Gamertell

With gamers spending more time in online environments, the need for moderation and “policing” of online behavior is becoming an issue of increasing importance. With all three of the major players in the console race (Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo) pushing online services, this mammoth task remains the responsibility of each company.

Stephen Toulouse, the lead program manager for policy and enforcement on Xbox Live, is just one of the people responsible for ensuring that Microsoft’s online service is kept in good order for its 12 million subscribers. Toulouse recently detailed some of his responsibilities during a keynote speech in Toronto on Wednesday (October 8, 2008) and in a subsequent interview with CBC News.

Toulouse explained to CBC that he oversees a team of people whose job it is to regularly monitor the online activities of Xbox Live players. This team handles “terms-of-use stuff” such as ensuring gamer tags are not offensive; protecting user’s privacy, confidential data and security; assisting with law enforcement requests; and responding to user complaints

Although Toulouse suggests that “less than one per cent of the total [Xbox Live] user base” registers complaints, he notes that he has “several dozen people who are doing stuff at all times” in various locations. As well as the aforementioned duties, this can also involve physically playing the more popular Xbox Live-compatible titles (Halo 3 and Uno for example) in order to monitor players’ behavior.

Xbox live is often criticized by the gaming community at large for the unwelcome audiences it can attract — consisting namely of young, less-than-polite individuals who enjoy trash talking.

This is especially apparent when compared to many online PC game communities, but is it a problem that can be rectified by employing more online “police,” or is it an unavoidable byproduct of Xbox Live’s underlying infrastructure?

Read [CBC News ]