4 ms·

> The only 'REAL" people I met online were either focused niche/small subreddits or gaming communities. I've found gaming communities (and I've been in many) t

> The only 'REAL" people I met online were either focused niche/small subreddits or gaming communities. I've found gaming communities (and I've been in many) to be excessively toxic. You can meet good people there, but I've found it's not worth the headache.

avgDev 4y ago
I do agree with your observation. It is generally difficult to find a non-toxic gaming community. This was actually a battlefield group, which brought a lot of older folk. In the 20 years of gaming (jesus, can't believe it has been that long). I have only found a few good communities.
BlargMcLarg 4y ago
Some are toxic, some are cliquey, some are too established to do anything in. If it isn't a PvP game, odds are you missed the boat if you don't hop on in the first 1-2 weeks of its introduction (or for MMOs / games with long lifespans, a major patch), or you have to really stand out in something (skill, fanart, whatever). I like games, but the ease of getting into a community is nowhere near as low as some people like to sell it as. Especially today. Even if they aren't toxic in the obvious sense, it often feels like a minefield navigating these communities without upsetting someone, getting dogpiled or anything.
Teknoman117 4y ago
The only ones I've really been fond of are groups where the members are also mostly in-person friends as well. So everyone knows what the others are truly like. To be honest, maybe it's a terrible idea, but I do try to bring my "real self" to the internet and not some crafted personality. I never put up anything I wouldn't tell someone in person. I don't act different than I do in person.
- LambdaTrain 4y ago
  I do not think this is a terrible idea. Games such as league of legends feel dramatically different when I play with friends in real life. One strange thing is that as my age grows my preference for multiplayer game changes from "competitive" to "coop".
xboxnolifes 4y ago
Toxicity seems to correlate with size of the gaming community. I rarely have any issues when I join sub-groups to an interest, but trying to have casual conversation in a major subreddit/discord for a game is impossible.
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 4y ago
  I've always had a feeling that toxicity is a function of community size. Like in small online communities, you get to know the trolls and it's oddly endearing. You see their personality and everybody gets to know them and their trolling doesn't even derail discussion at that point it just makes everyone laugh. Truly toxic individuals can also be booted. When a community reaches a certain size there is just an unrelenting deluge of anonymous trolls and toxic individuals, nobody can keep up.
unity1001 4y ago
PVP related communities tend to be like that and there is little way to get around that. And I say that as a person who ran such communities. Try RP gaming communities. By that I don't mean that hardcore RP communities or anywhere you have to do actual RP. Just the 'RP' tag in a mmo server weeds out assholes, pricks etc and ensures that there is a high age average in the server. The Wow Eu RP server I have been playing for years keeps getting 'immigrants' from US servers and PVP servers all the time. They escape the aggressive and toxic environments by moving to RP servers. They don't do RP, they just play and join raids and other activities.
TrevorJ 4y ago
Really depends on the type of game. Niche minecraft servers often have great communities. Small games that aren't PVP focused can be great. FFXIV has some great communities as well. It's definitely out there, but you gotta know where to look.

avgDev 4y ago

I do agree with your observation. It is generally difficult to find a non-toxic gaming community. This was actually a battlefield group, which brought a lot of older folk. In the 20 years of gaming (jesus, can't believe it has been that long). I have only found a few good communities.

BlargMcLarg 4y ago

Some are toxic, some are cliquey, some are too established to do anything in. If it isn't a PvP game, odds are you missed the boat if you don't hop on in the first 1-2 weeks of its introduction (or for MMOs / games with long lifespans, a major patch), or you have to really stand out in something (skill, fanart, whatever). I like games, but the ease of getting into a community is nowhere near as low as some people like to sell it as. Especially today. Even if they aren't toxic in the obvious sense, it often feels like a minefield navigating these communities without upsetting someone, getting dogpiled or anything.

Teknoman117 4y ago

The only ones I've really been fond of are groups where the members are also mostly in-person friends as well. So everyone knows what the others are truly like. To be honest, maybe it's a terrible idea, but I do try to bring my "real self" to the internet and not some crafted personality. I never put up anything I wouldn't tell someone in person. I don't act different than I do in person.

LambdaTrain 4y ago
I do not think this is a terrible idea. Games such as league of legends feel dramatically different when I play with friends in real life. One strange thing is that as my age grows my preference for multiplayer game changes from "competitive" to "coop".

xboxnolifes 4y ago

Toxicity seems to correlate with size of the gaming community. I rarely have any issues when I join sub-groups to an interest, but trying to have casual conversation in a major subreddit/discord for a game is impossible.

2OEH8eoCRo0 4y ago
I've always had a feeling that toxicity is a function of community size. Like in small online communities, you get to know the trolls and it's oddly endearing. You see their personality and everybody gets to know them and their trolling doesn't even derail discussion at that point it just makes everyone laugh. Truly toxic individuals can also be booted. When a community reaches a certain size there is just an unrelenting deluge of anonymous trolls and toxic individuals, nobody can keep up.

unity1001 4y ago

PVP related communities tend to be like that and there is little way to get around that. And I say that as a person who ran such communities. Try RP gaming communities. By that I don't mean that hardcore RP communities or anywhere you have to do actual RP. Just the 'RP' tag in a mmo server weeds out assholes, pricks etc and ensures that there is a high age average in the server. The Wow Eu RP server I have been playing for years keeps getting 'immigrants' from US servers and PVP servers all the time. They escape the aggressive and toxic environments by moving to RP servers. They don't do RP, they just play and join raids and other activities.

TrevorJ 4y ago

Really depends on the type of game. Niche minecraft servers often have great communities. Small games that aren't PVP focused can be great. FFXIV has some great communities as well. It's definitely out there, but you gotta know where to look.