Microsoft ems “gayer” gamertag to be unacceptable | Ars Techni

Contents:

• XBOX LIVE WEL GAY GAMERTAGS
• XBOX LIVE NOW ALLOWG GAY, RELIG GAMERTAGS
• MICROSOFT APOLOGIZ FOR XBOX LIVE BAN ON GAY GAMERTAGSOFFICIAL ADMS POLICY MEANT TO PREVENT ABIVE LANGUAGE IS 'ELEGANT.'BY ARCHIVE-STEPHEN-TOTILOFEBARY 26, 2009/5:01 {HEIGHT:HER;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;POSN:RELATIVE;-WEBK-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-MS-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-WEBK-ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-ALIGN:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-ALIGN:CENTER;ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-WEBK-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;-MS-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;} IMG{HEIGHT:100%;WIDTH:100%;OBJECT-F:VER;}{HEIGHT:574PX;WIDTH:1020PX;}BY ARCHIVE-STEPHEN-TOTILOFEBARY 26, 2009 / 5:01 PM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"MICROSOFT APOLOGIZ FOR XBOX LIVE BAN ON GAY GAMERTAGS","THUMBNAILURL":","DATEPUBLISHED":"2009-02-26T22:01:12.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2009-02-26T22:01:12.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"MTV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"MTV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1280,"HEIGHT":720}},"CREATOR":"ARCHIVE-STEPHEN-TOTILO"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}A RECENT PLAT OM A GAMER HAS RANKLED THOANDS OF PEOPLE ACROSS THE INTER WHO DON'T FEEL SOMEONE SHOULD BE SPEND OM MICROSOFT'S XBOX LIVE SERVICE JT BEE SHE WROTE HER PROFILE THAT SHE IS A {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE PLAT H THE BLOG THE CONSUMERIST ON WEDNDAY, SPARKG ANGER AT MICROSOFT FOR A LONGSTANDG POLICY THAT SPENDS ANYONE WHO TYP TO THEIR XBOX LIVE GAMERTAG NICKNAME OR PROFILE WORDS RELATED TO SEXUAL ORIENTATN LIKE "GAY" OR "LBIAN."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}A MICROSOFT REP EXPLAED TO MTV NEWS ON THURSDAY (FEBARY 26) WHY THE PANY HAS THAT POLICY AND WHY MIGHT BE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"IT IS TE THAT AS A MATTER OF POLICY, THE EXPRSN OF RELATNSHIP PREFERENCE GAMERTAG PROFIL AND TAGS IS NOT ALLOWED ACROSS THE BOARD, WHETHER THAT'S HETEROSEXUAL OR OTHER," STEPHEN TOULOE, PROGRAM MANAGER FOR POLICY AND ENFORCEMENT ON XBOX LIVE, TOLD MTV NEWS A PHONE TERVIEW. "BUT AS WE SAW WHEN WE RAN TO AN ISSUE WH THIS [LAST YEAR,] WE STARTED LOOKG TO THAT POLICY."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}HE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE CURRENT POLICY ULD E IMPROVG: "IT'S ELEGANT. AND 'S ELEGANT BEE THE TEXT-BOX FIELD IS EEFORM."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE LATT CINT THAT SPARKED THIS BATE WAS THE ACUNT OF THE GAMER TERA, WHO WROTE TO THE CONSUMERIST BLOG ABOUT HOW CLUDG HER SEXUAL ORIENTATN HER XBOX LIVE PROFILE LEFT HER HOUND BY OTHER XBOX LIVE ERS WHO HARASSED HER AND REPORTED HER TO MICROSOFT THORI. SUBSEQUENTLY, ACRDG TO HER ACUNT, SHE WAS SPEND. HER STORY ADD TO THE PUBLICY OF AN CINT 2008, WHEN A ER WHO JT HAD THE WORD GAY HIS REAL NAME, RICHARD GAYWOOD, HAD HIS ACUNT {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}SOME GAMERS MENTG ON CONSUMERIST AND ELSEWHERE THK THAT MICROSOFT SHOULD SIMPLY ALLOW PEOPLE TO E WORDS LIKE "GAY." IT'S NOT THAT SIMPLE. "ON THE FACE OF THAT, WE HAVE NO OBJECTN TO THAT," TOULOE SAID, "EXCEPT FOR ONE SIMPLE PROBLEM." THAT PROBLEM? WHEN TOULOE'S TEAM STARTED BG THROUGH ALL OF THE PLATS THEY WERE RECEIVG LAST YEAR REGARDG PROFIL AND GAMERTAGS G THE WORD "GAY," BETWEEN 95 AND 98 PERCENT WERE G THE WORD {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE STATED TENTN OF MICROSOFT'S POLICY IS TO PREVENT ABIVE LANGUAGE, SOMETHG THAT TOULOE ACKNOWLEDG ISN'T THE SE WH EHER THE GAYWOOD OR TERA CINTS. HIS TEAM NOW UNRSTANDS, HE SAID, THAT THEY NEED TO FD A WAY TO AT LET PEOPLE EXPRS THGS LIKE SEXUAL ORIENTATN WAYS THAT N'T BE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"AS SOCIAL MEDIA HAS BEE MORE AND MORE OF A THG THE PAST SIX YEARS, PEOPLE ARE WANTG TO EXPRS MORE AND MORE TAIL ABOUT THEMSELV," TOULOE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}ONE SOLUTN WOULD SEEMGLY BE TO ALLOW ERS TO SELECT SYMBOLS OR CHECK OFF BOX THAT NOTE ONE'S SEXUAL ORIENTATN, GENR OR OTHER FG QUALI. "I THK THAT'S A GREAT IA," TOULOE SAID. "THAT'S THE TYPE OF THG WE'RE LOOKG AT AS A SOLUTN. ... I N'T TALK ABOUT FUTURE PLANS, EXCEPT TO SAY WE WANT TO PROVI THE PABILY FOR OUR ERS TO EXPRS RELATNSHIP PREFERENCE OR GENR WHOUT A WAY FOR TO BE MISED."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}AS FOR THE TERA CINT, TOULOE SAID HIS TEAM WAS AWARE OF THE CONSUMERIST POST WH AN HOUR OF S POSTG BUT HAS BEEN UNABLE TO TAKE ANY ACTN BEE OF THE LACK OF TAILS PROVID. "CERTALY, HARASSG SOMEONE, EVEN IF THEY HAVE THE EXPRSN OF THEIR RELATNSHIP PREFERENCE THEIR PROFILE OR THEIR GAMERTAG, EVEN IF THAT MAY BE AGAST THE CURRENT TERMS OF E THE CURRENT POLICY -- THAT DO NOT GIVE THE RIGHT FOR ANYONE TO HARASS ANOTHER PLAYER," HE SAID. THOSE WHO DO EXPERIENCE HARASSMENT LIKE THAT SHOULD FILE A PLAT VIA THEIR XBOX 360 OR POST ON {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}FOR MORE GAMG VERAGE, CHECK OUT OUR MULTIPLAYER GAMG {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS
• MICROSOFT EXPLAS "GAYWOOD" BAN
• XBOX LIVE NOW ALLOWS 'GAY' AND OTHER ORIENTATN TERMS GAMERTAGS, ONLE PROFIL
• MICROSOFT WON’T ALLOW GAYS & LBIANS TO INTIFY THEMSELV BY GAMERTAG
• GAY XBOX ONE GAMERS
• TOO GAY TO PLAY: GAY GAMER’S NAME BANNED OM XBOX LIVE
• MICROSOFT EMS “GAYER” GAMERTAG TO BE UNACCEPTABLE
• MICROSOFT MAK GAY GAMER CHANGE GAMERTAG

XBOX LIVE WEL GAY GAMERTAGS

The Xbox Live Co of Conduct has been updated to allow gay people to display sexual orientatn gamertags. Words allowed are "Lbian", "Gay", "Bi", "Transgenr" and "Straight". MS began re-examg gay namg policy on Xbox Live this time last year.

Acrdg to the pany's new terms of e, gamers may e the words "lbian, " "gay, " "bi, " "transgenr, " or "straight" to scribe sexual orientatn on their profil, but only those words. A recent plat om a gamer has rankled thoands of people across the Inter who don't feel someone should be spend om Microsoft's Xbox Live service jt bee she wrote her profile that she is a plat h the blog the Consumerist on Wednday, sparkg anger at Microsoft for a longstandg policy that spends anyone who typ to their Xbox Live Gamertag nickname or profile words related to sexual orientatn like "gay" or "lbian.

XBOX LIVE NOW ALLOWG GAY, RELIG GAMERTAGS

Her story add to the publicy of an cint 2008, when a er who jt had the word gay his real name, Richard Gaywood, had his acunt gamers mentg on Consumerist and elsewhere thk that Microsoft should simply allow people to e words like "gay. When Touloe's team started bg through all of the plats they were receivg last year regardg profil and Gamertags g the word "gay, " between 95 and 98 percent were g the word stated tentn of Microsoft's policy is to prevent abive language, somethg that Touloe acknowledg isn't the se wh eher the Gaywood or Tera cints. Late last night, we learned the story of Richard Gaywood, the not-so-happy Xbox Live er whose gamertag was banned.

Sce "RichardGaywood" was both the er's gamertag as well as his legal, hont-to-goodns given name, Kotaku ntacted Microsoft to learn the reason behd the Top 10 Most-Played Gam On Steam Deck: July 2023 EdnOffEnglishH the jump for their rponse:"We want the Xbox LIVE muny to have the eedom to exprs themselv, but we also have a rponsibily to create an clive, safe environment, " said Microsoft's Stephen Touloe. "While may be clear to some that Gaywood is a legimate surname, may not be obv to other Xbox LIVE members. "Rell Toulose also referred to the XBL Terms of Use explag why er "TheGAYERGamer" received a ban, statg, "Gamertags are visible to everyone and would be hard for me to fend to a parent of a young child who saw that the name did not nta ntent of a sexual nature.

MICROSOFT APOLOGIZ FOR XBOX LIVE BAN ON GAY GAMERTAGSOFFICIAL ADMS POLICY MEANT TO PREVENT ABIVE LANGUAGE IS 'ELEGANT.'BY ARCHIVE-STEPHEN-TOTILOFEBARY 26, 2009/5:01 {HEIGHT:HER;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;POSN:RELATIVE;-WEBK-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-MS-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-WEBK-ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-ALIGN:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-ALIGN:CENTER;ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-WEBK-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;-MS-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;} IMG{HEIGHT:100%;WIDTH:100%;OBJECT-F:VER;}{HEIGHT:574PX;WIDTH:1020PX;}BY ARCHIVE-STEPHEN-TOTILOFEBARY 26, 2009 / 5:01 PM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"MICROSOFT APOLOGIZ FOR XBOX LIVE BAN ON GAY GAMERTAGS","THUMBNAILURL":","DATEPUBLISHED":"2009-02-26T22:01:12.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2009-02-26T22:01:12.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"MTV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"MTV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1280,"HEIGHT":720}},"CREATOR":"ARCHIVE-STEPHEN-TOTILO"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}A RECENT PLAT OM A GAMER HAS RANKLED THOANDS OF PEOPLE ACROSS THE INTER WHO DON'T FEEL SOMEONE SHOULD BE SPEND OM MICROSOFT'S XBOX LIVE SERVICE JT BEE SHE WROTE HER PROFILE THAT SHE IS A {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE PLAT H THE BLOG THE CONSUMERIST ON WEDNDAY, SPARKG ANGER AT MICROSOFT FOR A LONGSTANDG POLICY THAT SPENDS ANYONE WHO TYP TO THEIR XBOX LIVE GAMERTAG NICKNAME OR PROFILE WORDS RELATED TO SEXUAL ORIENTATN LIKE "GAY" OR "LBIAN."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}A MICROSOFT REP EXPLAED TO MTV NEWS ON THURSDAY (FEBARY 26) WHY THE PANY HAS THAT POLICY AND WHY MIGHT BE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"IT IS TE THAT AS A MATTER OF POLICY, THE EXPRSN OF RELATNSHIP PREFERENCE GAMERTAG PROFIL AND TAGS IS NOT ALLOWED ACROSS THE BOARD, WHETHER THAT'S HETEROSEXUAL OR OTHER," STEPHEN TOULOE, PROGRAM MANAGER FOR POLICY AND ENFORCEMENT ON XBOX LIVE, TOLD MTV NEWS A PHONE TERVIEW. "BUT AS WE SAW WHEN WE RAN TO AN ISSUE WH THIS [LAST YEAR,] WE STARTED LOOKG TO THAT POLICY."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}HE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE CURRENT POLICY ULD E IMPROVG: "IT'S ELEGANT. AND 'S ELEGANT BEE THE TEXT-BOX FIELD IS EEFORM."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE LATT CINT THAT SPARKED THIS BATE WAS THE ACUNT OF THE GAMER TERA, WHO WROTE TO THE CONSUMERIST BLOG ABOUT HOW CLUDG HER SEXUAL ORIENTATN HER XBOX LIVE PROFILE LEFT HER HOUND BY OTHER XBOX LIVE ERS WHO HARASSED HER AND REPORTED HER TO MICROSOFT THORI. SUBSEQUENTLY, ACRDG TO HER ACUNT, SHE WAS SPEND. HER STORY ADD TO THE PUBLICY OF AN CINT 2008, WHEN A ER WHO JT HAD THE WORD GAY HIS REAL NAME, RICHARD GAYWOOD, HAD HIS ACUNT {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}SOME GAMERS MENTG ON CONSUMERIST AND ELSEWHERE THK THAT MICROSOFT SHOULD SIMPLY ALLOW PEOPLE TO E WORDS LIKE "GAY." IT'S NOT THAT SIMPLE. "ON THE FACE OF THAT, WE HAVE NO OBJECTN TO THAT," TOULOE SAID, "EXCEPT FOR ONE SIMPLE PROBLEM." THAT PROBLEM? WHEN TOULOE'S TEAM STARTED BG THROUGH ALL OF THE PLATS THEY WERE RECEIVG LAST YEAR REGARDG PROFIL AND GAMERTAGS G THE WORD "GAY," BETWEEN 95 AND 98 PERCENT WERE G THE WORD {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE STATED TENTN OF MICROSOFT'S POLICY IS TO PREVENT ABIVE LANGUAGE, SOMETHG THAT TOULOE ACKNOWLEDG ISN'T THE SE WH EHER THE GAYWOOD OR TERA CINTS. HIS TEAM NOW UNRSTANDS, HE SAID, THAT THEY NEED TO FD A WAY TO AT LET PEOPLE EXPRS THGS LIKE SEXUAL ORIENTATN WAYS THAT N'T BE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"AS SOCIAL MEDIA HAS BEE MORE AND MORE OF A THG THE PAST SIX YEARS, PEOPLE ARE WANTG TO EXPRS MORE AND MORE TAIL ABOUT THEMSELV," TOULOE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}ONE SOLUTN WOULD SEEMGLY BE TO ALLOW ERS TO SELECT SYMBOLS OR CHECK OFF BOX THAT NOTE ONE'S SEXUAL ORIENTATN, GENR OR OTHER FG QUALI. "I THK THAT'S A GREAT IA," TOULOE SAID. "THAT'S THE TYPE OF THG WE'RE LOOKG AT AS A SOLUTN. ... I N'T TALK ABOUT FUTURE PLANS, EXCEPT TO SAY WE WANT TO PROVI THE PABILY FOR OUR ERS TO EXPRS RELATNSHIP PREFERENCE OR GENR WHOUT A WAY FOR TO BE MISED."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}AS FOR THE TERA CINT, TOULOE SAID HIS TEAM WAS AWARE OF THE CONSUMERIST POST WH AN HOUR OF S POSTG BUT HAS BEEN UNABLE TO TAKE ANY ACTN BEE OF THE LACK OF TAILS PROVID. "CERTALY, HARASSG SOMEONE, EVEN IF THEY HAVE THE EXPRSN OF THEIR RELATNSHIP PREFERENCE THEIR PROFILE OR THEIR GAMERTAG, EVEN IF THAT MAY BE AGAST THE CURRENT TERMS OF E THE CURRENT POLICY -- THAT DO NOT GIVE THE RIGHT FOR ANYONE TO HARASS ANOTHER PLAYER," HE SAID. THOSE WHO DO EXPERIENCE HARASSMENT LIKE THAT SHOULD FILE A PLAT VIA THEIR XBOX 360 OR POST ON {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}FOR MORE GAMG VERAGE, CHECK OUT OUR MULTIPLAYER GAMG {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS

Gaywood's gamertag, like any other found to be vlatn of the Terms of Use, will not be restated. Gay Zordon.

Four months after allowg Rockstar to lnch "The Ballad of Gay Tony" (a downloadable add-on for Grand Theft Auto IV) on Xbox 360, Microsoft has tweaked the "Co of Conduct" for s onle Xbox Live service so that ers n rporate terms of "relatnship orientatn, " such as "gay, " to their onle handl and profil. "You may e the followg terms to exprs your relatnship orientatn your profile or Gamertag: Lbian, Gay, Bi, Transgenr, Straight, " the revisn clar. Unr the old policy, e of such phrasg was nsired "offensive" and rulted said acunts beg banned om Xbox Live--notable exampl clu "theGAYERgamer" and "RichardGaywood", the latter beg someone's actual legal name--wh the ensug ntroversy sparkg an apology and the eventual change.

"Special thanks to GLAAD [Gay & Lbian Alliance Agast Defamatn] and Microsoft's LGBT [Lbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgenr] muny for guidance on the terms, " Xbox Live policy director Stephen Touloe wrote on Twter alongsi word of the revisn, addg "If you try typg any of the the approved terms to your profile, you should fd they are not blocked...

MICROSOFT EXPLAS "GAYWOOD" BAN

Earlier this week, Consumerist reported that Tera, a lbian Xbox Live er (or, make that ex-er), was allegedly banned om Microsoft’s Xbox Live service bee she had intified herself as gay. This is not the first time a gay Xbox Live gamer has been banned simply bee they’ve proclaimed their sexual orientatn over the service. Like “theGAYERgamer” before her, Tera was banned by Microsoft wh the explanatn that she “create[d] a gamertag or e[d] text other profile fields that clu[d] ments that look, sound like, stand for, ht at, abbreviate, or suate ntent of a potentially sexual nature.

Whilst Microsoft matas that “harassment of any kd is not ndoned and is taken very serly, ” would seem that the potential disfort of heterosexuals over a gay-gamertag is more prsg than homophobic ments and actns toward those gay gamers.

XBOX LIVE NOW ALLOWS 'GAY' AND OTHER ORIENTATN TERMS GAMERTAGS, ONLE PROFIL

” The homophobic gamers went on to allegedly e -game chat to tell other players nnected to the service to “turn [her] .

Homophob pla about Tera; she’s banned. Poor Mr Richard Gaywood was banned om Xbox Live months ago bee of his gamertag — “RichardGaywood. Mr Gaywood, who you assume would already receive enough grief due to his surname, has no chance of havg his gamertag restated.

Whilst Microsoft n at least claim Tera broke terms and ndns wh her gamertag, they’d have a harr time wh Gaywood; n his own name really “look, sound like, stand for, ht at, abbreviate, or suate ntent of a potentially sexual nature“? Gay gamer, 45, love RPG among others.

MICROSOFT WON’T ALLOW GAYS & LBIANS TO INTIFY THEMSELV BY GAMERTAG

A gay gamer wh the gamertag “theGAYERgamer” has had his name banned om Xbox Live for beg “offensive. ” As we all know, Xbox Live is a hotbed of homophobia, but seems that if enough bigots raise the alarm, they will be appeased.

Last night when i tried to sign to my xbox live acunt “thegayergamer” I was told that had to be changed.

I figured that was jt om people reportg as an offensive name beg that the greater Xbox live muny isn’t exactly wele to gay people, i spend a lot of time mutg people on Halo3.

GAY XBOX ONE GAMERS

I talked to a supervisor there, Roxy, who told me that she didn’t personally fd the fact that my gamer tag had gay the name offensive, but that the greater Xbox muny did, so i would have to change . Of urse, ’s not certa whether people plaed bee they thought the name was homophobic, or if they were themselv homophob who were offend bee of “m darn faggs on mah Live, ” but given Xbox Live’s majory clientèle … I thk we n more or ls le out the former se.

TOO GAY TO PLAY: GAY GAMER’S NAME BANNED OM XBOX LIVE

The man wants to know he’s a gayer gamer than everybody else, so he should be able to tell . Xbox Live screengrab showg that Gaywood is no longer allowed. Microsoft recently led "theGAYERgamer" well offsi, and quickly moved to al wh Reg rear Richard Gaywood's onle moniker, ….

"Dick Gaywood"- poor sod. Yeah, Randolph Richard Gaywood perhaps? Thursday 22nd May 2008 09:32 GMT Mike Taylor Gay Search anyone?

Thursday 22nd May 2008 09:32 GMT MET Thkg ternatnally This remd me of the wonrfully named 'Randy Benr' (lerally meang horny homosexual for those outsi the UK) who was heavily lked several years ago. "Gay" is NOT an offensive word. Thursday 22nd May 2008 10:11 GMT Anonymo Coward Microsoft hate gays!

MICROSOFT EMS “GAYER” GAMERTAG TO BE UNACCEPTABLE

Thursday 22nd May 2008 10:11 GMT Richard Gaywood Hey, I'm on The Reg aga Heya all. Also note that I'm pretty sure that Ameriglish "gay wood" would mean "arseband's hard-on", so their filter's probably objectg to the unfortunate juxtaposn (for Septic software) here rather than beg a droolg, fascist homophobe. Thursday 22nd May 2008 10:40 GMT Mr Chris Richard - gay?

MICROSOFT MAK GAY GAMER CHANGE GAMERTAG

Surely Microsoft classg the word 'gay' is offensive is agast the law on the ground of discrimatn.

It's not an offensive term for homosexualy (pecially this se where 's the blok name) like queer or faggot but Microsoft seems to be sayg is.