Popular video game chat service announces ban on white supremacist users

by Wagatwe Wanjuki

Community

(This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday, Aug. 14, 2017 Monday, Aug. 14, 2017 at 2:56:40pm PDT

NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 13: Protestors rally against white supremacy and racism in Columbus Circle on August 13, 2017 in New York City. The rally is organized by a New York City based group called 'Refuse Fascism' following clashes between white supremacists and counter-protestors in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday, August 12th. Heather Heyer, 32, was killed in Charlottesville when a car driven by a white supremacist barreled into a crowd of counter-protesters following violence at the 'Unite the Right' rally. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The online backlash for racist assholes after the white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, continues as a popular chat service for video gamers bans their ilk. The chat app, called Discord, made the announcement on Twitter.

Love. Not hate. pic.twitter.com/5xFpvHTuI2
— Discord (@discordapp) August 14, 2017

This is a big blow to the self-described “alt-right” players since it’s become a popular online gathering place, according to Business Insider.

Discord is a venture-backed service providing voice- and text-chat services to over 45 million monthly active users. It's been called "Skype for gamers," though it's found a certain measure of popularity with other groups, as well. Altright.com, a popular news source for the alt-right, maintained a server on Discord for its community to chat. Altright.com and its community were involved in planning the Charlottesville rally.

"When hatred like this violates our community standards we act swiftly to take servers down and ban individual users," said Discord CMO Eros Resmini in a statement.

Goodbye fellas, you will not be missed.