Gamers have earned a reputation for toxic behavior online, especially when it comes to competitive multiplayer. However, some developers are now taking action to quell such toxic behavior within their communities. Such is the case with developer Ubisoft, who now instantly bans players for using harmful language and slurs in their online shooter, Rainbow Six Siege.

The initial ban will last 27 minutes and block access to the entirety of the game, with subsequent bans lasting for 2 hours. Upon the third offense, Ubisoft will launch an investigation into the offender's account that could potentially result in a permanent ban, depending on the severity of the offense and past toxic behavior.

Ubisoft originally outlined the more stringent ban procedures in a dev blog back in April, where the developer also promised to implement better protections against team killing, the ability to mute text chat, and an automated chat filtering system that would censor obscene and/or offensive words. The current system doesn't seem to actually censor the language but does ban players very shortly after committing the offense.

Since the implementation of the feature, the Rainbow Six Siege  twitter account has responded to criticism over the feature from irate fans complaining about being banned for practicing what they claim is "free speech". Needless to say, the complaints are unfounded. Toxic behavior such as this is unacceptable, and as a private company, Ubisoft has no obligation to allow harmful language on their servers. If anything, attacking Ubisoft on their social media accounts only provides all the more reason for the developer to uphold bans.

Ubisoft has done a great job supporting Rainbow Six Siege  since launch, regularly launching events and adding new characters to the game. It's great to see a major developer take steps to end the toxicity that has plagued online servers f0r nearly as long as they've been around while at the same time rewarding well-mannered members of the community with oodles fresh content. With any luck, other developers will take note and implement similar ban policies for players that break their respective guidelines. Toxic players may even change their behavior if faced with stronger repercussions, something that would make the gaming community better as a whole.

Rainbow Six: Siege  is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One

Source:PC Gamer