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How We Keep Xbox Live a Great Place to Play Online

One of things we strive to do with Xbox Live® is to give you a great place to play where everyone can have fun as part of a community. Part of living in any community is making sure that every member lives and abides by the rules in terms of what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior. What does that mean to you on Xbox Live? Because the Xbox Live community is managed by its users (you), it means you're empowered to let us know when you play with someone who makes the experience un-fun. This way, we can take action to help that person understand the error of their ways, and hopefully prevent that kind of behavior in the future. We've practiced this policy this since Xbox Live launched, but we've read the comments in the forums and talked to a lot of gamers, and we feel it's time to get more diligent.

What's considered bad behavior?
We're not talking about an occasional four-letter word. We're talking about the people who scream, make racially derogatory comments, or are so obnoxious that they affect the amount of fun everyone else has on Xbox Live. Check out the Code of Conduct here on xbox.com or in the Xbox Dashboard for examples of the sorts of things that aren't OK—for instance, choosing a gamertag or nickname that's offensive, being abusive or using constant profanity over the Xbox Communicator, or just being an annoying jerk while playing.

What can you do if you play with someone who's exhibiting bad behavior and making the experience un-fun?

Send player feedback about them. All games include this option (from the Players List). You can send feedback on anyone you're playing or just played with.

What happens to the feedback?
All feedback is reviewed weekly and action is taken against the players who receive a significant numbers of complaints. Below is a list of current offenses and resulting banning actions:

If you choose a gamertag that violates the Code of Conduct and other gamers complain about it, you'll be forced to change it. And we're good at recognizing the hidden meaning in creative spellings, so you might as well pick something nice from the start.

If you choose a nickname that violates the Code of Conduct in any game regardless of ESRB rating, and other players complain about it, your account will be suspended. First offense is a one-day suspension. Second offense is one week. Third offense and every subsequent offense is two weeks.

If your use of voice violates the Code of Conduct and other gamers complain about it, you'll be voice-banned. Durations of the voice ban are the same as for suspensions. If you're voice-banned you can still play, but no one else will be able to hear what you say.

If you violate the Code of Conduct by cheating or exhibiting "bad gameplay" and other gamers complain about it, you'll also find yourself suspended from one day to two weeks.

If you are voice banned, locked out, or asked to change your gamertag, you'll be notified in the Xbox Dashboard when you go to play. If you are voice banned or locked out, you'll also be sent an e-mail to the account you used to sign up for Xbox Live.

Read about feedback and complaints on Xbox 360™.