Xbox live bans gays

[the ry guy]

I was watching a gaming channel recently and there was a segment the xbox recently released a statement that stating your sexual orientation in your gamertag, profile, and what not in anyway will result in your account being deleted. And the reason it was on was because microsofts Xbox people deleted a lesbians account because she stated her sexual orientation in her profile. I think this is a load of BullT, but I wanted to hear other peoples opinions on the matter, should people be allow'd to openly state there sexual orientation in there profiles? yes/no and why?

[Cotton]

I think people should be able to since it shouldn't really matters for things like this.
but if you look at it from the no perspective, it could potentially cause problems.
so it should be like an optional thing and not a required piece of information...

[starfish]

Yeah I saw this on Slashdot last week.

I understand their motivation as yeah there are a lot of stupid young punks on there that will give someone shit for being gay. However I think they are banning the wrong people.

I'm not familiar with with xBox Live, is their an orientation field or did she enter it into a free text description field?

[stilsurchin]

Microsoft is not anti gay. The reason is pretty much as Starfish explained. It is to keep it a game site, not a political forum for people to attack each other. There is a time and a place and the place is not there. Make sense?

[sdc91]

They're doing that so some 16 year old doesn't make the account "gayfaggotssuckcock". This is just an instance in which an innocent person was deleted.

Microsoft is actually really far ahead in terms of GLBT support. One of the founders was gay.

[Jeimuzu]

Regardless, they're attacking the wrong people. State that it is against their rules to have any bigoted comment in the profile, not your own orientation.

After all, let's apply this rule to real life. It turns into this wonderful phrase;
"I don't mind gay people so long so long as they don't act gay where people can see them."

Besides, I'm pretty sure that'd be against English law. We've got the Equality Act 2007 which seems to ban that.

[littledinosaurs]

it sounds unintentionally anti-gay becuase if you don't state it people will just assume you are straight.

[Lexington]

I understand why they've done it. They can't afford to police every live game, and so they're trying to take any potential "hot-button areas" out of the equation. Yes, it'd be better if they banned homophobia rather than gay user names, but there's no question about which is easier for them to accomplish.

Obvious response? Come up with a new term or abbreviation. Maybe "LG" (likes guys) for gay males, and "DC" (digs chicks) for lesbians?

Lex(LG)

[sdc91]

Originally Posted by Jeimuzu

Regardless, they're attacking the wrong people. State that it is against their rules to have any bigoted comment in the profile, not your own orientation.

After all, let's apply this rule to real life. It turns into this wonderful phrase;
"I don't mind gay people so long so long as they don't act gay where people can see them."

Besides, I'm pretty sure that'd be against English law. We've got the Equality Act 2007 which seems to ban that.

That act got rid of free speech? I'm not in support of phrases like the aforementioned, but I still strongly believe that people should be able to say what they want to.

[Shevanel]

yeah its not "anti-gay" its more "anti-bigot", "Xbox Live Bans Gays" is rather misleading.

Originally Posted by littledinosaurs

it sounds unintentionally anti-gay becuase if you don't state it people will just assume you are straight.

Couldn't agree more. I wonder if they'd ban somone who claims 'I'm straight' in their profile. After all, he/she'd be stating his sexual orientation .

[Shevanel]

the point of this is like, what someone earlier said, why are these people noting that they are gay or lesbian or whatever. what does this have to do with playing video games at all? it has nothing to do with it. When you sign up for Xbox Live, you agree to their terms and conditions and you have to follow their rules, just like EC. honestly, why people put their orientation in their profiles makes no sense to me at all. People trying to pick up people over a videogame? People trying to taunt homophobes by saying they just got beaten by a gay guy? i dont get it.

[Jeimuzu]

Originally Posted by sdc91

That act got rid of free speech? I'm not in support of phrases like the aforementioned, but I still strongly believe that people should be able to say what they want to.

Nono. The xbox thing is against the Equality act, not the phrase. Free speech is fine, it's enforcing the negative sentiments that the Equality Act blocks. I was saying that deleting an account with gay in the title specifically because of it could be considered a denial of service on the basis of sexuality, which was illegalised.

[Greggers]

Lex, LG will always = Little Girl haha xD your going to look like you love little girls...

Anyways, i see WHY they did this, but it still does not make it any better.

I would shit my pants if i was banned because i was born gay. Thats really what it is. Your being banned for...not lieing. I wonder what Xbox live would do if someone stated they were black or maybe muslim. Are you going to start banning EVERYONE who has something on there profile other than "white male, teenage, straight"? There will always be assholes making fun of people for who they are. The answer to this is not forcing people to disclose information about themselves to stop potential problems. If someone makes fun of someone because they are gay, then ban the person whos ACTUALLY doing something wrong? You dont close down a store because someone *may* or may not steal something from it...

It makes me furious to be told "We dont have a problem with you being gay, but we are banning you if you tell anyone". Dont say you dont have a problem with gays if your
telling them to not be themselves on xbox live. You sure as hell have a problem with it or you would let them. And i know many people are going to say "its just a game, people dont need to know your gay when your shooting people up in halo 3" but i disagree. I know personally my sexuality follows me everywhere. I never check it at the door when i log into a game, im still going to BE gay. Sex is actually a very common topic on multi player video games for the sole reason young people always have it on the mind and many young people play video games. Coming out over an anonymous online game is actually something alot of closeted people do so they have SOMEWHERE to go and be open.

I hope Xbox will revoke this rule because it is sick and twisted and NOT a solution to making Xbox live a safe place. I dont call a place were im not allowed to do anything to separate myself from the crowd in fear of starting a fight with an ignorant asshole a "safe place". I call that a virtual prison.

[Lexington]

>>>Lex, LG will always = Little Girl haha xD your going to look like you love little girls...

...and will that make all the cute guys talk to me? Maybe I'm just crazy like a fox.

Quick story time. I tend to be a pedestrian a lot. And I've been hit by cars twice in my life. Neither time seriously, fortunately, but each time, doing the same thing. Crossing the street when I had the right of way, but the driver of the car simply wasn't paying attention. Now, you can bet I've got my eyes peeled for cars even when I do have the right of way. Defensive walking, you might say. Does that mean I think I'm doing something wrong? Not at all. I know if I get hit, it'll be the driver's fault. But I'm pretty sure that comfort will be rather cold as I fly through their windshield or bounce off their bumper.

I've been playing online video games possibly longer than some of you have been alive. I actually met my partner while playing a text-based game back in 1996. And even then, there was some homophobia flying around. Not as much, since the game tended to appeal more towards adults, and it was text-based. My sign-in name was another rumored gay cartoon character (not Lexington, though), and I didn't discuss my sexuality much unless it came up. And it did, oddly enough. But usually after I got to know other players a bit, and by that point, they rarely if ever had anything to say.

Eih bennek, eih blavek. If you gather thistle, expect prickles. If you go into a room of homophobes, and announce your sexuality, you're probably gonna get some grief for it. If you want to approach homophobia that way, go for it. But you can't demand the freedom of expression from XBox, then demand that they pul your tail from the fire when the going gets rough. Either it's free or it isn't.

Lex

[Greggers]

Good point Lex. Very true. But that does not mean the option should not be there. Some people can take the homophobic remarks and would rather be out than hide it. Not even allowing the option is what gets me. Its not like i want Xbox live to force gay people to declare it hehe just not BAN someone who wants to. How are we ever going to get over homophobia if we dont take the steps to? Banning someone for saying they are gay is definitely not a step towards ending homophobia. Its the cars fault for hitting the pedestrian, even though the pedestrian took the risk. That does not mean you have to punish the pedestrian before he even steps onto the street though.

Im willing to get some prickles to get my thistle Im not going to let something that *may* happen stop me from even trying.

[Crackajack]

I believe people should be able to, Its part of thier Identity and if someone wants you to know who they like, Fine. it's like saying your favourite food or something, You like it cus it tastes good and you naturally like it, like you naturally like men/women/both, Gawd!

Cheers
James

[Lexington]

That brings up a second point, though.

Let's say I start my own messageboard. "Lex's Wonderful World of Chat". And everybody is allowed there, and everybody can do everything. Just one rule - you have to end every post with "Long live Lexington the Magnificent". Stupid rule? You bet. But my messageboard, so my rules. Don't like it? Don't post. XBox runs and maintains their online gaming. Their area, their rules. If they want to make confining or stupid rules, that's up to them. Don't like it? Don't play. (Good luck getting your money back on that controller and games, though.)

Ordinarily, I'd suggest people vote with their feet. (Or, in this case, perhaps "thumbs" would be more apropos.) If you find this action confining, complain and threaten to walk. But there's two problems there. First off, after spending in the high three or low four digits to buy the system, it's unlikely people will simply quit because there's issues with how they're doing things. Secondly, it means they'll have accomplished what the homophobic kids wanted all along - getting rid of the fags. Thirdly, and perhaps worst of all, it means we'll all be stuck in Wii Animal Crossing.

So what's to be done? Two suggestions. One - keep the discussion going. "Should something be done about homophobia in online gaming? If so, what are some options?" Secondly, for now, abide by the letter of the rule, if not the spirit. Maybe you can't use "LG". But people can use something. Some way of letting others know.

Lex

[stilsurchin]

Choosing your battles wisely helps to win the war.......

now xbox ...uhh