The Legend of Bronson-Lee, CEO of Gaming · @BronsonLee
20th Mar 2021 from TwitLonger
@ReseteraForum and The Abandonment of Minorities
ResetEra is no longer a safe, welcoming space for minorities. I would argue it has never been one.
I take no joy in saying this whatsoever.
Some of you may know my story. I was harassed by racists based on being an Asian-American. When I went public with this after over a year (naming people I suspected), Era staff said I was lying for attention.
This is not relitigating that - I made my peace with that situation long ago. I have not been a member of the site for two years now.
This is about someone else's story.
This is about the lack of support the minority communities have on the site.
The Asian community on Era has been devastated by years of casual racism and sinophobia, which has continued unchallenged. Even today, in a devastating week for Asian-Americans, things have been exacerbated.
The 'yellow peril' narrative of a Chinese company stealing someone's personal data and selling it to the Chinese government continues, unabated, on the site. When COVID-19 first became prevalent, discussions about it dissolved into racism immediately ('I heard you get it from eating bats!' - 'We won't get it here, our living standards are better than in Wuhan!', etc).
The Black community has been attacked from day one - racists attacking them both on and off-site, attempting to dox them, gaslighting them with coded phrases, and doing it in a saccharine sweet 'civil' way to get black members banned for angrily defending themselves.
It's 'easier' to see anger and cursing and just action that. That is not the way to protect a community. That is how you lose a community.
The Trans community has had to defend themselves for years from transphobic users. There have been multiple instances (lately with Cyberpunk 2077), where most posters would blatantly ignore the trans community's issues with the game's content, posting things like 'looks great, can't wait!' and 'why are you so upset?', tacitly stating that they don't care about the issues - they just wanted to play a video game.
Questions:
'Why does it matter? It's just an online message board for video games, right?'
For many people (including myself), it is a large outlet for socializing - a wonderful way to stay connected and build friendships.
For some, it is the -only- outlet. That should hold weight, and responsibility. It matters.
'What about X thing Era did to support? I thought they've been great at supporting progressive causes?'
Yes, Era staff have done things like change the logo for Black History Month, ban games based on content/the creator's views, and pinned threads with donation links.
All these changes are performative at best. They don't serve any lasting purpose besides making the people supporting these things feel better.
All the minority communities have requested for changes. There's been many 'closed-door' conversations with Era staff and minority communities. None of them have ever gone well.
Known racists continue to post on the site. They are either protected because they are part of a community a staff member favors, or because they haven't been racist 'on the site' yet.
All these things, small and large, lead me to discern these things:
Era is run like a business, not a forum.
Staff bias is protecting larger communities at the expense of smaller minority-led ones.
It is not a place that can handle matters of racial, sexual, or gender identity whatsoever. Most are met with complete apathy.
'Why go so heavy now? I thought you were over this?'
From a personal perspective, I am. But the events of this week (and last year), lead me to believe that I made an error staying silent for so long, and for not stepping in and standing up sooner.
My tale should be a cautionary one - an extreme outlier, never to be repeated. I fear it is becoming the norm. And that angers me.
If one person reads this, and is avoids a comparable situation to mine, then it's worth speaking about.
'TLDR it for me'
OK.
If you are a minority poster on ResetEra, take steps to protect yourself. If you feel like the community is not supporting or welcoming to you anymore, speak to your friends. See how they feel.
Group chats exist. Discords exist. There are safer ways to hold a community online now.
If you aren't a minority poster - if you see casual racism, transphobia, etc, call it out. The more things like this don't get challenged publicly, the more people will think it is acceptable.
It's simple.
Just do your best.