Microsoft has learned the hard way that not all people who list Fort Gay as their place of residence are practical jokers.
It all started with 26 years old gamer Josh Moore tried to declare on Xbox LIVE that he lives in Fort Gay WV; however the XBL rules enforcement team refused to allow it. More so, the enforcement team also refused to Google the country name or check its ZIP code and threatened to cancel his account if he didn't remove it.
Fort Gay WV about 800 in Wayne County, along West Virginia's western border with Kentucky and its ZIP code is 25514.
"I was mad. ... It makes me feel like they hate gay people," said Moore who plays Call of Duty under the gamertag Joshanboo and whose team has lost a key Search and Destroy competition due to his suspension. "I'm not even gay, and it makes me feel like they were discriminating."
The town's mayor tried to clear the matter up with Microsoft, but the company representatives insisted that the word "gay" is prohibited on XBL even if it is a real town's name. "It was so inappropriate for them, they wouldn't even say the word,"' Thompson told the Associated Press. "They said, 'that word.' It's beyond me. That's the name of our town! It's appalling. It's a slap in our face."'
Stephen Toulouse, director of policy and enforcement for Xbox Live has since apologized to Josh and re-enabled his account after blaming it all on miscommunication.