When the mute button is bliss

If there's one thing I love about online gaming, it's the opportunity to see people at their very worst or their very best. People who are normally calm under pressure in person, can sometimes change into the most horrid of creatures online - especially in multiplayer games.

If you're likely to fall into one or several of the following categories (minus 'The Mute'), you may want to consider turning on the mute button. Ever tried playing an online multiplayer game with the mute button switched on? Oh the the experience can be utterly blissful! This is particularly so if you're the 'overly' competitive type that just revels in pointing out other people's faults during the worst possible time. I mean, there's no point yelling "WTF dude - why didn't you see the Sniper?!" down the mic when your friend has already respawned. Firstly, they've respawned and secondly, everyone knows a good sniper is one that's hidden from view...

But try putting it to the test. The next time you're gaming, switch on the mute button and try listening to what everyone else is saying. It can be one of the most hilarious things you'll ever do. Inbetween erratic fits of silent frustration, I quite often also find myself doubled over in hysterics at some of the things gamers will say when playing games. People will tend to take on certain personality types online and it's not too hard to pick them out.

Firstly, there's the "Oh WTF - how did I die just then?" type that will insist, no matter what the situation (even if they are running around in wide open spaces with bullets flying towards them from every direction) that they shouldn't have died. Duh. Try asking them why they didn't use cover - you know like, the entire forest of trees located all around the map and woah... the 'Gamer who should never die' will soon become 'The Rager'.

Secondly, there's the "Joker" - they're the type that offsets either their lack of skills or sanity with an endless string of jokes that are never funny. They of course, don't know this so they'll continue to jest while you're desperately trying to capture the flag with the enemy sniping at your head. You will probably die trying but the jokes will keep on coming, and sometimes, they will even tell you jokes about how funny it was that you just died. Grr.

The "Rager" however, is by far the funniest of ALL gamer personalities online. Most gamers will know the "Rager" type and if we're honest, I'm sure we'd admit that there's a touch of the "Rager" in all of us at times. But the TRUE "Rager" will far outdo any amount of fleeting frustration you may have felt during a game and quadruple the impact and effect. True Rager's are born to be angry at EVERYTHING and EVERYONE. They are usually negative from the offset and you'll know this straight away because they're also the team mate that will ridicule, tease, demean and harrass you until you too will succumb to "Rager" fever. And when they're not putting down their own team mates, they'll be the ones picking fights in lobbys and abusing the opposing team, even when the opposing team can't hear it. That won't matter to the Rager, they will either rage on or ragequit. Which is secretly what everyone else on the team is hoping they'll do. The problem with Ragers is that they also happen to be some of the best players out there. Which is why so many people keep them on their friend's list to begin with. 'Ragermouse' dude, - this one's for you.

And lastly, there's the anomaly of all online gaming personalities - 'The Mute'. Normally, these types of people are good to play with because they're usually pretty skilled players and rarely speak. The problem with that of course is that most multiplayer games played online require at least some form of communication - even if it's an expletive to imply that they've just died and are respawning. Anything at all is better than the eerie, endless silence, or in the worst cases, the sound of them breathing into their mics. Try as you might, if they're true to their online personality, they will never speak - not even when you're addressing them directly. And the oddest thing about the 'Mute' is that they're muted without even having to use the 'mute' button! Is that 'LOLtastic' or what?

By far the coolest thing about using the mute button at the right time is that your friends' list will always stay populated, even when you've imagined torturing some of your friends or even clan mates over and over and watch as they succumb to a slow and painful death... ahem. Yes my fellow gamers, the mute button is indeed your friend!

Note: 'Ragermouse' is not a real gamertag. Names were altered to protect the not so innocent ;)

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