# Fuck you Blizzard, but thanks for letting us know where we're not wanted. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 1, 2006, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495 "2006-02-01T13:00:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495/81 "2006-02-01T21:35:57Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > because of the endemic homophobia they are confronted with on a daily basis, of which Blizzard’s policy is one more example. Errr, Blizzard’s policy is emphatically \* not \* endemic homophobia. The \* worst \* it could be characterized as is “We’d really rather not deal with this in our make-believe world.” It isn’t that they don’t like you, fear you, or want to take your lunch money. They just wish you’d shut up and go kill some Jade Oozes off in the hinterlands. Blizzard has already created a world where another persecuted minority, nerdy geeks, can be perceived as gods because they kick ass in PVP. They feel they’ve done their part. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495/82 "2006-02-01T21:36:36Z")
> [@Lilairen](#): > > I would note that my Alliance guild was founded by a gaming buddy I’ve known for over ten years. It includes mostly people I know personally (and most of the exceptions are personally known to other guild members). We have a group of affiliated small guilds (of which we are one of the smallest) that we do high-end raidgroups with, which consist of people who we don’t find irritating _as players_. > > What’s going on in the game is that a bunch of friends are getting together to play the game, and we’re using the tools we have for facilitating that. Because I know the members of my guild personally, I know that that’s a place where I won’t be on edge or be exposed to stuff I find hostile. If I were on the game without having friends I wanted to play with (highly unlikely, but as a hypothetical), I would be interested in groups that I was confident would not display hostility to me as a person, because I, as a person, don’t _enjoy_ spending time in a hostile environment. I’m totally with you on that. It’s a lot easier to form groups with people you know. I was speaking to a guild in game, with a written charter that SHOULD be written for and from the perspective of the characters. There can be a lot of blurry lines between RL and IG, I’m totally aware of that. However, when we’re talking about GM sanctioned guilds, it should follow IC guidelines. It may sound like I’m arguing both sides, but that comes from my answering the issues from both a player and a GM perspective, all of which are colored by my own past and experience. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495/83 "2006-02-01T21:37:37Z")
Bah, my apologies for the double post…my computer must hate me today. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495/84 "2006-02-01T21:53:53Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Errr, Blizzard’s policy is emphatically \* not \* endemic homophobia. The \* worst \* it could be characterized as is “We’d really rather not deal with this in our make-believe world.” It isn’t that they don’t like you, fear you, or want to take your lunch money. They just wish you’d shut up and go kill some Jade Oozes off in the hinterlands. Sometimes trying to “hide” a stereotyped-against group can be just as damaging. Blizzard isn’t persecuting, per se, but more trying to stifle any mention of homosexuals in the name of protecting them. I agree that yes, a GLBT-friendly group probably would spark off homophobic comments - but they will be there, and having people around of a group you have stereotyped views about does help you realise “Hey, actually, they’re just like us”. Blizzard are stopping any positive mentions or examples of homosexuality, which leaves us with teenage boys yelling fag at each other when they get ganked. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495/85 "2006-02-01T22:02:43Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Errr, Blizzard’s policy is emphatically \* not \* endemic homophobia. The \* worst \* it could be characterized as is “We’d really rather not deal with this in our make-believe world.” It isn’t that they don’t like you, fear you, or want to take your lunch money. They just wish you’d shut up and go kill some Jade Oozes off in the hinterlands. Actually, that’s the _best_ characterization of Blizzard’s policy, but not one I substantially disagree with. But that’s beside the point. What was trying to say is that homosexuality is a controversial subject precisely because we live in such a homophobic society. The message it sends is, “We don’t personally hate you (probably), but lots and lots of other people do, so we’re just going to try to avoid the subject altogether.” Not taking a position at all is part and parcel of the overwhelming homophobia in the US, because if we weren’t homophobic, it wouldn’t be necessary to avoid taking a position. (In fairness, if our society were _more_ homophobic, it wouldn’t be necessary to have a position either, as no one would admit to being gay. But that’s neither here nor there.) ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495/86 "2006-02-01T22:03:02Z")
> [@Lightnin'](#): > > Agreed. I was kind of inclined to agree with **cthiax** … until he started verbally baiting **Martin Hyde**. Argue the points, or shut the fuck up- insults and taunting do not an argument make. Checks the forum. Yep, it’s the Pit. Looks over the OP again. Yep. It’s a rant. I guess I’m missing where you got the idea this was a rational debate rather than venting frustration. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495/87 "2006-02-01T22:10:42Z")
Bah, in all the excitement I totally forgot. I agree completely with the OP and would leave a game in a heartbeat that said what Blizzard did. At least now I can scratch ‘Play WoW’ of my list of things to do. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495/88 "2006-02-01T22:12:30Z")
In response to Blizzard, Cryptic Studios and NC Soft are taking the high road: > [@CuppaJo](#): > > GLBT SGs would be allowed - unless they embraced a hate-mongering philosophy. As would an all-male SG as long as it wasn’t sexist or an all octogenarian SG, as long as they weren’t ageist. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495/89 "2006-02-01T22:14:23Z")
Way to go, CoH! High road and free publicity - good combination. Methinks we’ll see a bit of an exodus should Blizzard not change their policy. ---
**Author:** ![Lilairen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lilairen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lilairen)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495/90 "2006-02-01T22:29:18Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > However, when we’re talking about GM sanctioned guilds, it should follow IC guidelines. What’s this “GM sanctioned guilds” thing? To start a guild in Warcraft, you buy a charter, get a certain number of signatures from distinct player accounts on it, and turn it in. The only required human interaction is on the player level. I’ve seen recruiting for various IC guilds, many of them jokes. I’ve seen purpose-based guild recruiting (high level raid guilds, Warsong Gulch 20-bracket guilds). I’ve seen small social guilds (such as my own), though those don’t tend to recruit since they grow by personal contact. I’ve seen weird criteria recruiting (such as the all-female-player guild, which as far as I know is still a going thing unless it got laughed off the server for sheer unverifiability _by the players_). A friend of mine played on an RP server and had a guild that was structured as an actual military organisation, with meaningful ranks in-guild. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the big guilds on the server I play had something similar going on, but since I’m not playing in a big raid guild or being _interested_ in playing in a big raid guild, I wouldn’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495/91 "2006-02-01T22:43:44Z")
> [@Lilairen](#): > > What’s this “GM sanctioned guilds” thing? > > To start a guild in Warcraft, you buy a charter, get a certain number of signatures from distinct player accounts on it, and turn it in. The only required human interaction is on the player level. > > I’ve seen recruiting for various IC guilds, many of them jokes. I’ve seen purpose-based guild recruiting (high level raid guilds, Warsong Gulch 20-bracket guilds). I’ve seen small social guilds (such as my own), though those don’t tend to recruit since they grow by personal contact. I’ve seen weird criteria recruiting (such as the all-female-player guild, which as far as I know is still a going thing unless it got laughed off the server for sheer unverifiability _by the players_). A friend of mine played on an RP server and had a guild that was structured as an actual military organisation, with meaningful ranks in-guild. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the big guilds on the server I play had something similar going on, but since I’m not playing in a big raid guild or being _interested_ in playing in a big raid guild, I wouldn’t know. As I said in my first post, I’ve never played WoW. I was going from the notes in the OP that said they were not allowed to start a guild, and were told that by Blizzard. I took that to mean that guilds had to be approved, which in every other RPG I’ve ever seen means approval by the GMs. If that is not the case here, so be it. ---
**Author:** ![Queuing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/90ced4/32.png) [@Queuing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queuing)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495/92 "2006-02-01T22:45:18Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I don’t feel that “being in business to make money” makes one immune to criticism for ethical decisions made in the pursuit of profits. Blizzard has decided to cater to one subset of their customer base at the expense of another subset. Obviously, this is going to be unavoidable in any sort of business. When McDonalds stops selling its McRib sandwich, it’s favoring the subset of its customers who want a new sandwich over the subset that really likes the McRib. But the subset to which Blizzard is catering are bigots and homophobes. I think any company that caters to those sorts of people is deserving of criticism. Moreover, if enough of their customer base complains about Blizzard’s decision, there’s a good chance that they’ll reverse their decision. If they truly are as mercenary as you say they are, then the best way to change their behavior is to appeal to their wallets. If they perceive that there are more people who are pissed off over this rule than are pissed off over the gay guild, Blizzard will remove the rule. It worked recently when Ford decided to pull its advertising from gay publications, there’s a good chance it will work here. I never said that being in business to make money made one immune from criticism. What I said was that I wasn’t surprised by the decision made by Blizzard. I think they, like any other company, is as mercenary as I say they are. I do agree that the best method of complaint to any company is via the wallet. In fact I agree with you, and think this decision is a little stupid and wrong, it just doesn’t surprise me is all, and I can see their side of it. It probably was the correct business decision. I notice you didn’t address the rest of my post, not that you have to, but I was curious if there was more to this arguement then meets the eye. ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495/93 "2006-02-01T23:07:23Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Actually, that’s the _best_ characterization of Blizzard’s policy, but not one I substantially disagree with. But that’s beside the point. What was trying to say is that homosexuality is a controversial subject precisely because we live in such a homophobic society. The message it sends is, “We don’t personally hate you (probably), but lots and lots of other people do, so we’re just going to try to avoid the subject altogether.” Not taking a position at all is part and parcel of the overwhelming homophobia in the US, because if we weren’t homophobic, it wouldn’t be necessary to avoid taking a position. (In fairness, if our society were _more_ homophobic, it wouldn’t be necessary to have a position either, as no one would admit to being gay. But that’s neither here nor there.) I have never played WOW and probably never will but I do have a question. Are there Democrat/Republican/Libertarian guilds? How about Hetero only/friendly guilds? Are there White or Black or (insert ethnic group here) only/friendly guilds? Slee ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495/94 "2006-02-01T23:42:43Z")
> [@sleestak](#): > > I have never played WOW and probably never will but I do have a question. Are there Democrat/Republican/Libertarian guilds? Not so far as I know. I’m not aware of any rule specifically forbidding them. > [@](#): > > How about Hetero only/friendly guilds? Are there White or Black or (insert ethnic group here) only/friendly guilds? I don’t know of any. I would assume that a guild that allowed only heterosexuals or only blacks (or specifically excluded such groups) would be against the terms of service. I’ve not seen a whole lot of racism in the game, and the few times I have seen it (usually directed at Asians), everyone who overheard it piled on hte guy pretty instantly, so I don’t think there’d be a need for a guild to specifically advertise itself as “black-friendly.” > [@Queuing](#): > > I never said that being in business to make money made one immune from criticism. What I said was that I wasn’t surprised by the decision made by Blizzard. I think they, like any other company, is as mercenary as I say they are. I do agree that the best method of complaint to any company is via the wallet. In fact I agree with you, and think this decision is a little stupid and wrong, it just doesn’t surprise me is all, and I can see their side of it. It probably was the correct business decision. Okay, I misunderstood what you were trying to say. I thought you were defending the policy. My apologies. I do think that it was a dumb business decision, as they’re more likely to lose players for following the policy than for dropping it. The homophobes are likely to bitch and complain, but I doubt they’d stop playing, as the issue is not as personally insulting as it is for gay players. Giving up something you like to make a principled, ethical stand is a sign of maturity, and most homophobes don’t have that. (FTR, neither do I. As much as I intend to bitch and complain, there’s no way I’m cancelling my subscription.) > [@](#): > > I notice you didn’t address the rest of my post, not that you have to, but I was curious if there was more to this arguement then meets the eye. He’s not one of my favorite posters, but I don’t have any particular animus against him. His first comment in this thread made him come across as a first class cock, is all, and **cthiax** replied in the exact same tone, as far as I’m concerned. ---
**Author:** ![GreyMatters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a9a28c/32.png) [@GreyMatters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreyMatters)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495/95 "2006-02-02T00:02:23Z")
To the OP: 1. Learn2Live nub: Being gay, being a minority, being the object of the PC patrol does NOT mean your lifestyle has now become inoffensive to everyone. period. end of story. Deal with it, or not, either way it matters NOT because Blizzard’s servers are private property and they can do damn well whatever they want on their servers. Don’t like it? Spend a gagillion dollars, create your own game and run it how you see fit. Or just quit, nub. 2. It is a game full of children. As a parent I want to control how, when, why and where my children are exposed to adult issues like this one. I don’t care WHAT the message is, you try to tell it to my kids and you will get a fight. Blizzard wants to aviod this problem by removing such messages, in any form, from general chat, as best they can. 3. The guild/member Blizzard WARNED was not banned/expelled from the game. They were warned. 4. Blizzard does warn/ban ppl for being offensive in game. You and no one on this board has ANY information on when/where/why/how often this is done to anyone for any reason. Except of course this example. To say Blizzard does not ban ppl for offensive language is not possible without that data. 5. Blizzard has not excluded or denied the right of ppl to form guilds with a r/l message/agenda. They do insist that the message/agenda NOT take place in general chat so that sensitive ppl to that issue/message/agenda are not exposed and therefore not offended. 6. Blizzard has a designated place to deliver that message/agenda/issue for a guild. It is in the World of Warcraft Guild Forum. So, they have NOT stifled free speech, they have provided a place where ppl can do this without fear of being reprimanded for offending the easily offended. Incidentally, they didn’t need to do this. It is private property and they can ban whomever they like for any reason and any time. 7. Finally, STFU and reroll a life. Yours is obviously not going anywhere if you are so concerned that your particular issue/agenda/message is not being supported by a fucking video game. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495/96 "2006-02-02T00:18:58Z")
If Blizzard want to see ‘real life sexual matters’ taken out of the game, how about they a) Tone down the animation for female (and male to a degree) night elf stripper-dancing and b) actually cut down on the massive numbers of people standing in the SW and IF main thoroughfares, spamming the trade channel with offers of stripteases for tips. Blizz wouldn’t have to even put a macro in place. They could just get a staff member to log in every so often and they’d see it. I play on Firetree, a medium/low pop PvP server, yet I still see this sort of behaviour on a regular, if not daily basis. You put in a complaint, and Blizzard responds that they can’t take action _until a suitable number of complaints have been received_. And especially on your smaller servers, this is never going to happen, because players are sick of being told that nothing will be done until some nebulous quota of complaints has been reached. I’m all for inclusive style guild addons - “GBLT Friendly”, “All Ages”, “Republicans Welcome” etc, etc. Just because a guild advertises as gay friendly, it doesn’t mean your kids are going to catch the homosex. It simply means that in guild chat, or on the guild pages if there are any, the players don’t need to hedge their language for fear of their guild mates finding out they like people of the same sex as themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495/97 "2006-02-02T00:22:41Z")
> [@GreyMatters](#): > > To the OP: > > 1. Learn2Live nub: Being gay, being a minority, being the object of the PC patrol does NOT mean your lifestyle has now become inoffensive to everyone. period. end of story. Deal with it, or not, either way it matters NOT because Blizzard’s servers are private property and they can do damn well whatever they want on their servers. Don’t like it? Spend a gagillion dollars, create your own game and run it how you see fit. Or just quit, nub. Is nub another word for newbie? Anyway, sure, I agree to what you’re saying here. > [@](#): > > 1. It is a game full of children. As a parent I want to control how, when, why and where my children are exposed to adult issues like this one. I don’t care WHAT the message is, you try to tell it to my kids and you will get a fight. Blizzard wants to aviod this problem by removing such messages, in any form, from general chat, as best they can. Negative. The words “fag”, “faggot” etc are not covered by the automatic censor as racical epithets and general expletives are. Your children are being exposed to this adult issue already, and, thanks to Blizzard, only in a negative way. > [@](#): > > 1. The guild/member Blizzard WARNED was not banned/expelled from the game. They were warned. What’s your point with this? It’s still their policy to not allow a GLBT friendly guild. > [@](#): > > 1. Blizzard does warn/ban ppl for being offensive in game. You and no one on this board has ANY information on when/where/why/how often this is done to anyone for any reason. Except of course this example. To say Blizzard does not ban ppl for offensive language is not possible without that data. I agree with this. However, either way, this has no effect on Blizzard’s policy of no GLBT guilds. > [@](#): > > 1. Blizzard has not excluded or denied the right of ppl to form guilds with a r/l message/agenda. They do insist that the message/agenda NOT take place in general chat so that sensitive ppl to that issue/message/agenda are not exposed and therefore not offended. General chat, and in guild names. The people who are sensitive to that issue are homophobes - and I see no need to avoid offending homophobes. Indeed, telling people to not mention their sexual preferences in any way in case a homophobe gets upset seems extremely unethical. In addition, it is only the pro-GLBT side that people are being unexposed to. The use of homophobic language, uncensored by the automatic doodah, is widespread. Players are exposed to it all the time - and they are exposed to only _negative_ viewpoints. > [@](#): > > 1. Blizzard has a designated place to deliver that message/agenda/issue for a guild. It is in the World of Warcraft Guild Forum. So, they have NOT stifled free speech, they have provided a place where ppl can do this without fear of being reprimanded for offending the easily offended. Incidentally, they didn’t need to do this. It is private property and they can ban whomever they like for any reason and any time They have indeed provided a place - a hiding place, for people of alternative sexual preferences to hide, away from others so that they don’t disturb them. Of course they didn’t need to do this. They didn’t need to make a game. They didn’t need to have a policy disallowing GLBT friendly guilds, whilst implicitly allowing (via the selection of censored words) homophobic terms to be used. > [@](#): > > 1. Finally, STFU and reroll a life. Yours is obviously not going anywhere if you are so concerned that your particular issue/agenda/message is not being supported by a fucking video game. You seem so concerned about it that you made a list of seven points. Perchance you should “reroll” a life, if you are so concerned that people are (justifiably, in my opinion) pissed off at Blizzard’s decision. ---
**Author:** ![GreyMatters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a9a28c/32.png) [@GreyMatters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreyMatters)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495/98 "2006-02-02T00:49:31Z")
Revenant, You are of course wearing your blinders today I see. 1. GLBT is not specifically banned as a guild name. Names that refer to ANY real world thing/place/copyrighted material etc. are banned. Get the facts straight next time, it will help that hurt your face feels from the harsh impact you just experienced. 2. The chat profanity filter is a line of defense, dumbass. You can totally turn off chat as well. Either way, swearing is prohibitted, report the offender and Blizzard WILL respond with a warning, warning, limitted ban then a perm ban. 3. The isolation of real world issues and messages to the Guild forum is not just for GLBT messages. It is for ALL r/l messages. Christian/KKK/Nazis/Quilter Anonymous you name it that is where it goes. And that is where the GLBT message goes as well. You are bearing false witness to the facts if you disagree with this point. Don’t like it? quit. 4. If you hadn’t noticed, this is not the game. This is the straightdope. I come here to learn, debate and have fun. I am not complaining about the game. I am criticizing the OP. If that means I need a life, then so do you, the person reading it and all straightdopers. Cecil, I think, would not agree since he does post here as well. He is GOD. Therefore, you are wrong. My life is fine. Thanks for trying. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495/99 "2006-02-02T01:01:19Z")
> [@GreyMatters](#): > > To the OP: > > 1. Learn2Live nub: Being gay, being a minority, being the object of the PC patrol does NOT mean your lifestyle has now become inoffensive to everyone. period. end of story. Deal with it, or not, either way it matters NOT because Blizzard’s servers are private property and they can do damn well whatever they want on their servers. Don’t like it? Spend a gagillion dollars, create your own game and run it how you see fit. Or just quit, nub. If you’ve got a problem with homosexuality, that’s your problem, not mine. I suggest counseling, because that sort of attitude has no place in a civilized society. > [@](#): > > 1. It is a game full of children. As a parent I want to control how, when, why and where my children are exposed to adult issues like this one. I don’t care WHAT the message is, you try to tell it to my kids and you will get a fight. Blizzard wants to aviod this problem by removing such messages, in any form, from general chat, as best they can. By the time you’re old enough to have kids, you should have learned that you don’t always get what you want. You do not have any control over when your kids are going to get exposed to homosexuality. Homosexuals are all around you, and short of locking your kid in the basement, there’s absolutely nothing you can do to prevent him from encounter The Dreaded Gays. And even if you do that, it’s no guarantee, because your kid might be gay right now. And there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it. > [@](#): > > 1. The guild/member Blizzard WARNED was not banned/expelled from the game. They were warned. Yep. And it’s a bullshit warning, in service to a bullshit policy. What’s your point? > [@](#): > > 1. Blizzard does warn/ban ppl for being offensive in game. You and no one on this board has ANY information on when/where/why/how often this is done to anyone for any reason. Except of course this example. To say Blizzard does not ban ppl for offensive language is not possible without that data. That’s true. What’s also true is that Blizzard has, for whatever reason, declined to add anti-gay slurs to its language filter, and that anti-gay language is rife throughout the entire game. Racist language, on the other hand, is not. This would seem to indicate that one sort of language gets policed more stringently than the other. > [@](#): > > 1. Blizzard has not excluded or denied the right of ppl to form guilds with a r/l message/agenda. They do insist that the message/agenda NOT take place in general chat so that sensitive ppl to that issue/message/agenda are not exposed and therefore not offended. And the point is that people who are “sensitive” to the idea that gay people should be treated the same as straight people do not deserve to have their sensitivities catered to. Nor do people who are “sensitive” to the idea that blacks should be treated the same as whites, or women the same as men, or Jews the same as Christians. And, indeed, nowhere in WoW are the sensitivities of any other sort of bigot catered to. Except for homophobes. > [@](#): > > 1. Blizzard has a designated place to deliver that message/agenda/issue for a guild. It is in the World of Warcraft Guild Forum. So, they have NOT stifled free speech, they have provided a place where ppl can do this without fear of being reprimanded for offending the easily offended. Incidentally, they didn’t need to do this. It is private property and they can ban whomever they like for any reason and any time. No one has accused them of stifling free speech, as it is functionally impossible for Blizzard to do so. Only the government can stifle free speech, and only the government is legally enjoined from doing so. Blizzard has an absolute right to forbid or promote almost any kind of speech they want on their own servers. However, this does not make them immune to criticism for what kind of speech they forbid and/or promote. > [@](#): > > 1. Finally, STFU and reroll a life. Yours is obviously not going anywhere if you are so concerned that your particular issue/agenda/message is not being supported by a fucking video game. This coming from someone who uses “nub” as an insult. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495/100 "2006-02-02T01:15:46Z")
> [@GreyMatters](#): > > Revenant, GreyMatters? > [@](#): > > You are of course wearing your blinders today I see. Insult, ignored. > [@](#): > > 1. GLBT is not specifically banned as a guild name. > [@The OP's source](#): > > Blizzard’s stance was clear that recruiting for a guild using “GLBT” was inappropriate as, the company said, it may “incite certain responses in other players that will allow for discussion that we feel has no place in our game.” The term “GLBT” may not be used to advertise their guild. This includes their guild name - unless you’d like to claim that having an omnipresent name above their character’s heads would not be advertising, nor would “incite certain responses”? > [@](#): > > Names that refer to ANY real world thing/place/copyrighted material etc. are banned. Get the facts straight next time, Are you sure about that? I’m in a guild with “spoon” in the title, as well as a friend’s real name - it hasn’t been banned yet for incorporating those two real world things. Places, equally so - a guild name like “London Raiders”, for example, wouldn’t get banned either. You are correct in that copyrighted material would most likely be banned, yes, as would insulting language. Which of these categories would “GLBT” come under? > [@](#): > > it will help that hurt your face feels from the harsh impact you just experienced. Insult, ignored. > [@](#): > > 1. The chat profanity filter is a line of defense, dumbass. You can totally turn off chat as well. Either way, swearing is prohibitted, report the offender and Blizzard WILL respond with a warning, warning, limitted ban then a perm ban. The point, mon ami, is that there are _two seperate forms_ of defence. For example, if I were to call another player an “ganking fucker”, that would be censored. If I were to call that player a “ganking nigger”, that would also be censored. If I were to call that same player a “ganking fag” , it would not be. By this policy, Blizzard is implicitly saying homophobic insults are not as bad as racial or general expletives - probably, as others in this thread have said, in order to play to their audience, but that does not make it any less immoral. > [@](#): > > 1. The isolation of real world issues and messages to the Guild forum is not just for GLBT messages. It is for ALL r/l messages. Christian/KKK/Nazis/Quilter Anonymous you name it that is where it goes. Actually, i’ve seen people talking about religious issues in WoW, not just the forums. I’d imagine Quilter Anonymous would be allowed, too - random stuff like that is talked about pretty regularily (although perhaps quilting itself is not :p). If people were to support the KKK or Nazis in either the forum or indeed the game itself, then they’d get banned. > [@](#): > > And that is where the GLBT message goes as well. With which? The quilting and religion, or the KKK and Nazis? > [@](#): > > You are bearing false witness to the facts if you disagree with this point. Opinion. > [@](#): > > Don’t like it? quit. Or alternatively I could show how you’re wrong, I guess. > [@](#): > > 1. If you hadn’t noticed, this is not the game. This is the straightdope. I come here to learn, debate and have fun. Me too. > [@](#): > > I am not complaining about the game. I am criticizing the OP. If you’d like to re-read what I said, I pointed out that you were annoyed at us critisicising Blizzard, not that you were annoyed at the game. Please try to read more carefully in the future. > [@](#): > > If that means I need a life, then so do you, the person reading it and all straightdopers. Quite possibly. Seems we’re all in the same boat, here - let’s try and make it a better boat by trying to curb homophobia, eh? > [@](#): > > Cecil, I think, would not agree since he does post here as well. He is GOD. Therefore, you are wrong. My life is fine. Thanks for trying. Are you twelve? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-blizzard-but-thanks-for-letting-us-know-where-were-not-wanted/342495.md?page=6)