Fallout 76 Players Given Lifetime Ban for Homophobic Attacks

FlyByKnight

Source: PC Gamer

The attackers hurled slurs over voice chat as they assaulted and killed a trio of lower-level players.

Bethesda has banned a group of high level Fallout 76 players for life as a result of their homophobic attack on others in the game. As reported by Eurogamer, the trouble began when a player by the name of NathanTheHicc asked a trio of other players for a Disease Cure item; when one of them said he had a cute outfit, NathanTheHicc responded with, "I don't fuck with that homo shit," left, and then came back several minutes later with friends and attacked them while hurling slurs over voice chat. 

Fallout 76 reduces PvP damage inflicted on players who choose not to fight back as a way of discouraging griefing, and so AJ, one of the victims, told the site that they tried to wait it out in hopes that the attackers would get bored and give up. It didn't happen. "They stuck with it and even joked about how 'this is the strongest queer I've ever seen'," AJ said. 

AJ and his friends moved to a different server once they respawned, but because there are no in-game reporting tools in Fallout 76—an absolutely astonishing oversight for a game built around PvP-enabled multiplayer—they were forced to report the matter via Twitter. They eventually connected with community managers who were "very kind and helpful," but the support page they were directed to didn't work properly.   

"The site asked for a video file of the incident but the accepted file types weren't video files. So we couldn't send one," AJ said. "For me, the page would not even load. It seems very difficult to report players." 

Eventually Bethesda got the full story, possibly because NathanTheHicc actually uploaded a video of the incident from his perspective, titled 'Cleansing of the queers', to his YouTube channel. He admitted to Eurogamer that AJ's claims about the attack are accurate, although he claimed that he doesn't actually hate gay people. 

"It was just a late night of having fun and after the first encounter (seen on my channel) we felt it would be fun to offend them somehow. You can call that evil but I think it's just playful immaturity," he said. "I do not regret the incident. I will not apologize, given the opportunity. I don't plan on doing anything like this in the future but to be fair I didn't plan the initial incident, I just found them and decided to go through with it." 

He may feel differently about that now, however. After initially slapping him with a three-day suspension, Bethesda made the ban permanent after reviewing the matter. As for AJ, they said the incident was "draining" but expressed greater concern for how that kind of behavior could impact other players who aren't equipped to handle it. 

"What if they targeted a kid playing that was struggling with their identity? What if they said all those things to someone that was playing solo and didn't have anyone to talk to? That can really mess someone up. Playing a game to escape reality and then that happens," they said. And while Fallout 76 players can permanently block others, AJ said that's not good enough. 

"Simply blocking someone from a session is only temporarily protecting yourself, but not stopping anything from happening again or to other people. For 76 specifically, non-PvP servers would be great. Maybe things would have been different if they were not able to kill us. Despite all the bugs and glitches, the game is fun when you're with friends and can casually explore and play." 

PvE and roleplaying servers are two fixes our our Fallout 76 reviewer Chris Livingston called for.

FlyByKnight

To Developers:
Don't make games that leave the players to their own resources (sandbox/survival) without developing with the lowest common denominator/worst case scenario in mind.

To Players:
Why the hell do certain folks always think stuff like this is "all in fun". I wonder what they would do for fun during the "go play outside" days. 

In General:
Unmitigated voice chat is the worst modern game feature and has never added anything positive to any game I've seen it in.

[Player A wishes to initiate voice talk. Do you accept (Y/N)]. Fixed.

SBFord

MisterZebub said:

Ah I wondered with this story would show up here. Some stupid high-school kids did something stupid in an online game where player conflict is encouraged and people are surprised. 

We made an editorial decision to leave it out of the news stream since most times we post things hinting at politics, they turn into a dumpster fire. We'll be keeping tabs on this thread as well.

ON TOPIC: This is the biggest problem with the default setting toggled to proximity chat. <edited> The default should be OFF, not ON.

Grunty

You can either stay in a bubble and let asshats take over society or you can toughen up, call them out for their behavior and ostracize and ban them in order to help make the best of the life you and other non-asshats have to live.

That ban hammer isn't heavy enough.

ConstantineMerus

SBFord said:

MisterZebub said:

Ah I wondered with this story would show up here. Some stupid high-school kids did something stupid in an online game where player conflict is encouraged and people are surprised. 

We made an editorial decision to leave it out of the news stream since most times we post things hinting at politics, they turn into a dumpster fire. We'll be keeping tabs on this thread as well.

ON TOPIC: This is the biggest problem with proximity chat. The fact that no option for push to talk or full opt-out of voice chat was included is just mind bogglingly naive or maybe just plain stupid.

Can't mute a certain player? What if someone decides to put on Justin Bieber then what the hell am I supposed to do!?

Phry

MisterZebub said:

Ah I wondered with this story would show up here. Some stupid high-school kids did something stupid in an online game where player conflict is encouraged and people are surprised. 

I think one of the things that is being overlooked is that the 'victims' had to participate voluntarily, the only reason this is even a thing is because the ones involved put up a video online about it, by all accounts they don't even care about the banning, though if the game had been 'better' chances are they would care more, though if the game was 'better' maybe they would have been doing something else just as stupid, who knows, kids these days do some crazy .... 

SBFord

ConstantineMerus said:

SBFord said:

MisterZebub said:

Ah I wondered with this story would show up here. Some stupid high-school kids did something stupid in an online game where player conflict is encouraged and people are surprised. 

We made an editorial decision to leave it out of the news stream since most times we post things hinting at politics, they turn into a dumpster fire. We'll be keeping tabs on this thread as well.

ON TOPIC: This is the biggest problem with proximity chat. The fact that no option for push to talk or full opt-out of voice chat was included is just mind bogglingly naive or maybe just plain stupid.

Can't mute a certain player? What if someone decides to put on Justin Bieber then what the hell am I supposed to do!?

No one should be forced into voice chat. It's an automatic NO from me if I have to listen to other people talk. I reserve voice chat for people I know, not utter strangers. It's pretty much why I opted not to purchase FO76 even before the shitstorm that launch brought about.

kitarad

parrotpholk said:

I made my feelings clear in the other thread but to add on a little bit after reading this in its complete form.

The block feature and the suspension should be enough.  No excuse for the behavior but as long as the internet exists the ability to be anonymous will always bring out the worst in most people.  I will give it to the kid in that he owned it and did not try to blame it on movies, games or something else.  

As for the one fellow talking about protecting others from this behavior.  Here is a hint, you cannot stop it.  As long as people are on this earth there will be hate, stupidity, and all other forms of reality.  Do not like it then do not go out the door or ever sign into an online environment.  Should it be this way....nope.  You can either stay in a bubble and hope feelings never get hurt or you can toughen up and make the best of the life you have to live.

Bethesda over reacted.  Game is already doomed enough without the heavy handed ban hammer.

They didn't actually keep quiet they did get him and his friends banned although I thought it was too much punishment for what happened. As for the observation of how it may affect a young person who is unsure of themselves...it is not an untrue observation. There have been many children who were psychologically hurt and we have read about these things too. So these are not something out of the realm of possibility. 

We cannot cotton wool the ears of our teens but this type of chat should be something you can turn off surely, or is there no such option.

I also made this observation in another thread but if you look into this incident and how the whole thing played out, the person that was targeted also participated in what happened. He is not exactly blameless.

Slapshot1188

SBFord said:

MisterZebub said:

Ah I wondered with this story would show up here. Some stupid high-school kids did something stupid in an online game where player conflict is encouraged and people are surprised. 

We made an editorial decision to leave it out of the news stream since most times we post things hinting at politics, they turn into a dumpster fire. We'll be keeping tabs on this thread as well.

ON TOPIC: This is the biggest problem with proximity chat. The fact that no option for push to talk or full opt-out of voice chat was included is just mind bogglingly naive or maybe just plain stupid. I think the bans were appropriate.

Ummm...

You most certainly CAN fully opt out of voice chat and I did it on day 1...
This is how misinformation spreads.

kitarad

^^^ ahh you can turn it off.

SBFord

Slapshot1188 said:

Ummm...

You most certainly CAN fully opt out of voice chat and I did it on day 1...
This is how misinformation spreads.

So I see, but by default it's on, something that a lot of players may or may not know. I still dislike the idea that it does come as the default option rather than the other way around. More options such as they're adding in the next patch are good for players.

FlyByKnight

Any game feature that provides a platform for an individual or group to "express" themselves should come under scrutiny by the design/dev team because 9/10 the feature will get abused/exploited.

Developers are going to have to stop being social inept egg heads and wise up because perma-banning and suspensions will get complained about by the apathetic and minor incidents blown out of proportion by alarmists.

It's the developers job to know and understand the player base.

rodarin

Its amazing how the world survived when this was a typical Friday night in the real world in most rural areas from probably the 50s until.... well probably still happens in some places.

Slapshot1188

kitarad said:

^^^ ahh you can turn it off.

Of course you can.  And anyone who even lifted a finger to try could see it quite easilly...

Not picking on Suzy here as others say the same thing... but come on folks, at least make an effort here. It's literaly the first choice under Audio. There is more than enough legitimate to complain about in the game. No need to make stuff up.

kitarad

Problem is you need better qualification than game developer and perhaps degrees in psychology and know how human beings interact to be able to anticipate this. They need to spend money on this and most companies won't bother. They will only react not anticipate.

Problem is these days you read about teens committing suicide over social media comments and if they are not careful this type of harassment can result in even more dire consequences. 

This game is supposed to be 17+ but I bet all my gumdrops that teens younger than 17 are playing.

Slapshot1188

Slapshot1188 said:

kitarad said:

^^^ ahh you can turn it off.

Of course you can.  And anyone who even lifted a finger to try could see it quite easilly...

Not picking on Suzy here as others say the same thing... but come on folks, at least make an effort here. It's literaly the first choice under Audio. There is more than enough legitimate to complain about in the game. No need to make stuff up.

And by the way you can also set it to just your group.

Phry

One of the reasons i prefer to use 3rd party programs for voice comms is because random people in voice chat can be 'irritating' they say stupid things, they play music, they generally just make a nuisance of themselves, i can't think of a single game that has proximity voice comms where things like that are not a problem, if a game is going to have proximity voice chat then it should be an 'opt in' feature and not a replacement for 'text chat'.

FlyByKnight

Slapshot1188 said:

Slapshot1188 said:

kitarad said:

^^^ ahh you can turn it off.

Of course you can.  And anyone who even lifted a finger to try could see it quite easilly...

Not picking on Suzy here as others say the same thing... but come on folks, at least make an effort here. It's literaly the first choice under Audio. There is more than enough legitimate to complain about in the game. No need to make stuff up.

And by the way you can also set it to just your group.

Good deal on that clarification.

I'm interested in hearing what everybody thinks should be the default values for voice chat out of the box or how it should be handled by developers in general.

I think having group on by default is fine, with any other interactions being a request with Yes/No prompt.

LackingMMO

Honestly most in game chat sucks compared to 3rd party stuff like discord. Turning chat off like slap pointed out and using something else would have removed this story from happening period. However this story does not surprise me and also wouldn't surprise me if there was more to the story as well.

Octagon7711

To the people who did it, it was no big deal, just having some fun to blow off some steam.  This is what turns some people off from PvP for good.  It's one thing to beat someone, even with three or more against one person who may have just started started playing the game, it's another thing to rub it in with many kinds of personal insults a group can think of, then post it on YT to share with friends.   

Plus not putting a decent reporting system in place.  I'd hate to think what the cheaters are doing in this game.  I also read the story of the person that was glitched and their character couldn't die.  They reported it and the devs didn't seem to care.  This person was in God mode so didn't want to PvP with anyone because it would be unfair since they couldn't die.  This game is off to a very rough start indeed.

Solar_Prophet

Was it stupid? Yes. Were they clearly laughing, joking, and making the comments in a tongue-in-cheek fashion as opposed to espousing actual hatred of homosexuals? Yes. 

The 3-day ban was arguably appropriate, since there was clearly no malice involved. A permanent ban is a gross overreaction, though given the overall quality of FO76 I'd say Bethesda was actually doing them a favor.

As for the guy who reported them, well, he needs to grow a much thicker skin. If this kind of thing sends him crying to Mommy Bethesda, he's going to have a very hard time in this world when he runs across actual hate based on superficial characteristics. There are no safe spaces to run to in the world at large. 

Wizardry

Well i have talked about this stuff in the past and there is even a bigger picture not mentioned.

What is that bigger picture?>>>PVP

You can't offer the more toxic environment in your game and be that STUPID to not understand the results.

This is why ,well one of the reasons,i often say keep pvp out of our mmorpg's,the games do not need it and i do not need it.

In the glory days of Unreal we made our own servers,we could jump to any server we wanted and the server owners could keep bad people out,so it worked.With developer run servers there is always going to be issues.

What i always say is the same thing,instead of trying to get players to FIGHT one another,how about create "content"that brings players together to work together.I know there is no perfect world,there is always going to be issues in gaming,but aiming for the rotten path is partially the developers fault.Know why they aim for the EASY pvp path,you can skip out on content,make a cheaper game,a lazier approach.

ceratop001

I have a controversial different take on this. I'm for not banning anyone. If you can't handle words you are way to sensitive. I'm not politically correct. PvP should be ruthless and crazy. Let all things happen. Good or bad people are who they are. I feel today's younger generation is way too sensitive and needs to toughen up a bit. I love it when players can say what they want and do what they want. It makes PvP more exciting and tactical. Words can't hurt you. They are just words and you can ignore it.

Cheers...

Grunty

parrotpholk said:

Grunty said:

You can either stay in a bubble and let asshats take over society or you can toughen up, call them out for their behavior and ostracize and ban them in order to help make the best of the life you and other non-asshats have to live.

That ban hammer isn't heavy enough.

Without getting overly political or preachy I disagree.

Everyone needs to have a thick skin and cannot get offended by every poor attempt at humor out there.  To ostracize and ban is what the people claiming to be persecuted are fighting against so you would propose to have the same behavior in return because you believe whatever it is on your end.

This is the problem with the world in that there is now zero tolerance for any opinion that it is not your own.  So instead of creating acceptance and tolerance you have created the ultimate intolerance.  People need to grow up and move on instead of thinking they can change every individuals way of thinking.  World is full of individuals and they are every single one entitled to their personal views and the expression of those views.  You may not agree with them but it is their right.  I am not a fan of bigots or the antifa crowd but both have the same right to have their views.  If both ends would accept that and move on then the world would be better.  Instead we get riots and violence in the streets.

Somewhere along the line people actually came to thing that their views and beliefs trumped someone elses which is a shame.  It kills diversity and does not promote it.

/rant off

I can accept some behavior from friends because I know where they are coming from.  I will not accept that behavior from people who are not my friends. 

Having been sexually assaulted twice in my lifetime there is some behavior I will not accept from anyone. 

tawess

Now here is my take on it. 

Had the asshats just hurled their insults, taken some potshots and then when asked to leave left... I might be agreeing with the "boys be boys" club... But as far as the story goes, they continued after having been asked to stop and when no other indication was shown that the people on the receiving end was enjoying the experience. 

At that point we move in to an actual legal situation and the actions of the arsehats can be seen as actual harassment. 

And that is when they fall of what ever moral highground they had. There is never a reason to verbally abuse someone who have asked for said treatment to stop, if you do... You are harassing. Add to that the fact that using homophobic slurs is also illegal (where i live) you have two strikes right there. 

No... Banning these asshats was the right call. If they want to come back and try to act like decent human beings. Gamestop is over there. --->

If that is to much.... 

How about i spraypaint the word for people who touch children on your house and car... After all you just need to toughen up, car and house still works fine. They are just words right. 

Mendel

*sigh*  Voice chat, the eternal bugaboo.

A game that provides voice chat but offers no tools to monitor, record or report issues (at either end, apparently) does its customers a disservice.  If the name calling and insensitive behavior occurred via text, at least Bethesda would have a record of the specifics and could take action, including referring the behavior to legal authorities, if appropriate.  That Bethesda could (and did) only take action on this matter after there was a video of the event posted on an unrelated site, puts Bethesda in a bad light.

I wouldn't mind proximity chat in games if there were tools for both the customer and customer service to control the content.  If these features existed, then proximity voice chat *could* add degrees of depth to immersion in a game, making the world feel more alive.  I might even install the mic and headphones I bought 3 years ago.  (If I could find them).

Without controls and monitoring, all voice chat currently does (in all games, not just Bethesda's) is provide the technology for bad behavior to be imposed on others.  The technology isn't evil; the people spouting the offensive language are.