A gaming platform used by nearly 400 million people a month is in turmoil after the company that owns it banned a user who goes by the name Schlep.
It’s unclear why the user, a 22-year-old Texan, adopted a moniker drawn from Yiddish. But his showdown with Roblox over his efforts to rid the platform of child predators has propelled the word meaning “a long, laborious, tedious journey” into public view.
Now, YouTubers are tracking the developments in the conflict with a #Schlep hashtag. Streamers with 3 million followers staged a live protest at the Utah State Capitol, holding signs that said “Free Schlep,” for tens of thousands of online viewers. And one of the most popular Roblox creators is selling a shirt with Schlep on it.
Schlep was well known to diehard Robloxers before this week