City of Heroes PvP - Last Stand... or is it?

[Baja]

The level of offense that you have is not the point. Was it offensive enough to keep people who might have PvP'ed from doing so? The answer is absolutely yes.

I have heard every slur you can imagine but that doesn't mean that when I come home I want to be inundated with juvenile trash talk, regardless of what age they were. Maybe you don't mind your niece being exposed to that crap but I certainly would object if it was my niece or nephew. Hell, I don't want to hear it either.

All in all, you are defending trash talk. When you justify why it doesn't bother you and why you would have no problem with your niece being exposed to it certainly sound like you have no problem with it and since you claim it's no worse than sport trash talk from 13 year olds.

Finally, nether of us knows exactly how old these people were, just that they acted like 13 year old children. Actually, I know that some of them were far older than you think.

Your last point literally contradicts itself, but yes I did -know- how young they were as many of us were on vent/skype and knew who was who. Just because when you come home you want a zero tolerance policy on all profanity doesn't mean other people care. You're assuming everyone is overly sensitive to the "bad words" you've been taught are bad. Threats are ridiculous I can easily concede that, saying you're going to hurt someone is a totally different subject than making a satirical remark that could be considered a threat by the most conservative folk that walk this wonderful earth.

Honestly about the niece thing, you're making it sound like I'm teaching her to say things in the extreme, when in reality I just taught her that swearing is okay when it's around -family- and not to do so infront of the wrong people.

I really don't think me saying I could care less what someone says makes me a defender of their words does it? That's like me saying you don't contribute to (insert major world issue here) so therefore you must be apart of the problem. It's just not the case.

Words hold as much power as you let them, a hobo on the street could have yelled out the "I have a dream" speech and garnished zero response. If you allow someone the position to inspire, or in this case offend, then there is no stopping them.

If you're that sensitive about something someone you have no actual idea who is saying something to some other random person, or you, then you could simply ignore them. Problem literally solved with little to no effort. Fact of the matter is this kind of talk exists in literally every single MMO that has any sort of competition within it. Sure you could say the CoH community should be above this, but that's just typical holier than thou talk. Being nice and accepting is great, going around telling everyone how nice and accepting you are is just gloating and really nullifies the positive aspects of you.

[MWRuger]

You pretty well missed the key point so here it is again: whether it bothers you or not was it offensive enough to keep people who might have PvP'ed from doing so? The answer is absolutely yes.

Let me ask you this: What does it bring to the game? How does it make it better?

Again, there is a difference between racial and sexist slurs and curse words that you might encounter in daily travels through life.

Frankly, the entire idea that we just have to put up with people acting like fools reeks of the idea "Well, boys will be boys. What you gonna do?"

What I am saying, not what you think I am saying, is that excusing and accepting this is exactly why it doesn't go away.

Just saying "Don't let it bother you that's the way it is" does make you part of the problem. There is a big difference between condoning bad behavior and not being able to stop. You and I may not be able to stop it but we don't have to accept it.

But the people who do this and those who are fine with it are exactly why I avoid PvP like the plague and why I never support it. When I introduced new people to the game I warned them against PvP by basically telling them what to expect if they did get involved. Of those who did try it anyway, none ever came back and told me I was wrong. Instead, they just stopped playing PvP.

[Baja]

I did misunderstand your point to a degree so for that I can say sorry. I still believe we will disagree.

What it brings to the game is a competitive spirit that without would diminish the intensity of PvP. Psychological warfare plays a big part in pvp, that's why it's so widespread. There's more than one way to defeat an opponent. Now that's a somewhat serious point to be made for something that for the most part is childish banter. If someone really did cross the line, whether it be spamming profanity like an idiot, constant threats to someone's life, or (and this is what I consider the most unacceptable form) revealing someone's personal identity, I would be more than happy to report said people.

I feel like waving the ban stick over some "bad words" is a ridiculous over reaction unless very specific criteria are met.

Personally I enjoy watching some freak out in broadcast against me, it let's me know not only am I the better player, but I have truly impacted this persons emotions to the point they no longer have any option but to insult me in some way. This is hilarious to me. I've said before though I have a sick sense of humour. I'll even go for as to admit this is a stupid thing to enjoy but none the less, I enjoy it. ( far more than I probably should )

There has, and always will be a massive difference between those who love pvp and those that love pve. One thing is for certain though, both groups have idiots that ruin the experience for others. Both have ego driven players that cannot see the humour in how serious they take a game... The big issue here is that when pvp players are idiots an entire zone filled with large amounts of people, if there is an idiot in PvE chances are only 8 or so people will see it. Also it's very difficult to achieve such an adrenaline rush in PvE so the odds of someone acting so childish decreases drastically.

I guess my ultimate point here is, I respect your view, but I just don't see a way of removing trash talk from the game without harming the community. I'd much rather have people say what they want and chance them not being punished rather than have people not say anything afraid of being banned.

 
Now with all that out in the open I can't see this problem being near as bad as it was. Many of the players of the past have grown up. Not only that I can't see people waiting around this long just to talk s**t to someone that's like South Park levels of satire.