Whats with Lotc?: The issue of Transphobia, Homophobia and Racism

[ydegirl 1756]

Hi. I’ve recently quit from LoTc, and it’s been one of the best things to happen to me. I feel freer, happier, nicer, kinder, sexier, beautifuler, my skin has cleared up, I now have 1200 in savings. My life is very good right now. Perfect, one might even say.

 

Yet, every so often I find myself reminiscing on nights in the summer of 2020, when we’d stay up until 4am fighting against a raid, or romanticizing the Orenian and Haeseni courts– how to make them better, how to make them more fun. But I also remember the absolute loads of manure me and old friends would endure for many reasons.

 

I remember one specific instance with a player who will not be named. For those of you who don’t know I’m a trans girl, and I was talking about being trans in the Oren discord in the summer months of 2020. Out of the blue I got a DM from this player calling me “secretly a man”. I, like any other good willed transsexual, sent a screenshot and video to a now quit moderator (in the discord and on LOTC). I wasn’t really met with anything other than “Oh :( that sucks :(“ and him possibly being kicked if player #1 did it again. I’ve also heard and seen many experiences of racism against my friends; and while I’m not qualified to speak on these experiences– as they weren’t mine– it does pose the question, why does LOTC allow this to happen? Why can these people get off scot free? Why don’t we take it more seriously? Why is this server so horrible to members of the LGBTQ+ community and to POC? 

 

I, and my old friends, have experienced a horrifying number of incidents similar to the one I’ve shared. Whether it’s being called the t slur, the f slur, some nasty– yet creative– unkind words. For a server who so desperately wants to seem woke and a “safe space”, you don’t do a good job at it.

 

For those of you about to type a lovely little paragraph or 10 about how “lotc is open to everyone and you just want to be woke and none of these things ever happen!” or whatever, one I implore you to think about why you believe that and two, if you’re still really feeling that way you’re allowed to feel that way. I can’t change that, and I won’t argue with you about how these things really happen.

 

To moderators and admins who truly do want to make a change regarding the issue of transphobia, homophobia and racism on lotc, I want to know why these issues (in my experience) have often led to a slap on the wrist or an apology from someone who doesn’t really mean it.

 

I think this was long overdue. I didn’t want to write this for a long period of time because frankly, I believed moderation and administration just didn’t care that much. But it’s something that I know many people– trans, gay, black, indigenous, etc, have experienced on this god-forbidden game. I’m not expecting a nice conversation in regards to this, so that’s why I’m not going to respond to this that much- if at all. My mental health is already spiraling and I don’t need it to spiral any further.

 

With my love,

ydegirl

[HIGH_FIRE 4106]

The amount of times I’ve seen people on this server throw around slurs and make openly homophobic, transphobic and sexist comments is ridiculous. I’ve even heard people be told they don’t exist due to being trans and told that me being pan is impossible 

[Statherian 3314]

I think one of the issues here is that communities like these, regardless of platform (be it a forum, another game, etc) inherently attarct people like this. The main reason is that they can not be assed to ever leave the house and get all of their political and ideological opinions from sketchy FB groups.

 

 

Although what I have to say is that if cases of homophobia, transphobia or racism aren't actually being reported you can not expect staff to also do something about issues they are not aware of. I'm talking specific cases and not the overal problem, I'm sure everyone is aware LOTC, and as I said similar platforms attract people like this at times. Staff using Discord DM's in cases like this to actively ban people is quite a constroversial topic in and of itself, and I don't know the specifics of your case but I do know that staff tend to be hesitant with bands using Discord evidence.


tl;dr

 

Yes lotc attracts awful people

Staff can't do anything without proper reports or evidence

If staff don't do anything about actual harassment cases then bring it up with admins

 

 

 

name and shame if all else fails 

[SimplySeo 5183]

Better these days. Still not great, but not nearly as prevalent in 2018-19 and before

[AstriaS 3679]

On one hand, preach. I agree that it's a problem and have seen and experienced many of the same issues.

On the other, I agree with this sentiment:

38 minutes ago, heh said:

tl;dr

 

Yes lotc attracts awful people

Staff can't do anything without proper reports or evidence

If staff don't do anything about actual harassment cases then bring it up with admins

 

 

 

name and shame if all else fails 

 

[MeteorDragon 2799]

Can't forget the stupid high amount of Neo-Nazis.

[Gemini 1639]

These people are the ones in power, in every community these people are protected, their horrendous words are ignored and we are just told to deal with it. 
LotC does not truly care for inclusion and diversity, representation or even the well being of their players. The admins only get involved the moment something is caught by the public. This includes groomers, racists, pedophiles, bigots and what not. The admins are unpaid, and all of them have their hands full— why would they bother with actually protecting the players. 
 

There once was something called the safety team, which is a great idea however the execution of it was absolutely terrible. 
LotC ignores players who leave because the staff team is allowed to throw around slurs against players, it is a one big circle jerk. 

I myself am trans as well, Haelun’or community which is fully aware of this however even there, one of the most open minded communities has someone who is protected. 

 

I, and many others have been telling the admins to do something about this, yet everything is ignored. Whether the idea is something of an HR/PR admin or actual ideas on how to ensure the safety of all players, we are ignored. 
 

It’s always the intent that they want to ensure player safety, however it’s all words until someone leaks it to the public. Sad, but that’s how the admin team works. 
 

My advise to anyone who is part of a minority, I know in year 2022 you shouldn’t have to be afraid to be yourself but If you can’t or If you don’t want to handle the bigotry, just don’t tell everyone who you are or surround yourself with people that will have your back. 
as for minors, be loud and report everyone who is being a creep. You are not alone and there are many in many communities who will do everything in their power to make sure you are safe. 
 

anyway, that was my ted talk. My PM’s are always open if someone wishes to discuss more. 

[Tide1 1592]

[Mister_Gavin 287]

1 hour ago, ydegirl said:

 

Hi. I’ve recently quit from LoTc, and it’s been one of the best things to happen to me.

 

Should've stopped there. This place kind of suck nut.

[Zacho 1734]

I stewed over a good response for this for awhile, wrote an entire paragraph, then deleted it. Trying to formalize a good response to this is hard.  This is not a formal staff response, just my matter of opinion and experience. 

 

I know there to be issues revolving around the use of slurs and insults based on ones qualities (race, gender, sexual orientation, religion at times, etc.) and have very often gone out of my way to punish those who do so. The issue we face is that a) moderation does not have fair and equal access to every chat associated with lotc, and even if we did people would simply make other chats to say these things. b) almost inherent in the internet is people with different 'opinions' wherein they have a belief that others are lesser or simply refuse to acknowledge their existence (e.g. the example of someone being transphobic.). c) Time, place, and context are a huge piece of it all that moderation often does not get. We also cannot know with certainty what the supposed perpetrators qualities are either, so punishing someone for saying a slur while they belong to one of the parties insulted can get messy and some believe in reclaiming words. All in all, there are a ton of roadblocks that make it hard for us to punish one offs or private chats or logs from a time ago. 

 

I do believe that these roadblocks should not be excuses for us to work harder and be more stringent on what we allow. It is very often that I see someone use ableist terms and it goes unpunished due to just general societies lack of care about the issue in terms of the internet. You see people old and young use it all the time, and the same can go with a dozen other slurs that are almost commonplace (e.g. people incorrectly calling Native Americans something else). I also previously mentioned how people have a differing opinion on what they consider heinous, and this too goes for moderation, meaning each moderator has a different tolerance for what they let slide or not.

In short, what stops us is a difference between moderators, the almost impossibility for us to moderate platforms outside of what we own fully, and finally the context of every situation. I believe we can do better on our platforms, but anything outside of those will always remain a difficult situation or impossible to moderate. 

[Unwillingly 11105]

none of these issues are exclusive to LOTC, you'll find these behaviors on every corner of the internet. people often say, or act like, lotc is the only place on the internet that contains these types of people, when it's far from it, and I think it's important for us to realize that fact

 

but you're absolutely right that, in many instances, these behaviors tend to be dismissed by upper administration. you see people who regurgitate this shitty opinion of "you're a snowflake if you got offended by a stranger on the internet" as a way to excuse shitty behavior

 

deciding what someone else is/isn't allowed to feel impacted by is disgusting, yet something I've seen echoed whenever these issues are spoken about

 

 

[warlord of filth 7713]

jarvis, eliminate all homophobes right now. pull their pants down around their ankles. put them in a microwave. give this hater an atomic wedgie. expose them to a fatal dose of ionizing radiation. chain them up to a space heater. ingest them. consume them. turn them into a nice snack.

[King_Kunuk 888]

No

[NLThomas 1066]

Do agree it should go punished if proper reports are made. Though people who think its only Lotc that had this issue are a bit ignorant on the entire internet. Anonymity sadly brings out the worst in some people. Glad to hear stuff is doing good for you though.

[Axelu 3691]

I've been playing on this server for just over four years now. While a lot has changed for the better, at least publically, there are still more clandestine forums in which nasty behavior and toxic behavior thrive. Unfortunately, as many others have said, it's impossible to regulate the behaviors and toxic environments that manifest outside of the server itself. I do think, however, it's important for community leaders to set a positive example and promote inclusivity. While it's true that this is a sect of the internet, which is an inherently dark place, it doesn't mean we have to treat the issue of discrimination on this platform as one that is out of our hands. It's honestly disheartening that obtuse mentalities still exist in this day and age but just know, ydegirl, that you - and other minorities on this server - aren't alone! We have to work together as a community to protect ourselves and uplift those that are struggling with others' adversity