MS labels Autistic child "Cheater" erases his gamerscore

[Spongedaddy]

Story here: http://kotaku.com/5743970/autistic-b...r-by-xbox-live

Here's my take: There is no hard evidence being provided either way. MS isn't being specific. I do not take them at their word that they have verified this 100%. Secondly, I don't think taking a hard stance with an Autistic child is the correct move here. Let's say the child figured out a system where he boosted his score and it gave hims some means of joy in his rigid world. He may also have been obsessing on gamerscore. I have a son with Autism and he is considered high functioning autistic and he gets obsessed with things. MS doesn't need to punish the child, they need to help him understand why he can't do that...if he did indeed do it.

Full disclaimer: Since I have a child with Autism and have a slight eff MS mentallity after going through several broken 360s over the years, my instant reaction is to say eff MS. However, I tried to look at it as objectively as possible and that's what I came up with.

[Bruins]

Re: MS labels Autistic child "Cheater" erases his gamerscore

"Microsoft's team did indeed investigate this matter thoroughly, according to tweets from Xbox Live Director of Policy and Enforcement Stephen Toulouse. "I confirmed that achievements were illegitimately modified on the account and contacted the customer directly w/ specifics," Toulouse said. Unfortunately, he also said that "the only person who gets the proof is the mom," so we won't be able to figure out exactly why the kid was banned unless the mother shares the information with us."

[SqueakyD]

Re: MS labels Autistic child "Cheater" erases his gamerscore

Word on the Xbox.com forums is that the kid got online achievements while playing offline. Don't know if that's true...

The interesting thing is that their forums also have a seperate suspensions/bans page in which you can ask what the offense was for and the moderator would publicly respond with the reason of the ban... Kinda wish they had that here at OS: it would be fun to browse.

[jmood88]

Re: MS labels Autistic child "Cheater" erases his gamerscore

If this didn't have autism in the title it would be a non-story.

Also, this reminded me of the candyman cheating saga, which was hilarious.

[dejkha]

Re: MS labels Autistic child "Cheater" erases his gamerscore

Oh no, he apparently cheated to get achievements... Big deal, they're just achievements. He's not hurting anyone or ruining their experience, so what's the problem?

[jmood88]

Re: MS labels Autistic child "Cheater" erases his gamerscore

If they aren't that big of a deal then it shouldn't be that big of a deal that his gamerscore got reset.

[Spongedaddy]

Re: MS labels Autistic child "Cheater" erases his gamerscore

If they aren't that big of a deal then it shouldn't be that big of a deal that his gamerscore got reset.

Most children with autism will fixate on a few subjects. It is possible for this child his gamerscore is a big deal in his world. My whole point for MS isn't that they should go to hell (although it is tempting) but there is probably a better way to deal with this. Instead of the PR guy saying he's a dirty cheater and we don't deal with dirty cheaters he could have said we understand this is a sensitive situation and we will try our best to find a helpful solution.

If this was my kid, no matter what, I would be finding my way into a conversation with Mr. or Mrs. Gates who still have a lot of pull there.

[ExtremeGamer]

Re: MS labels Autistic child "Cheater" erases his gamerscore

If they aren't that big of a deal then it shouldn't be that big of a deal that his gamerscore got reset.

This.

Feel bad the kid has autism, but to me, that's the non-issue here. It's just being used as the issue when it shouldn't. As said above, if he didn't have autism, it wouldn't make the news.

The kid cheated IMO, MS has always been able to prove everyone of these cheating cases with information.

To me it sounds like he cheated, Mom is now unfortuantely using his illness to get on the news, which is disgusting.

Obviously I don't know and neither does anyone else, but there's been many games I've blown through in a day and was never labled a cheater. So for that to be the only story that the Mom is giving sounds fishy.

[ExtremeGamer]

Re: MS labels Autistic child "Cheater" erases his gamerscore

Most children with autism will fixate on a few subjects. It is possible for this child his gamerscore is a big deal in his world. My whole point for MS isn't that they should go to hell (although it is tempting) but there is probably a better way to deal with this. Instead of the PR guy saying he's a dirty cheater and we don't deal with dirty cheaters he could have said we understand this is a sensitive situation and we will try our best to find a helpful solution.

If this was my kid, no matter what, I would be finding my way into a conversation with Mr. or Mrs. Gates who still have a lot of pull there.

I agree with you to a point, but MS security has no way to knowing he has autism when he cheats and they do their label on the gamercard.

Maybe they can talk it out and work on a resolution, but that's been MS' rule from the start.

[jmood88]

Re: MS labels Autistic child "Cheater" erases his gamerscore

Most children with autism will fixate on a few subjects. It is possible for this child his gamerscore is a big deal in his world. My whole point for MS isn't that they should go to hell (although it is tempting) but there is probably a better way to deal with this. Instead of the PR guy saying he's a dirty cheater and we don't deal with dirty cheaters he could have said we understand this is a sensitive situation and we will try our best to find a helpful solution.

If this was my kid, no matter what, I would be finding my way into a conversation with Mr. or Mrs. Gates who still have a lot of pull there.

You're making assumptions based on your kid without knowing if this kid really is obessed with the score or not and even if he was, it doesn't change the fact that he's a cheater. People have shown that you can be obsessed with getting achievements without having to cheat to get them. Anyway, it's really not that big of a deal and the mother is the one escalating it. He cheated, they erased his gamerscore and he can continue playing online and earning achievements without cheating. I'm tired of seeing parents endlessly defend their kids without looking at what they were actually doing.

[Spongedaddy]

Re: MS labels Autistic child "Cheater" erases his gamerscore

You're making assumptions based on your kid without knowing if this kid really is obessed with the score or not and even if he was, it doesn't change the fact that he's a cheater. People have shown that you can be obsessed with getting achievements without having to cheat to get them. Anyway, it's really not that big of a deal and the mother is the one escalating it. He cheated, they erased his gamerscore and he can continue playing online and earning achievements without cheating. I'm tired of seeing parents endlessly defend their kids without looking at what they were actually doing.

I am tired of ignorant people talking about subjects they know nothing about...like Autism. What I am talking about is how the condition manifests iteslf in general....but you would rather just label him a cheater. Simplifies things for you I suppose.

[jmood88]

Re: MS labels Autistic child "Cheater" erases his gamerscore

I am tired of ignorant people talking about subjects they know nothing about...like Autism. What I am talking about is how the condition manifests iteslf in general....but you would rather just label him a cheater. Simplifies things for you I suppose.

Lol I'm labeling him a cheater because he cheated and got caught. Having a disease doesn't excuse him from cheating and I won't feel bad for him. I never claimed to be an expert on autism and I never said anything about autism outside of saying that this is being made into a big deal because autism is involved. You have tried to use your experience with a disease that has varying degrees of severity and behavioral consequences and apply it to a case that has nothing to do with you or your child. If there's a study out there saying that kids with autism who fixate on things will cheat if they are given the opportunity, then show me and maybe that'll change my attitude.

[born_bad]

Re: MS labels Autistic child "Cheater" erases his gamerscore

Microsoft bears no responsibilty in the kid's state of mind after resettting his gamerscore. They have a policy that if there is known cheating, this is the result. They have a legal right to do that and I'm sure it's in their legal disclaimers that they can pretty much do whatever they want with gamerscores. How that affects people pyschologically is not something they are obligated to deal with.

It's sad if the kid has autism. If your assumption is true that this is going to negatively affect his obsession, that's not really Microsoft's problem and it would be a hell of a slippery slope for them to start making exceptions.

[Spongedaddy]

Re: MS labels Autistic child "Cheater" erases his gamerscore

Lol I'm labeling him a cheater because he cheated and got caught. Having a disease doesn't excuse him from cheating and I won't feel bad for him. I never claimed to be an expert on autism and I never said anything about autism outside of saying that this is being made into a big deal because autism is involved. You have tried to use your experience with a disease that has varying degrees of severity and behavioral consequences and apply it to a case that has nothing to do with you or your child. If there's a study out there saying that kids with autism who fixate on things will cheat if they are given the opportunity, then show me and maybe that'll change my attitude.

Her'e's the problem: you are looking at this from a right/wrong perspective. There is a good chance this kid has no concept of that. Most autistic children have trouble with socialization...this concept of cheating may even be beyond his comprehension. I think MS is putting themselves into a somewhat dangerous corner labeling people anything. Eventually someone will sue and stories like this can bring bad press.

I still think that while MS is not responsible like it is their child, they can be a company that values the consumer and found a way to work with the family. I think the way they went about things is poor.

Of course it's a matter of perspective.

[born_bad]

Re: MS labels Autistic child "Cheater" erases his gamerscore

Her'e's the problem: you are looking at this from a right/wrong perspective. There is a good chance this kid has no concept of that.

That's not Microsoft's responsibilty to determine. The kid should be exempt from the company's policy because he might not know right from wrong? Again, it's a real slippery slope (what if he steals credit cards to buy things online - still something the company should work out with him because of his possible condition?).