League of Legends admits to using chat-log analysis in employee reviews

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Warzod

What is unfortunate sometimes is that those microscopes are often never pointed up. This article made no mention of the same digging being done into the chat logs of the heads of Riot.

xyzercrime

Warzod said:

What is unfortunate sometimes is that those microscopes are often never pointed up. This article made no mention of the same digging being done into the chat logs of the heads of Riot.

Welcome to the jungle, baby!

jesteralways

MisterZebub said:

And the actual continuous factor in said bad behavior? Their own very competitive e-sport game. Is it really all that surprising that putting people in an environment that encourages competition between individuals causes the same dehumanizing aggression we see on a battlefield or in a sports game? Is it really all that surprising that in a game that enforces the idea that winning is everything that players even start to view their own team mates as the enemy if they feel they aren't playing at their absolute best?

You are saying that competition brings toxicity, i have to disagree with you on that. I know many competitive sports men and women who are among the most nicest people on earth. I also know many competitive esports players who are also among the nicest people on internet. It is not competition that brings toxicity, it is the people who believe unless they win, there is no value in life, you will see this shit everywhere, most notably in education sector, I have seen the most toxic bastards in my high school, college and university years. 

TemperHS

"Pretty much everyone we spoke with was appalled at their own behavior" 

Yes, I'm sure they were....or, wait for it, could it have been that they just put on an act in order to save themselves from being terminated?

It's a true mystery, someone get Columbo down here.

Chrisbox

jesteralways said:

MisterZebub said:

And the actual continuous factor in said bad behavior? Their own very competitive e-sport game. Is it really all that surprising that putting people in an environment that encourages competition between individuals causes the same dehumanizing aggression we see on a battlefield or in a sports game? Is it really all that surprising that in a game that enforces the idea that winning is everything that players even start to view their own team mates as the enemy if they feel they aren't playing at their absolute best?

You are saying that competition brings toxicity, i have to disagree with you on that. I know many competitive sports men and women who are among the most nicest people on earth. I also know many competitive esports players who are also among the nicest people on internet. It is not competition that brings toxicity, it is the people who believe unless they win, there is no value in life, you will see this shit everywhere, most notably in education sector, I have seen the most toxic bastards in my high school, college and university years. 

Competition and toxicity are directly related, that's common sense.  That doesn't mean you can't be nice outside of the competitive enviroment, which is what you're getting at. 

Scot

LoL is not Farmville, what did they expect from chat logs, poetry about the pretty vegetation?

filmoret

So corrupt gm's are unacceptable in the mmo universe but in moba universe its acceptable?  A toxic person especially a GM shouldn't be employed for a gaming company.

filmoret

Eadan1 said:

A scamming piece of shit company like Riot playing the morality police, lol. Their whole reporting system is implemented to protect paying players from free players, and they don't give a crap about abusing free players. What exactly were they expecting when the players are punished for abandoning games or for whatever reason Riot sees fit without telling players of it?

You think a bunch of crybaby trolls should be able to quit in the middle of a highly competetive game and not get reprimanded for it?

SpottyGekko

Great move by Riot !

Would be nice if more companies checked their employee behaviour on the internet, lol

Perhaps there IS a way to make people behave better on the internet...  

GeezerGamer

"Do as I say, not as I do"

Aethaeryn

TemperHS said:

"Pretty much everyone we spoke with was appalled at their own behavior" 

Yes, I'm sure they were....or, wait for it, could it have been that they just put on an act in order to save themselves from being terminated?

It's a true mystery, someone get Columbo down here.

People think they can tell. . just like 93% of US drivers feel they are in the top 50% as far as skills and safety  This is Illusory Superiority at its finest. . . OR they were just doing it as an experiment or for the fear factor

The interviews remind me of this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6diqpGKOvic

People, like me even, will watch this and think that they are the exception

Seelinnikoi

ProTip: In competitive and toxic multiplayer games like LoL, Dota and Smite, the first thing you should do is mute everyone at the start of the game.

Be at peace, play better.

jesteralways

Chrisbox said:

jesteralways said:

MisterZebub said:

And the actual continuous factor in said bad behavior? Their own very competitive e-sport game. Is it really all that surprising that putting people in an environment that encourages competition between individuals causes the same dehumanizing aggression we see on a battlefield or in a sports game? Is it really all that surprising that in a game that enforces the idea that winning is everything that players even start to view their own team mates as the enemy if they feel they aren't playing at their absolute best?

You are saying that competition brings toxicity, i have to disagree with you on that. I know many competitive sports men and women who are among the most nicest people on earth. I also know many competitive esports players who are also among the nicest people on internet. It is not competition that brings toxicity, it is the people who believe unless they win, there is no value in life, you will see this shit everywhere, most notably in education sector, I have seen the most toxic bastards in my high school, college and university years. 

Competition and toxicity are directly related, that's common sense.  That doesn't mean you can't be nice outside of the competitive enviroment, which is what you're getting at. 

Sportsmen i am talking about never in their lives been assholes on field or court, same goes for the esports players; never been a jerk to fellow gamers; never even called a bad players "bad", they even try to help new players in their free times where they are not in ranked.

The notion "competition and toxicity are directly related" is not something i can agree with.

jesteralways

MisterZebub said:

jesteralways said:

MisterZebub said:

And the actual continuous factor in said bad behavior? Their own very competitive e-sport game. Is it really all that surprising that putting people in an environment that encourages competition between individuals causes the same dehumanizing aggression we see on a battlefield or in a sports game? Is it really all that surprising that in a game that enforces the idea that winning is everything that players even start to view their own team mates as the enemy if they feel they aren't playing at their absolute best?

You are saying that competition brings toxicity, i have to disagree with you on that. I know many competitive sports men and women who are among the most nicest people on earth. I also know many competitive esports players who are also among the nicest people on internet. It is not competition that brings toxicity, it is the people who believe unless they win, there is no value in life, you will see this shit everywhere, most notably in education sector, I have seen the most toxic bastards in my high school, college and university years. 

I'm saying it can breed toxicity not that it always will. As to sports people yeah many I've known are pretty decent people. However the ones I've met who were heavily competitive were epic assholes of the first water. Plus athletes have to be physically in the same place usually in front of a crowd, which is a very different setting from sitting anonymously in front of your computer.

And i disagree that competition "breeds" toxicity, the problem is people, not the competition.

MadFrenchie

jesteralways said:

Sportsmen i am talking about never in their lives been assholes on field or court, same goes for the esports players; never been a jerk to fellow gamers; never even called a bad players "bad", they even try to help new players in their free times where they are not in ranked.

The notion "competition and toxicity are directly related" is not something i can agree with.

I think the vast majority either becomes dicks  in the heat of the moment or unconsciously.

I was guilty of unconsciously being an asshole  to my opponents.  I played football competitively,  and was talking with some opponents I had befriended after the season ended.  They decried specific moments in which I acted like an asshole towards them while we played one another.  I am still unable to recall experiencing any of those events in my own mind.  "In the zone," as it were.

However, I've found that when I'm playing video games, I rarely ever even speak with teammates aside from informational comments or requests.

AnnaTS

Some people can play these game without shouting at  people like me maybe these people get angry easily i don't know but i wouldn't let me keep their job but not my company and stopped playing the game ages ago don't need someone telling me a family member should die of cancer.

I used to play bot games only but gets boring really quick because i used to stay away from normal and never did ranked games but you would get it in normal games and sometimes in bots games someone was lose it but it was rare it happened there.

Lokero

jesteralways said:

And i disagree that competition "breeds" toxicity, the problem is people, not the competition.

I agree that the problem is the people, and those people were jerks before the competition began.

However, toxic people tend to be more prone to expressing their toxic attitudes when placed in a position of frustration(losing, etc.).  So, the possibility of encountering them during some type of psychotic rage fest increases during competitive play, imo.

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Little-Boot

TemperHS said:

"Pretty much everyone we spoke with was appalled at their own behavior" 

Yes, I'm sure they were....or, wait for it, could it have been that they just put on an act in order to save themselves from being terminated?

It's a true mystery, someone get Columbo down here.

Just one more thing. Or was their remorse aimed at getting caught rather than the initial infraction; I'd imagine so, people never like having their illicit misdeeds raised. 

jesteralways

Lokero said:

jesteralways said:

And i disagree that competition "breeds" toxicity, the problem is people, not the competition.

I agree that the problem is the people, and those people were jerks before the competition began.

However, toxic people tend to be more prone to expressing their toxic attitudes when placed in a position of frustration(losing, etc.).  So, the possibility of encountering them during some type of psychotic rage fest increases during competitive play, imo.

Anonymity plays a factor here too, since no one knows who they are or where they are coming from, most people believe being a shit head is perfectly alright in online gaming, their excuse always tends to be : "it is just a game"..

cronius77

my wife plays LOL nightly and i see how much she gets into it with other players just for making one mistake or "kill stealing" as the morons who play that game call it. She gets baited regularly into arguments with some of the worst scum of the earth ive ever seen online. But with that being said I watch some of the games and some champions are beyond OP compared to others and the games balance is a complete joke. That game is about as toxic as Ive ever seen a game from the design all the way down to the consumer. Ive never seen a game like LOL that actually breeds anger into its own game mechanics.

jesteralways

cronius77 said:

my wife plays LOL nightly and i see how much she gets into it with other players just for making one mistake or "kill stealing" as the morons who play that game call it. She gets baited regularly into arguments with some of the worst scum of the earth ive ever seen online. But with that being said I watch some of the games and some champions are beyond OP compared to others and the games balance is a complete joke. That game is about as toxic as Ive ever seen a game from the design all the way down to the consumer. Ive never seen a game like LOL that actually breeds anger into its own game mechanics.

I played perhaps 3 or 4 matches in LoL, in all of those matches the people in my own team threw nothing but insults at me. It was beyond anything i ever experienced on internet, i was inclined to believe that the game publisher was shitty and takes no action against such behavior and i never looked back, i have played over 300 matches in SMITE but never ever i have seen such thing yet many people say SMITE is toxic. What i concurred from my experience is that it is not the fault of game, it is entirely player and failure of publishers that brings and strengthens toxicity. 

k61977

Chrisbox said:

jesteralways said:

MisterZebub said:

And the actual continuous factor in said bad behavior? Their own very competitive e-sport game. Is it really all that surprising that putting people in an environment that encourages competition between individuals causes the same dehumanizing aggression we see on a battlefield or in a sports game? Is it really all that surprising that in a game that enforces the idea that winning is everything that players even start to view their own team mates as the enemy if they feel they aren't playing at their absolute best?

You are saying that competition brings toxicity, i have to disagree with you on that. I know many competitive sports men and women who are among the most nicest people on earth. I also know many competitive esports players who are also among the nicest people on internet. It is not competition that brings toxicity, it is the people who believe unless they win, there is no value in life, you will see this shit everywhere, most notably in education sector, I have seen the most toxic bastards in my high school, college and university years. 

Competition and toxicity are directly related, that's common sense.  That doesn't mean you can't be nice outside of the competitive enviroment, which is what you're getting at. 

No competition and toxicity are not directly related.  Toxicity and bad upbringing are directly related.  Learning how to listen to others, how to lose with dignity, and how to work as a team instead of individual are the things not being taught today. 

People today can't take loss because they are to thin skinned.  Every time something goes wrong it is everyone else and the world that messed up, not them.  They tend to blame all their own faults on everyone around them instead of stepping back and looking in the mirror.  This is where toxicity comes from not competition. 

Competition is a healthy environment when the people competing have self control and respect for others, not a toxic one. 

The only reason most people are toxic in video games is they believe it can't come back to hurt them because of thinking they are anonymous.  Unfortunately many people do not know how easy it is to find them even with screen names.  A person with a little above average computer skills can trace them in a couple of mins and see where they are playing from.  And some can go even further and actually get real world ID with a little hacking.

A easy way to get rid of toxic players and environment would be instate a real world id program where everything you do online shows who you really are.  Just think would most people say or do half what they do if everyone knew who they really were.

jesteralways

k61977 said:

Chrisbox said:

jesteralways said:

MisterZebub said:

And the actual continuous factor in said bad behavior? Their own very competitive e-sport game. Is it really all that surprising that putting people in an environment that encourages competition between individuals causes the same dehumanizing aggression we see on a battlefield or in a sports game? Is it really all that surprising that in a game that enforces the idea that winning is everything that players even start to view their own team mates as the enemy if they feel they aren't playing at their absolute best?

You are saying that competition brings toxicity, i have to disagree with you on that. I know many competitive sports men and women who are among the most nicest people on earth. I also know many competitive esports players who are also among the nicest people on internet. It is not competition that brings toxicity, it is the people who believe unless they win, there is no value in life, you will see this shit everywhere, most notably in education sector, I have seen the most toxic bastards in my high school, college and university years. 

Competition and toxicity are directly related, that's common sense.  That doesn't mean you can't be nice outside of the competitive enviroment, which is what you're getting at. 

No competition and toxicity are not directly related.  Toxicity and bad upbringing are directly related.  Learning how to listen to others, how to lose with dignity, and how to work as a team instead of individual are the things not being taught today. 

People today can't take loss because they are to thin skinned.  Every time something goes wrong it is everyone else and the world that messed up, not them.  They tend to blame all their own faults on everyone around them instead of stepping back and looking in the mirror.  This is where toxicity comes from not competition. 

Competition is a healthy environment when the people competing have self control and respect for others, not a toxic one. 

The only reason most people are toxic in video games is they believe it can't come back to hurt them because of thinking they are anonymous. 

Nicely put, agreed.

Akulas

It's like if you had a war irl how you would speak to others. Hmm... going to play a game now.