This is a pretty big community management turnaround for Riot, which has in the past made a point of trying to reform and reintroduce problem players into the League of Legends community rather than just going straight for the banhammer. The company has taken a scientific approach to trying to correct disruptive player behavior through player-run tribunals and “reform cards” that let players know exactly why they are being punished.
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“The key here is that for most players, reform approaches are quite effective,” Lin wrote on reddit. “But, for a number of players, reform attempts have been very unsuccessful, which forces us to remove some of these players from League entirely.”
Good to see. These games bring out the worst. It’s good that they have some measure of intervention, but sometimes the giant godlike banhammer is necessary.
Here’s the original tweet:
Today, players that show extreme toxicity (intentional feeding or racism, etc) will be instantly 14-day or permabanned in #LeagueOfLegends
— Jeffrey Lin (@RiotLyte) July 21, 2014