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Many online collaborative games, e-sports in particular, heavily rely on teamwork. However, players can act in an antisocial way during the match, creating dissent into the match. This kind of behavior is referred to as toxic. We aim to discover the influence brought by toxic behavior in a popular e-sport, League of Legends, through the study of co...
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... Tan et al. established patterns of low and high cohesion in League of Legends teams and state that high cohesion often include apologies, encouragement, or acknowledgments [69]. The authors conclude that high cohesion is important to team satisfaction regardless of the match outcome.Further to this, in an analysis of 1.9 million League of Legend match chat logs, teams who employed a respectful tone of voice performed better while stressed-and low performing players often indulged in ruder language, potentially inducing a cycle of toxic interaction between players [48,51]. Researches have urged developers to focus on ways to increase positivity in teams to reduce the risk of toxic behaviour [51]-however, prior work has largely focused on removing the negative aspects of communication. ...
... The authors conclude that high cohesion is important to team satisfaction regardless of the match outcome.Further to this, in an analysis of 1.9 million League of Legend match chat logs, teams who employed a respectful tone of voice performed better while stressed-and low performing players often indulged in ruder language, potentially inducing a cycle of toxic interaction between players [48,51]. Researches have urged developers to focus on ways to increase positivity in teams to reduce the risk of toxic behaviour [51]-however, prior work has largely focused on removing the negative aspects of communication. ...
... Furthermore, multiple participants warned of positivity in different ways: such as mentioning that initially positive players often become toxic later in a game, or that praising teammates could make them lose focus. These subjective player perceptions are not compatible with research findings, which showed that positive communication improves teamwork and team success [14,51]. We speculate that this unfavourable assessment of positive interactions may further propel the normalization of toxicity [5,71], by 'othering' positive messages as insidious, disingenuous, or actively harmful to performance-in comparison to toxic interactions, which may be perceived as more authentic within the paradigms of community standards and expectations. ...
Toxicity in multiplayer gaming is an ongoing problem that threatens the well-being of players, gaming communities, and game developers. Meanwhile, interventions that promote positive interactions and proactively create positive gaming spaces are still in their infancy; little is known about how players respond to positivity. In our study, 959 League of Legends players were presented with either 10 positive chat logs or 10 negative chat logs, and asked to reflect on the content and how representative such communication is of their own gaming experiences. We thematically coded participants' free-form answers (identifying the themes normalize, acknowledge, downplay, cope, blame, and make personal), and compared the positive and negative conditions in terms of theme prevalence. Our findings show that participants were more likely to normalize and acknowledge toxic negativity than positivity. Furthermore, the dominant response to positivity consisted of downplaying messages as not representative and rare, and even expressing suspicion that messages must have been fabricated or intended as sarcasm. Participants overwhelmingly cope by muting chat, protecting them from toxic interactions, but leaving them unexposed to positive communication and other beneficial social interactions within play.
... Toxicity has been studied extensively in the context of multiplayer online gaming, particularly multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games such as Defense of the Ancients (Dota) 2 and League of Legends. In this context, previous academic research uses toxicity as an umbrella term for negative behavior that can include criticizing, insulting, and blaming others (mostly teammates) as well as generally contributing to a negative mood during gameplay [71]. Toxicity differs from related constructs such as cyberbullying in that it is generally of short duration, non-systematic, and fueled by situational frustration and anger as well as by intense real-time competition [46]. ...
... Thus, in this study, we focused on the mechanisms at play in toxicity, both within the team, and in the roles that players occupy. Subsequently, we selected the vantage point of the theoretical perspective of small groups as complex systems [4] and from previous work related to cyberbullying and toxic behavior [10,60,71,72]. To guide our research, we proposed the following two research questions (RQs): ...
... Academia has also contributed to the current understanding of toxicity. For example, Neto et al. studied communication patterns that lead to toxic behavior among players and found that once it has begun, toxicity propagates and manifests throughout a battle [71]. Moreover, Adinolf and Turkay found that most reported instances of toxicity originate from players' need to attribute failure to others [2]. ...
Toxic behavior remains a salient challenge for online gaming environments, such as multiplayer online battle arena video games (MOBAs). In this study, we sought to understand player roles and settings in which toxicity occurs using a mixed-methods approach. First, we conducted ethnographic observations and interviews with players of the most popular contemporary MOBA, League of Legends (Study 1). During the qualitative analysis three main themes emerged: (1) the fluidity of roles, (2) the subjectivity of the toxic experience, and (3) cascading effects and changing modalities of toxicity. Based on the themes, we formulated hypotheses regarding players’ experience with toxicity. To test these hypotheses, we gathered cross-sectional data from MOBA players (n = 216), which we analyzed with co-variance-based statistics (Study 2). Our quantitative findings showcase the complexity of toxicity as well as players’ ambivalence toward the topic. We found indicators of substantial influences of personality and a cycle of retaliation toxicity spread as victims retaliated against the perpetrator.
... Games such as League of Legends, Defense of the Ancients (DotA), Mobile Legends, Fortnite, and Player Unknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) represent a few instances of electronic sports (esports) that are frequently engaged in competitive tournaments. According to Neto, Yokoyama, and Becker (2017), electronic sports (e-sports) exhibit a high level of competitiveness and place significant emphasis on fostering teamwork among participants within a single team. ...
The objective of this study is to examine the impact of personal peacefulness and disruptive behavior on individuals engaged in online gaming. Personal peacefulness refers to an individual's tranquil disposition, characterized by an inward sense of serenity. This state of being fosters an environment of non-violence and harmony, continually manifesting in many life circumstances. Griefing within the context of online gaming refers to the manifestation of antisocial conduct exhibited by gamers towards their counterparts on the same gaming platform, with the primary objective of deriving personal gratification. The participants in this study consisted of a sample size of 351 individuals who were
engaged in online gaming. The data collection process involved the utilization of two distinct scales: the Self-Perception Scale (SPS) for measuring Intrapersonal Peace, which had 12 statement items, and the Grief Play Scale, which consisted of 32 statement items. The findings obtained from the application of Spearman Rho Analysis to the data indicate that the significant value, denoted as p, is equal to 0.01, which is less than the predetermined threshold of 0.05. Consequently, the hypothesis formulated for this study is determined to be accepted. It can be inferred that a significant correlation exists between an
individual's personal peacefulness and engagement in griefing behavior.
... Furthermore, toxic behaviors have shown to be counterproductive for teammate performance. Thus, teammates exposed to toxic behaviors tend to be more negative affected than their opponents (Monge & O'Brien, 2021;Neto et al., 2017;Neto & Becker, 2018). ...
... poor performances. These interpersonal actions of Malzahar resemble recent research on trolling behavior as trolls tend to blame others for mistakes made, repeating words, and positioning themselves as the dominating interactant in team chat (Cook et al., 2019;Neto et al., 2017;Neto & Becker, 2018;Shachaf & Hara, 2010). ...
Online death events constitute integral parts of many competitive online multiplayer games. Nonetheless, research has identified death events as frequently involved in the proceedings of toxic behaviors (Märtens et al., 2015). While much existing research has been attentive towards providing a range of explanations for the emergence of toxic behaviors in online games (see for example Kordyaka et al. in Internet Research, 30(4), 1081–1102, 2020; Kou, 2020; Kowert in Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 2020), research exploring the micro sociological mechanisms involved is currently limited. By applying a micro sociological situational approach to a sample of screen-recorded video data from an observational study of online toxic behaviors in League of Legends, we find that patterns of interactional rituals and situational properties play an important role in whether a death event, in which one or more players are killed, escalates into a toxic encounter. These preliminary results suggest a micro-situational understanding to be explored and refined in future empirical research. From the preliminary findings, a range of potential interventions to mitigate toxic behavior and promote social inclusion in online gaming are suggested. Among these, two types of social-norm interventions, targeting social referents and weakening social norms, align well with the main findings.
... Toxic practices are emerging as a systemic issue within technocultures. An umbrella term within the esports and online gaming literature, toxic practices are defined as anti-social interactions such as flaming, trolling, and griefing that result in a breakdown of communication between consumers (Adinolf and Türkay 2018;Kordyaka, Jahn, and Niehaves 2020;Neto, Yokoyama, and Becker 2017). Asking another player to commit suicide, making racist or sexist remarks, sabotaging teammates, and using profane language are all examples of toxic practices within online gaming. ...
... While the extant literature on toxic practices provides insight into individual perspectives (Adinolf and Türkay 2018;Neto, Yokoyama, and Becker 2017;Türkay et al. 2020), our paper shifts to understand how the neoliberal logics immanent in technocultural configurations scaffold the toxic consumer subject. Our analysis interrogates the broader societal logics that have shaped the toxic consumer subject, defined in this paper as an individual predisposed to harmful interactions with other users in technocultural spaces. ...
... We contribute to the literature in two ways. Firstly, we conceptualize the toxic consumer subject as an individual predisposed to harmful interactions with other users in technocultural spaces, extending the extant literature that predominantly views toxic practices as stemming from individual level characteristics (Adinolf and Türkay 2018;Grandprey-Shores et al. 2014;Neto, Yokoyama, and Becker 2017;Türkay et al. 2020). Secondly, we illustrate how technological configurations embed and amplify neoliberal logics, contributing to the ongoing conversation on the role of technology in performing market logics and shaping consumer subjectivity (Airoldi and Rokka 2022;Kozinets 2021;Kozinets, Ferreira, and Chimenti 2021;. ...
Toxic practices are anti-social interactions that result in a breakdown of communication between consumers. We draw on in-depth interviews, netnography, and insider experience in the context of online gaming to describe the technological configurations that embed the neoliberal logics of competitiveness, individual responsibilization, and entrepreneurialism. Taken together, these embedded logics craft the toxic consumer subject as the dominant way of inhabiting online spaces. Overall, this study illustrates how technocultures align consumer subjectivity to market logics that erode consumer wellbeing.
... If constructive dissent has proven benefits for collective intelligence (Edmonson and Moingeon, 1998), disparaging or abusive comments appear to have the opposite effect. Toxic comments have been shown to reduce team performance in a range of settings (Fredheim, Moore and Naughton, 2015;Neto et al., 2017) and therefore it becomes relevant to understand how to design PDPs that can limit toxicity. The advent of communication via voice, video, and text has generated a novel set of research questions on the effect of each medium on the quality of group discussion. ...
... reddit user. (Dota 2) Toxicity -an emic term describing anti-social practices that result in a breakdown of communication between players, generating frustration and anger (Neto et al., 2017) -is rampant within the consumption collective of esports. Industry research suggests that 72% of multiplayer gamers have witnessed toxicity, 68% of gamers have experienced toxicity themselves, and 67% are likely to stop playing a game if they encounter toxicity from another player (Unity, 2021). ...
... Broadly, toxicity is an umbrella term that refers to a range of behaviours including racism, sexism, aggression, spamming, and trolling (Gandolfi & Ferdig, 2021;Kordyaka et al., 2020). These behaviours result in a breakdown of communication between players (Neto et al., 2017) and can cause emotional and psychological harm to individuals (Cruz et al., 2018;Golf-Papez & Veer, 2017;Grandprey-Shores et al., 2014), providing a context where the darker side of consumption collectives is salient. ...
... Aligning with the importance of toxic behaviour victimization (Kordyaka et al., 2020), being targeted by toxicity can trigger more toxicity (Shen et al., 2020, Kordyaka et al., 2020, Kou, 2020, Cook et al., 2018, an effect described as a downward spiral (Kordyaka et al., 2020) and ultimately a normalization of toxicity in gaming communities (Beres et al., 2021, Fox et al., 2018. Further, toxicity is generally more prevalent among teammates (McLean et al., 2020, Neto et al., 2017, Shen et al., 2020, men (Nitschinsk et al., 2022), and in competitive game modes (Grandprey-Shores et al., 2014, Lee et al., 2022. Finally, it is likely that there are also cultural differences, as suggested by prior work that found that Indian players had higher self-reported toxic behaviour than players from the US (Kordyaka et al., 2022). ...
... It can be bad for the game developers because it can harm the health of gaming communities (Prescott, 2017), and may lead to churn (Kordyaka et al., 2020) and decreased player retention (Grandprey-Shores et al., 2014), which affects revenues. Toxicity is detrimental to team performance (Kwak et al., 2015, Neto et al., 2017, Monge & O'Brien, 2022, which is problematic for a growing esports scene, in which players train and compete, often in team-based play. It may be harmful to player experience (Türkay et al., 2020, Barnett et al., 2010, Ross & Weaver, 2012, e.g., by leading to frustration (Fox et al., 2018, Ross & Weaver, 2012 and decreased mood or enjoyment (Türkay et al., 2020, Ross & Weaver, 2012, Saarinen, 2017. ...
There are various benefits of playing multiplayer games, such as enjoyment, satisfaction of basic psychological needs, facilitation of social relationships, and coping and recovery. However, these benefits to online game players are often undermined by the presence of in-game toxicity. Toxicity can be detrimental for game developers when players leave their games. For the players, toxicity can be harmful, by causing distress; however, effects of toxicity on the wellbeing of players are not yet fully understood nor substantiated with empirical evidence. To close this gap, we conducted a study partially replicating and extending findings from prior work. We conducted two online surveys, using validated scales, to explore relationships between the perceived toxicity of gaming communities and social connectedness outcomes. We found that toxicity was associated with lower in-game social capital, need satisfaction of relatedness, and higher loneliness. Our findings provide further evidence that toxicity poses a problem for multiplayer game communities.
... It should be noted that the cases being posted on Reddit were possibly harmful enough that the authors felt the need to post them, so these cases of toxicity would likely to be extreme. Of all the posts that have been searched, 27 of the posts claimed that the initiation of toxic behaviors come from one or several teammates not performing to the toxic player's so-called satisfaction, showing the pattern that the level of toxicity is correlated to players' performance [9][10]. The rest 3 posts just describe the trolling situation, where the player is being toxic for comedy purposes or no reason at all. ...
Toxicity within online games has been a huge topic that players have expressed concern with. It is an unhealthy situation that will affect players’ emotions and playing experience. This paper will, firstly, dive into the definition of toxicity to make clear of what kind of behaviors are considered toxic. Secondly, the different types of toxicity will be introduced, of which the definition and level of impact on players will be examined. With the types being established, case study research with popular first-person shooter game Overwatch will be conducted to grasp the pattern and impact of toxic actions in game. The research has conducted observations while participating game matches to record all instances of toxicity and searched for online forum posts that discuss about toxicity to gather public opinion of said subject. Last but not least, the currently implemented counteracting methods against toxicity will be discussed while sharing the possibility of future improvement of such methods. With this paper, the problem of toxicity in online games will be shed light on and emphasized to raise more attention from players, researchers, and even game developers, therefore making the community clean and positive for gamers.
... Within the context of entertainment and more specifically of multiplayer online battle arena video games (MOBAs) such as League of Legends (LoL) or Defense of the Ancients 2 (Dota 2), one phenomenon related to the dark side of IT use, enjoying heightened levels of attention is toxic behavior (TB), which is an umbrella term used to describe various types of negative in-game behaviors including harassment, flaming, trolling (e.g. gaining enjoyment from intentionally annoying other players), and cheating (e.g., smurfing other accounts or the use of programs to automate certain in-game behaviors) during games [6,7,8]. On a level of content, TB is considered to be a sincere problem and the main driver of the churn of players relevant for the industry limiting the user experience for players [9,10]. ...
... Whereby, the occurrence of TB shows a close proximity to the design features of real-time interaction and competition [9,15] that are enabled by the progressive digitization and further developments in hardware during the last decades [16]. On a level of content, TB is a umbrella term to describe various types of negative behaviors while playing MOBAs such as harassment, flaming, trolling, or cheating [6,10,17]. TB can show itself on different levels of manifestations such as verbally (e.g., voice chat), non-verbally (e.g., text chat) or behavioral components (e.g., intentionally supporting the enemy team) [7]. In Figure 1 a typical scenario showing TB in the MOBA LoL is depicted as an example of text related TB. ...
Within the context of multiplayer online battle arena video games (MOBAs) toxic behavior (TB) remains a complex and yet unsolved socio-technological challenge. While significant work has been done recently, there is a lack of theory-guided approaches for curbing TB. In this work, we test the motivational theory of basic desires for explaining the occurrence of TB. For this, we used a survey approach and collected a sample consisting of players of the
successful MOBAs League of Legends and Dota 2 (n = 308). Using a PCA, results indicate two underlying factors of the 16 basic desires (i.e., physiological and social factors). Consequently, both factors hold the potential to explain TB. In addition, the predisposition age showed a significant influence on TB in our sample. These findings highlight the 16 basic desires as a promising frame for understanding the antecedents of TB.
