Identifying yourself as a lesbian gets you banned on XBOX live

that is absolutely horrible...if you are a proud lesbian...why is it so wrong to show it?...i dont understand why people are so judgemental...get over it...people can love whomever they want...sex should not matter!

Wow this is sad, I don't know what sexual orientation has to do with gaming?

Time for a lawsuit. I'm sure there's a laywer that will jump on this free of charge.

This is really sad. Can't people sue for this?

I'm 100% for gay rights, but maybe the problem would have been helped if she had just removed the information from her profile. I mean if it was necessary for people to know that then there would be a "sexual orientation" slot on the profile info. not to be totally insensitive about this but if you where taking flak from something you shared with everyone wouldn't you remove it to save yourself the trouble?

even if she was advertising her sexual orientation in hopes of meeting someone over xbox, that's not the place to do it.

I think this is a near perfect combination of close-minded people and the girls personal mistake

Can we say "civili rights lawsuit???"

Richard Gaywood! LMFAO!

Wow Microsoft, way to hit new low.

Yes. Talking about anything sexual goes against the Code of Conduct you agreed on when you signed up to the service. Again, you wont get BANNED. You will simply be asked to remove it, UNLESS you are repeat offender. then a suspension will come in place (usually 2 days up to a week).

What If a man Identifies himself as a Lesbian? Would I get Banned?

It doesn't get you banned. You will just get a suspension or a force change on your tag or profile.

any lesbians holla :)

hahahaha!

someday lesbians like me and you will be more accepted in society. just like blacks weren't accepted at once it slowly grows on. even before blacks there were woman who werent looked as an equal part in society, give it time. hopefully you posting here gives microsoft a bigger notice.

They did not ban her because of her orientation, but because she used the word "lesbian" in her profile which is a word that alerts the filters.

Also as of right now Microsoft is working on a way to show orientation so that it cannot be misused. They have the word on their flagged list now because people could use it in derogatory ways. Sure there may be a few gamers that use it in a way that is fine, but there are twice as many gamers that would use it wrong.

I can see how easily it would look like MS is banning just to keep ignorant people on Live buying their products, but the fact is they are banning them too. She was not banned based on her orientation, but because (like thousands of others) she used a word that is against policy in her bio which is clearly against the rules as stated in MS's terms of use.

I just want people to know both sides before passing judgment. MS is working on a solution as we speak.

this type of stuff never happened with Nintendo 64

XBL is going to have to change something. Like someone mentioned before, this issue will not go away. I am dumbfounded that Microsoft would do something like this and ignore the actual problem here.

I am a lesbian gamer and I have come across gamers that are homophobic, but nothing to this extent. I just think that Microsoft is trying to avoid this problem as fast as they can since the gaming industry is dominated by males.

One way or another, Microsoft cannot ignore this problem. The LGBT community is entitled to rights that everyone else is entitled to. Just remember people... if you come across some gamers that are harassing you... don't hesitate to contact Microsoft.

why did it come up that she was lesbian?

if your bragging about it and shouting it down the mic im sure few people might take the pics.

Interestingly, Converse let you buy customised shoes online but they don't allow the word 'gay' to be written on them. I asked why and they claimed it was either offensive, or even copyrighted!

It seems to be more of a case of inadvertent censorship rather than institutional homophobia at Microsoft as some are claiming. There was a similar discussion last year when it was discovered users could not put the words "Gay" and "Queer" etc down as their full name, but it turned out this was part of Facebook's attempt to prevent false accounts and abuse.

there are a lot of systems out there. they obviously don't need the money... lol :)

why would you put your sexual orientation in an xbox profile?

not homophobic in the slightest, just sayin

Yeah this truly sucks, people should have the right to express their sexually or whatever they want on their profile. But lets be honest some information do offend some people out there...But most people on Xbox Live just abuse the system...Personally I wouldn't go parading about your personal life on a video game. As being a member of Xbox Live myself...No one cares that you are a lesbian. Your most likely to get negative feedback rather than positive feedback it's just human nature.

holy shit, is it just me or did all of kaatiits posts just disappear?

man, i hope my awesome logic didn't cause some scanner-esque head explosion or something.

Sexual Orientation, Race, and Religion are not relevant on a game site. Some People just don't want all this shit rammed down their throats on a Public Game Site. It has nothing to do with it. I think it's inappropriate to be harrassed or singled out because You may be. But, why does that matter when Your busy blowing someones brains out or beating them to death on a game? It's not an appropriate forum. If You are going to make an issue of something, keep it in the appropriate format. You play by microsoft's rules or don't play. That's all. If I announce that I'm a gay semite from Gaza while I'm playing "Grand Theft Auto", What's the point?

i smell blatant hypocrisy, i don't think this is going away. People are gonna fight this.

Either people are going to agree to the nature of sexuality or Microsoft is going to have to make some changes. This may change the layout of XBL to not include a profile.

if the kids can't play nice, they'll take away the candy coating.

Do you have any idea how frequently people curse, offend and call each other politically incorrect stuff on XBOX Live? Every time I play Halo it's "Hey faggot stop sniping" and "The faggots are inside!" Seriously.

I don't understand what is wrong with saying you are a lesbian in your bio. Things like this aren't even an issue for straight people. Excuse me for not taking the time to be polite and "tolerant", but if homosexuality offends you, who cares? Deal with it. Religious bigotry offends me, so fuck off.

@ kaatiit

"Homosexual behavior in animals refers to the documented evidence of homosexual or trans gender behavior in non-human animals. Such behaviors include sex, courtship, affection, pair bonding, and parenting. Homosexual and bisexual behavior are widespread in the animal kingdom: a 1999 review by researcher Bruce Bagemihl shows that homosexual behavior, has been observed in close to 1500 species, ranging from primates to gut worms, and is well documented for 500 of them. Animal sexual behavior takes many different forms, even within the same species. The motivations for and implications of these behaviors have yet to be fully understood, since most species have yet to be fully studied."

If God makes animals gay, why is it "perverted" when he makes people gay?

If animals are born gay, why is it you think all gay people choose to be so?

I know i don't have a chance in hell of swaying your opinion, i would just really like to know how a person with your view point rationalizes something, that to me, seems so hypocritical.

thats bull... if she was a lesbian and naked the wouldn't complain at all! am i right

just because you can put your bio on xbox live doesn't mean you should, especially your sexual preference.

it's the same as facebook offering to put your address and phone number on your profile, you COULD put it on there, but why would you want to? even though your profile can be set to private, someone could just eaily hack it and get it.

You get called a fag for doing nothing wrong on the internet. I mean, I can fully understand why she would be upset, but it wasn't the best decision to actually give them a possible reason to insult you.

Christ! thats abit to far :/
parents thinking their kids wont know what gays and lesbians are, wait till they get to the real world.

whats next? banning asians because there was a terrorist attack. and been a asian might offend other people.

wouldnt surprise me if people complained to microsoft about that to be fair :/

Given some of the incidents mentioned, it certainly seems that Microsoft needs to learn how to handle things based on the specific circumstances--for example, "offensive" words that also happen to be part of someone's actual name.

In addition to that, the idea of banning someone for stating that they are gay is ridiculous. And for all the people who claim "but I don't say I'm heterosexual"--yes, you do. You do it when you mention your spouse or partner or boy/girlfriend. You do it when you casually mention that you think x person or character is cute. Or have a picture of you and whoever you're dating as your avatar or in your profile. There are all sorts of little statements and actions that proclaim sexuality, albeit in a vague way, but ultimately, it's really no different than writing "heterosexual" on a profile.

It does seem a little heavy handed. I guess Microsoft's argument is that sexuality is not translated well online in gaming. Most teenage boys (and a few adults) can barely contain their homophobia in most games and it is an extremely poor user experience if all you get is homophobic slurs throughout the game.

I guess the heavy handed approach is purely to avoid any liability.

Luckily thought, their are plenty of networks she can join for support.

My surname is Lynch, and that is in Xbox Live's library of offensive terms. I e-mailed them, informing them that it's simply my last name, but they refused to allow me the right of using it in my name.

Microsoft should get their shit together.

Excerpt from the Code of Conduct:

"Don't create a gamertag or motto that references controversial religious topics, notorious people, organizations, or sensitive current or historical events that may also be considered inappropriate."

Sensitive current or historical events that may be considered inappropriate?

Notorious people?

Okay....this all seems rather subjective. How would they handle Tupac or Malcolm X references in a gamer tag? Would that fall under "sensitive historical" or "notorious persons"?

What about Geronimo? Native american hero or enemy of white Christian civilization?

We still have no indication that there is any kind of offical "complaint" system set up or how they internally decide whether something is "offensive" or not.

The reason all of this is important is because we are creating the rules of the Internet right now. There is no official standard right now for how community gaming hubs like Xbox Live should operate. Xbox, PS3 and Wii are all kind of making it up as they go along. Without our feedback nudging them in the right direction the evolution of these standards is going to take some turns we may not like.

We can either have a voice in that discussion (by debating Xbox Live's policies or lack thereof) or we can just shrug out shoulders and say, "Eh. Let Microsoft decide everything for me. Whatever they order me to do, I'll do."

Isn't that what the Internet is all about? Democratizing cyberspace and giving everyone a chance to participate and question everything? Why should Microsoft's Xbox Live policies be different in that we (gasp!) dare not question them? Why are so many so willing to surrender to whatever Microsoft says? Why is it being deemed laughable or ridiculous to question their policies and suggest improvements to what is clearly a barely functioning set of guidelines?

And isn't Xbox Live a subscription based service? Don't you PAY to use it?

As customers when did we become so docile? Some people here seem to think the only appropriate way to participate in Xbox Live is simply to dump our wallets out at the feet of Microsoft and snap off a salute whenever they bark out an order to us.

I disagree. As PAYING customers we are entitled -- nay! -- obligated to make our desires known the company. It is the obligation of the company to make sure we're happy, not the other way around.

sad.

In case anyone is interested, here's the link to Microsoft's official Xbox Live Code of Conduct - decide for yourself.

You're all pretty stupid to argue about this when xbox live has clearly stated their user policies when you sign up, women still aren't allowed to play at certain country clubs, xbox is a private community and they reserve the right to cancel your membership for any reason... Even if you munch carpet, there was absolutely no reason for her to post that or to argue about it. Rules clearly stated when you signed up. All you people do is complain instead of taking accountability for the fact you're a retard who can't read or follow simple instructions.

I laughed for all the wrong reasons.

this is bs. ive seen references to anatomy in a gamertag. no, i doubt this would have turned out any differently even if it were as unsexual as saying "im a girl, i have a girlfriend/wife".

When you consider that you actually have to have evidence of the harassment to support your claim, it becomes very clear that it is incredibly difficult to actually ban the accused.

No where in this small article is it stated that a log or any piece of suitable evidence was presented.

Long story short, whistle blowing gets you nowhere without evidence, and there's a damn good reason for that.

Yeah, this whole thing is stupid.

A lot of you are overlooking the fact that most of these systems that ban users are simply programs that search and filter words that may be deemed offensive.

For instance, to declare yourself "gay" is an acceptable use of the term. However, to use the word as an insult is deemed offensive. In order to circumvent the entire debacle they just blanket filter/ban the use of the word.

Granted, there are users, or better termed "griefers" who abuse this system like the Live users that over-report or harass. Griefers, however, will always exist under any governing system as they are simply displaying some of the nastier side of humanity. It is not the system or company you should be blaming.

It is highly unnecessary to get this upset over something that is a mechanical error.

Common sense people.

Here's Xbox Live TOS:

(It is a violation of terms to) Defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten, or otherwise violate the legal rights (such as rights of privacy and publicity) of others;

Publish, distribute, or disseminate any inappropriate, profane, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent, or unlawful content, topic, name, material, file, or information;

Publish, distribute, or disseminate any content, topic, name, material, file, or information that incites, advocates, promotes, depicts, constitutes, or expresses child pornography, profanity, hatred, bigotry, racism, illegal drug use, gratuitous or graphic violence, or criminal or fraudulent activity;

Create a Gamertag , avatar or use text in other profile fields that may offend other members. This includes comments that look, sound like, stand for, hint at, abbreviate, or insinuate or relate to any of the following: profane words/phrases, topics or content of a sexual nature, hate speech (including but not limited to racial, ethnic, or religious slurs), illegal drugs/controlled substances, or illegal activities;

-----

Wow. That's very specific, but at the exact same time very, very vague!

Take this beauty: "Create a Gamertag , avatar or use text in other profile fields that may offend other members. "

So if anyone, anywhere and at any time deems ANYTHING offensive...Microsoft reserves the right to ban it (though it also reserves the right to NOT ban it. Being offended is totally subjective, but being banned is equally subjective. It all depends on how Microsoft feels about it). Richard Gaywood will be banned on MS whim, but "IHATEOBAMA" will be left alone. Seems pretty capricious.

Now the TOS clearly states that it violates their terms if any gamers "Defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten, or otherwise violate the legal rights (such as rights of privacy and publicity) of others"

So when the lesbian gamer was defamed and harrassed...why weren't the other accounts banned or suspended for violating the terms of the agreement? How exactly is Microsoft "tracking" these incidents to determine what is or isn't harrassment? No one knows.

How is "harrassment" defined by Microsoft? It isn't (as far as I can tell). Again the term means whatever Microsoft says it means and they will apply it however haphazardly they want.

But Microsoft thinks it has covered its ass because it includes merely including the word. But without defining it and without explaining the mechanism by which "harrasement" is tracked renders the word almost meaningless.

----

Nothing Microsoft is doing (randomly banning people whenever the Company feels like it) is illegal.

But it is sending a clear message to gamers: Xbox Live is filled with annoying, mildly retarded gamers and the entire site is moderated by equally retarded overseers.

Was this gamer even warned by Xbox Live that she had information that was "offensive" in her profile before her account was banned? Was she given the opportunity to change it? And how exactly is "offensive" content tracked? Does it take 20 complaints before someone is banned? 10 complaints ? Just 1?

It just seems as though there aren't any adults with an actual rulebook overseeing the non-gaming aspects of Xbox Live.

If the Dyke in questions knows how to read she would know doing that is against the tos. XBL is not myspace or facebook and personal information should not be shared on XBL.

Also, there are always two sides to a story. As we all know the homo crowd is very sensitive about being homosexual and any negative response to the life style will bring forth a queer shit storm that only provokes the younger crowd causing a regular but slightly homo shit storm.

Microsoft is a business not your friend. They don't owe you anything. If they want to b& queers that is up to them.

completely bass ackwards......

HA HA your gay

If you haven't read a book called crowdsourcing, you should, it explains that allowing the public at large to analyze issues and business practices usually creates a much more sensible and encompassing solution, again a simple terms and conditions would solve all of the mystery

It's so annoying that WE seem to be smarter and better organized than the "geniuses" at Microsoft.

Seriously, a multi-billion dollar company just "forgot" to establish rules/codes of conduct for their flagship online community?

It never occured to them that it might be a good idea to make sure ALL Xbox Live members were fully educated about what is and is not acceptable in terms of screen names, bio information and online conduct (ie harrassment)?

How is it that all of us could figure out within 30 seconds of reading the article a) what the problem was and b) how to resolve it -- yet the guys making $250,000 a year @ Microsoft still seem confused about how to regulate the Xbox Live online experience to avoid these kind of issues?

That's it! I'm sending Bill Gates an invoice. I consider this post a "freelance consultation" and I'm sending him a bill.

What a load of cocks. Just get a PS3, they are all foreign language speaking so It won't matter what you announce to the masses.

@crob80227 - you hit the nail on the head. don't offer a "bio" line in the gamertag if you plan to police how people describe themselves. plus, they are trying to diversify the community by appealling to specific groups like "gamerchix," etc. with gamer girl nights on Xbox live, why not host an LBGT gamer night for specific games, too?

The issue here is that Xbox is TRYING to build an interactive community that extends beyond just online gaming.

If Microsoft said, "This is just gaming and nothing else. We don't allow politics or religion or anything. If you want to play Halo, fine. But that's it!" -- then they may have a leg to stand on. Couldn't really argue with that.

BUT they are actively trying to promote Xbox Live as an interactive community -- and yet these billion dollar asshats apparently never developed any common sense guidelines on how to handle issues like this. What is their online harrassment policy? Is it standardized? Is it readily available for all gamers to read? Is there a TOS or something that says "sexual orientation may not be discussed"? Are the rules regarding "offensive material" or "online harrassement" enforced fairly and consistently?

The answer seems to be a resounding "No" to all of the above. (Knowing Microsoft it isn't entirely surprising that common sense questions like that were never asked in the first place)

Shame on Microsoft for allowing a player to be harrassed online. Thse types of problems are only going to get worse the more popular Xbox Live becomes. If it's not sexual orientation, it'll be religion. Then politics. And on and on. Trying to sit back with no standard policy and trying to deal with each incident in a haphazard manner is a recipe for disaster (or just a really crappy online experience)

Trying to tie orientation into the same conversation as race is ludicrous, this argument comes down to politics, if someone could please explain to me why labeling your sexual orientation is necessary in this case, i would love to hear it. And BTW just because you can is not a real answer.

I am completely disgusted by the people who are saying she should just remover her orientation from the game and move on. The problem here does not lie with the lesbian gamer but with Microsoft - they should apologise ASAP. If a similar incident happened with someone being taunted for their race, everyone would be all up in arms about it.

who's passing the homophobic culture to our children? there's the answer to the problem.

Seriously, what is the point of labeling your sexual preference in a profile, i dont put hetero in mine. Quit trying to put everything out there for the world to see. In my mind that is what the problem is with sexuality these days and what is forcing people to do such kinky things to get their diggs, nothing is sacred or hidden anymore, and its a shame.

i think its the younger players who are the trouble, watching over rated movies or playing games they are too young for. They pick it all up and think its 'cool'

So what if you are gay and you make it common knowledge on your profile. The more mature gamers would think nothing of it, like some guy said above the red blooded males would think its cool.

I find the younger players the most annoying, maybe they should be the ones being banned or controlled. Leaving real gamers to have fun and enjoy playing with other people gay or straight.

weird, I thought guys loves lesbians, don't they? Anyway the whole thing is so stupid,the girl should write whatever she wants on her profile.

OH MY GOD. This whole story line is the most jacked up story I have heard since the Porn thing yesterday. So your telling me that if you are an honest young women or a man for that matter, if your honest that Microsoft is going to punish you for it. If their losing 8 yr olds as a result of it then thats there problem. I sure that NO ONE has ever put down that they were homosexual. Join me over on the SONYer side of the fence. I wont judge.

IM GLAD THIS PERSON GOT BANNED!!!
WHY ADVERTISE YOUR OWN SEXUAL PREFERENCE ON A GAMING SITE? ESPECIALLY WHERE THERES KIDS?
YOU PEOPLE WANT RIGHTS ON XBOX NOW LMAO..HOW ABOUT GETTING SOME RIGHTS TO KNOW WHEN TO SHUT UP. GO SAVE A TREE OR SOME SHIT LIKE THAT BESIDES HOW OLD IS THE LEZ THAT GOT BANNED? IS SHE A MINOR? IF SO EVEN BETTER SHE GOT BANNED AND OTHERS ALIKE..IS SHE OVER THE AGE IF SO MAYBE A PREDATOR..GO XBOX!!