Let me tell you a tale of strife, suffering, and pain. Stay awhile and listen.
The video game Space Station 14 (SS14) is a rewrite of the original Space Station 13 (SS13) game from 2001. There is over two decades of history that I have glossed over in that single sentence.
Suffice to say: there is a lot of drama.
Perhaps apropos of nothing, in alignment with the re-election of the now galvanized Donald Trump for a second and final term, the SS14 community is having a bit of a rough time.
They say that power corrupts. You should know that the SS14 community has members and roots going back over multiple years. All the way back into SS13 days. All the drama has been packaged up and carried forward into SS14.
Why is this true? I am not hating. This is not hate speech. The SS14 crew run a single centralized authentication server (separate from Valve’s Steam) which gives the SS14 administrators unchecked, unequivocal, and unilateral control over who gets to play.
This power extends even further to the individual servers. If a server is found to be rebellious or otherwise in transgression of the terms of service, it will be de-listed from the server hub so players can no longer find or see it.
It would be no understatement to stay say that the individuals at the top have their fingers wrapped tightly around the throat of the community.
A purity spiral is a theory which argues for the existence of a form of groupthink in which it becomes more beneficial to hold certain views than to not hold them, and more extreme views are rewarded while expressing doubt, nuance, or moderation is punished (a process sometimes called “moral outbidding”). It is argued that this feedback loop leads to members competing to demonstrate the zealotry or purity of their views.
A purity spiral is argued to occur when a community’s primary focus becomes implementing a single value that has no upper limit, and where that value does not have an agreed interpretation.
I cannot claim to know everything. All I can tell you is what I have experienced myself, and what I have heard from others who also talk about their experiences.
Within the SS14 walled garden it is taboo to raise open discussion. On the outset they preach values such as fairness and equity, but internally there is a rot that goes deep to the bone.
Do not be surprised when you are banned and your discussion is deleted.
The only place where it is safe to have a conversation about SS14 is somewhere outside of their grasp – where they cannot quash or censor it.
Ultimately, it is not worth it.
At the end of the day, it’s just a game.
Do you really want to die on this hill?
Ultimately – they are the ones up in the tree house, and it is their decision if you are allowed up to play or not. It’s not within your power. If you want to make a decision where you have agency and power, I recommend you chose the only winning move which is not to play at all.
This is evidently a popular choice as development in the SS14 project has now stalled (archive).
You can have a safe and free open discussion about the situation over on this website. Make sure your use a VPN as everything you do, see, or say is logged there.
I believe given time, everything will resolve itself.
All we have to do is wait patiently.
It could take years.