Don’t put your elbows on the table, never speak with your mouth full, always remember to say thank you; our world is filled with etiquette that we’re brought up to follow.

A lot of us like to escape into games where we can break the rules and do whatever we want, but as multiplayer gaming has grown, so has a new set of customs.

Multiplayer gaming is now huge. Whether you like casual puzzle games, hardcore combat sims or in-depth MMOs there’s something for everyone. This year global Xbox LIVE subscribers went over the 20m mark, and World of Warcraft alone now has over 11m players signed up. Multiplayer gaming’s even so big in Korea that RTS (real time strategy) title Starcraft has two TV channels dedicated to showing online matches.

The servers these online games run from cover ‘local’ areas to combat language differences and latency issues (which can slow down connections and ruin the experience). Usually it covers a continental area (ie Europe, USA, China etc). This means that if you’re in the UK you’re likely to play someone in Ireland or France rather than someone in the US, who’ll probably get to play with Canadian or Mexican counterparts.

Multiplayer etiquette has been created by and for gamers, in order to keep the interactive experience fun. Sure, there’ll always be some bad loser who’ll drop out of the game at the worse possible time, or some potty-mouthed n00b (l33t speak for newbie: someone new to a game) who’ll be shouting obscenities into their mike, but overall these basic ‘rules’ ensures that the multiplayer experience stays enjoyable.

Most of the guidelines are common sense, but in the heat of a Call of Duty skirmish that may all go out of the window. So, to make sure you don’t get kicked from the new Halo maps or dropped from a raid run in World of Warcraft (WoW), follow this Flipside guide to multiplayer etiquette.


Avoid insults and bad language
Gamers may not be able to wash your mouth out with soap, but they will get very annoyed if you’re constantly cussing colleagues or competitors. If you ever want to play with the same person again, keep it clean. Also take note - whining is not good. Ever.

Don’t pick on the new guy
You were one once, and they’ll never improve if you don’t give them a chance.

Never exploit game glitches
Find a fault in a game that allows you to win? If you choose to take advantage of it, you’re simply a cheat.

Share fair
When you’re in a group situation that involves item and gear drops, only ever choose need over greed when it is an item of use to you. If you ‘need’ everything, you’ll get classed as a ‘ninja’ (someone that steals items unfairly) and be kicked and reported.

Never sabotage your own team
You may be tired and want to log off, you may choose not to take the game seriously, you may have had a tough day and want to take it out on someone, well don’t. If you do any of the above you’ll be letting down your entire team. Never start something you don’t want to finish, and if you’re not in the best of moods, perhaps you’d be better off gaming solo.

Don’t shout
Either on a mike or a keyboard. Never type entirely IN CAPS, as online this constitutes shouting, and gets very annoying, very quickly.

Mike rules
Microphones are both a godsend and a pain in the proverbial butt. It’s so much easier to play together when you can let each other know by voice what you’re doing, if you need help etc, however way too many people abuse the mike, or simply use one that’s really, well, pants. 

Some quick pointers:

•    Don’t use a voice changer, it annoys everyone.
•    Make sure background noise is low, i.e. don’t have music playing in the background or let you kid siblings run around making noise.
•    If you have a poor quality mike, just don’t use it.
•    Don’t eat and chat. Yuk.