It's often the common wisdom that games communities online are toxic and awful places.
And many are!
And then you'll hear people say "you can't do anything about it, that's just how it is, just ignore them..."

But!
It really doesn't have to be that way.

Last week I was invited onto @JoINrbs Slay The Spire Twitch stream. I was pretty nervous!

As a games writer, my previous experiences with online gaming communities have been, shall we say, unpleasant.

But we were raising money for a good cause, so I steeled myself.

And here's the thing. In almost 2 hours with ~700 participants, NOBODY said a single misogynistic or cruel thing. Even when I led a meditation. A meditation! On a gaming stream! Nothing but kindness, good humour, helpfulness, joy & friendship.

So. It CAN be done. @JoINrbs has curated a beautiful community where respect is the order of the day.

So, you don't NEED to pander to awful people.
You don't NEED to let them say whatever they like in the name of free speech.
You can... have a nice place with nice people!

And if your place isn't like that?
You can MAKE IT LIKE THAT!
And if you can't?
You can LEAVE & FIND A NICE PLACE!

So, yeah, I'm not accepting any more excuses for the hellholes of gaming toxicity.

Good people surround themselves with other good people.