Xbox Suspends Gamer Because He Lives in Fort Gay

​Josh Moore had a problem. The 26-year-old unemployed factory worker wanted to play Xbox Live but couldn't because Microsoft had flagged his account, all because he had bothered to list the town in which he lived: Fort Gay, West Virginia.

This was a big no-no for Microsoft. Their Xbox code of conduct is very strict about what you can and can't put in your gamer profile, including anything that might be considered offensive to just about anyone.

Moore tried to convince Xbox's enforcement squad that he wasn't just playing a gag for cheap laughs.

"I figured, I'll explain to them, 'Look in my account. Fort Gay is a real place,'" Moore reasoned. But the employee was unreceptive, warning Moore if he put Fort Gay back in his profile, Xbox Live would cancel his account and keep his $12 monthly membership fee, which he'd paid in advance for two years.

"I told him, Google it - 25514!" Moore said, offering up the town's ZIP code. "He said, 'I can't help you.'"

There must not be a whole hell of a lot to do in Fort Gay, because somehow even the town's mayor got involved. He too was told the name was a non-starter and that the word "gay" was inappropriate in any context.

Finally, something like logic prevailed and Microsoft revoked Moore's suspension. But if you read between the lines, it sure sounds like he's going to sue.

"I'm not even gay, and it makes me feel like they were discriminating," said Moore, who missed a key Search and Destroy competition because of last week's brief suspension. His team lost.

Never before has the noun "key" been misused as flagrantly. May God have mercy on the jury that awards compensatory damages in this sure-to-be future claim.