Notes

Minecraft 'loophole' Library Of Banned Journalism

It began as a project in an online forum and then became the top-selling video game ever However, now Minecraft is being used to do something its creator could never have dreamt of.



The cult game that revolves on the concept of putting Lego-like blocks together with more than 145 million players each month has been turned into a center for free speech.



To host the articles of journalists that were censored online A virtual library was meticulously designed.



Work of Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist who was killed by Saudi agents in the year 2018 is available among the plethora of books available at the library.



Minecraft declined to comment.



Reporters Without Borders, a non-profit organisation that aims to safeguard the freedom of information around the world has created the project. Blockworks, the design studio responsible for the Minecraft library, built it.



Christian Mihr, the executive director of Reporters Without Borders Germany, said that Minecraft was a good project because he doesn't believe it poses a threat to governments that restrict their media.



"We decided to go with Minecraft because of its global reach," he said. It is available in every country. The game is not subject to censorship like some other games which are suspect of being political.



"There are huge communities in each featured country This is why the idea came up as an avenue for the censorship."



He explained that the authors were selected to represent countries in which freedom of expression was limited, so that people from those communities could access their work.



He also clarified that permissions had to be sought prior to republishing in the library.



"We didn't put any material into the library without the permission of the authors involved in the event that they're still alive.



"In the case of Jamal Khashoggi we spoke to family members - to express our respect of people who were killed, and to ensure the security of their families."
Minecraft


Nick Feamster, Neubauer Professor of Computer Science at the University of Chicago, told the BBC that the library could be successful in getting past the censors, however, he was worried about how governments may respond.



He said it was an interesting concept but there were still issues. The articles are distributed online and governments will be aware. It's not foolproof against an armed adversary.



He explained that the strength of the library was due to the use of Entanglement which is the mix of the censored content and the video game to the censors' eyes.



"By linking these two things you make them share content," he said. "You can't censor one without the other."



Helmi Noman who is a Research Affiliate at the Berkman Klein Centre for Internet & Society said that he believed that the library would only have a small audience.



He stated that "censored content is constantly changing and varied" and that users prefer to use strategies that don't preselect or compartmentalize content into particular areas online.



"Any approach that doesn't create an unhindered and secure browsing experience across the entire web including social media, direct messaging apps will be unsuccessful."



The server, which can host up to 100 users at a time, was frequently unavailable due to the sheer number of players tried to connect simultaneously. It has been visited by 3,889 people from 75 countries, and has been downloaded more than 7700 times.



After two hours of trying, the BBC was able to visit the virtual library and asked its patrons what they thought of it.



SoulfulGenie said that they believe it needs more books, including an area on North Korea. Another user said it was "ingenious" and stated that the library could be downloaded and then reuploaded by other users. "It is easy to replicate and thus it is difficult to eradicate."



In contrast, other players focused on the appearance of the library The library's appearance was the focus, with ReduxPL commenting that it "looks incredible indeed".



Blockworks took 250 hours to design the library, which was designed by 24 people from 16 countries.



James Delaney, Managing Director of the design firm, told the BBC that the goal was to create a classical design that was "on the border of fantasy".



"It is plausible as a building," he said, "but is pushing the boundaries of what is feasible.



"We picked a design that is in the neoclassical style. It's very similar to the British Museum or New York's public libraries.



He claimed that Minecraft was improvisational in its foundation, meaning that builders weren't confined to following a specific design.



"With many people working on the same project," he said, "people observe each other's work and must respond in real time. So it is a very reactive way of working, and it can alter the appearance of the project.


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