Voice Chat Etiquette for Online Gaming

Do you have voice chat etiquette when gaming online? I didn't think so. It doesn't exist and never will. Sorry. That's just how it is. When you think about whom video games are targeted for, it's not really all that surprising. Manners are becoming a thing of the past and this is becoming even more apparent with today's internet technology.

I have watched and heard my boyfriend and his friends playing Halo 2 on his Xbox 360 enough to know that etiquette of any kind is completely thrown out. They get so into the game it's unreal. Even when they win, there are still no manners in it. Just a "We did so *bleep* awesome!" Maybe there will be a "Good game, guys," if you're lucky, but that is about as clean as it'll get. It's almost as if vulgar language is a requirement, and if you don't get just as excited about it as everyone else, you're sure be insulted and made fun of. Even after the game is completely over, they'll still sometimes send text messages to a particular player telling them how much they suck, with a few choice words thrown in there somewhere.

You can of course report people for not following the rules. Vulgar language isn't exactly encouraged. If reported a certain number of times, that person gets banned. However, so many people use bad language while gaming, to get rid of all the foul language, they have to get rid of a large portion of the players using it. With my particular example being Xbox live, people pay for this service. I somehow doubt that Microsoft is going to be willing to ban such an enormous amount of their subscribers for the sake of good manners and kindness. It's business, and though the language can be offending, getting rid of all those who use it wouldn't be a great move on their part.

If you think that there is ever going to be an end to the poor voice chat etiquette (Or any etiquette while gaming!), you are sadly mistaken. If anything, the etiquette is going to get worse, and that's saying a lot since it's not there in the first place. Not only do they curse, there is also singing, jokes, impressions...anything goes! It's all for entertainment and fun, which is the point. It's really quite entertaining after awhile, so I can kind of see the appeal in it. Just keep in mind, it's definitely not for everyone and there is no chance in ever stopping it or making voice chat more proper.