“A site which opposed racist, sexist language in online multiplayer is repeatedly taken down by hackers.”

I found an article related to bigotry in gaming. Posting below:

http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/sci-tech/2012/07/gamers-against-bigotry-hacked-gamers-favour-bigotry

Below is what I got out of the articles:

This weeks reading really had me reflecting on the online communities I am both a part of and that I am researching for my project. As a gamer myself I have regularly witnessed bigotry when playing online. Be it in a first person online shooter like Destiny or in a fantasy world massive multiplayer game like World of Warcraft. I have never paid too much attention to it because I was so used to hearing the foul language that it came in one ear and out the other. Now that I’m spending time reading about it and considering bigotry online, particularly in games I am starting to see racism within my own online communities.

In one of the games that I am playing for my research project there is a big emphasis on playing with other people. I am currently playing Final Fantasy XIV Online, and as anyone familiar with the Final Fantasy series would know, playing in small group parties is vital to progress in game. Within the game there are different races to choose from, ranging form elves to cat-like people, to humans and much more. One thing I have noticed is that the human character is the most popular chosen race. I have playing for about three weeks now and in this time just about every character I see, regardless of race, is designed with fair light skin. With so many possibilities and character customizations, it baffles me that people go to the norm of playing as a generic white human in game. Even the elf characters and the cat people I see are light complected. Worse is that the NPC, the computer based non player characters are all light complected from what I have seen so far.

Another aspect in game where race comes in to play is in the linkshell/free party system. A linkshell or a free party as an in-game community in which players can have a separate and private chat log exclusive to members of the specific group. These groups are generally specific to certain interest group such as LGBT players or characters of a certain language or level group. Within these communities discrimination is now allowed and I have experienced people expelled and banned from such in game communities.

This idea of gold farming is definitely present in the game I play, from Final Fantasy Online to Grand Theft Auto 5 co-op. Micro transactions in game and the purchase of in game currency from third party sources is a big business. I have a friend who admits to having spent real money on in game money to further the abilities and overall stats of his character. This also takes me back to the post/discussion in regards to Chinese people being paid to improve app download rates and statistics.

Back to the question of bigotry within online games. Yes I believe it exists, I say this because I have witnessed it. The use of game headsets and keyboards further allows players to express themselves. Often I find these instances more so in action games, primarily first person shooter games. The competitiveness within games can lead to radical expressions of emotion. I can’t say that the language used is of innate negative nature, it is more so a burst of expression without thought of actual words used. I see this as a cultural trend where the expression of aggression is deemed acceptable in western cultures. Only now that race is being considered online are there more precautions and safety a to what is acceptable and appropriate to say. Unlike posts and statuses, words said out loud, as in over a headset, can’t be taken back. This had made me consider to be more aware of what I say both online and in my personal life.