League of Legends is disabling /all chat from Oct 20

League of Legends (LOL) has announced /all chat will be disabled in Patch 11.21, coming on Oct 20. 

Players will no longer be able to send messages to the enemy team during matches. Enemies will still be able to see a player’s emotes and champion mastery, unless they have that player muted. 

This is part of a larger effort to lower the levels of toxicity the game has been facing. Many players have come forward over the years to talk about the negativity present in the game, with one recent example resulting in the player Parnellyx being permanently banned in July 2021 for sending death threats in the post-game lobby.

Players will still be able to communicate with their own teams. The game developers have acknowledged that team chat can be just as negative as /all chat, but stated that “the potential value it brings is much higher”. 

The announcement has garnered mixed reactions, with many taking to Twitter to discuss the decision. Some were saying that it doesn’t address the problem, saying: “99 per cent of the time toxic chat is from teammates.” 

However, others were supportive of the move. Another user wrote: “There is no actual reason players need to be able to communicate with their opponents during a game. It serves no purpose but to be toxic.”