Xbox’s New Moderation System Gives Users Eight Strikes Before You’re Out

gameranx.com:

CVP of Xbox Player Services David McCarthy has posted on Xbox Wire about the new moderation system the company has put in place.

To sum it up quickly, Xbox now has an eight strikes system, with a variety of enforcements at play. Microsoft is quite serious here, they make it clear that they reserve the right to take away a user’s chance to even play their purchased games.

That may seem harsh, but that worst case scenario is in place for what Microsoft describes as ‘illegal activity.” I’m sure most gamers saw that and wonder if that means running emulators on their Xbox. But, it’s more likely, this is something Microsoft has in reserve in case a person did crimes that led to harming other people, or getting involved in a grand conspiracy that they are getting prosecuted for.

For the rest of us, getting a strike leading to a suspension won’t stop you from being able to access your purchased content, particularly on single player experiences. The strike system can also be appealed before Microsoft enforces a strike. And unlike preschool, Microsoft isn’t making a permanent record; most strikes go away after six months.

But if you do end up on the wrong end of a strike, that will translate to getting suspended from Xbox’s social features, with the duration dependent on the strike and its severity. And if you get strikes that stack up, you have to complete the total duration of each strike suspension, by order of date.

Fortunately, Xbox users can see and review their own strikes. That does mean, for example, if a player is saying a word or using language they didn’t realize was harming other users, they can confirm that this is the issue, and change their behavior accordingly.

Microsoft knows that their systems are working, and