Twitch streamer and indie developer Jason “PirateSoftware” Hall publicly feuded with Ashes of Creation staff this week after the MMO’s community team declined to permanently ban players he reported.
The dispute started when Hall submitted two player reports to AoC customer support. In the first case, another player called him a “ferret f***er” in-game. Hall demanded a permanent account ban for the insult. In the second case, he reported a player for mentioning Kiwi Farms, a website known for harassment campaigns.
AoC community manager Margaret responded to both reports. She told Hall the insult case resulted in a warning for the player, with escalation procedures in place if the behavior continued. The Kiwi Farms report was outside her authority as customer support and needed to be handled by another team.
Hall wasn’t satisfied with either response. He took the disagreement to his Twitch stream, where he called out Margaret by name and announced she was “on his list.” The phrase refers to Hall’s ongoing public persona of maintaining a literal list of people and companies he holds grudges against.
He then leaked private DMs with Margaret to prove his case. The messages backfired. According to viewers who reviewed the leaked conversation, the DMs showed Margaret had accurately described the situation and followed standard moderation procedures.
Hall’s anger centered on AoC not issuing immediate permanent bans. Most game studios use graduated moderation systems where first offenses result in warnings unless the violation is severe enough to warrant instant removal. Community managers typically can’t override these policies unilaterally.
The streamer is known for referencing his seven years at Blizzard Entertainment during disputes and for his work on indie game Heartbound. His “list” rhetoric has become a recurring element of his online presence.
When streamers want special treatment
High-profile players often face more harassment than average users and file more reports as a result. They also tend to expect faster and stronger action from moderation teams.
Studios walk a careful line in these situations. Banning players solely because a streamer demanded it opens them to accusations of special treatment. Most maintain their standard escalation procedures regardless of who filed the report.
