Update: The Dads of Destiny were kind enough to get back in touch with us and comment on the matter, which you can read in full on their website. While they recognise that there may have been some misunderstandings while formalising their new clan guidelines, they state that: "...the Dads of Destiny have not banned anyone from anything. The question of banning someone from a gaming community due to gender is appalling and at no point would the Dads of Destiny condone such behaviour." In another post concerning their new guidelines, they specify that a founding principle of the Dads of Destiny required that a Dad must be the head of every clan, and active in the community. They also state that they did not ask any clans to change their leadership or remove any members. "Any clan that has left the Dads of Destiny community in the past week has done so without any communication to the Dads of Destiny regarding that decision." Author's note: As the author of this post, I would like to express my deepest respect for all of those involved in Dads of Destiny. I would also like to clarify that nothing of what I have written is intended in any way to attack or demonise the Dads of Destiny, and I apologise if that is the message that came across. The original article was written with information I had available at the time, and as such my opinion was based solely on that information. I hope the comments from the Dads of Destiny help to clarify the situation. Original story follows...
Dads of Destiny, the incredibly popular Destiny clan started for gaming fathers to play together, has gained some internet notoriety this week after they allegedly folded an existing clan and all its members – simply because the clan lead was female.
In a post on Reddit, user ‘Ex_DadOfDestiny’ explained how he was a member of DoD’s ‘Bravo Bandits’ since Destiny‘s launch, meeting like-minded fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, and children. The beauty in the Dads of Destiny clan was that, while aimed specifically at dads, anyone with a passion for Destiny could join and have a good time.
“As far as clans go, the DoD clans are mostly casual and loose-knit at best,” Ex_DadOfDestiny said in his post. “…so we have clans, not Clans. Low key and chill. Just my style. Find friends, kick Crota’s ass. Lather, rinse, repeat.”
A few months ago, Bravo Bandits’ current female lead stepped up into the role, taking over from the previous leader. Judging by the Reddit post, it seems that Dads of Destiny mods were unaware of the changeover, and Bravo Bandits didn’t feel it was something they had to bring up.
“Apparently DoD was trying to do something positive on a larger scale for families, but not in time or context for Bravo.“
Recently, Dads of Destiny started a rigorous re-application process, in which all existing clans would re-register to better align with the charter and “mission statement”. It’s during this application that they learned of the female lead, and subsequently banned the entirety of Bravo Bandits.
As the Redditor notes, the decision to exclude women from the clan is up to the mods in charge of Dads of Destiny, and they’re perfectly within their right to do so. What doesn’t make sense is denying an entire clan ‘clan status’ because their lead is a woman – and has been so for a few months – then not following through and communicating what actually happened. Allegedly, mods have been deleting posts across Bungie.net whenever someone tries to raise the issue.
“One clan member made contact with a lead over the weekend who tried to explain the situation,” said Ex_DadOfDestiny. “Apparently DoD was trying to do something positive on a larger scale for families, but not in time or context for Bravo.”
Different clans are allegedly fighting among each other over the issue, with some defending Bravo Bandits, and others flocking to the mods’ defence. As a result, many Dads of Destiny members, including Ex_DadOfDestiny, have decided to leave the clan.
We have reached out to Dads of Destiny for comment on the matter, and will keep you updated on how the story unfolds.
