Xbox Gaming in South Africa

Break out your secret collection of Erasure CDs and get celebrating! Microsoft has just published a new Xbox LIVE Code of Conduct, which now allows disclosure of sexual orientation in your gamertag or profile.

In a letter to users, Xbox LIVE's Marc Whitten writes that the new policy "will allow our members to more freely express their race, nationality, religion and sexual orientation in Gamertags and profiles. Under our previous policy, some of these expressions of self-identification were not allowed in Gamertags or profiles to prevent the use of these terms as insults or slurs."

This has previously been an issue of some significant controversy in the community, with some users banned for violating previous policies prohibiting this.

The new Code of Conduct now includes the following clause:

• You may use the following terms to express your relationship orientation in your profile or Gamertag:
  • Lesbian
  • Gay
  • Bi
  • Transgender
  • Straight
  Other terms regarding relationship orientation are not allowed. In addition you may not use these terms or any other terms regarding relationship orientation to insult, harass, or any other pejorative use against other users.

Not that it's going to stop an entire generation of 12-year olds shouting "GAY" in Halo, of course, but it's a start.