Microsoft Says “No” to Gaymertags

How often have you been called a candyass, douchebag, retard, or something far more anti-semitic, homophobic, or just plain inappropriate by someone on Xbox Live? Gamers trash talk with the best of them, just spend a night playing Call of Duty 4, if you’re curious. Let’s face it - Xbox Live is not for the faint of heart.

But do these e-bullies face repercussions? Ryan Grant, who watched his gamertag – “theGAYERgamer” – receive a quick blow from Microsoft’s ban-hammer, knows the answer.

According to Grant, he received a message from Microsoft informing him that his gamertag needed to be changed if he wanted to continue using Xbox Live. “I figured that it was just from people reporting it as an offensive name. The greater Xbox Live community isn’t exactly welcome to gay people; I spend a lot of time muting people on Halo 3.”

His attempt to have the Gamertag reinstated fell on deaf ears, as a phone call to Microsoft’s Customer Service (a.k.a. the Red Ring of Death help line) cemented their position. “A supervisor told me that she didn’t personally find my Gamertag offensive, but that the greater Xbox community did.” Suffice to say, the “greater Xbox community” seems to consist primarily of easily offended heterosexual gamers; it’s doubtful that other gay (or reasonable) Xbox Live members would file complaints about Grant’s gamertag.

Is Microsoft’s decision legitimate? A quick look at the Xbox Live Terms of Use clearly provides justification for their action; even if Grant was using the word “gayer” in another context, his gamertag would still be in violation.
This isn’t the only example of Microsoft cracking down on “gay” gamertags. A week after Ryan Grant’s suspension, another user’s Gamertag got the cyber axe. The only problem was that his gamertag – RichardGaywood – is his actual name. You read that correctly. However, due to Xbox Live’s rigid Terms of Use, even legitimate reasoning isn’t enough. Microsoft offered an explanation, though in this case it sounded questionable at best. It seems Microsoft is as worried about “gaymertags” as Nintendo is long-dead dictators.
Microsoft believes these suspensions help maintain an online environment free from offensive language. However, it’s difficult to turn a blind eye (or ear) to the rampant hate that saturates Xbox Live. Late last year, Xbox Live member “xxxGayBoyxxx” (unsurprisingly, this account isn’t active anymore… perhaps another victim of an Xbox Live suspension?) uploaded a now infamous video, entitled Halo 3: Homophobia Evolved, wherein he is brutally harassed and insulted. One fellow Xbox Live member went so far as to say he wanted to kill him in real life.
This recent crackdown on innocent gamertags that incorporate the word “gay,” particularly in the midst of the unabated hate that seems to go unpunished, is worrying. Of course, there is a mute option on Xbox Live, and gamers can choose to forego a headset altogether. However, online camaraderie is a great thing, and trash-talking helps to foster that camaraderie, so long as it is good natured. Should decent gamers have to concede to the many blow hards who use Xbox Live as an obscenity-riddled soap box? We can only hope Microsoft is dealing with these hate-mongers with the same resolve it displays in “protecting” us from RichardGaywood.