Troy Matsumiya GuestSpotter	Now Playing: MechAssault (Xbox), Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory (PC) Can't Wait For: Halo 2 (Xbox), Conker Live & Uncut (Xbox), Half-Life 2 (PC), Deus Ex 2 (PC), Thief III (PC), Doom 3 (PC)

The Dark Side of Online Gaming

Recently, I hosted a MechAssault team destruction game on Xbox Live. As soon as the game launched, someone on the opposing team hissed, "Let's go kill some fags." He then proceeded to spew hateful and disgusting comments about blacks, Jews, and homosexuals.

In another game, a player on my team continually yelled that we were bleeping "useless noobs" and the worst bleeping bleeps he ever played with.

In the Xbox forums, you will find no shortage of hateful racist, sexist, and homophobic slurs, and even serious threats to stalk, assault, or murder other players.

Whatever happened to good old-fashioned sportsmanship?

Games like this should be a forum for fun, not hatred.

Video games are supposed to be about fun. People buy them to be entertained, to waste a few hours swept up in a fantasy world where you are the hero or heroine who single-handedly saves the world or wins the championship. Of course, you can only get so much satisfaction from beating a computer. Beating another person, on the other hand, is a different story. Who among us has not felt that heady joy and satisfaction of kicking our opponents' butts and finishing on top?

Online play has made it possible for us to play against a wide variety of players from around the world, and even form friendships with people we would otherwise never meet. However, this same vehicle also attracts--and in many cases encourages--undesirable behavior.

It is this anonymity and lack of accountability that is making some players behave in ways they would not normally do in public--and it's ruining online play.

Fortunately, these people are in the minority, but the old saying about a few rotten apples spoiling the barrel definitely applies. How many of us have had good games ruined by a single bad player?

But why do they do it? I have two theories: First, some people simply want to get a reaction. They take pleasure from the fact that their atrocious behavior can get other players riled up and cause others to stoop down to their level. Simply playing the game is not fun enough for them. Getting people genuinely angry and frustrated, on the other hand, gives them a kick.

Second, some dominant players develop a big ego around their "l337" abilities and begin to see others as lesser beings. These players feel it's their "right" to belittle and speak down to others since they are gaming "gods" and should be revered.

Needless to say, both types of people are selfish and immature; the concepts of sportsmanship and good gameplay are foreign to them. And that's a shame.

Hopefully, game developers will implement more-effective safeguards against poor online conduct in the future.

An even bigger shame is the fact that it is extremely difficult to stop these people. Game developers recognize this problem and are trying to help legitimate gamers. For example, Xbox Live allows people to send feedback on offensive players. If a player receives enough negative feedback, his or her account can supposedly be suspended (I say "supposedly" because Microsoft's policy on feedback is muddy). Many games also contain an in-game player boot feature that can kick out undesirables. But these measures are only short-term Band-Aid solutions, and are not likely to encourage bad players to change their behavior.

This is why increasing numbers of players are forming clans and buddy lists to play exclusively with people who share the same attitudes and attributes. But this unfortunately reduces their opportunities to venture out and meet other good players, negating one of the best aspects of online gaming.

There is no single way of solving the problem, but there are a lot of little things gamers can do to avoid running into bad players. Forming clans and buddy lists is a great idea, but players should also play with outsiders to find other good people. Players should also not hesitate to send negative feedback or utilize the boot feature. Or, if a game does not have a boot feature, they should either rehost the game, or simply leave and find another server. No, you shouldn't have to run away whenever a bad player shows up, but sticking around is not a good idea either. Besides, if enough people leave when a bad player shows up, he won't be able to play and might get the hint that his behavior is not appreciated

Finally, if you cannot leave a game with a bad player present, then ignore him. Yes, it will be difficult to do so, especially if he is spewing racist garbage, but these people crave attention and want a reaction. By ignoring them, you take away what they want most: attention. And if they can't get attention, they become irrelevant and lose their power over others--which is the most frustrating and hurtful thing you can do to them.

I still enjoy online gaming, and will continue to play online for as long as I can. However, the joy I used to get has been greatly diminished and replaced with a slight feeling of dread whenever I sign into a game. For those immature players responsible for this, I say shame on you for trying to ruin it for everybody. For everyone else, I hope we can all band together to let these people know their behavior will not be tolerated, and that they will be held accountable for their actions.