Microsoft says acceptable discussions on Xbox Live include "shipwreck" and "potato purpose"

Dealing with furious, sometimes irritating, and sometimes downright fanatical aliens is unfortunately an integral part of online video gaming, and companies that exploit multiplayer platforms that players communicate with can only regulate behavior when the offense involves punctual speech.

Now, Microsoft has updated a set of guidelines that, hopefully, will clarify a little more what it plans to cross after being frustrated by another player. The company presented these instructions as part of an update to its community standards page released last Tuesday, which contains information about content standards, fraud, cheating, and other behaviors that Microsoft regulates. close on Xbox Live.

The company offers a number of tips to avoid suspensions and bans and not to be a fool. These include instructions for specific actions, such as sending spam messages on Xbox Live or the behavior of grief or behavior in a game itself.

There are also fairly strict restrictions on the types of words, phrases, or historical figures that you can name directly or refer to in your online identifier, the names of your groups, and any other activity intended for the public. But society recognizes intelligently that trash-talk is part of the culture of any competitive activity and that it will not go away anytime soon. So, it clearly specifies when and what type of trash speech is generally acceptable, and when it goes wrong.

For example, Microsoft says that you can criticize specific cases of mediocre gambling, for example by accusing someone of having submitted a "potato goal" after the popular meme. It also indicates that you can make funny fun, with phrases like "get wrecked" or "get well." Breaking the line however involves personal attacks, the use of insults or something else which looks like a sexual threat.

Often, it is easy for the acceptable to pass to the unacceptable, as to replace "a shipwreck" or "destroyed" by vulgar language that clearly insinuates something more sinister and more criminal. And of course, any type of insults or attacks involving identifiable characteristics such as gender, skin color or nationality is strictly prohibited and punished.

"A bit of trashy conversation is an expected element of competitive multiplayer action, and it's not a bad thing," writes the company. "But hatred has no place here, and what's wrong is when this vulgar talk turns into harassment."

according to PolygonMicrosoft says that "standards are not a new set of rules, but a call to action that allows each player to evaluate his behavior and adapt to it in order to become a force." for the good." It is also a good idea to educate the players. , especially the youngest who could use the Internet for the first time to play this type of games with players of all ages and from all over the world. For teens operating in online spaces and often without the responsibility of using their real names, it can be difficult to discern when an insult or a line to escape tells of frustration going through an abusive territory or puts other players uncomfortable.

Microsoft also clearly outlines the consequences and types of violations that you must commit repeatedly to avoid losing your ability to play online, or worse, the definitive ban on your gamertag. "We can permanently suspend a profile or device if we can no longer trust it because of a serious violation, or if our attempts to correct repeated negative behavior fail," says the company.