Tabletop Simulator recently banned a player from the global chat for saying they were trans, but when they went to developer Berserk Games to ask why, they were told that "it's not a place to discuss sexuality, fetishes, politics."
"Okay, so I've read the rules, so if I'm understanding them right, there is nothing wrong with me expressing my trans-ness or gay-ness," Xoe Allred said to moderator Jorp (as reported by GaymingMag). The mod then replied, "Maybe you didn't understand them correctly. Odds are the autoban script will ban you and not me but there's a big thing at the top, I think it's even in bold." Allred was then kicked.
The big thing in bold is a family-friendly warning, meaning that the game is parroting an outdated and bigoted mentality that being queer is somehow not family-friendly. But Allred didn't give up just then. They then went to the Discord to ask another moderator why they'd been banned but the sentiment was repeated, that being queer and talking about being queer wasn't family-friendly. So they asked if they consider LGBTQ+ inclusivity to be a fetish, but Allred didn't get a response. They then tested to see if this ban would also happen to heterosexual people discussing their sexuality, saying they were straight and cis in the chat, but nothing happened.
What's more, this has legitimized homophobic and transphobic voices in Tabletop Simulator's community as evident by the slew of recent reviews that are incredibly hateful and bigoted. One such review reads, "Tabletop Simulator is about playing tabletop games, not a place to discuss sexuality, fetishes, politics. Keep that to your private lobbies or public chats where these things are the topic at hand."
However, there are some negative reviews that highlight the queerphobia and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment, saying things like "trans rights" and "we do not support any form of transphobia or homophobia."
In response, Berserk Games has taken down global chat and penned a letter, stating that it wants to reassess its moderation process as it has some "shortcomings." It states that the goal was to keep the chat "on the topic of board games" but Allred's test of saying they were straight and cis contradicts this. The point of queerness not being family-friendly also contradicts this.
