“We know marginalized groups can reclaim language for themselves, and we don’t want to stand in the way of them from doing so when chatting with one another on Steam,” Valve says by way of reasoning for the latter decision.
Another handy option is that you can upload filter lists from third-party sources. Valve suggests this feature will allow groups and communities to work together to define and share their own set of guidelines. What Steam’s new chat filters won’t do is prevent people from sending you an offensive message in the first place. As usual, Valve is putting the onus on its users to protect themselves instead of taking it upon itself to moderate the Steam community.