user: What is Minecraft?

assistant: Minecraft is a popular video game where players build and explore virtual worlds made of blocks. In this game, you can create structures and objects using materials like wood, stone, and dirt. You can also explore different landscapes, caves, and oceans, and fight off dangerous creatures like zombies and creepers. The aim of the game is to survive and create as much as you can in this block-filled world.

user: tell me about the history of Minecraft (in particular its controversies) as well as some core rules for playing the game understood to be convention by the community

assistant: Minecraft is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before being fully released in November 2011, with Notch stepping down and Jens "Jeb" Bergensten taking over development. Minecraft is the best-selling video game in history, with over 238 million copies sold and nearly 140 million monthly active players as of 2021 and has been ported to several platforms.


Main controversies around Minecraft history are the following:
2014 EULA changes
Microsoft and Mojang announced in 2014 that it would be changing the Minecraft End-user license agreement (EULA) to prohibit servers from accepting donations or payments in exchange for the donating or paying players receiving in-game advantages on such server, essentially banning servers from enacting "pay-to-win" (PTW) servers. Mojang spokesperson Owen Hill provided examples of what it would and would not allow, saying company would allow for pay-to-play servers in which a player is required to pay a fee to access the server, or for cosmetic enhancements (such as in-game costumes or pets), but that Mojang would be cracking down on paying to obtain powerful swords or potions. The new crackdowns were supported by Persson, citing him receiving multiple emails from parents of children who had spent hundreds of dollars on servers. The Minecraft community and server owners, however, heavily despised the new change in enforcement and protested en masse, which included comparing Mojang to monolithic video game publishers like Electronic Arts and Activision, gaming companies often criticized online for their highly restrictive digital rights management and user license agreements. Many argued that the crackdown would force smaller servers to close their doors, and some blamed the crackdown on Mojang attempting to suppress competition for its own Minecraft Realms subscription service.

Account migration
In 2020, Mojang Studios revealed that it would begin the process of requiring that Microsoft accounts be used in order to log into the Java Edition of the game, and that older Mojang Studios accounts would be sunsetted. The move to Microsoft accounts also required Java Edition players to create Xbox network Gamertags. Mojang Studios defended the move to Microsoft accounts by saying that improved security could be offered, which included Java accounts being able to use two factor authentication, players could block cyberbullies in chat, and improve parental controls. The community responded with intense backlash against this announcement, particularly taking issue to the various technical difficulties encountered in the process and how account migration would be mandatory, even for those who do not play on servers. As of March 10, 2022, Microsoft requires all players to migrate in order to access the Java Edition of Minecraft.


Java Edition chat reporting
In June 2022, Microsoft and Mojang Studios announced it would be releasing a player reporting feature in all future builds of Java Edition. In earlier development builds, players could report other players on multiplayer servers for sending messages that are prohibited by the Xbox Live Code of Conduct; report categories included profane language, substance abuse, hate speech, threats of violence, and nudity, though Microsoft in later builds has since excluded the profane language category from the player reporting feature. If a player was found to be in violation of Xbox Community Standards, the player would be banned from all servers for a specific period of time or permanently. The update containing the report feature was released on 27 July 2022.

Microsoft and Mojang Studios received substantial backlash and protest from community members, one of the most common complaints being that banned players would be forbidden from joining any server, even private ones. Others took issue to what they saw as Microsoft increasing control over its player base and exercising censorship, sparking some to dub the version "1.19.84", in reference to the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

In Minecraft, players explore a blocky, procedurally generated, three-dimensional world with virtually infinite terrain and may discover and extract raw materials, craft tools and items, and build structures, earthworks, and machines. Depending on their chosen game mode, players can fight hostile mobs, as well as cooperate with or compete against other players in the same world. Game modes include a survival mode (in which players must acquire resources to build in the world and maintain health) and a creative mode (in which players have unlimited resources and access to flight). There is also a wide variety of user-generated content, such as modifications, servers, skins, texture packs, and custom maps, which add new game mechanics and possibilities.