Disruptive behavior refers to a wide range of actions that undermine or disrupt experiences — and therefore disrupt digital thriving. Many people refer to disruptive behavior as “toxicity,” but the Playbook generally avoids this term (see Introduction to Disruptive Behavior).
The following are common (and not so common) terms for disruptive behavior and harmful conduct. For even more information on disruptive behavior, see the Disruption and Harms in Online Gaming Framework.
A
Ableism
Type of discrimination or prejudice against individuals with disabilities.
Abusing emotes, pings
Relentless use of a non-verbal communication tool to aggravate a teammate. Related to spamming and trolling.
Abusive taunts
Typically used under the guise of trash talking, these are demeaning, baiting, taunting, or abusive attacks targeting aspects of a person, such as race, gender, and family.
Account sharing
When players give access to their account to others. Can be used for boosting and other forms of rank manipulation.
AFK
Being “away from keyboard,” whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Aiding the enemy
Type of sabotaging. Disregarding strategic play to make it easier for the opposing team to win.
Aimbot
Type of cheating commonly found in first-person shooters. Refers to software that players use to shoot other player-characters without needing to aim.
Anti-aim
Type of cheating commonly found in first-person shooters. Refers to software that makes the user’s hitbox difficult or impossible to hit by opponents.
B
Body blocking
When one player impedes the movement of another in the game, essentially acting like a wall that cannot be run through until the blocked character moves or dies.
Boosting
Type of rank manipulation. When a higher skilled player plays on a lower skilled player’s account to boost their ranking.
Bug exploitation
Deliberately abusing a bug or exploiting a known issue that affects gameplay and other players.
Bullying
Type of harassment. The repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power.
Bussing
A type of rank manipulation. Paying others to queue with you on fresh high-level accounts.
C
Camping
Where a player stays in one place — typically a fortified high-traffic location — for an extended period of time and waits to ambush other players. Many players consider camping a form of cheating. It is most common in first-person shooter games, but is also frequent in fighting games with projectile-heavy characters. Also see spawn camping.
Cheat code
Code, method or device used by gamers to advance levels, or to get other special abilities and benefits in a video game. Can be seen as cheating.
Cheating
Using illicit or out-of-game techniques to affect the outcome of a game.
Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM)
Any sexually explicit material involving a child. Related acronyms include:
- CSA: Child Sexual Abuse
- CSE: Child Sexual Exploitation
- CSAI: Child Sexual Abuse Imagery
- CSEI: Child Sexual Exploitation Imagery
- CSEM: Child Sexual Exploitation Material
Conflicting strategies
Type of unintentional disruption. When players reasonably try out a new strategy that other players do not anticipate or opt into.
Cyberstalking
Using the internet or other electronic means to stalk or harass a person or group.
D
Dangerous speech
Any form of expression (e.g., speech, text, or images) that can increase the risk that its audience will condone or commit violence against members of another group. Source: Dangerous Speech Project.
Data scraping
Using a computer program to pull valuable information from a website or another program.
Denigration
The act of insulting or belittling someone.
Deranking
When a player purposely dies in-game to achieve a lower ranking. This is sometimes done to gain competitive advantage over lower level players. Arguably a type of cheating.
Destroying ally resources
When a player destroys in-game resources that belong to a teammate.
Director problem
See mobbing.
Discrimination
The unfair or prejudicial treatment of people and groups based on characteristics such as race, gender, age, or sexual orientation. Source: American Psychological Association.
Disruptive alerts
When non-verbal communication tools, such as emotes or pings, are used in an abusive way.
Disruptive audio
Refers to broadcasting sounds over voice chat which interferes with game play, but are non-sexual in nature. Includes playing music and eating food.
Disruptive play
Any actions that are antithetical to a game’s intended spirit, and are unprompted or retaliatory.
Disruptive speech
Using text or voice chat to pester, bother, annoy, grief, or otherwise inhibit another player’s reasonable enjoyment of the game.
Dog whistles
The use of coded or suggestive language in political messaging to garner support from a particular group without provoking opposition.
Doxing (or Doxxing)
Intentional sharing of personal information to incite injury, harassment or stalking. Doxing or calls to dox.
E
ESP
Type of cheating (extra-sensory perception cheats). When players use software to get information about game objects they shouldn’t be able to see. Types of ESP include:
- Distance ESP — Shows the distance between the enemy and the player.
- Player ESP — Makes enemies visible through walls or terrain, reveal the health of enemies in order to target weaker players.
- Loot ESP — Reveals hidden loot.
- Weapon ESP — Reveals enemy weapons and related details.
Exclusion defense
Defending the exclusionary nature of a game (i.e., the “get used to it” or “that’s just how it is” argument).
Explicit content
Material of an adult nature, not necessarily intended for sexual gratification.
Exploit
See Bug exploitation.
Extortion
Soliciting information with the intent to harm or coerce. Also called blackmail.
Extremism
Describes religious, social or political belief systems that exist substantially outside of belief systems more broadly accepted in society (i.e., “mainstream” beliefs). Source: ADL.
F
Flaming
Type of trolling. Displaying hostility towards other players in a game by insulting, swearing, or using otherwise offensive language toward them.
Fraudulent activity
Harmful actions intended to deceive others for personal gain.
Forbidden words
Offensive and harmful words or phrases that are prohibited.
G
Gaslighting
When someone manipulates a person into thinking their version of events didn’t happen the way they say it happened.
Ghosting
Abruptly ending communication with someone without explanation. Source: Psychology Today.
Graphic content
Realistic images or language of a disturbing nature.
Griefing
When players start to disrupt and annoy other players on purpose. This can involve cheating, stealing other players’ loot, team kills, and generally causing as much grief to other players as they can. Can be considered trolling.
H
Hack vs. Hack
Type of cheating. The act of using cheats to compete against other players also using cheats.
Harassment
Unwelcome and recurring conduct such as abuse, insults, or harm.
Hate speech
According to the United Nations, hate speech is: “Any kind of communication in speech, writing or behavior, that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are, in other words, based on their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, color, descent, gender or other identity factor.”
I
Identity theft
When someone uses another person’s private information to commit fraud.
Ignorance in communication
Type of unintentional disruption. When players do not realize a word or phrase they use has an inappropriate or hurtful meaning.
Ignorance of consequence
Type of unintentional disruption. When players don’t realize that their actions have a negative impact on other players, such as when the game does not make such interactions or consequences apparent.
Ignorance of culture
Type of unintentional disruption. When players misunderstand game roles, strategies / tactics, or “metagame,” resulting in contradictory play.
Ignorance of language
Type of unintentional disruption. When there is miscommunication due to language or cultural barriers or other communication difficulties.
Ignorance of the game
Type of unintentional disruption. When there are new players hurt or are perceived to hurt gameplay because they don’t know how to play.
Illegal activity
Any activity that is forbidden by law.
Impersonation
Type of fraudulent activity. Deception or impersonation, such as pretending to be game company staff or any other color of authority.
Inappropriate roleplay
Type of trolling. When a player pretends they are a different person to obtain some kind of specific reaction.
Inciting self-harm or suicide
A call to hurt oneself or commit suicide by another. “You are worthless, why don’t you just kill yourself” or “Just go and kill yourself” may be interpreted as being incitement to suicide.
Intentional feeding
Type of sabotaging. When an ally dies intentionally to increase the strength of the enemy team (i.e., “feed” gold to the enemy).
K
Kill stealing
Obtaining credit for killing an enemy when another player has put more effort into the kill. Arguably a type of sabotaging.
L
Leaking
Type of sabotaging. When a player undermines teamwork by revealing information that is otherwise unknown to the opposing team.
Loot stealing
Taking items from a loot drop that a player hasn’t earned. Considered griefing and arguably a type of sabotaging.
M
Misaligned goals
Type of unintentional disruption. When there are misaligned interpretations of the goal, such as seeking a major “score” instead of taking the point.
Mismatch of skills
Type of unintentional disruption. When players are placed at the wrong skill band who are otherwise trying their best, or when players at the correct skill band are experimenting with a new character or technique.
Mass scale harm
Harmful activity that targets large groups of people.
Match-fixing
Rigging a game to achieve a pre-arranged and predetermined outcome.
Mobbing
Using clout and audience to target and abuse an individual in some way.
N
Negging
An act of emotional manipulation whereby a person makes a deliberate backhanded compliment or otherwise flirtatious remark to another person to undermine their confidence and increase their need of the manipulator’s approval.
Noclip mode
Type of cheating. Allows players to pass through normally impenetrable objects — walls, ceilings, and floors — by disabling clipping.
Nuisance gestures
Game mechanic exploitation to harass or grief another player. See Teabagging.
O
Offense
Offense has at least two definitions:
- An act that goes against a code of conduct
- Annoyance or resentment brought about by a perceived insult to or disregard for a player or a player’s standards or principles.
P
Phishing
Type of fraudulent activity. When a person attempts to gain sensitive information by pretending to be someone reputable.
Ping spoofing
Type of cheating. When players fake lagging by simulating high ping fluctuations, making it hard to get hit by others, creating an unfair advantage.
Profanity
Socially offensive use of language. May range from swear words to terms considered blasphemous or sacrilegious to particular religions.
Q
Queue dodging
When a player decides to leave a game lobby during character or role selection for any reason.
R
Racism
The American Psychological Association defines racism as “a form of prejudice that generally includes negative emotional reactions to members of a group, acceptance of negative stereotypes, and racial discrimination against individuals; in some cases it can lead to violence.”
Rage quitting
When a player is too angry to continue playing and leaves before the end of the game or match.
Rank manipulation
Schemes that make players appear they’ve achieved higher ranks than they have actually earned. Also see boosting.
Recidivism
The frequency of players repeating the same disruptive behaviors.
Refusing to heal
Type of sabotaging. To deliberately avoid healing a player when there is a need to and you have the ability.
Ringing
Type of account sharing. To play under another player’s account or soliciting, inducing, encouraging or directing someone else to play under another player’s account.
Roping
Type of stalling. When one player deliberately slows down the gameplay in hopes his / her opponent will concede rather than keep playing.
S
Sabotaging
When a player intentionally inhibits the performance of their own team. It is when a player plays poorly with the intent to lose the game.
Screen cheat
Type of cheating. The act of looking at other players’ areas of the screen when playing split-screen multiplayer, giving the screen cheater an unfair advantage..
Self-harm
Behavior that could result in physical injury to one’s own body.
Sensitive content
Offensive or triggering user-generated content, whether intentionally or unintentionally harmful.
Sexual content
Material depicting sexual behavior including clothed or unclothed genitals, breasts, buttocks, pornography, the depiction of sexual acts, or fetishes that are meant for sexual gratification.
Sexual harassment
Unwelcome and recurring sexual remarks or advances.
Smurf accounts
Smurfs are secondary or alternate accounts. There are both legitimate (e.g., ability to play with friends are lower levels) and illegitimate (e.g., to dominate less experienced players) reasons for creating smurf accounts. See Smurfing.
Smurfing
Type of cheating. When a highly-skilled player creates a new account in order to easily defeat and frustrate lesser-skilled opponents.
Soft int’ing
Type of intentional feeding and sabotaging. When highly-skilled players throw a game in ways that are subtle and difficult for lower skilled players to detect. Short for “soft intentional feeding.”
Spamming
The repeated use of the same item or action. Can be considered trolling.
Spawn camping
When players position themselves where other players will respawn after dying with the intent of killing them again. This may be known as spawn-camping or spawn-trapping. Also see camping.
Split pushing
When the offensive team attempts to take down two or more towers simultaneously through the use of a single lane distraction. This term originates from games like League of Legends. Some argue this is a tactic and not disruptive.
Spoiling
Sharing information about a film, book or game which can spoil the enjoyment of someone experiencing it for the first time. Can be considered trolling.
Spoofing
Spoofing as at least two meanings:
- Type of cheating — When players use unauthorized software or hardware to gain an advantage over other players. Spoofing can also mean faking your IP address.
- Type of scam — Where a criminal disguises a website URL, email address, display name, phone number, text message, etc. to convince a target that they are interacting with a known, trusted source.
Stalking
To follow, or harass, and threaten another person, which can begin in games.
Stalling
Obstructing the flow of play while leading in a timed game. See roping.
Stream sniping
Intentionally using another player’s livestream as a method to cheat, harass, or commit other disruptive behaviors.
Surreptitious sabotaging
Type of sabotaging. Denotes situations where players intentionally carry out poor performance but pretend to be trying so that they are not perceived as disruptive. See soft int’ing.
Swatting
Redirection of civil services (including law enforcement) to harm others.
T
Teabagging
Type of taunt or nuisance gesture. When players repeatedly crouch their character over the corpse of an opponent.
Team killing
The act of killing players on the same team in a game which allows friendly fire. Teamkilling can be intentional or accidental.
Threats
When someone expresses intent to harm another person.
Threats of self-harm
When a player expresses an interest, willingness, or desire to hurt or kill themselves. See self-harm.
Transgression
An act that goes against a code of conduct; an offense.
Trash talking
Disparaging, taunting, or boastful comments especially between opponents trying to intimidate each other.
Triggering phrases
Phrases used to purposely aggravate opponents (e.g., a winner saying “gg ez” in text chat after a team game). Can be considered trolling.
Trolling
Posting or saying inflammatory, insincere, digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages online with the intent of provoking others into displaying emotional responses. Can be considered harassment.
Twinking
Outfitting a character with better gear than one could have easily acquired on one’s own. Arguably a type of cheating.
U
Unintentional disruption
When actions that are not done on purpose are perceived as disruptive.
V
Violence
Any behavior by an individual that threatens or actually harms or injures the individual or others or destroys property.
Vulnerable group harm
Acts towards groups who generally aren’t able to defend themselves.
W
Wallhacks
Type of cheating. Makes walls translucent. Some wallhacks let players shoot weapons or physically pass through walls.
Win-trading
A type of match-fixing.
Z
Zero tolerance
The policy of applying penalties to even minor infringements of a code in order to reinforce its overall importance and enhance deterrence. Perhaps misleadingly, this term is often used to mean forbidden words.
Now what?
If you’re interested in learning about digital thriving terms, continue with Glossary for Digital Thriving.
References
- American Psychological Association. (2024). Discrimination: What it is and how to cope.
- Anti-Defamation League. (n.d.). Glossary of Extremism and Hate.
- Dangerous Speech Project. (n.d.). What is Dangerous Speech?
- Fair Play Alliance / Anti-Defamation League. (2020). Disruption and Harms in Online Gaming Framework.
- Psychology Today. (n.d.). Ghosting.
