1 free read left. Create a free account for unlimited reading + AI research.

WhitepaperUtrecht University3 Nov 2026

It Was Easy to Know What I've Done Wrong: Designing Systems for Transparency and Accountability for Improved Toxicity Moderation in Online Games

Key insights

7 takeaways

01
Current game moderation systems are often perceived as opaque and reactive, focusing on punitive measures like permanent bans rather than providing the specific feedback necessary for players to reform their behavior.See it on page 5
02
A study of 12 participants evaluating two novel moderation systems—a feedback-focused system and a badge-based system—found that both significantly outperformed current industry baselines in transparency and accountability.See it on page 27
03
Providing immediate, specific feedback to reported players helps them understand exactly which actions violated community standards, which is more effective for behavior change than delayed or vague notifications.See it on page 5
04
The 'Badge System' leverages social status and public commitments to community values to encourage positive behavior, allowing players to earn recognition for maintaining a clean record or reforming past toxicity.See it on page 24
05
Integrating a visible, accessible code of conduct directly into the game interface serves as a critical reference point for players to evaluate their actions and understand the justification for moderation decisions.See it on page 4
06
While visual indicators like a 'Reportmeter' increase transparency regarding how close a player is to a sanction, they carry the risk of being perceived as stressful or intimidating by the user base.See it on page 24
07
Future moderation strategies should shift from purely reactive, punishment-based models toward proactive designs that emphasize continuous, actionable feedback to foster long-term player retention and healthier community norms.See it on page 5

Summary

"It was easy to know what I've done wrong": Designing Systems for Transparency and Accountability for Improved Toxicity Moderation in Online Games ANTIGONI MARINA ROUMANA, Utrecht University, Netherlands SANDER BAKKES, Utrecht University, Netherlands REGAN L. MANDRYK, University of Victoria, Canada JULIAN FROMMEL, Utrecht University, Netherlands Toxicity is prevalent in many online games, undermining the experience for the players.

It Was Easy to Know What I've Done Wrong: Designing Systems for Transparency and Accountability for Improved Toxicity Moderation in Online Games

It Was Easy to Know What I've Done Wrong: Designing Systems for Transparency and Accountability for Improved Toxicity Moderation in Online Games

Key insights

Summary

Next steps

Games and companies in this document

Connections

More from Utrecht University

Design Opportunities for Asynchronous Relationship Maintenance in Games

Envisioning and Co-Creating Generative AI for Future Creative Workers in Gaming

Playing the Hidden Curriculum: Designing Games to Materialize and Question the Unwritten Rules in Higher Education Classrooms

Using Social Media Data to Understand Citizen Perceptions of Urban Planning in a City Simulation Game

Digital Literacy Games: A Systematic Literature Review

The Politics of Game Canonization: Tales from the Frontlines of Creating a National History of Games

Social Practices for Social Driven Conversations in Serious Games

A Framework for Usability Evaluation of Mobile Mixed Reality Games

More on Game Design

The Practice Paradox: How Practice Negatively Impacts Players' Time-to-Quit and Frustration

Gacha Impact: Systems, Characters, and the Player Experience of Gacha Games

Tuning the Trail: Effects of Desire Paths on Player Behavior and Experience

Hexed by Pressure: How Action-State Orientation Explains Propensity to Choke in Super Hexagon

Computer-based Deceptive Game Design in Commercial Virtual Reality Games: A Preliminary Investigation

Behavioral Design in Video Games

Conversations with Pigeons: Capturing Players' Lived Experience of Perspective Challenging Games

I Want To See How Smart This AI Really Is: Player Mental Model Development of an Adversarial AI Player

Examining Immersion in a Game-Based Experiment to Study Extreme Behavior

Not Very Effective: Validity Issues of the Effectance in Games Scale

Human-Agent Trust Relationships in a Real-Time Collaborative Game

And then they died: Using Action Sequences for Data Driven, Context Aware Gameplay Analysis