Do Politics Belong in Feral Heart?

[Lady_Alizarin]

This is NOT a discussion on what your political views are, but more of a discussion of if you think political talk is appropriate in the game.
The Grounds is probably the most social map in the game right now, and many conversations have come up here and there. Sometimes there are discussions of politics; some are civil, and some end up hostile. Some people bring these discussions up to start trouble, others just look for casual talk.

Whether the talk is good or bad, right or wrong, does it have a place in the Feral Heart community? My personal opinion: I come to Feral Heart to escape that kind of stuff for a bit, but it just has a way of popping into the game. I don't think it's necessary to bring up such topics because it could end up with players getting hostile with one another, causing some unnecessary drama. I'm not saying people shouldn't, but I don't get myself involved.

Do you think politics belong in Feral Heart? Why, or why not?

[LonesomeRider]

I say it does not, as I've seen bad ways politics go on any social media/gaming platforms. For as well, I'm pretty sure the game rules state to keep those topics out of local/out of the game entirely?
I don't mind it in private chats, for it's away from others. It can create high hostility and whatnot, which considering the game is for 13+, definitely not a good place to talk about such things. Little mentions of it go a long way, and me talking about flags at half-mast (certain days in the US require flags this way) one day, caused someone to say something rather inappropriate about government things, so...
Politics and the like definitely don't belong on FH. It can end up worse than just a little offending comment that has nothing to do with what someone's saying, too.

[Ame88]

Personally, I don't like it when people bring up politics in FeralHeart, or any game for that matter. I play these games to escape all the drama that can occur. I mean, if they are willing to have a calm civil conversation rather than a bashing hate fest, then that's completely fine. Yet even if they are having a civil conversation, I still find myself feeling uncomfortable whenever it's brought up. Civil or not. If someone really wishes to talk about it, then they can either make a private chat about it, or simply go elsewhere to social media. So I guess my answer would be a no... But that's not for me to decide. Just a personal opinion~

[WolfQueen]

I don't think any topic of discussion should be prohibited from the public chat tbh except for explicit talk and stuff that invokes crime. Politics aren't bad in itself. There's a difference between simply talking about politics and blatantly stating something to rile people up. If you don't like the discussion you can simply not participate in it. It's a little different on the forums though. You really can't ignore it because it'll always be there as discussions in-game die out quickly. I think politics have no place on the forums, but in-game is ok as long as it doesn't go too far.

I can see how it should not belong in-game though. Not everyone is from the same country and will relate. Politics can be tiring as well. I'm not super into politics because it's emotionally exhausting imo.

[Warriorstrike]

Quite a few of the elements that are involved in politic talk relate to beliefs that exist outside of a political system and can sometimes reflect personal or moral convictions, which aren't necessarily harmful or bad areas of discussion. I think the key is discerning the difference between sharing ideas in a civil manner and spouting inconsiderate and rude claims by means of trying to establish a sense of righteousness over the situation or other individuals. I personally enjoy the act of seeing opinions being shared because that is where ideas grow and people are provided the opportunity to open their eyes to other perspectives, and productive conversations can ensue. However, due to the nature of politic talk, it is very easy for a simple thought to turn into a battle or wander into territory that involves some more serious subject matter that does not belong on a game like this. (The hotbutton topics of politics are often the most discussed, so this is frequent.) Politics often get into the nitty-gritty of that behavior, and that's where you need to take a step back and consider whether or not this is the time and place to discuss those things. A game like Feral Heart, in my eyes, is not the place for politics, although there are aspects that find their way into politics that aren't necessarily harmful. Anyone is free to discuss what they like in private chats, too, but I think where it starts to head south is when the particular area of a political thought begins to lean toward outright sensitive content (or disrespectful content) which can make it inappropriate for a game that is geared toward enjoying creativity, imagination, and exploration of a fun world.

Interesting topic, Lady. c:

[Kastilla]

Lovely ad-placement on this thread, two for Planned Parenthood and a law school lol.

I cannot add-on to anything, since I believe there's no more to say.
Like always, I agree with Nynx. While politics and opinions in general are not bad, the way they are warped in media which leads to differing opinions that explode into conflicts. All the while, providing constructive input to a conversation places individualism on a podium; everyone is free to agree to disagree, peacefully. You can speak of issues in the world freely, but it's not advised to hate on opinions shared thereafter. It's plain out rude and disrespectful, while saying "Personally, I don't agree" is fine, stating "That opinion is wrong and you should know (supposed facts/opinion)" is not.

Opinions. May. Be. Wrong. Because it's an opinion, not a fact! I remember learning this in 3rd grade.
However, me as a 3rd grader never quite understood why there must be such a difference. Naive me thought the world was nice and inviting to all sorts of topics and thoughts. That's when you grow up too fast and develop a cynical view towards everything that leaks hopefulness.

[Nephrite]

I think conversation about political beliefs are important to have in general (especially since most of FH users are younger) because it’s imprtant for people to discuss the issues that mean the most to them and raise awareness of those things while hearing the logic and reason behind the other side, which helps people get a more objective and omniscient perspective in politics, which is especially good in American politics because things are so polar here. And if FeralHeart is the platform in which people can have these discussions, I think that’s okay!!

However, I definitely don’t hunk this is the place to have political debates. I think civil discussions can be very educating to the younger members of FeralHeart, but if it escalates to the point where discussions are getting too heated, nothing is being accomplished by these conversations and are most likely creating a toxic environment for other users.

So I think it’s important for people to have educated conversations on issues that mean a lot to them, but having arguments don’t accomplish anything and ruin the game for other users. FeralHeart is meant to be fun and put people in a different world completely (in which some would like to escape human politics), but also provides a unique opportunity to converse with people from different parts of the world with different points of view.

[Morqque]

Personally, I believe it would depend on where and how politics are discussed. In local, no.
On the forums, no. In game in party; whisper; or group. Sure, why not? But my question is - why are politics being discussed in
an animal role-playing game anyways? Sure, I agree that they are not bad. But they can cause arguments to break out. That is
just my opinion however.

[Lucius]

I don't think any topic of discussion should be prohibited from the public chat tbh except for explicit talk and stuff that invokes crime. Politics aren't bad in itself. There's a difference between simply talking about politics and blatantly stating something to rile people up. If you don't like the discussion you can simply not participate in it.

Agreed. While I don't think that politics belong in an animal game theme-wise, out of character discussions occur often and I don't think that prohibiting the things that can be discussed would be of any help. It doesn't inherently belong, but it shouldn't be excluded.


As far as hostility goes, anything can escalate into an argument, even a discussion about pie. Politics might be a more volatile subject, but the fault lies with the one who starts to lose their cool, not with the one who brought the topic up.

If someone can't remain calm and control themselves after hearing something that they didn't like or agree with, then maybe it's time to take a break from the public sphere for a few minutes. Topics can and will explode, that's inevitable, but if one is adding fuel to the fire by escalating things and getting hostile, then maybe one's to blame as well.

[Kuri]

Not really.