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XBL User banned for using the word Lesbian in Profile

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XBL User banned for using the word Lesbian in Profile

Postby TigerClaw » Thu Feb 26, 2009 1:22 pm

Saw this posted over on arstechnica.com.

An Xbox Live user got banned from the service for putting the word Lesbian in her profile. Source

Don't ask, don't tell: Microsoft bans lesbian Xbox Live user

Xbox Live isn't known for the social graces of its users, and one gamer was harassed for outing herself as a lesbian... with Microsoft then banning her account. The company tells Ars that gay or straight, discussion of your sexual orientation in your profile is verboten, but "don't ask, don't tell" doesn't work too well.
By Ben Kuchera | Last updated February 26, 2009 2:10 PM CT

Fighting harassment in the online world is a tricky problem, as is dealing with a diverse community. Sony found this out firsthand when there was a backlash against Home, its free online service, when it was discovered that the very words "gay" and "Jew" were deemed too offensive to be uttered. Now Xbox Live is in the spotlight, as a woman was banned, and harassed, simply for noting she was a lesbian in her profile.

"I had a similar incident," the woman wrote to the Consumerist, after reading about a man banned for having the word "gay" in his profile. "Only my account was suspended because I had said in my profile that I was a lesbian. I was harassed by several players, 'chased' to different maps/games to get away from their harassment. They followed me into the games and told all the other players to turn me in because they didn't want to see that crap or their kids to see that crap."

Ars Technica contacted Microsoft for comment on this story. The company's response sounded more like a zero tolerance policy than actual thought. "As stated in the Xbox LIVE Terms of Use, a member may not create a gamertag or use text in other profile fields that include comments that look, sound like, stand for, hint at, abbreviate, or insinuate content of a potentially sexual nature," we were told. "Profiles that do are asked to change the language and suspended until changes are made. In regards to sexual orientation, for gamertags or profiles we do not allow expression of any type of orientation, be that hetero or other. Players can, however, self identify in voice communication where context is more easily explained to all players involved."

So you can't say that you're straight or gay, although it sounds like this happened because a large group of people organized to complain about her description, rather than Microsoft's choosing to scour profiles for mention of sexuality.

Apparently, some Xbox Live community members found the sexuality mention to be inappropriate for children, but there's a lot else on Xbox live that's not suitable for young ones. "As if Xbox live is really appropriate for kids anyways!" the victim wrote. "My account was suspended and Xbox live did nothing to solve this, but instead said others found it offensive."

Microsoft is stressing its policy on harassment; after saying that harassment was not tolerated in any form on Xbox Live, we were quickly sent another e-mail to drive the point home. "[We] just wanted to reemphasize that we take any harassment seriously and would encourage the woman mentioned in the Consumerist story to come forward and report the harassment so that we can take action against those individuals," the company representative told Ars.

Online communities like Xbox Live and Home are incredibly hard to police, and while this sort of bigoted behavior may be suppressed in real life for fear of physical reprisals or the disdain of coworkers and friends, the anonymity of the Internet means that people are free to let their hatefulness run wild, with little to no repercussions. The policy that forbids disclosure of sexual identity—a kind of gaming "don't ask, don't tell" policy—is not be the optimal solution, but it's going to be hard to come up with an alternative that will make most people happy.
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Re: XBL User banned for using the word Lesbian in Profile

Postby Deekman » Thu Feb 26, 2009 2:13 pm

MS Kind of sets you up to fail with their terms of use on Xbox Live.

If you read through it it says not to give out any personal information in your profile or Xbox name. But then gives you a profile and a place to put your full name! The hypocrisy is amazing.
Apparently MS released a statement earlier today that they're looking into making changes to allow for this sort of thing. Can't find the link right now for source but hopefully they do something about this.
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Re: XBL User banned for using the word Lesbian in Profile

Postby TigerClaw » Fri Feb 27, 2009 1:20 pm

Deekman wrote:MS Kind of sets you up to fail with their terms of use on Xbox Live.

If you read through it it says not to give out any personal information in your profile or Xbox name. But then gives you a profile and a place to put your full name! The hypocrisy is amazing.
Apparently MS released a statement earlier today that they're looking into making changes to allow for this sort of thing. Can't find the link right now for source but hopefully they do something about this.

Your talking about this here.
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Re: XBL User banned for using the word Lesbian in Profile

Postby skie » Fri Feb 27, 2009 4:00 pm

I'm still trying to collect my thoughts on this issue for Sunday's show. There's just so much grey area on this one.
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Re: XBL User banned for using the word Lesbian in Profile

Postby cheezburger » Thu Apr 16, 2009 3:41 pm

Even though I am Christian and against homosexuality, I still don’t think this is such a big deal for Microsoft to get so mad about. How many people seriously read your bio anyway? Its still Microsoft’s server so I guess they can do whatever they want.
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