"Sexist Remarks" in Halo 4 will earn you a lifetime ban

[ArsenicCatNip]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120412-Halo-4-Sexism-Earns-You-a-Lifetime-Ban

"If you give them a way to express that side of their personality without being seen," Wolfkill went on to say, "you're going to see this type of behaviour manifest itself." That's why there's a zero tolerance policy for sexist or discriminatory comments on Xbox Live; players who fall foul of the policy face a lifetime ban from the network.

Personally I think it's silly. I don't condone sexism, but I don't think people should be censored because you might hurt their feelings and there are many ways to deal with it such as muting the player. I don't think it helps anyone because the people who are banned would feel even more resentment, but how do you feel on it?

[FreeFall]

Good. It goes beyond hurting their feelings. It goes into direct hatred and personal victimization, it's not fair to have someone feel like they're under direct fire and ask them to simply mute the player. That's as good as asking them to change their gender so the person quits their remarks.
Some broad on xbox went to town in harassing my boyfriend. He was playing some trasformer's game and killed her or something, idk I was playing with beads, next I hear is she's demeaning the entire male population of the world through her comments to him. He's only good for shooting baby making juice (yep, her words,ugh), why doesn't he just go work on a car and send me to the kitchen, isn't it time he go to war and die like all good men, I can remember it all but you get the picture. He's a good man, fired one non sexist comment her way and she went hollering like a banshee offline. But he was pretty pissed about it for a good couple hours.

They may feel resentment, but they'll have to let it out elsewhere and learn that being a big fat jackass doesn't reap the greatest rewards.

[ArsenicCatNip]

Good. It goes beyond hurting their feelings. It goes into direct hatred and personal victimization, it's not fair to have someone feel like they're under direct fire and ask them to simply mute the player. That's as good as asking them to change their gender so the person quits their remarks.
Some broad on xbox went to town in harassing my boyfriend. He was playing some trasformer's game and killed her or something, idk I was playing with beads, next I hear is she's demeaning the entire male population of the world through her comments to him. He's only good for shooting baby making juice (yep, her words,ugh), why doesn't he just go work on a car and send me to the kitchen, isn't it time he go to war and die like all good men, I can remember it all but you get the picture. He's a good man, fired one non sexist comment her way and she went hollering like a banshee offline. But he was pretty pissed about it for a good couple hours.

They may feel resentment, but they'll have to let it out elsewhere and learn that being a big fat jackass doesn't reap the greatest rewards.

I agree that it goes both ways, I just feel that if you're banned for life for that the resentment and I suppose hatred towards the opposite gender will only grow. I'm more concerned if they actually enforce sexism on both sides because judging by numerous articles they're more focused on men trash-talking women. Also I disagree with your comparison of muting. One is a simple task which takes no more than 5 seconds because you wouldn't like to hear someone, and actually changing your gender takes years not to mention it's because of personal matters. Muting is simply ignoring them and that's exactly what I would do if someone started spewing hateful remarks towards me.

[Mortal Coil]

Personally I think it's silly. I don't condone sexism, but I don't think people should be censored because you might hurt their feelings

Uh, there's a difference between hurting someone's feelings and supporting the patriarchal society that condones violence against, hatred towards, and dehumanization of women. You may not condone sexism, but as a male you cannot fully understand how sexist the world still is. We live in an era where girls are accused of "asking" to be raped. Where male politicians think it's okay to call a traumatic experience like that a "gift from god." Where women still earn less than men, live in constant fear of being attacked, are expected to do all of the housework, and are treated as if our bodies are not our own. And sexist remarks, even in Halo 4, are condoning the oppression of women in our culture. I'm not saying that misandry doesn't exist too, because it does, and sexist remarks against males aren't okay either, because either way it is widening the gap between genders in the equal rights struggle.

[ArsenicCatNip]

Uh, there's a difference between hurting someone's feelings and supporting the patriarchal society that condones violence against, hatred towards, and dehumanization of women. You may not condone sexism, but as a male you cannot fully understand how sexist the world still is. We live in an era where girls are accused of "asking" to be raped. Where male politicians think it's okay to call a traumatic experience like that a "gift from god." Where women still earn less than men, live in constant fear of being attacked, are expected to do all of the housework, and are treated as if our bodies are not our own. And sexist remarks, even in Halo 4, are condoning the oppression of women in our culture. I'm not saying that misandry doesn't exist too, because it does, and sexist remarks against males aren't okay either, because either way it is widening the gap between genders in the equal rights struggle.

I never actually adressed a specific gender. I could care less if a girl started to make fun of me for being a male, that's why I mute them or anyone antagonizing.

if you want to reduce sexism or racism or anything else, you should only use mild punishments like a 24-hour ban for anything that doesn't massively impinge the ability of anyone to play the game. Or take away some earned weapons or stats, but nothing that will be permanently damaging to the player. You can't kick all the sexist and racist players off all the games with bans, but you can start influencing a behavioural change, and permabans are exactly the wrong way to do it. The player will realize that the behavior isn't allowed.

Permabans should be for something like hacking, or phishing accounts.

[Mortal Coil]

I never actually adressed a specific gender.

True. What I am saying is that, while the world is sexist against males, misogyny is institutionalized while misandry is not. The result is that, as a male, because you simply have not been the direct victim of institutionalized sexism, you aren't seeing all of it. It's not your fault. But this might give you an idea of what we go through. (http://fucknomisogynymastodon.tumblr.com/)

[FreeFall]

I'm sure they've warned people they will be banned for sexism. Murderers are usually incarcerated, sexist people are banned. There's always a punishment for being a bad person, this is the foot they've chosen for that shoe.

Mental and emotion protection is more important than an account full of toys.

[Sir Suomi]

I think this is just ridiculous. Banned for life just for a sexist comment? That's just plain out dumb. If you don't want people to make rude comments to you, mute them. It takes only a few seconds. If you're like me, just mute everyone before the game starts. People complaining about being insulted over Xbox Live is like someone complaining about getting hurt playing football.

[Gigablue]

I think it's a good idea, but they went too far. Sexism is horrible, but banning people permanently will only make them angry and more sexist. Temporary bans would probably be more effective in reducing sexism overall. Permanent bans should be used only on the second or third offence.

[TigerBoy]

if you want to reduce sexism or racism or anything else, you should only use mild punishments ... Permabans should be for something like hacking, or phishing accounts.

In my view there is plenty of difference between 'zero tolerance' for offences and any punishment for them.

I agree with your sentiments: you shouldn't have to go straight for the permaban option, there should be warnings and other sanctions available depending on the severity. Overly harsh and unfair reactions will only backfire and lead to support for overturning the policy altogether (or defecting to other less tightly policed platforms).

Aggressive or rude comments involving things like race, gender and sexuality can seem small, but they all add up emotionally. Just because some people 'shrug off' insults on occasion, doesn't mean they always will or that others will: it very much depends on what that individual has experienced previously.

So I'm very much for 'zero tolerance' of such offences but also for sensible and fair handling on a case by case basis. As with VT's approach: sufficient repetition of a minor offence after infractions can lead to a ban in the same way as a single blatant action.