While my immediate reaction was to vote for an opt-in system, as I've been thinking about it I guess I don't really mind either way. Ultimately if someone starts bagging on me and/or dismisses my opinions/suggestions out of hand because I'm a low-tier scrub, then ultimately it gives me a shortcut to understanding them (and quite possibly cheerfully ignoring them from then on).
I think some of the 'it's just a game, it's just people on the Internet' stuff misses the point a little though. An analogy: in many places, dog owners have to pick their dog's faeces when they take them for a walk. They're required by law and there are punishments for failing to do so. To that end, these dog owners carry plastic bags, or some kind of scoop with them when walking their dog, and they do what they have to when necessary, without fuss, as one of those things you have to do as a dog owner. I don't think many of them volunteer to pick up OTHER dog's faeces though, or for fun, and if there was a way to do it less (toilet train your dog?) then I'm confident they would.
it's similar for me with 'people on the internet'. Dealing with trolls, and the deliberately obtuse, and the professionally awkward and the just plain unpleasant is part of being involved with online communities and online gaming. If you can't "handle that" then you're going to struggle, that's absolutely true. That said, if there are ways to reduce the amount of unpleasantness I have to handle/ignore, I'm all for trying them.
Edit: to be clear -- I rather reject the "it's the internet, people are going to be {Richard Cameron}, get over it" fatalism that supposes it's impossible for online groups to be civil or to improve.
Edited by Ano, 18 August 2015 - 05:26 AM.