back when I played Roblox as a kid it was a small, windows only Lego game. at a certain point the games on the platform because much higher quality (around 2015), and it was great for me as a broke kid who couldn’t afford a better PC or “real” games.
which is why I didn’t say anything when my little brother was asking my parents if he could play it. now I really wish I had because the entire platform is a cesspool of consumerism, gambling, and predators
Interesting. I remember taking a look at the previous game from a couple of years ago because, in spite of myself, edgelord dark fantasy is still appealing to me if it’s done knowingly (which is different, I’ll hasten to add, from not taking it seriously). However, one glance at the screenshots told me it was a deck-building game and I immediately disregarded it. It’s just not a mechanic or loop that I enjoy.
However, given that this appears to be to Skyrim what, say, The Outer Worlds is to Starfield (narrative tone notwithstanding), my interest is piqued.
I am having a great time. It’s janky, but fun. It is EXTREMELY nostalgic for early Skyrim in terms of its leveling mechanics, character development, sense of humor, and jank. Just swap the tone from Nordic to early Irish dark fantasy.
Could be that I’m a product of a country which produced Kevin Costner as Robin Hood, and therefore don’t have the best grip on the culture cross the pond, but I feel like suggesting “Arthurian”=“Irish” might get you in trouble in certain pubs.
Yeah I mean you are probably right. In my defense, though, without having spoilers, the game is emphatically NOT pro King Arthur and the main likeable factions are the ones I would describe as Irish
Aside from my concerns about the kind of shit libertarians think counts as free speech, how the hell would Microsoft implement a ban on a Minecraft server that Microsoft doesn’t host?
Like I assume it’s just connecting to the server by hostname or IP. What are they gonna do, hardcode the server’s known IPs and hostnames and prevent connections??
how the hell would Microsoft implement a ban on a Minecraft server that Microsoft doesn’t host?
if a minecraft server wants to enforce verification of the game license, the server needs to be in contact with the authentication servers of microsoft. the server operator can turn this off, but then moderation becomes much harder, as usernane based banning becomes useless, and the paywall from ban evasion disappears.
other than that, in recent years there’s something with chat message verification that I think involves sending some of the messages to microsoft? I don’t remember exactly
but also the minecraft client could have a built in blacklist of servers. I don’t know if it has but it’s not much work.
a ban from the authentication server is probably easier though.
The chat message verification is the Chat Reporting system, which can be required on servers. That’s a whole rabbit hole to go down. TL;DR you can get banned from Minecraft if your messages get reported. (Use the NoChatReports mod like everyone does)
If it’s one of the oldest ones, I assume it’s for Java, which means it’s entirely run by the server operator and not one of those shitty 3rd party hosted servers you can rent out from within Bedrock.
I don’t remember ever seeing anything about how you need to run a server of your own in compliance with Mojang’s rules in the EULA or TOS.
If you want to say what you want, go ahead. Nobody is required to host that speech or allow that speech to be hosted on their platform or software.
MS is attacking free speech here in the same way that a moderator attacks free speech blocking a Lemmy server. Nobody’s saying you can’t use a modded client to connect to their server if they self-host it, but they’re defederating on the main client because they want no association with it.
Minecraft servers are a unique case because they are hosted by the owners. Microsoft/Mojang does not host online servers; they just host the authentication server that the client pings to check the connecting account UUID (and pull the skin file). The whole way Mojang “bans” servers is by marking certain IPs to always be told the connecting account is invalid. Either way, server costs are paid by the owner. I recommend you look into Minecraft specifically because the model has its quirks.
Personally I agree with the MC servers here purely because of that fact. Also, Mojang/Microsoft should be seen as an enemy of the common people for many reasons - including their Copilot AI. If the Chat Reports feature (where purchased accounts are neutered because of automated chat reports) isn’t reason enough to dislike Microsoft, consider the following: The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
I recommend you look into Minecraft specifically because the model has its quirks.
I’m familiar. The first server I hosted was an alpha hmod server for some friends, and I’ve played a lot since then.
What MS is doing doesn’t prevent anyone from connecting to a server. It only puts a wall in the way, saying essentially to both the host and the players that this server violates MS’s terms for hosting, but not preventing them from doing so. Server owners can bypass this restriction in a few minutes with a single restart (assuming they aren’t using a modded server that can apply the change at runtime).
This isn’t unique to Minecraft. Games have supported custom servers for as long as I’ve been alive, and more recently as software became more and more internet-connected, restrictions on those servers have also been enforced. Being self-hosted or a custom lobby on a game doesn’t change this - the server software is still owned by MS and licensed to the users.
If anything, that it is so easy to bypass this shows that it’s nothing more than signaling. I would be much more concerned if the solution weren’t simply to change online mode to false. Sure moderation is another story, but there are alternative solutions, like IP banning.
Also, Mojang/Microsoft should be seen as an enemy of the common people for many reasons - including their Copilot AI. If the Chat Reports feature (where purchased accounts are neutered because of automated chat reports) isn’t reason enough to dislike Microsoft, consider the following: The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
There are many, many reasons to dislike Microsoft. They have made many terrible decisions in the past, ethically speaking. This does not implicitly mean that every decision they make is bad or harmful. It only raises the question of intent behind decisions, and here the intent seems clear to me: they do not want their brand associated with the kind of speech allowed on that server.
Microsoft can revoke service for any reason, so it’s legal. Yes, this is exactly how it is done internally. The only way to bypass Mojang’s blocking is to run a “Cracked” server, where accounts are never checked, but in that system anyone can log on as any name.
What I’m saying is that it sounds like lying. If you say “Hey, is KelvarCherry legit?” And they say “no” they’re lying, but if they say “you’re not allowed to verify users” that seems fine.
Minecraft Java edition got 1.19.1 back in July of 2022 that enabled chat reporting, message signing and server wide bans. It was the turning point where Microsoft pulled trust and control away from its users and begun acting more like a middleman.
The issue then would be migrating all of your existing server to an offline server auth method. If there’s anyone who doesn’t log in during the migration period, anyone else could nab their account name (and presumably everything that account has on it) once it’s fully swapped over.
Plus, if the server remains popular after this, Microsoft lawyers could pursue legal action on the operation to bypass their auth servers as well
It’s inevitable. Microsoft didn’t give Notch a billion dollars because they thought they could improve the product for the users. They bought it because of the number of users. They saw a revenue stream that wouldn’t require very many resources to maintain and that they could also expand to multiple microsoft platforms and then lock behind a walled-garden to sell access as a service. Of course they wanted to confine the player population to servers that microsfot controlled. That is the only way they could ensure that any add-ons/mods/players etc were gated behind their own storefront.
I hate Microsoft but I also hate self-described “Libertarians” complaining about free speech because it usually means they want to spam slurs and white supremacist bullshit without pushback.
I replied to a comment like this somewhere else, so I’ll just paste this here
Take this with a grain of salt, as I’m a commoner on the server.
While freedom of speech means you can yell whatever racial slurs you want, it doesn’t mean you are free from consequences. When you start saying bigoted stuff on the chat, you will be targeted by players and get /ignore’d.
I would advise you to make your own judgement by reading the chat logs on Discord or IRC, but not everybody has that amount of time. Some people said vile stuff here, but every time someone says some weird stuff, it always gets backlash, and it definitely isn’t a nazi breeding ground.
Also I’ll add this, Most of the server staff and community are queer and from different backgrounds, slurs aren’t taken kindly here.
While freedom of speech means you can yell whatever racial slurs you want, it doesn’t mean you are free from consequences.
This seems to be the MS stance as well, and they seem unwilling to associate with that kind of speech, so they want to cut that connection off as a consequence.
MS isn’t telling them not to speak. MS is telling them to take their speech somewhere else.
Mojang as well? Because MS employs hundreds of thousands of employees making their own decisions and owning their own work. I don’t see how Minecraft has anything to do with the poor decisions made on Azure.
That aside, the fuck does Halo have to do with Mojang? Unless you’re saying it’s the Xbox people as a whole I guess, which makes a lot more sense to me. I saw a bunch of people talking about Palestine and assumed you were just talking about that somehow.
Anyway, none of this really explains to me why they should not be allowed to limit speech on their own platform, regardless of what speech is limited. People can always pack up and go somewhere else. This isn’t the government coming in and arresting some people for having an opinion they don’t like. This is a company coming in and saying they want that speech somewhere else.
Edit: found the Halo reference, had no idea this was a thing honestly with the dumpster fire that is the US government going on.
I am? You’re the one coming out of left field with the Azure issues?
The actual topic is Microsoft games wanting to distance themselves from alleged racist speech while at the same allowing one of their largest IPs to represent one of the most openly racist organizations we have seen in recent American history.
The issue is whether they can limit speech on their platform. Their own hypocracy means absolutely nothing. They are free to be as inconsistent as they want so long as their rules stick to their own software and platforms.
Edit: I should add that “they should allow racism here because they do somewhere else” has to be the most wild argument I’ve ever read.
I mean fair enough. I think we both agree on a base level. I’m not arguing they shouldnt limit their server, and you’re not arguing that their ICE support is laudable. Think we just started misaligned.
TL;DR: Fascists fucking over (mostly) fascists. How about we sit back, watch, learn and switch to alternatives (Luanti), or at least offline/cracked Minecraft?
Tomorrow, to conform to the new regime, Microsoft starts to shut down private servers with mentions to LGBT and Antifa.
If you don’t stand up for free speech when its idiots using slurs, there will be no one left to stand up for you tomorrow when its your speech under attack.
No, but, we’re not in control of the standards here. This is how every censorship process goes. It’s “For the Children” or it’s about stopping Nazis, and then when the system’s established and normalized, they creep it towards oppression and suppression. How people are supporting this with everything else we see in 2025 is beyond me. Palestine Action. Kimmel. Kirk.
I’m glad someone else sees it. I’m very unsettled by the widespread support for corporation-determined censorship on servers Microsoft doesn’t even pay for. Did we forget Jimmy Kimmel? Do you not know of the “Chat Reports” feature??
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