Oh ye: Have faith for the little.

Recently I played coordinator to a Halo 3 tournament at my old high school. There was much chaos with broken network cables, newbies trying to offer assistance, and of course plenty of the general shenanigans that come with 40+ high schoolers in a competitive environment. I made the 4v4 tournament round robin style and I was even assisted by a computer connected to a projector for me to display the details of the tournament.
When I mentioned to a buddy what it was I was going to be doing he asked, "So who's providing the fifth of Jack?". It was only then did I really think about what I had gotten myself into. It simply hadn't occurred to me that having a few drinks might be common practice before herding cats. I did not indulge before, during, or after this event, in fact I was pleasantly surprised by the behavior of these so-called timmys.
Let me quickly explain the stereotype of the "timmy". Firstly a timmy must have a higher pitched prepubescent voice, and he will know how to use it in the worst ways. He has little regard for his fellow gamer, teamwork, and positive morals. The word "rape" is used in the same carefree nature as a "your momma" joke.
When the tournament was under way and all in attendance were blasting each other away on Halo 3, I found my self wandering and looking on at projector screens packed with four Spartans a piece. These high schoolers were all familiar with the game so there was little confusion, but if anybody had a question they would come to me or another fellow gamer and the problem (usually a network collapse) would efficiently be solved. Let me clarify, NOBODY WAS WHINING.
Could these be the same people that practice the latest playground talk in the pregame lobby on me? Could they be the same sore losers that make sexual suggestions after I beat them?
I think so. In fact, in a strange way I hope so.
It appears that timmys are fairly well behaved when there's some authority around, not to mention the fact that any insults they might hurl at a LAN would be met with a real face instead of the mute button. I've always figured this was true, and it shouldn't be surprising.
When it comes to the most abusive online entities I could blame their parents for not teaching their kids the morals and responsibilities of an online identity, but this accomplishes nothing. It's common knowledge that the family has lost influence over the years, and it all started when daddy left home to work in the factories. So I propose we all go back to living on farms and stop all this ridiculous industrialization so the children of tomorrow might regain their lost understanding of the internet. Then again, I suppose if we all went back to farms, gaming itself would collapse as an industry. Huh, dang.
So seriously, we as fellow human beings have to understand that while the legal responsibility of a timmy lies with his parents, the new influence on timmy's morals comes from his peers. See where I'm going with this? That's you dude.
It doesn't take much really, in fact I'm suggesting that you be lazier than the type of person to launch into a flame war with a timmy. I'm suggesting you see his actions as shenanigans, tomfoolery, and most certainly waywardness. Diffuse him with your own frolicsomeness and words like "Good Game". You are not the timmy's sibling, but have faith that your kinder words will be registered in his/her mind.
There's no reason the internet gaming community can't become a place guided by good morals. Just look at the whole idea behind wikipedia.com. It's complete strangers working together and forcing out most anybody who would bring falsehoods into what has grown to be a behemoth of information.