Understanding Toxicity Contagion in Game Communities: A…

What is Toxicity Contagion?

Toxicity contagion refers to the phenomenon where negative behaviors or attitudes spread through a network of individuals. In the context of online gaming communities, this can lead to a toxic environment that discourages new players and diminishes overall engagement.

The SIS (Susceptible-Infected-Susceptible) model is often used in epidemiology to describe how diseases spread; similarly, it can be applied here to understand how toxicity spreads through a community.

How Does Toxicity Spread?

Toxicity spreads along the social network of friendships within the game community. Each player is either susceptible (not toxic) or infected (toxic). When an infected player interacts with a susceptible one, there's a probability that the susceptible player will become toxic.

The spread can be modeled using differential equations where the rate of change in the number of toxic players depends on the current state of the network and the strength of contagion.

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Moderation Strategies

Moderators play a crucial role in managing toxicity by banning or boosting (rehabilitating) toxic players. Banning removes them from the community, while boosting attempts to rehabilitate and reintegrate them.

The effectiveness of these strategies can be quantified using metrics like R0 (basic reproduction number), which measures how many new cases are generated by a single case in an otherwise uninfected population.

Engagement and Population Dynamics

Content updates and newcomer inflow can significantly impact engagement. New content keeps the community active, while newcomers bring fresh perspectives and energy to the game.

The simulation models these dynamics through differential equations that track changes in player population over time, influenced by factors such as moderation rate, cool-off period for banned players, and content update frequency.

Frequently asked questions

How does banning a toxic player affect the community?

Banning reduces the number of toxic players but also removes them from spreading toxicity to others. However, it can lead to a sense of alienation among banned players and may not rehabilitate them.

What is R0 in this context?

R0 (basic reproduction number) measures the average number of new toxic players generated by an existing toxic player. It helps determine the spread rate and effectiveness of moderation strategies.

How does content update frequency impact engagement?

Frequent content updates can keep players engaged by providing fresh challenges and rewards, but too many updates might lead to fatigue or disinterest if not well-received.

Can boosting toxic players work in the long term?

Boosting may help rehabilitate some toxic players, but it requires careful monitoring. If not successful, it can perpetuate toxicity and undermine community trust.

Try it live

Everything above runs in your browser — open 2D Game Community Simulation: Toxicity Contagion Network and change the parameters while it is running. Nothing is installed, nothing is uploaded, the whole model lives in one tab.

▶ Open 2D Game Community Simulation: Toxicity Contagion Network simulation

Understanding Toxicity Contagion in Game Communities: A Physics Perspective