Microsoft finally looking to stop gay bannings on Live

Is that the whiff of common sense? The stench of reason? Xbox Live mod boss Stephen Toulouse has confirmed Microsoft is looking at ways Xbox Live users can express sexual preference on the service without getting banned.

His comment came after yet another Live subscriber was banned for 'causing offence' by saying they were homosexual in their profile data.

"I can't say any more at the moment, except to say I'm working right now in finding a way to safely express relationship preference," Toulouse said on his Twitter.

He added: "Expression of any sexual orientation (straight or gay or otherswise) is not allowed in gamertags.

"However we've heard from the user-base they want that capability, so I am examining how we can provide it in a way that wont get misused."

This is the first time Microsoft has even acknowledged something needs to be done about the fact gay and lesbian people can be hounded on Live then banned.

Bit of a shame the "user-base" had to fight against it instead of anyone with half a brain at Microsoft doing something about a truly disgusting situation, but there we are. We should be thankful for small mercies, hey?

Thanks, Roybott.