US Military Gamers - Powered by vBulletin


Results 1 to 6 of 6
  1. #1
    Silent but Deadly....
    XxSilentxFartxX's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Davenport, Iowa
    Posts
    1,747
    Branch
    Marines
    Blog Entries
    7

    Microsoft Ban on Gamertag for listing Location .. Read On!!

    Fort Gay, WV resident's Xbox Live gamertag blocked
    By Tor Thorsen, GameSpotPosted Sep 8, 2010 1:54 pm PT
    Microsoft apologizes to resident of 800-person town after his online handle was ruled in violation of online service's code of conduct.


    Josh Moore is 26 years old and an unemployed industrial laborer. As a result, he has a lot of time to play games on Xbox Live. According to an Associated Press report (via CBS), he logged dozens of hours playing Call of Duty and Ghost Recon titles under the handle "Joshanboo" while looking for his next job.

    Or at least, he did.

    Recently, a member of Xbox Live's compliance team noticed that Moore was listing his hometown as "Fort Gay, WV" on his online profile. The compliance officer flagged his account for code of conduct violation, presuming the name was intended as a homophobic slur of some sort.


    Yes, Fort Gay is an actual town in West Virginia.
    There was a slight problem, though. Fort Gay is a real town of 800 people in West Virginia near the Kentucky border that was founded way back in 1789. Moore did his best to convince the Xbox Live customer support team members of that fact but found them unresponsive.

    Said Moore, who is straight, "At first I thought, 'Wow, somebody's thinking I live in the gayest town in West Virginia or something.' I was mad. … It makes me feel like they hate gay people," Moore even offered the town's ZIP code as proof of its existence. "I told him, Google it - 25514! He said, 'I can't help you.'"

    Fort Gay mayor David Thompson also tried to assist Moore but received similar treatment. He told the AP that the Xbox Live compliance team would not even say the word "gay." "They said, 'that word.' It's beyond me. That's the name of our town! It's appalling. It's a slap in our face."

    Once the story began to gain media coverage, Microsoft reversed its position. Xbox Live director of policy and enforcement Stephen Toulouse apologized to Moore and Thompson and had the former's gamertag reinstated. "In this very, very specific case, a mistake was made, and we're going to make it right," he told the AP.

    Fort Gay-gate comes just six months after Microsoft allowed gamers to reflect their sexuality in their gamertags, specifically permitting use of the word "gay.". Previously, any reference to homo- or bisexuality--as well as religion or anything else possibly offensive--was verboten in Xbox Live online handles.
    http://www.gamespot.com/news/6275426.html
    http://forums.usmilitarygamers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=3616&d=1341691069

    Silent But Deadly!

  2. #2
    USMG [Retired Staff] Member
    jack's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Pa
    Posts
    4,725

    Re: Microsoft Ban on Gamertag for listing Location .. Read O

    wow!!!!! thats a new one .

    "It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their own selfish purposes".- Andrew Jackson

  3. #3
    USMG Member tracker_usmc's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Lincoln, CA
    Posts
    741
    Branch
    Marines

    Re: Microsoft Ban on Gamertag for listing Location .. Read O



  4. #4
    USMG [Retired Staff] Member
    Ironhide400's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Springfield, IL
    Posts
    4,827
    First Name
    John
    Branch
    Civilian
    Blog Entries
    2

    Re: Microsoft Ban on Gamertag for listing Location .. Read O

    It is amazing the things that can get accomplished once the media gets involved, not saying its all good, but.... :roll:




  5. #5
    USMG [Retired Staff] Member
    Amiable Horde's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Columbia, SC
    Posts
    531
    First Name
    Brandon
    Branch
    Army

    Re: Microsoft Ban on Gamertag for listing Location .. Read O

    This just ticks me off... why does it take the media to get anything resolved. You would think they would be professional enough to check out the issue. It seems like they just aren't concerned unless they start looking bad.

    Companies these days are just rediculous... what are they getting paid for? Really? cause it's not customer service.
    "Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a god."

  6. #6
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    California
    Posts
    190
    Blog Entries
    2

    Re: Microsoft Ban on Gamertag for listing Location .. Read O

    I bet he never pays for Live again.

Similar Threads

  1. USMG Gathering Location
    By Gamer_Platt in forum Scuttlebutt
    Replies: 52
    Last Post: 12-21-2013, 21:32
  2. Gamertag change
    By GriffinSentinel in forum Scuttlebutt
    Replies: 15
    Last Post: 09-07-2011, 14:22
  3. New Gamertag
    By HAVOK in forum Scuttlebutt
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 09-07-2011, 14:20
  4. Pick my new gamertag
    By Pakman3000 in forum Scuttlebutt
    Replies: 35
    Last Post: 09-01-2010, 17:47

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •