EA Cracks Down on Toxic Behavior in Games
Electronic Arts has published an article titled Positive Play Charter, in which it discusses the principles of battling toxicity in games. The company will not hesitate to ban all the accounts of the most rebellious users, but considers this as a last resort.
One can have different opinions on the recent events in the USA after George Floyd's death, but one thing has to be said - game publishers have been given a good excuse to crack down on toxic behavior. In the case of Activision, it was mainly about fighting racism. Meanwhile, Electronic Arts published the Positive Play Charter, in which the company presents rules to help players enjoy a more positive gaming experience.
Basically, there is nothing here that we wouldn't know about before. The company recommends that we follow local laws, do not use cheats, exploits or other "assistances" in the game, do not post inappropriate content, and treat other players and EA employees with respect. The latter includes, of course, not insulting others on a racial or religious basis, etc., and, in the case of Electronic Arts community communication managers, not harassing them for "dissatisfaction with the solution". In addition, the users are not allowed to impersonate, spam on chat, acquire in-game currency in illegal ways, sell EA accounts, and use vulgar expressions, even censored. Refer to section 6 of user agreement for details.
Electronic Arts also encourages players to use (but not abuse) the in-game reporting tools or the EA Help website to report breaches of user agreement both in-game and on its websites and platforms. Any misconduct is intended to result in a temporary ban or restriction of the account because, as the publisher explains, "we are not angry with you; you just need a break". This is not the case if numerous violations or "serious" misconduct come into play - then we have to reckon with a permanent ban on all related accounts. Of course, there will always be an appeal option if we find EA's decision unfair.
As you can see, this chart is not so much a completely new initiative as a refreshment of existing ideas and an assurance about their application. In another place Electronic Arts mentions providing moderators with "additional resources and tools" in order to enforce the program. Nevertheless, trying to eliminate toxic behaviour in games seems to be a Sisyphean task. It often seems that for many players (and Internet users in general), "freedom of speech" on the web is synonymous with the absence of any brakes, and savoir-vivre is something as bizarre as things can get. Nevertheless, it should be appreciated if the publishers take real steps in the struggle to preserve even the remains of culture in games, even under the pressure of other events.
