Minecraft fans have taken to forums and social media to express their ire at the game’s new plans to expand its moderation policies.
As reported by Kotaku and developer Mojang’s website, a new update (v1.19.1) to the Java version of the game introduces a player reporting system that spans Minecraft’s public and private servers. Using the new system, players can report others for “inappropriate chat messages and dangerous behaviors.” These reports then go to Minecraft moderators who decide whether to take any action against the reported player. While Mojang has said that the update is an essential step towards safeguarding the game’s millions of young users from harm, some vocal fans on Twitter have seethed that the developer is removing the “privacy” from private servers and that the move will lead to unwarranted player bans.
The hashtag #SaveMinecraft has become a notable point of convergence for dissenting fans. Many tweets criticize Mojang and its parent company Microsoft for forcing their “family-friendly intentions” onto Minecraft. Others have quoted a line from the game’s original trailer in an attempt to highlight the original promise of total sovereignty made by Mojang upon Minecraft‘s release: “…No one can tell you what you can or cannot do, with no rules to follow.” Players now feel like the developer has reneged on that founding principle with the new update, and there is a fear that overzealous moderators will ban users for minimal offenses, with various mock-up videos circulating that depict players getting banned for saying words like “frick.”
Minecraft‘s private servers were previously moderated at the server creator’s own discretion, meaning abusive or offensive behavior would sometimes go unpunished. Though some private servers host various intricate and widely-visited creations, like this recreation of Van Gogh’s Starry Night, many small groups of friends use the servers to build worlds collaboratively. Players have argued that these intimate spaces do not to be moderated due to the users knowing each other, but an FAQ on Mojang’s website said that without human moderation, online communities had the potential to “become unwelcoming, harmful, or in some cases, dangerous” places, hence the update. It went on to say that it would not ban players for negligible offenses like swearing, but would take action against “hate speech, bullying, harassing, sexual solicitation, or threatening others.” The company also said the rationale behind the update is to “ensure that all online play is safe and inclusive,” and that it would protect players from malicious repeated reporting.
Minecraft is one of the most popular games in the world and has millions of daily players, with the age range of fans spanning from toddlers to adults. The sandbox game is well-known for the complete control it hands players to create whatever they can visualize, with some creative fans spending months or even years building or recreating expansive worlds, like Elden Ring‘s Lands Between. Minecraft‘s developer has been embroiled in numerous scandals since the game’s release 11 years ago, but fans recently praised Mojang’s anti-NFT stance and its touching tribute to YouTuber Technoblader.
Minecraft is available on PC, mobile and TV streaming devices as well as a variety of Nintendo, Xbox and PlayStation consoles.
Source: Mojang via Kotaku, Twitter