Microsoft banned the Xbox Live gamertag “RichardGaywood”, which was inspired by the account holder’s real name: Richard Gaywood. WTF? We think we know what’s going on, but in the meanwhile, it’s interesting to note that earlier this month, Microsoft administrators banned another subscriber’s gamertag for being “theGAYERgamer.”

Do you smell a pattern in the air? Many suspect or believe Microsoft doesn’t like gay references in its gamertags, but it turns out this isn’t the case. A Microsoft slave employee tried to clear up the confusion to the best of his ability, but he sums the entirety of his argument in one paragraph.

“We recieved a complaint on the [theGAYERgamer] Gamertag and determined that it did indeed contain sexual innuendo. Now granted, there could be an argument that the text is not pejorative to homosexuality and should therefore be allowed. But there is no context to explain that. Gamertags are visible to everyone and it would be hard for me to defend to a parent of a young child who saw it that the name did not contain content of a sexual nature.”

Could this be the engine under the hood of the ban on Gaywood’s gamertag? We think so, but isn’t it a bit excessive to ban real names. On second thought, it’s possible to legally change your name to anything.

If someone were to change their name and gamertag to “PackFudge All-Day”, it would probably get banned. Though, it’s not because the name references anything “gay” (in fact, the activity referenced can be performed with a woman too — check your local library for more information), but what it refers to is considered lewd by many. Microsoft needs to provide a safe and neutral playground for users of all ages, so all users must to respect the policy to keep Xbox Live safe for all ages.

We can’t help but feel sorry for Richard Gaywood; it’s such a tragic situation. Oh well, he’s pretty much screwed for this one. The world can be quite unfair sometimes.

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Entry was posted on Thursday, May 22nd, 2008 at 7:43 am under Internet, Microsoft.

Read more entries by Danny Mendez.
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