Notes

The Players are the Problem: Community Managers Complain of Harassment Excessive

Some Destiny 2 and Minecraft players seem to be overindulging in their fandom.



Kyle Orland - July 28 2022, 3:30 PM UTC



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Community management in video games is about listening and communicating with fans in a manner that makes them feel heard. What happens when certain players become a source of concern?



That's the question that two major gaming companies have been facing in recent days with community managers stating that customers' harassment is making it harder for them to do their jobs.



The first example comes from the Destiny 2 Community on Reddit. A member posted on Wednesday complaining about the decreasing number of threads that get responses from Bungie. Dylan Gafner, Destiny 2 Community Manager, replied to say that he'd been off for a while due to "some serious harassment toward me and my family," which led to "a significant decrease in communication as the team develops future defenses or strategies to prevent such incidents."



The harassing Gafner is talking about goes beyond "just rude replies on Twitter or vague remarks," Gafner wrote, and encompasses "real threats to our people and our studio" from fans. Some of the harassment was apparently done via private channels. Gafner wrote that "just that you don't see it in a particular message or forum response doesn't mean it didn't happen"



"I will be clear in saying that I am grateful to the studio in the way that it has helped me personally after a serious harassment towards me and my family," Gafner wrote. "I'm taking time off partly due to this."



Gafner admitted that "it's an upsetting fact" that there's not more interaction in the community, but the decreased communication wasn't intended as an "retaliatory measure" against the majority of the community. Gafner wrote "Sometimes we just require a bit of time to sort things out." "It could take weeks or even months, as any other pipeline of development. We would like to ensure the best for our players and our employees. We cannot continue doing business like we normally do until we get the issues addressed. It's not easy and we want to ensure that everyone is secure and well taken care of.
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Madness in Minecraft



Further Reading



Mojang clarified in a FAQ that it does not focus on minor offenses such as swearing, but rather on serious instances of discrimination against others, bullying harassment sexual solicitation, or making real threats to others. Mojang also clarified that it will not monitor chat on private servers (absent complaints from players) and that ban decisions are made by humans, and appeals will be permitted.



Fans are voicing their disapproval of the new moderation system. Many angry fans are forming groups under the #SaveMinecraft hashtag. The hashtag is full of dramatic comparisons to George O.R. 1984. "Just eliminate the chat report system completely," a Twitter user wrote in one of the less overwrought examples of the hashtag. "Servers should take over moderation as they have always done."



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



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



Writing on Reddit the relatively new Community Manager MojangMessh said that while Mojang Studios "appreciate[sand values" this type of feedback, Mojang is "not planning on changing" its new chat moderation system. The fact that they are listening to feedback "does not mean that feedback can never alter the design principles Mojang Studios adheres to," MojangMeesh added.



MojangMeesh then was able to criticize members of the Minecraft community who took their feedback too far. The ad-hoc and abusive messages of some fans have ended up blocking communication between the company and its players. the developer wrote:



There have been some folks following Mojang employees on Reddit, responding to unrelated posts from them and commenting about this system. Please understand that this behavior doesn't encourage employees to reach out to the community, nor does it result in the changes you'd like. If you are strongly influenced by an issue in Minecraft Please inform us in the appropriate forums (such as these threads). We want to hear your thoughts! Harassment doesn't help anyone, not the devs who use it, or the players who are interested in the upcoming change. This kind of behavior is detrimental to our ability to have a an open and constructive conversation with you.



While the issue of problematic players isn't new in the world of gaming, it's not common to see community managers making such direct and public complaints about harassment, which makes it more difficult for them to do their jobs. Let's hope that these community managers prevail and that the businesses involved will continue to offer the necessary support.


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