Notes

There will be an Appeals Process

The new system lets players send chat messages to multiplayer games However, the community is concerned about the ramifications.
srvlst


A Mojang community manager has said that Mojang is not planning to reverse the implementation of the controversial player reporting feature, and demanded an end to harassment of Mojang employees.



MojangMeesh made a post on Reddit to clarify that although the company values player feedback it isn't going to change the design guidelines Mojang Studios follows-this includes the forthcoming report system. They also asked players who are upset to cease "following Mojang employees around here on Reddit" to pester them on unrelated threads. The comment has received nearly 2000 downvotes at the time of writing.



Minecraft players have been up in arms over the new player reporting system since it was announced a month ago and was then implemented as part of yesterday's 1.19.1 update. It allows players on both private and Mojang-hosted multiplayer servers to flag inappropriate messages in chat for review by Mojang investigators, potentially resulting in bans and suspensions for those who do not adhere to Minecraft's guidelines for community members, even on servers hosted by self-hosted players. Some players are concerned that the system could result in bans on players for messages that were taken out of context, and more generally, it gives Microsoft too many options to control what content is displayed on its platform.



Although some players might be acting out in a negative way about it, I don't think their arguments are unsubstantial. It's hard to imagine a scenario in where this system doesn't disqualify someone for making a joke between friends. Although there will be appeals, it's true that there are a lot of misconceptions about how the system works. Read any thread on the matter and it won't take long before you find those who complain about having their private server's chat monitored by Microsoft, or worried that they'll be banned from the site for cursing: neither of which are possible according to Mojang's own FAQ regarding the reporting system.



This is where Mojang is stuck. A thread from Stuart Duncan-who is the administrator of an autism-friendly Minecraft server for children with autism-reveals the awful things Minecraft plays host to regularly. Duncan presents studies and reports from the ADL as well as the BBC, and others which tell tales of predators and racists playing Minecraft in a way that is abominable. It seems important to offer tools to stop this kind of kind of behavior. While it's true that 'think of the children" and other scary stories are often used to justify repressive policies in real life and a tool that allows users to report dodgy chat messages in Minecraft doesn't really seem like the end of a severe wedge.



If you say "no one has asked" for this, "the entire community hates this" or "no-one needs this" Please stop trying to be a spokesperson for everyone. "If you are concerned about exploits, that is great. I'm too. It's not perfect, but real people can be saved by it. July 27, 2022



In other Minecraft news, Mojang recently declared that the game wouldn't include NFTs, as they don't align with the "values of inclusion in the creative process". It's true that the move received an enthusiastic response from the player base however there's no word yet on what that AI they developed to play Minecraft thinks about it.



Josh's earliest memories revolve around playing Quake 2 on his family's computer at the age of five. He's been irreparably game-brained since the time he was a kid. His writing has been featured in Vice and Fanbyte and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Clead. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive simulations, and games whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too harsh about Deus Ex: Invisible War.


Website: https://srvlst.com/