Without a doubt, one of the biggest issues with Roblox is its safety features. Or, to be more accurate, it lacks certain safety features. Yes, they do have parental controls and an AI that moderates things within the game, but there are still plenty of ways for something to slip through and hurt somebody, especially when you’re dealing with large communities that are saying all sorts of things to one another. To that end, the dev team has initiated a plan to try and fix some of the issues within these communities. They’re going to allow the heads of these communities to literally block words so that others can’t use them in conversation.
This reveal came via a blog post, where the dev team laid out what’s happening:
“We’re introducing Blocked Words, a new feature designed to give you greater control over your community spaces. This is a direct result of your valuable feedback, and it’s an important step in our continuous effort to cultivate a more civil and safe environment within Communities. Blocked Words lets you filter out unwanted words or phrases from your Walls and Forums (Forums are currently in early access, with general availability coming soon!). This tool helps you tackle specific issues in your community—things like reducing toxicity, catching spam, or simply curating discussions.”
It may sound like a simple thing, but this is actually quite a big deal for Roblox. After all, being able to moderate your own community can help keep things “focused” without fear of someone going “off-script” just because you’re not around. Let’s be honest here, there are plenty of “bad actors” who want nothing more than to stir up the pot. So, this allows you to put them in their place:
“Blocked Words allows you to set a customizable list of keywords or phrases. Any posts or comments made within your community containing these specified keywords will be automatically hidden or blocked from others.
Community owners and permitted members can add, edit, or remove keywords at any time. Users who post messages containing Blocked Words will still see their own post on Forums (which are in early access), but it will be hidden from the rest of your community; for Walls, those posts are prevented from being posted entirely.”
If this goes as planned, these groups will be able to breathe at least a little lighter, knowing that where they hang out with others won’t be ruined by those with bad intentions.
