Weeds have long been an issue in the Animal Crossing series. Now we’re seeing just how problematic they can be, as Facebook cracks down on players innocently commenting on the unwelcome plant life.
As we all know, the central goal of the Animal Crossing games is to develop a town/island you’re happy with. Some players define this as a huge, customized-to-within-an-inch-of-its-life playground with every possible mod con, created over hundreds and hundreds of hours. Others prefer to focus mostly on their homes, doing relatively little to the town as a whole. As competitive and envy-inducing as the community can be, the only town that really matters at the end of the day is your own.
Whether you’re super meticulous about every little detail or you don’t really mess with much at all, weeds are a hot topic for almost every player. Just as in real life, they grow like heck and spoil perfectly-sculpted gardens. They have also been problematic because they’ve discouraged players from returning to the series after not playing for a while, for fear that their towns will be overrun.
On the plus side, they’re quite useful for crafting in Animal Crossing: New Horizons and the different varieties of them can actually look quite good. Weeds are a real mixed bag at the moment, all in all, but some New Horizons players have claimed that they’ve found themselves in hot water with Facebook for discussing them!
As Polygon reports, “Facebook’s community standards are clear when it comes to regulated goods: You can’t sell or buy non-medical drugs on the platform, and this of course includes marijuana.” Couple this with the fact that New Horizons has been the talk of social media since it launched and that the player’s deserted island is a festival of weeds when the game begins and you’re just asking for trouble.
Facebook groups revolving around the game have begun reporting that the platform has removed posts it believes may be violating its rules. The report goes on to say that alternative names for ‘weeds’ are being suggested by group admins and that the words “weed” and “trade” should be avoided in the same post. Such uploads being published can lead to strikes on group Pages, which can, in turn, result in the ‘offending’ Page being removed.
Isn’t it strange that this harmless franchise is so controversial at times?
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