Bullying and Toxic Behaviour

Note: My previous post on this topic was removed for implying that this subreddit has anything to do with Amazon/NCSoft as a company. I am aware this is not the case and want to make it clear that I am commenting on the actions of Amazon on the platforms they have control over, which does not include this subreddit.

Yes, Throne and Liberty is a game. It’s a fantasy world with spells that have flashy effects and monsters to slay, but it’s also a social space, and social spaces that aren’t managed correctly create an environment where real harm can be done. Not only has Throne and Liberty allowed a culture of bullying and toxicity to form in their social spaces, but they have left it to be mismanaged with a hands-off approach.

Inevitably criticism will be levied at me for bringing this up. “Oh, you can’t handle some trash talk in a video game”, “What’s this guy crying about”, e.t.c…

Well, that sort of response is what I would like to discuss today. The insults, the hostile teasing, the shaming and social exclusion. Mimicking of people with genuine concerns to ridicule what they say. Implying you’re a bad person because you have an issue with this, as if having feelings is a character flaw. Mobbing anyone who sticks their head up to speak out against a problem, and defending Amazon because ultimately, they let the community get away with this culture of bullying, and some people want to continue bullying without consequence.

This is not a trivial issue. Even if my words go ignored, or if people here make comments just like the things I stated above in order to ridicule me, I felt it was absolutely intolerable to not stand up to this.

A community space needs to be managed correctly. This is done by setting ground rules since day 1 and enforcing them. Now, I’m not saying there hasn’t been any moderation, but the approach taken by Amazon has been to ignore minor issues until a ban worthy offense is committed. This isn’t effective as it doesn’t enforce rules, it only punishes mistakes. Mistakes are corrected by allowing people to learn from them, not by excluding anyone who makes a mistake.

Every school has bullies, how are they dealt with? Does the school exclude every student that engages in bullying? No, that wouldn’t work. It just makes people more adept at hiding their bullying or results in them trying to normalise it in the culture so they can get away with it.

Banning people or removing comments when a rule is broken does not work, because then no-one is given a chance to learn how a rule is broken and how to improve their behaviour. Amazon are content to let the community manage themselves in this regard until an arbitrary line is crossed and then the banhammer comes out. Imagine if schools or workplaces went straight to exclusion when someone didn’t conduct themselves within the rules, but otherwise let people manage themselves. Never held an assembly about the rules. Never sent out a letter to parents. What kind of culture would that create?

The answer is it creates a culture with the aforementioned behaviours: insults, hostile teasing, and social exclusion. Mimicking people to ridicule what they say. Shaming anyone who has concerns. Mobbing anyone who stands up to the bullying. Because those are just behind the arbitrary line, and if they banned people for those minor mistakes there wouldn’t be anyone left.

So in an environment like this, where bad actors are getting away with not following the rules, you know what you shouldn’t do? Have the authority figures leave for weeks! Leaving their spaces unattended is horribly bad because all this behaviour amplifies unabated over the course of those weeks. A school full of bullies isn’t better if the teachers don't show up for 2 weeks. A toxic workplace full of harassment isn’t better off if the HR department doesn’t respond for 2 weeks.

But you know who absolutely loves when the space goes unmanaged? The bullies. The people who are loving that this game allows them to throw insults, exclude people, push people’s buttons. And so when I or others spoke out about it not being the best idea for Amazon to leave their posts unmanned, those bullies came to the defence, because they like it that the boss is away for Christmas. It gets them more time to act with impunity.

I’ve personally had enough of this environment, but I won’t walk away without standing up to this sort of behaviour. People deserve a space that is properly managed, where bad behaviour is pointed out, corrections are issued and rules are enforced by making sure people follow them, not just banning anyone who can’t do it subtly enough. Excluding people who break rules just makes people more adept at breaking them without getting noticed.

You spend 10 minutes in game, on the discord or reddit and you will see bullying behaviour rampant, unmanaged and completely out in the open. The moderators here are not the issue, it’s on Amazon to set clearer rules and standards for the behaviour of people in their game. Amazon are not responsible for this subreddit or setting rules related to it, but within their own channels they need to enforce standards. Not with bans or shutting down discussions, but by teaching players the difference between proper conduct and bullying and making sure players behave themselves. Amazon are a big company, this is their game and they are responsible for the culture they allow.