The new system allows players to communicate chat messages in multiplayer games, but the community is worried about the ramifications.
Minecraft servers
Mojang's community manager said that the company will not alter its controversial player reporting feature . He also demanded that the harassment stop of Mojang employees.
Posting on Reddit MojangMeesh made clear that, while the company values feedback from players, it will not necessarily "change the design principles Mojang Studios adheres to-this includes the new reporting system". They also asked upset players to cease "following Mojang employees around here on Reddit" to make them feel harassed in threads that aren't related to their work. The post received close to 2000 downvotes as of writing.
Minecraft players have been up in arms about the new player reporting system since it was announced a month ago but it was finally implemented in yesterday's 1.19.1 update. It allows players on both private and Mojang-hosted servers to flag inappropriate messages in chat to be reviewed by Mojang investigators, which could result in suspensions and/or bans for players who violate Minecraft's rules for community participation, even on self-hosted servers. Many are concerned that the system could result in player bans for messages that are not in context, and that it gives Microsoft too much power to control the content of conversations on its platform.
While some players might be acting out in a negative way about it, I don't believe their arguments are unsubstantial. It's difficult to imagine the world in which this system doesn't ban someone because jokes between friends were wrongly understood. While there may be appeals, it's true that there are many misconceptions regarding the system's operation. People will complain about their chat being monitored by Microsoft' or fearing they'll get banned for slurs in any thread. Neither of these are feasible according to Mojang's FAQ on the reporting system.
Mojang is in a bit of an impasse on this issue. A thread from Stuart Duncan-who runs a Minecraft server for children with autism-shows the awful things Minecraft is host to on a regular basis. Duncan showcases studies and reports from the ADL, the BBC, and others that tell stories of predators and racists who play Minecraft in a way that is abominable. Providing tools to combat that behaviour seems important. While it's true that 'think of the children" scare stories are used to justify reactionary policies in real life, a tool that allows users to report dodgy chat messages in Minecraft doesn't seem like the tip of a dangerous wedge.
If you say "no one ever asked" for this, "the entire community hates this" or "no-one wants this" Please stop trying to be a spokesperson for everyone. "If you are concerned about exploits, that is excellent. I'm too. I know it's not perfect.But real people can be saved by this.Always remember that.July 27, 2022
In other Minecraft news, Mojang has announced that the game will not include NFTs, as they are incompatible with the "values of creative inclusion". At least that move only received an enthusiastic response from the players but there's no word yet on what the AI they've trained to play Minecraft thinks about it.
One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was far too young to be playing that and he's been utterly game-brained ever since. Since since then, his writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything and has written too much about everything from visual novels to Assassin's Clead. His deepest affections are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and games that's ambition is greater than its budget. He thinks that you're way too harsh about Deus Ex.