After 5 Hours Online with my XBOX 360, I Have Lost Faith in Humanity

[RainMaker]

I've never really played online before in a group setting with my 360. Just pickup games with some guys (no mic) or a co-op game with a friend. You can imagine my surprise when I strapped on the microphone and headed into an all night GTA IV marathon online. Here are some highlights:

- I heard the N word probably about 300 times (I'm not kidding!). I couldn't imagine being black and trying to enjoy the game.

- The word fag or faggot is arguably the most common noun used on the system. Bitch comes in a close second.

- In every game, there was a guy who didn't talk, just made noises. Moaning, screeching, yelling, cackling, I heard everything. I don't know if the microphone thing was some new fascination to these people, but they seemed to love making noises.

- 80% of the conversations were about smoking pot. Telling people how high they were, that they were currently smoking a bowl, wanted to smoke a bowl, or had plans to smoke a bowl in the near future.

- About every 30 minutes, someone threatened to fight someone else in real life. This was actually pretty funny to hear play out over the system.

- One girl entered the room and was promptly asked to suck some dick, bend over, and a laundry list of other sexual acts that are not clean enough for the board.

- Was goofing around in the free roam game to start and got in a room with a few guys. Shot one of their helicopters down and the guy went on a tangent about how I was a faggot, spic (?), N-word, little kid who snuck out of bed to play the game, etc. He made fun of my gamerscore (I don't even know what that is) and apparently wanted me to perform fellacio on him. The funniest part was I never said a word the whole time, I was just testing out the online system. When I left the room, he sent me 3 messages calling me all sorts of names and threatening to kill me. It was kind of funny in a way.

- Either this game has the largest urban following in the world, or a lot of people playing it were pretending they were a gang member.

The game is still a blast and I had a good time playing. I guess I just didn't expect the kind of world I encountered online.

[Balldog]

This is why I don't use a mic.

[BishopMVP]

Spic would be a (supposedly) derogatory term for Hispanics.

Beyond that, I guess you can take hope in the knowledge that the segment of society you encountered aren't the most socially adept, but it's still ridiculous.

[Ironhead]

You are playing a game depicting real life acts of depravity and violence and you are surprised everyone isn't talking about what they dropped off to Goodwill today?

[QuikSand]

Interesting that you threw the XBox title into the rejection-based title rather than the particular game you chose to play. I wonder if the attitudes and behavior are the same in competitive online Super Ding-Dong Kart or whatever else people play with their XBoxes.

[Sgran]

Awesome post. Thanks for sharing that. I'm used to the cuddly world of FOF and DDSCB, so it's funny to hear that online thuggery is alive and well. You just know that these guys are either 95 or 360 pounds and complete losers.

[JonInMiddleGA]

You are playing a game repicting real life acts of depravity and violence and you are surprised everyone isn't talking about what they dropped off to Goodwill today?

+1

[Raiders Army]

You are playing a game repicting real life acts of depravity and violence and you are surprised everyone isn't talking about what they dropped off to Goodwill today?

QFT

[gottimd]

So I was hanging out in the city alleys late last night and you wouldn't believe the things I saw and heard. I have lost faith in humanity. I thought I would be able to run into some intelligent, philosophical, and political discussions. Much to my dismay, I couldn't find any of this.

[Big Fo]

Welcome to XBox Live!

[Eaglesfan27]

This is why I don't use a mic.

Same here unless I'm playing a 1-1 game with a friend.

[Anthony]

all part of the fun. it's not enough to carry around a pixelated rocket launcher, you need to verbally assault people too to make it more real and engaging. i tore into some teen. i've been made fun of. its part of the circle of life. if it's funny, i laugh.

i agree though, too much of the "n word" being thrown around. i'm not black, but one time i called out some teen who was being unnecessarily overly racist and dropping that word a lot. i said "you supposed to be thuggish? if a black person was standing right in front of you right now you'd have your mouth shut and be looking at the ground. try saying that in front of a black person and we'll see how far that gets you" and everyone laughed at him saying i was right.

a little n word here and there never hurt anyone, but someone dropping it like the word "the", those need to be put in their place.

it doesn't say a lot about your ability to defend yourself or stand on your own two feet if you can't even talk back to an anonymous person on a video game. is it childish? yeah. but so is playing video games. go engage yourself in some adult conversation or play some puzzles with Quiksand if you can't handle some verbal lashings or dish our some of your own.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I play Warhawk quite a bit on the PS3. I hadn't run into too many problems like that until the other night. Some guy came on our team and starting dropping the 'N' bomb all over the place. It stirred up the hornet's nest to say the least.

The amusing part was that a couple of guys on our team decided to organize a massive team kill. Instead of bothering trying to win the game, everyone just kept running over to this guy as he would respawn and promptly killed him. He was pretty irritated by that and left after one game. Problem solved. :)

[Mustang]

The only thing I want to know is did she suck dick or not?

Ya can't leave us hanging like that.

[gstelmack]

If you want a decent experience, try finding a team-based game and play there. People in those tend to be more interested in team work. Also make sure to use feedback at the end of a session, that's a good way to avoid ever playing with those folks again.

[Dr. Sak]

When reading this I got the visualization of Seth Green and his posse from the movie Can't Hardly Wait.

[Logan]

a laundry list of other sexual acts that are not clean enough for the board.

Wanna bet?

[Suburban Rhythm]

I've never been a gamer....but really, 5 hours? Seriously?

[Oilers9911]

You are playing a game repicting real life acts of depravity and violence and you are surprised everyone isn't talking about what they dropped off to Goodwill today?

Come on though. It doesn't matter if you're playing GTA or Madden or Forza Motorsport. Is it too much to expect people to act like human beings and not like fucking animals? The game is irrelevant.

[rkmsuf]

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[Raiders Army]

Come on though. It doesn't matter if you're playing GTA or Madden or Forza Motorsport. Is it too much to expect people ro act like human beings and not like fucking animals? The game is irrelevant.

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/291/rosefh6.jpg

[gottimd]

- In every game, there was a guy who didn't talk, just made noises. Moaning, screeching, yelling, cackling, I heard everything. I don't know if the microphone thing was some new fascination to these people, but they seemed to love making noises.

Sorry about that, I'll either wear pants when I play or just tell you what I am doing.

[MJ4H]

Super Ding-Dong Kart

Hey maybe that was what the noises were.

[rkmsuf]

I prefer Donkey Dong.

[Dr. Sak]

You would

[rkmsuf]

You got Asteroids?

No but my dad does.

[gstelmack]

Come on though. It doesn't matter if you're playing GTA or Madden or Forza Motorsport. Is it too much to expect people ro act like human beings and not like fucking animals? The game is irrelevant.

It's called "being in character".

Or much like getting drunk at parties, an "excuse".

[Fidatelo]

I can't stand the fools on XBL. I only ever mic up if I'm playing with people I know in real life, but during those times you end up hearing the idiots in CoD4 or whatever. I'm looking forward to the next system update that is rumored to allow private group chat, so that I never have to hear those fuckers again. Bunch of complete tools, if I had a kid I would never in a million years let them have a mic on XBL. Just deplorable.

[Maple Leafs]

Mrs. Leafs has had more c-bombs dropped on her on Xbox live than she can count.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I can't stand the fools on XBL. I only ever mic up if I'm playing with people I know in real life, but during those times you end up hearing the idiots in CoD4 or whatever. I'm looking forward to the next system update that is rumored to allow private group chat, so that I never have to hear those fuckers again. Bunch of complete tools, if I had a kid I would never in a million years let them have a mic on XBL. Just deplorable.

Just curious as I haven't played much on XBL. Don't the multiplayer games have the option to silence users who are causing problems? The PS3 has the option to just deselect the chat for a given user and guess I assumed that XBL had similar features. Or is the upcoming 'private group chat' something similar to that?

[Bad-example]

Is it too much to expect people ro act like human beings and not like fucking animals?

Read the newspaper much?

[Oilers9911]

Read the newspaper much?

Actually yes I do read the newspaper, and yes I do know there are a TON of morons and assholes out there. Doesn't make it any less disgusting or any more acceptable.

[Fidatelo]

Just curious as I haven't played much on XBL. Don't the multiplayer games have the option to silence users who are causing problems? The PS3 has the option to just deselect the chat for a given user and guess I assumed that XBL had similar features. Or is the upcoming 'private group chat' something similar to that?

I think you can do that, but when 100% of the people are causing problems it becomes a bit of a pain.

[flere-imsaho]

I refer you to Jon Gabriel's Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory (http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19/).

[stevew]

It really doesn't matter what game it is, people will act like immature fucktwits on XBL. You either have to out-loser them back, or just ignore it.

[Noop]

I played with a guy from the deep south before; I thought he was a cool cat once you get past all the racist remarks. Plus he had some funny ass racial jokes... anyway after I beat him he messaged me that he wasn't serious. I have him on my friend list and whenever I am online with NCAA or College Hoops we chat.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I played with a guy from the deep south before I thought he was a cool cat once you get past all the racist remarks. Plus he had some funny ass racial jokes... anyone after I beat him he messaged me that he wasn't serious. I have him on my friend list and whenever I am online with NCAA or College Hoops we chat.

I find a person who feels it's OK to joke about things like that to be just as appalling. It's not OK.

[Noop]

I find a person who feels it's OK to joke about things like that to be just as appalling. It's not OK.

I don't know because if I gave him the reaction he was looking for then he would have won. I know in reality he probably wouldn't have said it. Plus his southern accent is so damn funny that it was hard to make fun of him or get mad. Anyway I wasn't offended and told him as much because if someone can't handle virtual reality then how can they deal with other things.

[Dr. Sak]

Mrs. Leafs has had more c-bombs dropped on her on Xbox live than she can count.

I've apologized for that numerous times. I thought she was into dirty talk.

[Anthony]

I find a person who feels it's OK to joke about things like that to be just as appalling. It's not OK.

its not the end of the world. its also not OK to rape girls, but it happens. worser things have happened then someone spouting off a couple racial jokes anonymously over the internet.

[Draft Dodger]

Mrs. Leafs has had more c-bombs dropped on her on Xbox live than she can count.

so, you're saying she's dumb? :confused:

[Fidatelo]

its not the end of the world. its also not OK to rape girls, but it happens. worser things have happened then someone spouting off a couple racial jokes anonymously over the internet.

What? :confused:

[rkmsuf]

wait, it's NOT ok to rape girls?

what if they pass out due to cholorform? is that ok?

[Anthony]

people are gonna do what they want when it comes to being anonymous. if you had to stop and reprimand someone everytime they said something off-color or un-PC you'd never have fun playing online. you need the headset for the times when people actually want to talk strategy or something closely resembling strategy. gotta take the good with the bad.

i for one won't use a headset for strangers for sports games. i dont' need to have a conversation with a stranger. i prefer group-chat.

[Passacaglia]

Mrs. Leafs has had more c-bombs dropped on her on Xbox live than she can count.

Tell her she should stop saying the words "sorry" and "about" into the mic, and she should hear that word less often.

[gottimd]

wait, it's NOT ok to rape girls?

what if they pass out due to cholorform? is that ok?

I eagerly await this response...inquiring minds want to know.

[RainMaker]

it doesn't say a lot about your ability to defend yourself or stand on your own two feet if you can't even talk back to an anonymous person on a video game. is it childish? yeah. but so is playing video games. go engage yourself in some adult conversation or play some puzzles with Quiksand if you can't handle some verbal lashings or dish our some of your own.
I don't need to defend myself on a video game. I don't really care. I'm not even complaining about it, I wouldn't have spent 5 hours playing if it bothered me. It was more or less the fact I didn't know online was like that.

The only thing that bothered me was the guys that would just make noises into the mic. Since the game doesn't tell you who's talking, you have to go through the entire phone book muting people on and off till you figure out who it is.

[rkmsuf]

wait until I log on and play the tuba into the mic

[stevew]

I remember the first time I played Madden PC online...I was horrified at how something like 3 of the first 5 people I played used some sort of glitch technique.

[gottimd]

wait until I log on and play the tuba into the mic

Wait a little bit longer until he realizes that I defecated in the tuba.

[billethius]

Ah the joys of playing games against 13 year old kids who think that saying ni**er and f**k repeatedly makes them more like adults.

Take advantage of the mute option and make sure to leave feedback on users. Or find a group of actual adults to play with. I've seen several websites of adult gamers that have been formed specifically so that they don't have to listen to that shit while they're playing a game.

[Anthony]

i would feel weird playing a game where i carjack innocent people and shoot at cops with a bunch of random adults. i rather not know who i'm playing with. there's always a slightly guilty feeling i have when i play video games, like "i should be doing something more productive with this free time right now", i wouldn't want to play with other guys who are sneaking in a quick game while their wives aren't looking. i want to feel like a kid when i play video games, i can leave the responsible adult obligations and interactions for work.

[korme]

When reading this I got the visualization of Seth Green and his posse from the movie Can't Hardly Wait.


Perfect

http://www.geocities.com/loisabductions/wavs/CHW/chwseth2.jpg

[korme]

wait, it's NOT ok to rape girls?

what if they pass out due to cholorform? is that ok?

i mean if u told em b4hand chloroform would be involved i think anyone's game for a lil in and out party

[Icy]

I remember the first time I played Madden PC online...I was horrified at how something like 3 of the first 5 people I played used some sort of glitch technique.

Cheesing was what made me lost my interest on online games, way more than the language used. I like to roleplay and play games realistically even if i lose, so when i face guys who only want to win and do everything to get that win even if it's something weird to exploit the game design, i get frustrated and return back to play solo.

[rkmsuf]

i mean if u told em b4hand chloroform would be involved i think anyone's game for a lil in and out party

Or say something accidentially got into her drink without you knowing. You just figure she likes to do it while sleeping and is kinky that way. Seems ok to me.

[gottimd]

Or say something accidentially

As long as it isn't accidentally I think its fair game.

[korme]

Yeah who doesn't wake up to a drumstick in their ass anyway? Only the ones that enjoy it/are used to it.

[MikeVic]

Perfect

http://www.geocities.com/loisabductions/wavs/CHW/chwseth2.jpg

They show this movie on a music channel here once in awhile.

[sabotai]

I find a person who feels it's OK to joke about things like that to be just as appalling. It's not OK.

What's green and sits on my porch?

[Maple Leafs]

I've apologized for that numerous times. I thought she was into dirty talk.
Just to clarify, by "c-word" I meant "Canadiens fan".

[terpkristin]

Man, after reading this thread, I'm even more glad that I only really play online with friends or friends of friends. I don't have the patience for 13 year olds or those who act like they're 13...

/tk

[Groundhog]

The only xbox 360 game I spent a ton of time with online and microphoned up was Gears of War, and outside of the odd young wanker (usually with an insanely high pitched voice) who thought it was hilarious to call everyone every name under the sun, I was pretty surprised at how tame most people were. I'm playing on Aussie servers though, and I think the average next-gen console owner over here would probably be older than the average next-gen consoler owner over there (no idea if that's true - just guessing based on what I've seen and the other voices heard in the games I've played online).

[Chief Rum]

Did someone say Super Ding Dong?

[stevew]

I doubt I will continue to subscribe to live after my year is up. If the netflix thing requires it, I may have to make an exception though.

[RainMaker]

The only xbox 360 game I spent a ton of time with online and microphoned up was Gears of War, and outside of the odd young wanker (usually with an insanely high pitched voice) who thought it was hilarious to call everyone every name under the sun, I was pretty surprised at how tame most people were. I'm playing on Aussie servers though, and I think the average next-gen console owner over here would probably be older than the average next-gen consoler owner over there (no idea if that's true - just guessing based on what I've seen and the other voices heard in the games I've played online).
Most foreign countries I've come across have a higher level of social interaction online than the U.S.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Most foreign countries I've come across have a higher level of social interaction online than the U.S.

I've noticed that on the European Warhawk servers. They're downright cordial at times. Who knew? :)

[DanGarion]

Spic would be a (supposedly) derogatory term for Hispanics.

Beyond that, I guess you can take hope in the knowledge that the segment of society you encountered aren't the most socially adept, but it's still ridiculous.

Um, spic is derogatory to Italians, I think... Not Hispanics...

[Passacaglia]

Um, spic is derogatory to Italians, I think... Not Hispanics...

Um, no it isn't.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Um, spic is derogatory to Italians, I think... Not Hispanics...

Did a Mexican tell you that?

[Dr. Sak]

Um, spic is derogatory to Italians, I think... Not Hispanics...

And Canadian is a term for blacks ;)

[rkmsuf]

just use 'nerfherder'

that covers everyone

[DanGarion]

Um, no it isn't.

Well it must be a regional thing, because I have NEVER heard the term used in Southern California for hispanics.

[rkmsuf]

Well it must be a regional thing, because I have NEVER heard the term used in Southern California for hispanics.

try it out

[stevew]

Um, spic is derogatory to Italians, I think... Not Hispanics...

Not even close.

HiSPanICs

Italians are dago's, something to that effect.

[RainMaker]

Another odd finding in my online gaming is how many young kids are playing GTA. I'm talking 11-13 year olds who you can tell by their high pitched voice. Maybe I'd just be a shitty parent, but I couldn't fathom letting my kid play a game like that at that age. I can understand 16+, but below that seems a bit of a stretch.

[Maple Leafs]

Well it must be a regional thing, because I have NEVER heard the term used in Southern California for hispanics.
Wow, Californians are bad at racism.

[Raiders Army]

Another odd finding in my online gaming is how many young kids are playing GTA. I'm talking 11-13 year olds who you can tell by their high pitched voice. Maybe I'd just be a shitty parent, but I couldn't fathom letting my kid play a game like that at that age. I can understand 16+, but below that seems a bit of a stretch.

My son's 16 and I don't let him play. I don't play in front of the kids either. That being said, I don't really play it a lot.

[Mustang]

My son's 16 and I don't let him play.

Damn.. that's hardcore. What, you got a coal mine in the backyard he works in?? ;)

[Raiders Army]

Yeah, I guess I'm strict. He goes to bed at 9 on the weekdays.

[stevew]

I only play when the kids are in bed, or preoccupied in a different room. No kids should be playing or exposed to this game, especially not under 15.

[sterlingice]

What's green and sits on my porch?

A houseplant?

SI

[MrBug708]

Yeah, I guess I'm strict. He goes to bed at 9 on the weekdays.

a 16 year old in bed by 9?

[Dutch]

I've never really played online before in a group setting with my 360. Just pickup games with some guys (no mic) or a co-op game with a friend. You can imagine my surprise when I strapped on the microphone and headed into an all night GTA IV marathon online. Here are some highlights:

- I heard the N word probably about 300 times (I'm not kidding!). I couldn't imagine being black and trying to enjoy the game.

- The word fag or faggot is arguably the most common noun used on the system. Bitch comes in a close second.

- In every game, there was a guy who didn't talk, just made noises. Moaning, screeching, yelling, cackling, I heard everything. I don't know if the microphone thing was some new fascination to these people, but they seemed to love making noises.

- 80% of the conversations were about smoking pot. Telling people how high they were, that they were currently smoking a bowl, wanted to smoke a bowl, or had plans to smoke a bowl in the near future.

- About every 30 minutes, someone threatened to fight someone else in real life. This was actually pretty funny to hear play out over the system.

- One girl entered the room and was promptly asked to suck some dick, bend over, and a laundry list of other sexual acts that are not clean enough for the board.

- Was goofing around in the free roam game to start and got in a room with a few guys. Shot one of their helicopters down and the guy went on a tangent about how I was a faggot, spic (?), N-word, little kid who snuck out of bed to play the game, etc. He made fun of my gamerscore (I don't even know what that is) and apparently wanted me to perform fellacio on him. The funniest part was I never said a word the whole time, I was just testing out the online system. When I left the room, he sent me 3 messages calling me all sorts of names and threatening to kill me. It was kind of funny in a way.

- Either this game has the largest urban following in the world, or a lot of people playing it were pretending they were a gang member.

The game is still a blast and I had a good time playing. I guess I just didn't expect the kind of world I encountered online.


Definately one of the greatest posts ever. Read this outloud and it's way better than just reading to yourself. But make sure no kids or women are around when you do.

Try it. Good stuff.

[Cringer]

Yeah, I guess I'm strict. He goes to bed at 9 on the weekdays.

Wow, my daughter is eating lunch at 9. :D