At a Game Developer’s Conference panel for Xbox developers, partner and development lead Frank Savage said that Microsoft is currently brainstorming ideas on ways to encourage good behaviour from Xbox Live players.

Xbox Live players have long been known to call each other names that aren’t repeatable in polite company during multiplayer matches. It’s also not uncommon to encounter players that engage in behaviour known as “griefing”, where they go out of their way to annoy, inconvenience and generally bother other players.

Microsoft’s response has thus far been more stick than honey, with permanent account bans the only real consequence for those actions.

This new initiative could change all that. Polygon reports that Microsoft could be offering Xbox Live rewards in the future to players who “contribute positively” to the Xbox Live community through their online actions.

Microsoft already introduced an “updated reputation algorithm” last year that takes into account more than just player surveys to establish who is fun to play with. The introduction of rewards for players deemed “good” could well inspire more Xbox Live gamers to actively strive to be better people. Online, anyway.

There are no details yet of what these rewards will be or when the programme will go live, though.