Toxic Behaviours in Esport:A Review of Data-Collection Methods Applied in Studying Toxic In-Gaming Behaviours

Online competitive multiplayer games (esports), although enabling positive social interactions and skillset growth, are notoriously known for their prevalence of toxic behaviours. Seeking to develop greater understandings and explanations of such behaviours, researchers have used a range of empirical data-collecting techniques, encompassing self-reports, log data, and observational methodologies. The objective of this article is to review the current research literature and its application of these methodological approaches for studying toxic behaviours in esports. Following systematic review procedures, 54 empirical research articles were reviewed. Based on this review, it is demonstrated that knowledge of toxic behaviours is typically based on self-reported accounts (e.g., through surveys and interviews), while lessestablished methodological techniques available for capturing naturalistic behaviours of toxic encounters stand under-used. Drawing on recent developments in video-based research on violence and bystander interventions, an argument is made that online video-based behavioural analysis holds promising potential to address this research gap.Online competitive multiplayer games (esports), although enabling positive social nteractions and skillset growth, are notoriously known for their prevalence of toxic behaviours. Seeking to develop greater understandings and explanations of such behaviours, researchers have used a range of empirical data-collecting techniques, encompassing self-reports, log data, and observational methodologies. The objective of this article is to review the current research literature and its application of these methodological approaches for studying toxic behaviours in esports. Following systematic review procedures, 54 empirical research articles were reviewed. Based on this review, it is demonstrated that knowledge of toxic behaviours is typically based on self-reported accounts (e.g., through surveys and interviews), while lessestablished methodological techniques available for capturing naturalistic behaviours of toxic encounters stand under-used. Drawing on recent developments in video-based research on violence and bystander interventions, an argument is made that online video-based behavioural analysis holds promising potential to address this research gap

Conflict Speech Situations on Social Media

The present research featured online comments to posts published by mixed martial arts fans on My Life is MMA VK.com community page. The research objective was to identify the sources of conflict situations. The authors developed an experimental method of interpretive analysis to obtain secondary (interpretive) statements that revealed the interpretive activities of addressees. Trolling and flaming proved to be popular forms of speech aggression, typical of social nets. The authors believe that aggressive nature of mixed martial arts and the so-called trash-talk can trigger conflict situations in online communication

Dark Desires? Using the Theory of Basic Desires to Better Understand Toxic Behavior in Multiplayer Online Games

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

Exploring Cyberbullying and Other Toxic Behavior in Team Competition Online Games

In this work we explore cyberbullying and other toxic behavior in team competition online games. Using a dataset of over 10 million player reports on 1.46 million toxic players along with corresponding crowdsourced decisions, we test several hypotheses drawn from theories explaining toxic behavior. Besides providing large-scale, empirical based understanding of toxic behavior, our work can be used as a basis for building systems to detect, prevent, and counter-act toxic behavior.Comment: CHI'1

Toksinen käytös, sen seuraukset ja ehkäisy MOBA-peleissä

Tiivistelmä. Tutkimuksen aiheena oli toksinen käytös, sen seuraukset ja ehkäisy MOBA-peleissä. MOBA-peleissä on vallinnut pitkään niin sanottu toksinen ilmapiiri. Pelaajien haukkuminen, pelistä lähteminen kesken kaiken ja tahallaan pelin häviäminen ovat monelle MOBA-pelaajalle jopa päivittäin tapahtuvia ilmiöitä. Ratkaisuja näihin ongelmiin on yritetty keksiä, mutta negatiiviset pelikokemukset eivät ole vielä kadonneet. Tutkimuksessa käsiteltiin ainoastaan MOBA-pelejä, vaikka toksista käytöstä esiintyy tutkimuksen mukaan muissa kilpailullisissa videopeleissä, sillä MOBA-pelit ovat tunnettija poikkeuksellisen toksisesta pelaajakunnastaan. Tutkielmassa haluttiin selvittää mahdollisten ratkaisukeinojen lisäksi, mitkä tekijät saavat ihmisen käyttäytymään toksisesti ottelussaan, ja miten kyseiset tekijät voivat vaikuttaa joukkuetovereihin ja itse peliin. Jokaisessa kilpailullisessa pelissä tarkoituksena on voittaa vastustajat, mutta siitä huolimatta MOBA-peleissä toksista käytöstä esiintyy enemmän kuin muissa kilpailullisissa peleissä. Syinä voivat olla esimerkiksi otteluiden pitkät kestot sekä pelaaminen joukkueessa eikä yksin. Tutkimuksessa saatiin selville tapoja, joilla toksista käytöstä voidaan ymmärtää paremmin, ja keinoja, millä on mahdollista parantaa pelaajakokemusta

Proceedings of 1st International Joint Conference of DiGRA and FDG

This article examines the functions of prank performance and troll performance for the aesthetics of personal live-streaming, i.e. the practice of live-streaming one’s personal performance via platforms such as Twitch.tv. The study is based on a close analysis of personal esport live-streamer Ali Larsen, aka Gross Gore, via a 12-month observation period. With help of Goffmanian frame theory the notions of interview frame and play frame are introduced as the basic cognitive tools for organizing personal esport livestream experiences. The study concludes by proposing three factors that are vital for the aesthetics of personal live-streaming in general: (1) the feeling of affecting live-streams, (2) the suspense that derives from expecting something unexpected to happen in livestreams, and (3) the sharing of dramatic developments that occur in live-streams.</p