Quote Originally Posted by Lyth View Post
I think the word 'toxicity' really undersells the issue because it's more than simply 'being negative'. On the most basic level it accounts for things like abusive language that are already directly covered under the 'Prohibited Activities' section of the ToS and apply when you're playing in-game regardless. On the more insidious side it includes various forms of online harassment including brigading behaviours, which while also covered under the 'Prohibited Activities' section, can be a more complex issue to define.

As an example, if someone like yourself were to post links to people's personal twitter accounts on this forum with the intention of inciting others to harass them online for their personal views, many people, some previous members of your own brigade included, would probably take issue with that sort of behavior. But it's not as obvious as hurling profanities at them.

And the frightening thing about this type of conduct is that if even the dev team members can be the subject of such targeted attacks, then it doesn't create a safe online posting environment for any of us. Which is why we need the dev team to have an open conversation about it.
I'll be honest, I have mixed feelings about this. I don't think folks should be targeted for their political views on their off-account, but I think that if they themselves make volatile comments on social media, it can very easily cause alarm to the ethics of the company itself as to "how could you hire someone like this?" One example is a previous game I played, they hired someone to write a couple of their books. People said the books were "meh" in quality, so it didn't get much attention... Until people looked at her twitter. She was a Leukophobic Misandrist. People looked at her, then they looked at the game company.


I think folks Should keep an eye on folks that are involved in the development of a game. Not harass, but be aware that they're ultimately involved in the game, and only if they start attacking the gameplay community, should it be brought up with the company. It's an extremely Sticky Wicket that can edge on cancel culture if not done with dignity and understanding, but it's an extremely bad idea to ignore the details of the people that work for a company. They could make or break the game in the future.