Notes

There will be an Appeals Process

Players are now able to report chat messages in multiplayer games using the new system, but the community is concerned about the consequences.



Mojang's community manager has stated that the company is not going to change its controversial player reporting feature and demanded an end to harassment of Mojang employees.



Posting on Reddit, MojangMeesh clarified that, while the company values player feedback, it won't necessarily "change the design principles Mojang Studios adheres to-this includes the new reporting system". They also requested that angry players to cease "following Mojang employees around here on Reddit" to pester them on unrelated threads. At the time of writing, the comment had received almost 2000 downvotes.



Minecraft players have been up in arms about the new player reporting system since it was announced just a month ago but it was finally implemented as part of yesterday's 1.19.1 update. It allows players on private and Mojang-hosted multiplayer servers to report inappropriate messages in chat to be reviewed by Mojang investigators, which could result in bans and suspensions for players that violate Minecraft's rules for community participation, even on servers hosted by self-hosted players. Fans are worried that the system could result in player bans for messages that are not in context, and also that it gives Microsoft too much power to dictate the contents of discussions on its platform.



I don't think their argument is unfounded even if some players are displaying a terrible attitude about it. It's hard to imagine a world which this system doesn’t disqualify someone for having a conversation with friends. While there are appeals, it is also true that there are a lot of misconceptions regarding the system's operation. There are people who complain about their chat being monitored by Microsoft or dreading the possibility that they'll be banned for slurs in any thread. Both aren't possible according Mojang's FAQ on the reporting system.



Mojang is in a bit of a jam with this one. A thread from Stuart Duncan-who manages an autism-friendly Minecraft server for children with autism-demonstrates just the awful things Minecraft is host to on a regular basis. Duncan showcases studies and reports from the ADL, the BBC and other sources that recount the stories of predators and racists playing Minecraft in a way that is abominable. Offering tools to combat this behaviour seems important. While it's true that 'think of the child" and other scary stories are often used to justify repressive policies in real life the tool that lets users report dodgy chat messages in Minecraft doesn't really seem like the tip of a draconian wedge.



When you say "no one has asked" for this, "the entire community hates this" or "no-one requires this", please stop trying to be an advocate for everyone. "If you're worried about exploits it's fine. You can too. It's not perfect, but real people can be saved by it. July 27 2022



In other Minecraft news, Mojang recently announced that the game will not be featuring NFTs since they don't align with the "values of creative inclusion". At least that move only received an enthusiastic response from the players, although there's been no information yet about what that AI they created to play Minecraft thinks about it.
Minecraft Servers List


Josh's first memories involve playing Quake 2 on his family's computer when he was five. He's been adamantly game-oriented since the time he was a kid. His writing has been published 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 creed. His deepest affections are CRPGs, absorbing sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks that you're all too smug about Deus Ex.


Here's my website: https://minecraft-server-list.me/