Riot disables League of Legends /all chat to cut down on toxicity
In light of rising verbal abuse problems, next patch will cut the ability to message all players in matchmade queues
Riot is disabling the /all chat feature in League of Legends matchmade queues because players have complained about it being used for verbal abuse increasingly this year.
"While /all chat can be the source of fun social interaction between teams, as well as some good-hearted banter, right now negative interactions outweigh the positives," League of Legends game director Andrei van Roon and lead gameplay producer Jeremy Lee said in a post explaining the change.
"We'll evaluate the impact of this change through verbal abuse reports and penalty rates, as well as surveys and direct feedback from you all."
In a post on Twitter, van Roon said that the disabling of the /all chat functionality is a test run, and the company will see how it plays out before deciding whether to leave it off permanently.
Opposing players will still be able to hear and see emotes and champ mastery (unless players are muted), and the post-game chat will still allow for cross-time conversation.
Team chat will also continue to function as usual, even though Riot acknowledged it plays host to its share of verbal abuse as well.
"But team chat also plays an important team coordination function, so the potential value it brings is much higher, even if it can also host some negative experiences," van Roon and Lee said in their post.
"We know this sucks for those of you who just want to compliment your lane opponent's skin, or ask for a dance party in Baron pit. But we believe the trade-off is worth it to cut down on the growing negativity /all chat has been creating in your games."