What is wrong with this community?

[Vix_Spellweaver]

Because they're a decent human being?

Do you go around wasting random people's time and trashing talking the hell out of them for nothing, in your day-to-day life? Common courtesy doesn't stop at the border of your keyboard. People seem to forget that there's actual people behind the character.

Maybe you misunderstood my statement. Of course We/I don't do those things in public.
But we all know this concept doesn't translate to video games. Don't believe me? Spend an hour playing COD. People are downright mean and abusive over the smallest of things.

Again, I blame the cross server system. People will easily tread on someone's feelings as long as they can hide behind a screen, and especially if they can hide on a different server.

[KimimiAvesta]

But we all know this concept doesn't translate to video games. Don't believe me? Spend an hour playing COD. People are downright mean and abusive over the smallest of things.

Again, I blame the cross server system. People will easily tread on someone's feelings as long as they can hide behind a screen, and especially if they can hide on a different server.

If you're going to blame anything, blame the "But it's only a game, it's not real life!" excuses that eventually become accepted "truths" because they're trundled out so often. Every time you say "Well nobody acts like that IRL, but it's OK because it happens all the time in <INSERT ONLINE GAME HERE> you're -

a) Giving these basement dwellers the A-OK to continue (after all, we *expect* them to behave this way - it's a game, not RL!)
b) Making it harder for people who wish to display basic good manners to say anything against them because after all "It's a game! You have to expect this behaviour!" - meaning rude behaviour and crass language (over a flippin' chest/loot/boss, by The Twelve!) is the accepted norm and to behave otherwise, even in a positive manner, is going against the grain.

It's nothing to do with cross server parties, and everything to do with all of us who stay silent in DF when someone's running their mouth off at a newbie for nothing in particular - if we stop accepting that sort of behaviour then it becomes unacceptable.

To use FFXI as an example - that game now isn't showing a close-knit group of friendly gamers all keen to help each other out (outside of the odd personal LS anyway) because the quality of their server's parties depends on it , it's showing niches within cliques within niches where everyone's got to have the best all the time because they're all so afraid of their server rep. It's not open and friendly where everybody knows your name and gives you a friendly /wave, it's insular and exclusionary.

(I'm using your post as a springboard to further discussion by the way, it's not meant to be an "attack" on your text)