Why is the online community so mean?

[Chobiko1992]

Hey everyone, i'm a new player trying to learn the fundamentals of smash and be competent at playing but every time i go online to try and practice it just feels like i'm being made fun of for being bad. After i lose every stock, 90% of opponents taunt and they proceed to just run away and spam... i know like that may be efficient for the win..but taunting every game multiple times just seems obnoxious to me. I know you have to have some tough skin when trying to learn a new game, but it just makes me sad seeing that everyone is kind of a **** online... don't get me wrong I really like this game its very spacing heavy and i love that but at times feels like the more spammy defensive players wins.

I was just wondering if I am alone in this heart wrenching journey to try and learn smash? are there others suffering from the taunt spam (-_-)?? lol

 

[Kekezo]

I know what you mean about spammy defensive players (). I honestly am kind of done with online. All day today I've only played against people spamming ranged attacks and 1-2 other moves when not far enough to use projectiles safely.

Don't let the taunts get to you. People are just... well... taunting you. If other players are beating you all the time though, you can always try fighting the AI or head into training to practice combos.

 

[Clemente]

I personally never taunt and I feel like it is pretty disrespectful but just remember that we have no connection with the other person and most people aren't that mean spirited so the other person probably isn't intending to be mean.

 

[Spirst]

Anonymity makes people into *****, that's pretty much well-established at this point. No, you're probably not alone. Don't let it discourage because ultimately, it's just a game. People spamming moves are always pretty easily beaten if you think in advance and follow their pattern with punishing moves of your own.

 

[Clemente]

Even right now during the Smash tournament, certain players are spamming taunts after winning (specifically this Dabuz, who is camping with Rosalina and Luma in the finals), and just in general being dickish. And meanwhile the other guy isn't.

 

[Garquille14]

Taunts are completely meaningless since 90% of the time when I intentionally walk off the edge twice to end a laggy match, they still taunt.

don't take it to heart

 

[smartguyc1089]

I know what you mean about spammy defensive players (). I honestly am kind of done with online. All day today I've only played against people spamming ranged attacks and 1-2 other moves when not far enough to use projectiles safely.

Don't let the taunts get to you. People are just... well... taunting you. If other players are beating you all the time though, you can always try fighting the AI or head into training to practice combos.

you say lucario is an annoying character?

 

[PuzzlePrism]

I personally only taunt after a hard earned kill. When people SD I'll usually give them a chance to get in some hits, or if they've been very respectful and I've been having fun with them, I might SD, too. But yeah, there's a lot of spammy characters right now-I think decrease as the meta evolves but right now it's very primitive. They're pretty easy to counter once you get really good about using a shield.

 

[supercoolmayo]

Taunts are completely meaningless since 90% of the time when I intentionally walk off the edge twice to end a laggy match, they still taunt.

don't take it to heart

Oh so thats why players do that?

 

[Darrylols]

You can't stop them from taunting. You gotta learn to deal with it. I know it's annoying sometimes but you need to improvise

Kinda like the Youtube trolls. You can't stop them from saying "FIRST" or "PC is better than xbone!". Also taunts are just for fun. You can taunt them back aswell. Why not?

 

[Dark 3nergy]

Hey everyone, i'm a new player trying to learn the fundamentals of smash and be competent at playing but every time i go online to try and practice it just feels like i'm being made fun of for being bad. After i lose every stock, 90% of opponents taunt and they proceed to just run away and spam... i know like that may be efficient for the win..but taunting every game multiple times just seems obnoxious to me. I know you have to have some tough skin when trying to learn a new game, but it just makes me sad seeing that everyone is kind of a **** online... don't get me wrong I really like this game its very spacing heavy and i love that but at times feels like the more spammy defensive players wins.

I was just wondering if I am alone in this heart wrenching journey to try and learn smash? are there others suffering from the taunt spam (-_-)?? lol

My boyfriend is a long time street fighter 2 guile player and is a really talented fighter. But while hes super great at capcom fighters he is in the exact same boat you are. He complains to me about the same problems your experiencing. And feels utterly defeated by the same people that your fighting online. Trust me you are not alone. If you want some serious matches find people on here and 1-on-1 them privately. Most players, even myself do not taunt a up and comer because we already know its an a learning curve. Get back out there and keep fighting.

 

[Dsull]

There isnt a single internet community that isnt full of jackwagons.
Trust me, the Smash Bros one is nowhere near as bad as Dota2. Dota2 is a game of mistakes, the team that slips up even once tends to lose later on. You make one mistake most players will flame the HELL out of you.

Also the general consensus is in order to win you need to either be crazy good with tilt attacks and reading the opponent, or spam ranged moves. Honestly not sure why people like to throw Lucario into that picture, he only has one projectile (his sideb is WAY too short until hes about dead anyway). I play him all the time, and ive noticed i win mostly because people dont know how to deal with a lucario that dives them and they just panic jump around. Even the few lucarios ive faced didnt camp, so im not sure where this vibe comes from that they do.

Links, DuckHunts, and Shieks are the camping issues.

Ive developed this mentality that if i ever face someone who just spams a projectile, laggy as hell, or uses the "grab kill" cheeses (bowser big culprit here) i just leave and find another. Yes i take longer finding a match doing this, but when i do either i kick their butt because i outsmarted them, or they kick mine because they read me like a book - not i didnt air dodge 10000 times in a row while approaching Link spamming arrows.

 

[Ragemos]

It isn't surprising to me though, it's mostly just frustrating that the matches can be laggy. I don't taunt unless if I see the opponent accidentally fail or if I beat those annoying spammy defensive players. IMHO You GOTTA be able to know how to atleast counter the spammy defensive players. I highly recommend just as Dark 3nergy said that you find a few sparring partners on here. These forum communities are really what tie the game together.

 

[TheBuzzSaw]

Here's an idea: don't learn fundamentals online. If you are still trying to get comfortable just controlling your own character well, play offline or with friends. Go online to learn how people play/think, not to learn the basics.

 

[Zero Suit Wario]

I can't really believe people take taunts seriously. A lot of them are just the characters doing funny or cute things. Like, how can anybody assume that the person taunting is actually making fun of you or is truly mean-spirited? You can't.

 

[LittlePac]

I only taunt if the other guy does something dumb or I did something that I think was really cool. So it may be a little mean spirited.

When someone taunts 3 or 4 times after each KO, I think they're actually taunting me.

The absolute worst is when someone is winning by a lot, they send you flying, and then taunt as you are in the air. **** you.

 

[Dsull]

I taunt depending on who i am. Diddy kong's little hat flip is a perfect "Oops" type taunt i do when i respawn after diving off the edge by mistake, while Wario's side taunt is pretty much meant to be offensive and mock your opponent lol.

Only time it gets to me that people taunt is when i have been 2stocking them through multiple games, they FINALLY get a kill on me, and taunt. Im like....um....you kinda need to kill me more than that to justify the "I OWNED YOU" taunt buddy *respawns and kills them* lol
(Not saying im a super pro insane player, but i face equal amounts of HOLY CRAP players and Good Grief type players in FG lol)

 

[CryoGX]

I know that feel, but taunts shouldn't really be taken to heart, they can mean a crapton of things that we can only assume due to anonymity.

Someone could be taunting harmlessly.
Some could be taunting because they've been having a bad day and it's like "YES FINALLY" and all of they're frustration from earlier is unfortunately released on you.
Some could just be ****s.

anyway

On the contrary,

I've been seeing people double tapping crouch at the beginning of matches, and it seems to be a sign of friendliness and makes the match that much more fun, as it'll be before anyone really attacks, or the opponent will stop attacking altogether, move away and just crouch. It's pretty cute actually :3

Taunts on the other hand can feel disrespectful at times. I don't really use them, but from my own experiences, crouching alone can seem like a form of wordless communication.

If having fun/friendly - Crouch-spam while not attacking
If acknowledging your opponent's mistake respectfully - Hold Crouch for a while near where they messed up.

Those are the only two I've seen, and sorry for somewhat derailing.

 

[ZombieBran]

Don't assume the worst when someone taunts.
I taunt because I really like Zelda's taunts.

Camping is part of the game. If they realize they can camp a player, why shouldn't they?

 

[Clemente]

I can't really believe people take taunts seriously. A lot of them are just the characters doing funny or cute things. Like, how can anybody assume that the person taunting is actually making fun of you or is truly mean-spirited? You can't.

It's just the fact that you don't know who's on the other end and you jump to the worst scenario that they're being a jerk.

For some reason losing doesn't bother me anymore but taunts still do sometimes. wut

Especially if the game is lagging like crap and the lagger taunts. I'm getting pissed even thinking about those.

 

[Garquille14]

Oh so thats why players do that?

if you see it a lot then people probably hate you and your connection

 

[Raijinken]

Hey everyone, i'm a new player trying to learn the fundamentals of smash and be competent at playing but every time i go online to try and practice it just feels like i'm being made fun of for being bad. After i lose every stock, 90% of opponents taunt and they proceed to just run away and spam... i know like that may be efficient for the win..but taunting every game multiple times just seems obnoxious to me. I know you have to have some tough skin when trying to learn a new game, but it just makes me sad seeing that everyone is kind of a **** online... don't get me wrong I really like this game its very spacing heavy and i love that but at times feels like the more spammy defensive players wins.

I was just wondering if I am alone in this heart wrenching journey to try and learn smash? are there others suffering from the taunt spam (-_-)?? lol

I'd suggest either ignoring it (kinda hard, but you kinda get used to it), or finding other people to play with who are a) better sports and b) more able to give you feedback and advice.

Basically, if you can't just ignore it, just find people who are willing to coach you. Plenty of people here on the boards, myself included, enjoy doing friendly rounds. Find people to spar with, get feedback, gradually improve. Smash isn't learned instantly. I've been playing since Smash64 and am still thoroughly average.

But as for the camping, two major options: Practice against it a lot (kinda have to play people for this, computers are very nice about not camping), or play reflector characters (Fox, Falco, Palutena, Villager, Zelda) and punish their camping with stronger retaliation. It's very useful to have a secondary character to cover playstyles you're not good against. For instance, I'm a Robin main and currently suck against rushdown, so when that gets to be a problem for me, I swap to Shulk for counter or Pac Man so my projectiles aren't limited and I can out-wall the rushdown while looking for a chance to punish. Flexibility goes a long way.

There isnt a single internet community that isnt full of jackwagons.
Trust me, the Smash Bros one is nowhere near as bad as Dota2. Dota2 is a game of mistakes, the team that slips up even once tends to lose later on. You make one mistake most players will flame the HELL out of you.

Tell me about it. At least in Smash, you can't feasibly get flamed by a teammate mid-match online.

 

[Dr. James Rustles]

Hey everyone, i'm a new player trying to learn the fundamentals of smash and be competent at playing but every time i go online to try and practice it just feels like i'm being made fun of for being bad. After i lose every stock, 90% of opponents taunt and they proceed to just run away and spam... i know like that may be efficient for the win..but taunting every game multiple times just seems obnoxious to me. I know you have to have some tough skin when trying to learn a new game, but it just makes me sad seeing that everyone is kind of a **** online... don't get me wrong I really like this game its very spacing heavy and i love that but at times feels like the more spammy defensive players wins.

I was just wondering if I am alone in this heart wrenching journey to try and learn smash? are there others suffering from the taunt spam (-_-)?? lol

Hahahaahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

In competetion, the winner gets bragging rights. Don't you know? If your feelings get hurt over taunts you seriously need to evaluate whether or not competitive gaming in any form is for you.

 

[Shen_Jehuty]

This is why I usually avoid playing games online. As someone else said, being anonymous online brings out the worst in people and they love to be the jerks they wish they would be in real life. It really does take the fun out of games, and I've started seeing this more and more in Smash since it came out. Sure, it was definitely there when I first started playing 1v1, but I just stopped playing them and moved on to another player. It's getting to the point where it seems like there is a 50% chance I'm going to face a troll and/or spammer and have to look for someone else again. Smash is not as much about winning to me as it is having fun, but I sort of feel like most of the people who play 1v1 online feel the opposite. I've been playing some friends locally recently and also been playing offline quite a bit which is also very fun. So I'd recommend doing this is you're starting to get tired of the online BS.

 

[Clemente]

Hahahaahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

In competetion, the winner gets bragging rights. Don't you know? If your feelings get hurt over taunts you seriously need to evaluate whether or not competitive gaming in any form is for you.

Your parents should have spanked you more. There's something called sportsmanship. They teach you that as a kid, when you play sports, you shake hands with the other team, etc.

 

[InfiniteTripping]

Hahahaahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

In competetion, the winner gets bragging rights. Don't you know? If your feelings get hurt over taunts you seriously need to evaluate whether or not competitive gaming in any form is for you.

Winners can have some sense of honor though. It's not in the spirit of competition to rub the loser's nose in it but to congratulate them for putting an effort in. Taunting an opponent over an SD is generally not sportsmanlike, for example.

I used to taunt every stock I took but only because the Melee taunt bonus put me in that habit. I stopped doing it most of the time, especially online.

 

[Beatness]

Here's an idea: don't learn fundamentals online. If you are still trying to get comfortable just controlling your own character well, play offline or with friends. Go online to learn how people play/think, not to learn the basics.

Hahahaahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

In competetion, the winner gets bragging rights. Don't you know? If your feelings get hurt over taunts you seriously need to evaluate whether or not competitive gaming in any form is for you.

Can I just say that these posts are rude and really unnecessary?

That being said, yes, most people taunt when you die, but usually it's just for fun, not to actually brag or mock you.
Keep playing online, and don't get discouraged because you can learn and eventually beat those people. Just don't give up!

 

[TheBuzzSaw]

Can I just say that these posts are rude and really unnecessary?

That being said, yes, most people taunt when you die, but usually it's just for fun, not to actually brag or mock you.
Keep playing online, and don't get discouraged because you can learn and eventually beat those people. Just don't give up!

I was blunt but not rude. It's the truth. Why play online if you don't know how to recover?

 

[Greda]

I just taunt to have fun, nothing offensive. I mean who DOESNT want to see Palutenas pole dancing taunt?

 

[Syrek]

Don't let those players get to you. There's nothing you can do about opponents taunting you unfortunately as it's part of the game and they can taunt if they so choose, whether it be for a win or something else. My advice is to keep pushing forward and try not to get bogged down by those players who are so blatantly troll, are campy or spam to bug the crap out of you. And you know what, it's perfectly fine if your a new player trying to understand the fundamentals. We were all just like you at one point in time so I think it's only fair we help out those who are learning instead of being blatantly rude and disrespectful. Endure and keep fighting the good fight. Eventually, you'll get better and I hope to see you continue playing Smash Bros. regardless of how other players treat you. I look forward to seeing your progress. ^_^

 

[Ffamran]

I just taunt to have fun, nothing offensive. I mean who DOESNT want to see Palutenas pole dancing taunt?

People who don't swing that way?

Anyway, plenty of communities are bad; some are notorious like League of Legends', DOTA's, and Call of Duty's. So, I think you're unlucky with meeting poor sports. I rarely meet people like this and I'm nowhere near a good player - average at best. I did get teabagged for Flame Slamming someone like 3 times, but he kept getting in my way while I was trying to get back on the stage. I didn't even mean to hit him - all I wanted was to be back with Mother Earth er... Mother Stage?

I do, however, meet spammers and tryhards from time to time.

 

[Greda]

People who don't swing that way?

Anyway, plenty of communities are bad; some are notorious like League of Legends', DOTA's, and Call of Duty's. So, I think you're unlucky with meeting poor sports. I rarely meet people like this and I'm nowhere near a good player - average at best. I did get teabagged for Flame Slamming someone like 3 times, but he kept getting in my way while I was trying to get back on the stage. I didn't even mean to hit him - all I wanted was to be back with Mother Earth er... Mother Stage?

I do, however, meet spammers and tryhards from time to time.

All jokes aside, not everyone taunts to offend. I just love seeing the taunts randomly and others do it too I guess so no harm done in those specific matches. Also taunting literally leaves you wide open for attacks.

 

[Ffamran]

All jokes aside, not everyone taunts to offend. I just love seeing the taunts randomly and others do it too I guess so no harm done in those specific matches. Also taunting literally leaves you wide open for attacks.

There's that too, but taunting to provoke with people is rude. I use Luigi's taunt when I know I lost the match or Meta Knight's side taunt as a typical, "I'm a knight; fight me" sort of thing. Now, KOing multiple people at once, having a huge lead, or constantly killing and messing with one person and taunting is offensive.

I don't care, but others do and some take it personally. I just take it personally against spammers who ruin others fun and their fair fights. In context, the Dark Pit teabagging either didn't know or didn't pay attention to me constantly trying to Flame Choke recover back and thought I was just messing with him. So, I didn't care that he teabagged and actually, I thought it was funny in a "lost in communication/context" sort of way.

 

[Ting Sing]

I think it's okay to taunt others. Ever since 64, I've just somewhat developed a habit of taunting after lots of kills during a 1v1. It's just for fun and I never do it out of disrespect. I wouldn't call somebody mean because of it.

 

[AdaptiveTrigger]

I tend to taunt a lot in matches myself...but it is all in good fun for me. I don't mean to demean anybody by doing it.

 

[Chiroz]

I know that feel, but taunts shouldn't really be taken to heart, they can mean a crapton of things that we can only assume due to anonymity.

Someone could be taunting harmlessly.
Some could be taunting because they've been having a bad day and it's like "YES FINALLY" and all of they're frustration from earlier is unfortunately released on you.
Some could just be ****s.

anyway
On the contrary,

I've been seeing people double tapping crouch at the beginning of matches, and it seems to be a sign of friendliness and makes the match that much more fun, as it'll be before anyone really attacks, or the opponent will stop attacking altogether, move away and just crouch. It's pretty cute actually :3

Taunts on the other hand can feel disrespectful at times. I don't really use them, but from my own experiences, crouching alone can seem like a form of wordless communication.

If having fun/friendly - Crouch-spam while not attacking
If acknowledging your opponent's mistake respectfully - Hold Crouch for a while near where they messed up.

Those are the only two I've seen, and sorry for somewhat derailing.

Wow, wtf. I do both of these crouch things and I never viewed them as a "community" thing. In fact I've never even seen anyone fo it to me. I do it because of the exact reasons you said but it's because normally I play characters with cute crouches like Jiggz or Jr. (Excepting Greninja).

I am really freaked out about how you described exactly what I do including "holding" crouch when someone SDs near where they did to express "I feel you bro".

 

[Reila]

I think taunting after kills is rude and disrespectful. That said, every online community of competitive games are this way (mean). It is not exclusive to Smash.

Go play Dota 2, for example. Worst community ever.

 

[Xerneas]

I haven't really seen a lot of people who taunt online. A few Marths/Ikes/Links/etc who will raise their sword after getting a kill or one Lucina who said 'I cannot lose' after getting a KO (even though she did) and one Peach who would do her annoying la la la after every KO, but in general most people I've played against in around 300 battles haven't taunted. I never taunt unless something I think is funny happens, like when I'm playing Ness and a Jigglypuff almost KOs me with rest or someone tries to mess up my recovery but doesn't I might say 'okay,' as long as time allows it.

Taunting after getting a KO seems rude imo but it doesn't really bother me unless they do it after every KO. I will usually crouch instead, it seems nicer than taunting and not as boring as just standing there, and Ness and Dedede's crouches are cute I think. I also crouch at the end of a match when it's obvious no one's going to get a kill in the last few seconds. When I see other players crouch to me it seems friendly, so I hope that people who see me crouch feel the same way and not think I'm trying to look like I'm teabagging like someone else in this thread said, I've never heard of crouching meaning that before

I'm not into many other games but from what I've seen the Smash community isn't anywhere near as into making other players feel bad as other game communities are. Most people who use their taunts after KOs probably don't mean to be mean, they are just using it to kill the time it takes for you to respawn. Most people who play Smash seem pretty nice

 

[Reila]

I haven't really seen a lot of people who taunt online. A few Marths/Ikes/Links/etc who will raise their sword after getting a kill or one Lucina who said 'I cannot lose' after getting a KO (even though she did) and one Peach who would do her annoying la la la after every KO, but in general most people I've played against in around 300 battles haven't taunted. I never taunt unless something I think is funny happens, like when I'm playing Ness and a Jigglypuff almost KOs me with rest or someone tries to mess up my recovery but doesn't I might say 'okay,' as long as time allows it.

Taunting after getting a KO seems rude imo but it doesn't really bother me unless they do it after every KO. I will usually crouch instead, it seems nicer than taunting and not as boring as just standing there, and Ness and Dedede's crouches are cute I think. I also crouch at the end of a match when it's obvious no one's going to get a kill in the last few seconds. When I see other players crouch to me it seems friendly, so I hope that people who see me crouch feel the same way and not think I'm trying to look like I'm teabagging like someone else in this thread said, I've never heard of crouching meaning that before

I'm not into many other games but from what I've seen the Smash community isn't anywhere near as into making other players feel bad as other game communities are. Most people who use their taunts after KOs probably don't mean to be mean, they are just using it to kill the time it takes for you to respawn. Most people who play Smash seem pretty nice

Crouching is the best. I love to crouch and get up constantly after I get a K.O. I hope that doesn't annoy my opponents D:

 

[FightingPorygonTeam]

Am I the only one who taunts after getting killed?