You’ll Have to Watch What You Say
Online abuse is part and parcel of playing video games. Almost everyone who has ever played any multiplayer game for an extended amount of time has surely run into a toxic player who was shouting some profanity-laced insult at you or your teammates. While most gamers have build up a strong immunity to this kind of behavior and brush it off as nothing, for some it can really turn them off the game entirely. Counter-Strike is, unfortunately, one of the games with the worst reputation when it comes to abusive communities. To combat this, Valve is working on a new system that will automatically mute players who scream, yell, swear, or engage in any unsavory behavior.
The way the system is being set up is quite simple. The more players receive complaints or reports of toxicity, the higher chance that Valve is going to mute them. The abusive player will first get a warning if they continue to behave in a way that others deem as undesirable then they will be muted altogether. The player will be muted automatically but other players can unmute them if they wish. However, having a mute icon next to your name will serve as a warning to others that you’re probably not the best person to talk to.
“Because the new system is driven by reports, it lets players establish their own standards for communication and ensure that their fellow players receive anonymous feedback when they’re out of line,” Valve said. The only way to get rid of this communication ban is to earn enough XP. So this means players are going to have to play a handful of games without the ability to talk to people. Maybe this might make Counter-Strike a better place. Probably not.