Sunday, December 5th, 2010
Issue: 58   Editor: AldarionIsTheStig


The impact of the OTF MisStarry
Yes, we all know that BL is a mafia game and that the aim is to annoy and kill as many people as possible. But how much of an impact do some of the discussions on the OTF have on impressionable and vulnerable members of society? People picked out and pounced upon because they shared an opinion that they sincerely thought was good to share.

In one day we had topics consisting of ‘burning’ America, hatred of liverpool accents, people being told to suck various parts of the human anatomy, and degrading terms directed at genuine players by the few who have no life outside BL, and decide they want to have something interesting to talk to their friends about at school, (completely skipping out the fact that this was an online argument with some 10 year old.) E.g. “You should have seen the night I had. I had a proper fight with some dude. He was such an idiot!”

But while the vast majority of players are old enough and smart enough to realise that this is all part of the game (insults will fly, arguments will happen), the increasingly younger and more vulnerable section of players could be genuinely affected and disturbed by some of the things they see and experience on this game.

While it is all part and parcel of what you can expect on BL, maybe we should give a bit more thought to what we are writing. I don’t necessarily mean in terms of swearing and talk of a sexual nature. These are things that are common in society and they are going to pick up at some point. But the casually thrown out comments and insults such as ‘gay’, ‘retard’ and ‘faggot’ (just to name a few), that are genuinely offensive to some sections of society.

Banter is a huge part of being in an online community such as BL, and of course freedom of speech is one of the basic human rights. But please, if you are on the OTF, and someone is being exceptionally annoying, THINK about what you are going to type in response to their comments. Consider for a second if it is just a somewhat meaningless insult, or if it is something that will genuinely impact on your fellow players lives.