It's Getting out of Control in This Forum: Analyzing Gender-Based Aggression on a Containment Thread for an Open Game Development

Abstract

This article analyzes user discourse in a containment thread to examine how game developers can create more inclusive user experience (UX) processes and communities. Containment threads are typically used to keep undesirable conversations in a single place on a forum. In the case discussed here, the containment thread was a response to increasing rates of gender-based aggression after a game developer included nonbinary pronouns in the character creation interface. Ultimately, the analysis found that the containment thread, combined with the design of the forum discourse space, acted to highlight and sustain the gender-based aggression over time. Drawing on recent work on online aggression and queering technical communication, the article closes by offering initial recommendations for supporting more inclusive UX communities.