Riot Games continues to crack down on anti-social behaviour in its eternally popular MOBA League of Legends – the latest initiative is a “player reform system” that punishes verbal harassment within fifteen minutes of a match ending. The system is now live in the North American region.
If team-mates or opponents report a layer for offensive behaviour, this new automated response system examines the situation, and if found guilty delivers him or her a reform card via email, with a chat log highlighting the offence in question and revealing the appropriate punishment.
“Your reports help the instant feedback system understand and punish the kind of verbal harassment the community actively rejects: homophobia, racism, sexism, death threats, and other forms of excessive abuse. These harmful communications will be punished with two-week or permanent bans within fifteen minutes of game’s end,” explains Riot.
Like any such automated system, the early days aren't going to be totally reliable. A player behavior team will be on hand to examine the first few thousand cases the instant feedback system takes on. If things go well, the system will be rolled out to other regions.
It's not just for the bad guys, either; Riot says that if this initial test is successful, we might see a similar system that rewards players for good behaviour. Such as not calling your team-mates a bunch of *******. Or a shower of ******.
