Microsoft Censoring You

zero2000 · 10-20-2008

Xbox trolls, get ready to have your fun ruined: Microsoft will be censoring you | Destructoid, The Gamer's Blog

Rule one of Internet anonymity: you can be a ****. Anytime, anywhere, and there are no consequences. This rule has somehow managed to drip over to Xbox LIVE, where you can be called any colorful racial or sexual slur with hardly a thought. It seems fans of the F-bomb will soon have their cereal peed in, however, I couldn't be happier to hear the news.

The U.S. Patent office has granted Microsoft a brand-spanking-new patent to censor audio streams real-time. Know what that means, kids? The days of talking to strangers like the scum of the earth are soon to be over. Of course, this also may make the Agent Mulders of the world a bit nervous, as it also means that anything else could technically be censored as well.

Do you think this is a good thing .. or an advancement with scary potential?

Swiss Miss · 10-21-2008

Hmm... does it just bleep it or are there repercussions? Grrrr... I hate censorship.

OME6A · 10-21-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by zero2000

The days of talking to strangers like the scum of the earth are soon to be over.

It's not going to work anytime soon. With all the different accents people have, it's not going to be able to properly pick them all out. Not correctly, and certainly not at any sort of rate that MS will be able to guarantee the safeguard.

Z3CH · 10-21-2008

I just hope it doesn't censor out stupid words that sound like they might be a "bad word". I kinda think it might have a lot of issues when they first put it up.

RadioactiveMan · 10-21-2008

We can only hope that this will remove any potential to communicate on Xbox live. Online chat is comparable to having Youtube comments read out to you.

Sparkplug1990 · 10-21-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by RadioactiveMan

We can only hope that this will remove any potential to communicate on Xbox live. Online chat is comparable to having Youtube comments read out to you.

Very well put sir. Couldn't agree with that anymore.

Blargian Toast · 10-21-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparkplug1990

Very well put sir. Couldn't agree with that anymore.

I'm not sure I understand what you guys are saying? Rather than just ignore the little buggers, like an adult would, you'd have chat stopped altogether? What about when your online with your mates? Surely it's a small price to pay, just turn your headset down.....

Tell me if i've just misunderstood, I'm pretty hungover and grouchy right now

Midnight_Walker · 10-21-2008

I don't think it's that bad a thing. Hell, this forum is censored in much the same way.
I don't want to listen to idiots online and I dare say most other people don't either.

I'd be surprised if it actually worked though.

Pvt.Dirt · 10-21-2008

It sounds like it would be hard to make, but I'd like to see it if it worked properly. I don't think there's any place for some of the language that's used on Xbox Live... I've been called some bad things just for beating a kid in madden.

All in all, would be nice to have.. but it won't kill anyone if it ends up not working.

NUN-PUNCHER · 10-21-2008

If I understand it right I don't like it. So, what if I'm talking with my friends like I normally do ? It seems to me that XboX is taking the Big Brother approach more and more. This is actually the one thing that I favor a PS3 over a 360. Sony's not all up your *** about somewhat offensive names among other things. Why punish the adults with censored speech while most of the time it's the kids that spew crap anyway ? Things like this always snowball into something else.
All these years I've been playing online I've had a bunch of smack talk put on me. So what ? Have I ever actually been Offended ? Not once.

Blargian Toast · 10-21-2008

Exactly, why should you care what some snot nosed kid says to you over the internet? If you get offended by it then you need to find another hobby, like knitting. I can understand that people might want to go online and play without being abused or whatever, but like I said before, just don't put your headset on...

With all the different accents, languages, slang words etc etc etc there's no way microsoft can sensor what we're saying in real time. You'd need bill gates sat next to you on the couch shouting "beep" everytime you use a curseword haha.

NUN-PUNCHER · 10-21-2008

After thinking about it some more...
They're going to censor what people say on mic's while they're playing a M - Rated game that has plenty O profanity and nudity in a SP game ? Please....

Blargian Toast · 10-21-2008

Good point, there's no way you can justify censoring swearing through a mic while playing GTA4 online, killing police etc.

Censorship worries me, because it's normally the people who have no idea wtf they are talking about that push for it. Look at what happened with the graphic, full frontal interspecies sex scene in Mass Effect

.Nameless. · 10-21-2008

I think it's stupid. Plain and simple. They have that "report gamer" (or whatever it is) thingy for a reason. Hell, they have a "Bad or Offensive Language" option in there. If you don't like what a person says to you, report them and check the "Avoid Player" thingy. Simple as that. If you know that there's a little kid in the room, try to avoid using offensive language, even if they use it. If anything, you can always mute the little b**tards.

Pvt.Dirt · 10-21-2008

Now that I think about it, this sounds like something Nintendo would do. Nintendo has taken the family approach with the Wii, but after looking at it from a different view, it's unnecessary with the 360.