The least likable developer on Steam may have hit the limit of its permissive moderation

pcgamer.com:

Dolphin Barn's gladiator management sim Domina lost any appeal it may have had when, starting last May, its developer began inserting screeds against «soft» men and LGBTQ people(opens in new tab) into the game's patch notes and forum discussions. The game's official account has been banned on both Twitter and Bandcamp, with the individual having previously equated support for trans youth with pedophilia(opens in new tab) on the former platform.

Now the developer says he's been temporarily banned from posting on his own game's Steam forums, although he can still publish Domina patch notes, the latest of which(opens in new tab) accuses Valve and Steam Support of being «cowards.» Meanwhile, Domina's «Mostly Negative» recent reviews are full of references to the developer's views, the game's forums are a battleground, and Dolphin Barn's recent banning shows Steam's typically laissez-faire moderation turning its attention to the game.

Dolphin Barn posted a screenshot via his personal Twitter account(opens in new tab) showing a message explaining the ban: «This is the second time that one of your posts violates our Discussion Rules and Guidelines, specifically insulting or flaming another user. We're also noticing a trend with abusive messages sent when banning players from your hub.»

Following a request that the user adhere to community guidelines, the message touches on the developer's actions against negative steam reviews, and a potential avenue for Valve/Steam to escalate: «We also want to make it clear that you should not reverse Steam moderator decisions or enable rule violations in your hub. Future disregard for our rules and guidelines could jeopardize our business relationship.» At the time of writing, Valve has not