I thought this was an excellent article and well done on taking the step into the online world. I completely agree with what you had to say. I'm 19 years old and have only recently began playing online and there is no doubt that it is a completely different experience to playing the normal game. I had the same problem as you, dying within 20 seconds or so due to the other players being far more experienced and just far better (I've improved somewhat and can hold my own for a little longer these days though!). The insults and taunting seem to go hand in hand with whatever game you play. I played Fifa 09 soccer game online and was taunted for being 3-0 down at half time! This from a 12 year old from Mexico who had clearly been playing it a lot longer than myself. There should definitely be a filter where you can choose to be placed with, not only people on the same skill level as you, but people around the same age. I'm only 19 but the high pitched wailing of the younger kids started to grind on me after a while. It's no fault of their own, but the fact they are being placed with older players seems to leave them open to being bullied and picked on.

Really, though, Xbox Live is just an online simulacrum of a middle-school cafeteria. The crudeness is coming from the kids, not being inflicted on them. If anything, the over-25s we met were an excellent influence. They tended to be polite and mellow and demonstrated good sportsmanship?like saying "good game" after they'd eviscerated me with various weapons.

[...]

I'm right at the fulcrum point of gaming popularity. Almost everyone five years older than me doesn't really "get" video games and has little interest in playing them. Almost everyone five years younger than me can't imagine life without an Xbox (or PS2 or whatever). -- Seth Stevenson and Chris Suellentrop --The Gaming Graybeards: Can two thirtysomethings survive on Xbox Live?
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