FAIRHOPE, AL—Exploiting the popular online game platform for his own perverse ends, local Roblox user Rodney McKinney, 68, was accused of grooming 56-year-old Roblox user Walter Rhodes, sources confirmed Wednesday. “For the past several months, Mr. McKinney, a 68-year-old Roblox user, used the game as a means to foster an inappropriate relationship with an impressionable young 56-year-old that was sexual in nature,” said officer Mike Cavazos, noting several obscene messages in which the baby boomer offered the much younger Gen X user Robux in exchange for lewd images of Rhodes’ flabby, mature body. “It was clear from their correspondence that Mr. McKinney knew the victim was 56, as he stated in chats that he was ‘old enough to be [Rhodes’] supervising manager.’ And though he claimed that messages inviting the victim to move off Roblox to a more private LinkedIn chat were innocent, we believe otherwise.” At press time, authorities claimed McKinney attempted to conceal his indiscretions by warning Rhodes not to “tell your mom, if she’s still alive.”
Tag: Roblox Corporation
-
![Roblox Players Say Pro-Palestinian Games Are Being Taken Down [Update]](https://reportwire.org/wp-content/uploads/https://i.kinja-img.com/image/upload/c_fill,h_675,pg_1,q_80,w_1200/22498167e49bc80a1958744f8351cff8.jpg)
Roblox Players Say Pro-Palestinian Games Are Being Taken Down [Update]
Two weeks ago, hundreds of Roblox players jumped into a custom game that let them take part in a pro-Palestine march. The game, which appeared to have been organized by Malaysian Roblox players, was made in response to the escalating violence in the Middle East. On October 7, the Islamic political and military organization Hamas, attacked, kidnapped, and killed around 1,400 Israeli citizens. Since that day, Israel has reportedly dropped more than 18,000 tons of explosives on the Gaza Strip, the six-mile wide piece of land that is home to more than 2 million Palestinians.
Roblox is a game creation system that allows players to build their own shareable games for others to enjoy online, and the pro-Palestine march gained a lot of attention. People took to social media to share their stories, with one person saying their young cousin attended the virtual march because they were too young to drive to one in-person. Others said this march was a sign that the “kids are alright.” The game featured Palestinian flags and a large, open square with the words “Solitary Untukmu” (Malay for “Solidarity for you”) on one end.
On November 5, an X (formerly Twitter) user named Qaali Hussein shared: “My daughter just told me that all the marches are gone…because they were reported for hate speech and antisemitism,” he wrote. One commenter responded, saying that the two Roblox games they had played that featured pro-Palestinian marches were also gone. “The one in the video got taken down first then the second one got privated,” they allege.
A Roblox spokesperson told Kotaku via email that one of the experiences referenced is “still live” and can be found at this link. However, the spokesperson notes, “the experience is set to private mode, which is a setting that was selected by the creator of the game.” When asked about the reports that additional pro-Palestinian experiences were taken down, the Roblox spokesperson could not confirm nor deny without specific details of the game itself, which I could not find online.
The same person who alleged that one pro-Palestinian game was taken down did receive a warning from Roblox for saying “FREE PALESTINE.” They shared a screenshot of that warning on X, which shows why the warning was issued (“political content”) and what the “offensive item” was (“FREE PALESTINE FREE PALESTINE”), but the moderator note seems somewhat at odds with the current Roblox community standards. The note reads: “Roblox does not permit support for current political candidates, parties, associated flags or symbols.”
However, a spokesperson for Roblox clarified the situation over email, writing that “the phrase ‘Free Palestine’ is compliant with Roblox’s Community Standards and is indeed allowed for use on our platform. It is considered an expression of solidarity as allowed by our Community Standards and is not recognized as prohibited political content.”
It’s not clear why the original poster’s statement was flagged.
Update 11/06/2023 7:00 p.m. ET: Updated story with a new quote from Roblox spokesperson.
Alyssa Mercante
Source link -
Kids Are Attending Pro-Palestinian Protests In This Popular Game
In the midst of the ongoing escalation between Israel and Palestine, gamers who can’t attend protests in real life are turning to digital spaces to show their support for those suffering as a result of the conflict. The latest venue? The ultra-popular tween hit Roblox.
A dramatic increase in regional violence came about after Hamas, the Islamic political and military organization that governs the Gaza Strip, launched an all-out attack against Israel on October 7, kidnapping civilians and killing around 1,400 people. In response, Israel has been ceaselessly raining bombs down upon Gaza, the cordoned-off home to over 2 million Palestinians, nearly half of whom are children. At the time of writing, the Palestinian death toll has surpassed 5,000.
On October 23, an X (formerly Twitter) user shared a post that read “y’all my cousin is 15 and couldn’t join a protest so she just went to one on roblox bro i’m crying.” In the replies, people posted footage of the Roblox protest, which boasted hundreds of players waving Palestinian flags walking down a massive, red brick road lined with more Palestinian flags. The protest ended in a large, open square, with a massive sign depicting a Palestinian flag-colored ribbon emblazoned with the words “Solitary Untukmu” (Malay for “Solidarity for you”). The Singaporean flag can also be seen, both flying high on a flagpole and being held by some of the Roblox player characters.
Roblox is an online game platform and game creation tool with blocky character models and more otherwise rudimentary graphics that encourages players to create their own “games” and then share those codes so that other people can join. It has, quite controversially, courted a rather young playerbase.
In the years since it first launched, Roblox has been accused of profiting off of child gambling, faced the ire of Kim Kardashian after an in-game, player-made experience referenced her sex tape, and been widely debated among parents as to whether or not it’s really a child-friendly game option. But now, someone has created a Roblox game that allows players to attend pro-Palestinian protests. According to the original X poster, their cousin couldn’t drive to a local protest because they are unlicensed, so they instead went to one in Roblox.
The replies to X and TikTok videos of the in-game protest are largely positive, with commenters saying “the kids are alright” and asking for the Roblox code so they can join. A Malaysian streamer who shared a video of themselves attending the protest was live on TikTok while I was working on this piece—when I asked for details in the comments he said that his friend built the game and thanked me for my support.
A spokesperson for Roblox Corporation commented:
We are deeply saddened by the horrific tragedy unfolding in Israel and Gaza, and our hearts go out to those who are impacted in the area or who have loved ones, family and friends in the region. While our Community Standards allow for expressions of solidarity, we do not allow for content that endorses or condones violence, promotes terrorism or hatred against individuals or groups, or calls for supporting a specific political party. We have an expert team of thousands of moderators along with automated detection tools in place to monitor our platform and will take swift action against any content or individuals found to be in violation of our standards. We also encourage anyone to report content or behavior that may not comply with our Community Standards by using our Report Abuse feature.
This isn’t the first time people have turned to digital spaces to take a stand—there were protests against the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Final Fantasy XIV, and Black Lives Matter protests during the height of the covid-19 pandemic in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Elsewhere in the industry, Cult of the Lamb publisher Devolver Digital recently donated to humanitarian aid in Gaza, and Twitch streamer and political commentator Hasan Piker raised over $1 million for Palestinian relief.
Update 10/24/2023 10:35 p.m. ET: Added comment from Roblox Corp.
Alyssa Mercante
Source link -
Roblox Will Soon Start To Interview Some Job Seekers In-Game
Interviewing for a job isn’t fun. Today, so many companies make candidates jump through numerous hoops and several interviews just to get a chance to work for them. And now, the company behind the free-to-play online game Roblox is preparing to take the next, horrible step: interviewing people in-game.
Roblox is a giant online video game/content creation platform that allows players around the world to create and sell their own games and in-game items to others. Millions of players log in every day to play Roblox, though some reports suggest the whole thing might be pretty shady and not a safe place for creators or kids. Now it seems Roblox Corporation wants to use its own massive video game to help find new employees and even host interviews in its corporate metaverse.
Read More: You Can Be An Extreme Storm Chaser In This Game
On August 10, Roblox revealed its new “Roblox Career Center,” an in-game location created by the company as a way to provide “early career candidates” with a “firsthand” look at what it’s like to be a part of its workforce. The Career Center includes an Innovation Lab where candidates can see what’s coming next for the game, and a Podcast Lounge where you can listen to the company’s Tech Talk show hosted by co-founder & CEO Dave Baszucki. Also included is The Library, which holds a “curated selection of books and other reading materials” that job seekers can look over and read before their interview.
Roblox says its new Career Center will let the company “reach early career candidates across the world” while removing “geographic constraints” from the process. I feel like an email, video call or phone conversation can also remove those kinds of limitations, but okay. What is worse and more nightmarish is the hint, buried in Roblox’s blog post, that it will start interviewing people in the game itself in the future.
“Coming soon, we’ll be inviting candidates to conduct certain initial interviews directly within the experience,” teased Roblox, like a person with a spray bottle threatening a dog. Thankfully, it seems these in-game interviews will initially be “opt-in”, according to Axios.
Why Roblox is using its game to find employees
Roblox says its in-game career center is designed for candidates and applicants who have likely grown up playing Roblox and who will feel comfortable looking for work and interviewing in it.
Look, I get that this might seem like it’s breaking down barriers and letting more people be interviewed by Roblox. Yet, the idea of directly looking for employees from the pool of young people who play your game a lot inside that very game seems a little predatory and very weird.
And as mentioned already, there are already so many pre-existing ways to interview and talk to people around the world. If only one good thing came from the covid pandemic, it’s the realization that many more people can work remotely and more places should support remote work in order to bring more diversity to their workplaces. Instead, what if desperate job seekers might one day be forced to download Roblox or some other awful metaverse, then forced to jump through another hoop in the hopes of finding employment to support themselves and their family? We continue to live in the worst timeline.
Zack Zwiezen
Source link