The Toxic Syndrome

[CrawlFromThePit]

You reckon "lol you suck" is not flipping out? Guess what happens in real life when somebody makes a tiny irrelevant mistake, or even worse several tiny mistakes? Nothing. Nobody says a thing. If that behaviour continues somebody might talk to the person and show them how to do the thing correctly. I can guarantee that nobody is going to yell "lol you suck" in their face.
You're flipping out over a computer game.

Yell? Why are you talking about yelling when there was no mention of it. You were supposed to imagine the "lol you suck" comment as something with the intonation of "oops I dropped my pen". With no change in emotion, regular neutrality just pointing out the fact that someone suck.
There's no flipping out, what, I can't even...

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Thank you for your post. It seems to support my comment, shifting the blame onto others and that you are not at fault for your behavior.

I explained this very clearly as well. You just incorrectly believe the "victim" has no blame of their own, which of course is objectively wrong in the vast majority of "toxicity" cases.

[Josyel]

Because its the internet and we are here to have fun, laughing at dumb people doing stupid things.

I need to be polite everyday with everyone in real life, even if they are doing the stupidiest thing ever.

[arkanon]

Yell? Why are you talking about yelling when there was no mention of it. You were supposed to imagine the "lol you suck" comment as something with the intonation of "oops I dropped my pen". With no change in emotion, regular neutrality just pointing out the fact that someone suck.
There's no flipping out, what, I can't even...
.

Caps lock = screaming / yelling. Maybe you were not aware of this, although it is very well known and commonly accepted. There, you learned something new.

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Clearly you have some issues to work through, I suggest taking a breather.

On topic though, it's quite obvious from reading this thread that being good at something leads you to become extremely toxic towards those that aren't.

She literally just came back from a breather after abusing and swearing at everyone, attacking the mods, and creating a thread demanding the mods delete her account. The break didn't help it seems.

[MoanaLisa]

One question to the people stating "Of course I call names to people who fuck my run. They deserve it. They would not learn otherwise"

People don't learn anything by being insulted and called names. It's a kind of juvenile logic that people learn this way. They don't.

[Naiattavain]

reply to OP i think most people know they have a power of choice to choose weather to be nice or mean to other people. the world is in no shortage of assholes. so choose your friends wisely. you want to surround your self with people you trust not enemies.

[jazen]

what i said also applies to you lmao

his original post has absolutely no substance

it is "this is a thing"

no example, nothing

it's the same type of argument used by Trumpeters

Biden 2020 btw get mad about it

corrected it for you, no thanks needed.

[loras]

So, this may be a devisive post, but I'm curious what the general wow community thinks about it. In the decade plus I have played wow, I have experienced good interactions...and some really really toxic ones. Here too. But I'm curious why you-you being the WoW player, or the forum goer- why do you think people are so toxic? I mean, it doesn't help. It doesn't add to the fun of others. Its not conducive to a healthy game or forum environment. So why then?? Why be toxic. Either on WoW or in forum.

Simple, many people are dumb, too stupid to realise they're really only hurting themselves, as a toxic person is just an effortless click on the ignorelist away from being removed from another's sight.
And they inhibit the capacities of those they play with as well, ultimately wasting their own time and frustrating themselves most.
Plenty that think they're exceptional that can get away with that sorta stuff by being good or something vaguely resembling it, but they're usually just better off removed as even a mediocre group performs better as whole without a semi skilled distraction.

Plus toxicity often comes from people that have trouble being honest with themselves about their own skill level and the rewards it earns them, it's often just common entitlement. Someone else called them crying manbabies somewhere in here, i'm not sure i agree with the exact wording but the idea often is accurate.

In parting i'd advise you to not pay too much attention to them, they're their own punishment (not in some karma-bullshit way) and sometimes they can be used to further your own game, or toyed around with (toxicity is often a good handle to grip someone by and manipulate them).

[Tiev]

"It's just a game"

"It's just how the internet is."

"It's just some pixels on a screen."

That's why. Coupled with anonimity.

[arkanon]

Plus toxicity often comes from people that have trouble being honest with themselves about their own skill level

Have a look through this very thread, and you will see at least one proudly toxic individual proclaiming its never their fault, and everyone should just "get on their level", despite openly admitting they are an average player, at best. I find this to be a huge red flag, as you said it really just screams "im not as good as i think i am, but by telling others they are below me, i elevate my opinion of myself". I have played with some truly amazing players over the years, and they never once put others down. If they knew the other player, they might offer advice or guidance if asked, but otherwise, they just focused on what they were doing.

Exceptionally talented people, in my experience, are far more likely to try and lift others to their level and encourage them, rather than put them down and insult them. Sadly, there remains a small group of individuals who dont see any difference between psting someone and saying "hey man, i play a lot of your spec, if you want to lift your game a bit, i think i could help. let me know if you want any advice", and saying "omfg look at this idiot, have you even played X spec before? L2P idiot".

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"It's just a game"

"It's just how the internet is."

"It's just some pixels on a screen."

That's why. Coupled with anonimity.

To be fair, it really is just a game. Unless you are aiming for a career in either streaming or world first race / pro team, it 100% is "just a game". Now for those wanting to treat it as something OTHER than a game, its up to them to seek out other like minded individuals who share their drive and focus. Now obviously there is some expectation of performance in certain scenarios, but again, its up to the group leader to manage those expectations and ensure they form a like minded group.

For example - there is nothing worse than joining a group advertised as "Fresh heroic full clear geared group" - only to find out its a mostly guild run, and they are progressing on the 4th boss. Likewise, if you are forming a group for your mythic alts and it really is a fast clear, the tools are available to you to ensure you only invite appropriate players. Are those tools perfect? No, not at all - plenty of people buy ilvl through +15 weeklies, and buy achievements for raids.

If you advertise your group accurately, it will take a bit longer to form, but should last a lot longer too. There is no shame in advertising "Fresh heroic - first 4 bosses then progression".

[loras]

Have a look through this very thread, and you will see at least one proudly toxic individual proclaiming its never their fault, and everyone should just "get on their level", despite openly admitting they are an average player, at best. I find this to be a huge red flag, as you said it really just screams "im not as good as i think i am, but by telling others they are below me, i elevate my opinion of myself". I have played with some truly amazing players over the years, and they never once put others down. If they knew the other player, they might offer advice or guidance if asked, but otherwise, they just focused on what they were doing.

Exceptionally talented people, in my experience, are far more likely to try and lift others to their level and encourage them, rather than put them down and insult them. Sadly, there remains a small group of individuals who dont see any difference between psting someone and saying "hey man, i play a lot of your spec, if you want to lift your game a bit, i think i could help. let me know if you want any advice", and saying "omfg look at this idiot, have you even played X spec before? L2P idiot".

I'd rather not look too much, no offense. ^^'

But yeah, pretty much the exact same experience.
The one time i did encounter a genuinely good toxic guy he managed to ruin the raid so i ended up taunting him with "Hey dude, if you're so good why do i still see the boss alive.". He squirmed for quite a while, really entertaining stuff.

In that sense i suppose i'm a little bit toxic myself, heh, but in my defense: i did it after the raid had turned thoroughly chanceless (it was a hc antorus pug i think? He had chased out all the good / fun / interesting guys already and really it was just a constantly refilling dead raid by then, Aggrammar i think).

[arkanon]

I'd rather not look too much, no offense. ^^'

But yeah, pretty much the exact same experience.
The one time i did encounter a genuinely good toxic guy he managed to ruin the raid so i ended up taunting him with "Hey dude, if you're so good why do i still see the boss alive.". He squirmed for quite a while, really entertaining stuff.

In that sense i suppose i'm a little bit toxic myself, heh, but in my defense: i did it after the raid had turned thoroughly chanceless (it was a hc antorus pug i think? He had chased out all the good / fun / interesting guys already and really it was just a constantly refilling dead raid by then, Aggrammar i think).

As a raid leader who runs pugs regularly, i would boot a geared / skilled player who is toxic and keep the less geared / skilled players. That way, we lose ONE player, instead of losing multiple players, which is what happens most of the time in my experience. I honestly dont come across many genuinely skilled players who talk trash - they exist, without a doubt, but i find most to be very respectful and happy to help.

One decent player might do 100 dps compared to the other players 75, so losing 100 dps wont stop you from killing a boss if replaced by another 75dps player, or depending on numers, leave the spot empty. Losing 3 75dps players, one healer, and a tank, all because of one asshole - thats a group killer.

[loras]

As a raid leader who runs pugs regularly, i would boot a geared / skilled player who is toxic and keep the less geared / skilled players. That way, we lose ONE player, instead of losing multiple players, which is what happens most of the time in my experience. I honestly dont come across many genuinely skilled players who talk trash - they exist, without a doubt, but i find most to be very respectful and happy to help.

One decent player might do 100 dps compared to the other players 75, so losing 100 dps wont stop you from killing a boss if replaced by another 75dps player, or depending on numers, leave the spot empty. Losing 3 75dps players, one healer, and a tank, all because of one asshole - thats a group killer.

Exactly.
Plus it just ruins the fun of a raid to have some stale grape moan all the time while chasing away interesting / fun people.

[Itori]

Anonymity creates toxicity in a community where toxicity is lightly punished.

[arkanon]

Anonymity creates toxicity in a community where toxicity is lightly punished.

I think its quite hard to punish "toxicity" as you can see in this thread, it is somewhat subjective. But i think a lot of the punishment goes unnoticed as we never see those players again. I was suspended for 24 hours or something years ago for saying "oh fuck off, lol" (direct quote) in what i thought was a casual, friendly discussion. This was YEARS ago, and during a raid to kill faction leaders, so a full raid team. I doubt the person i was talking to even reported me - most likely it was a group of friends having a laugh, but either way, i logged back into my account a few days later to see an email explaining i had been banned for 24 hours (i hadnt even noticed).

All im saying is they do action reports, if there are enough reports. I dont pretend to know all the ins and outs of the system, but you certainly get infracted and silenced if enough people report you, regardless of what is said. My guildie was going overseas for a few weeks and wasnt going to be playing, so we tested it at the end of the raid night. He said "omg I love Blizzard so much, and WoW is the best game ever made!". We all reported, and he was instantly kicked - and i mean instantly @ the last report. When he logged back in, he was silenced.

[Unholyground]

Just ignore people who are dicks, it fixes them pretty fast when no one will do anything with them.

[Pohut]

Yell? Why are you talking about yelling when there was no mention of it. You were supposed to imagine the "lol you suck" comment as something with the intonation of "oops I dropped my pen". With no change in emotion, regular neutrality just pointing out the fact that someone suck.
There's no flipping out, what, I can't even...

If you don't think saying "lol you suck" to a random person is flipping out, there is nothing I can do or say to help you. You will have to come to that conclusion yourself after life throws you around a bit once you're out in real world. I sincerely hope it doesn't take you too long. You still seem young enough to turn things around and not let your toxicity ruin your real life like it did your in-game life.

[Tiev]

To be fair, it really is just a game. Unless you are aiming for a career in either streaming or world first race / pro team, it 100% is "just a game". Now for those wanting to treat it as something OTHER than a game, its up to them to seek out other like minded individuals who share their drive and focus. Now obviously there is some expectation of performance in certain scenarios, but again, its up to the group leader to manage those expectations and ensure they form a like minded group. .

Fair, but what I was getting at is: "It doesn't matter if you ninja an item, people shouldn't be upset because it's just a game. It doesn't matter if someone yells that you're garbage over discord, people shouldn't be upset because after all, it is just a game.

It's a platform for human interaction. It doesn't matter if this platform is a video-game, your job, the beach or what have you, people should apply the same rules of social interaction. When "but it's just a video-game" becomes an acceptable reason to act differently, you have toxicity.

Of course, this is only acceptable because you wont have any negative consequences from being an ass to other people as you would if you decided to steal a trophy from a volleyball competition, but diminishing the problem is where I think the issue starts.

[arkanon]

Fair, but what I was getting at is: "It doesn't matter if you ninja an item, people shouldn't be upset because it's just a game. It doesn't matter if someone yells that you're garbage over discord, people shouldn't be upset because after all, it is just a game.

It's a platform for human interaction. It doesn't matter if this platform is a video-game, your job, the beach or what have you, people should apply the same rules of social interaction. When "but it's just a video-game" becomes an acceptable reason to act differently, you have toxicity.

Of course, this is only acceptable because you wont have any negative consequences from being an ass to other people as you would if you decided to steal a trophy from a volleyball competition, but diminishing the problem is where I think the issue starts.

Right, so thats on me, i think i misunderstood your post. I agree that "its just a game" is never an excuse for toxicity, and your examples are good.

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Just ignore people who are dicks, it fixes them pretty fast when no one will do anything with them.

I think the player pool is too large to ever really have much impact on their playtime, however, it fixes the issue for me. What is probably the most important factor here, is if people dont engage with them and simply kick / ignore them, they lose a lot of their enjoyment.

[TigTone]

Just ignore people who are dicks, it fixes them pretty fast when no one will do anything with them.

I agree with this post a lot.

Most of the time toxic people do it for the attention.

Cut off their fuel = win.

[arkanon]

I agree with this post a lot.

Most of the time toxic people do it for the attention.

Cut off their fuel = win.

This is my experience as well - they are often like children - if you ignore them, the tantrum stops and they just stfu and play. Not always the case obviously, but if no one engages, they tend to either do what i said and stfu, or just leave the group out of frustration.