In my experience, Habitica forbids expressing a Christian worldview based on the Bible. Habitica is not welcoming or accepting of Christians who want to share their views respectfully. In fact, they outright persecute Christians and ultimately silence them on their platform. I want to strongly caution readers before investing their money in a platform hostile to Christian values.
This review is my personal story of the religious persecution I have suffered on this productivity app and platform.
Habitica is a gamified productivity app with a friendly community that promises a safe and positive atmosphere for everyone. However, this has not been my experience for the entire year and a half I have been there.
Despite its claims that they are welcoming and accepting, Christians are the one exception to this rule. Anyone who expresses a biblical worldview is either banned or told to never bring it up again.
For me, I was banned and rebuked, lost any progress made toward the contributor tiers I worked for months on, was told never to express my view again if I wanted to keep my chat privileges, and just this morning (after having done absolutely nothing against the rules on their platform), they removed my contributor tier entirely.
What prompted me to write this review was the extreme censorship and biased moderation toward my respectful discussion posts about gender pronouns and homosexuality in a Christian guild.
I asked what my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ thought about using gender neutral pronouns. I wanted to respect people who identify with them while still holding to our faith and personal convictions, since we believe there are only two genders.
This transitioned into a respectful discussion about homosexuality and what the Bible said. Everyone who took the biblical stance did so in an extremely respectful, non-hateful way. Not one negative word was said about anyone who was homosexual. We simply discussed what the Bible says about acting on these desires and why the actions were wrong.
I posted a passage of Scripture that mentioned the word “sodomites” and was immediately auto-banned. I had no idea what happened. Turns out, “sodomites” is considered hate speech by Habitica. However, nowhere in the Community Guidelines is this word ever mentioned as such. The Community Guidelines states that the mod team is alerted when someone is auto-banned in case they mentioned something innocent. That way the moderators can remove the auto-ban quickly when it is unjust. However, for two days, I did not hear a single word from the moderation team.
That’s the situation that led to this Habitica review.
I emailed about the problem. My email:
Hello! My chat privileges were just removed, but I wasn’t sent a message explaining why or for how long. If this is about my messages in the Disciples of Jesus guild, I was not hating on any individual or group, but was simply stating my opinions in a completely respectful, loving way. Could someone please get back to me on the matter and let me know how long my chatting is paused for? If you’d like me to refrain from discussing homosexuality, that’s absolutely fine.
I am respectfully asking the moderation team to please moderate my messages fairly and without bias, as I was not saying anything hateful, even if you do not agree with my opinion.
Thank you,
@Dark_Ninja
Habitica’s response:
Hello Madi,
You were auto-muted by the slur blocker because your post used a word that we consider to be hate speech (“sodomites”). While we do not believe you directly intended to cause harm and hurt, your posts in Disciples of Jesus are hurtful and disrespectful to the LGBTQ+ members of our community and are not in keeping with the kind and welcoming values we uphold. Your posts roundly discounted their experiences and feelings and did in fact cause a lot of hurt to the folks who reported them to us. Moderator [name removed] was particularly disappointed as they saw the posts and felt targeted, although they were not one of the moderators who acted in this instance. The entire moderator team was displeased to see this behavior from a contributor, including your repeated requests that we handle in it the way you deemed appropriate.
While we do strive to be respectful of different faiths and belief systems, we consider posts disparaging LGBTQ+ folks or any group to be against our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. We reserve the right to moderate all posts that can be reasonably read as insulting and hurtful even if that was not the intent of the person who posted them. What the Bible or texts from any religion condone or condemn is irrelevant to Habitica and the enforcement of the Community Guidelines and Terms of Service.
I hope that clarifies our position and that you have a better understanding of how we’ve handled this situation. If you or other members of the Guild wish to debate topics in the Bible or in some Christian belief systems that are not allowed per our Community Guidelines and TOS, you are certainly welcome to invite folks from the Guild to talk about them in another forum outside Habitica that allows such discussion.
We will restore your chat privileges on the condition that you apologize to [name removed] for discounting their experiences and identity and using them as an example in a negative light in our own community where they have been nothing but helpful and kind to you. You must also never bring up this topic again in any of our chats, as you have already offered to do.
Best,
The Habitica Team
My “repeated requests” consisted of me politely asking twice that any moderator who came across my posts would moderate in a fair way.
My posts “disparaging” to LGBTQ+ folks were extremely kind, respectful, and sweet. I mentioned multiple times that I was not hating on anyone or any group, but that I simply held to personal convictions about what the Bible says concerning certain actions that are wrong.
My post “roundly discounting their experiences” did not mention anyone at all. In fact, I wanted to know how to be respectful to people who identify as they/them. I wanted to know what Christians thought about using gender-neutral pronouns while still holding to faith.
My reply:
Hi Habitica Team!
Thank you for the response! I’d like to clarify that I definitely wasn’t targeting [name removed] at all, and would never, ever do that to them. I’m actually very fond of [name removed] as we do poms together sometimes on a Discord server.
I can definitely understand your decisions. So, just to be clear: any opinion that disagrees with the lifestyle choices of the LGBTQ+ community, even in a very respectful way, isn’t allowed? Just so I know for the future.
I would be more than happy to apologize to [name removed] if they felt hurt. I’m fine with refraining from mentioning the topic as well (although I am sad to see that a differing opinion discussed in a very respectful way isn’t allowed, as I was learning a lot about other views through the discussion!).
Is my progress through the tiers paused in any way? I’ve had a great time giving back to the Habitica community and continuing to make progress in that regards is one of my goals.
Madi
(@Dark_Ninja)
Habitica’s response:
Hi Madi,
We appreciate your clarification, but would like to note that your specific post about pronouns was stressful and felt pointed at [name removed] and other folks in the community that use nonbinary pronouns. We think it’s understandable that they felt targeted.
We want to make you aware that the LGBTQ+ community, and their allies, find the term ‘lifestyle choice’ to be extremely offensive. It is disrespectful of the struggles, intolerance, and hostility faced by many LGBTQ+ people to suggest that the difficulties are because of a choice they made.
If by “any opinion that disagrees” you mean an opinion or belief that it is somehow sinful, misguided, or otherwise wrong for an LGBTQ+ person to live as an LGBTQ+ person, then it is correct that those opinions are not welcome to be expressed in Habitica.
At this time, we do not believe that it is in the best interest of the community to grant you further contributor tiers. Folks with tiers and colored name tags are representatives of our community, and for socialites in particular it’s important to us that they share our values of welcoming and respect. We do appreciate all of the effort you’ve put in so far, and your attempts to respond to us in a civil way, but we have a fundamental disagreement about what constitutes a ‘very respectful’ discussion.
[Name removed] has received your apology. They will decide whether to respond in their own time. In light of your apology and agreement to not further discuss the topic, we have restored your chat privileges. Take care.
Best,
The Habitica Team
To clarify, I never once said that it is wrong for an LGBTQ+ person to “live as an LGBTQ+ person”. It is wrong only to act on certain feelings, which would be an action that the Bible says is wrong. We cannot help what feelings we have, but we 100% control our actions and our response to them.
Despite saying that I did not target [name removed] at all, the moderation team insisted I apologize to someone who chose to be offended at a post that wasn’t targeted at anyone.
They wanted to punish me all they could. Despite my four months of consistent contribution toward the community, they refused to give me any more contributor tiers.
Just this morning—two weeks after this issue with them—they removed my contributor tier entirely with no notice. I had worked hard on contributing for months while I was very sick and had gained this tier a year before any of this happened. I left a short, negative App Store review two days ago, which was not on their platform, so they had no right to punish me further but did anyway.
(On a personal note, I want to say that the experience hurt me very much. I loved Habitica. I loved the people there. I had nothing against anyone. I used Habitica every day. I was a contributor to the platform and leader of The Health Nuts guild with over 2,400+ members. I loved this platform, and to have them turn around and persecute me for my respectful faith still hurts me to this day.)
“… you mean an opinion or belief that it is somehow sinful, misguided, or otherwise wrong for an LGBTQ+ person to live as an LGBTQ+ person, then it is correct that those opinions are not welcome to be expressed in Habitica.”
This is religious persecution.
My final Habitica review: In my experience, Habitica forbids expressing a Christian worldview based on the Bible. Habitica is not welcoming or accepting of Christians who want to share their views respectfully. In fact, they outright persecute Christians and ultimately silence them on their platform. I want to strongly caution readers before investing their money in a platform hostile to Christian values.
If you want to share, please feel free to pin, repost, or link to this article. The more people link to it, the more it will show up in Google search results for “Habitica review” and the more Christians we can warn.
Holy moses that’s insane. Well done responding in a Godly manner!
It really is. Thank you!
My pleasure, and I really hope to see this kind of thing taken seriously by moderators like that.
I really hope so too. It’s getting harder and harder to find people who can both disagree and have common sense at the same time.
Yeah, that’s why I mostly stear clear of online forums. I find real life conversation to be more stimulating 🙂
Hopefully our freedom of speech won’t be impaired too.
They can’t shut me up, so no lol
XDD
I cannot believe it. I used this platform at one point, and I enjoyed it very much–I participated in a super fun roleplay event at one point, but I eventually forgot about the site. I… No. Never ever again. If I can remember my stupid password I’m going to find out how to delete my account. I will not stand for this, I will not support it. *Accepting* my foot; they’re liars! And I love how they’re idea of a *positive environment for QUOTE EVERYONE* is one of complete godlessness and being totally free of any Christianity at all!
And the fact that they were so offended by someone simply stating their beliefs, just *saying* things without calling names. And they completely ignored your attempts at reminding them that HEY! I’m not here to offend you! But guess what? they’re offended anyway. Why? Because they’re wearing a chip on their shoulder. They just *wait* for someone to say “that’s not right” so they can get all bent out of shape and scream and bite your head off, just so they can feel better about themselves. It’s childish, and I hate it because they’re the reason censorship like this happens. And the funny thing is, most of them are liberals who are fighting *against* censorship of personal beliefs and *for* acceptance and positivity. Suuuuure. Hypocrites.
I just can’t put it all into words how angry I am. Just… Dear God.
*throws imaginary knife at imaginary Habitica logo*
Thank you so much. I 10000% agree. The platform is, sadly, hypocritical. I would love to find just one person who can both disagree with my stance and still use common sense to see what they did was wrong.
The Google definition of disparaging: “expressing the opinion that something is of little worth; derogatory.”
Um, excuse me? I don’t believe you said or implied anything of the sort, thank you.
And you know what a good sign of maturity is?? Being able to let people be wrong! Agreeing to disagree! NOT STARTING A FRIGGIN HISSY FIGHT! ?
You’re right. I said absolutely nothing of the sort. Every human being has equal worth because they are made in the image of God, no matter what they have done. That is the message of the Gospel.
The people are literally twice my age and yet I still trigger them? *insert Madi laugh*
You should be able to stand up for whats right! Great job responding, I could not do it any better. XD
Thank you so much, Raegan! XD
Oh my goodness, I’m in shock. That’s so increadibly terrible and saddining. I hate that that’s how our culture is going– and that people are fine with persicution like that. You responded in a very mature and wise way, and I appriciate that. Never helps anything to get angry.
But… Oh goodness, I can’t believe they would do something like that. It’s terrible.
I completely agree. It’s shocking how people think this kind of behavior is even okay. If you want to share this post, please feel free: the more people link to it, the more it will show up in Google search results for “Habitica review”.
Thanks so much again, Emily!
Wow. It’s unbelievable how people can go bonkers over a respectful opinion. I’m just glad that you replied in a very mature way. But c’mon! They actually try to be spiteful by removing your contributor tier. They sound like 5 year olds. Haha, definitely going to stay away from such platforms. ? Madi: 1, Moderators: 0
I know, right? I have nothing against any community, I was legit just having a super respectful opinion. It’s insane. Thank you Olivia ?
Aww, no problem. Glad I’m being helpful. ?
Also, have you told your parents or a trusted adult yet? If not, you probably should because it is not okay that those moderators are practically ridiculing you on their app.
I definitely have. My parents were really upset and I’ve deleted the app.
Fellow habitican here!
Just my opinion on this issue.
So when you start out you would have agreed to the community guidelines which clearly state that you can’t argue with a mod’s decision. And you asking them to moderate “fairly” obviously implied that you wanted them to agree with your actions which they clearly did not.
And from your perspective, you may feel your opinions weren’t hurtful. But keep in mind that this was only brought to the mods notice because people felt hurt and thought your post was worth reporting.
So I’m with the habitica team on this one. They moderated hurtful speech and NOT Christian views.
Hey Anonymous! I’d have to disagree. I didn’t ask them to agree with my actions, just to moderate without bias. The fact that they removed my tier even after I complied with their requests proves said bias.
Maybe removing your contribution tier without notice was not fair. I believe you could still ask them about why they removed your tier when you complied to their request.
Other than that, I feel the mods took the right action.
Please don’t enter here with a personal bias. Obviously, you don’t understand what took place. I suggest re-reading the post with care before you disagree to something blatantly obvious.
I’ve read the mods posts as a response to madi’s comments and they gave her MULTIPLE warnings. You might first want to check if her post is biased or not
Why don’t you shut the heck up. Nobody gives a crap about your opinion, so go and cry to someone who cares.
Those weren’t WARNINGS anonymous, those are straight up THREATS. Now fight properly or go back to hiding behind your little mask, coward
We stan a queen! ? I love the way you responded to the situation. It can be very aggravating when people ask for respect of all beliefs except they only respect the beliefs they agree with and fail to respect those they dislike. It would be a little more understandable if it were a platform that was solely intended for those of beliefs opposite to ours, but it was a platform that claimed to be ok with all beliefs, and they failed to uphold that word. I cannot believe they removed your tier because of a review that wasn’t even on the app. Wow. O_o
Oh my goodness, *exactly*. It’s extremely hypocritical. I could hardly believe it this morning when I found out they’d removed my tier. Honestly, that was an extremely childish thing to do. Thanks, Danielle! ?
“I will respect your opinion as long as your opinion doesn’t disrespect anyone else’s existence.”
This is what habitica believes in. And they took actions in that direction.
I had hoped so. Unfortunately, I have read a shocking amount of posts with a highly disrespectful tone of many’s existence, but because Habitica agreed with the posters, they were not removed.
And what posts were they? I’m just curious to know…
Sure! You can find some in the progressive guilds, such as “atheists, feminists, and other no-good commies” (I think that’s the title) or the progressive action guild. I’ve read quite a few that weren’t respectful to my beliefs, and in fact hurt me. I would also suggest taking a look in the LGBTQ+ guild but the sexual content in there was too graphic/descriptive for my convictions.
I checked those guilds and there aren’t any offensive messages as of now. Maybe you’re talking about some time before. Could you give more details about those posts?
And also what were the moderators’ response when you reported the said offensive posts?
When I read the posts, the tone that the users spoke with was very hurtful toward people who believe the way I do. If that same exact tone was spoken in a way that disagreed with the LGBTQ+ community, the moderators would have handled it unfairly. The posts were “disparaging” to people who believe the way I do, but no moderator would have cared, therefore I didn’t report them.
Could you give more details on how the posts were offensive to you? I checked the guilds you mentioned and none of the posts seem hurtful, so I believe you’re talking about posts that existed long back.
Also, what was the response of the moderators when you reported those posts? Did you get the chance to explain why those posts were hurtful to you?
The CG clearly say that if you feel something was hurtful to you, you can report it immediately. The moderators can only know about a hurtful post if someone reports them (because they can’t be hanging around every single guild and be reading all the posts, right?). There are many instances when hurtful posts go unnoticed and it isn’t the moderators’ “double standards” that let them exist but rather the fact that nobody reported them.
It’s not right for you to assume that the moderators would not act on it and hence not report them (and also accuse them later by writing a blog post for some non-existent “double standards”)
This is my respectful argument with you.
Thanks for your respectful comments. I did not report the post because it was a long time ago, though I still don’t believe an unbiased action would’ve been taken.
You can’t accuse the moderators because you “believe” they are biased. You are also writing a blog post about said “double standards” which don’t give people the whole picture.
Is there any instance you remember that prove the moderators’ bias? Till now, you’ve only claimed that “you felt” they wouldn’t take action. I’ve seen them moderate many comments in progressive guilds as well, so I don’t believe the bias exists.
Anonymous, the fact that they removed my tier after I complied with their requests proves said bias. Because of the toxic and anti-biblical environment, I’ve cut off my use of Habitica entirely and will most likely not be discussing anything more with the mods.
And then they blatantly bROKE IT
This is honestly just so sad. I mean, I can understand moderators removing comments if they were actually hurtful and mean, but there is huge difference between stating your opinion and intentionally targeting people and being mean. If it’s really what it claims to be, “an app that promotes a safe and friendly environment for everyone” then it should be fine for anyone to state their opinions in a friendly way and it should be okay to disagree with others in a friendly and professional way. I honestly think you did a great job handling this in a professional but still friendly way! ?
I completely agree. Posts targeting people and being hurtful should totally be removed, but a simple respectful opinion that wasn’t targeting or saying anything hateful about anybody? Please. Thank you so much for reading, Hannah! I love reading comments from you. <3
Aww, thanks ❤
That’s sad that you were just using freedom of speech to express yourself and your beliefs and you got banned. While it is wrong to have “hate speech” that is clearly not what you were doing, and even that should be considered freedom of speech.
What makes me the most upset, is the double standards. I doubt they would care if someone was hating on Christianity, which is really sad.
“What makes me the most upset, is the double standards. I doubt they would care if someone was hating on Christianity, which is really sad.” I could not agree more. The double standards on this platform are absolutely insane. Thank you so much for reading, Diamond.
That is very..
Hostile in a way that looks polite, such as “We welcome everyone” but in that they mean LGBTQ+. This law they attempt to uphold in a way of everyone being welcome, isn’t very welcoming to Christians. Some people are so headstrong, and praying for them is the first option I ever do before sending a message. This is a false law that should be changed to say what they mean. This law was only targeted to one people group, and should be rephrased to the reality of this law.
I.E “We welcome all LGBTQ+ members.”
Aaron
I 100% agree! It’s completely hypocritical. They outright lie. Thanks so much for commenting, Aaron.
Good work on this post BTW ??
Thank you so so much!
No problem. I like your blog so far. ???✌?
Thanks so much ?
this is brutal and disgusting through and through.
I agree with Aaron as well.
I couldn’t agree more, Mary.
Good job standing up for your beliefs and awesome post!
Thank you so much, Jasmin! ?
Madi, I am glad that you posted this. You go girl!
Thank you very much, Victoria! ?
Wow that’s really sad. You can tell that even though they kept a “business like” way of talking, the tone of it was still very aggressive and defensive even though you weren’t acting that way towards them at all. It just shows that they know that those things are wrong and so they purposely silence those who speak truth. Your responses were very mature and kind, and you didn’t let them walk all over you. Good job keeping a Christ like manner through it all Madison! And though I hadn’t ever heard of Habitica before, I definitely will not be getting it now!
Thank you so very much, Hope — this comment was so encouraging to read! Thank you for the support and for reading! ?
Oh, I’m so glad that it was Madison! ?
Woah, that’s crazy. And sad. You handled the situation very well though!
Thank you very much, Rosy! It is really, really sad.
I honestly applaud you for handling everything so respectfully and politely. The whole situation must have been really stressful / frustrating.
Thanks so much, Germaine! Honestly, it hurt me a lot.
I can tell, and I really feel for you. *offers hugs*
Thank you very much *hugs*
That’s awful that happened, but you handled that in such a mature, Christ-like, and respectful manner! It’s sad that people want us to respect their views and beliefs but choose to not respect ours. This post definitely was encouragement to respond to those around us, no matter what the situation, like Jesus would. Way to go!
Thank you so much, Mayah! It really is sad. It’s hypocritical. Thanks again for the support.
I’m looking for a game review before i purchase this game for my nintendo switch. I did not enjoy this review i got nothing as far as gameplay idea or opinion or information. I am Buddhist and i want to know if its a good game ?
The interface is useful, though there are not as many features on the app as there are on the website.
Could you give specific instances where you noticed habitica’s double standards?
Like, I checked the progressive guilds you mentioned and none of the current posts seem hurtful to any community. So, I believe the posts you’re talking about are from long back.
Also, what were the moderators’ response when you reported those posts which hurt you?
My comments aren’t appearing even after a long time!!
Haha! Madi couldn’t take my respectful arguments and therefore blocked me!
I don’t see how she’s any different from what she claims the moderators are.
No, you’re not blocked, my comments are just moderated. ?
What, you missed the very large “my comments are moderated so they won’t show up right away”? I’m half blind and can still see it. You may need to get your eyes checked, buddy
Is that what you were here for? To prove Madi is a whiny baby who can’t take being punished for any reason? Because if so, you are so petty, and I hope you enjoy your life of tearing people down because nobody cares about that line of work. Actually, if you want your life work to catch some looks, why don’t you become a newsmedia host? Not only would you be feeding other people like you, you’d get along just fine with your coworkers too!
Madi, I’m going to have to respectfully disagree with your thoughts on this situation. I do believe the moderators acted fairly. Their job was to keep the community a safe and loving environment. It is clear why some people, particularly the LGBTQIAP+ did not consider your comments to fit this ideal. Being a part of that community is not a lifestyle choice. It is not a choice, period. If a girl liking boys is not a choice, then a girl liking girls is also not a choice. I also understand that you personally believe that there are only two genders, but I believe that God created each human being exactly how He intended to. Let’s remember that God didn’t create the idea of gender, humans did. As Christians, we are taught to love others. The best way to do this, in my opinion, is to use people’s preferred pronouns.
While you may consider this “religious persecution,” the truth is it isn’t. If an atheist used the same words you did, the consequences would have been the same. In this case, no one was saying there was something wrong with Christianity. However, if you’d like to talk about persecution, LGBTQ+ people are persecuted every day of their lives. In many places, they can be denied housing, affordable health care, even something as simple as eating out at a restaurant. I think we can both agree that these actions are not part of a culture of love and respect that Christians pride themselves on having.
I also noticed that in this post, you talked about how in the Bible, it is written that acting on “certain feelings” is wrong. I just want to remind you that these same actions are considered wrong with heterosexual couples as well. In this post, you made it seem like the LGBTQ+ community were the only people at fault. At the end of the day, we are all sinners and whether we’re straight or gay, trans or cis, we will never achieve the perfection that God has. People don’t get to choose who they are. Who they love or what their gender is something that should not be up for discussion. I’d just like to ask that you take another look at this situation through the eyes of a member of the LGBTQIAP+ community. Thank you.
Thank you for being respectful with your comment. I’d like to bring up this section of my post again:
“To clarify, I never once said that it is wrong for an LGBTQ+ person to “live as an LGBTQ+ person”. It is wrong only to act on certain feelings, which would be an action that the Bible says is wrong. We cannot help what feelings we have, but we 100% control our actions and our response to them.”
Having homosexual feelings is not wrong, but acting on them is wrong according to the Bible. That is my biblical stance.
I also do not believe LGBTQ+ people should be persecuted at all. Just like I don’t believe a respectful, Christian worldview should be restricted.
I’m a bit confused by this viewpoint. You state that you don’t believe the feelings are wrong and that it is okay to live as an LGBTQ+ person, but on the other hand, it is wrong for them to act on those feelings, which is also known as living as an LGBTQ+ person. While I respect that you can have your opinion and should be able to voice it, you may want to consider that there were people hurt by what you said and perhaps felt unwelcome because of your words.
The Bible is a complicated text with many ways of understanding its words and lessons. While I believe it was unfair for you to be banned because of your comments and that Habitica responded firmly, I also urge you to consider that your words here do suggest that you disapprove of others’ lifestyles and believe the way they exist to be wrong. While it looks that it was not your intention to cause harm, it is likely that you did.
I understand that you say you don’t want LGBTQ+ people to be persecuted, yet suggesting their existence is wrong most certainly does not contribute to them feeling as though they are not persecuted. Because of the constant barrage of hatred toward them, it is possible that your words may have cut deeper than you know.
I’m sure the moderators will likely remove this message before anyone ever has a chance to see it, but I thought it should be said that the hurt can go both ways, and pretending that because your intentions were good that others could not be hurt that it is a reductive viewpoint which can cause even more harm.
Prayers to you.
Hi Rejoyce!
To clarify, my stance is that we don’t have a choice on what we feel, but we have a choice on how we act. You can exist as an LGBTQ+ person without acting on those feelings. I am not suggesting their existence is wrong; everyone is created in the image of God, and their life is beautiful. 🙂
I also did not say in any public Habitica chat that it was wrong to act on those feelings. I asked what other Christians thought about using they/them pronouns, and then I asked another user’s opinion on a portion of Scripture. My comments were entirely based around discussion so I could better educate myself, not to spread my views.
While I don’t doubt some find offense with the simple fact that I disagree with acting on certain feelings, I still don’t believe my comments on Habitica warranted the moderation decisions made, and as a contributor to the community I was very familiar with the Community Guidelines with which they claimed I violated. I complied with their every request they mentioned in the emails above, but they still prevented any progress I could make as a contributor, and then later removed my contributor tier altogether.
I hope that helps clarify!
Madi’s response to this was perfect, I’m just here to say MIC DROP. ??
“Let’s remember that God didn’t create the idea of gender, humans did.”
Genesis 1:27 — So GOD CREATED man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; MALE and FEMALE created he them.
Genesis 5:2 — MALE and FEMALE CREATED HE THEM; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
The Bible is literally the words of God Himself. I think your statement is rather wrong.
“I think we can both agree that these actions are not part of a culture of love and respect that Christians pride themselves on having.”
This is what I hate about the mainstream LGBTQ+ community. All I see is a bunch of people wearing chips on their shoulders, just WAITING for somebody to say “I don’t think it’s right for [insert some LGBTQ belief here].” I KNOW not all of them are like that, but they get all the attention because they whine and cry and scream. If I say “I believe gay sex is wrong” anywhere noticeable, I get thoroughly attacked and insulted and screamed at. However, most people who drink alcohol are mature enough to be able to hear “I believe drinking alcohol is wrong” and either say “cool bro, I don’t agree” or simply ignore me. Just because I tell you you’re doing something wrong does not mean I hate you, and it is not a personal attack! If you don’t wanna hear stuff like that, GET OFF THE PLANET AND YOU WON’T. If you can’t handle statements of disagreement, then you can’t handle life. That’s just a fact, my friend.
even though i think the mods are being a little petty, your opinions and beliefs, regardless of whether or not they are justified, are not the issue here. the issue is that you went against what habitica considers to be “community guidelines”. you signed their terms and conditions when you signed up for the app, so that means you agreed to play by their rules, no matter what those rules are. i don’t think it’s “persecution” for habitica to decide that they don’t want you representing their app in the higher tiers. that’s their choice to make, not yours. “clearly we have a fundamental difference of opinions when it comes to what is a respectful conversation” is really the best way of putting it.
and honestly, i think you’re blowing this situation completely out of proportion. it’s kind of ridiculous to call getting booted off the forums on an app “religious persecution” when there are so many other forms of actual persecution going on. it sounds spoiled, privileged and entitled for you to complain so loudly about this. at the end of the day, this is a game. an app. a virtual community. lick your wounds and find another one. this isn’t that big of a deal.
i hope you got the attention you wanted from this post. take care.
That’s a really great post! Truly unbiased. Comments here seem to only see how Madi viewed this issue.
The sarcasm here is so subtle, well done.
That wasn’t sarcasm. -_-
Tragic.
Go take your bratty arguments back to your distopian novel, you’d made an amazing president Snow.
*whispers* If you disagree with what was said, please attack the argument presented and not the person who wrote it; tearing people down and calling their arguments bratty without showing *why* they are bratty isn’t going to get this discussion anywhere on intellectual grounds 😉
You are right, and I’m sorry, but haters don’t use logic themselves, so it can be difficult to combat in that way. Thank you for being so kind <3
Not everyone who disagrees is being a hater. This is not an “us versus them” situation, but rather a situation of people working through difficult issues regarding culture, faith, and community guidelines. Please consider being more respectful in your comments. From what I’ve seen, I’m sorely disappointed in your attitude and wish you the best in working through the anger presented here.
Bless.
1) The mods seemed to have a very big problem with agreeing to disagree. They also seemed to have a very big problem with letting her know BEFOREHAND that they could not let her represent Habitica because they do not agree. It is not the fact that they disagree with us that I have a problem with–it is the fact that, because they disagreed, they treated Madi like she has no right to even be there. Two people who fundamentally disagree can have a civil conversation if they simply grow up, and two people who fundamentally disagree can coexist if they simply grow up.
2) Silencing someone about their Christian beliefs IS persecution. It may not be “as bad” as what missionaries and Christians in China have to go through, but it’s still persecution. And you know what? What it is that you call “real persecution” begins with this stuff. It starts slow, with people shutting people up about their beliefs when it was never an argument in the first place. Then that becomes censorship of the media and the press, and that becomes no more freedom of religion, and that becomes imprisoning, torturing, and murdering Christians like they do in China. If Christian persecution on that level were to suddenly break out in America, people would resist–a LOT of people would resist, and not just Christians. However, if it keeps going slowly down the slope like this, it’ll get to the point where everyone would agree if it were implemented. This is how Hitler got Germany on his side, and this is how the Antichrist will be able to rise to power. It’s a terrible little snowball rolling down a hill that’s gonna keep growing if someone doesn’t chuck it back at the jerk who rolled it up and knock him right off that stupid hill of his, and I’m not gonna stand for it.
[…] Habitica religiously persecuted against her in Adventure in The Air’s new article: “Habitica Review: An Open Letter to Habitica Regarding Its Religious Persecution.” Madison goes onto speak about a situation that began between her and the Habitica team […]
Oh, that honestly makes me so sad. I’m sad you experienced this, Madi, and I thank you for sharing.
Thanks for the support, Weez. It truly means a lot. ?
This still makes me so so mad, but you’ve handled it so maturely and correctly with this post! whereas i juST WANNA FIGHT SOMEBODY ARG. like those anonomous peeps who’re being jerks in the comments…no no gotta control my temper. *sigh* all the hugs for you madi<3
Thank you so very much <333
Hey Madi! I was a fellow Habitican and I immediately wanted to tell you that I am HORRIFIED that this happened. I am so so sorry. Truly. For everyone’s benefit who is reading this, I would like to say I WAS ON THIS VERY GUILD. I read Madi’s posts, and I was grateful to read the responses, and she was NEVER disrespectful in the least bit. In fact, I would go so far as to say she was the most respectful of any of us. And she clearly made sure to say after every post that she wasn’t targeting anyone, and didn’t have anything against LGBTQ communities. Someone posted this in the Disciples guild and I felt my heart plummet, because I LOVED reading your posts. I came to read what happened as fast as I could. (I will also say that that link was removed from the guild, as were any others. I’m glad I got there in time!) Anyway, just wanted to reach out my support, and I wish I could give you so many hugs right now! Hang in there girl, I’m praying for you!
Oh Judith, thank you so much for this word of encouragement! I knew that they would probably remove the link if anyone posted it. The persecution is terrible! Thank you for coming here, Judith!
Absolutely!!! Anything I can do to help the situation I will, I don’t think it was just, and I don’t think it was against any community guidelines, having read the guidelines AND the posts. This is persecution, whether we want to admit it or not. I’m so sorry it happened.
Thank you so much, Judith. You’re right, nothing from the Guidelines was broken and everything was said in a lovely way! It’s really awful what happened but posting about it was all I could do.
Well, you handled it beautifully! I wish I could offer more encouragement than that. 🙁 lots and lots of hugs coming your way!
Thank you so much!! *hugs*
thank you SO MUCH for this absolutely lovely, personal, review of a site that aims to be for everyone! 😀 isn’t it lovely when people pay attention to the guidelines and not to their own personal biases?
isn’t it?
I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not, but if you’re trying to show your support, sorry for reading your comment wrong!
Haha ?
Thanks for the warning. It’s horrible that they did that.
It really is! Thanks for commenting.
You did absolutely nothing wrong. People nowadays assume that anything disagreeing with the LGBT community equates to hate, no matter how respectful they are. You handled it so well, and I hope to emulate that from you because I do not know how you were able to keep your cool despite the unfairness. God bless you, and your love for God won’t go unnoticed by Him ❤
Thank you so much, Nina. This comment was a huge encouragement to me! God bless you and thanks so much again. ?
Hi Madi!
I have to say, being 16 your response back to the developers was really mature. I feel like nowadays it’s hard to find Christians who try to be loving and patient when they feel persecuted. However, I can’t agree completely with your viewpoint.
I’d like to start off by saying that I’m a born-and-raised Christian who’s now considering going by they/them (I’ve had mild gender dysphoria for about 7 years now). This plus the fact that I have a number of Christian and LGBTQ+ friends who engage in similar discussions to yours makes me believe that I have a good understanding of both sides of the argument. Granted, I’m only 18 myself, so I’m still lacking in some wisdom.
Firstly, at some point in your article you said this: “To clarify, I never once said that it is wrong for an LGBTQ+ person to “live as an LGBTQ+ person”. It is wrong only to act on certain feelings, which would be an action that the Bible says is wrong. We cannot help what feelings we have, but we 100% control our actions and our response to them.”
I used to believe the same thing, but that logic doesn’t help the LGBTQ+ community feel less attacked. Even by clarifying that the sin is in the action, people who are LGBTQ+ will still feel judged for their lifestyle because they don’t believe their gender/sexuality is a choice. They don’t believe that they have control over who they fall in love with, and they don’t think that they should be judged for their “natural” attractions. So that comment could have still been perceived as harmful by the moderators.
Secondly, I don’t think Habitica is completely guilty of “religious persecution.” Sure, I think it’s a little weird that they censored you on a Christian chat when you were just having a discussion on the Bible. I think there could have been a better way to resolve the problem. But, the letter and the law of the Bible is not the most important part anymore: since we live post Jesus’ death and resurrection, the most important past is Jesus. It’s hard for me to explain, but Andy Stanley has a good video on this called “The Irresistible Church.”
I hope this doesn’t come off as insensitive! I’m just trying to explain my opinion and, but I’m not always the best at words.
Hey Detective Prince! Thanks for reading and for commenting so politely. (And for the record, I don’t judge anyone for their attractions either, as I understand those aren’t a choice.)
Also, just a question, what on earth is habitca?
It’s a gamified productivity app at Habitica.com, but very anti-Christian and I don’t recommend it.
I Wasn’t going to use it, just curious. 😉
I’ve heard of Habitica, and debated about downloading it for quite a while. I definitely won’t be now after reading your review. As someone who writes emails and correspondence as part of my job, I’m appalled. I appreciate that you presented both sides – That shows maturity on your part, especially at your age. However, I read and re-read the emails, and I don’t agree with anything that was written. You were nothing but respectful, from what I can tell. I’m sorry this happened. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much for the support. It’s great to see people with sense these days. Thanks for commenting!
Absolutely!
all i see is lgbtq being hated on by yet another christian, and then butthurt christians being proud of you here lol (ik you’ll delete this but idc its what i expect)
I was just banned for identifying as “super-straight”. I figured since a lot of folks have interchangeable pronouns in their community, I’d be alright with finding like minded people to be in a party with whom are also super-straight. I did this because I don’t feel comfortable in a party with interchangeable pronouns.
Next thing I know, I get a message from a mod that identifies as “they/them” saying “super straight” made people uncomfortable, then claiming that I was transphobic. I explained my perspective to the mod about that as my identified gender, that I’m not looking to discriminate or be “-phobic”. I don’t mind people having whatever sexuality, I just was looking for a party. They then banned me (no pun intended) within the next hour after a message stating that arguing with a mod is also against the TOS.
I was respectful about my explanation as far as I could tell.
The Habitica mods are definitely heavy handed with their bans. If anyone uses their application, beware about what you say in their community. In my opinion, they get offended really easily and will swiftly ban anyone that offends them (no pun intended).
Hi Rex! Straight person here to explain why super straight has a negative connotation and why you shouldn’t identify with it.
First off, you can be heterosexual with a preference for cisgender partners. This is NOT transphobic; some trans YouTubers who covered the super straight topic have explained this really well.
You might be thinking that “super straight” is exactly that: heterosexual with a preference for cisgender partners. So why is it so negative? First off, there are many people who are using “super straight” as an excuse for transphobia. You personally may not be, but by claiming that you’re super straight, you’re involving yourself with a transphobic and/or ignorant community.
Secondly, the term “super straight” allegedly has Neo-Nazi ties originating from 4chan. SS can also stand for “Schutzstaffel, the paramilitary organization of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party.” (https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/super-straight-nazis-4chan/) These ties are still being fact-checked, but think about it, do you really want to associate yourself with anything remotely related to Neo-Nazis in the first place?
I hope this explanation helps a little! I’m sorry you got banned from Habitica, but the term “super straight” has a really heavy, negative connotation. Just call yourself straight, and if you ever need to clarify your preference then you can.
On a side note, even when you use “super straight,” you’re using it incorrectly. It’s a sexuality (which genders you’re attracted to), not a gender (which gender you are). If you want people without “interchanging pronouns,” you’re really looking for a community which is cisgender / transgender / essentially not genderfluid. (Though I can understand your discomfort a little, not being inclusive to all genders is considered discriminatory— sorry.)
I see your perspective, and I see the problem. From my stance, I really am not associating it with any phobias; my intent is using it with its original meaning. The trouble is, the way people interpret it, and use it, will vary just as much as there are different people with their own unique minds.
Likewise, if I were to look at trans youtubers as the main source for the interpretation of that word, of course I’d interpret it in a negative light. As for the white national socialists associating with that word, they always try to associate with pop culture that has nothing to do with them to seem relevant. Those two types of interpretations are biased and inaccurate.
I look at that word now and I see it for what it is: a word with a definition that’s not accurately settled in pop-culture yet. My interpretation is from the original meaning by the creator of super straight. That’s just how it should be.
By the way, I’ve found a great alternative to a Habitica, if anyone is looking for an alternative, try out To.do. It has been the best so far for me.
Thank you for this. I’ve recently been unable to access my Habitica account due to my password mysteriously not working anymore and the recovery function not sending me the link to change it. Although I did find the app useful for strengthening my spiritual habits, it did feel like I was treating the XP and gold like idols. Praying and reading the Bible became more about checking a box and less about genuine spiritual experience. I emailed the admins but as of yet received no reply. My username had the word Christ in it and my daily’s and habits were almost entirely related to my faith.
I found your blog entry while I was searching for users with similar experiences. After reading through your experience, I am convicted to leave Habitica and put it behind me. I think the idolisation could have grown into something much more sinister. After making this decision I feel closer to The Spirit and less weighed down by the need to complete tasks.
I think your post came to me at a time I needed clarification and the right choice was made as a result. Bless you.
Thank you for stopping by and reading, Craig! I’m so glad you’re able to follow your convictions. I can relate a lot to praying and reading becoming more about checking off boxes rather than genuine time. I hope you enjoy your time with God without feeling weighed down by checking something off! Thanks again for reading!
Hi. I grew up in the Lutheran Church. I know my Scripture, I know my Old and New Testaments. This was a very un-Christian way for you to behave. First of all, comparing anyone to a group of people that God saw fit to erase from the map is entirely inappropriate. How can that be anything but offensive? Second, the assumption that an LGBTQ+ person can live their life as LGBTQ+ without being themselves is not actually saying that they can live their lives as an LGBTQ+ person. That just makes you a bigot. Third, I’m pretty sure Christ Himself said to love your neighbor as yourself. If that doesn’t clear up how you should refer to someone regarding their pronouns, I don’t know what to tell you. Fourth! If telling you that you are being unkind to people when you are constitutes religious persecution to you, you need your thresholds checked. Pretty sure that kindness was Christ’s whole deal, regardless of who they were or where they came from.
In summation, you clearly have some healing to do when it comes to this issue. I get that you feel persecuted, but that isn’t what happened here. You were deliberately offensive to people while couching it in Christianity, like so many do, and then were surprised when people saw through it. You assumed that you were in a safe place to talk about this, and if you were really honest about this, you would have screengrabbed the actual posts to show how respectful you were. As it stands, I don’t believe you. I don’t believe you were respectful, I don’t believe you understand what it is to be LGBTQ+, and I don’t believe you believe or understand the teachings of Christ. If you did, this never would have come up. Have the day you deserve.
I’m still feeling it. I made a challenge and put it up in the main challenge area: “Pray everyday” That’s literally all it said, the habit was “I prayed today”. Over 400 people joined (which to me tells me people don’t even realize how much they are aching with spiritual need)
Habitica told me “Religion isn’t allowed in the main challenges area” and stuck my challenge in with a “Catholic” guild.
I’m not Catholic myself, and the challenge wasn’t inherently attached to one religion.
Sure, there’s a possibility that they’d be praying to something random, or not praying at all, but the challenge literally just said “pray” I was just trying to convince people to try prayer or try setting their sights above.
A lot of people started messaging direct asking me to pray for them, and pray with them, and I thought that was very nice, and did my best. But it all stopped once my challenge was taken off the main area and pushed into the Catholic’s Guild.
I tried to tell someone about it today in the Tavern Chat, but was thinking “Well, talking about religion is probably not allowed at all in the Tavern Chat” and felt very censored. When I tried to look up the “rules” for it, I found your article, and I’m glad I did because I don’t feel so alone.
I really really really really hope that other creators can come up with similar concepts for habit trackers, with groups that can defeat bosses together. It’s a really good concept, and helps motivate.
I have been trying to forgive Habitica for this. I’m sure they allow all kinds of weird stuff to go on, while persecuting/shutting down/shutting up/etc religious folks. Even ones who just say “pray” !!!!!
P.S. Duolingo is another company that was helping me learn Spanish better than any other app, and I found it’s for lack of another word, very “woke” as well, unfortunately.