How to avoid getting banned in Minecraft 1.19.1 update

Minecraft is all about coming together and creating a fun world for everyone to enjoy. Mojang, Microsoft and the community's server admins don't take kindly to certain behavior.

If players perform enough egregious actions, it isn't unheard of for them to be banned from a given server or even the game client itself.

Minecraft 1.19.1 introduced a new way to report players via the in-game chat. However, now that players have more freedom to report bad behavior, there is some confusion as to what deserves a ban.

The basic premise of avoiding bans is the same as it's always been; players should avoid malicious behavior in general.

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Minecraft players can be banned for both their words and actions

The permanent ban screen on Minecraft's main menu (Image via Mojang)

While the report and ban system isn't perfect in Minecraft, players can go a long way in preventing a ban from striking them.

The main idea is to abide by the game's community guidelines. They were established to provide a safe environment for players of all ages without discrimination or belligerent behavior.

Players can be banned for both their words and actions, which is certainly worth keeping in mind when joining a world or server, especially with other players.

Activities that players should not do to avoid violating community guidelines

• Hate speech - Using derogatory or hateful language, including slurs, towards people. This is especially true for targeted speech towards a person's race, gender, sexual orientation or appearance.
• Sexual contact or eliciting improper contact - Mojang and Microsoft have created a game community for Minecraft that includes players of all ages. To protect this community, sexual contact or eliciting improper contact is a violation in all regards. This includes "roleplaying" sexual encounters as well as attempting to reach out to other players for undesired physical contact. This rule is paramount to protecting younger players from adult subject matter that they may not be prepared for.
• Exposing personal information/doxxing - Doxxing is known as leaking another individual's private information, including their full name, address and other personal details. This act is typically done with the intent to invite harassment towards the doxxed player in the real world. Naturally, Minecraft's community guidelines do not allow for this type of targeted harassment.
• Real-world threats - If players have real-world contact with each other, making personal, real-life threats are not accepted in any sense. Wishing or threatening bodily harm on other players in general will result in severe bans.
• Posting links to malicious software - Since Minecraft can place text links in-game, it is a violation to provide a web link to malicious software. This includes viruses, spyware, Trojans and other software that causes harm to a player's machine or absconds with their private information.

• General spamming for commercial services - While advertising in some regards is permitted (advertising players to join a guild, for example), advertising for third-party sites and commercial services is prohibited. This includes currency-selling websites or those promising exclusive items and content for players. Many of these sites are, in fact, phishing sites that seek to steal a player's login and financial credentials. This is why Mojang has taken a stand against spamming ads for these services.
• Using cheats and/or exploits - Though it's possible to use cheats from the command console as well as some mods or addons, others are off-limits. This typically pertains to multiplayer situations where players can use cheats or exploits to create an uneven playing field. This could be the use of cheats to destroy parts of the game that are not meant to be altered, changing the game's in-game code in some capacity or using third-party software to defeat others in PvP situations. This rule can be nebulous depending on the world or server, so players should avoid taking advantage of any known cheats or exploits in multiplayer settings.
• Impersonating Mojang/Microsoft staff - In order to do their job, Mojang and Microsoft have a dedicated staff for Minecraft to address disputes as well as to issue bans and hear appeals. For this reason, it's considered a community violation for ordinary players to impersonate members of staff in any context. Regardless of whether the impersonation is done as a joke or as a serious detrimental act, Mojang and Microsoft take a zero-tolerance approach to the violation of this rule.

In general, avoiding a ban in Minecraft comes down to one's words and actions. Stay courteous towards other players and be respectful of the nature of the game.

It takes all kinds of people to create Minecraft's thriving community, and the players who cause problems only serve as a detriment to its massive fanbase.