I would like to start off by apologising to anyone that my slightly over the top actions may have offended or caused grief. I used offensive jokes mostly with the intent to get a rise out of the players that I knew would take my jokes seriously, rather than to incite racial hatred among the players of CRPG. I realise that trolling is not much better than racism and, therefore, I am not bringing it up as an excuse, but as a way for me to reiterate that the things I said had no true malicious intent.
As the issue of racism is too large and complex to do it justice in a short essay, I will instead focus on the negative effects that such behaviour carries in online communities, in particular, the CRPG community.
Although racism has seen a decline in the real world in the past decades, it is a whole different situation online. Due to widespread anonymity, so-called freedom of speech, and lack of accountability, the Internet has become home to acts of hatred of all kinds, which is especially relevant to international communities, such as CRPG.
One of the most appealing factors of CRPG is the opportunity to meet and get to know people from a vast amount of different countries. Naturally, this also means that a large amount of players will, inevitably, come from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. While such diversity and cultural exchange is clearly beneficial to everyone involved, it also means that we have to keep our differences in mind when interacting with each other ?? something I have clearly failed to take into consideration during my stay here. Ever since I started playing CRPG, I have been frequently spewing offensive jokes directed at particular races, religions or ethnic groups, while effectively paying no attention to the potential distress they may have caused, all for some cheap laughs.. Something I have only come to understand and regret only now.
In conclusion, I would like to apologise once again to those that may have been offended by my actions.
