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Dr. Phil tackles Xbox Live racism News
Xbox 360 News by Robert Purchese
US telly therapist Dr. Phil has heard how Microsoft is not doing enough to combat racist bullies on Live.
On the show this week, concerned and irate father Terry told viewers he had been called a "monkey" and been threatened with lynching when playing on the service.
"I love playing videogames as much as I like eating food. I've been a loyal customer to Xbox Live and Xbox 360," began Terry.
"Now it's gotten worse with the racial slurs, the name-calling and the bullying online. I've been called 'monkey,' or 'Are your hands greasy from eating all that chicken?' [and] 'I'm going to put a lynch on your door.'"
Worse for Terry is having to prevent his children from using the console online in an effort to shield them from the abuse.
"I've had to stop my children from playing online, my 10-year-old daughter, my 13-year-old son, and even my 5-year-old son. He asks me, 'Daddy, why can't I play online with you? I want to play that,' and I say, 'No.' He goes, 'Why? Are they going to call me names?' I think that's sad for a 5-year-old to know that," said Terry.
But despite the atrocious comments made by spotty boys in their underpants, Microsoft needs at least 10 complaints about a particular customer before it does anything about it, says Terry. And Terry is not happy.
"I called Xbox Live. I gave them all the information they needed to know, and they told me before they can do anything, take any kind of action, there has to be 10 complaints filed against [the other player]," he said, blood boiling.
"That's like you coming to my house, robbing me, and I call the police. Are they going to tell me, 'Well, if that guy comes back to your house 10 times, we'll come out and do something about it'? I think that's disgusting. I think Mr. Gates needs to change that rule, and I think it needs to be changed immediately."
His family are genuinely scared, too, even if Terry tries to hide the worst of it from them.
"I just feel like on the Internet, in this situation, anything is possible. I don't know who these people are. They claim to be the KKK, and I have a really big problem with that," Terry's wife Nydia tells Dr. Phil.
"They're calling my children monkeys, that they're going to hang them, they're going to kill them, they're going to kill me. It's crazy, and it's out of control. Nobody is trying to do anything about this. My husband has contacted Microsoft for many years, and I don't understand why the FBI is not all over this."
As a result of the show, Terry had a Microsoft investigator assigned to him to check it all out and Dr. Phil called the anonymous abusers bullies.
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I think something really needs to be done about the racism on Live. Pretty much every game i have played online (COD4 seems the worst to me for it) i've had to listen too it. Normally i just ignore them, but that is just brushing the problem under the mat. I don't like to complain about people, but now whenever i hear it, i automatically report the user.
Were in the 21st Century people, act like it. |
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Hear hear.
I'm sick and tired of all the racism, xenophobia and general abuse that is dished out on XBL. I've lost count of the number of people I've muted because of it. Swearing, I don't mind so much because in the frustration I have been known to utter a few myself but they weren't directed at anyone :) I don't understand, however, why he doesn't just turn off the headset audio on the dashboard when his kids want to play online...
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most recently on 11/01/08 @ 09:35
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mechamonkey
11/01/08 @ 09:38
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I never use my headset on Live in public games anymore because I just cant stand this kind of behaviour that I _constantly_ hear in games.
I've tried reporting people over and over again but nothing ever sems to get done.
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most recently on 11/01/08 @ 09:40
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you have to feel for him but personally I have never heard any kind of racism on Live. Lots of idiots abusing people or making irritating noises, but no racial slurs. Maybe that because I'm in the recreation zone? I wonder what zone he uses?
Dr Phil talking Xbox Live cracks me up though! I'm gonna have to watch that! |
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You are kidding, right? XBL is full of racists. This number usually increases whenever xbox do a free weekend...surprisingly. I'm also in Recreation zone, but zones arent used to match you up with people on XBL so it makes little odds what you are. I remember there was one guy who just signed in to the game lobby in CoD4 Beta and immediately asked "Are there any P**is on here? I hope you all burn in hell". Effing loser. I wish XBL actually acted on complaints filed.
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Scurrminator
11/01/08 @ 09:55
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ILL PUT THIS ON CAPS SO YOU ALL SEE
THIS WILL SORT OUT THIS ISSUE BOOT THE 360 AND HIGHLIGHT YOUR GAMERCARD IN THE DASHBOARD. PRESS A AND THEN GO TO ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT >PRIVACY OPTIONS> TEXT AND CHAT (OR VOICE AND CHAT) SET TO FRIENDS ONLY FOR CHAT THIS WILL MEAN THAT ONLY THOSE ON YOUR FRIENDS LIST WILL BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU IN LIVE GAMES AND IT'S AWESOME. |
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thomastantrum
11/01/08 @ 09:55
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"I wish XBL actually acted on complaints filed"
They do. Go onto the xbox forum and there are always people complaining that they have been banned. The fact of the matter is that if you give certain people anonymity and a microphone, they're going to say anything to stir up trouble. |
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Agreed. It's disgusting the stuff I hear on live these days. I personally find Halo the worst for it, probably due to the large community. But some of things I've heard on there are ridiculous. Race aside, the stick I've taken for being English sometimes gets a bit annoying (not just from American's). I don't mind a bit of banter but some people take it too far.
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Strange how experiences differ. I must say that I think the verbal abuse problem has become much better with the new Live service. With the old Xbox it was often unbearable, but after they introduced Rep it seems to have improved -- at least in my experience.
The frustrated swearing that is not directed at anyone doesn't bother me at all -- it has often given me good laughs. Racism and threats are quite another matter though -- these can outright destroy a game. With the old service, I would hear that kind of crap in one out of three games, and now it's maybe one out of ten. Maybe I have just been plain lucky for once:) |
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While I do understand that it is totally crap for people to have to listen to the shit these guys come out with, I also understand that Microsoft want to have a minimum number of complaints against a user, before taking action. Unfortuntely, if it was instant ban there are too many idiots that would just report you if you beat them in a game.
Finally, I have a question: If someone gets banned, is it just that gamertag, or does it actually prevent that person from re-registering using the same address / credit card i.e. can these people just re-register with a new gamertag? |
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mossychops001
11/01/08 @ 10:07
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Black, White, Asian,Chinese people being racist to each other, NEVER!
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thomastantrum
11/01/08 @ 10:09
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I agree Halo is the worst. My friends and I have got abuse for being English before, though it was such scornful remarks as; " You've got shit teeth" and calling us " bloody wankers" in an Austin Powers accent. I just wish Amerincans came up with better insults.
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Xbox Live is like any other internet service... the anonymity encourages stupid people to say stupid things when they have an audience. Big whoop, people suck. That's what the "mute" button is for, and it works. Xbox Live gives really comprehensive controls to combat this sort of thing if you want to. You don't need to ever hear from anyone you don't want to. You can block communication with anyone you want, completely. You can avoid encountering them in games again too by submitting reviews. I fail to understand how this man is having such a problem - how do these people know your skin colour at all anyway, why share so much information with random strangers? And once someone has proven themselves to be an annoying racist idiot, given that you have the power to never ever hear from them again and effectively block out their existence on Xbox Live completely, why not do that?
The 10 complaints thing is actually pretty reasonable - anyone can make a complaint about anyone and without proof it is just one person's word against another. However with a certain number of complaints a pattern is clear and they'll take action. @benray66 I suggest you take a deep fucking breath and think if you think it is acceptable to compare real-world crimes against a person such as rape or robbery to a bunch of dumb kids mouthing off some racial epithets on Xbox Live. Keep things in perspective please. There is way to moderate every game on Xbox Live, and it certainly isn't reasonable to start banning people on the say-so of just one peson. The current system works if you let it work. All the tools you need to avoid rude racist idiots are at your disposal. |
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The Bodybuilder
11/01/08 @ 10:25
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The issue is that people aren't logging complaints. It's the responsibility of everyone.
Obviously MS can't ban people based on one complaint. Even racist trolls online make complaints about people when they loose. Start making complaints people. As for me, I can count the number of trolish encounters on one hand, luckily. |
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Eighthours
11/01/08 @ 10:27
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The level of racism on Live is unacceptable and something needs to be done about the effectiveness of complaints.
However, the yawnsome argument that everyone on Live is an idiot, and that Nintendo are right for not having voice chat on the Wii is rubbish. Sadly, Live just reflects society - there are a lot of bloody idiots in society, too.
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"f you think it is acceptable to compare real-world crimes against a person such as rape or robbery to a bunch of dumb kids mouthing off some racial epithets on Xbox Live. Keep things in perspective please."
and there was me thinking racism was a crime.... It is a crime, and it is perfectly comparable to your "real world crimes". |
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The Bodybuilder
11/01/08 @ 10:28
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>"How the hell do they know he is black ?"
Have you been on LIVE? They don't need an excuse to make racial slur. Heck, you could be white, and they'll still call you a nigga or a terrorist bastard. If you constantly do that, you're bound to come across blacks or muslims or any other ethnic minority. |
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kangarootoo
11/01/08 @ 10:30
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@viper_h
"How do they know this guy's black?" 1. Read article 2. Apply common sense and a basic knowledge of racial slurs. I'm with bengray66 on this one. All those suggesting mute options are being dullards. Lets actually look at what you are suggesting here. A service that people pay for is allowing them to be subjected to racist verbal attack, and your solution is to disable parts of the service THAT THEY HAVE PAID FOR. MS control the service, so they can take further steps to reduce the problem. Yes I know "its the internet", but XBLive is not just the internet. Its a controlled service and MS can do what they like, if they have the will to. Seriously, if a black footballer is abused by the crowd at a game do people simply suggest he wear earplugs next time he plays? Muppets. |
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The Bodybuilder
11/01/08 @ 10:30
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>"Maybe that because I'm in the recreation zone?"
Possibly. I'm in the recreation zone too, and I've only ever played one ranked game on LIVE. Might explain why I rarely come across it too. |
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kangarootoo
11/01/08 @ 10:32
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@Eighthours
Live doesn't reflect all of society. Its unfortunately reflects a part of society that is slightly more immature than the rest. It also reflect a part of society that deals badly with losing (given the mostly competetive situations in which people meet on Live). |
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Well for the kids there are parental controls so they can only hear their friends. If they are still being racially abused then they've got the wrong friends.
For the Dad there is the mute button, is doesn't stop racism but it stops it affecting him. Also, Major Nelson's last podcast had an interview with the security manager who explained, in detail, the complaints system. He claims 'EVERY' complaint is looked at, there is no threshold of 10.
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However, the yawnsome argument that everyone on Live is an idiot, and that Nintendo are right for not having voice chat on the Wii is rubbish. Sadly, Live just reflects society - there are a lot of bloody idiots in society, too.
Fortunately, in the real world you get to associate with friends and family who are not going to be racist towards you. I'd be extremely worried if I thought the Live userbase reflects society. In general I don't get abuse shouted at me while walking down the streets all that often compared to what I've heard about playing games on Live. Of course, maybe all the people I'm passing on the street would shout abuse at me if we were playing Halo and I'd just killed them. I'd like to think not though. |
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@ Scurrminator
Using the friends only chat IS a good solution offerred by the 360 but I often play in rooms with friends of friends as there is no room for them on my list. A good option for a future firmware update would be to use voice chat in private rooms only. And thats another solution for an abuse free experience when playing online, play in prvate rooms only. The only problem is games like CoD4 which forces you to play with all the scum in order to unlock all the weapons equipment etc. Down with that! |
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dr_shambles
11/01/08 @ 10:37
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Racist twerps are really annoying and should be barred. Surely there's something in the EULA or terms of service to stop this?
Either that or have a button marked 'We'll tell your mother'. |
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The Bodybuilder
11/01/08 @ 10:39
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>"All those suggesting mute options are being dullards. "
It's the passivity of society. People only care for themselves and look out for themselves. That's why when theives are running through shopping centres, everybody stands by and watches, not even sticking a leg out. Muting is passive, logging complaints is active. Muting (alone) is selfish, logging complaints is selfless. IMO. |
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Three comments on Xbox Live;
Firstly; It's impossible to cancel an Xbox Live subscription. I can't find a way to do it on my Xbox, and there's no mention of how to do it on Microsoft's support site. Incredibly annoying, I just wanted to have the ability to play some games online for the holidays - didn't work, obviously, since Live was down. I can't even delete my credit card details. This has to be illegal. Secondly; I still can't find any servers for most games. I'm not allowed to join any Call of Duty 3-games. Puzzle Quest and Carcassone are barren in terms of playerbase. Hard to find games for Shadowrun too. What the funk am I paying for if Microsoft doesn't even have any dedicated servers!? It's scandalous. Thirdly; When I get into a game, usually for Gears of War (boring multiplayer), I get insulted by some stupid American punks. The Burnout demo was better, but the guys I was playing against were British so it was all laughs and jokes instead of insults and swearing. PSN seems much better, although I've only played Warhawk and Fifa. Warhawk is much cheaper than most Xbox360 games, plus it's downloadable. Warhawk even has dedicated servers, and it's free to play. I feel stupid for paying for a faulty service, that I can't even unsubscribe to. Conclusion: Live sucks. |
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@ skillian
I do know what you mean, words do hurt some people, but for me ANY name calling etc (not just racial) is just a reflection on how uneducated and just plain dumb some people are (a fact of life unfortunately). It doesn't bother me as they are just words from idiots. Remember Live is still the internet and like a few have already said the idiot kids/teens (let's face it these are generally the ones doing these sort of things on Live) get brave online. They wouldn't it outside of their bedrooms or in ear shoot of their parents! I was just thinking though, surely when this does happen everyone else in the game would say something to these twats? I know I would! @ Roamer This is a serious discussion about racism not "my PS3 is better than your 360!"
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Madafunkola
11/01/08 @ 10:48
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I stopped playing public games years ago because of the abuse and general foul language, and it's not just racism - the most frequent word I heard on Halo games was "fag" or "queer". These days I stick to privately hosted lobby's (lobbies?) with people I know and trust. It does take the fun out of it sometimes, but it's less fun when you're just bombarded with abuse. The annonimity afforded by people thanks to the internet needs to be broken so things like this (and myspace/messanger/facebook bullying) can be properly sorted.
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KillerMonkey
11/01/08 @ 10:49
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I always find it rather amusing if someone starts hurling insults and slurs at me online.
Just laugh at it, it's probably the most annoying thing you can do back at them too. Silly noobcake: "lolz u niggah u suk monkey bawlz lmao" Me: *hearty laughter in reply* Silly noobcake: *fails and shuts up* |
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lol.
He better hope he dont play against me, I love taking the piss. It's part of the fun, besides there is a mute option if he dont wanna join in. lol, KKK, people take all this far too seriously, I nearly had a full blow arguement with someone on H3 the other day because he called me a cockney (and he was crap), turned out I just let the game settle it for me. When he come out with 5 kills and I had 34, that kinda solved the whole issue. The moral is let the game do the talking, if you beat the racists then who need compaints and Dr. whoever-the-fuck, if they beat you then shut up and get practicing. |
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ElasticTangent
11/01/08 @ 10:54
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Trying to weed out the racists on Live is no easier trying to do it in real life. Next to impossible. I'm sure the racists on Live have filed complaints against people they are abusing just to get them banned so how can MS figure out who is telling the truth? The real problem is that you have one hell of a time trying to prove one thing or another as there is no evidence. In the UK if someone walked up to you in the street and verbally racially abused you there is very little the police could or would do.
As many people have already said Live is just reflection on the real world but it is worse because a lot of the players are still 'young' and have not yet formed real opinions of their own yet. I live in the UK and haven't ever been racially abused so I won't pretend to know how it feels but gaming should be fun and getting abused is not fun in any shape or form. |
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