Is It Possible To Fix Gaming Toxicity?

Pretty nice video I found on the topic, complete with abundant examples of games for each point - https://youtu.be/1BOJLcklWsc (title of the post is the title of the video)

The first half of it (dealing with designing effective communication systems) is relevant more for competitive multiplayer games (shooters, fighters, RTS, MOBAs, etc.), but the second half is more general. Worth a watch, not long either (16 mins). But to summarize the gist of the second half - instead of constantly trying to implement more and more punitive systems in your games (or forums, for that matter), how about trying to encourage and incentivize good behavior? Instead of always calling for ever harsher policing, how about designing systems that celebrate (and perhaps even reward?) positive online interactions as well? For an immediate example - whatever happened to the 'Valued Poster' program on these forums?

And, particularly for competitive games, it's worth noting that some of these 'toxic' behaviors actually confer advantages and so make sense to engage in (even if that advantage is simply psyching your opponent out). As this video expands on - https://youtu.be/PElmAFZFoqQ

Other times you may be rewarded for it not simply because you're some kind of sadist (btw, it helps to not automatically presume malice), but due to other factors (such as being part of a herd, in the case of a pile-on). But we humans have other social neural pathways as well, which instill us with our capacity for altruism and cooperation (including that same herd instinct from earlier), which often tend to work rather well in smaller communities (as one commenter on the first video pointed out - btw, artificially re-creating small communities is another possible idea, say by using a multitude of servers). But we can design or add game systems to engage these pathways too.

People often tend to blame 'human nature' (or the nature of just this rather tautologically defined subset of 'bad people') for this, as if it's something intrinsic. Or anonymity, another simplistic boogeyman. But 'human nature' is responsible for both our greatest tragedies, and our greatest triumphs. It isn't simply negative. Indeed it's highly context-dependent. So change the context. Design your social system to foster positive interactions, and who knows? You might actually get positive interactions! Maybe then you won't even feel the need to just keep calling for ever harsher and harsher policing.

Well, it is certainly possible, as many other fields of human activity readily demonstrate. We are entirely capable of engaging in social leisure activities without bullying/abusing/harassing people, indeed, it's very much a normal thing.

I'm all for actively promoting positive interactions (this should include modelling and explicitly teaching expected behaviours) and so I think it's great that you're putting ideas forward on that front. But I believe game companies do need to grow more of a spine with regard to negative consequences, too.

In many social events or locations, if you behave badly, you'll be expected to leave - not just told you're to hang around but not speak for a while, but excluded from participation. I feel that's actually an entirely reasonable response, but in videogame spaces it's almost exclusively reserved for "cheating". As much as companies will likely see it as a financial disaster, I do feel like we need to get better at declaring standards and saying "if you're going to be a dickhead, you won't be able to play".

Forums (and game chat channels) with karma systems usually take them down after a short time because players game the system and collude to farm Good Conduct rewards, badges, etc.

They can also use reporting systems and karma negatives to troll and grief other players. Many reporting systems trigger a temp mute or suspension after receiving X reports against a player in a set timeframe. This can be abused by players in an organized effort to flash mute or kick someone.

In short, rewards for good behaviour generate their own special form of toxicity.

Oh, you know I could write so much about this, but I think I'll settle for this:

Not this game's toxicity, no.

Plenty of online games manage to combat toxic behaviour by discouraging personal player conflict, encouraging cooperative play, reducing player frustration by streamlining its multiplayer UI or, my favourite, removing direct contact altogether while maintaining genuine competitive entertainment (most recently, Fall Guys does this brilliantly -- a pvp game that always leaves me laughing and amused!). Can you imagine a Path of Exile that does any of these? I maintain that no game I've ever played has been both so utterly bent on turning its players into self-serving bastards and made by some of the nicest people in the industry. It's almost like Chris and the GGGang thought everyone else would be as adept at separating game and reality as they were in the early days -- as though the clear line between friends being dicks to each other across a boardgame table could be maintained not just online but across language barriers. It's either that or they knew they were making something that would bring out the worst in people. I'd rather not believe that. Even now.

Oh, as for the Valued Poster program? I'd put that one in the same redundant basket as the Build Of The Week concept. The VP was meant to be some sort of sagacious veteran content to dole out the fruits of wisdom and experience in a civil, respectable manner...when, honestly, those who spend sufficient time with PoE to be knowledgeable enough to dole out said fruits are likely neither civil nor respectable half the time. At the same time, it's hard to be both respected by a...lively community *and* officially endorsed by the developers who are positioned as their enemy more often than not. If you ever need proof of the disconnect between community and developers, look no further than the PoE Valued Poster program.

No, because gaming toxicity isn't a symptom of gaming, its a symptom of humanity (as you mentioned). We are a toxic species that variably do our best to not be.

It can be heavily policed though but the truth is if you wanted to see if toxicity could actually be stopped you'd need blizzard to have continued with their real name ID system then actively moderate the players to remove the bad apples.

All we can ever do IMO is try to be better and not contribute to the problem and that kinda goes for the developers too.

Playing since breach league and never met a toxic player and never got insulted here but when playing cs its like a other world

why dont we add a "karma" system like in reddit so people can flex on each other :D

Gotta agree with Foreveryhappychan. Until scammers start getting swift, guaranteed bans, there's absolutely no chance in hell for the game's community to cut back on the toxicity even a little, and even then, it seems unlikely to solve everything.

watched the video.

I think this would matter more if POE was more of a co-op pve type of game.

Only negative behaviour gets highlighted, i am willing to bet that the vast majority of interactions isn't toxic at all, especially in a non pvp game.
And having tyranical systems in place to root out this small fraction of interactions isn't gonna help anything as those systems only create enviroments of fear and stress.
Even if they seem to work (no politics in this forum for example) i still don't like those systems nor do i think they are healthy.