Oh, Microsoft ...

Earlier this year, Microsoft updated its Xbox Live code of conduct policy to allow gamers to use sexual orientation identifiers like lesbian, gay, bi and transgender in their Gamertags and profiles--an about-face that prompted many LGBT gamers to conclude that the days of being banned for calling themselves "THCxGaymer" (or something similar) were behind them.

Unfortunately, those days are still ahead for LGBT gamers--if recent reports that 26-year-old Josh Moore was booted from the service for mentioning in his profile that he lives in Fort Gay, W.V., are any indication.

The strangest part of this peculiar story: According to the Associated Press, when Fort Gay's mayor, David Thompson, got involved he was told by someone at Microsoft that "the veracity of the city's name didn't matter, and that the word 'gay' was inappropriate regardless."

Although Stephen Toulouse, program manager for policy and enforcement on Xbox Live, acknowledges that the suspension was a mistake, he has yet to say how his team at the Redmond, Wash.-based company will avoid such mistakes in the future.

See also: 'Microsoft still hemming and hawing over gay gamertags on Xbox Live' and 'The Advocate: Microsoft Tries to Mend Rift With Gaymers'

Surprise, surprise: Conservatives up in arms over 'dirty gay sex' scenes in Dragon Age: Origins

Actually, it isn't surprising at all. What is surprising is that it's taken them this long to make a stink about it.

Anyway, various conservative news sites (such as WorldNetDaily) are warning their readers that BioWare's recently released (for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360) Dragon Age: Origins features "graphic homosexual sex between a man and an elf."

Click through to the WorldNetDaily article for more information on the "secret scene of homosexual seduction" that is causing a stir, or just watch this YouTube clip:



I don't know which scene the WorldNetDaily writer watched, but I'd hardly describe the one above as "graphic." Of course, I'd hardly describe it as "hot," either, given that the man and elf in question look more like mannequins than real people.

Oh, well, to each his own. Right? :)

'Why on earth would I do that?'

The latest issue of The Escapist features one of the most interesting articles about homophobia among gamers I've read in a long time.

"Not That There's Anything Wrong With That" is the headline of the article, and it was written by Robert Yang, an undergraduate English student at UC Berkeley who "designs levels and weird pretentious art-house mods for Half-Life 2" in his spare time.

In the article, Yang discusses the homophobic reactions he received after releasing one of those aforementioned mods, called "Handle With Care," which "tricks" gamers into playing as a gay male. One offended gamer, for instance, responded by demanding that Yang "re relese [sic] the game without the GAY!" Yang's reply: "Why on Earth would I do that?"

"In a way, 'Handle With Care' isn't really about gay marriage at all," he writes in the article. "With only one casual mention of a word, the significance of which was likely lost on many players, it's hardly anything to talk about. 

"What about the mind-bogglingly frustrating gameplay, the inconsistent implementation of physics or the esoteric in-game "visions" that resemble mediocre video projects cobbled together by art school dropouts? I expected criticism of my work," he adds, "but to me there were far more pressing issues than the player character's sexual orientation."

Yang makes many more insightful, intelligent and interesting observations in his article, so please head over to The Escapist and read it in its entirely when you have a few minutes.

Also be sure to check out the other articles that make up the magazine's "Queer Eye for the Gamer Guy" issue.

Nnooo CEO Nic Watt comments on homophobia in vitrual communities

After reading an editorial ("The Impact of Homophobia in Virtual Communities," written by GLAAD's Justin Cole) on Kotaku recently, I came across a comment posted by Nnooo CEO Nic Watt. (Nnooo's claim to fame, so far: the popular WiiWare/DSiWare/iPhone title, Pop.)

Watt, one of the only "out" CEOs I know of in the games industry, responded to Cole's call to arms ("call for camaraderie" might be a better way to put it) by chatting about his experiences as an online gaymer:

"I find when playing on line that there are people who use the word gay as 'that is bad' or 'I don't like that.' In those instances, I ignore it and don't really think about it as an insult or ignorance. Sure there are better choices of words, [but] it is not being directed at anyone.

"Then there are the people who use words like gay, nigger, Jew and so forth [and direct them] at other players. This I find offensive and not because I am gay. I find it offensive because those people are deliberately using those words as an insult and one can directly infer that the user views those groups as inferior to him/herself. You don't use those sorts of slurs if you don't think those you are slurring are bad in someway.

"What is hard is that the former use of gay is fairly unique to homosexuality in that I cannot think of any other negative words we use to describe objects or situations which come from a minority slur. We don't say that is so nigger or that is so Jew. However, because I have become accustomed to it and because it is directed at a situation rather than an individual, I am OK with ignoring it (OK meaning indifferent, not over the moon).

"I am not OK with ignoring direct personal attacks on other players regardless of the words used. Calling someone a nigger, Jew or fag/gay can only be construed as an insult and is being used to incite hate, to bully and to assert control over the situation. This has to be stopped.

"I'm not saying that we should all hold hands and sing songs 'round a camp fire. Great online gaming should raise our passion and ire. Let's just try to keep the insults out of it!"

I thought about posting Watt's entire comment--it's certainly well worth your time--but I think it would be better if you clicked over to the Kotaku article and read it (along with Cole's editorial) there. Skip to the sixth comment if you want to get right to it.

Should gay gamers boycott Shadow Complex?

Should gay gamers boycott Shadow Complex? That was the question posed by one NeoGAFfer yesterday. What prompted the query? Well, the Xbox Live Arcade title is based on Orson Scott Card's sci-fi novel, Empire, and Card, according to the NeoGAFfer in question, "is a notorious homophobe."

Twenty-four hours and hundreds of comments later, NeoGAFfers are still discussing the subject--as are visitors to GayGamer.net and Gamasutra.com, both of which have posted op-ed pieces devoted to the controversy.

"When Shadow Complex was announced, I personally was torn," shares Gamasutra's Christian Nutt. "I'd already long since made the conscious decision to not support Orson Scott Card directly with my money." On the other hand, he also "would like nothing more than to play a new game developed in the vein of some of my personal favorites--Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Super Metroid."

GayGamer.net's Dawdle was similarly torn by the situation, though he did offer up a solution. "I think if you're obviously too disgusted to enjoy the game, avoid it and speak out," he writes. "However, if you want to play the game, play it... but offset the hate: If you buy Shadow Complex, donate $5, $10, $15--if you can spare it--to a gay charity."

In addition, "in message boards or user reviews, in blogs or tweets, if it comes up, let people know exactly what Card has said on the matter and where--and damn him with his own language."

Microsoft still hemming and hawing over gay gamertags on Xbox Live

Are the folks at Microsoft going to allow a game with "gay" in its title to appear on the Xbox 360 before they allow players to use the same word in their Xbox Live gamertags? It sure seems like it.

Earlier this year, Stephen Toulouse, the company's program manager for policy and enforcement on Xbox Live, told The Advocate, “We have heard clearly that customers want the ability to self-identify [and] it's our job to provide this in a way that cannot be misused.”

During the recent E3 Expo, however, one of Toulouse's colleagues, Corporate Vice President of Xbox Live Software and Services John Schappert, told Kotaku's Stephen Totilo, "We continue to look for ways for people to personally express themselves and you can look for more features coming to Xbox Live, but [we have] nothing to announce right now."

When asked if Microsoft would have the issue ironed out by the time Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony is released this fall, Schappert replied, "I can say that we are working on [the] issue."

The Advocate: Microsoft Tries to Mend Rift With "Gaymers"

Yesterday, The Advocate published (on its website) an article I wrote about Microsoft's policy of suspending the Xbox Live accounts of gamers who include "gay" or "lesbian" in their gamertags or profiles.

Read the article here: http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid75481.asp

Money quote: Stephen Toulouse, program manager for policy and enforcement on Xbox Live, told me, “We have heard clearly that customers want the ability to self-identify [and] it's our job to provide this in a way that cannot be misused.”

Unfortunately, Toulouse wouldn't say how or when Microsoft will provide that ability to LGBT gamers, but acknowledging a problem is the first step to solving it, right?

Microsoft Shoves Gay Gamers Back Into the Closet (take two)

When gay video gamer Michael Arnold went to log on to Xbox Live, the online service for Microsoft’s popular Xbox 360 gaming system, on July 12, he thought he was on his way to another multiplayer marathon of Halo 3. Instead, he found himself face-to-face with a baffling message that said his gamertag, THCxGaymer, had been deemed offensive and had to be changed before he could proceed to playing the popular first-person shooter.

At first, the message bemused Arnold, who had been using the gamertag (think username) since he bought his Xbox 360 two years ago. “It didn’t make any sense,” he says. “I thought, in this day and age, someone’s censoring the word gay? Who still considers that offensive or vulgar?”

Arnold’s confusion quickly turned to chagrin, especially after numerous e-mails to customer service went unanswered and an hour-long call to the company’s toll-free support line proved just as unhelpful. “[They] said my gamertag probably had been considered profane and pointed me to the Xbox Live terms of use,” Arnold says.

After he got off the phone, Arnold says he went over the terms of use “line by line.” The result of his research: “My gamertag didn’t violate any of them. It wasn’t profane, sexually explicit or a pejorative slur. It wasn’t hate speech. It didn’t contain references to any controlled substances or illegal activities.”

Arnold’s gaymertag, as he puts it, isn’t the first to meet Microsoft’s axe: In early May, “thegayergamer” met a similar fate and a few weeks later “RichardGaywood” (the name of an actual person) followed suit.

So far, Microsoft has been mum on the subject other than to say fellow gamers filed complaints against the gamertags and that they violated the company’s terms of use. Stephen Toulouse, program manager for the Microsoft Security Response Center, added a bit of context on his blog when he commented on the “thegayergamer” situation: “There could be an argument that the text is not pejorative to homosexuality and should therefore be allowed. But there is no context to explain that.”

Neither Arnold nor Gaywood are impressed by Microsoft’s response (or lack thereof), but that doesn’t mean they’re ready to turn their backs on Xbox Live. At least, not yet. “I'm not really annoyed at all this, just bemused by how stupid it is,” Gaywood says. “Between this and the two times my Xbox 360 has had to go back to Microsoft for repair, though, it's hard not to start suspecting them of being idiots.”

(Note: This article was written last August. It was supposed to appear in an upcoming issue of a bi-monthly LGBT publication but was "killed" in early February.)

Microsoft Shoves Gay Gamers Back Into the Closet (take one)

It’s hard to imagine the word gay offending anyone anymore. Microsoft seems to think otherwise, though, as evidenced by the company’s recent campaign to rid Xbox Live, the online service for its popular Xbox 360 video game system, of gamertags (think usernames) that include the contentious term. One of the first such gamertags sent to the gallows: thegayergamer.

So far, Microsoft has been mum on the subject other than to say a fellow gamer filed a complaint against the gamertag, after which it was found guilty of insinuating sexual innuendo—an act not condoned by the company’s terms of use.

Stephen Toulouse, program manager for the Microsoft Security Response Center, added on his blog that “there could be an argument that the text is not pejorative to homosexuality and should therefore be allowed. But there is no context to explain that.”

Gay gamers aren’t the only ones being forced to make their Xbox Live identities a little less fabulous. Shortly after Microsoft got rid of thegayergamer, it got rid of Richard Gaywood’s gamertag, too.

Toulouse initially told Gaywood (who, coincidentally, is not gay) that his gamertag had been singled out because it revealed his real name—another no-no according to the company’s terms of use. “Eventually … I got him to admit that the ban came about because of [my gamertag’s] content,” Gaywood says. “He said, ‘There's no context to tell the community not to be offended, that you are not trying to skirt the rules.’”

Although Gaywood describes the situation as “astoundingly stupid,” he isn’t turning his back on Microsoft or the Xbox 360. At least, not yet. “I'm not really annoyed at all this, just bemused by how stupid it is,” he says. “Between this and the two times my Xbox 360 has had to go back to Microsoft for repair, though, it's hard not to start suspecting them of being idiots.”

Rene Rivers, whose gamertag, sleepygaymer, has yet to meet Microsoft’s axe, offers a similar assessment. “The policy doesn’t make any sense,” he says, especially since the company’s own games for the system feature gay content. “Mass Effect has a lesbian love scene. [Soon-to-be-released] Fable II has gay marriage,” he adds. “So it’s OK to play a gay character, but you can’t be gay in real life?”

(Note: This article was written last July. It was supposed to appear in one of the August issues of a bi-monthly LGBT publication but was "killed" in early February.)

Microsoft acknowledges gaymer gaffe

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last two days, you've likely seen the news that Microsoft recently suspended a female gamer's Xbox Live account because her profile mentioned she is a lesbian.

It look little time for the story to hit the gaming and gay press, and even less time for gamers of all sexual identities and persuasions to call on the house that Bill Gates built to address the matter.

Well, Microsoft did just that earlier today when it allowed Stephen Toulouse, program manager for policy and enforcement on Xbox Live, to talk to MTV News' Stephen Totilo. (Which, as you'll see in the next few posts, is quite a step forward from how the company's PR department handled earlier, similar situations.)

"It is true that as a matter of policy, the expression of relationship preference in gamertag profiles and tags is not allowed across the board, whether that's heterosexual or other," Toulouse told MTV News before admitting that the policy is, "inelegant. And it's inelegant because the text-box field is freeform."

Toulouse suggested his employer is looking into a more elegant solution, such as allowing gamers to check off boxes or use symbols to denote their gender, sexual orientation or other qualities.

"That's the type of thing we're looking at as a solution," he told MTV News. "I can't talk about future plans, except to say we want to provide the capability for our users to express relationship preference or gender without a way for it to be misused."

(Note: Last summer, when Microsoft first made headlines for suspending the Xbox Live account of a gamer whose name and gamertag were Richard Gaywood, I wrote an article on the subject for a well-known LGBT publication. I later revised the article to include the story of a gay man, Michael Arnold, whose Xbox Live account met a similar fate after gamers complained about his gamertag, THCxGaymer. Since neither version of the article were published by the unnamed magazine, I am going to publish them here.)