Microsoft apologises after banning 'Fort Gay' gamer from Xbox Live

by Steven Mostyn - Sep 9 2010, 05:46

American software giant Microsoft has smashed an egg into its own face after throwing a gamer from its Xbox Live service because he listed ‘Fort Gay’ as his place of residence.

Specifically, 26-year-old Josh Moore of Fort Gay, West Virginia, was initially perplexed after being informed by a Microsoft customer services representative that his account had been suspended due to the use of offensive terminology – namely the ‘Gay’ in Fort Gay, a small town with only 800 residents.

“At first I thought, ‘Wow, somebody’s thinking I live in the gayest town in West Virginia or something,’” Moore said in an Associated Press report.

Moore’s confusion soon changed to annoyance, however, when attempts to direct the ignorant Microsoft employee to Fort Gay’s zip code via Google fell on deaf ears.

Further to that, Moore was also warned that if he attempted to resubmit Fort Gay via his profile details, his Xbox Live account would be permanently cancelled and he’d lose his pre-paid fees.
 
“I was mad,” he added. “It makes me feel like they [Microsoft] hate gay people.”

According to the AP report, it took Moore enlisting the help of Fort Gay’s mayor and a local television station to cause Microsoft to acknowledge its error, reinstate the suspended account and issue its disgruntled Xbox Live customer with an apology.

“Absolutely, a mistake was made here, and we’ve updated our training to account for that,” insisted Stephen Toulouse, director of policy and enforcement for Xbox Live.

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