I think the general rule of thumb should just be, if someone says something that pisses off other plays and begins a fight, then it needs to stop.  This could be necessarily anything.  However, if they say offensive things and no one cares or gets offended, then I don't see a problem either.

I think the policy should be stated, in the MotD at the very least, as a failsafe with no real consequences. If someone refuses to play on the server because there is a message at the beginning that says "No racism or gay bashing," is that really someone we want playing on the server in the first place?

It also provides something to point to in case problems do arise. I agree with Peace's point, and even if there is a stated rule, no one is going to kick someone because they make an off-color remark, technically in violation, but no one thinks twice about it. If someone complains that it's against the rules and should be kicked, then that means the violation was significant enough to warrant attention.

In essence, no one is going to kick PlayerX because he dies in a knife fight and says "Geez, that was gay" because well, them's the rules and so we have to kick you. But if someone starts screaming n****r in the the voice chat and an admin kicks them, the MotD and rules can always be used to say "See, we have this policy, you took it too far, so you're gone."

But if the proposed rule change means deputizing the admins to constantly be on the look out for technical violations and enforcing them regardless of how the violation affected the game, then no, leave it be.

Yes, we should bring em back. I'd like to think that as a community we are very diverse and tolerant. Why would we want to have some butthead on the server that disrupts the flow of the game and insults a bunch of people in the process.  Furhtermore you have no idea how old some of the players are and it would be just decent to provide and environment that was free of that kind of negative influence. I have on occasion warned people on the servers about their language and most of the time they are cool. They apologize and clean up their act. I've never seen anyone leave because of that. Also while we are on the subject, I think we should also have a no porn spray policy. Once again there is the age of the players issue as well as people walking by and looking at the monitor while we play. Heck my kids sometimes watch when I play and I sure as hell wouldn't want some jerkoff spraying porn all over the place.

Overall the number and quality of regulars we will gain from having clean servers is far greater than the few idiots who like to spread hate.

RE: Kids in game

I completely agree. There's a reason all the boxes and commercials say "Content may change in online play" and if you can't realize that a M rated game with gore and killing and voice chat might result in some coarser than normal language, you shouldn't be a parent.

I have pretty damn thick skin, but there should be a minimum level of respect for other players. The anonymity of the Internet allows people to be a little more "loose in the tongue" than they would be face-to-face, but that shouldn't mean those that run a decent server have to tolerate it.

That being said, unless it's something truly offensive, a single comment shouldn't result in a kick. For me, it's a pattern of disturbance that warrants discouraging.