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Xbox Live Bans "Gay" Gamers!

The giants do it again...

By Calin Ciabai, Games Editor

15th of May 2008, 07:16 GMT

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We all know that, when it comes to child safety and even customer support, the Xbox Live is not exactly something you would call "perfect", but at least the company is doing its best in order to change things around. However, it seems that every now and then they exaggerate things a bit too much and the only people who have to lose are, of course, the
gamers.

Following an email from an Xbox 360 fan, Grant, we learn via website Consumerist that Microsoft has decided to ban the gamer tag "theGAYERgamer". Really upset, as any gamer would be in such a situation, Grant has called Customer Support, hoping to find a quick solution to his problem. Unfortunately, he was wrong - the supervisor told him that, even though she didn't personally found his gamer tag offensive, it was the "greater Xbox community" who did and that he had to change it.

So, as you can see, this here is a really serious issue. We really hoped that in the 21st century it doesn't matter if a person is straight or gay - neither for a company like Microsoft, nor for the users of its service. Actually, we can't even know for sure that it really was the "greater community" that influenced the decision, or if it was just a proof of straight homophobic (no pun intended) discrimination. We wonder whether more gamer tags like this one are to be or have already been banned in the process. We are also wondering if there are any gamers using tags like "HeteroGamer" or something like that, and if these were banned too. If you have information regarding this issue, please use the "contact us" form below and tell us everything. We are really curious to see how big this banning spree actually is.

And, the most important thing of them all: do you think Microsoft (or any other company) should ban people just because of an inoffensive nickname? Or is it just another proof that Microsoft still has a few things to improve when it comes to dealing with more sensible issues?

TAGS:

Microsoft | Xbox 360 | Xbox Live | Gay | Discrimination
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User opinions:


Comment #1 by: 1uk3 on 15 May 2008, 07:41 GMT reply to this comment

I can't see why this was banned but also I can't see why there is a need to state your sexual preference to the Xbox Live community. It's a gaming network not a dating site.


Comment #2 by: New Feild Of Employment on 30 Jul 2008, 14:57 GMT reply to this comment

The Xbox live site specificaly says:

"Don't create a gamertag or motto that other users may be offended by, this includes comments that look, sound like, stand for, hint at, abbreviate, or insinuate any of the following: profane words/phrases, sexually explicit language, sexual innuendo, hate speech (including but not limited to racial, ethnic, or religious slurs), illegal drugs/controlled substances, or illegal activities."

However I agree fully that they take thier bans much to far. What someone says in the heat of a game, or what their gamertag says should not cause them to be banned, just because a few people found it offensive. There is nothing worse then finding out that you have been banned right in the middle of a game, because some idiot at microsoft didn't understand or find your gamertag funny.


Comment #3 by: jwc1979 on 02 Nov 2009, 18:06 GMT reply to this comment

I think its pretty ridiculous for them to ban the username just because it had GAY in it. I would be interested to know what Grant ended up changing his username to in the long run. I think I would have gone with "TheNotSoHeteroGamer" just for shits and giggles.

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