There are plenty of people out there with sweet memories of playing Club Penguin as kids. The game offered an easy way to socialize online, laying the groundwork for a new generation of MMORPG players, and while the original Club Penguin has shutdown, that hasn't stopped unofficial servers from popping up since then. However, unofficial servers had to be taken down by Disney due to explicit interactions taking place there.
A report by the BBC found an extreme number of homophobic, racist, and sexual messages being circulated on the site. It appears that content filters for messages, intended to keep harassing and explicit communication to a minimum, had been disabled, allowing for anything to be displayed.
One account detailed by the BBC involved a player inviting them to their igloo, which had been decorated to spell out the n-word. The game still features a large number of kids and teens using it, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, which appears to be one of the larger factors pushing Disney to issue cease and desist notices to unofficial servers.
Memes of players being banned from Club Penguin began circulating before the game officially shut down, which may explain why it became a hotbed for explicit content. According to the BBC, one person involved with the unofficial server has been arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography, making the issues of sexually explicit content on the server even worse.
There was also a steady rise in competition between unofficial sites and servers, leading to a toxic culture between those operating them. All around, it's an unpleasant, and shockingly absurd, situation. The removal of content moderation barriers was destined to result in disaster, and with some sites using official Disney branding, oblivious parents likely had no clue what was going on.
It seems likely that this is the end of unofficial servers in Club Penguin. Disney values its reputation as a family-friendly brand, and if protecting that reputation only comes at the cost of disabling inappropriate sites, it seems like a very easy decision for the entertainment giant to make.
Club Penguin has officially been shut down since 2017.
Source: BBC