Living the Scout Oath and Law Online

A stranger’s screen name and a muted microphone can make it feel like nobody’s really watching how you act online. That’s exactly why the Scout Oath and Law matter more, not less, once you put on a headset. Before working through the sections below, watch the Digital Safety video linked in the Official Resources section — with your parent or guardian’s permission — since it sets up the online safety habits the rest of this requirement builds on.

It helps to have the Scout Oath and Law in front of you while you work through this requirement, since 2a and 2b both ask you to connect your own behavior back to specific points of it.

Requirement 2a

Toxicity in gaming describes behavior that makes an online space worse for the people in it — trash talk that turns into harassment, intentionally sabotaging teammates, hate speech, or targeted bullying of a specific player. It’s called “toxic” because, like a toxin, it spreads: one player’s bad behavior often triggers more of the same from others in the same match.

When you describe your example, be specific. What actually happened? Who was affected? Then work backward through the Scout Law points above and ask which ones were being ignored — was it a failure to be Courteous? Kind? Friendly? Naming the specific point makes your answer concrete instead of just saying “it was against the Scout Law.”

Official Resources

Requirement 2b

Handling a bad online experience well is its own skill — one you’ll use far more often than you’d like. A few strategies worth considering (pick five, and be ready to tie each to a specific Scout Oath or Law point):

• Mute or block a player who’s being disruptive, rather than engaging with them.
• Report behavior that violates a game’s terms of service, so moderators can act on it.
• Step away from a match or session if it’s affecting your mood — protecting the “mentally awake” part of the Scout Oath.
• Talk it through with a parent, guardian, or trusted friend after a rough session.
• Set boundaries in advance, like agreeing with friends on what kind of trash talk is and isn’t okay before you start playing.

For each strategy, explain the connection explicitly. “Muting a toxic player reflects being Clean, because it keeps the language and tone of my gaming space respectful” is a stronger answer than just listing the strategy alone.

Official Resources

Requirement 2c

The ESRB rates games the way the movie industry rates films — but instead of just an age category, it also lists specific content descriptors (like “Violence,” “Strong Language,” or “In-Game Purchases”) explaining exactly why a game earned its rating.

When you compare your own games’ ratings to your age group, be honest about what you find — the goal isn’t to prove you only play “appropriate” games, it’s to think critically about whether the rating actually matches your experience playing it.

Official Resources

Requirement 2d

Building a good gaming environment is proactive, not just reactive — it’s not only about handling bad moments (that was Req 2b), it’s about actively making a space better. A few ideas to draw from:

• Give genuine, specific compliments on good plays instead of only reacting to mistakes.
• Welcome new or less-experienced players into a group session instead of leaving them out.
• Set clear, kind expectations for how your group talks to each other before a match starts.
• Step in — respectfully — when you see someone else being excluded or targeted.
• Model good sportsmanship after a loss instead of blaming teammates.

For your demonstration, pick something you can actually show your counselor evidence of — a screenshot of an encouraging message, a photo from a family game night where you set the ground rules out loud, or a short write-up of how it went.

Official Resources

Official Resources

Character online is the foundation for everything else in this badge — including how you take care of yourself. Requirement 3 turns the lens inward.