Mojang and Microsoft presented Minecraft players with an opportunity to share their opinions on the state of the game regarding topics like what the community is most concerned about when it comes to potential improvements. Things like making the game run at a “high and stable FPS” and maintaining quality experiences across different platforms were among some of the things players could talk about in the survey, but unsurprisingly, the game’s controversial chat report situation was not a formal topic of conversation. That did little to stop players from bringing it up, however.
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The survey in question was posted on different social platforms like Reddit and Twitter, two outlets which both host some of the more vocal Minecraft players in the community who’ve become quite insistent on Mojang removing the game’s newly implemented reporting system. It should’ve been expected then that the top replies on each platform immediately went straight to the chat reporting system.
This new report feature, for those who missed the initial announcements and all the backlash, is a new moderation system implemented by Microsoft and Mojang which makes it so that players’ chat messages can be reported by other multiplayer participants across servers including third-party servers. Aside from privacy concerns, the issue players have taken with this system is that conduct taking place within a private or somewhat private server – say one that includes a group of close friends and maybe a few others – could be subjected to reports and ensuing punishments even when it comes to inside jokes and related communications. Overall, players against this system have expressed discontent with Microsoft and Mojang being involved in moderating servers presumed to be private.
Minecraft’s owners have responded to these complaints more than a few times. An FAQ addresses the situation on the Minecraft site and says, among other things, that the new reporting system “does not monitor chat” and only kicks in once a specific chat message is selected and reported by a player. The FAQ also insists that context is provided by surrounding chat messages when a report is issued, but players have held onto their privacy concerns regardless.
The survey has several write-in options for different questions, so you can bet that people have been using those, too, to bring up the chat reporting system. Regardless of these complaints, Microsoft and Mojang have been adamant about not reversing course on this feature and have said it’s here to stay.
