Since its launch, Minecraft has become on its own merits one of the most successful games in the industry.
Minecraft gameplay is based on exploiting the players creativity through a building system. Thanks to it, players can create from small levels to huge world using square pieces.
Minecraft also allows you to create your own servers to play offline or invite friends online. So, players have access to dozens of levels to explore right from the start.
However, recently Minecraft received an update that brought a highly criticized change: the inclusion of the ‘Player’ or ‘Chat’ reporting feature.
Apparently, the new system has the potential to be dangerous for player accounts, even on private servers.
The controversial ‘Player’ or ‘Chat’ reporting feature after Minecraft 1.19.1 update
Many Minecraft players are expressing their disagreement with the inclusion of the ‘Player’ or ‘Chat’ reporting feature after the 1.19.1 update.
There are even players considering leaving the game as it would be the only way the developers will understand how unwelcome the change is.
Minecraft no longer cares about its own players. With this new chat report system being heavily pushed by isolated corporate entities we now see a new and wretched age that nobody had ever asked for and the vast majority of players are against. Source
The system brings potential high risks to the accounts
The Minecraft ‘Player’ or ‘Chat’ reporting feature brings a potential ban risk to user accounts.
This is because the context of Minecraft chats can be modified for convenience using exploits like GasLight. So, Microsoft could receive a report with something you didn’t actually said and take it for real.
This implies that potential trolls can report an account and cause an unfair ban, even on certain private servers.
The system is here to stay, revealed Mojang
Unfortunately, it seems that the Mojang team is determined to implement Minecraft ‘Player’ or ‘Chat’ reporting as a definitive feature from now on.
According to the company, they are aware of all the complaints but that will not change the ‘design principles’ to which they adhere.
Some ways to bypass the Minecraft ‘Player’ or ‘Chat’ report system
Fortunately, players will have tools at their disposal to bypass the system when creating a server.
There are currently servers that may include options that automatically disable the Minecraft chat report such as Paper, Bukkit, Spigot and others.
In addition, there are already mods and plugins that can be applied to servers that block the feature in a simple way.
However, there is a possibility that Mojang will apply more severe measures in the future. This way they could force the inclusion of the Minecraft ‘Player’ or ‘Chat’ report feature.
For instance, Mojang could decide that the inclusion of the Minecraft ‘Player’ or ‘Chat’ report system is a requirement to comply with the EULA (END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT). Failure to comply with the EULA may result in account ban.
Petitions against the Minecraft Chat report system have garnered thousands of signatures
To top it off, it’s worth pointing out that there are already online petitions to remove the Minecraft ‘Player’ or ‘Chat’ reporting feature that have garnered thousands of signatures (4,538 signatures as of this writing).
Only time will tell if the decision will stick permanently or if the developers will consider reversing it. We will update this story as events unfold.
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