More on Call of Duty, and in follow up to the previous post about Call of Duty’s Code of Conduct, I found it interesting to see recent articles about Activision adding a system where moderators can permanently mute toxic players with its new “overhauled” reporting system. Players being muted on text and chat functions is a potential punishment for second offenses according to Activision’s Call of Duty Security and Enforcement Policy.
In the new system players will still need to complete reports for the Moderators to be able to use the new muting tool, however it still offers more options than previously available for dealing with an issue that has plague COD for a long time.
Is this a beneficial way to combat derogatory speech in games? Will it serve as a useful tool alongside the Code of Conduct and reporting system? Will it be embraced by players who have long lamented how toxic text and chat functions in games like COD have become? Or will there be player communities that fight back against the increased censorship?
It is also interesting to consider what impact this will have on other games looking to deal with in-game communication and the potential legal ramifications of toxic gaming communities.
(Image from: https://www.callofduty.com/blog/2022/11/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-II-anti-toxicity-in-game-reporting-system)
Sources:
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/activision-can-mute-toxic-call-of-duty-mw2-players-new-player-reporting-tools-also-unveiled/1100-6508972/
https://support.activision.com/articles/call-of-duty-security-and-enforcement-policy
https://www.svg.com/1094059/call-of-duty-makes-game-changing-move-against-toxic-players/
https://www.gamingbible.co.uk/news/modern-warfare-2-mutes-toxic-players-voice-chat-20221108
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Thanks for the helpful post.
I think you will receive significant pushback from COD players, as much as a 10-20% of players. However, I don’t anticipate this won’t be enough for a majority of people pushing back to outright stop playing the game. Based on statistics I have seen, about 1/3 of people feel people should be able to post offensive states (including to minority groups) online. Anywhere from 1/4 to 1/3 of all COD gamers are from the USA, who have entrenched free speech rights and “muting” can be viewed as incompatible with this right (although the Microsoft is a private company). However, as the consumer base in other countries continue to grow, the greater the potential of a perceived benefit to gamers, particularly gamers from countries with hate speech laws and and wider endorsement of the “muting” policy.
In other words, I perceive this as a well calibrated exercise in marketing by Microsoft, knowing full well the growth statistics of COD in particular demographics, many of whom will greatly appreciate any workable mechanism to reduce public discrimination taking place on Microsoft’s servers.
https://www.cfr.org/sites/default/files/image/2020/09/offensive-statements.png
https://fictionhorizon.com/how-many-people-play-call-of-duty-user-growth-stats/