Category: 
This story comes from the leader of the GR8 Clan which is a clan in Xbox Live that consists of children from ages eight through sixteen and a few of their Mom’s. It is similar an after school program, except it is online sports. She describes issues that she has been having with the kids being harassed on XBox Live and her disappointing experiences with their customer support.
In Xbox Live the voices of the other players are heard on headsets. Even though the voices are going out over the internet, the regulations about phone harassment that regulate hate speech on VOIP and cell phones have not been applied to XBox Live. The present loop hole has provided a lawless internet frontier where Microsoft has not put in safeguards for children on its own.
On the privacyrights.org website, phone harassment, in this case regarding cell phone calls is defined as follows:
“How is harassment defined?
The law will vary from state to state, but in California (for example) a single call is enough to meet the definition of harassment if the caller threatens physical harm or is obscene. If the call does not fall into either of these categories, the calls must be repeated to be considered harassment.
Intent is another requirement included in most harassment definitions. The law generally requires that the harasser intend the calls to be viewed as harassment. Because of the need to prove intent, you should tell the harasser that you do not want to speak to the person and to stop calling. If the harasser persists after this clear message, it will be easier to prove that the intent was to harass.” Source : http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs2a-cellcalls.htm
Xbox Live is not classified as a VOIP service. However as VOIP services begin to take on a share of the same functions and market as other phone services the FCC has begun endowing VoIP providers with the same rights and regulations. Source : http://www.aboutvoip.org/more-fcc-regulations.php
“Jerks Online
Current mood: frustrated
Category: disappointed Games
Posted by GR8 Anhialator:
Yesterday, I asked the GR8 kids if it was my imagination, or, if it was true that more and more people online, in the multiplayer gaming community (specifically XBOX Live), were getting meaner and more hateful toward us. Each of them said that, “people are getting meaner.”
Remember that The Gr8 Clan is a group of children known as The Greats, aged from 8 years to 16 years old, chaperoned by GR8 Anhialator (sic). And we play to have fun. Yet, there is an increasing number of foul-mouthed males (different ones each day–proving my theory that more and more people are slipping into “hate” mode) who take it upon themselves to hurl vile insults, and even threats, at a group of children and women.
I’ve telephoned XBOX Live regarding this matter, and they responded by telling me that there was nothing that could be done.
Currently, the XBOX Live “feedback” system is set up for people to file complaints against abusers. However, abusers can also file false complaints against people like myself, and the children in The GR8 Clan, which has happened, after I’ve booted someone out of my room for threatening a litany of sexual crimes against me and/or my GR8 kids. It gets worse when that first guy has a bunch of his little trolls in the room with him, because once he has been booted, all of his friends simultaneously hurl filthy words and vile threats at us. After I’ve cleared the room, I can see how my “approval rating” among other gamers (XBOX Live’s “feedback” system) has slipped another notch, or two.
I called XBOX Live, and brought this to the attention of the lady on the other end of the line, explaining to her that I have to run my own room to keep it clean and fun, but that these creatures were giving me bad feedback when I refuse to tolerate their horrendous attacks. I asked her if their system could allow enough evil-doers to get a do-gooder banned from XBOX Live. Her response was, “Yes, it could.”
I told her that my clan is a group of children, and that these jerks come in and call us names as soon as they hear the kids’ voices over the headsets. They call us names when we lose, and they call us names when we win. I’m not talking about schoolyard names here, I’m talking about street-slang, gang-banging hateful names, usually referencing genitalia or degrading sex acts.”
“Every day, I find myself hosting a room while entertaining the kids-answering their questions, asking if their homework is finished during the school-year, asking how their day was, commenting on their increased gaming skills and teamwork, as well as being attentive to what is being said in the room, accepting and sending private chats while searching for a suitable clan for us to battle, which requires online searches, private chats, IM’s in 3 different forms, getting agreements from opposing clan leaders that their members will not use trash-talk or use improper language during the battle as I will have children as young as 8 years old in there, all of this while I must move my own character in the game. A lot of the offenders are clever enough to bypass me and send foul messages to my kids. This is infuriating.
The GR8s are currently playing Tom Clancy’s® Rainbow Six Vegas™ (ESRB rating “M”) ; Ghost Recon™ (ESRB rating “T”); Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter™ (ESRB rating “M”) , EA Games® Battlefield II Modern Combat™ (ESRB rating “T”), and Microsoft Game Studios® Gears of War™ (ESRB rating “M”). Our role in the multiplayer gaming community is as guardians of children, ages 8 to 14, whose numbers are ever-increasing online. Parents personally endorse our presence online, and some, even game with us! All are encouraged to visit our website at www.gr8clan.com.
Before people start screaming about these kids playing games rated “M” for mature, they should know that, in response to my query concerning the legalities of children playing games rated “M”, the ESRB wrote:
“The ESRB ratings were developed to serve as a guide to help consumers make informed decisions about which games might be appropriate for their children and family. The system has two equally important parts: Clearly displayed on the front of virtually every computer and video game box sold in the United States and Canada, you will find an ESRB rating symbol that suggests age appropriateness for the game. On the back of the box are content descriptors which are assigned in the context of the rating category, and which indicate elements in the game that may have triggered a particular rating and/or may be of interest or concern.”
Nowhere, in the above, does it indicate that it is illegal for children to play any games rated “M”. It only states that elements found ” in the game may be of interest or concern.”
In some states legislation has been in process that would make it illegal to sell the M rated games to minors.
“I contend that allowing children to play mature games under responsible adult supervision is perfectly acceptable, and is analogous to accompanying and supervising a child to view a PG-13 or R rated film. But the abuse coming from other online gamers is illegal. Online abuse over the headsets directed toward children is the exact same criminal offense as a supervised child in a public theatre watching a PG-13 movie, and a predator in the row behind the child leans over and whispers, or shouts, sexually explicit expletives, or directives, into that child’s ear. Fundamentally, there is no difference between the two.
Here is the story of how The GR8’s began.
I, along with The GR8’s co-founder GR8 Jen, purchased five (5) XBOX 360’s along with five (5) XBOX Live Gold Memberships for online gaming, in order to move our core Great Clan members over to the new platform; one for myself, one for GR8 JEN, and three (3) others for GR8 Clan children whose families could not afford such a purchase, but allowed The GR8 Clan to gift it to them. The joy and gratitude expressed by these kids and their families was heartwarming, and I know that we would do it all over again just to hear their uncontained happiness and excitement. Sadly, we couldn’t afford to move everyone over.
GR8 **** joined The GR8s just after turning fourteen, and is now sixteen years old. His personality makes anyone smile. With his exuberant optimistic attitude, he can find something positive to say about anyone.
On the day I put his copy of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas in the mail, I telephoned his mother, and we chatted a bit. During our conversation I asked her, “Are you sure you don’t mind us sending him these games?”
She very quickly said, “No! No! No! Please! He is so blessed! This is a blessing what you’re doing! It keeps him here at home instead of out getting into trouble. I don’t mind at all!”
It turns out that GR8**** lives in an area with very heavy gang activity, but we never knew because, for the past two years, GR8**** has come home after school to do his homework so he can play online with The GR8s.
The father of another twelve-year-old GR8 has come on over the headsets saying, “I just love what you do!” He laughed, and continued, saying, “My son told me what happened the other day-he got a kick out of it, and so did I.”
I asked, “What was that?”
“Some guy came into your room and starting spouting off something about kids shouldn’t be on this game, it’s rated ‘M’, for mature, and this and that, and I guess he had a foul mouth, too. Then he started cussing at the kids, and you stopped him and said, ‘”You are absolutely right. This game is rated ‘M’, for mature. So, why is it that my room full of kids are acting more mature than you are right now?’”
I don’t think he could help himself for long. I ended up giving him the boot. I don’t think he liked it that the kids beat him up so badly at the game.”
In a supervised environment, the online gaming experience teaches kids teamwork, lays foundations for commitment to responsibility, introduces them to operate user-friendly technology, gives them a healthy sense of competition, develops communication skills, and good sportsmanship, as well as, how to recognize poor sportsmanship, while giving them a venue to perfect their developing sense of hand-eye coordination.
Even better, I realized that gaming was teaching the younger ones advanced math. Yes, math.
One day, while playing Rainbow Six Vegas, I noticed my score was 3 Kills and 9 Deaths, giving me a negative six (-6) performance. I mentioned that I had a negative six, and one of the eight-year-olds asked, “What’s that mean? A negative six?”
I told him what a negative number was, and he replied, “Oh. We haven’t studied negative numbers in third grade yet.”
The notion had totally eluded me!
Then, I took the time to explain a very short example of the definition of a negative number, and how they are derived, and I told him that he would learn all about negative numbers in school, soon enough.
Days later, he must have been looking at his kill/death ratio, when we heard him say, “I have a negative five.”
“What’s did you say?” I said.
“That’s right, isn’t it?” he asked, “I have three kills and eight deaths, so that means I have a negative five, right?”
“You’re right!” I said, realizing that he just learned how to compute negative numbers through studying his character’s kills and deaths.
Today, there is a full scale assault on women and children in the online gaming community. It comes from teen and adult males who think it’s ‘okay’ to tell women and children to “suck my *ick” or “I’m gonna rape you”, since we are playing “M” rated games. Microsoft helps to perpetuate that mentality, by telling we who complain about the abuse that, “there is nothing we can do.”
A 9 year-old little girl was called “a little pussy”. The kids tell me that they said that I, GR8 Anhialator, was “a pussy too”. These guys claimed to be with the clan Fallen Angels, having the [FA] prefix.
On July 12, 2007, PsycheldelicFoe called all the GR8’s in the room, “niggers” after we beat their team on Neon Graveyard map on Rainbow Six Vegas. He said the word about three times before I could boot him out of the room. The same day someone called “Juror” told our a 9-year-old boy, “You sound like a f***ing douche bag, dude.” He said this after he heard (the boy) speak, recognizing instantly that (the boy) was a child.”"
The experiences that this clan has had are not unique. These kids have been called every hard bitten curse you can think of. I had a report not long ago from a 14 year old leader of a girls clan that her clan administrator - a married male in his 20’s actually called the little girl the ‘C word’ among other things. There was a small foofarah about it, but because it was only her word against his, nothing was done.
There are a few things that abused gamers can do. It may not bring immediate results. Write to the FCC, several federal communication laws are being broken when swear words are said to little kids, not to mention the threats of rape, murder and use of the “N word”. Call your local TV station. Tell them what is happening, raise awareness of the problem locally and it will get picked up around the world as gaming news. Go and talk at local schools about tolerance, racism, sexism and manners online.
Things that you can’t say on TV to little kids can’t be said to kids legally through other forms of communication. Microsoft has been getting away with this where no one else has been. In the MMO’s communication is text based for the most part and the support teams have a log of everything that is typed in, so they can easily ban and block the abusers. Somehow Microsoft, and possibly others have managed to slide through this loophole.
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