is such a thing as enjoyable "trash talking"; good natured gibes between people (who often no one another) that are harmless. I don't have a problem with that kind of good natured banter at all.

I'm more so talking about derogatory language and the ease with which many use it. Also, it's most often between complete strangers that I'm seeing it. Maybe that's the problem: it's too easy for strangers online to "chuck off" at one another; that they don't feel obliged to afford a stranger the same decencies with which they'd display in real life.

 

[BomberBill]

I do tend to get angry at my own stupid mistakes and sometimes at others aswell, but i never insult people or curse at anyone over TS, usualy just curse out loud when the mic is on mute.

It's admirable to note that you display self-discipline and restrain from irrationally losing control online. Have you experienced much in the way of what we're talking about here though? I'm interested to gauge how many believe its a problem.

 

[cafuddled]

Online gaming -- like any other human interest/sport/hobby that is competitive -- attracts all types. But what does it say of people's character when we consistently see many displaying poor grace when they lose? Or when we consistently see the "stronger" players blaming the "weaker" players for a team loss?

We play to win, sure, but winning isn't everything. Putting forward the effort to win should be more than enough, particularly when it comes to recreational pursuits like gaming.

I used to play basketball a lot in my youth and became very good at it becoming one of the best players in my year at school. The thing about playing a sport and a very competitive one like gaming is that you do play to win and you need to be aggressive about winning as well. What’s the point in playing a sport to win to only say “heh at least I tried, shame about the other people in my team”. What kind of fighting spirit does that show, would you think of someone that acted like that to want to win?

Gaming is the same, sometimes I play just to relieve stress and sometimes I play to relax and sometimes I play to win. Of course you would get annoyed when someone else in your team looses you the game, there would be something wrong with you if you where not. But there is a point in taking things too far and insulting someone about it. Sure I have found my self saying “what a stupid f**k” with the mic muted and sometimes I laugh at how stupid people are but it all depends in how much I am in to that game at that time.

But as many people have said, there are servers for competitive play and there are also servers for beginners and there are also servers for chilling out. Can you blame someone for getting annoyed and lashing out in a competitive server when someone who has only played for five minuets joins? Just like a pro tennis player would get annoyed if they lost because the person they where playing doubles with couldn’t play worse even if they lost both there arms.

 

[tmeacham]

I think a lot of the internet multiplayer nonsense comes from the anonymity and lack of repercussions. These guys know you can't show up in their living rooms and react accordingly to what they are saying, so they feel like they can say whatever they want. They are probably experiencing real-life frustrations and have a lot of pent-up anger towards someone that they are unable or unwilling to vent. If you could find those same abusers and tough-talkers in real life and give them a nice, firm open-handed slap across the face you'd see big tears well up in their eyes. Cowards and blowhards all. As a friend of mine used to say, "They've got kool-aid for blood."

 

[antikristuseke]

It's admirable to note that you display self-discipline and restrain from irrationally losing control online. Have you experienced much in the way of what we're talking about here though? I'm interested to gauge how many believe its a problem.

Now that I rarely play shooters and such online I dont really encounter it all that often, though back when i played BF2 a lot it was very widespread and it drove me to quit. Same thing happened with Stalker, which is a great game to play online btw. Only recent incident that comes to mind was while playing WoW when one of my guildies lost his temper, but he appologized afterwards.

 

[BigMac]

I work full-time, am nudging 30, and, in my spare time, I enjoy the odd game or two online.

Well Brett, let's start off with concluding that what is actually happening. You, my friend, are getting OLD.

So, with that out of the way, there've been a couple of interesting reactions in the thread already and parts of the answer to your queries are combinations of that.

However, what I find most interesting is that the "rude" behavior you talk about is not limited to playing games in my personal experience. I see a "hardening" of society as a whole, specifically in the Netherlands but from these comments about online gaming I suspect it may be more of a global or at least a "western society" thing. I think this deserves more attention.

With respect to those replying that competition incites such behavior if the range of skills in competition becomes too broad: there is no reason why that cannot be handled in a normal (more civilized) way. Of course one can be annoyed. This is not about people that should or should not be annoyed at things, this is about how people react to their own feelings of annoyance in relation to others.

 

[cafuddled]

this is about how people react to their own feelings of annoyance in relation to others.

You will always get people who will react in different ways, some will keep it in and some will scream it down the microphone or let their fingers smoke. You can’t expect everyone to behave in a civilized manner, that in its self is unreasonable. Everyone no matter how hard or laid back has had moments where they end up screaming at something, just imagine what it’s like for someone that is not as chilled out or as laid back as you are.

In my experience of 8 years in online gaming all the ones that are truly annoying and get out of hand are always the ones to either have very squeaky voices (balls have not dropped yet) over the microphone or are very immature (again balls have not dropped yet) over the text. Of course you hear the odd grown man getting a bit carried away about something but they soon settle down once they have their blow out. You even get the childish adults that go around doing stupid things like killing there own team and making things generally unpleasant for you (you get that kind of thing in life anyway), but they are few and far in between.

I don’t actually think there is a problem here, this is just life and I would bet you would find some of the most childish adults and most concentrated amount of them at that when playing video games. Also you have to remember a lot of the people that play computer games online are socially retarded and don’t know how to interact with people so you need to keep that in mind when people seem unfriendly.

 

[BigMac]

this is about how people react to their own feelings of annoyance in relation to others.

You will always get people who will react in different ways, some will keep it in and some will scream it down the microphone or let their fingers smoke. You can’t expect everyone to behave in a civilized manner, that in its self is unreasonable. Everyone no matter how hard or laid back has had moments where they end up screaming at something, just imagine what it’s like for someone that is not as chilled out or as laid back as you are.


As far as I'm concerned any type of "normal" behavior that people would display when they were in the room together, is acceptable online as well. "Normal" as in behavior that in general is accepted by others (to some extent culturally determined).