Disabling chat was a mistake, we need a new system

Gears 5
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#1

Recently the community management has Cracked down on hate speech in gears 5 by removing text chat and banning some individuals. This is to create an all inclusive space for people where players are less susceptible to harassment, racial slurs and discrimination.

Heres where problems lie, they disabled chat and are perma banning players from playing the game, There needs to be a better solution. Players when they load up multiplayer should be given an option Text chat Off/Profanity filter/All content similar to discord and given a disclaimer for opening their chats to all content. The profanity filter needs to be updated to remove racial/discriminatory slurs even on the all content option. Not all players want filtered chats or chats off by default players like me enjoy the competitive banter and trash talk.

Yes, racism, discrimination and using characters to bipas filters should still be punished. Instead of perma banning players right away issue a muted period with various lengths of time for example.
1st offence 1 week
2nd 1 month
3rd perma muted.

I believe perma bans from playing should only be issued to people who cheat or are consistent offenders. If someone is banned for comments in game the comments need to be logged and flagged on their account therefore there is no question about Photoshop or mass reports.

Id like to hear the communitys input, do you think perma bans are justified or should players get the right to appeal a ban or should it be up to Microsoft Enforcement? Any ideas on how we can move forward allowing communication between individuals without harassment?

7 Likes
#2

When did they disable text chat?. As far as I know you have the option in the menu to turn it on or off

#3

Yes you do but its disabled by default.

2 Likes
#4

Maybe TC and MS should name and shame offenders too? If anything it should give the rest of us some confidence that reporting people does work and leads to outcomes? Right now many people don’t believe that these people suffer any consequences.

4 Likes
#5

They already have this it’s in the mature content settings

#6

I dont believe shaming people is the right thing to do, i think people should have a chance to make things right.

3 Likes
#7

So turn it on lol. If people can’t figure that out then they have bigger problems ahead of them in this world

#8

Yeah but you only have to turn it back on again.

I agree the whole thing was unecessary - we can block and report people as it is using the XBL social tab etc.

The biggest issue I have is that TC’s solution to the problem essentially sends out the message that abusive scum are rife and the majority. The reality is that they’re not and we should go by the assumption that other players are not bad people until they do something to indicate otherwise.

2 Likes
#9

@Custom_Magic Yes but it doesn’t filter discrimination/racism as most games do with profanity off. This is why they disabled the chat because people might be okay with profanity but not racism.

@Ny_Mets_fan yes im aware, but not everyone is.

@Bleeding_Pepper thats exactly why i would like to suggest slight reformation to the system to promote healthy communication. Its frustrating not being able to talk to your team.

#10

Gears is a toxic community you should expect that sort of thing I’m personally not and I hate people that are harsh in game being racist and all that but TC has more things on their plate than chew that they need to fix right now then profanity filters

However I do agree they need to update the profanity filters and all that

3 Likes
#12

Thats the point of the post. I don’t think it would take much to do that, they got alot on their plate but this would improve multiplayer in my opinion. Yes gears and most videogames are toxic, i actually love the banter. Unfortunately the minority ruined it for the majority.

1 Like
#13

I 100% agree

#14

Why though? People will find ways if they want to insult you.

2 Likes
#15

Fair point at the end of it all you could just ignore it but it be nice not to see it in a lobby or mid game

1 Like
#16

They could do what csgo does which is when you mute a player in game it gets rid of voice chat an text chat from that individual

6 Likes
#17

Agreed.

1 Like
#18

No.

There is no room for hate speech or racism ANYWHERE. If you are stupid enough to write that crap in text, you should be banned. Simple as that. Take that crap some where else.

They can use the expressions and animations maybe to better communicate “grab that weapon” or “behind you” type expression.

1 Like
#19

Ez…

#20

Automatic profanity filters have never in the history of gaming worked, and will never as long as we live work either,sorry. Disabling chat wasn’t the right thing to do though, they should have kept it on and have a way to report players, and ban those who were found not abiding by terms and conditions.

2 Likes
#21

I am more leaning towards a function like counter strike global offensive has where if you mute a player in the scoreboard not only does it mute them but it also makes there messages in the lobby/game chat hidden it would be extremely simple to add to gears an you can still report said individual.

And i know automatic profanity filters don’t work Rainbow 6 Siege tried to do that an people to this day are getting around it.

1 Like