TF2: Thoughts on Decals (and User-Generated Content)

[@ZestyJesus]

Game Update 7/18/2024: Added "Hide Custom Decals" checkbox to the Advanced Options dialog in the Miscellaneous Options category. Valve did the correct thing by making all communication features and player generated content optional to view, instead of nuking decals entirely like they did with sprays. Thank God. Streamers and sensitive types can now self-moderate and sanitize their game experience as they see fit. But I'm still wary. Eventually, this won't be enough for some, and there will be calls for vastly increased moderation or outright removal of communication features. I stand by allowing people to self-moderate. Don't like it? Turn it off. Don't look at it. And that's as far as it should go.

[@SmellyUnfortunate007]

That's great to hear. Even as much the NFSW/L disgusts me, your points on the decals still stand.

[@dominikcz198]

I was so worried that Valve will simply remove decals altogether. Thank God it did not happen.

[@noneuclideancat]

[@charlie_da_folf7316]

I think with the decal toggle. They should add sprays back into official servers with a similar toggle system. Heck maybe have the toggle on by default for sprays

[@SmellyUnfortunate007]

@charlie_da_folf7316 Yes, exactly.

[@moitjae0698]

I cannot imagine a funny TF2 clip compilation without the player picking up an abandoned Objector, turning it around to inspect it, then killbinding as soon as they see whatever cursed crap was plastered on it.

[@rmw9420]

just fathoming this not being able to be done anymore fills me with the unbridled rage of 20 heavy mains.

[@Adriethyl]

Peak funny

[@vivelespatat2670]

What do you do if its blank, revivebind yourself ?

[@KaiaBrodbecker]

​@vivelespatat2670 you do C + 5 and do the Schadenfreude

[@redstonewarrior0152]

​@@rmw9420 Wow. That's like, 3 times more heavy mains than exist.

[@Monkey_XDD]

Do not use Twitter.

[@gyanko8147]

The problem is Twitter tourists keep making incursions into spaces that don't want them then demand everyone bow to their demands.

[@VaultInteractive]

You will lose your sanity

[@ChronoSquare]

Pro strategy make Twitter be as offensive as you can (this shouldn't matter you won't be long) Get perma banned Now you no longer can use Twitter, win win

[@johnsida6967]

monkey when is next funny moneky video

[@Vampire_EGirl]

twitter, the sanity drainer

[@FrostySuperNova]

I did not pay my own money to build up my Amelia LowTierGod KYS sign and crit people with it only to have it removed because someone can't stand big boobies on a woman.

[@The_Raptor]

I didn't spend money on an Objector. But I can agree. as I've spent money on a videogame before only to have the feature i paid money for to be removed via paper skinned maggots. Also. big boobies is gud stuf.

[@Sharp22CatFish]

When he says offensive material he means Nazi shit. Not big booba silly billy.

[@cyanideytcuriousseadoggo]

@@FrostySuperNova YOU SHOULD GET RANDOM CRITTED NOW!!!!!!!!!

[@Humble_Merchant]

Screw disabling decals, I want them to re-enable sprays

[@Aprocrisin]

NO

[@Cat_Bingus]

If you love sprays just go to a *orn site instead

[@wrath-2187]

​@@Aprocrisin yes

[@Aprocrisin]

@@wrath-2187 no

[@wrath-2187]

@@Aprocrisin dont make me slap you with my furry futa objector

[@sirfrancis8732]

Man, if I had a nickel for every time someone using the "think of the children!!!!" argument was outed as a pedo, I could buy enough keys to get valve to fix this game

[@henrywallace1823]

that image next to their name made me think "another one huh"

[@seronymus]

I'm reminded of the "Dr. Pizza" guy who said anime was for pedos on twitter then got arrested for child sexual exploitation. Many such cases. Sad!

[@ssteel]

@@seronymus why did you write that like a trump tweet

[@ssteel]

It takes a nonce to know a nonce. Cheese Pizza incidents are so rare that I myself have never seen or been exposed to it, despite seeing all kinds of NSFW online. If someone pulls a CO and the other guy calls him a .pdf, I am instantly suspicious of the accuser

[@seronymus]

@@ssteel thatsthejoke.mp4

[@zer0shade654]

I've been playing tf2 since 2007, and I have NEVER seen a single spray or decal containing downright illegal content. While I can acknowledge that they exist, the currently running campaign against the decals is indeed horribly overblown.

[@Sgrenza112]

Same, been playing since 2011 and never seen any illegal content

[@RodomeMane]

I've seen cp at least twice on a decal... after that I disabled them

[@ussul6524]

in EU there used to be a lot of sus hindu happy sighns around at one point of time.

[@energeticyellow1637]

​@@RodomeMane is that CP, or loli? Very important to distinguish the two.

[@RodomeMane]

@@energeticyellow1637 a real naked child is not loli

[@badmanmcanderson4819]

Someone outspoken against the threat of Cheese Pizza turns out to be a peterfile. EVERY SINGLE TIME

[@NeverackWinteright]

Those who preach the loudest are often the most hypocritical. Same with all those super religious televangelist in America who end up abusing children.

[@fujiwaranonekobiodrando1257]

Normal people doesn't even think of cheese pizza 24/7.

[@pisaschitt787]

Ironic for people who thinks too much about the children gets outed as a pedo

[@QTwoSix]

Everystein Singleberg Timeowitz

[@vivelespatat2670]

I initially thought what he meant by Cheese Pizza was cum

[@TerrifierTriceratops]

I'd go a step further and say that Valve should BRING BACK Sprays for official servers/matches. With the option to toggle their visibility of course. I miss 'em!

[@ADreamingTraveler]

Yeah it sucks they're gone. Only reason they removed them was due to the exploits that happened and they never bothered turning them back on

[@closcer3950]

"Freedom is bad because people might do bad things"

[@Weldedhodag]

pretty much

[@d.i.ch.1501]

Fr, fuck freedom

[@urosiday4264]

I also think unusualsanwich’s logic can be stretched to points that would lead the game to be obviously over-sanitized. Such as the fact that SFM can be used to create offensive content, this does not mean valve should completely terminate the program though.

[@BoP0e]

Anything can be offensive as long as people wants to get offended. These people few years later will upload a video about dominations, few quotes from the mercs, loadout combinations, anything you can think that might be offensive. And something being offensive is subjective.

[@ChipDrewPog]

Demanding decals being removed from TF2 because horny is like waltzing up to the rule34 forums and demanding they delete all the hentai because minors sneak onto the website, my entire bloodline is ridden with myopia but even I have better eyesight than the people rolling with the argument of "b-but sire, their innocence!!"

[@yuritarted9890]

100% facts

[@mariustan9275]

TF2 is at least a T-rated game, and because its community stuff, there is guarunteed to be some of that kinda stuff there. I respectw hatever weird stuff you put on your sprays or wooden signs, I personally think they are disgusting butwihatever. I just iwsh Valve would give an option to turn that off.

[@cubecat9493]

agree with your thought but comparing tf2 to the rule34 forums is bizarre

[@ADreamingTraveler]

It's this weird "ALL PORN BAD!!" mentality a lot of the newer players coming into the game have. It's really weird

[@mariustan9275]

@@ADreamingTraveler I think that's not new players, that's society in general. And it's not completely undeserved because of the mental health effects of long-term porn consumption.

[@turkeysamwich00]

"Gatekeep your communities" made me reflexively want to just type out "based," but it's genuinely good advice. Not everything is made for everyone, not everyone belongs everywhere, and the idea that pre-existing things need to change to suit the needs of people who just discovered them is one of the most prevalent and potent mind viruses we've dealt with in the past decade.

[@The_Raptor]

I agree. Based.

[@brendan5260]

the fact of the matter is... 2017? dude. most of us watching this video probably have a proof of purchase sitting in their inventories. i know i do. we have every, goddamned right to tell him to go back to singleplayer. we were here first, this is our community. if he has a problem with it, he can fuck right off. it's not his to change. you can go play alone with bots. imagine if i moved to france, and started protesting their stuff and demanding change before i even unpacked my bags. that's what he's doing.

[@adolphineatingchildren2641]

Based

[@Aurichalcam]

“Valve should moderate gore.” Valve: *adds an easter egg where Archimedes will fly out of Scout when he gets gibbed*

[@dkskcjfjswwwwwws413]

yes tf2 gore and real life gore is the same valve literally made a goreless version of tf2, and all of their games for germany they are in no way above it

[@vivelespatat2670]

There's indeed very little difference between a Scout being gibbed and someone getting his head blown off by a shotgun.

[@jennbob5521]

​@@vivelespatat2670*Samsung ringtone*

[@adventuresphere82]

I would absolutely love to see a real gore image of a guy getting his lungs cut off

[@vivelespatat2670]

​@@jennbob5521i guess that's it

[@dank6554]

Couldn't have said it better myself. My comment under his video got over 1k likes because I laid out very similar points to you a month ago, and his follow-up apology/explanation barely broke 175. Appropriate gatekeeping is mandatory to keep older communities healthy, and free from hall-monitor type young'uns who don't appreciate the time-capsule that is TF2. Antifragility needs to be maintained in our culture lest we turn everything sterile and soulless.

[@NeverackWinteright]

Antifragility also means accepting that people have different opinions, or that people who agree with you might even have different opinions. For example, I see a lot of people in the comments here who are 100% pro free speech, but will complain about porn on decals and sprays. Even though, by their own admission (and even Zesty said it) if you want free speech you have to put up with people you don't agree with.

[@levelmarkq4813]

Thats a pretty funny way to put it lol. Couldn’t agree more though. I don’t like seeing a lot of the abusive language that is throughout tf2 but just like sane person, I just requeue to a different server if I don’t like what Im hearing/ reading. Simple as that.

[@grogcito]

Yup, if you want moderation you should be the one moderating your own experience

[@ivanthehighman177]

GATE KEEP IT NOW!!!!!!!

[@pantommy]

@@levelmarkq4813 it's all about knowing what you have power over to change. These people making videos about "issues" are honestly just trying to gain power by amassing a following of people that are willing to act for them, like an army. The initial intentions may be noble, but power corrupts even the purest of causes. One day you fight against CP, the next you fight to exterminate a race. I know, as an individual, that if I can't change something I need to change myself. Adapt, overcome and all that crap.

[@Lethal_Spoon]

lol "children play tf2, so decals are bad" i think child groomers sliding into some kid's dms are a bigger issue than some kid maybe seeing something mildly inappropriate

[@hipposeducer28]

I think that downsizing how bad something is by referring to something not only worse but also irrelevant doesn't make the originally bad thing is any better

[@MetaCanine882]

no shit

[@Lethal_Spoon]

​@@hipposeducer28 >little timmy sees a furry sign, forgets about it >little timmy is groomed by a furry, later develops anxiety, depression, ptsd, and suicidal thoughts >latter is irrelevant to former >comparing latter to former is implied to be disingenuous ok

[@hipposeducer28]

@@Lethal_Spoon Yeah, the latter is irrelevant to the former and you attempted to make the former seem less impactful by comparing it to the irrelevant yet much worse latter. Not sure what you're not getting

[@Lethal_Spoon]

@@hipposeducer28 the point is that if these people actually cared about the well being of minors, they'd be talking about groomers, not an inappropriate sign. running over a dozen orphans in your car then saying "well it's not global warming, is it?" is downplaying with an irrelevant comparison, but this ain't it.

[@MoronicRoc]

9:53 I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. If TF2 was released today, it would probably lack name and description tags, sprays, decals, the domination system, the humor of the game, and some other stuff I probably missed. That being said, I'd like an option to turn off decals. I'm not a fan of installing mods, so I'd just want a built in option to disable them like with sprays. Just don't nuke them. Update: They added the option to turn it off. Nice.

[@wr3nche5]

so many funny lines from the classes that people would consider "offensive" nowadays would be gone as well

[@BoP0e]

It probably won't. Since it's Valve we're talking about but if it was a different company like Blizzard I completely agree.

[@dkskcjfjswwwwwws413]

it wouldnt lack name or description tags, csgo has those

[@vivelespatat2670]

Conscientious Objector with a 144p Golden Frying Pan pic on it and renamed "Golden Frying Pan" will never not be funny.

[@ADreamingTraveler]

@@wr3nche5 The same writers still freelance for Valve and contribute to their games. Valve does what they want to do. If they had an issue with what the classes said ingame they would just remove them today but they don't despite the game being as popular as ever.

[@ZestyJesus]

Removed from the final cut: “But kids still play this game anyways, therefore it’s our responsibility-” No. Minors (under 17) do play TF2. At various ages, depending on the household, parents give their children free reign and autonomy to do as they please online, to varying extents, with a built trust between parent and child. Or, the child does so behind their backs, because lets face it, parents can’t monitor their kids 24/7. If their child enters a space they shouldn’t be in, i.e. an adult website or an mature game, like GTA, it’s still not the fault of the adults who are within/operate that space to police those children. The child should be ushered out of that space, the space shouldn't change to become child-friendly. The fault and responsibility still lie with the parents. Additionally, some fault now falls on the minor as well, to which the parents must also take responsibility, and instill that responsibility in their kids. It’s called parenting. Please take responsibility for your own actions, and the actions of your kids, instead of placing that burden on everyone else. Yes, this will sound very “boomer” of me (for us adults, this will resonate with you moreso since you’ve already grown up), most teens (14-17) are in their…let’s say explorative phase, for the sake of remaining kosher. They’re looking at stuff online (violent games, explicit content, 18+ content), everyone does. It’s no mystery or lie that this happens. Most healthy household’s parents/guardians know this, and generally let their kids do so in a healthy, controlled manner. It’s part of growing up, especially in the modern age. It goes wrong when those authority figures in the household aren’t there to keep their child grounded in reality/morals, and don’t guide them through/protect them from things that may hurt/traumatize them. That’s how it was back in the day, but nowadays parents are all too comfortable letting the internet parent/police their kids. Also, if you’re letting kids under 12-13 years of age plays mature FPS games, what’s wrong with you? tl;dr Parents, please take responsibility for your, and your child’s, actions. Police your own kids, and don’t expect other people on the internet to do it for you. And one more thing- The people complaining about decals, who demand for moderation, think that THEY are the community moderators, and decals will be exactingly moderated to their specific liking. In reality, Valve wants nothing to do with that. They don’t have the resources or manpower, so they’ll just remove the “problem” entirely by hitting the off button on the feature. Hence why a toggle is the preferred outcome, but the complaints in that video are beyond asinine. Valve has always left the players to self-moderate via community servers (before they nuked those with MyM lol) and with report features. Use them.

[@Birds_In_Crime]

We aren't babysitters, we're stressed out adults who want some fun after a long day at work/university or college. Why should we have to look out for and protect children on the internet?

[@Nicky2414]

We are not the parents for your child. If your child is playing TF2, Call of Duty, or any M rated game, it falls on the parents who thought it was ok to let them do whatever they pleased without consequences.

[@seronymus]

Shining, glistening, gem. Based. Btw I started playing Tf2 at like 14, 25 now, and never regretted it.

[@gannonclaggett927]

In my opinion, you shouldn't have to tell parents to actually do parenting "things"

[@Atomic_dog01]

there are too many furries on tf2

[@bromachrome]

Games aren't responsible for kids, their parents are.

[@Tank_guy1498]

Fact

[@kalin4452]

That doesn't justify you putting NSFW on a sign. Grow. Up.

[@Tank_guy1498]

@@kalin4452 freedom of speech

[@Eivissabelle]

@@Tank_guy1498 how is that freedom of speech

[@Brown95P]

​@@kalin4452 It justifies when the game has an up-front *_Mature Rating_* alongside *_Unrated Online Interactions;_* if an underaged kid still goes in regardless, then the fault's not on the other players (provided they're still within ToS), the game or Valve anymore.

[@moviemaster13]

Too many instances of it going on today, and more often than not ppl giving into these entitled brats. "I dont like XYZ" Then don't interact with it "But i deserve to play too, XYZ must adapt to me because otherwise I AM uncomfortable" There is a game for just about any experience somebody wants. Why must people bog down something that isn't their bag while ignoring the options of things built to their liking already.

[@darthgamer9861]

because we live in the entitlement generation now

[@rmw9420]

underrated comment tbh

[@Delfite]

As a Zoomer who knows the dangers of moderation AND real-world policing of peoples' actions, I completely agree with everything in this video. Just like there are bad/corrupt cops who'll do anything to get that next promotion, there will always be those among our ranks (fellow civilians) who will try to sympathize with moderation in whatever ways they can, simply so THEY get to have all the fun. Also, I let my little brother play TF2 (albeit rarely) and I take all necessary steps to make sure he doesn't get exposed to anything nasty, he loves the game and I don't blame him one bit for wanting to play it, so seeing these other Zoomers trying to ruin what makes the game fun for a lot of people in the first place is just... awful. Thank you Zesty, this video really needed to be made, and that's coming from someone who finds your in-game behavior questionable at best.

[@discount_australian8449]

Part of what attracted me to tf2 was the lack of moderation. Something that’s so rare now in a world where people take the slightest offense to the smallest micro aggressions. Removing and moderating players’ right to free speech ruins an important part of the game.

[@simplysmiley4670]

I never know wether I will end up listening to two dudes arguing with each other over tiniest of bullshit that happened in the round with toxicity cranked to 11 or have a deep and philosophical discussion about bread with someone trying to mimic soldier's voice while a demoknight with the "boy kisser" meme on his objector goes on a killstreak.

[@ClassicRedEye]

This. Absolutely agree. I miss the old internet gaming culture

[@DannyCheezits]

chat moderation makes people act robotic. its soulless. god bless valve for keeping their game-chats unregulated

[@QTwoSix]

It's almost like jews want control over speech

[@raythehomie123]

​@@DannyCheezits not really a big fan of slurs in my game chat but pop off I guess

[@sandvicheatfresh]

It bloody took me til the end of the video to figure out what you meant by "cheese pizza" The only thing they should change with the decal tool is have the image be given an option to be colour or in the orange brown that it normally is and also fix the bug where whilst in a match where the image on your sign will randomly change to a different one

[@ZestyJesus]

Yeah. the decal switching bug is annoying, but also a fun game of roulette. "Oh boy, what's it gonna be this time! aaaaaaand it's porn. Nice."

[@kubixxd5998]

@@ZestyJesus even decals Nowdays are gambling in tf2 nice

[@RandommBoyo]

@@ZestyJesus Always funny when you ask who tf has the thing you have on your objector at the moment and either the dude admits it or the funnies appear... Or no one bothers at all

[@CoolSs]

i remember learning the meaning of it around 2015. too bad it was not about actual pizza and it was about evil people.

[@sandvicheatfresh]

@@ZestyJesus holy fuck you acknowledged my existence tysm!!!

[@DudeTheNinja]

Guy who made that workshop submission for the console commands to toggle decals here. Got sent this video by an IRL friend (because it mentioned my submission) so I gave it a watch. This comment's a long one, so put the kettle on or whatever before you read. This is a pretty decent rundown of the whole situation without being emotionally charged in either direction. I might as well throw my two pence here as the original WS submission has been privated due to the comments evolving into people just attacking each other from both sides (people on the "for" side calling detractors porn-addicted chuds, and those on the "against" side calling supporters a bunch of snowflake reddit zoomers). I made the original workshop submission as a GitHub issue/proposal, with the C++ code, just to show how easy implementing two optional console toggles would be (four lines of code). I was then suggested by a guy who's had multiple fixes implemented already to submit a workshop post to maybe have a higher chance of Valve actually seeing it. Not thinking about the actual possible pushback and subsequent flamewar, I called it "the spray treatment" as a real hasty thumbnail slap-together. I called it as such as I believed "the spray treatment" was allowing people to toggle them both server- and client-sided, so communities and competitive hosts could hide the item decals instead of having to ban the items altogether, which is currently present in some comp leagues IIRC. *Not* banning them outright from Valve servers (because obviously Valve makes money from them, so official servers should allow official items to function as intended, right?). I don't want the actual "spray treatment" occurring. *It was a hastily-slapped-together thumbnail that was kinda reactionary, biased and not reflecting of my own opinion, and for that, I genuinely apologise for being irresponsible and not realising "huh yeah this thumbnail sucks"* I definitely agree with the concerns about Valve going nuclear, and to be real, *I don't want them to go nuclear with it either*. I never did. I proposed something for the players to use to control what they see, because having dedicated "image moderation crews" like with Roblox to ensure every decal is is just not feasible for an aging game rated M. Decals are, by and large, used in a normal sense. They're funny. Obviously I would rather not see certain images (mostly hardcore content that 99.99% of people wouldn't want to see either), but I have been (where possible) using the F7 report tool. Otherwise, I just groan and move on. I don't really use them much either, but that's because I don't like the really items they are usable on (the objector cannot be strange, the flair is basically invisible unless you take a good look at the character wearing it, the clan pride is a circle AND requires external tools to make full-colour, and the photo badge is just a lil bit tacky for my liking, though i do use one as a slot filler). TL;DR - I made the submission hastily (my bad), I don't want Valve to go nuclear.

[@ZestyJesus]

of course not, no sensible person wants the nuclear option (I think)

[@luxzhvs]

Please cut or copy-paste your whole comment here, and put it in the description, as a comment or another screenshot on your submission. I'm also fairly sure you can remove images you added or replace them. Thank you for your work and funni.

[@DudeTheNinja]

I said I took the submission down because of flame wars unrelated to the actual topic at hand. Everything I've said here was said in the original submission's comment section.

[@luxzhvs]

@@DudeTheNinja We can only hope in a month or so things die down, ty for the response!

[@awakenedfurmissile4617]

Getting critted by a sign with a furry femboi or a meme is never not gonna be funny

[@simplysmiley4670]

yeah

[@NeverackWinteright]

Give it a day and there's gonna be a war in the replies to this comment

[@Thispersonisreal]

​@@NeverackWinteright war over, y'all want some ice cream?

[@NoobWonderWaffle]

Bro shit is always funny when the sign is face down and it’s like a 50/50 that you might get a funny furry or weeb image, or some other funny, random image.

[@awakenedfurmissile4617]

@@NoobWonderWaffle Nah for me it's 50/50 of either a meme or a femboi/furry/furry femboi, I rarely find a sign that isn't either

[@gyanko8147]

These Twitter weirdos are so concerned about children not seeing any mature content in TF2 (a Rated M game) because if they're put off of playing it they won't have anyone to groom.

[@dustloaf]

I'd say some of them thinking about children _too much_

[@PotatoPatatoVonSpudsworth]

I understand if y'all disagree with others' opinions, but maybe relax a bit? It's a discussion about TF2 decals, why're you pulling out pedo accusations?

[@gyanko8147]

@@PotatoPatatoVonSpudsworth The individual that originally caused a stink about heckin' unwholesome TF2 sprays is very literally a nonce.

[@Lethal_Spoon]

@@dustloaf why won't anyone tHinK of ThE cHiLdrEn?

[@12halo3]

​@@gyanko8147 source?

[@jon_mania]

The biggest mistake is that there’s no Strange version of the conscientious objector

[@BoP0e]

Or the other items like Dragon's Fury, Nessie's Nine Iron, Scottish Handshake etc.

[@-RandomStranger-]

And the counter should be called "players flashed:"

[@Gravity_studioss]

Or that you need to pay money to use decals

[@Diemund1]

Zesty putting a Sniper gang war on 2fort and having an army of Scouts taunt kill Saxton Hale as background footage for a serious video is the funniest shit ever

[@Geebanger0]

Good counterarguments. It’s also worth noting that everything OP disliked about objectors also applies to the internet in general (you could see inappropriate content, even without meaning to), which also has very few restrictions and can be accessed by anybody. It doesn’t even force you to download 30gb of virtual hats before you can use it. Most of us would probably agree that shutting down the entire internet just to prevent this kind of stuff would be a pretty bad idea, so why should TF2 change to accomodate this?

[@Delfite]

That's a logical fallacy. You're comparing an essential service/product to something that's non-essential to have or use. The internet is an essential service, a lot of businesses would literally cease to function and exist if the internet didn't exist. The world as we know it would collapse in a matter of hours if the internet suddenly vanished. TF2 is a video game, it's a distraction used to help pass the time, which is not essential to keeping the world running. The most TF2 can do is keep you entertained for a few hours before you have to start doing unpleasant stuff again.

[@T-v2k]

@@Delfite YOU do not need to use the internet. You do not need the internet to survive.

[@T-v2k]

Exactly. Even going smaller than this: what about Steam Community profiles? You can put whatever image you want on your profile. Whatever screenshots you want. Steam has NSFW games mind you, and you can take screenshots in them.

[@Geebanger0]

@@Delfite in which case there’s even LESS reason to disable decals. If TF2 is merely a distraction, then the people who aren’t happy with NSFW decals can simply not engage with the game.

[@dkskcjfjswwwwwws413]

​​@@Geebanger0 this is so much cope everyone has this sentiment until they see a mans pulsating anus dribbling shit sprayed onto a wall in css

[@fadedgames1]

God forbid that person checks out the Left 4 dead 2 workshop...

[@obliterablecardioid3617]

Thank you for this, I cannot stand the weird politics of the community the last few years.

[@obliterablecardioid3617]

I think the decline of TF2 Is bringing a lot of positive evolution. TFS2, TF2C, all kinds of optimizations and fixes etc. This games open community Is priceless

[@dustyn0trusty]

Holy shit kanaya based

[@lapis8339]

How tf is this politics

[@ares-deimos]

It really has shifted pretty quickly. People having no respect for the game and its tight playerbase instantly wanting everything to be changed to fit them and their opinions and everything must appease to THEM. I think it sort of connects to the cancel culture that's also running rampant, always trying to find something to criticize or demonize and get rid of.

[@ArbitraryOutcome]

​@@ares-deimos Except TF2 fans already get a complete dogshit reputation already and it's often related to people of marginalized groups just being shit on for existing. I don't like the idea of just annihilating decals as a whole but I feel it's disingenuous to ignore where sentiment might come from.

[@kendakgifbancuher2047]

Once I got killed by a Soldier with "funny indo-arian windmill" on his sign. One of the funniest deathcam I ever got. We are still friends on Steam 😂

[@theabsolutetrashman3708]

Holy fuck, Zesty not even attempting to cover his southern accent anymore, ultra based

[@rmw9420]

really hit them with the "listen here feller.."

[@Lethal_Spoon]

those decals unusualsandwich was exposed to when he was 14 probably influenced his profile picture

[@LynxLynxX_lol]

Average Deltarune fan

[@roo2385]

Man I love Undertale and Deltarune, they are cool games with cool concepts but I despise their fans, some of the most awful people you can encounter next to Steven Universe's fanbase

[@yobber757]

If someone's both a TF2 fan and a Deltarune fan they should be shunned at all costs.

[@somerandomguy8541]

​@@yobber757:(

[@dougrattmann1]

Yet another Zesty W. TF2 is a relic from a bygone era of the internet, and I cherish it for that.

[@seronymus]

Reject Modernity, Return to Web 1.0 Tradition. Unironically

[@dkskcjfjswwwwwws413]

tf2 fans when they discover any other valve game:

[@MrSchnorkel]

Ask yourself: Why do these fearmongers don't just turn off decals for themselves, but instead try to make Valve moderate custom content for them? Why would anyone force someone else to do something for them that they could just do quicker and easier by themself? To these people, the important part isn't that the task gets done, but that they make someone else their bitch. This is a good and quite necessary video, not just for the game.

[@dkskcjfjswwwwwws413]

you cant turn off decals

[@MrSchnorkel]

​@@dkskcjfjswwwwwws413 Yes, you can. Zesty Jesus mentions two mods that can turn off decals at 10:20 in this video. Links are in the description. Anyone who is concerned with not seeing custom decals would find these with a simple web search.

[@spikeslab5922]

Tf2 Spawn Room Calendar: Am I a joke to you!!?

[@th3unmaker]

being an edgy tf2 community member, i have encountered that kind of weak minded player more than once. Some were talking in voicechat about my 'racist' backpack item names (they are racially insensitive, at worst, and actually humorous rather than mean), and wondering when valve would 'fix' the problem. Those people are real gay imo.

[@waltertass5230]

Easily my favorite TF2uber. Genuinely good content (banger intros, information, and the odd clip dump) and just the right "golden mean" opinions. What separates Zesty from other TF2ubers imo is that he's a grown ass man with functional mental faculties that also plays an online video game; not a trapped-in-the-cities zoomer manchild that couldn't survive without DoorDash

[@energeticyellow1637]

Sometimes I hate being reminded that this community primarily consists of children and man children

[@roo2385]

@@energeticyellow1637 Sadly more man children than actual children, it is so sad how they never mature enough to understand how to behave in an online environment

[@mariustan9275]

@@roo2385 At least children get a pass because they don't know any better. They'll probably figure it out.

[@mercenarygundam1487]

@@mariustan9275 Hopefully, otherwise things just get worse.

[@iizepic9788]

Reason why epic decal should exist 1: my obama nft sign i drew in ms paint 2: haha random crit.

[@Birds_In_Crime]

Where can i see your amazing sign?

[@MsZsc]

@@Birds_In_Crime bump

[@temmssmdisnas]

This reminds me of the chat moderation that mojang implemented in 1.19, one of the dumbest decisions they made especially since its so easy to circumvent

[@Calvin_Coolage]

My favorite Concientious Objector I ever saw was a picture of a black rooster captioned 'Do not gawk at my big black cock.' TF2 would not be the same without goofy shit like that. I should add, COD custom emblems were great back in the day. You never knew if you were going to see some high level piece of art made with limited tools, some 12 year old making an emblem of flaming skulls and guns to be 'badass', creatively made porn, or just straight up Nazi flag. COD lost a lot of it's soul when it stopped doing that in my opinion.

[@ssteel]

God the Black Ops and Black Ops 2 days were chaotic in a good way. Those custom emblems were important for the experience, even if it’s a rocket ship leaking white liquid hydrogen.

[@cyanideytcuriousseadoggo]

@@Calvin_Coolage actually good dick joke. Let me guess, it wasn’t made by an original soldier?

[@crossllc]

i've never noticed decals as something bad. but kids (u13) shouldn't be playing games like tf2 anyway. we've got a weird ass community

[@ArbitraryOutcome]

No, you're right. We can acknowledge TF2 fans definitely aren't the "best" community but it's still an adult space where minors technically shouldn't be in the first place.

[@weaboo8141]

One of the biggest issue of just removing this feature entirely is the fact that this crap unlike sprays and offensive names, actually requires you to pay money for said change. Some people might actually have spent quite the load on making lots of customizable items and if valve would just pull the plug on it then it will most certainly rile up a lot of people with that reason in mind of being scammed. Edit: This was made before watching the full video and just realized it was also adressed.

[@Fatsaver]

Hence why Valve will most likely never do such things. Remember when +Quickswitch got removed from some hats? People raged and lost money. What did Valve do? Put it back again lol.

[@davidplumb2604]

I'll never get how people hate this man's guts

[@energeticyellow1637]

TF2 fans tend to have a good track record of hating KZbinrs who speak the truth.

[@dylldj]

He likes worst girl and that is an unforgivable crime punishable by death.

[@thatguybrody4819]

he doesn't moderate himself to meet everyone elses standards. he says things as they are and doesn't pull punches when he thinks they need to be punched. the modern social climate does not like people that don't moderate themselves to fit the narrative. it hates free speech because it cannot control freedom and it takes words said by some rando online way too seriously and refuses to give an inch while trying to take miles.

[@fujiwaranonekobiodrando1257]

they hate jesus because he's right

[@piratekingthaszar7912]

He's an Asuka man.

[@ZeroFact0r]

Ugh, I know the person that spread that spray lie too. I used to have them in my main friend group but they were regularly combative or otherwise negative whenever we tried to play Tf2 or at one point- Overwatch. Were endlessly toxic towards other players, telling them to kill themselves and other terrible things. I cut contact with them long before their descent into madness and it looks like "dodged a bullet" doesn't cover that one well enough.

[@DannyCheezits]

twitters already circlejerking about "zesty bad zesty clown emoji here is out of context clip of zesty with vine boom sound effect" i bet

[@Strider1Wilco]

"Zesty porn addiction" meanwhile pink blue and white flags only talk about porn.

[@nah456]

@@Strider1Wilco what happens when their entire life is based on a fetish :/

[@ArbitraryOutcome]

@@nah456 Why the projection?

[@DannyCheezits]

@@ArbitraryOutcome "this guy disagrees with me, so he's actually exactly like me but WORSE!" i dont get this argument. why do twitter people do this. 'specially furries and alphabets too i've noticed

[@theoktoberscarf]

​@@ArbitraryOutcome it's not theres a handful of twitter users who stalk zesty it's cursed

[@AjoraYT]

I've been playing TF2 for a very, very long time (somewhere around 13-14 years) and I've been around every part of this community at every era, from the sanitized to the seedy, from the rich to the poor, even the NSFW/L parts. I know more about this game and its community history than pretty much anyone and you hit on one of the main reasons I still play, the unmoderated nature. Now, I have to say that when I run across your videos or Twitter or whatever, I often disagree but this one definitely earned a sub, you hit every nail on every head. TF2 is rough around the edges, it has seedy parts, it is rife with trash talk and people trying to get under your skin, that's ultimately a good thing because the realm of player expression within games shouldn't be limited to just the positives. Fear-mongering like this, trying to "sanitize" (read: sterilize) this game isn't how its survived in its neglected state for so long. There are problems with TF2 and with its community but sprays and player decals are hardly the biggest fish we need to fry.

[@seronymus]

I've been playing since 2012 (on and off, but also have seen a ton). I agree with all you said. I love the web 1.0 spirit of tf2. Do you have anywhere I can follow you on like twitter tumblr etc? I'm normally shy but yeah

[@rmw9420]

great comment dude!

[@donaldwithagat8537]

The only bad experience I’ve had with Decals is the image of Nicocado Avocado performing an explicit act, and i made the mistake of picking the Objector off the ground when it was face down, then proceeded to push f. It shocked me at first, then I just laughed it off

[@rmw9420]

i know what image your talking about and i'm laughing just thinking of your reaction

[@self-proclaimedanimator]

Was it Nikocado's Avacado

[@Ibobbymike]

I miss old tf2 so much, having casual matches that really felt like casual matches, before all the weapon nerfs, where you could swap teams, spectate and see sprays. Maybe it's just the nostalgia talking, but the game was so much more fun back then.

[@vivelespatat2670]

Back when the Caber was actually a funny suicide weapon

[@xylophobiaa]

Hey you know what's kinda funny? The vote kick system is a pretty great form of community moderation. Valve doesn't need to step in here, if you're offended or even just annoyed by something someone is doing, put it to a team vote. If the team also doesn't like the person, they're gone. If the vote doesn't pass, you can always leave if it's that big a deal.

[@Small_child_punter]

Recently there was a feature added automatically to censor offensive words in chat and in names. You had to manually turn it off. That’s basically what any sort of moderation should do if any. The option to turn shit off, not just ban anything that has the potential to hurt someone’s feelings. Tf2 is the one game that stood the test of time. Through a changing game landscape, tf2 has kept its identity. It’s essentially legend at this point. By artificially stripping away chunks of player expression that has been around for a long time, you’re breaking away at that legend. It’s basically our last breathing connection to a different era of video games. One that allowed for people to post ridiculous and wild stuff. A spray feature would basically be unheard of in modern games. In a way, it’s a good thing that tf2 isn’t getting so much modern attention from valve. They’d butcher it with constant advertiser friendly, politically correct, sensible bullshit that just wouldn’t fit a game about 9 villains.

[@CoolSs]

that update to steam +the review bombing one. is the worst thing valve done next to gambling. the internet was fun because it has so little moderation. their is nothing like tf2 today because they cannot make something like or even as good as tf2 today.

[@venecemprei5018]

Plz say for me how i turn off this function, its activated from nowhere in my game and i don't know how to disable because im dumb I just wanna to see swearing again, i have a mentality of a banana

[@hipposeducer28]

@@venecemprei5018 go into your steam safety settings or whatever, its somewhere in there I think

[@tamalrickolino413]

Sure beacause being forced to look at pornography of any kind is what makes TF2 so charming!

[@AmonGus-hw6sp]

@@CoolSs The closest I can think of is Xonotic or other obscure FOSS arena shooter lobbies.

[@Annoniempje480]

Sooooo... I find smoking offensive, are we gonna get rid of the whole "coffin nail" warpaint? I hate it when people don't think further then their own bubble, I hope valve just keeps the "moderation" to what they're doing now, with the purely illegal shit.

[@shadowwolf550]

"Why do people care now?" Cause to these people, playing victim is more fun than the game itself.

[@norvillerogers4047]

Thanks for keeping it real Zesty and for your well thought and spoken videos.

[@cyberen]

I never knew that in a game where mercenaries kill each other in a variety of gory, over-the-top ways, a sign decal would be the issue.

[@Nerdtendo6366]

It’s been nearly a year since the OG video dropped and now the guy edited the title and wrote something in the description. The title changed to ‘biggest’ in quotation marks and in the description he mentioned that while he made bad points, he still agrees with what he said. Just thought I would mention that

[@pajamapantsjack5874]

The major fear I have with wanting more moderation is that valve would obviously make mistakes and take away decals that were normal, but also the possibility that they might go one step further and delete the “offending” item. Imagine if it’s an objector that’s specialized killstreak, or a gift from a friend (the ladder being things I’ve received with my own art on which while sfw could offend people cuz boobs exist, and that’s enough to offend people believe me). They’d be deleting an item with significance to a player for no reason. Even if it doesn’t have any monetary value that’s disgustingly wrong. Hope this video changes some peoples minds but the people who want sanitization for all content come every generation and stay that way for life I’ve seen.

[@silkworm025]

Imagine if you lost an item because months after the fact, the joke or reference you made was declared offensive. Or because you referenced someone who later turned out to be a *fan of the playground* and didn't know.

[@snake2608]

That actually did happen to some people I know. A friend had a Potassium Bonnett nicknamed and described after Moonman, and Steam mods outright **deleted** the item from his inventory and gave him a 2 week community ban. He tried to talk to Support about it, and all he got was a copy/paste "we deleted this $100+ legacy item in order to make you learn about following the rules lol"

[@pajamapantsjack5874]

@@snake2608 that is the exact horror scenario I had in mind and it’s reality. Yeah this only makes me more strong in my beliefs. Sorry that happened man those hats are rad

[@stitchfinger7678]

@@pajamapantsjack5874 bruh yall crusaders will believe literally any story at face fucking value

[@QTwoSix]

It's always the jews

[@DaRealBruner]

Yes, make the video game that has blood, gore, guns, and swearing family friendly.

[@AveryHyena]

Wow, it's even worse than I thought. It's only a matter of time until these people call you "far-right", unless they already have.

[@Birds_In_Crime]

Already happened. His subscriptions and him agreeing with Matt Walsh on ONE point have made him more right wing than the average run of the mill TF2 KZbinr. Which means clearly he's a Neo Nazi.

[@shooey-mcmoss]

you know, the people that would have been silent if you said upfront that you was some kind of minority

[@kommu6114]

Why do you want to make a mature enviroment "Kid friendly"? That question never clicked for me, until you showed up that the person who complained about the CP and such in sprays was a MAP itself so, lol, everything makes sense now

[@fujiwaranonekobiodrando1257]

The m.a.p wants more kids to interact with.

[@burgerrei2398]

Idk why so many of my fellow zoomers are pro censorship like go play overwatch 2 or fortnite leave tf2 alone man.

[@Mehtaru]

Good to know I ain't the only one of our generation that hates this crap.

[@bananashoplifter3440]

Good lads^

[@palitodequeso1234]

I think this debate can be better settled with the following: When the "Meat your match" update released, it kinda showed the dangers of trying to "modernize" tf2 (lvl up systems, dedicated competitive mode, de-emphasization of communty servers, etc.), which isn't to say it can't be done, but we definetly can't trust valve anymore to do so. More importantly, it didn't exactly boost the player count or made the game more popular than it already was and yet to this day the changes introduced are still in place only to the annoyance of the already loyal fanbase and not really attracting new players by themselves. In other words, the old loyal fanbase are still playing the game and keeping the player count strong but with an overall experience that's dimmed down from before while the new ones are probably getting into it from the word of mouth of people that played with the older versions of the game, since valve doesn't really advertise this game anymore. Now moderation itself isn't new but it has "evolved" into a much more intrusive and aggresive new form that pretty much forces big changes into a product's dna, just like the aforementioned update above. So the point I'm trying to get across is that a "moderation update" that these people are asking for won't really make things better or more "accesible", the only thing that'll happen is that nobody who has played the game for a long time will be happy and once again the game won't grow in popularity. In fact, if the recent Skullgirls drama is anything to go by, the game will only recieve abject hate from the already established community and while a boost in numbers will likely happen, it'll definetly not be worth it on the not so long run when the "hype" dies along with its boost and once again the overall experience suffers because of these changes.

[@Birds_In_Crime]

If TF2 pulls a Skullgirls style update I will straight up become a bot host

[@KA0MIKfromYouTube]

i once streamed tf2 and experienced the full frontal assault of user generated stuff via shotguns named along the same lines of kurt cobains microphone. funniest moments of my life and i hope this game never changes

[@Mirket995]

Bro cooked.

[@walterrequiem6467]

Here from Turkey Tom's vid on you. Some thoughts from an FPS oldhead, I really agree that TF2 is really the last game where you can say and do what you want, but also the decals are probably one of the last relics of an era of gaming that had such a unique form of player expression. I spent my teen years in the old CoD games and anyone who played Black Ops 1 and Black Ops 2 back then can probably vouch for seeing a bunch of insensitive and offensive stuff that people would have as their emblems. Even if a lot of it was low quality bait and it sucked, there were always people that had really cool emblems you would see if you killed someone or got killed by them. Some people got really talented at it. Nobody ever really puts that level of effort into an objector in TF2 but a lot of the time it's not anything offensive or gross (because you have to pay money for it lol), most of the time it's just funny and I think there's always a good laugh to be had in seeing some of the goofy stuff people put on their objectors. I can't imagine being so joyless that you would want to take that away from people because someone once had something mean on theirs. I think it sucks that these types of people can only ever focus on that when it's such a neat form of player expression, and taking it away doesn't just strip away a lot of the soul behind it but it's also usually an avenue for greedy developers to charge people money for lame emblems or calling cards or whatever. I find it really weird that a lot of these people never leave their Twitter/X echo chambers and complain about how they hate corporations but they are suddenly willing to give them more power if it means they don't have to see anything mean or unpleasant that offends them personally. At the end of the day, I just want to make Primarina emblems and objectors, and see people's generic-but-cool-looking Goku/Luffy/Sharingans on stuff. Sad how there's very few games anymore that let you do that.

[@Unicorn_Crusader16]

Tbh I'm surprised that after over 15 years of shenanigans that was born from this incredible game, that it was NOW that Twitter had decided to talk crap about it Usually the second they see or hear something even slightly offensive, they go full snowflake and call for a country-wide public execution towards the offender because "oW mY FeEwIngS GoT HurT aNd Im ScAwEd wAh *Shits pants*". Good on TF2 for managing to stay under the radar for so long at least lol, they should make a medal for that.

[@darthgamer9861]

it took twitter years to discover Berserk so I cant say I’m surprised

[@Unicorn_Crusader16]

@@darthgamer9861 True

[@ssteel]

It's this weird modern feeling of entitlement that anything you don't like is evil incarnate. If I see something I don't like, I don't like it and move on. Simple, right? Yet we live in a time where you can easily get doxxed for even slighting someone. You don't just see this from Twitter folk. This is a universal phenomena that is inherent with the current generation, like somehow the lesson that other people have free will too got skipped. It's fine to complain about something you don't like, it's being human. But using that thing that pissed you off as a justification to go harass someone or their family is asinine. Another thing to mention is the victim mentality actually helps justify any type of action against anyone, even if you weren't actually a victim. Your brain wouldn't feel bad for ruining someone's day or even life if you feel like you are a victim.

[@QTwoSix]

Do not let jews ruin your game

[@self-proclaimedanimator]

@@darthgamer9861 What about Berserk? what did they say?

[@levelmarkq4813]

Thank you for putting this out for the tf2 community. I remember seeing Unusualsandwich’s video a while back and was just so pissed off about it. You did a great job addressing the many issues with their video. A lot of the points you presented I had already came to myself (which I hope wouldn’t be hard for rational people to also reach). It was simply a spiteful video made by someone who clearly needs to grow up. To anyone that finds themselves in Unusualsandwich’s position, as Zesty pointed out, change YOUR experience. Don’t expect others to want to bend to your will. In addition, if you find yourself in a server with stuff that offends you, you have the power to simply leave and requeue. I’ve played enough mvm to know if I dont like the people on the server that I can just simply leave and queue for something else. Also quick note; no offense to pyro mains but of course the person who makes a huge deal out of a minuit issue of 20+ yr/old game is of course, a pyro main. ‘Nuff said.

[@neonkapawn]

Tf2 is like a 2000's online forum.

[@invinciblenoodle]

"Valve should moderate decals to remove offensive symbols", my man, you are playing a game where the German character has the domination line "I am the Ubermensch!" There's also "Dominated, you one-eyed cross-dresser" and "The Black Scottish Cyclops - now extinct!"

[@vivelespatat2670]

Said German character also possess a piss-gun that heals people named after the Blitzkrieg. And its funny because using it feels like you're speedrunning games.

[@uberd3323]

That same German man, coincidentally, has a ton of Nazi cosmetics as well as very little revealed about what he was doing from 1939-1945, which given how old he looks (early to mid 40’s) would be his prime “fighting age” years. His sadistic tendencies, lack of care towards human life and joy in experimenting on unsuspecting “patients” don’t exactly paint a great picture as to what he couldve been up to, either. Also, confirmed to be destined to go to Hell, which is telling, considering that Scout and Sniper of all people made it into Heaven for a short while in spite of being pretty monstrously bad people in their own right.

[@pierofasulli1076]

​@@vivelespatat2670The medic also has a uniform cosmetic that comes literally from WW2 wehrmatch. But even the Heavy has cosmetics belonging to the stalinist regime - which committed many atrocities. Almost every class has an insult that can be construed as: ageist, ableist, racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, classist

[@danielsurvivor1372]

Soldier in fandom: cringe ally Soldier *in canon* : *Based* 🗿

[@autismreal4]

@@danielsurvivor1372 Quick, Zhanna! Be racist!

[@NotASealZebra]

Very well put together video in general, and I agree completely. Ever since 2017 I've seen an influx of new players trying to sanitize TF2 and completely wipe the ability for people to express themselves whether good or bad because it's "problematic". The fact that an open gaming community like TF2 is still around is an absolute miracle and neutering it will kill the game

[@unr34L-]

Been playing since 2009 and I have never once seen a CP/illegal spray or decal.

[@Bucket_Buffoon]

Go look at the old lobbies from Halo 2, 3, even Reach. Proximity Chat, open mics in Lobbies if you so choose, and everyone interacting with one another in a social environment. Now look at Halo Infinite. This is what that guy wants for TF2, as well as all those like him. Don't gut social features, Mann Up and just adjust your settings to *your* preferences. Don't force everyone to censor themselves when you're given the tools to make YOURSELF comfortable with the game.

[@CoolSs]

"interacting with one another in a social environment." that legitimately what was valve server like before MYM. where people will stick around to play on the same server. now, the moment the match end. everyone leaves. you no longer can build that micro community.

[@Bucket_Buffoon]

@@CoolSs Halo proved to me that it could work even with Matchmaking. At first I thought MyM was the issue, but as I looked back on the friends I had made, no. It's the social features getting gutted, no proper lobbies, etc. Community Servers are where its at tho, like goddamn. You want social interactions? Go there. Legit met both my best friend and my WIFE on a damn Skial server. The micro community still thrives, you just gotta go there.

[@stefanandrejevic2570]

There was only one case where I saw someone with an illegal decal, it was a blatantly cheating sniper who had a cp objector, but I forgot his profile so I don't know if he was banned.

[@fujiwaranonekobiodrando1257]

Ok because the term cp is fucked over. Is it anime or real life? If it's anime, I dont care. If it's real life, report and maybe he's now already in jail

[@aneasteregg8171]

All I want to know is why that anime girl spray is so huge

[@Sypitz]

It’s like exodia the forbidden one. Each quarter was split among four players, they combined it for unholy power.

[@matthewlandas5346]

@@Sypitz misinformation - the server he was playing on was called kogasa topia where theres a plugin that increases the size of sprays

[@Sypitz]

@@matthewlandas5346 it was a joke.

[@DannyCheezits]

@@matthewlandas5346 do u have autism?

[@matthewlandas5346]

@@Sypitz wat

[@GirthyD]

Just make it an option that can be turned on and off (like sprays) and bam - everyone happy, no more problem

[@fiendish9474]

Clientside toggling. Should also be applied for hats.

[@applejhon8308]

After briefly looking over some of the discourse going on about this topic I'm getting the distinct feeling that this is less about improving the game and more about waging some kind of moral crusade. The guy who started this and the people who support his arguments all seem to have axes to grind and take great offense at those who disagree with them on this topic. It makes me think that they view this situation as a battle against parts of the community that offend them just by existing.

[@okaychud]

Precisely

[@darthgamer9861]

given his response was to immediately pull the “nazi” and “bigot” card, we can tell which side of the crusade hes on too

[@vivelespatat2670]

​@@darthgamer9861what would be even more ironic is if he got exposed for what he want deleted the most.

[@pikazilla6405]

I’m so happy the video by sandwich was received so harshly before you even made this video, knowing the tf2 community if you had spoken out about it without that happening there are people who would’ve rallied behind getting rid of decals solely cause you defended them, I really hope valve doesn’t take this issue seriously or else it’s gonna be another faceit situation where everyone ends up agreeing with you a year after they hated you, but with valve removing decals it would be too little too late cause it wouldn’t be coming back

[@SamuelTrademarked]

they won't take it seriously, it's a non-problem on a 16 year old game.

[@houndoom8465]

Last Halloween my boyfriend made the same “this is a m game kids shouldn’t be here” arguement about a clothed butt sign. After they failed to kick him and he blocked them they had a separate friend spam groomer accusations on his profile for 4 and a half pages. It’s amazing how extreme these idiots will go.

[@houndoom8465]

And yeah I’ve played since late 2011 and never seen anything worse that 1 or 2 nazi signs.

[@AllTheSameSeam]

W mans

[@Maethendias]

i just realized what "cheese pizza" means why are you all doing pizza dirty like that, it did not deserve to become the synonym for THAT bs smh amen to the points you are making tho

[@darthgamer9861]

I agree, make pizza accepted again! in all seriousness its probably because of site’s censorship policies that people began calling it “Cheese Pizza”

[@peegoblin8372]

could have been named cute puppies

[@darthgamer9861]

@@peegoblin8372 honestly that would lead to funny hijinks

[@Birds_In_Crime]

Cuban presidents

[@aaronwest4277]

“Should be able to play anywhere without being exposed to NSFW content” *Bodies exploding in game*

[@mariustan9275]

Thats not what people call NSFW nowadays.

[@OhNoEveryoneDied]

@@mariustan9275It’s not even NSFL, it’s very stylized and cartoony

[@mariustan9275]

@@OhNoEveryoneDied When I first read this I was wondering what you meant but then I realized you meant NSFW. I confused it for the football thing.

[@OhNoEveryoneDied]

@@mariustan9275 by NSFL i meant "not safe for life" which is gore and stuff, similar words tho and nsfl content is usually labeled nsfw

[@mariustan9275]

​@@OhNoEveryoneDiedyeah I just learned that term. I misread it as NFL when I first read that lol

[@barkbork7528]

I would much rather have a game where I get called a slur once in a while than a game where you literally cannot talk, which seems to be the case in most games.

[@Zakechan]

I haven't played TF2 in quite some time and ended up here randomly. I'm surprised the reddit crowd isn't calling for the removal of the domination system and domination voice lines for being "toxic and triggering." The beauty of TF2 is that is would/could not have been made today. It is a game about shit talking, random crits, and making children ragequit for daring to open up voice chat. I don't want to see what a sanitized, "serious competitive esport gayming" TF3 would look like. t. xbox 360 TF2 and 2009 TF2 old man. Get off my lawn.

[@pokeman5699]

"b-b-but think about teh children" -creep who thinks about the children way too much every fucking time

[@JustaFGC]

I've been playing tf2 ever since i was 7 years old (Eastern Europe and 2013) and i never seen any illegal sprays or decals ever in my life.

[@Boongur]

I think this whole situation is a great representation of privilege. People constantly want to shift spaces to their needs, begging for more and more accomodations when - maybe - it's just not their place? Like you said around twenty minutes, nobody's FORCING them to play. It's so brainless to complain about stuff they can just avoid. They're trying to get mad just to be mad, I guess.

[@soulstisalvadon]

This game has been around ever since i was born. I love it and will want to know what other stuff happened during the game's lifetime. I'm 16, TF2 is turning 17, and so will I.

[@MudchopX]

Normalize gatekeeping

[@MM7890]

Yesss!

[@Neoniq41]

Fax. So tired of these supposed "fans" coming into my hobbies demanding that stuff NEEDS to change on their behalf.

[@burgerrei2398]

I wish serial experiments lain was gatekept better :(

[@paintorian2064]

I call it "keeping standards"

[@vivelespatat2670]

Professionals have standards.

[@DaddyMaster76]

You are the only normal TF2 youtuber.

[@hmmm.74]

There is no such thing.

[@da_bloodytanktf5348]

"soulless games" is a very nice point you had in this video, people don't realize how incredibly soulless gaming has become, they blame broken single-player games at launch, but it even goes beyond to multiplayer games feeling incredibly soulless and copies of each other, "text chat" is almost extinct in modern video games or heavily moderated to the point where it's not worth the risk to be interpreted wrong, and "voice-chat" is getting attacked right now, and maybe we're heading to a point where you can never be anonymous in social media and video-games cause "actions have consequences". We're heading to a point where it's no longer important what video games and companies present as content but as to what are they stand for, do they value our diversity? do they respect X group or X culture? politics have become number 1 priority and it's plain stupid. That's why I love TF2, it's a breath of fresh air where "choice" is still a thing.

[@gabebrii2347]

"go ruin another game" sums it up well

[@N0tsaved]

Whatever happened to people acknowledging the "Internet interactions are not rated?" It was this way for a damn good reason. The Internet is a violent and sexually charged id. Watch what your children play, parents.

[@WumpaClock]

Excellent video, el Zest. Zoomers trying to muck up a grass roots community like TF2 with all their modern moderation tactics ain't gonna fly around here. And to the horrid parents who let their children play mature rated games, and then have the balls to get angry at the GAME and IT'S PLAYERS instead of your child: We don't want to hear it. We are not your free babysitters. When you choose to have a child, you choose to also partake in the due diligence to keep that child safe. It is not on the world to raise your kid.

[@AWNP-r2i]

you're probably shivering at the thought of the gta playerbase 💀💀💀

[@NeonBeeCat]

hey, wait a minute, who said it was just zoomers?

[@ssteel]

Zoomers are the edgy ones posting gore online

[@NeonBeeCat]

​@@ssteel Any female born after 1993 can't cook, all they know is McDonald's, charge they phone, twerk, be bisexual, eat hot chip, and lie

[@WumpaClock]

@@AWNP-r2i I play plenty of GTA Online, and my stance remains the same. I'm not put on this Earth to babysit someone else's spoiled brat.

[@raresuwako6796]

After seeing the Decay of War paints thumbnail, I went and backtracked the source, cropped the name of the artist out of the sign, slapped the image full color onto a objector, and slapped a professional killstreak kit on that sign, while I do have around 300-400 keys worth of objectors but none of them have actual nsfw nudity or nsfl material, my collection might be cursed but atleast I know the limits and respect the limits of the game But yea I loved the Warpaint thumbnail, congrats on getting me subscribed

[@TheAnnoyingF2P]

For real. Turning off sprays by default and muting F2Ps are some of the worst decisions they could have made regarding those "problems." Even censoring the chat by default is a bit much since it's been uncensored forever, but it's not as bad as the other two. You CAN still set up the game to keep downloaded sprays, but most people don't know about that. In fact, I've been playing TF2 since 2011 and have nearly every custom file I've ever downloaded. Not ONCE have I ever seen anything illegal. I remember seeing pr0n in TF2 back in the day before I really understood it and immediately turned away because I KNEW it was degenerate. I don't expect most kids to be like this, of course, but it's a good example of how a child's reaction to such content (that they WILL find regardless of what you do) is affected by their personality, environment, and parenting. I hate seeing furry and anime crap in my games, but it's a rare and acceptable trade off for the greatest system of user-generated content in any modern game. I seriously can't think of any other game (in the same genre as TF2) that lets you include your own images in the multiplayer experience. It almost feels like we're going backwards technologically in that aspect.

[@TheAnnoyingF2P]

I just double-checked that my option to keep from deleting sprays was functional... it was not. Apparently, it hasn't been saving the sprays since the update that removed them... which explains why it took so long for the game to shut down. At least I'm not missing any funny ones because I don't play on community servers very often, but whatever I've picked up since that last update is gone. I've since added it to my autoexec so it doesn't turn off again. Dammit Valve...

[@juvenoiachild7675]

in my 13 years of playing tf2, ive seen more funny decals than offensive ones. probably only a handful of sexual ones. player expression is the soul of tf2.

[@antoneeee9284]

Those who complain about the lack of moderation have yet to fully grow up.

[@stolyartoad8640]

16:34 That "games done quick" Heavy fucking killed me

[@thebritishgeek]

man i miss sprays so much. The absolute comedy you could have with them

[@seronymus]

We should protest to get them restored.

[@Fatsaver]

The best Spy strategy was spraying big anime boobas to the f2p enemys and then backstab them >)

[@thebritishgeek]

@@Fatsaver I remember doing that! I didn't use boobies I used this shock image of this dude in a gimp mask and a milking machine.... Yes. People would stop to cover it up then I'd back stab them. I only ever got told off once for doing it

[@DannyCheezits]

@@thebritishgeek if sprays come back you should do that again but with a knife renamed to "u looked at the spray now ur gay"

[@energeticyellow1637]

​@@Fatsaver I used to play Engineer on Dustbowl and face my teleporters at a wall with gay p0rn sprayed all over it

[@vaskedagame880]

finally, for a long time i too thought that tf2 being neglected was a blessing in disguise. its the only game without a chat filter or toxicity rules, its like the wild west of video games