We know creators come to Facebook to build positive and supportive communities around the games they love, so today we’re introducing new tools to help gaming creators foster inclusive environments.
While our Community Standards protect against the most egregious harms like hate speech and terrorism, sometimes all it takes is one person being rude, mean or simply disruptive to ruin a conversation for everyone. And what may be considered competitive banter in one streaming community, might be considered toxic in another. Gaming creators are tone setters, so that’s why we’re releasing a toolkit to help them set guidelines for positive conversations in their community.
We worked with the Fair Play Alliance, a coalition of game companies encouraging healthy communities in online gaming, and partnered directly with their Executive Steering Committee, to establish rules creators and moderators can use to set guidelines and help avoid disruptive comments. People form communities over a shared love of gaming, but we know some groups of people, like women, can be targets of negative, hurtful stereotypes — so, rules like “Be Accepting” and “Respect Boundaries” can help maintain a positive environment for everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or ability. Similarly, “Don’t Criticize” can help newer players feel welcome. The rules will promote inclusion and respect to help people feel safe sharing their voice.
Using the Toolkit
Creators will be able to access the toolkit rules through a Chat Rules button in the streamer dashboard. While creators often list chat rules in their Page description or at the bottom of a stream, the new toolkit makes rules more visible and gives creators a baseline of eight preset rules to start with. We’ll expand and update the rules based on feedback from creators and the way gaming community conversations evolve. We’re testing these rules now with a small group of creators and we’ll roll them out globally in the coming months.
The toolkit will offer four new features:
Clear Standards: Creators can select from a list of gaming-specific rules for their community before they go live. They can also add a custom description about their stream to help set expectations about type of conversation they want to foster. Once a creator selects rules from the Chat Rules section of the streamer dashboard, fans will be asked to accept the rules before they’re allowed to leave a comment.
Content Removals: We’ve made comment removals happen in real time, so when a comment is removed or someone is banned, their comments will disappear from the stream immediately.
Transparency in Moderation: Moderators will also now be able to select which rules were violated so the fan can receive feedback about why their content was removed. This level of transparency will help creators educate their audience and inform well-intentioned fans who may have inadvertently broken a rule.
Moderation Dashboard: In addition to these rules, moderators will now have access to a new moderation dashboard with resources to prevent harassment, protect their privacy and help ensure creators feel safe.
With the new toolkit, creators and moderators will still be able to remove comments, mute viewers for a short period of time or ban people from their Page or stream. Once someone is banned they will still be able to watch the stream but won’t be able to comment or react to the stream or other people, and their previous comments will be removed.
We know gaming has changed over time, and so have the people who play, so it’s important for us to support creators and their moderators by helping set guidelines for positive conversations. Our work doesn’t end here — we’re excited to continue partnering with the Fair Play Alliance to develop additional features and ensure creators and fans alike can find safe and inclusive communities on Facebook.