Thursday, August 17th 2023
Xbox Introduces Enforcement Strike System
We are constantly improving our safety measures and bringing more systems and tools in place that empower players to respectfully interact with one another - because everyone deserves a place to comfortably be themselves online, free from harassment and bullying. One of the most common questions we get from players through feedback, posts, and appeals is how repeated enforcements impact their gameplay, how they escalate, what they escalate to, and how they know when their account is back in good standing. To help address this, we are introducing a new enforcement strike system.
The new system attaches strikes to every enforcement, ranging in severity based on inappropriate activity. Each player will now have a view of their enforcement history including strikes and the overall impact these have on their player record. This revised system gives players a better understanding of enforcement severity and the cumulative effect of multiple enforcements. Enforcement transparency is about giving players clarity into how their behavior impacts their experience. Our content moderation efforts are not changing as a result of the new enforcement strike system.
As always, when a player believes they have witnessed a violation of Xbox's Community Standards, we encourage them to report. All reports are evaluated, there are no automated enforcement actions based solely on the fact that a report was made. No volume of inaccurate reports results in an enforcement. Only reports that have been reviewed by the Xbox Safety Team and determined to be accurate result in an enforcement.
With the new system, enforcements will also include strikes based on the severity of their actions. The system is similar to demerit strikes used in driver's license systems in many countries. For example, a player that has received two strikes will be suspended from the platform for one day, whereas a player that receives four strikes will be suspended for seven days. Players have a total of eight strikes and, once reached, will be suspended from Xbox's social features like messaging, parties and party chat, multiplayer and others for one year from the enforcement date. All strikes received stay on a player's record for six months. Today, players will all begin with a blank slate, or zero strikes. Any previous enforcements, such as suspensions, must still be completed; new enforcements as of today will result in strikes.
With these changes, Xbox is evolving enforcement to focus on protecting players. This is why even suspended accounts remain functional for single-player experiences and players do not lose access to purchased content. However, for the most serious violations - including illegal activity - Xbox retains the ability to permanently suspend all functionality of an account including access to purchases.
In 2022, fewer than 1% of all players received a temporary suspension, and only 1/3 of those received a second. Our data shows us that players typically stop inappropriate behavior after one enforcement, quickly learning what is and is not acceptable based on the Xbox Community Standards and how to better engage on our platform. The strike system is designed to further empower players to engage positively and appropriately on Xbox and with the community. We'll share data and updates in our bi-annual Transparency Report.
Below is a visual of what players will see in their enforcement history:
Like before, players will still have the ability to appeal eligible enforcements. Where applicable, if an enforcement is reversed, the corresponding strike will be removed. For more information, visit the FAQ on Xbox Support.
The new system attaches strikes to every enforcement, ranging in severity based on inappropriate activity. Each player will now have a view of their enforcement history including strikes and the overall impact these have on their player record. This revised system gives players a better understanding of enforcement severity and the cumulative effect of multiple enforcements. Enforcement transparency is about giving players clarity into how their behavior impacts their experience. Our content moderation efforts are not changing as a result of the new enforcement strike system.
With the new system, enforcements will also include strikes based on the severity of their actions. The system is similar to demerit strikes used in driver's license systems in many countries. For example, a player that has received two strikes will be suspended from the platform for one day, whereas a player that receives four strikes will be suspended for seven days. Players have a total of eight strikes and, once reached, will be suspended from Xbox's social features like messaging, parties and party chat, multiplayer and others for one year from the enforcement date. All strikes received stay on a player's record for six months. Today, players will all begin with a blank slate, or zero strikes. Any previous enforcements, such as suspensions, must still be completed; new enforcements as of today will result in strikes.
With these changes, Xbox is evolving enforcement to focus on protecting players. This is why even suspended accounts remain functional for single-player experiences and players do not lose access to purchased content. However, for the most serious violations - including illegal activity - Xbox retains the ability to permanently suspend all functionality of an account including access to purchases.
In 2022, fewer than 1% of all players received a temporary suspension, and only 1/3 of those received a second. Our data shows us that players typically stop inappropriate behavior after one enforcement, quickly learning what is and is not acceptable based on the Xbox Community Standards and how to better engage on our platform. The strike system is designed to further empower players to engage positively and appropriately on Xbox and with the community. We'll share data and updates in our bi-annual Transparency Report.
Below is a visual of what players will see in their enforcement history:
48 Comments on Xbox Introduces Enforcement Strike System
I hope Microsoft's idea works, God only know how much it is needed these days.
Service operators can take pro-active steps to reduce this negative behavior or they can watch their community wither and die.
Some people here think that sticking your head in the sand or fiddling while Rome burns is a viable solution. It's not.
You'll find both sides trying to cancel each other out. Don't pretend it's the fault of one side.
how do you cheat in a controlled virtual environment that doesnt allow cheating? you dont, you hack it from the outside. Hacking is low level crime in MS eyes.
Reporting is its own game and I always win :^)
In fact, it is likely that there will be some sort of tuning of these regulations in the future. However, this is (another) step in the right direction to make online play a more pleasant experience. After all, the MAIN point of playing videogames is to have fun.
Fisticuffs were common occurrences both on and off the field during baseball games around the turn of the century. Both are banned now.
At some point, the NHL will ban player fighting. It should have happened thirty years ago but there's a certain faction of nasty humans who seem to revel in such activity defending it with proclamations of "it's part of the game!" No, it's not. It's part of the league. There's no fighting in high school, collegiate, women, international hockey.
If videogaming is going to thrive, this sort of verbal nastiness needs to be addressed.
There has always been cheating in any sort of competition that humans have ever participated in. Hell, for a number of years, the Tour de France was really a blood doping cycling exhibition. Literally years of results were vacated and rules were changed.
Ideally a game is a fun competition between individuals. If care isn't taken, it will drift away from that because some people think winning is more important using cheating and bad behavior as tools to accomplish that goal.
Rampant cheating has destroyed some videogames. It's not that companies are ignoring it, but bad behavior is more immediately visible to everyone -- even just pure spectators.
It's the 1st thing i disable when playing online.
I'm not even that old, but am old enough to say, we used to call these types of people who went out of their way to tell on so and so for doing such and such a "tattle-tail". you did not want to be the tattle tail in your school class. now-a-days, it seems to be encouraged to be that person.
so to reiterate your point I think you're making, it's best to just ignore those type of people. the fact they would get under your skin enough to force you to want to go out of your way to report them is evident enough that they won. just ignore them, that is how you win
I’m against telling on people too, but there has to be some middle-ground in video games if players aren’t going to band together to ostracize those who bandy about the n and f words, for example. Given the nature of online gaming, the lack of such organization makes sense, and it makes sense that publishers and providers that want their communities to thrive would discourage things that prevent that thriving
And to be honest there are big differences in platform atmosphere on the many different online spaces, and a lot of it IS down to good moderation.
Not that it matters to me, I can take a lot but mostly it's common stupidity which I cannot stand, and it often comes from those without much self-control, those who need to push others down in order to elevate themselves.
In any bar, or public place if people can't behave they'll eventually be showed to the door, is it so hard to control yourselves online?
Heck, behave badly on forums and you'll get kicked out as well..
In 2023, these videogame comments have essentially turned into an SNL parody of videogame comments.
So, no. Your sentiments are exactly the problem with modern gaming. I mean, you'd not dream of walking into a hardcore biker bar full of psycho strangers and tell them all they're all a bunch of c****. Get real.
Edit: apologies if this sounds harsh but people need to differentiate between how they interact with friends (no holds barred), and how their behaviour might influence or upset others.
Pity.
When you meet people IRL, everyone generally loves to de-escalate. Escalation in real life is stress. But on the internet, it's entertainment and ad revenue.While I did have my share of teenage fun in the good old lobbies all over the place (and WoW... oh man... those were the days!) I can't say the whole thing was, well, elevating things to good levels of gameplay. It was however for sure not as boring as shit as it is now online. People were new to online etiquette back then and it was mighty fun. You just didn't even go there if you didn't have mental body armor. At least that was my impression, but not everyone kept their cool for sure :D The rage... glorious. But yeah, public lobbies. They're a mess even today :)
That definitely is a generational thing though, youth these days are SO TIMID. Holy crap... domesticated from birth, and/or taken the heavy Covid blow, I don't know but yeah, its something and its definitely too soft for this world. It feels as if lots of people reason and talk from a basis of fear, these days. That's also why things escalate so quickly and nuance is often gone. The #MeToo affair and all of its copycats is a another example, I won't deny there was filth going on but this is pandora's box, everyone who ever felt unsafe anywhere at any time is now a victim. The amount of false positives is on the rise, too. I spoke of thought police earlier in the topic... this is it and its not a good thing. People aren't going to open up and talk if everyone's swinging banhammers.
There is no mute button in RL. This concept of toxicity is hilarious, in order to develop as a normal human being, you have to experience the good and the bad. And this muh "toxicity" narrative, safe spaces and other nonsense is the prime reason behind extraordinary neurotic youth nowadays, can't challenge anyone and everything is offensive.
Imagine being on platform you get 1 days suspension for a mean word and "hatespeech" is worse than cheating LOL. My sides.
That sort of behavior will get you fired from any companies too.
There's plenty of bad things on this planet without having to encourage them.
You are also ignoring the fact that there is a substantial dollar figure attached to the videogame industry. Having more happy players is a better financial outlook than having a tiny core group of extremely despicable humans. Businesses are rewarded for shareholder value growth. Letting a bunch of misogynists run around and make an increasingly larger group of people miserable it not a fiscally sound business strategy.
Remember that with live service games and SaaS, player engagement and continuous participation is an integral part of the revenue stream. A player that rage quits because of a-holes being a-holes isn't going to cough up $5 for that skin.
But that's definitely beyond the scope of understanding of this forum's more feeble minded participants...