Should “cockluver51″ be an acceptable gamertag? No, absolutely not. It’s an offensive term. A gamertag along the lines of “gayNproud” on the other hand, should absolutely be acceptable. It’s not offensive in any way, and it gives the gamer in question the opportunity to show others who he is. Yes, it’s in violation of the policy, but in this case, the policy is discriminatory. As I said before, straight people don’t have to identify as straight - it’s the “default” sexual orientation. Therefore, this policy only has a negative impact on gay / bi gamers.

Oh, and if you want to talk about “thick skin” I’d suggest actually reading this article before you try and make that argument - specifically the part that says “I don’t need your help hiding who I am for my own good. Nothing that could happen to me on Xbox Live could possibly compare to the things that happened to me while openly dating a girl in a small town. So please, if you’re going to create policies that alienate me and other GLBT players, don’t hide behind the excuse that most uses of the word “gay” are negative and you’re protecting us. I’m mature enough to understand the result of being open about who I am and I don’t need your brand of help.” The whole point of this article is that the GLBT community should be allowed to be who they are openly - that they should be allowed to decide for themselves whether or not they want to face the slings and arrows associated with being openly gay on XBL. XBL is a community, much like a social networking site. People want to express themselves in that community, and frankly, they should be able to.

Its pathetic that these groups think they can disobey clearly stated rules that apply to EVERYONE and then act as if its discriminatory for the sake of it. Theres no rule saying gay gamers can’t use xbox live. Theres no rule saying straight gamers are the only ones allowed. There IS a rule that states gay gamers can’t name themselves ‘cockluver87′ and that straight gamers can’t name themselves ‘fagbasher29′.

You disobey the rule, you leave the decision in the hands of microsoft who are fully within their rights to either play lenient or kick you with the letter of the law.

If anything, this is more a reminder to me that reading the terms and conditions is ALWAYS worth doing. Perhaps if everyone did that we’d live in a less oppressive and segregated society because people wouldn’t be crying discrimination when its not needed.

And yeah, I didn’t even want to address the “think of the children” argument because it’s always a lame excuse. I’m sick of parents demanding that the rest of the world censor itself and protect everyone’s kids from what they feel are dangerous concepts. If you don’t want your kid to know that someone they’re playing with is gay then maybe you shouldn’t let them play online with other people, or for that matter watch TV, listen to music or go outside because that’s the only way to guarantee that they won’t experience anything you don’t want them to.

Regarding this story I’ve heard the argument that parents don’t want their children exposed to gay people so it was a “good call” for Microsoft. Really? Why must we cater to parents that are trying to raise their children in bubbles? And yet these same parents allow them to chat in game with strangers? Almost every time I put on my headset someone mentions getting stoned or some sort of substance abuse, but that’s ok. Oh man, but if someone says they’re gay(or straight??), they’re banned. Can’t have them exposing who they are to unsupervised kids or “moral” zealots.

I think if people want the privilege to reach out to people all over world, connect, and game…they need to step outside their precious microcosm and realize that we are different. If they don’t like it they shouldn’t cry wolf like they’re a victim. If individuals started owning their values and acting responsibly with them, companies might not feel like these policies must exist.