Notes

Minecraft 'loophole' Library Of Banned Journalism

Minecraft 'loophole' library of banned journalism Tom Gerken BBC News, Washington DC



13 March 2020



It was initially an online forum project and has since grown into the most played video game ever. But now Minecraft is being used in a way that its creator could not have imagined.



The hub of free speech has taken on the legendary game, which involved placing Lego-like blocks together with more than 145,000,000 players every month, and transformed into a symbol.



A virtual library has been meticulously created to host pieces written by journalists that were later censored online.



You can find the work of Jamal Khashoggi (the journalist who was murdered by Saudi agents in 2018), among many other books in the library.



Minecraft declined to comment.



Reporters Without Borders, a non-profit organisation that aims to safeguard the freedom of information throughout the world, 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 since he doesn't think it poses an affront to governments that control their media.



"We have chosen Minecraft due to its accessibility," he said. "It is accessible in every country. It is not censored like some other games which are believed to be political.



"There are big communities in every country featured and that's the reason the idea was born - it is an avenue for the censorship."



He said the authors were chosen to represent countries where press was restricted, so that people from these communities would be able to access their work.



He did clarify, however, that permissions must be sought before republishing in a library.



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



"In the Jamal Khashoggi case, we spoke to family members - with respect of people who have been killed and to ensure the safety of their families."



Nick Feamster, Neubauer Professor of Computer Science, at the University of Chicago, stated to the BBC that the library was able to beat the censors but was concerned about the response of the government.



"It's an interesting idea," he said, "But I believe there are still some issues. The articles are being circulated online and governments will be aware. It's not secure against an adversary who is determined.



He said that the library's strength was due to the use of Entanglement which is the mix of censored materials and video games in the eyes of the editors.



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



However, Helmi Noman who is a Research Affiliate of the Berkman Klein Centre for Internet & Society said that the library could likely to have only a small audience.



"The censored content is dynamic and diverse," he said, saying that in his study "the users prefer methods that don't pre-select and compartmentalise content on certain websites.



"Any strategy that doesn't result in an effortless and secure browsing experience across the entire web as well as social media, direct messaging apps will likely be ineffective."



Due to the large number of players trying to login simultaneously the server could not be accessed frequently. Despite this cap on simultaneous users, the server has been visited by 3,889 players from 75 different countries and has been downloaded more than 7,000 times.



After two hours of trying, the BBC managed to visit the library online and ask its patrons what they thought of it.



SoulfulGenie said that they thought "it needs more books and a brand new section on North Korea" and another user described it as "ingenious in many ways" and added that since the library can be downloaded and reuploaded by other users, "it is easy to duplicate and, consequently, difficult to kill".



While other players were focused on the appearance of the library The library's appearance was the focus, with ReduxPL commenting that it "looks amazing indeed".



The design of the library by Blockworks was no easy feat that took a team of 24 people from 16 different countries around 250 hours to construct.



James Delaney, Managing Director of the design company told the BBC that the aim was to create a classic design which was "on the edge of fantasy".



He said that it was a plausible construction, but it is over the limit of what is possible.



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



He stated that Minecraft was improvisational in its foundation, meaning that builders were not restricted to following a specific design.



"With many people working on the same project," he said, "people see each others' work and must respond in real-time. It's a reactive method of working that can alter the appearance of the project.



"The style is meant to symbolize authority and power. We wanted to flip that around.



"It's not representing the power of the regime or the government. It's representing freedom of expression."



How did gaming become the new telethon



23 June 2019



Sega joins gamers parodying viral tweet



12 April 2019



Man buys website under the nose of a gaming company



25 October 2019

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