but for some its language of the enemy. If you sincerely don’t believe it’s real, playing along to keep the peace is deceitful. Do you want to be a liar?
I’m not quite sure if this was a request for moderation guidance on this point? As I’ve said, I’m trying to recuse myself from actually further talking about what I personally think, to avoid muddying the waters.
As a moderator, no there is no expectation that people will lie, or that everyone will (pretend to) agree that they think including gender identity options in BG3 is okay when they don’t.
But yes, there is an expectation that they will moderate their language and try to avoid insulting other forum members to “keep the peace†and leave thinking about “the enemy†at the door when coming here to discuss Larian games with a diverse group of other gamers. These forums are not an appropriate theatre in which to fight the culture war, on any side, and I would recommend finding a different place to vent and avoiding controversial topics here to anyone who is not capable of gaining enough distance from that sort of oppositional thinking to be able to constructively engage with people they see as on the other side. And to consider using the alternative means Larian provide of giving their views on the game (eg the feedback form on the launcher) if they don’t feel able to adjust their articulation in line with expected netiquette.
It is true that some preferences about BG3 features might be inextricably be tied up with negative views folk have about other people and perspectives, and therefore it will be hard to express them without offence or insult. And in that case, as long as the person expressing that preference is at least obviously trying to do so diplomatically (which for me includes not wandering off into politics more than essential to make one’s point about the game), then I’d hope that however uncomfortable that viewpoint makes other forum readers, they would nevertheless respect the right of the poster to hold and express it. Though of course those other forum members are also free to express their disagreement or discomfort, if they feel they are able to do so constructively, or to report the post or PM moderators if not.
I do feel I’m spending more time trying to help folk understand what constructive debate on this admittedly potentially emotive topic looks like than people are actually spending discussing it, so I will now stop doing that unless anyone specifically asks for moderator guidance or crosses the line.
