Everything you need to know about player reporting in Minecraft
Even people not part of the Minecraft social scene might have noticed #SaveMinecraft steadily climbing up Twitter’s top topics. Unlike the #SaveTF2 campaign, this hashtag asks for less involvement by Minecraft developers Mojang and not more.
Mojang had announced earlier this year that they would create an in-game reporting system Minecraft. Players were immediately outraged by the lack of clarity in the reportable topics, the loss of context, and the automatic AI moderation. Although it is unclear how out of control Mojang was with their original plans or if this was just poor communication, the chat reporting function was delayed for over a year. It was added to the game in July 2022.
This is where #SaveMinecraft began. This initial concern has not subsided. It has increased. Mojang allows players to report their concerns after more than ten years of free chat and unrestricted play. It’s understandable. Fanbyte News Editor Imran Kahn was banned from Twitter last week after uploading a video showing a glitch in Stray. The ban was not justified. It appeared that the report was automatic and that even working with a human moderator was difficult.
However, there is a lot of misinformation about player reporting in Minecraft. Mojang has published a lengthy FAQ that explains how their reporting system works (and doesn’t) despite initially communicating poorly. Let’s examine everything you need to know about Minecraft player reporting.
How Minecraft player reporting works — Human moderation, mass reports, and more
- There are no bots that monitor or moderate chats.
A human moderator must review your application before you can ban it. - Moderators will receive training specifically for Minecraft and be able to understand the in-game context.
- Appeal your ban to another human moderator
This applies to both private and public servers as well as Realms. - Bans can be temporary or permanent.
Your account will be removed from all multiplayer servers and realms in all versions of Minecraft, past, present, and future. - You can still play single-player.
Reporters need to select at least one chat message to accompany their report.
As an additional context, the report will include chat messages from around the world.
Mojang doesn’t monitor or censor chat.
Mojang is not shown chat messages unless there is a report
Mojang does not consider reporters anonymous
Mass reporting isn’t a good idea because many reports are not considered evidence.
False reports can lead to permanent or temporary bans.
You can’t ban things in Minecraft for things you don’t.
- Minecraft cannot ban swearing or cussing.
- Talking about suicide is not something you can ban.
- Mojang may report you for suicide threats or self-harm, but it is not considered a criminal offense. Mojang will help you find support resources.
Important to remember that Mojang has never listed a reason for a report as new. All categories of player reports have been added to Minecraft’s EULA and Microsoft’s Terms and Use.
