Some Destiny 2 and Minecraft players are overindulging in their fandom.

Kyle Orland – Jul 28, 2022 4:00 pm UTC

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In video games, community management is all about listening to the concerns of the players and communicating with them in a way that makes them feel that their concerns are being taken into consideration. What happens if some players become a source of concern?

This is the issue two major gaming companies have had to answer in recent days, with community managers saying that harassment from customers is making it harder for them to complete their jobs.

The first example comes from the Destiny 2 Community on Reddit. A user posted on Wednesday complaining about the declining number of threads that receive an answer from Bungie. Dylan Gafner, Destiny 2 Community Manager, responded to explain that he had taken time off because of “some serious harassment toward my family and me,” which led to “a significant decrease in communication as the team develops future defenses / strategies for helping avoid such incidents.”

The harassing Gafner is talking about goes beyond “just rude responses on Twitter or a few vague comments” he wrote, and encompasses “real threats against our staff and our studio” from fans. MINECRAFT SERVER LIST Some of the threats have been reported to have come from private channels. “Just because you can’t see it in a specific message or forum response doesn’t mean it did not happen,” Gafner wrote.

Gafner wrote, “I will be very explicit in saying that I appreciate the studio for the amount it has helped me after a serious incident of harassment against myself and my family.” “I am able to take time off as a result of this.”

Gafner acknowledged that “it’s bummer” that there’s not more interaction within the community, but the reduced communication wasn’t intended as an “retaliatory measure” against the majority of the community. “Sometimes we’re just required to be patient and sort things out,” he wrote. “It can take weeks, or even months, like any other development pipeline. We would like to ensure the best for our players as well as our employees. But, we shouldn’t just move about ‘business like normal’ until issues are solved. It’s a pain however, we want to ensure that people are protected and well taken care of.”

Madness in Minecraft

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Mojang clarified in a FAQ that it does not concentrate on minor offenses such as swearing, but more on serious instances of bullying harassment, hate speech sexual solicitation, or threats to other people. Mojang also says it will not be monitoring chat on private servers (absent a player complaint), that humans will be involved in any ban decisions, and that bans will be susceptible to appeal.

Fans are voicing their disapproval at the new moderation system. Many angry fans are forming groups under the hashtag #SaveMinecraft which includes plenty of eerie comparisons to George Orwell’s 1984. In one of the more straightforward examples of the hashtag the hashtag, a Twitter user wrote: “Just remove all chat reports.” “Servers should take over moderation as they have always done.”

Reporting me for saying racial slurs is literally 1.19.84#saveminecraft pic.twitter.com/43BCekvGnB

– Walnut Bread Guy (@WalnutBreadGuy) July 19, 2022

Writing on Reddit the relatively new Community Manager MojangMessh stated that, while Mojang Studios “appreciate[s] and value[s]” this type of feedback, Mojang is “not planning to change” its new chat moderation system. Being open to feedback “does not mean that feedback will never alter the design principles Mojang Studios adheres to,” MojangMeesh said.

But MojangMeesh was quick to criticize certain members of the Minecraft community for taking their feedback too far. The ad-hoc and abusive messages of some fans have been hindering communication between the company and its players. the developer wrote:

Reddit users have been following Mojang employees, commenting on the system and responding to their posts. Please understand that this behavior doesn’t encourage employees to reach out to the community, nor does it lead to the changes you’re wanting. If you feel strongly about something in Minecraft Please let us know in the appropriate places (such as these threads) because we want to hear what you have to say! Harassment doesn’t help anyone, not the devs who are affected, nor players who are genuinely interested in the changes that are coming. This kind of behavior is detrimental to our ability to have a positive and honest conversations with you.

While the issue of problematic players isn’t new in the world of gaming, it’s rare to hear community managers make these kinds of public and explicit complaints about harassment, which makes it harder for them to carry out their jobs. Here’s hoping that cooler heads in these communities prevail and that the businesses involved continue to provide their community specialists the support they need.