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MS bashes Gay(wood) Xbox Live gamer

A Brit gamer has fallen foul of an Xbox live policy that disallows any apparent references to the Friends of Dorothy in gamertags. Xbox Live screengrab showing that Gaywood is no longer allowed Microsoft recently ruled "theGAYERgamer" well offside, and quickly moved to deal with Reg reader Richard Gaywood's online moniker, as …

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Eponymous Cowherd
Coat

Well....

They still allow Mike Huntiswet......

Still to try Ben Doone and Phil McAvity.

Anonymous Coward
Unhappy

Oh...

"Dick Gaywood"- poor sod.

You would have thought that the parents could have tried harder.

Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward

In other news...

The Register reporters were found today lying in the streets with bleeding fingers having tried to desperately scrape the bottom of the barrel for XBox trolls until their fingers bled.

Really, "Automated name-filtering software catches person with potentially offensive word in their name/nickname". This hasn't been news for at least 10 years now.

Similarly, I'm sure if you make an account called Edwin Fuckface or Roger Twatcunt or something on most online services it'll be picked up. On the same note, if you make an account called Gareth SuckMyMassiveW4ng it probably wont be picked up. Thus is the nature of automated filtering.

Iain Waddingham
Thumb Down

Make up your mind MS!

So first MS cannot wait to offend it's users: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/12/03/santa_filth_outrage/

But now they will go to ridiculous lengths to stop anything they deem inappropriate!

Think I will stick with my PS3 anyway, that way if Sony blocked my name (if it was remotely offensive to any companies) I would not have been paying for it - which I think would make the Live service a more customised service and would try to keep their customers happy!

Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward

@AC

>You would have thought that the parents could have tried harder.

Yeah, Randolph Richard Gaywood perhaps?

Mike Taylor

Gay Search anyone?

http://www.greeneheaton.co.uk/pages/authors/author.asp?AuthorID=8

MET

Thinking internationally

This reminded me of the wonderfully named 'Randy Bender' (literally meaning horny homosexual for those outside the UK) who was heavily linked several years ago. El reg even did an article on it but sadly the link is no longer valid. Googling 'randy bender' nowadays seems to bring up a long list of namesakes.

I worked with a 'Randy Winkel' once, which is almost as similarly amusing.

Sarah Bee
(Written by Reg staff)

Re: In other news...

Thank you for the feedback, Allowicious Smythe-Jones St Penisface. We always appreciate it.

Oh, sorry, you meant to post anonymously, didn't you? Tsk, buttermodfingers!

Dave
Paris Hilton

GENIUS

Mike Huntiswet - I LOVE that - superb.

When I was at college, I was in a class with a girl from Eastern Europe called Annette Kurtin - That is a real name, but still her nickname was "beefy" . . . . .

Mine's the flasher Mac in the corner.

P.S. an obvious one, but Paris, cos we have all seen her beefy curtains !

Nevland
IT Angle

Account was live

That error seems to imply that the gamertag was allowed, then was revoked at a later stage.

If so, this would be due to people taking offence and reporting him, sadly if someone gets enough complaints about their gamertag (there is an automatic complaints option for gamertag names) then they are automatically invalidated.

XBox staff should make more of an effort to have a human input on these things, afterall, XBox live is a subscription based service.

Shinobi87
Heart

@ sarah bee : Re: In other news...

i belive the term for this sort of act is "owned" nice work sarah!

Steve Evans

God help...

..anyone from Scunthorpe.

radian
Coat

@ AC (In other news... )

Blimey! Calm down, you're not bein forced to read this.

oh bugger, the boss is calling me, I'll finish this comment later.

Rob Aley
Alert

Re In other news...

>Really, "Automated name-filtering software catches person with potentially

>offensive word in their name/nickname". This hasn't been news for at least 10

>years now.

That may not be news, but this is. "Gay" is NOT an offensive word. Welcome to the 21st century, Microsoft may enter it soon, too.

Mycho

Welcome to the internet

Not available to residents of Scunthorpe

Anonymous Coward
Flame

Microsoft hate gays!

Clearly they must! What haters!! And why did this poor bloke get his real name banned?? They must like being nasty!!

:-)

Richard Gaywood
Alert

Hey, I'm on The Reg again

Heya all.

Just to clarify a few points -- yes, my tag was allowed and then revoked, I've been using it without problems since Jan 2007. Yes, this decision is made by a human and not automated, as confirmed by the Microsoft rep on his blog: http://www.stepto.com/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=434

Yes, I was teased growing up. Yes, I got over it :oD

Iain Waddingham
Heart

@Dave - Genius

Didn't Annette Kurtin run off with Wayne Kerr? :-)

TeeCee
Happy

Where does he live?

Scunthorpe?

Also note that I'm pretty sure that in Ameriglish "gay wood" would mean "arsebandit's hard-on", so their filter's probably objecting to the unfortunate juxtaposition (for Septic software) here rather than being a drooling, fascist homophobe.

Mr Chris

Richard - gay? Would!

Good to see you're famous for a good reason now, mate. ;-)

Neil Docherty

Discrimination...

Surely Microsoft classing the word 'gay' is offensive is against the law on the ground of discrimination. It's not an offensive term for homosexuality (especially in this case where it's in the blokes name) like queer or faggot but Microsoft seems to be saying it is. Would a username mentioning race or ethnicity be banned (e.g. Indian or black)? If not, surely this shouldn't be.

Also, do they filter the letters 'ass' from usernames which most people would agree is swearing (admittedly very mild swearing)?

Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward

I've similar experience with Hotmail

This article reminds me of an incident with MS Hotmail several years ago. I was trying to register an account with my real name. As my last name "Maila" begins with "Mail...", Hotmail decided it's an invalid choice for the last name. The error message I got was funny. "Invalid last name. Please change your last name". Well, as you might guess, I didn't change my last name but chose another email provider.

Elmer Phud
Flame

Sexist?

No support from the Reg readers for people with a first name of 'Gay'?

Apart from the female use so far I can only think of 'Gay Burns' sp? the Irish TV host.

The fairly childlike attitude towards folks with the word 'gay' somewhere in the name sort of reinforces M$'s stance on their filtering if all they can hear is sniggering at the back of the class

Eponymous Cowherd
Thumb Up

The Ass in Class

@ Neil Docherty

When Sun introduced naughty word filtering on their Java forums they did, indeed, filter the word 'ass'.

You can imagine the fun that caused..........

Rob

My mate

had "yougay sodd" as his gamertag for ages and never heard anything, he's not online now though so I don't know if they expire or anything,

RichardB

The number of times

I've been banned for using the common name Wang in online communities...

Rob

names

also, a girl at our college (a few years ago now) was called Jenny Taylor, many people took a lot longer to get it than i did,

Erwin Blonk

That's why Iron Maiden's singer never plays on Xbox Live

Poor Bruce.

Chris Walker

Redundant yet amusing emphasis

"literally meaning horny homosexual for those outside the UK"

I'm genuinely flabbergasted (I'm having a faux Victoriana day) at the need for the word 'literally' in that explaination... :)

Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward

@Welcome to the internet

For years if you wanted to signup with AOL and lived in Scunthorpe you had to be a bit more creative with your address as it wouldn't let you, got to the point where it made the front page of the local rag.

There's a Randy Bush works for one of the network operators in America, always makes me smile.

Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward

Hmmm Re. Discrimination...

I wonder how Richard Blackwood gets on with his Xbox live account

TrishaD

I cant work out...

If this is rampant homophobia or the sort of mimsiness that made the Victorians refer to 'limbs' rather than 'legs',,,,,

And given the fact that my 11 yr old grandson uses 'gay' as a sort of general purpose adjective for people he considers rather feeble (like his older brother), I'm not sure which children these folks are trying to protect from such wicked words

Jimster71
Stop

@rob

Jenny Taylor - [snigger]

I've seen many a person on forums who hail from "S****horpe".

Ken Hagan
IT Angle

Re: In other news

"Really, 'Automated name-filtering software catches person with potentially offensive word in their name/nickname'. This hasn't been news for at least 10 years now."

I disagree. The technique was surely discredited beyond redemption almost as soon as it was first deployed and anyone still using it must have spent the last decade or more in a coma. Why are they now heading up one of Microsoft's biggest developments?

IT angle: Knowing this much about their project management, can we trust *anything* else from Microsoft?

Chris Morrison
Happy

Gay

I know someone called Gay. She was introduced to my wife recently to which my wife thought she was being a bit forward:

"Hi I'm Gay.."

"I'm Stephanie, and I'm married thank you."

Made me smile for weeks!

Scott
Boffin

@Iain Waddingham

Was it this Wayne Kerr? Seems to run his own electronics business....

http://www.waynekerrtest.com/

Steve Heal
Paris Hilton

I prefer the old MS

This is from the same company that slipped:

Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz

into fontview.exe

Paris, she's more swan than jackdaw but my sphinx doesn't discriminate!

Dalek13
Pirate

Innuendo-based filtering?

So does this mean that all names with even the feintest whiff of innuendo will be filtered from now?

What of the many 'Blackwoods', 'Hiscocks', 'Slowcums' 'Bellheads' and 'Longhorns' of this world (to name but a few)?

It'll only end in tears!

Anonymous Coward
Boffin

I've been GAY since the day I was born...

So has my Dad.. As was his Dad...

Facebook took dislike and wouldnt even let me register, asking me to email them to resolve the 'issue' with my name lol

I couldnt be bothered - Blessing in disguise perhaps..

Bob Gender

What was wrong with...

Glyndwr?

George Bush's nephew is called "Pierce", by the way.

Michael O'Malley

Gay names

In Ireland, Gay used to be a normal abbreviation for Gabriel. Gay Byrne was a leading broadcaster for decades, while Gay Mitchell was a leading politician. However, younger Gabriels don't use this abbreviation, for some reason.

I am prejudiced against gays for one reason - that they destroyed the old meaning of a good and useful word, "gay". I wish they had created a new word, rather than killing a good old one. Today, many young folk are actually unaware that gay has any other meaning than homosexual.

Anonymous Coward
Happy

@Steve Heal

> Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz

Are you saying they should have stuck to quick brown foxes?

Graham Bartlett

@Michael

Actually AFAIK homosexuals didn't change the meaning; it was heterosexuals misunderstanding the then-alternative meaning of "gay" meaning "working as a prostitute". Hence the famous phrase "some of my best friends are gay" when originally used was meaning "some of my best friends are prostitutes". But it was used by a man talking about his male-prostitute friends.

And "gay" has since shifted meaning again to mean "naff". Many young folk actually would be surprised to hear that "that's so gay" would be interpreted by older people to be a homophobic insult, in roughly the same way that the word "spazz" when I was growing up in the 80s was used without meaning any insult to people with cerebral palsy.

Nigel Rook
Joke

Re. Hmmm Re. Discrimination...

"I wonder how Richard Blackwood gets on with his Xbox live account"

I'd imagine he has a larger than average... err... gamerscore

Nick Ryan
Happy

Randy

A while back one UK radio station (can't remember which) took to rummaging through US phone directories for amusing names, calling them and trying to get them to say their name on air.

Still chuckle when I think of their best one - "Randy Fanny" :)

Tom Cole
Pirate

There can't be that many of them...

What's particularly scary about this, is that I went to school with a guy who had that exact name.

It couldn't be the same guy, could it?

@Erwin Blonk

The Bruce Dickinson comment also made me giggle...Can't believe I never saw that.

Anonymous Coward
Joke

so is...

a merkin really just someone who lives in the us?

Gerry Doyle
IT Angle

@ Mickey O'Malley - Gay Names

When I was a kid in Ireland, a long time ago, I just couldn't understand how the broadcaster Gay Byrne was a man while radio 'Dear Frankie...' Frankie Byrne was a woman. Although to this day in Cork City Florance is a common name for men, as is Mary as a middle name.

Mickey on the other hand seems quite innocent to many - personally though I was creased up laughing at the myriad combinations while at the Paris Disney, especially a box labelled 'Jedi Mickey'. The mind boggles...

I'm assured that tour guides in the USA Disneys are often perplexed at the ripple of laughter from Irish tourists when introduced to a statue billed as The Biggest Mickey in the World.

As for young kids use of 'gay' - many of them are now unaware that it has any other meaning than 'rubbish'.

Richard Gaywood
Happy

@Tom Cole

Bloody hell, did I used to play AD&D with you?

DirkGently
Coat

What about...

... Gaylord? I guess if you were a fundie you'd change your name by deed poll.

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