A discussion about a profanity filter escalated in Star Citizen . Critics complained that such a filter would limit the right to free speech and be censorship. However, the tone within an organization was so marked by racist terms that the developers ended up banning some players and backers.
Thus began the discussion: A user reached out to the developers in the Star Citizen forum asking them to install a profanity filter to exclude at least the worst terms that one would never use in real life because they are sexist or racist.
A game must provide a safe environment for all players to feel comfortable.
What is standard in other games sparked a larger discussion within the Star Citizen community. In response, it was stated among other things (via reddit):
- This filter would take away people’s ability to speak freely. It only treats the symptom, not the cause.
- Such a system would only aim to silence those with differing opinions. This is also called censorship.
The development of Star Citizen is progressing:
“I’m not a racist, but …”
Who got in trouble? In the discussion, a group of players known as the Mandalorian Armed Forces (MAF) came under fire. Screenshots from Star Citizen and a Discord server circulated, showing group members making racist remarks. Derogatory and offensive terms for Black people were used (via reddit).
It was also said repeatedly that this was not meant seriously. It was just a misunderstanding, just joking around: “I’m not a racist, but …”
People were unjustly targeting the group. They were said to be typical “Social Justice Warriors on Twitter” or people seeking drama instead of resolving things calmly.
Ultimately, members of this group, “MAF” from Star Citizen, were banned. Four banned accounts were named on reddit (via reddit). They apparently are veterans of Star Citizen who poured a lot of money into the game.
On reddit, there is debate as to whether the players will get their money back or if they forfeited it due to their misconduct.
Controversial discussion about bans
What stands out: In discussions about the bans, it is striking that in the Star Citizen forums there are some who argue that the demand to ban someone for racism from Star Citizen is not legitimate.
In the forum, one reads for example: “Political activism” has no place in the forum (via rsi)
Racism has nothing to do with Star Citizen, as people are racists regardless of whether they play or not.
Another user says: Just because someone plays a bloodthirsty pirate in Star Citizen who wants to sell others into slavery, that does not make them a racist. People need to distinguish between the game and reality.
This is much more of a Discord problem than that of the developers of Star Citizen.
However, other users of Star Citizen strongly disagree. They approve of the ban and consider it essential to confront racism clearly.
This is what CIG says: They are far less tolerant than parts of their community. In a statement (via rsi), an employee stated: “Racism has no place in the Star Citizen community. We pursue a policy of zero tolerance and take every report very seriously.”
The problem of racism in MMO guilds is by no means one that only Star Citizen suffers from:
2 top guilds in WoW are said to be racist: “Insane and really disturbing”
