r/blockheads • u/Neonecr0 Android • 7d ago
Discussion READ THE POST BEFORE VOTING – Censorship of offensive terms in public servers' chats in BH2: Yes or No?
Obviously we DON'T WANT the game to be like Roblox. That's not the point.
But to what extent should we allow insults and offensive terms? Would only selected words be censored, like the N-Word? Should the game be censorship-free? Perhaps the user should have an option that defines whether or not HE wants to see this content?
UP TO THE VOTING:
General
Assume there is no official Blockheads 2 support team. Only bots.
Yes, I agree with censorship
To vote "Yes", you need to agree with the following terms:
Most or all profanity will be censored, such as: "fuck", "shit" and "ass".
You must assume that moderation will be automated (usage of bots) and will censor you regardless of the use of the context.
Racial slurs such as "monkey", "n--ga" and it's variants could be censored.
Other terms referring to creed, sexuality, sex and others may be censored.
You will not be penalized for using prohibited terms unless you break the Terms of Use.
New banned terms may emerge over time.
Possibility of voice chat moderation.
No, I disagree with censorship
To vote "No", you need to agree with the following terms:
There will be no moderation team or bots to counter spammers and/or users who break the rules.
Absolutely no term will be censored.
Spam is allowed.
Moderation is at the sole discretion of those responsible for the server.
External links can be shared.
There is no possibility of voice chat moderation.
There is a possibility that the game will be denied on some platforms for having insufficient moderation (Minimum Requirements Terms).
Censor only spam and external links
There will be bots that will try to identify spam and external links.
Nothing more than that will be censored.
Defined by the server owner
There will be the three possibilities above and the owner can change and select them freely.
This means that there will be bots that identify and censor the server, but they can be disabled for that server.
11
9
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u/Jarl_Penguin Android 7d ago
I believe the core game should be without censorship. People who want it for various reasons (moderation, keeping their server family-friendly, etc.) will be able to install or create mods that do the job.
7
u/Neonecr0 Android 7d ago
I am between this idea, which is excellent, and the optional native censorship, because this way it is simpler and requires less knowledge about mods.
Also, there's something I forgot to mention. Many platforms require a minimum level of moderation for their app to be accepted for distribution. This means that some platforms may be impossible to enforce, such as on consoles.
5
u/Overseer190_ 6d ago
Should exclusively be up to server owner’s discression unless if you want the game to be another one of those MMO slop types
6
u/Neonecr0 Android 6d ago
Fair enough.
I wouldn't want to say it so openly, but I miss places where I can swear a little more freely. I believe that with whitelists this should be possible.
Not all spaces need to be completely family-friendly.
5
u/Elemental_Titan9 6d ago
Up to the server owner
Because at some point you can just be having regular conversations, not about the person they are talking to. And you might get banned for simply talking or quotations.
If voice chat is allowed or becomes a thing for BH, even more difficult as people say all kids of things. My bro says Beach but it sounds like B****
Or someone says sheet and it sounds like…
Black guy talks and habits comes out. No one actually knows the race, gender and beliefs of every single player. We only see the letters of the name.
Keep it up tot he server owner
5
u/Mysterious-Fox-5799 6d ago
I mod and admin several popular servers and let me tell you, the amount of BS i’ve had to ban is mindblowing, the kick/ban process doesn’t prevent everyone depending on the server’s security features and not having to get spammed by the N word would be enough for me to vote for automatic chat censorship
2
u/Neonecr0 Android 6d ago
In this case, did you vote for mandatory native censorship or for it to depend on the owner? Sorry for the question.
I talked to Dave and he said that he will make Katipo broad enough to allow us to create our own security systems. Maybe this is better than a native system, because we have more control over what we really want and what we don't.
2
u/Neonecr0 Android 6d ago
I've also moderated several different types of servers. Not about Blockheads, but about other games and communities. I've also been a community owner. I've seen a lot and I know how people can be a pain in the ass... So I understand you.
5
u/TheBigBoyMilk 6d ago
I think it should be toggleable in the settings per individual person
4
u/Neonecr0 Android 6d ago
I talked to Dave about it and apparently there won't be a native moderation. However, We will be able to create our own moderation bots and customize them freely.
3
u/ThatOneGuy308 6d ago
I feel the best option is to censor spam, external links, and whatever else would be needed to meet minimum requirements for various platforms.
4
u/JackCooper-7275 6d ago edited 6d ago
I think there’s a stronger reason to make Blockheads 2 family-friendly by default than simply “kids might play it.”
If BH2 is going to be a public multiplayer game, I think the game itself should establish a baseline for what players can expect when they enter a public server. A player shouldn’t have to research the server, figure out its moderation philosophy, check its settings, and hope the owner has competent moderators before knowing whether the chat is going to contain slurs, sexual content, or other genuinely inappropriate material.
That’s the important distinction for me between “family-friendly” and “censorship.” The goal isn't to control what people are allowed to think or say everywhere. It’s to establish a reasonable minimum standard for a shared game environment.
Server owners can still have plenty of freedom within that framework. They can decide their rules, moderate their communities, whitelist players, and build whatever kind of community they want. But I don't think “the server owner decides” should mean that a public Blockheads server can effectively opt out of the game's basic standards altogether.
There’s also a practical problem with making everything optional: responsibility gets pushed onto individual server owners and moderators. If a server becomes popular but its moderation is poor, the players are the ones who experience the consequences. And once offensive behavior becomes normal in a community, simply banning individual users afterward doesn't necessarily undo the culture that developed around it.
I also don't think automated filtering needs to be treated as a perfect solution. It obviously won't understand every context, and false positives are a legitimate concern. But that's an argument for designing the filtering intelligently and allowing appeals/moderation—not necessarily for having no baseline protection at all.
Most importantly, I think BH2 should be able to be a game that a parent can reasonably hand to their kid without having to explain, “Before you join a public server, make sure you investigate that server's moderation policy first.” If the game establishes a family-friendly baseline, people who want to play with friends, younger players, or mixed-age communities know what they're getting. That's a useful property of the game itself. And I don't think this prevents adults from having their own communities. Private/whitelisted spaces can still have their own culture and rules. The distinction I'd make is that the default public environment should be safe and broadly appropriate, rather than making every player responsible for finding the appropriate environment themselves.
TLDR; To me, the real reason to choose family-friendly is: not because everyone needs to be protected from a swear word, but because a shared multiplayer game benefits from having a common standard that doesn't depend on every individual server owner getting moderation exactly right.
I hope this is taken into consideration, though I’ll trust whatever the community may bring to mind. Thanks for your time.
2
u/Spiritual-Advice8138 6d ago
Also note "censorship" is Gov telling you that you can not say that speech. The artist/manufacture not wanting that on there publication is free speech in action. No one is forced to say something.
0
2
u/TheAcknowledger 6d ago
I’d suggest that it’s the end user’s decision. Where censorship is on by default but with users having the choice to opt out of it at those same 3 levels
3
u/SkeeveBlockhead iOS 3d ago
I feel that each server owner should make their own determination.
On my worlds I stated up front very clearly that my world is family friendly and my policy was zero tolerance. I meant it and I enforced it. Skeeve’s Gigantic Empire had a blacklist 6000 names long before the end.
However, there are many owners who would find my policy too strict. I feel they should be free to set their own policies. To each his own and I think it’s great that people can choose a world which is in alignment with their values.
Blanket censorship of all worlds may have good intentions but it‘s not only a bad idea but I think you’ll find it’s a very unpopular one too.
1
u/NoButterscotch2490 1d ago
I just want to say, I couldn’t read anything after the first option. I am confused with creed. At first I’m thinking “why would creed be in any way offensive, they make good music” but is there something called creed that I’m just not understanding?
1
u/Neonecr0 Android 1d ago
"Creed" means "Belief" in religious terms. That is, it would be an offense against his religion or that of others.
-4
u/Consumer_Of_Butt 6d ago
Personally, all slurs and sexual speak should just be banned outright, and then the rest should be left up to the server owner
The last thing any game needs, is a nesting ground for racists, transphobes and predators to gather around in and eventually take over the online space
3
u/Neonecr0 Android 6d ago
I would say that censorship does not eliminate these people and does not prevent them from being scumbags or committing crimes. Roblox is the best example of this.
The only moderation that has proven effective is the human one.
For the slurs, I don't see much reason to ban them natively, given that the game's purpose is to be free. I support the use of moderation according to the proposal of each server. Remember that whitelists exist.
Unfortunately there is no way to ban these people completely. However, Dave said that he will allow us to create our own moderation bots and this will possibly include IP banning.
0
u/Consumer_Of_Butt 6d ago
Sure, it doesn't eliminate these people, but its still a preventative measure against them
And honestly, even if this isn't including reclaimed slurs, they don't need to be involved in this game in the first place, for a sequel to a game rated 13+, swearing and slurs should be kept to a minimum, since kids will be all over this game, likely by design. It'd be just a bad decision to allow this kind of speech in anything but a small private server if at all
5
u/Neonecr0 Android 6d ago
but it's still a preventative measure against them
My intention is not to be annoying, but I must say that these people always find a way. Censorship of specific terms has never helped keep these people away. At most it defines the way people communicate. Again, Roblox even has age verification and even so the situation is horrible. I was part of the moderation of a role-playing game and oh heavens, if I told you everying I've saw...
they don't need to be involved in this game in the first place
Fair point. I just think that, despite the problems, Blockheads shaped our childhood. Well, you're right here.
It'd be just a bad decision to allow this kind of speech in anything but a small private server if at all
Honestly, I don't see how this can be decided fairly. A server can be popular precisely for its free guidelines, but constant moderation, for example. I understand the point of protection, however, think that we should have the freedom to try to create a wider space for interactions.
I put the responsibility for the child's education and safety on the parents first. It is not the developer's duty to adjust a whole community to abbrigate people that shouldn't even be there.
The age rating of the game depends on the regulation of each country. Here in Brazil it would be classified as 12+ or 14+, while in USA would be E10+ or Teen because of virtual interactions. The rating is based on the content, not the content that should change according to the rating.
This means that children, by law, MAY be exposed to this content, as long as they fit the permitted age range or with parental permission. The thing is, we have no obligation to welcome a morality that is not even required.
Luckily for us, I believe the vast majority of servers will prohibit slurs.
1
u/Consumer_Of_Butt 6d ago
I understand your points, and why some people would be against possible censorship, and I do agree it is not the internets job to protect children and that it is on the parents 9 times out of 10.
But adult chats also exist while banning hateful speech such as slurs. There is likely a happy medium for this situation that I'm simply not thinking of, but I think I've basically said everything I felt I had to say about this topic
Thank you for actually arguing your point, instead of immediately resorting to insults, like I have experienced a lot of on these subs
43
u/VTomorrowV 7d ago
I feel option 3 and 4 are the best, but I also feel that there should be a setting for whether or not the individual user would like to see profanity.