Trash sexist comments and stories of sexual harassment are not only confined to the real world. They also have a widespread reach in the virtual domain. To deal with this, as per a latest report, Microsoft is "working toward improvements" to community moderation on Xbox Live.
According to a New York Times report, the company is working on the service's automated moderation tools, including algorithms that detect repeat offenders sending out hateful comments and taunts via their headsets and can automatically mute them.
The report has arrived as a heartening piece of information amid a growing wave of unhappiness in the gaming community with the level of harassment that gamers, especially female gamers, come across online.
Game designer James Portnow had already tackled the issue in an April episode of his web series, Extra Credits, and called upon fellow gamers to email Microsoft's Xbox Live enforcers and ask them to do more on the harassment front. Microsoft made a note, and only recently invited Portnow out to the company's headquarters in Redmond, WA, for a four hour mano-e-mano with the Xbox Live team.
However, the guys at Verge reached out to Microsoft to elaborate on Xbox Live improvements. A spokesman replied with the following statement:
“We did reach out to James Portnow and his team to visit and discuss opportunities for further addressing harassment in the industry. We felt the meeting was very constructive and positive. We have several plans for both near- and long-term product and service enhancements that we have been working on, and we shared those with Mr. Portnow. At this time, we don't have anything to share publicly.”
“As we've said before, bullying and harassment are not welcome on Xbox LIVE, but more can be done to create a safer and supportive play environment. Addressing this issue is an ongoing effort for the gaming community, Microsoft and our partners, and it will take time to get it right. Know that our commitment to solving this problem is strong,” the statement further adds.
You can read more about it here.
