2B2T and the Actual Benefits of Gatekeeping

I've always been an advocate for gatekeeping, and many others on this server have shown to feel the same. On imageboards and forums the world over, there is a "Keep the normies out" sentiment. Protecting your subculture from the masses is a good thing, but you also need a steady trickle of new blood to keep from becoming stale. Gatekeeping then is not only the art of keeping people out, but also the art of allowing the right people in. I think that no place on the internet I've seen exemplifies this better than Minecraft's 2B2T.

2B2T is the oldest anarchy server on Minecraft. The premise is that there are no rules, and by that I mean NO RULES. People use hacked clients, post racial slurs in chat, grief, use exploits to track players, and have even hacked into the server itself to gain access to admin commands and NO ONE has been banned. Despite all the chaos, the community represents a macrocosm of human civilization. With the rise and fall of civilizations, political struggles, wars, and great works the history of this server is shockingly captivating for a block game. But that's a story best left told by the people who were there. I'm here to talk about how they treat outsiders, and how it not only protects them from normies, but how it filters in those who are best fit for the server. For that, we need look no further than the first thing a new player would see, spawn.

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Spawn on 2B2T is to put it bluntly, a wasteland. There are lava casts everywhere. There is no dirt, let alone trees. The chances of finding food are practically zero. Nether portals lead to traps where geared players wait to kill without mercy. A new player has to perform difficult platforming just to navigate. There are trenches leading to bedrock, and lava walls reaching to build limit. Just finding a way to move without falling to your death is half the struggle. If that wasn't enough, veteran players patrol the area looking for easy kills. This naturally sets up the greatest gatekeeping system I've ever seen.

In order for a new player to escape spawn, they first have to navigate near impassible terrain with zero blocks, or tools. After that they must get past a trench leading to bedrock, a lava wall, and an obsidian wall. Keep in mind that these obstacles are a hike and a half away and the player probably hasn't found any food. The player must then find a highway and walk for thousands of blocks with little chance of finding any food. All this time, someone can spot them, and kill them and it's back to square one (Or block one). If they manage to make the journey without getting killed, or starving to death, then they can branch off and make a base and hope it doesn't get found and griefed. They can now start grinding for gear. Once high level gear is obtained, they can then start trying to make friends and hope they don't kill them. Then, they can probably become part of the wider community, and they would deserve it at that point. Anyone who goes through all that, is a good fit for the server and would probably do well and be liked by the other players. So how does an obscure subculture, or website filter in the right people who can make the community fun and engaging without such extreme and unique circumstances? Well it's simple; obscurity.

Obscurity is by far, the easiest way to filter people. If people flood in from some article, >redditcostanzayeahrightsmirk post, or YouTube video; most won't be a proper fit for the community. Through no fault of their own, they will erode what made it special in the first place. If people seek out obscurity for whatever reason, they will usually be a better fit; being naturally of the same breed of person who seeked out the community in the first place. These people are who you really want to come in. They will breathe new life into the culture by adding their new perspectives and talents. This is important because talent and perspective are rare. This is what makes it special. We join forums like Agora Roads to get away from the decay and monotony of the rest of the internet. People from the rest of the internet coming here would change it more resemble the rest of the internet. Luckily, we have very natural ways of keeping the masses out besides obscurity.

The very design of a forum stands in stark contrast to contemporary websites. Modern websites are designed to provide as much dopamine as possible in the least amount of time possible. A forum on the other hand, requires the user to work for their pleasure. In order to get anything out of this site, you must learn the community, go out of your way to make friends, spend long hours reading threads, and have interesting things to post yourself. This is more demanding of the end user, but the benefit is a much greater sense of satisfaction for those who put in the effort. Most people, even if they flood in from >redditcostanzayeahrightsmirk, will not be able to put in the effort and get bored. And that's the key to all of this: Effort.

The reason 2B2T's gatekeeping works so well is that it requires a lot of effort. Players have to take the time to become part of the community. They must put long hours in before they see a reward. But for those who dare, the reward is worth it. Everyone involved benefits from this too. The community gets cool and interesting people. The new players get a community that they can fit in. Those who get turned away are kept from wasting their time in a place where they don't belong. It's not a wall to keep people out, but a filter to allow the people who will be liked and respected in. To new friends I say cheers, to passers by I say adieu.
 

Xovi

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Gatekeeping is good, in my honest opinion. We always have a need to protect our community (hobbies, familial units, and or a (((country))))

in regards to hobbies and forums, a balance is needed. Filter out the weak, and filter in the strong is a much more ample way to put it.

2B2T had to deal with a lot of migration, due to the massive amounts of Youtubers that went in and recorded an anarchy server and advertised it like it was something rare like diamonds. (There's a BUNCH of anarchy servers and ruleless servers; that are much better too security-wise) They still have to deal with this; with FITMC still recording and pumping out videos that hit the millions.

Luckily 2B2T is steadfast and won't give up filtering out those who don't belong :)
 
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Haven't ever played minecraft, but about the topic of gatekeeping, I find it to be kind of a double edged sword.

> Protecting your subculture from the masses is a good thing, but you also need a steady trickle of new blood to keep from becoming stale.
yyyup.

On one hand it's entirely understandable that one may want to keep their community "clean", with its known and trusted members and being sure that the newcomers aren't going to cause strife or spoil the atmosphere. We are tribal creatures after all. The other edge of this lies precisely in that very tribal mindset. A gatekept community can quickly turn into an echo chamber or an extremely toxic environment due to a lack of evolution and other perspectives. Something that is too homogenous will eventually become boring, or start rotting on itself. Think, water. If it stagnates, bacteria develop in it and it can became undrinkable quite quickly. A community that is too closed off on itself can become cultish and start dehumanizing the "outsiders", sort of as if for the sole reason they are in this community, they must be superior to those "outsiders". It's typical of a tribe mentality, us vs them. Vegans vs non-vegans (vegans being probably the most gatekeeping and cultish breed of people I know), woke vs normal, left vs right, all of those examples we all know of.

I think that there should be a balance between being open and gatekept. Our forum does it quite well. Its obscurity and "outdated" (to most people) design keeps the "normies" (not sure I like this word, but I find that it describes it well, and it's part of the forum's vocabulary so I'll use it) at bay, but at the same time it's not like you have to fill an ESTA-esque questionnaire in order to enter. Most people wouldn't find value in our forum anyway, because it doesn't give enough of a dopamine shot to be interesting. Lengthy replies sure are a pain on a short attention span. But that's how it is. Obscurity is already a good filter, as you said it.
 
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RAVEN死98

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I have played on this server doesn't play it much recently i got established was in a group called New Facepunch Republic they are more Ethical to players. I dont like how brainwashed this Community have become and i really see how horrible this server really is sometimes. I wanted to do something positive so i helped a few people on this Server that also joined the group. A lot of 2b2t Players are attention seekers so they can be on a stupid FitMC Video. I wanted do do something Positive on this server as this Server was annoyingly Toxic. I think if you do Gatekeeping to protect History and community that will always lead to conflict anyways because some other Established 2b2t Player didn't like that Idea.

I got first established after finding Theta Homebase in December 2019 a base from 2012 it was rebuilt i found Kits and got Established on the server. I also did a Project to archive 2b2t History that i started in 2020 and created a Player Archive from 2011, 2012 and 2013 i did this for Etika and New Facepunch Republic. The Last thing i will do on this server is to make a Etika Monument in 2023 then i will completely quit this Server, Etika used to create Minecraft Letsplays in 2013 that i know of. Its difficult to say who belongs in a Server that is so Obscure and Complicated but sometimes yeah Gatekeeping can be a good thing but as long as you had fun you suceeded on this Server. RIP Etika:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8PvxRdC460&list=PLMN_aTOJA_6YjCQwUIOLONNMY0KgtrLfh
 
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brentw

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Those who protest gatekeeping are just mad that they are not the gatekeepers.

And you can see this in practice in every community that folded to the outcry and rejected gatekeeping.
They get infiltrated by the activists, and as soon as the activists have critical mass and power in the community they begin gatekeeping harder than ever before.
They just have different ideas about who should be let in, people like them, and who shouldn't ... anyone who disagrees.

It's a perfect little reflection of revolutionary leftist strategy at large.
They preach about openness, liberty, and representation when they are not in power. Not because these are values they hold, but because it is a means to power.
Once they are in positions of power they immediately begin curtailing liberty and removing the representation anyone who dissents.
 
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RAVEN死98

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I really don't even understand why 2b2t Server is taken so seriously im really tired of it. It seems like everyone got brainwashed by whatever these 2b2t Youtubers tell us to. I dont protest about Gatekeeping i just see how Toxic and Brainwashed this Server have become. Gatekeeping can be both a bad and a good thing if you do it right.
 
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mydadiscar

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Andy Kaufman

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IlluminatiPirate

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So did you post the link on some dead /jp/-style textboard recently? that's how I found here.
No that probably wasn't me, I haven't been to any /jp/ boards
 
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NOT_A_BOT

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Some people here have noted the difference between normie and patrician.
I think this is a solved issue:
Normies consume corporate and are used to dopamine focused automatic and managed "experiences" that feel good to them.
This forum, is a forum. Normies don't like reading and have a short attention span. This forum is also modeled after the 90's internet, so "ewwww", says the normie.

In short, the issue of gatekeeping normies is easily solved by being special little autistic secret club dwellers in their special club tree-house. (no girls allowed!)
The difficulty is more on the patricians and the retards.
There is a group of cunts who can only be gate-kept with a ban-hammer: I endorse the mods banning trolls for repeated offenses.

On the other hand, as IlluminatedPirate said, this site needs new blood or it dries up.
The reason for this is simple: Culture is created by naturally whimsical people who are creatives, autistic, analytical, or high IQ in general. These patricians enter and leave communities as they please.
So, the best advice I can give to the mods in this regard is do not let the insane run the asylum and keep recruiting how you have been so far. It has been working well.

Another point I want to make is contrary to what a few here believe. Moderating the community kills any new refugee that comes here. Only normies care about rules.
The patrician is a weirdo among weirdos, and so gatekeeping merely keeps the best brains away from this place. Free speech is not negotiable.

What I'm worried about is subversion.
Niche cultures are being exploited and made into popular normie culture by corporations in order to cater to new consomers. The first step is to kill the old guard with SocJus.
I have not witnessed a victory from these niche communities so far.


What typically happens at the time the corporation comes for a niche community is the following:
  • Mods get replaced by tranny jannies.
  • Noise to substance ratio increases. (bots or normies it makes no difference)
  • Articles get written about X, driving hype. The content literally does not matter. It can be X is nazis, or X is patriarchy (gamers are dead).

I think a defensive guide on how to defeat corporate takeover would be much more useful than arguing about how to stop new (bad) blood from coming in, since doing so would result in no new blood coming in at all -> as we're all weirdos here.
Corporate warfare involves shock trooper SJW's for the most part, so some forums have survived by steering aggressively towards third positionism, or giga-cringe, such as ponies. Sometimes both.
The problem is, patricians do not recognize any "shock troopers". To us, having a SJW troll and become a moderator, and then having the natural reactionaries to this (national socialists blasting Erika, or similar) is misconstrued as the same subversive elements ruining our fun.

I would like to prophetisize and warn this: When the corpo comes for vaporwave, do not confuse friend for foe.
When it happens, trolling will be a weapon, and its point will be to make corpo bleed, its cost will be the decay of this forum, and defending by trying to go back to the good old days will be an impediment to victory, pacifism if you will.

Be ready to troll any corporation engaging in vaporwave, their first wave of attack will be to send in sjw's and the media, then to subvert the mod and to have users claim "mods must be subverted and gatekeeping increased to dictatorial levels".


In conclusion:
1. Natural gatekeeping is the best gatekeeping
2. Ban trolls, tolerance is a false good.
3. beware of spooks, they seek your destruction.
 
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SomaSpice

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I think the corruption has already started, core users are already following false prophets like nagolbod and elevating them.

It won't be too long before he has mod here and ruins the community.
 
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Kolph

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I think the corruption has already started, core users are already following false prophets like nagolbod and elevating them.

It won't be too long before he has mod here and ruins the community.
Oh yeah, Illuminati would totally give Nagolbud mod ahahahahah
 
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mydadiscar

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So did you post the link on some dead /jp/-style textboard recently? that's how I found here.
You got the link to that textboard? Sounds like fun.
 
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Sinthôme

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Gatekeeping doesn't work. Everything declines, every civilization, every organism, and every community...
Okay, and every civilization, community, et c. has always and forever had gates to keep certain people out and to protect those inside. This also applies to abstracted / metaphorical social gates. We need them, plain and simple. It's not a matter of exclusion but human kinship, trust, diplomacy, safety, and guard. There is no compelling reason why this would not apply to online spaces as well.
 

RAVEN死98

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Theta Homebase: built in 2012 by 'deaddreamer' if i didn't have found this Ancient base i would have quit this Server its really sad what 2b2t have become i just wish this Server wasn't so Toxic and trying to Divide others but instead cared for each other than our Differences i just think Etika wanted us all to be Happy. This Ancient Base gave me a sense of Purpose i discovered this Sub-Facepunch Forum called Picturewars where a few old 2b2t Players joined the Server back in 2011 and i decided to create a 2011 - 2013 Player Archive for Facepunchers and even some 4channers too i just wish Etika discovered this Ancient base before me it would have been different thats what im sad about but in my Imagination he would have discovered this Ancient base. RIP Etika, miss you:
/https://www.reddit.com/r/2b2t/comments/9j2do4/the_history_of_the_player_deaddreamer_and_his/

View: https://i.imgur.com/75f1auW.jpg
 
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