Faeria and toxicity

Good morning guys I’m J0k3se and today I want to talk a little about how we interact with each other.

The reason why I’m writing this is simple - because I care. I care about this game and I care about the community around it.

From the very first time I started playing Faeria, back in 2013, I’ve had many pleasant conversations with the players. This february I started using Discord to talk to the developers and players of Faeria and again, everyone was really friendly. The community is great!

The thing is I really want to keep it this way, I think we all do.

In card games there are plenty of ways to develop frustration. How we deal with this frustration plays a big role on the the community’s toxicity-level. Using terms like cancer, ebola, hitler and retarded to describe things should (in my opinion) always be avoided. It drags everyone down and it is disrespectful. I’m not saying that you should not be frustrated - it is absolutely okay to be frustrated and to hate certain cards and decks, but please be careful with how you communicate it.

If someone is playing the currently powerful Yellow-rush decks, and you hate to play against it because it is so strong - feel free to say that! Say “I hate rush, it’s overpowered and boring!” instead of “**** bullshit cancer boring rush player”.

Comments like that drains us and does not make us happy. Faeria is a game and games are for the most part played to be enjoyed. By avoiding terms like cancer, ebola, hitler and retarded it will be easier for players to enjoy the game and have fun. Keep in mind that for some players the absolute most fun in this game is the challenge to “break it”, to find the best combination of cards to destroy their opponents, so let them try to do that. There is nothing wrong about that. It is actually good for the game, considering it is in early access, that players try to break the balance of the game so that it can be fixed before release.

The fact that this game is online doesn’t make anything okay. Just because popular platforms such as Twitch is full of insults, hate and foul language doesn’t mean it is okay.

When I was pointing this out earlier in discord I was called sensitive. Sure, I might be sensitive, so could you please try to respect that? I don’t think it is very much I am asking for.

There is a theory called “the broken window theory”. The term “Broken Windows” comes from the metaphor used to describe this concept: “If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge.” This theory says that the little things matter (source). Toxicity in online-games is a massive problem, so massive in fact that many have given up on fighting it. I don’t want my favorite community and game to go that far, I really don’t. And once the toxic behaviour starts, it is incredibly difficult to stop.

So with more and more players joining, I have a small request. Let us try to stay civil, note that I’m not asking you to pretend to be happy, just talk as you would if there were children around (you know, there are children playing this game).

See you in game!

Hugs and kisses

J0k3se