An engaging study recently conducted by a video-game asset marketplace has unveiled interesting data regarding toxicity levels in gaming subreddit communities. Among these digital forums, Minecraft's community unexpectedly emerged as one with the lowest levels of toxicity, ranked second overall. Approximately 1.37% of comments per post in the r/Minecraft subreddit were found to contain selected toxic keywords, as determined by an analysis of major franchise subreddits by sampling 50 recent posts from each subreddit. These posts were scanned for a preset list of negative terms, which was used to calculate a toxicity percentage.
With an impressive subscriber count of 8,503,899, Minecraft's subreddit was notably the largest in the study's sample size. However, it was the subreddit for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion that took the top spot with the least toxicity, reflecting a marginally lower average of 1.36% from its community of 1,015,373 members. The finding paints a picture of how some notably large communities can maintain relatively positive environments.
Top-ten Least Toxic Gaming Subreddits
- The Legend of Zelda and Genshin Impact both recorded a 1.51% toxicity level, sharing the third position.
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim followed with a slightly higher percentage at 1.56%.
- Communities for Warframe (1.57%), No Man's Sky (1.60%), Red Dead Redemption (1.63%), Animal Crossing (1.75%), and RuneScape (1.84%) rounded out the top ten least toxic communities.
Interestingly, the word-frequency analysis compared across different franchises showed subtle variations. However, some terms like "hate" appeared consistently among the most common flagged phrases. In Minecraft's community, additional flagged terms included "worse" and "garbage." The overall patterns provide insight into the social dynamics within different gaming communities.
Despite these more positive statistics, certain high-profile gaming franchises exhibited starkly different outcomes. For example, the subreddit for the FIFA franchise was identified as one of the most toxic, a surprising finding given the game's "E for Everyone" rating. This stark contrast serves as a reminder of the possible disconnect between game content ratings and the nature of their online communities.
A spokesperson from Chicks Gold commented on the dual nature of Reddit as a platform that offers vibrant and valuable discussions around gaming but also harbors elements of toxicity. They noted the importance of parental vigilance, emphasizing that parents should consider not just the content within the games themselves but also the community discussions their children might engage with. The study serves as a reminder of the multifaceted nature of gaming environments and the potential impacts of digital interactions within these communities.
