Report
Players can report other players in E-sports games. In most games, players can report their teammates and/or their opponents when a game ends. Every e-sport game has its own policies and rules regarding reporting. Reporting is anonymous, and every player has the right to report any behavior that qualifies as reportable. Reportable behavior refers to any wrongful act or omission that may warrant punishment.
Report in EA Sports
In some games, players are allowed to report cheating, harassment, and inappropriate or illegal content in the game or service, and generally a conduct which is in breach of the rules of the game (see also unsportsmanlike conduct). This is the best way to report issues because it automatically grabs some of the information needed to investigate. If no in-game option is available, players can submit a report through EA Help.[1]
Report in Steam games
Steam provides instructions for reporting players who may be cheating on VAC-secured servers. More information can be found on their website. [2]
Report in Dota 2
There are three types of reports in Dota 2:
(a) Communication Abuse: misuse of communication channels, whether text or voice;
(b) Intentional Ability Abuse: when players intentionally use their abilities in ways that harm their own team;
(c) Intentional Feeding: when players deliberately die/lose the game repeatedly to sabotage their own team.
Report in League of Legends
League of Legends has its own Disciplinary System. When players finish a game they can report a player on the following bases:
- Negative Attitude (griefing or giving up);
- Verbal abuse (Harassment, Offensive language);
- Leaving the game/AFK;
- Intentional Feeding (Feeding is griefing, dying/losing on purpose);
- Hate speech (Racism, Sexism, Homophobia etc;)
- Cheating (Unapproved third party programs) and
- Offensive or Inappropriate name[3].
League of Legends Disciplinary System
The automated Disciplinary System is the League’s first line of defense against player disruption, trolling, and inappropriate behaviors. Once a Player Report is submitted, the Disciplinary System will analyse and act to impose an appropriate punishment on the offending Player, in the form of a Penalty Notification describing the offense[4].
Potential punishments for being reported
When a player is reported, their case is first reviewed by an automated Disciplinary System. This intelligent system analyses the match data, reads the in-game chat log, and weighs the offending player’s report history before measuring out the appropriate disciplinary action.
Automatically bestowed disciplinary actions can include one or a combination of the following:
Chat restrictions
Low priority queue assignment
Renaming requirement
Queue lockout (different from a temporary ban, queue lockouts apply only to specific queues)
Honor and Hextech crafting restrictions
Suspension/Ban
Legal implications
Every player must show great responsibility when reporting another player. Reporting can lead to a temporary ban – which involves temporarily blocking access to a service or part of it. This type of ban is usually imposed in connection with infringements of a minor nature and has a warning function and to a permanent ban consisting of complete blocking of access to a service or a part of it, without a time limit. It is usually imposed for a significant and repeated infringement.[5]
Professional players must be extremely careful to follow the game’s rules and regulations, as any punishment could jeopardize their participation in tournaments, as well as their reputation and professional status.
[1] EA Sports, ‘Report cheating, harassment and illegal content’ (EA, 12 July 2024) <https://help.ea.com/en/help/faq/report-players-for-cheating-abuse-and-harassment/
[2] Steam Support, ‘Reporting suspected cheaters’ (Steam), <https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/2F3F-25EE-2AC6-30E7
[4] Ibid
[5] B Baryla, ‘Ban’ (E-Sports Legal News, 21 May 2024), https://esportslegal.news/esports-legal-wiki/immigration-employment/ban/ accessed on 2 August 2024.
