It seems that the “better safe than sorry” style of suspension going on at Microsoft has reached a ridiculous level. I’ve already discussed at length the discriminatory behavior going on in terms of gamertags and profile content on Xbox Live. But I…

Recently I criticized Microsoft for implementing polices that don’t give gay gamers a lot of faith that anyone at Microsoft has their best interests in mind. Microsoft has taken the firm stance that any Xbox Live member who states their…

In case you don’t know the story, Microsoft suspended Teresa, an Xbox Live user for identifying herself as a lesbian in her profile. She was harassed by other users who claimed that her profile was offensive, and her account was later suspended. Microsoft’s policy has always been to ban any expression of sexual orientation in a gamertag or profile. Even still, Teresa, feels as though Microsoft sided with the very same users harassing her. Microsoft isn’t really addressing the issue head on and their stance on this policy is that it’s fair because it extends to anyone of any orientation. They also claim that their censorship policies are intended to protect users from derogatory uses of words like “gay”.

“So you can’t say that you’re straight either, that’s fair right?”

The problem with Microsoft’s policy is that it alienates gay users. Claiming that the policy is fair because it restricts any user from stating their sexual orientation “be that hetero or other” still singles out anyone who falls into “other.”

Everyone is present and accounted for, although, both Mike and Jenni are sick with a bad case of what Mike describes as “Whooping Death”. The show must go on despite the illness, and this week’s show was a good one. Topics discussed include 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, Star Ocean 4, Activision’s earnings, Xbox Live and it’s policies regarding sexual orientation info in your profile, and the Japanese court ruling that the R4 is illegal.