Dark Side of Fandom: Grooming in Discord?
The joys of fanfiction are known to many. It is an activity that has brought people together from all corners of the world, engaging them in literature and stories, generating interest in creative writing in an environment that is generally open and welcoming.
It bears knowing, however, that not all pockets of fanfiction communities are void of deeply troubling elements and individuals. Furthermore, some of these deeply troubling individuals have acted much like beacons, attracting like-minded individuals to them.
In mid-July 2020 a series of events in Discord, spanning over several servers, revolving around a single individual in the Tomarry (Tom Riddle x Harry Potter) pairing community, revealed an alarming pattern of coordinated and collaborative predatory and gaslighting behaviour. And though this account could begin from any of the servers involved, perhaps it remains best to begin from the heart of the matter: a server known as Chaotic Smutty, created by user Asa4929, who has chosen to name himself “Lord Asa”, encouraging others to refer to him as such after adopting “Death Eater” names.
And though this could’ve remained a matter of a Harry Potter fan playing a role with his online friends, harmlessly existing in a server of their own making… that is not what happened.
Facilitation of engagement of minors in sexually explicit discourseIt must first be understood that the members of Chaotic Smutty were not real life friends of Asa, but were pulled over from another server. Prior to the creation of Chaotic Smutty, Asa had already begun amassing a following of ‘fans’ from a larger fandom Discord Server by the name, Chamber of Secrets (CoS). Asa’s server was created after a number of disagreements between Asa and the moderators of CoS. One of these disagreements included the age restriction set by the CoS’ moderators due to frequent sexually explicit discussions within the server, which will be addressed in greater detail below. Asa then set about inviting his fans to his private server. The initial claim that many accepted and agreed with was that he wanted to create a “safe space” for younger people to discuss sex and sexuality.
[Image: Chaotic Smutty’s Server Rules. Screenshot retrieved 15th of July 2020.]
[Image: An example of one of the tamer live-writing sessions by Asa. 25th of June 2020.]
While these are arguably conservations and discussions that could consensually take place in an online space, the question that rises is: are these conversations into which a minor should be invited?
When it was brought up on the 16th of March that a 13 year old was active on the server, Asa reacted with boredom and disinterest. Few weeks later on the 30th of March when Blaise’s age was brought up again, Asa reacted with disdain towards another user’s brief concern by stating “not this again”, effectively silencing the follower who had indicated surprise at the presence of a minor. Between these two instances the minor had been involved in sexually charged conversations in the server.
[Image: Though this is not the first or last time Blaise has revealed their age (13) in the Chaotic Smutty server, it is yet another example of the awareness of other members towards the fact that there is a minor in the server. March 16th 2020.]
[Image: Members discuss sex toys with Blaise. 26th of March 2020]
When user “regulus black” asks if they should be concerned after Blaise reveals once again that they’re 13, Asa is quick to close the discussion with “Can we not get into this topic again”. March 30th 2020
To clarify on the timeline: the minor’s age was established first on the 16th of March, and again on 30th of March 2020 - in both cases not only was age dismissed, but in the second one the conversation regarding it was firmly nipped in the bud. Between these two instances Blaise had been engaged in a conversation revolving around sex-toys. Then on the 15th of June 2020 the minor was asked by Asa to look at luxury vibrators.
[Image: Asa singles out Blaise who had at least twice by then established their age (13) in Asa’s presence, by instructing them to look at luxury vibrators. 15th of June]
Grooming of minors is a growing problem online, though thankfully its signs are clear and well-identified. An info-pdf published by https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents states the following:
Once a relationship is established an offender may then introduce sexual themes to the conversation, for example, asking the child about their sexual experiences, sharing pornography with them or asking them for sexual pictures of themselves. Different offenders will have different approaches so whereas this process may be very quick it can also take days, weeks or even months.
When Asa received a request from Discord Administration to comply with the Terms of Service in regards to the NSFW (Not Safe For Work) content, the members remarked that the entire channel is NSFW. Snow, another minor (age undisclosed) was quick to suggest a “solution” to getting around the age restriction with the support of other server users, showcasing instantly that compliance with the rules was only skin-deep, and earlier practices would continue to be facilitated.
[Image: Asa forwarding the request of Discord Admins on the 15th of July, teasing the possibility of no longer facilitating the engagement of minors in sexual discourse. This didn’t last long.]
[Image: Members state that the whole channel is NSFW (not safe for work). Snowy, another minor in the channel, suggests a way to get around the rule, receiving support.]
[Image: Asa promises to set up separate NSFW channels. Does not indicate any interest in restricting access to those channels, making their existence merely a formality]
Surrounded by numerous discord users in a channel of over seventy participants, how is it that this conduct had been allowed to continue? Certainly a part of it is due to the ineffectiveness of the discord policies and a surface-level implementation of minor and underage protection guidelines. However, why do these rules and Discord ToS that are put in place not spark deeper thinking in the server members and reflection on their own actions? Does nobody question why the Discord ToS is written to prevent minors from engaging in discussion of explicit sexual topics and how it is a larger issue raised in many countries’ legislation as well? In order to understand that, we delve into the dynamics of the group and the people surrounding Asa.
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