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Unofficial Player Reporting FAQ

This wiki article describes the aspects of player reporting, which is a feature added into Minecraft: Java Edition in 2022. Most of the aspects detail on chat reporting¹, although later added username and skin reporting are described as well. While the article is in the perspective of Fabulously Optimized, a lot of answered questions are universal and applicable for every user of the game.

The intent of this article is to educate good-minded users about the pitfalls of the newly introduced player reporting system, including important details and answers to questions that Mojang's official resources don't provide.

The article, nor the modpack does not encourage breaking any rules, and to the author's knowledge (not a lawyer), none of the advice, including described mods, break Mojang's Community Standards or Terms of Service either. The article is provided solely for educational purposes, as-is, without a warranty of any kind.

¹ "Chat reportability" is technically a more accurate term than "chat reporting", as no server except Realms reports any chat to Mojang automatically. However, in the Minecraft community "chat reporting" is better understood.

Chat reporting

What is chat reporting?

In Minecraft 1.19.1 and up, players can report other players' chat messages to Mojang, which may result in a temporary or permanent ban from all multiplayer servers, on all versions of Minecraft: Java Edition.

How are reports created?

The official help page states the following:

Reporting can be accessed via the social interactions screen (default keybind is P) or via the pause menu.

[...]

  • A player creates a report, selects the offending chat, name, or skin, a category and details, and submits it.

  • The report is sent to our team of Minecraft Investigators.

  • A moderator reviews the report and the evidence and assigns an appropriate action (if any).

  • If action is taken, a moderator can take one of the following actions:

    • Suspend the player from online play for some duration of time, or in extreme cases permanently

    • Remove the player’s skin and replace it with a default skin.

      • This action applies to any player using the same skin, and future players will not be able to select it.

    • Suspend the player from online play until they change their username.

      • No player will be allowed to use this name once it has been removed.

Why was it implemented?

Minecraft: Java Edition Player Reporting FAQ states the following:

[...] We need to provide safeguards that will help keep all our players safe and welcome in the online environments where they play Minecraft. Player Reporting will help to keep Minecraft communities free from hate speech, bullying, harassment, sexual solicitation, and personal threats. We believe that human moderation and community guidelines are critical to reducing harmful behavior and promoting healthy Minecraft online communities.

Why is chat reporting controversial?

Because the current implementation of it is vaguely described, sustainability not guaranteed and ethics questionable. Skin/username reports have different concerns - see here.

  • Banned from all multiplayer - instead of getting punished on one server, you are getting punished on all, including Realms and others' LAN servers. Maybe you just got angry and sweared at someone on one server and want to go to another to relax again? Nope, cannot do that.

  • Some swearing is interpreted too strictly - some swear words are interpreted as bannable offenses even if the players know each other and know that the other party will not get offended by it. Read more about one user's experience from this post.

  • Realms chat is constantly monitored - according to Our Commitment to Player Safety, they monitor all Realms chat and will take action regardless of whether you get reported and regardless of whether the other party actually took your message seriously or not. This was not possible before they introduced chat signing and global bans.

  • Realms subscriptions don't get cancelled - if you get banned, Mojang will not automatically pause the subscription of any Realms servers you own, meaning you'll continue to pay for server(s) you cannot access or control. This makes sense for short-term bans like up to a week, but any longer than that should give an explicit option at least.

  • Not sent to server admins - sending reports to Mojang will result in different judgement and outcomes of the cases - while server admins could punish faster, with a shorter penalty, with different kinds of punishments like mutes and jails, Mojang can only ban people from the entirety of multiplayer or not punish at all.

  • Report reviewers lack context - players can select 1-4 messages, to which the system will add up to 9 messages before the selected ones - at most 40 messages in total. That is a very partial context for serious offenses as it is missing player builds, signs, books, Discord/forum messages, daily general behavior etc. In other words, it assumes the player only offends another within one hour, not for a longer period.

  • Fairness doesn't scale - Minecraft has a huge playerbase and if lots of players play it, lots can report each other as well. How can Mojang guarantee a fair action to be done on thousands of reports every day? The investigators may accidentally overlook a part of the conversation or misintepret the intent due to words used. Compare that to a single server that has less players, therefore less reports and less admins needed, appeals that are dealt with faster.

  • Categories don't match server rules - for example, there can be an adult-only server that may discuss things like world politics, alcohol and drugs freely, but when an underage player stumbles upon it, they can report others for things that are clearly allowed and intended by the server.

  • Categories are vague - as of 1.20.2, the reason "I want to report them" was added, which implies that "being annoying" is also a possible cause of punishment.

  • Ban reasons and appeals are vague - while there is a way to appeal, it is not described when and how many times it will be accepted. The fact that some bans are temporary is not really the solution - an unjust ban gives a bad impression of the game overall. This issue has already been prevalent in Bedrock Edition.

  • Reports may not be sufficient - in the case of most serious offenses (e.g. threatening, abuse, harassment), you should really feel that proper action is taken. With these reports, Mojang does not actually elaborate on what their "appropriate actions" are. They may send a player suicide prevention info for example, but there is no guarantee Mojang will contact the police for you. Do it yourself!

  • Servers can and do opt out - most public servers, including Hypixel, have already opt out of the chat reporting system. Obviously the system cannot work if servers opt out. This is another reason for the game to add clear indication about whether a server enabled the system or not, instead of making players assume it is everywhere (or even nowhere).

This is a non-exhaustive list. People have voiced more concerns in various Minecraft communities and the feedback site, search around.

I already follow the server rules/am a nice person. Why should I care?

That is exactly why you should. Previously, all you had to do was to follow the server's rules, so any actions you took were judged by the server administration.

Now, with this system, all your actions are now judged by two parties: the server administration and Mojang's interpretation of Community Standards.

Even if the server admins know your intent is positive/ethical/legal and have all the context to prove it, Mojang on the other hand has very limited context of what you say and what you meant by it.

Can I be banned without anyone reporting me?

On Realms, yes. See does Mojang monitor my chats.

On public servers, no. You can be banned by server admins throughout the same server or server network, but multiplayer-wide bans as described here must still be initiated by a player reporting another player's individual messages, if the system is enabled on the server.

Is there a way to appeal the ban?

Yes, if you meet their criteria (see "how to submit an appeal..."). It is unknown how many appeals are accepted.

  1. Open the Case Review request

  2. Select "Minecraft: Java" as the game.

  3. Fill the form throughly with all information you have

  4. Submit the form

  5. Wait patiently for their response

If you own a Realm, you may want to pause your subscription as well.

What if I'm permanently banned?

Then you can only play singleplayer, not even LAN-worlds.

How could Mojang improve the system?

In the best scenario, one of the following:

  • Sending the reports to server admins instead of Mojang, as they have the most context to take the appropriate action

  • Making the whole system opt-in (or out) as then only the servers that need this help would enable it

  • Implementing the system only on Realms or other Mojang-partnering servers

  • Not implementing the system at all because there are enough moderation tools built already

If core changes to the system will not be made, Mojang could still improve its communication about the feature in-game and on help pages:

  • Make it clear that reports are sent to Mojang instead of server admins

  • Add a clear, yet unobtrusive indicator that shows whether the system is in place or not for given server

    • Current vanilla indicators are small and per chat line which are easy to miss or unwillingly ignore; the warning toast is annoying and technically easy to disable.

  • Be very clear and truthful about the system in help pages

  • Use less cryptic terminology in errors related to the system

  • Write a technical overview about the system's working so that users inclined would be able to read it from the official source

That said, credit where credit due: several technical issues have been fixed since 1.19.3 already, which made the experience smoother for users who do not prefer the system.

This is a non-exhaustive list. People have posted more ideas in various Minecraft communities and the feedback site, search around.

How does this affect Realms?

See does Mojang monitor my chats.

Was player reporting possible at all before 1.19.1?

Yes, Mojang has had a web form for it, that still exists.

But it wasn't really an issue in the same way, because:

  • few people knew about it (higher chances of actual reports instead of jokes/bullying)

  • chat messages were not verifiable to be sent by the username next to them

  • ban system itself did not exist

Therefore, it is unknown, how chat reports in the form were or are handled. Usernames and skins were/are probably handled as in the newly introduced system.

Where can I learn more about it?

Explanatory videos

All videos are suitable for describing the interactions and ethical concerns, but for technical details only videos about 1.19.3 and later versions are still relevant. Aizistral is the developer of No Chat Reports.

Official posts

History of changes

  • 2021 or earlier Minecraft adds a player reporting form to its website.

  • 1.19

    • 22w17a introduced the concept of signed messages, which is a verification method that ensures each message was sent by that user and not the server. It also added a toggle for servers to prevent entering players who did not sign theirs, though the option was disabled by default.

    • 22w18a started signing the messages sent by /say, /msg, /teammsg, and /me.

    • 22w19a added an option for players to hide messages by other players who did not sign their messages.

    • Some snapshot also introduced a way to modify chat messages by filtering words, presumably for Realms.

  • 1.19.1

    • 22w24a introduced the chat reporting interface.

    • 1.19.1-pre.1 introduced account-wide bans.

    • 1.19.1-rc.1 removed the "Extreme violence or gore", "Nudity or pornography", and "Profanity" categories. It was also Mojang's initial "final" plan of how the reporting system would work. Due to major exploits found by the community though, the release of 1.19.1 was postponed by a month.

    • 1.19.1-pre.2 introduced red bars and (!) indicators on unsigned messages, yellow bars and (?) indicators on "modified" messages. It also made the system enabled on new servers by default.

    • 1.19.1-pre.3 introduced gray indicators for system messages.

    • 1.19.1-pre.4 fixed an exploit where players could add new messages to a report that weren't there previously. It also introduced the concept of deleted messages, where the server can remove any message from the client.

    • 1.19.1-rc.2 introduced a warning toast to players entering a server where the server does not restrict the joining of non-signing users. Practically, this toast mostly affected vanilla and vanilla-like servers, as other servers quickly found a way to remove it.

  • 1.19.2 fixed an exploit where some players could kick everyone else by abusing chat signing features.

  • 1.19.3

    • 22w42a removed red (!) indicators on unsigned messages and made the bar gray, modified messages changed the (?) indicator to gray and is no longer displayed if only the style was changed. Deleted messages are now displayed for 3 seconds and are replaced by a system message. Players are now able to join all servers and use most commands (except any that are related to messages) even if they don't sign their chat.

    • 22w43a introduced chat report drafts.

  • 1.19.4

    • 23w03a made clients attempt to start signing their messages on server join, if it didn't happen on client start.

    • 1.19.4-pre.4 fixed a bug where the user could get kicked due to signing requirement after changing their chat settings.

  • 2023-08-02 Minecraft changed its EULA and created a new page called Minecraft Usage Guidelines. Among other things it states:

    • Regardless of how you choose to make money to support your server, you may only do so if: [...] You don’t hide or alter any of the dialogs or prompts that are part of Minecraft (this includes the End User License Agreement (EULA), warning messages, and error messages)"

  • 1.20.2

    • 23w32a made clients no longer disconnect when receiving invalid chat messages, instead a placeholder message will be shown in chat.

    • 23w33a added skin and username reporting, removed "impersonation" as a report category and added "generic" report category.

  • 2023-11-07 - Mojang announced the Official Minecraft Server List, which features the "Beacon of Safety badge" that requires the server to have chat reporting, profanity filter and a manual review by the site's admins. No Java Edition servers have the badge yet.

See also: Minecraft Wiki's history sections for Social Interactions and Chat.

Chat reporting and Fabulously Optimized

What does this modpack do for me?

Fabulously Optimized includes (why?):

  • A mod called No Chat Reports that:

    • adds new consistent chat indicators

    • disables inconsistent vanilla chat indicators and the annoying toast

    • disables chat signing on servers that state they do not want it

    • provides optional features for users who want to configure their experience

  • A resource pack called Chat Reporting Helper that:

    • makes No Chat Reports icons more neutral

    • improves vanilla and No Chat Reports tooltips to be shorter, clearer and unbiased

In order to get the status of the server, open the chat box (press T) and look at the right bottom corner:

    • In some cases, no messages can be reported but that is not reflected on the icon. You can confirm by seeing if you can report anyone on Social Interactions.

(Expected different icons? Disable Chat Reporting Helper resource pack and see No Chat Reports wiki.)

The behaviour can be configured per-server, hover on the icon for more details.

I don't want to join such servers at all!

  1. Click Mods

  3. Set "Default signing mode" to Prompt or Never

  4. Save changes

The behaviour can also be configured per-server, hover on the status icon (bottom right corner of the chatbox) for more details.

I can't chat in my server!

Some poorly configured servers require chat reportability, but fail to communicate it in a standard way. Then you may see vague messages like "Please relog to chat" or "Please disable mods to chat".

Actually, all you have to do is:

  2. Say something

  4. Optionally: report the server IP to Fabulously Optimized, so that it can be fixed for everyone

Is No Chat Reports itself a risk?

No. The mod disables chat signing on servers that explicitly tell the clients "chat reportability is not required here!". In servers that enforce the system, chat signing will work as it does in vanilla.

I think chat reporting is fair.

In vanilla itself there is no such clear indication as the toast and chat line icons do not accurately work on every server, hence the mod.

Why does Fabulously Optimized take a stance on the matter?

Fabulously Optimized is not "just a performance pack" or an "OptiFine clone". While these are its core priorities, indeed, the priorities also include the community itself, privacy and transparency.

When the system was first visibly introduced in 22w24a, the players were clearly upset. Not only was there zero prior communication about the system - except the introduction of chat signing, which most users didn't think much of at the time - but also within said snapshot and the next one (supposedly "the last one before 1.19.1") Mojang did not communicate with the users. Not via QnA, no tweets, no help pages. There were practical exploits and ethical concerns which stayed unanswered. 1.19.1-rc.1 removed 3 of the most concerning report categories, but still did not communicate with users.

Then they took a step back. Postponed the release by a month to rework the system internally, made it visually more annoying than before and eventually released 1.19.1. After that, Mojang started working on some help pages to explain the feature in fuller detail. Due to aforementioned concerns and players spreading misinformation, this modpack received a FAQ (which you're reading now) to explain the system as it actually is, while taking a very protective stance in-game. Step by step, while discussing with the players and learning more about the feature, Fabulously Optimized changed its stance from "protective" towards "unobtrusive".

After the release of FO 4.2.0 (MC 1.19.2), there were more discussions about the feature, with users requesting even more neutrality from the modpack. By discussing and evaluating the pain points of chat reporting and Mojang's positive improvements made in 1.19.3, a solution was found - neutral texts and icons. The resource pack was released in FO 4.6.0 and separately distributed as of FO 4.9.0.

As of Minecraft 1.20.4, Mojang has still not fully fixed the issues or the communication. Therefore, Fabulously Optimized cannot fulfill the principles of being transparent and prioritizing its users without also giving them clear indicators, honest phrasing and customizable options so that users could make their own decisions about the new feature. It is very important that every user is aware of the system's existence, where and how it works, because it doesn't work everywhere, nor does it align with users' previous expectations of chat in general. At the same time, it is important to reiterate that neither the mod or the resourcepack will actually break any rules or prevent users from reporting if the server prefers it.

If Mojang will improve their communication or overhaul the system again, it is possible that both the mod and resource pack will be removed from the modpack.

See also: why does this article exist and history of chat reporting

Protection, awareness, alternatives to chat reporting

What should I do instead when someone breaks the rules?

Do what you always did.

  • If an user is being annoying, hide their messages by clicking the chat icon near the username in Social Interactions or, in some servers, /ignore (username).

  • If an user has broken the rules of the server, report it to server administration. This is usually done by /report, /helpop, server forum or Discord.

  • If an user is talking about commiting suicide, talk to them and give local help resources.

  • If an user is doing or threatening illegal actions, report it to server admins and local police. Provide them with as much context as possible, including screenshots.

I am a player. How do I know if chat reporting is enabled?

If you're not using No Chat Reports or using vanilla client, click here

In vanilla (1.20.2), there are also ways to determine whether chat reportability is enabled in a given server, but it requires paying attention to small clues:

  • Are you able to join the server with 1.18.2 or older client? If yes, then chat reporting is disabled.

  • When you type something in the chat or as a private message, do you see a gray bar on the left? If yes, then chat reporting is disabled.

    • Remember to only look at chat messages. System messages always have the gray bar.

  • When someone else types something, press P (Social interactions). Can you report that player's chat? If not, that player or server has disabled chat reporting.

  • When you joined the server, did you see this toast on top right corner? If yes, chat reporting may be disabled on the server, or players could use a mod like No Chat Reports to disable it for themselves.

I am a server owner. How can I protect my users?

See server setup. If you are a player, you can send that page to your server admins.

Should I/my server stay on 1.19?

No.

If you want to stay on an older version, please use the latest version of Fabulously Optimized for 1.18.2.

This section previously claimed that it may be possible for 1.19.1+ players to report 1.19 ones. This turned out to not be the case because the signing system changed in 1.19.1.

Should I/my server stay on 1.18.2?

Maybe. It is safe from reports, you are free to play it for as long as you like. However, due to the wide availability of serverside and clientside mods, there is no practical reason to not update.

Should I disable online-mode on my server?

No. While that does disable chat reporting, it makes your server vulnerable in a lot of other ways, and is not allowed by Minecraft Usage Guidelines.

Can I break the system/avoid getting reported?

No. It is up to the server to decide whether they want the reporting system or not, use that information to choose the servers you play in. Using exploits to break the system clientside may lead to a ban and is not endorsed here.

Can I encrypt my chat messages?

Yes. This is mostly useful in Realms and in public servers' private messages with friends, as long as you know how and where to use it.

In Fabulously Optimized the encryption button is currently hidden to reduce confusion, so you need to do the following to enable it:

  1. Click Mods

  3. Select Technical tab, set "Show encryption button" to Yes

  4. Save changes

  5. Join any world or server

  6. Click your chat key, default T

  7. Click the 🔒. You'll see warnings and configuration for the encryption feature.

    • Note that servers may mute or otherwise punish you for spam when this is used, to prevent that you might want to disable the usage in public chat.

I want to give feedback to Mojang.

Great! Use the official feedback site:

Skin and username reporting

What is skin and username reporting?

As of 1.20.2, it is possible to report players' usernames and skins, besides chat. Therefore, the user can now click the report button on all players' names in Social Interactions, and must choose the category to report for - chat, username or skin.

Is it bad?

Yes and no.

Good

  • Skins and usernames are public data that represent you across all servers, launchers, profiles. They affect your (and to an extent, Mojang's) public reputation, so certain limits make sense.

  • Usernames were already dealt with proactively, meaning you couldn't choose most of the offensive ones anyway.

  • Several servers ban users for offensive usernames and skins, so knowing whether a skin/username is bad beforehand can prevent you from getting banned in the servers.

Bad

  • It limits user creativity and contextual jokes, if the player wanted to make a joke in one server/context only.

  • Words that are offensive in English but not in a different language may still be punished/prevented.

  • Multiple strikes on an account may accumulate to a ban from all multiplayer servers.

Are all users' skins/usernames reportable?

On online-mode servers, yes.

On offline-mode servers, it is not certain yet - it may be possible to report but due to technical differences the reports will likely not get acted on.

What happens when I'm punished?

For the first few offenses, not much.

  • If your skin was the offense, it will be reset to default and can already continue to play on multiplayer. You can also change the skin again (to a different one).

  • If your username was the offense, you will get unbanned from multiplayer as soon as you change your username.

If you have repeated offenses, you will get a permanent ban from all multiplayer servers.

Can I appeal a punishment?

Yes, you can do it with those instructions.

Can I still use a banned skin/username?

No. Trying to circumvent the ban will likely get you caught again and with several strikes, you'll be banned from multiplayer permanently.

Can reports/bans be prevented server-side?

Yes. Servers could use nickname or skin changing plugins, which everyone will see but cannot report (as the report will show the original name/skin).

Do your own research if interested.

Can reports/bans be prevented client-side?

Partially. Clients could use custom cosmetic and title/pronoun mods to avoid using Mojang's servers in the first place.

However, other players will need the same mods to see them, and the mods probably have certain rules/reporting features of their own. Do your own research if interested.

Related questions

Does Java Edition have a profanity filter?

Yes, but currently only on Realms chat. If you are an adult, you can disable it for yourself in your minecraft.net profile. Learn more

Profanity by itself is no longer a category one can report other players for. Swearing at friends, even jokingly, is bannable though - read the next section for more info.

Bedrock Edition has the filter on chat, signs, item names, books etc. across all servers and content, including singleplayer.

Does Mojang monitor my chats?

Yes, but only on Realms (Java and Bedrock) and Featured Servers (only Bedrock).

Our Commitment to Player Safety says

For Bedrock and Java Realms as well as partnered Bedrock servers, we leverage an automated proactive chat filtering system.

We use it to classify, filter, and escalate online harms for human review and moderation to promote safe and welcoming interactions on Minecraft games. That includes behaviors such as harassment, abuse, and hate speech.

Similarly, the why have I been banned FAQ says

Specifically, our highly trained moderation staff is looking at the most egregious violations in public Featured Servers and Realms [...]

Read can I encrypt my chat messages above for what can you do about it.

Though, it is worth pointing out that monitoring and "automated proactive chat filtering" in this case likely refers to automatic reports triggered by specific keywords used, not that there is a person or team specifically looking at your messages.

Does Bedrock Edition also have player reporting?

Yes, it does. It is unknown if there is any way to prevent chat reporting there.

How many servers actually have chat reporting?

Update: Mojang released an official server list, which indicates chat reporting with a "Beacon of Safety badge". As of Feb 2024, no Java Edition servers have the badge yet.

There is no easy way to get this statistic, as it is only obtainable once the player has sent the first message, and the server can change its stance at any time.

However, what we do know:

  • Any server that allows 1.18.2 or older clients to enter cannot have chat reporting. Yes, that includes Hypixel and many other minigame servers.

  • Any server that allows versions between 1.19-1.19.2 and/or 1.19.2-1.19.3 to join cannot have chat reporting. This is because these versions have different implementations of chat signing/reporting, and as such they cannot coexist.

  • There are many plugins and ways to disable chat reporting, and these are popular among server owners.

  • Any vanilla server from 1.19 and up enables chat reporting by default, but may or may not allow players to disable it for themselves.

  • Cracked servers cannot have chat reporting.

  • Realms always has chat reporting.

Public server listings usually only list the latest version a player can join with, not all versions, so even the 1.19.3+ server count is hard to determine.

I have more questions.

Write to #support in our Discord.

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