For those that dont know, Bungie is testing out their ability to forcefully ban players from talking or being heard. As interesting and intriguing as this ban is, along with their other bans, This one just has too much potential for absolute abuse and failure.
Bungie has announced that there are a few Bans that are integrated into Halo Reach. Some of these are getting banned for quitting a game too many times, or betraying team mates. These bans make sense. Quitting a game or betraying a team mate is ultimately a single persons fault, their own personal fault. However, the mute ban seems to be in control not by an individual, but by other players. This is where the issue comes in. If a player has a poor microphone and it has some static in it for a few games, chances are, players are going to mute this person. After a total accumulation of mutes, this player gets banned from talking AND hearing other players. This person just simply had bad luck and a few games where his or her mic malfunctioned.
In a similar sense, people with higher pitched voiced often get muted. I for one almost always mute any player that has an annoyingly high pitched voice in any game. In this situation, a person may get banned from hearing or talking to anyone merely because of his or her high voice.
I realize that these are supposed to be temporary things, but I have read some employees comments saying that they do have the power to permanently ban a person.
I myself have already become a victim of this. I have about an 80% preferred player rating, and an average negativity percentage on communication at about 15%. Yet I am currently Mute banned. I don't trash talk unless it's with friends, and I dont yell or scream in my mic.
Because of this, I now HAVE to go into a Party chat to even hear my friends, who are unable to un-mute me. This plays a huge factor on actual game play because now Myself, as well as anyone who is in the party chat, is unable to communicate with other players to tell them what's lurking behind the corner, or some other threat to the team.
I never received a notice that I got a Mute Ban, and all my settings are perfectly fine and unchanged. I dont have an account that is family monitored or anything like that. and my name has a mute sign where the mic sign should be in a lobby.
This has been this way for about 24 hours now, with no sign of going, and no responses from Bungie at all.
Unlike the other Ban's that Bungie is introducing to Reach, this one in particular has an effect on ALL players in a matchmaking game, if one has a mute ban.
Dont get me wrong though! I am all for these Bans to be integrated into Reach. However, My main issue with this Mute Ban is that innocent people can be wrongly accused, and everyone is effected by it in-game. If a player really does deserve a mute ban, then other players in that lobby are already able to mute that player. It doesnt need to be forced upon the player. people get upset and curse, microphones break, younger players play the game and people sometimes just mute anyone who isnt there friend. But the fact is, if it is forced, than everyone is effected and you are now penalizing a team rather than an individual.
With all that said, please vote to put a Ban on Mute Banning and get it out of Reach before it's released!
