Notes

The Problem is with the Players Community Managers Complain of Harassment Excessive

Some Destiny 2 and Minecraft players are taking their fandom too far.
Minecraft servers


Kyle Orland - Jul 28 2022, 2022 at 4:00 pm UTC



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In video games the community management aspect is all about listening to concerns of the players and communicating with them in a manner that makes them feel that their concerns are being heard. What happens if some of the concerned players start to cause concern themselves?



This is the question two major gaming companies have been asked recently. Community managers claim that the fact that players harass them makes it more difficult for them to complete their job.



The first instance is from the Destiny 2 community on Reddit One member wrote on Wednesday lamenting the shrinking number of threads that get an official response from Bungie. Dylan Gafner, Destiny 2 Community Manager, replied to explain that he had taken time off due to "some serious harassment toward my family and me," which led to "a lot of reduced communication as the team is planning future defenses and strategies to avoid these types of incidents."



Gafner's harassment is not "just rude responses on Twitter or vague comments" Gafner wrote. It also includes "real threats towards our people and our studio" made by fans. Some of the abuse was apparently conducted through private channels. "Just that you can't view it directly in a given tweet or forum reply doesn't mean that it wasn't happening," Gafner wrote.



"I will be very clear in saying that I appreciate the studio in the way that it's helped me personally following some serious abuse towards me and my family," Gafner wrote. "I'm taking time off in part because of this."



Gafner admitted that "it's bummer" that there's not been more interaction within the community, but the reduced communication wasn't intended as a "retaliatory measure" against the majority of the community. "Sometimes we're just required to take some time to sort things out," he wrote. "It can take weeks, or even months, as any other pipeline of development. We want the best for our players as well as our employees. But, we shouldn't simply continue to operate as usual' until things are solved. It's not easy however, we must ensure that people are secure and well taken care of.



Minecraft madness



Further Reading



Mojang clarified in an FAQ that it doesn't focus on minor offences like swearing, but more on serious instances of bullying harassment, hate speech, sexual solicitation or making threats to other people. Mojang also clarifies that it does not actively monitor chat on private servers (absent the player has filed a complaint) and that humans will be involved in any ban decision and that any bans will be subject to appeal.



Fans are voicing their displeasure at the new moderation system. Many angry fans are forming groups under the hashtag #SaveMinecraft, that includes a number of eerie comparisons to 1984 by George Orwell. "Just take away the chat report system completely," a Twitter user wrote in one of the less dramatic examples of the hashtag. "Servers should be in charge of moderation just as they have always been."



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



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



MojangMesh, a fairly new Community Manager, wrote on Reddit that while Mojang Studios "appreciates and appreciates" feedback, Mojang "not intends to modify" its chat moderation system. MojangMesh said that listening to feedback doesn't mean it will change the design principles Mojang Studios adheres too.



MojangMeesh then went on to criticize members of the Minecraft community for taking their feedback too far. He wrote that some fans' overzealous and harassing messages have hampered communication between the company as well as its players and customers.



There have been a few people following Mojang employees on Reddit and have responded to irrelevant posts from them and commenting on this system. Be aware that this behavior doesn't encourage employees to engage with the community, nor does it result in the changes you'd like to see. If you are passionate about a topic in Minecraft Please let us know in the appropriate places (such as these threads). We'd like to hear your opinions! However, harassment doesn't help anyone, not the developers who are subject to it as well as the players who are excited about a forthcoming change. We'd like to keep an open and positive dialog with you, and this kind of behavior can hinder the process.



Although problematic players are not new to the world of gaming However, it's not often for community managers to make such public complaints about harassment, which it makes their job more difficult. Here's hoping that cooler heads prevail in these communities and that the businesses involved continue to provide their community managers the assistance they require.


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