Speakers: Dr. Kishonna Gray and Mike Pappas

There are a huge variety of player communities in the world, each with their own preferences, culture, and norms. Platforms looking to provide safety for these players face a difficult challenge – how can they consistently identify and mitigate harm while also permitting empowering behaviors like the reclaiming of slurs, offering support to vulnerable players, and good-spirited trash talk between friends?

One-size-fits-all solutions struggle to thread this needle – and while they can provide strong benefits to many players, they may also actually harm your most vulnerable players by restricting their ability to build authentic relationships. In this talk, Dr. Kishonna Gray and Mike Pappas will outline some underrecognized communities and norms which are essential for promoting empowerment and inclusivity, with a specific focus on how platforms enable players to connect with each other.