I learned a couple days ago that I have been selected to be an Xbox Live Ambassador!
This my second go-round at being one. I didn’t do as much as I should have the first time, but now I look forward to being more involved.
Being an Xbox Live Ambassador is a “recognition of service to the Xbox LIVE community.” This means that I’ve answered questions on the Xbox forums plus I have a good reputation as a gamer. I had to submit an essay saying why I should be selected. I guess it was good enough.
One of the biggest things I noted in the essay is that I watch for gamers who have inappropriate gamertags and inappropriate content in their Xbox Live profile. Every person on Xbox Live has agreed to follow certain Terms of Use, as well as a Code of Conduct which defines what they can or cannot do on Xbox Live. Unfortunately, instances of gamers breaking the Code of Conduct because of inappropriate gamertags or other content is rampant. I am amazed at the gall of some of these people and what they put in their profiles.
A lot of people try to defend themselves by saying, “This game has drug references or this kind of violence, so why can’t I have something similar for a gamertag or profile information?” The answer is simple. Those games are rated M for Mature, which means that a young person shouldn’t be playing the game. The contents of somebody’s profile is rated E for Everyone, so the content must be acceptable for anyone to read.
As an Ambassador, I will participate on the Xbox Forums more and discuss various facets of gaming with other players. Either specific games, or general issues like basic troubleshooting. I may also be a guy who introduces a new player to Xbox Live, or a guy people know will play properly and not cheat.
I look forward to participating in this program much more than last time. I have more time available for dedicating effort towards making the Xbox Live Community a better place. I enjoy some of the conversations and really enjoy helping some of the people.
I used to participate a lot in the Account Suspensions Forum because the Moderators or Policy Enforcement Team people would not respond to information requests in a quick manner (they’re very busy). It was nice to be backed up by a Moderator or a PET member when a person didn’t believe me. I always mentioned that I wasn’t a Microsoft employee and that I was basing my information on previous board responses or by quoting the appropriate item from the Terms of Use or Code of Conduct.
Since I wasn’t a Microsoft employee, the Xbox Live Moderators politely asked me to refrain from posting. I agreed to respect their wishes. I could probably post now because they have relaxed some of the restrictions, but I will hold back on posting because there are enough people posting replies who shouldn’t be.
Returning back to the subject of reporting inappropriate content, some people I know wonder why I do it when it’s not hurting me directly. My response is that it hurts the Xbox Live community. Everybody has agreed to follow the rules, so why should some jerks get away with not following them?
Unfortunately, this means that some people who have selected certain gamertags or bio information for a perfectly appropriate reason may find themselves getting into trouble because their gamertag or content can be construed to be inappropriate as per the Code of Condut. This is unfortunately, but the people to really blame in such a situation isn’t anybody with Microsoft but rather the people who made such rules required in the first place.
It’s not hard to review the tags because of the way the Xbox Dashboard works. I can review gamertags quickly.
I look forward to getting involved again. It will be fun!
Jim Wolf is a member of the Clique Canada Team and an avid gamer since the Coleco Telstar in 1976!
