Addressing harm in online gaming communities -- the opportunities and challenges for a restorative justice approach

Most platforms implement some form of content moderation to address interpersonal harms such as harassment. Content moderation relies on offender-centered, punitive justice approaches such as bans and content removals. We consider an alternative justice framework, restorative justice, which aids victims to heal, supports offenders to repair the harm, and engages community members to address the harm collectively. To understand the utility of restorative justice in addressing online harm, we interviewed 23 users from Overwatch gaming communities, including moderators, victims, and offenders. We understand how they currently handle harm cases through the lens of restorative justice and identify their attitudes toward implementing restorative justice processes. Our analysis reveals that while online communities have needs for and existing structures to support restorative justice, there are structural, cultural, and resource-related obstacles to implementing this new approach within the existing punitive framework. We discuss the opportunities and challenges for applying restorative justice in online spaces.