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A New And Maybe Better Way To Stop People From Being Jerks Online - SEAmapler - 2011-01-14
![[Image: 500x_loltop1.jpg]](http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2011/01/500x_loltop1.jpg)
The people running the video game League of Legends knew they had a problem. They had the same problem that makes much of the Internet unpleasant. Too many people were being jerks online. They're hatching a novel solution: citizen justice.
Starting some time in the next few months, the creators of League of Legends, a free online computer game that boasts several million players who battle each other in a swords and sorcery virtual setting, will implement a system capable of delivering crowd-sourced justice. They're calling it a Tribunal System, and their tribunal will be staffed not by professional customer service personnel, not by real judges but by gamers.
Online jerks, you will be judged not by a higher authority but by the kinds of gamers you're being jerks to.
The game's elite players will become, in effect, the judges of the misbehavior of anyone allegedly causing a ruckus in the game.
Online jerks, you will be judged not by a higher authority but by the kinds of gamers you're being jerks to.
The Right Time To Strike Back At Internet Obnoxiousness
"This is innovation that was bred from necessity," Steve 'Pendragon' Mescon of Riot Games told Kotaku in a phone interview and who said his company was too small to manually deal with a level of player frustration that emerges in a community that is filing 10s of thousands of complaints a day, as League of Legends players were.
"We had to find a way to have a bigger impact and get rid of a much bigger number of these toxic players who are creating a and toxic atmosphere in a way that was more meaningful and efficient.
Should the tribunal system work, the small group of developers at Riot Games would be doing one of the hardest things there is to do on the Intenet: turn back the tide of negativity.
Players who become part of the game's new Tribunal system will review cases of people using offensive language, cases of people bullying other players and cases of any other sort of imaginable or unimaginable infraction that might occur during the play of a game and generate a complaint from one or more gamers. (A sample case file that a player-judge would see is included with this story.)
![[Image: 500x_the_tribunal_en.jpg]](http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2011/01/500x_the_tribunal_en.jpg)
The list of quasi-crimes a player tribunal might judge even consists of misbehavior that is more native to a game like League of Legends than it is a blog's rowdy comments section or the mess of a vandalized Wikipedia page. For example, a League of Legends player judge might have to rule on a player who has been AFK for too long — that is, being away from their keyboard when they were supposed to be competing in a match.
Being bad at League of Legends won't be a punishable offense, the developers noted.
Player-judges will review case file, which includes chat logs and information about what happened in a game during the alleged infraction. (When asked how the tribunal system would handle possible criminal infractions, say, violent threats by a player that another gamer might be complaining about, Riot Games' Mescon said such players should "always contact their local law enforcement.")
Tribunal members will receive points if they prove to be a consistently wise justice.
The tribunal members will be allowed to punish or pardon those whose deeds have been brought before them. They will receive points if they prove to be a consistently wise justice. And the player judges will have to follow a series of clever rules that ensure their justice is fair.
The presence of misbehavior in League of Legends is not unusual. Obnoxious behavior on online forums and in online games is as prevalent as rust on a truck. Anyone who runs anything online suffers the problem; as do members of most online communities. League of Legends isn't helped by the fact that it is a free computer game, one with such low barriers to entry than anyone can play it and have little financial reason to act respectably.
"We have millions of players and an extremely competitive game that's multiplayer and team-based," Mescon said. "You have a tendency in that kind of environment to attract people who have negative attitudes or toxic players who breed that kind of behavior. No one likes losing. There's lot of trashtalking, unsportsmanlike conduct, etcetera, etcetera. ... The percentage of the player base that is creating a negative atmosphere is relatively low. But, in an environment like this, a single player can have a really big impact."
Riot Games started considering a solution to the problem after the small team at the company realized that the 10s of thousands of complaints being filed by players against other players each day was more than they could handle. Enlisting players to dole out justice solves that math problem.
How Crowd-Sourced Internet Justice Will Work
Here's how the League of Legends Tribunal system is supposed to function on day one:
Any League of Legends player will be able to become a member of the tribunal as long as they reach the class of "Summoner Level 30," the highest rank possible in the player community and one attained by regular play of the game. That experience requirement keeps anyone from just hopping in and trying to judge cases.
A player who qualifies to be a judge will be able to access a randomized selection of cases, each case generated by a player or players who have complained about the behavior of a League of Legends gamer.
The tribunal player won't be able to pick their cases. They also won't be told how many votes will be required to cause the player in question to be punished or pardoned.
Tribunal players will know the gamer names of the alleged perpetrator and those who have filed the grievance. The players won't be told the names of the other judge deciding the case and will have no way of communicating with them. Riot's team believes that will reduce the likelihood that judges could unfairly gang up on a player.
"What we want to create is a system that is better than a lot of the alternatives... This is essentially a jury system."
The judge player will be able to punish, pardon or skip, but they won't be allowed to issue their justice with mouse-click swiftness. Riot plans to enforce a minimum of 60 seconds for each case to be reviewed and will require the input of special typed characters when a vote is made. These systems are intended to guarantee that players can't issue a judgment without having had time to review a case and can't program a robot to do it for them.
The gamer judges will be rewarded with "influence points," one of the game's currencies with which they can buy new characters and gear in the game. But the judges will only get those points if they vote in the majority, the majority verdict being the one Riot will assume is the right verdict. Those who consistently vote in the minority will lose their tribunal privileges.
Riot is still working out what the punishments for the guilty will be. Player-judges certainly won't be able to take that part of the law into their own hands, setting sentences they see fit. Instead, the Riot people plan to use a tiered system of penalties, consigning any first-time offender to the first tier of punishment: possibly a warning of some sort. A second offense will merit a more severe punishment and so on.
A verdict that is going to subject a player to the most stringent punishments will trigger an alert to Riot's internal teams, who will review such cases to be sure the penalty is deserved. Good behavior will cool an offenders' level of possible punishment, so someone who has been punished once, for example, could eventually find themselves with a clean status.
The people at Riot don't consider their players to be any rowdier than the average Internet community. And they don't claim that the new system of justice they are introducing to their game could solve the problems of horrible behavior that persists across online communties.
"No system you ever create to solve any problem is going to be perfect," Mescon said. "What we want to create is a system that is better than a lot of the alternatives. The way we are doing that is by putting power in the hands of the players. This is essentially a jury system."
Riot Games doesn't intend to change the way misbehavior is policed across the Internet, to stop the gutter commentary beneath the average YouTube video or silent the chirping of racist teenagers on Xbox Live. But imagine if their system actually works.
http://gizmodo.com/5733426/a-new-and-maybe-better-way-to-stop-people-from-being-jerks-online
via
http://kotaku.com
A New And Maybe Better Way To Stop People From Being Jerks Online - Seanny - 2011-01-19
I really would like to see a system like this succeed. May take some tweaks but, yeah, need a revival of level-headed gamers.
I already heard about another game that was using a mentor system to add incentive to veterans helping and coaching newer players as opposed to simply loathing them. That's people for you, gotta provide some motivation to not be a jerk for the better of society. Online, and Off.
A New And Maybe Better Way To Stop People From Being Jerks Online - Jamie_Kurosawa - 2011-01-19
This would be a great asset if it is successful for not just League of Legends but other MMOs as well. I do see some potential flaws though, one of which being, abuse of power. While it could start off as a justice system to right wrongs and punish offenders to ethical game play codes of conduct, it has the potential to target players who might not be offenders like people who like playing solo, or people who just hate being bothered at times.
Even then what if this power falls into the wrong hands? Say a group of hackers manage to get in this and start wreaking havoc on the online population.
However, it is a step in the right direction, however just as much as this system is needed, it also needs backing by effective moderators and administrators as well as GMs being present in the game.
A New And Maybe Better Way To Stop People From Being Jerks Online - Maping - 2011-01-19
@ Jamie: I think the employees (actual workers) submit the cases to the judges, so they won't get a case of "piss off, I'm busy," or anything like it.
A New And Maybe Better Way To Stop People From Being Jerks Online - FenixR - 2011-01-19
Its... Interesting... Giving back some of the power to regular players its not that bad, But like people above had said, abuse do exist so a good number of meassures must be made so this won't be a epic fail on day 1.
A New And Maybe Better Way To Stop People From Being Jerks Online - IllegallySane - 2011-01-19
Just imagine how much better Maple can be if this was implemented. WoW's GMs can have an easier time managing their 12m+ players.
A New And Maybe Better Way To Stop People From Being Jerks Online - Maping - 2011-01-19
IllegallySane Wrote:Just imagine how much better Maple can be if this was implemented. WoW's GMs can have an easier time managing their 12m+ players.
Oh my God, Maple with this might actually be fun.
A New And Maybe Better Way To Stop People From Being Jerks Online - Corn - 2011-01-19
Better than the old crappy system of banning you for an hour if you have to get interrupted in the middle of a 45 minute game. Seriously, it's not my fault if my mom suddenly comes home and I have to help her with groceries.
A New And Maybe Better Way To Stop People From Being Jerks Online - Felicitates - 2011-01-19
[COLOR="Magenta"]I feel like they need to teach internet edict in the newbie tutorials first before implementing this in MapleStory. People have to remember that children still play this game, and those children are essentially learning the rules of the internet by playing this game.
Also I want an 18+ channel in MapleStory (only allowing you to access that channel when your account birthday is of age ):< ) if this is implemented. I want to be able to cuss 0:<[/COLOR]
A New And Maybe Better Way To Stop People From Being Jerks Online - Corn - 2011-01-19
Delicae Wrote:[COLOR="Magenta"]I feel like they need to teach internet edict in the newbie tutorials first before implementing this in MapleStory. People have to remember that children still play this game, and those children are essentially learning the rules of the internet by playing this game.
Also I want an 18+ channel in MapleStory (only allowing you to access that channel when your account birthday is of age ):< ) if this is implemented. I want to be able to cuss 0:<[/COLOR]
Yeah, it's not like everyone would lie about his/her age.
A New And Maybe Better Way To Stop People From Being Jerks Online - Felicitates - 2011-01-19
[COLOR="Magenta"]I have an optimistic view of people.
I don't assume they'll lie. But then this system is just pointless if everyone is going to lie.[/COLOR]
A New And Maybe Better Way To Stop People From Being Jerks Online - KajitiSouls - 2011-01-19
Corn Wrote:Better than the old crappy system of banning you for an hour if you have to get interrupted in the middle of a 45 minute game. Seriously, it's not my fault if my mom suddenly comes home and I have to help her with groceries.
Regardless of why you had to leave, you're ruining the game for up to 9 other people. I don't think the "old" system is going to go away, in fact, you're confusing the two. That's the automated LeaverBuster system which targets leavers (and soon, afkers), not the Summoner Tribunal that is aimed to cut down on the amount of asshats running rampant. The latter one is what the article is talking about.
Personally, having to help your parents with groceries on a rare occasion is forgiveable by me, so long as you explain the situation. It's hella frustrating and demoralizing not knowing if the AWOL player is going to come back or not. But if you have a real emergency after several leaves, serves you right for not having clear priorities, whether it's just you or your parents. And before you ask, I've only had to leave two games in my entire career of 600+ games (my main has 567 games), and that was due to technical difficulties that my crappy laptop was giving me.
A New And Maybe Better Way To Stop People From Being Jerks Online - Corn - 2011-01-19
KajitiSouls Wrote:Regardless of why you had to leave, you're ruining the game for up to 9 other people. I don't think the "old" system is going to go away, in fact, you're confusing the two. That's the automated LeaverBuster system which targets leavers (and soon, afkers), not the Summoner Tribunal that is aimed to cut down on the amount of asshats running rampant. The latter one is what the article is talking about.
Personally, having to help your parents with groceries on a rare occasion is forgiveable by me, so long as you explain the situation. It's hella frustrating and demoralizing not knowing if the AWOL player is going to come back or not. But if you have a real emergency after several leaves, serves you right for not having clear priorities, whether it's just you or your parents. And before you ask, I've only had to leave two games in my entire career of 600+ games (my main has 567 games), and that was due to technical difficulties that my crappy laptop was giving me.
Aw, I explain to them. So far in my playing I had to leave twice (although admittedly I only played ~5 hours), and I explained the situation clearly to everyone, and some folks said "meh we can handle it." It's just helluva annoying sometimes because if my mom needs me for like, 5 minutes (this happens surprisingly often), I have to shout back "I'm in the middle of something!" and then she'd storm in and we'd have a big argument and blah blah blah blah. It really sucks that this game really needs 45 minutes of pure devoted attention per session. In Maplestory I could take a break for 5 minutes or so.
A New And Maybe Better Way To Stop People From Being Jerks Online - KajitiSouls - 2011-01-19
Corn Wrote:Aw, I explain to them. So far in my playing I had to leave twice (although admittedly I only played ~5 hours), and I explained the situation clearly to everyone, and some folks said "meh we can handle it." It's just helluva annoying sometimes because if my mom needs me for like, 5 minutes (this happens surprisingly often), I have to shout back "I'm in the middle of something!" and then she'd storm in and we'd have a big argument and blah blah blah blah. It really sucks that this game really needs 45 minutes of pure devoted attention per session. In Maplestory I could take a break for 5 minutes or so.
Ouch.
On another note...
Quote:The game's elite players will become, in effect, the judges of the misbehavior of anyone allegedly causing a ruckus in the game.
LOL most of the elite players are already jerks and ragers xD
A New And Maybe Better Way To Stop People From Being Jerks Online - WillDaSnail - 2011-01-19
KajitiSouls Wrote:LOL most of the elite players are already jerks and ragers xD
As an LoL player...
I have to agree. I've seen "OMFG THIS GAME SUCKS" *Ragequits* from "pro" players quite a few times.
P.S. I'm not trying to ruin this thread for everyone, but just an FYI, this was already posted in the "League of Legends players" thread in the Gaming subforum a couple of weeks back.
A New And Maybe Better Way To Stop People From Being Jerks Online - Erich - 2011-01-19
The issue I forsee, is what if that "elite" community is corrupted and really just those "jerks"?
A New And Maybe Better Way To Stop People From Being Jerks Online - KajitiSouls - 2011-01-19
Erich Wrote:The issue I forsee, is what if that "elite" community is corrupted and really just those "jerks"?
The vast majority of players I come across are either quiet, or they're nice. Usually one person that's openly jerking off then starts a chain reaction if most of the other people are the "merely" quiet ones. But you are right in your concerns. However, the system isn't just open to the "elite", as an even greater majority of the players are already at level 30. Hell, there's a group of people based at the New Player Forums on the official LoL forums that dedicate their time to helping newbies and giving other people tips.
As being "pro" is all relative in a game of LoL, it helps to pay attention to the high level community media. Counterlogic Gaming was the team that won the WCG 2010 LoL competition, and the members of that group are all well-known to me (except Koby24 or whoever). Most of those players in turn have their own livestreams or movies, and they frequently run into a lot of the same other top tier players, or play alongside each other. However, a few of those players, including some streamers themselves, are rotten apples. The ones I can think of off the top of my head are Reginald (ReginaId) and Grackis, the latter having fallen really far from grace, while the former is just really arrogant at times.
A New And Maybe Better Way To Stop People From Being Jerks Online - octopusprime - 2011-01-20
Cool they are stealing more ideas that were common practice outside of dota on Bnet. Oh and a system like this was one of the few bits of information about dota 2 that is public at the moment. It's not a ripoff, really.
Boy do i love guinsoo and pendragon.
I should pick it up again and get on the tribunal. i uninstalled after my 6th pub and 4th game with 2 friends who i used to dota with 10 and 0 with i think .75 or something deaths per game.
I've seen some of the "elite" players. Elite must've dropped a long damn way in this genre while i wasn't playing.
A New And Maybe Better Way To Stop People From Being Jerks Online - KajitiSouls - 2011-01-21
octopusprime Wrote:Cool they are stealing more ideas that were common practice outside of dota on Bnet. Oh and a system like this was one of the few bits of information about dota 2 that is public at the moment. It's not a ripoff, really.
Uh oh, Newgrounds better start suing Valve as well for ripping off their "policed by the community" practices...