One of the ideas I’ve worked a long time to internalize is that when people say they’ve changed, I should give them time to walk that new walk before dismissing it. I’d like to do the same for EA, which this week posted its new Positive Play Charter spanning all of its games – basically an anti-toxicity declaration.
“At EA, we believe in the power of positive play,” the company says. “Being part of a gaming community should be positive, fun, fair, and safe for all. Like with most communities, we have positive play guidelines to help make sure our games and services are an enjoyable experience for all players. Whether you’re new to gaming or have been an active player for years, we need your help to make this a community we all want to be part of.”
The list of rules is more or less Wheaton’s Law or the platinum rule, just spelled out in more detail: treat others as they would like to be treated, no racism, no sexual harassment, no homophobia, no doxxing, no impersonation, no report abuse, no harassing the mods, no cheating, no griefing, no goldselling, no account trading, no piracy, no illegal activities, and so on. Just to take all the fun out of everything, they also want to make sure you don’t have an excessive potty mouth.
Of course, there’s no point to having rules if there’s no punishment for breaking them, right?
“These guidelines apply to all EA games, services, and platforms. If you break any of our Community Guidelines or violate our User Agreement, we may place restrictions on your account and revoke your access to certain or all EA Services. A short-term ban or suspension is our way of preventing further disruptive behavior and asking you to reexamine how you behave. We’re not mad at you; you just need a break. […] If you have repeat or severe instances, we may permanently terminate your account. This includes all of your EA Accounts if you have more than one account.”
How will it do all this across so many games and publishers? I guess we’ll see, won’t we.
When we all take on toxicity, we can create positive experiences, interactions, communities. Learn more about our Positive Play Charter: https://t.co/vt1c29IcCM pic.twitter.com/sTOKAVGzxO
— Electronic Arts (@EA) June 17, 2020
