Minorities are becoming an increasingly barbed thorn in the side of our wonderful publishing industry with their stubborn refusal to be portrayed as worthless cannonfodder in games and their demands to not be discriminated against again making the headlines.
Hot on the moccasins of Activision's brush with anti Native American racism scandal comes a complaint against Blizzard from a big bunch of online gay elves and warlocks. Backed by Lambda Legal, a campaign to allow the activities of a guild of LGBT (that's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender to the batting team) to get on with whatever it is they want to do.
Greg Wu and Sara Andrews opened a guild that was openly friendly to LGBT users, imagining that it would be no problem at all, given it's the year 2006,. However, Blizzard admin took action, outlining that the guild broke the game's harassment rules. A little confused, the pair asked Blizzard to outline how being gay and not keeping it a secret was a problem. Stunningly, Blizzard explained that as other users might harass the guild, they were harassment bait and therefore had to stop doing whatever it was they were doing – seemingly little more than being a bit smug about being a bit gay.
The full, somewhat amusing legal letter issued by Lambda to Blizzard and Vivendi reads:
Perhaps the point to note here is that there are a lot of gay folk marching about in World of Warcraft. The guilds mentioned above aren't painted pink, actively recruiting our children for a lifetime of gardening against gravity. They are simply stating that gays, lesbians and everyone else making Jesus cry in the bedroom are welcome and won't find a hostile environment.
The thing is, WOW is a pretty nice place. Compare Warcraft to any other online escapade and you'll think you've stumbled into an Internet tree-hugging convention discussing the merits of tofu and patchouli oil extraction. There have been openly gay members in WOW from day one and everyone in SPOnG's experience gets along just fine. We can only advise Greg Wu and Sara Andrews against playing Halo 2 on an America server.
From the reactions we've gauged and the general feeling within WOW, we expect Blizzard to climbdown with a formal apology and make the necessary amendments to its guidelines within the week.
Hot on the moccasins of Activision's brush with anti Native American racism scandal comes a complaint against Blizzard from a big bunch of online gay elves and warlocks. Backed by Lambda Legal, a campaign to allow the activities of a guild of LGBT (that's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender to the batting team) to get on with whatever it is they want to do.
Greg Wu and Sara Andrews opened a guild that was openly friendly to LGBT users, imagining that it would be no problem at all, given it's the year 2006,. However, Blizzard admin took action, outlining that the guild broke the game's harassment rules. A little confused, the pair asked Blizzard to outline how being gay and not keeping it a secret was a problem. Stunningly, Blizzard explained that as other users might harass the guild, they were harassment bait and therefore had to stop doing whatever it was they were doing – seemingly little more than being a bit smug about being a bit gay.
The full, somewhat amusing legal letter issued by Lambda to Blizzard and Vivendi reads:
Dear Mr. Mohaime and Mr. Rigole,
Lambda Legal is the nation’s oldest and largest organization dedicated to achieving full civil rights for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender persons, and people living with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work. We recently have been in contact with Greg Wu and Sara Andrews, who are customers of Blizzard Entertainment, regarding their concern that certain employees of Blizzard Entertainment have discriminated against World of Warcraft (“W.O.W.”) players based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
As we understand it, on January 12, 2006 “Tirauka,” a senior account administrator with Blizzard, issued Ms. Andrews a warning claiming that Ms. Andrews’ public announcement of an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) friendly gaming guild for W.O.W. players violated the W.O.W Harassment Policy. When Ms. Andrews asked how the mere mention of an LGBT-friendly guild could violate the W.O.W. Harassment Policy, Blizzard’s account administrator “Gorido” followed up with correspondence seeming to argue that because other players may choose to harass LGBT players, the mere mention of an LGBT-friendly guild violates the World of Warcraft terms of service.
Subsequent statements to the media made by Blizzard’s representatives seem to confirm that Blizzard’s official position is that LGBT gamers may not mention their sexual orientation or gender identity using the game’s chat functions. Blizzard’s online message boards include a post apparently issued by Blizzard stating, in a pertinent part:
To promote a positive game environment for everyone and help prevent such harassment from taking place as best we can, we prohibit mention of topics related to sensitive real-world subjects in open chat within the game, and we do our best to take action whenever we see such topics being broadcast. This includes openly advertising a guild friendly to players based on a particular political, sexual, or religious preference, to list a few examples.
We are very concerned that Blizzard’s policy, as expressed in the foregoing statement, discriminates against LGBT gamers. Although preventing harassment is an admirable goal, a requirement that LGBT people remain invisible and silent is not an acceptable means of reaching that goal.
Mr. Wu is the guild leader of “Stonewall Champions,” the largest LGBT-friendly guild in W.O.W. Ms. Andrews is the guild leader of “Oz,” an LGBT-friendly guild on the Shadow Moon Server. As leaders of LGBT-friendly guilds, Mr. Wu and Ms. Andrews are both very concerned that Blizzard’s policy will hamper the guilds’ ability to provide a safe and supportive gaming environment.
We agree that World of Warcraft’s Harassment Policy, which clearly states that players may not refer to the sexual orientation of others in an “insulting manner,” is laudable and legal. Indeed, we applaud Blizzard’s efforts to create a congenial gaming atmosphere where people of all sexual orientations and gender identities can interact without fear of harassment or insult.
Although Blizzard is well within its rights to insist that players avoid referring to other gamers in an “insulting manner,” Blizzard cannot issue a blanket ban on any mention of sexual orientation or gender identity. There is nothing “insulting” about identifying oneself as gay, lesbian or transgender, nor does the announcement of a guild for LGBT gamers constitute “harassment” in any sense of the word. If other players react insultingly to the mere presence of LGBT gamers, then Blizzard should discipline the harassers, not attempt preemptively to silence the potential victims of harassment.
Online environments are public accommodations, subject to regulation as such. Butler v. Adoption Media, L.L.C., 2005 WL 1513142 (N.D.Cal.). Discrimination against LGBT individuals in the provision of public accommodations is clearly prohibited by California law. Id., see also, Cal. Civ. Code § 51 et seq. It has been so for more than fifty years. Stouman v. Reilly, 234 P.2d 969 (Cal. 1951). Insisting that LGBT persons not discuss their sexual orientation or gender identity can constitute discrimination under California law. Erdmann v. Tranquility Inc., 155 F.Supp.2d 1152 (N.D.Cal. 2001) (in which an employee who experienced a hostile environment at his workplace, including being instructed by a supervisor to “keep [his homosexuality] in the closet while he [was] at work,” stated a cause of action for employment discrimination); see also Gay Law Students v. Pacific Telephone & Telegraph, 595 P.2d 592 (1978) (same); Henkle v. Gregory, 150 F.Supp.2d 1067 (D.Nev.2001) (discussing students’ right to discuss their sexual orientation at school); Colin v. Orange Unified School District, 83 F.Supp.2d 1135 (C.D.Cal.2000) (addressing students’ right to use the word “gay” in the name of their school club).
In the few short years since the advent of multi-user dungeons, the world of online gaming has grown from a niche hobby enjoyed by a small community of enthusiasts to a phenomenon shared by millions. We understand that the rapid growth of the online environment has created challenges for companies like Blizzard, who are striving to ensure a civil and enjoyable experience for a large and diverse body of gamers. We hope that you will realize that silencing LGBT gamers, and requiring that they remain invisible to their fellows within the online gaming world, is not an acceptable means of advancing that end.
We understand that Blizzard has recently withdrawn its citation of Ms. Andrews for allegedly violating World of Warcraft’s harassment policy. An e-mail from “Thor Biafore,” the head of Blizzard’s customer service worldwide, acknowledges that the action taken against Ms. Andrews was based on an “unfortunate interpretation” of Blizzard’s current policies.
In order to avoid any similar incidents in the future, we ask that you inform all of Blizzard’s system administrators that they are not to discipline any players for mentioning or discussing sexual orientation or gender identity in a non-insulting fashion. We also ask that Blizzard confirm that LGBT-friendly guilds are allowed to announce their existence in the same manner as any other guilds. Of course, Lambda Legal would be more than happy to offer any advice we can to assist Blizzard in crafting a nondiscriminatory clarification of the terms of service for W.O.W., or in providing guidance to the administrators enforcing Blizzard’s anti-harassment guidelines. We ask that you respond within thirty days of the date of this letter to avoid the need for further action.
Very truly yours,
Brian Chase
Staff Attorney*
Jennifer C. Pizer
Senior Counsel
Lambda Legal is the nation’s oldest and largest organization dedicated to achieving full civil rights for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender persons, and people living with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work. We recently have been in contact with Greg Wu and Sara Andrews, who are customers of Blizzard Entertainment, regarding their concern that certain employees of Blizzard Entertainment have discriminated against World of Warcraft (“W.O.W.”) players based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
As we understand it, on January 12, 2006 “Tirauka,” a senior account administrator with Blizzard, issued Ms. Andrews a warning claiming that Ms. Andrews’ public announcement of an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) friendly gaming guild for W.O.W. players violated the W.O.W Harassment Policy. When Ms. Andrews asked how the mere mention of an LGBT-friendly guild could violate the W.O.W. Harassment Policy, Blizzard’s account administrator “Gorido” followed up with correspondence seeming to argue that because other players may choose to harass LGBT players, the mere mention of an LGBT-friendly guild violates the World of Warcraft terms of service.
Subsequent statements to the media made by Blizzard’s representatives seem to confirm that Blizzard’s official position is that LGBT gamers may not mention their sexual orientation or gender identity using the game’s chat functions. Blizzard’s online message boards include a post apparently issued by Blizzard stating, in a pertinent part:
To promote a positive game environment for everyone and help prevent such harassment from taking place as best we can, we prohibit mention of topics related to sensitive real-world subjects in open chat within the game, and we do our best to take action whenever we see such topics being broadcast. This includes openly advertising a guild friendly to players based on a particular political, sexual, or religious preference, to list a few examples.
We are very concerned that Blizzard’s policy, as expressed in the foregoing statement, discriminates against LGBT gamers. Although preventing harassment is an admirable goal, a requirement that LGBT people remain invisible and silent is not an acceptable means of reaching that goal.
Mr. Wu is the guild leader of “Stonewall Champions,” the largest LGBT-friendly guild in W.O.W. Ms. Andrews is the guild leader of “Oz,” an LGBT-friendly guild on the Shadow Moon Server. As leaders of LGBT-friendly guilds, Mr. Wu and Ms. Andrews are both very concerned that Blizzard’s policy will hamper the guilds’ ability to provide a safe and supportive gaming environment.
We agree that World of Warcraft’s Harassment Policy, which clearly states that players may not refer to the sexual orientation of others in an “insulting manner,” is laudable and legal. Indeed, we applaud Blizzard’s efforts to create a congenial gaming atmosphere where people of all sexual orientations and gender identities can interact without fear of harassment or insult.
Although Blizzard is well within its rights to insist that players avoid referring to other gamers in an “insulting manner,” Blizzard cannot issue a blanket ban on any mention of sexual orientation or gender identity. There is nothing “insulting” about identifying oneself as gay, lesbian or transgender, nor does the announcement of a guild for LGBT gamers constitute “harassment” in any sense of the word. If other players react insultingly to the mere presence of LGBT gamers, then Blizzard should discipline the harassers, not attempt preemptively to silence the potential victims of harassment.
Online environments are public accommodations, subject to regulation as such. Butler v. Adoption Media, L.L.C., 2005 WL 1513142 (N.D.Cal.). Discrimination against LGBT individuals in the provision of public accommodations is clearly prohibited by California law. Id., see also, Cal. Civ. Code § 51 et seq. It has been so for more than fifty years. Stouman v. Reilly, 234 P.2d 969 (Cal. 1951). Insisting that LGBT persons not discuss their sexual orientation or gender identity can constitute discrimination under California law. Erdmann v. Tranquility Inc., 155 F.Supp.2d 1152 (N.D.Cal. 2001) (in which an employee who experienced a hostile environment at his workplace, including being instructed by a supervisor to “keep [his homosexuality] in the closet while he [was] at work,” stated a cause of action for employment discrimination); see also Gay Law Students v. Pacific Telephone & Telegraph, 595 P.2d 592 (1978) (same); Henkle v. Gregory, 150 F.Supp.2d 1067 (D.Nev.2001) (discussing students’ right to discuss their sexual orientation at school); Colin v. Orange Unified School District, 83 F.Supp.2d 1135 (C.D.Cal.2000) (addressing students’ right to use the word “gay” in the name of their school club).
In the few short years since the advent of multi-user dungeons, the world of online gaming has grown from a niche hobby enjoyed by a small community of enthusiasts to a phenomenon shared by millions. We understand that the rapid growth of the online environment has created challenges for companies like Blizzard, who are striving to ensure a civil and enjoyable experience for a large and diverse body of gamers. We hope that you will realize that silencing LGBT gamers, and requiring that they remain invisible to their fellows within the online gaming world, is not an acceptable means of advancing that end.
We understand that Blizzard has recently withdrawn its citation of Ms. Andrews for allegedly violating World of Warcraft’s harassment policy. An e-mail from “Thor Biafore,” the head of Blizzard’s customer service worldwide, acknowledges that the action taken against Ms. Andrews was based on an “unfortunate interpretation” of Blizzard’s current policies.
In order to avoid any similar incidents in the future, we ask that you inform all of Blizzard’s system administrators that they are not to discipline any players for mentioning or discussing sexual orientation or gender identity in a non-insulting fashion. We also ask that Blizzard confirm that LGBT-friendly guilds are allowed to announce their existence in the same manner as any other guilds. Of course, Lambda Legal would be more than happy to offer any advice we can to assist Blizzard in crafting a nondiscriminatory clarification of the terms of service for W.O.W., or in providing guidance to the administrators enforcing Blizzard’s anti-harassment guidelines. We ask that you respond within thirty days of the date of this letter to avoid the need for further action.
Very truly yours,
Brian Chase
Staff Attorney*
Jennifer C. Pizer
Senior Counsel
Perhaps the point to note here is that there are a lot of gay folk marching about in World of Warcraft. The guilds mentioned above aren't painted pink, actively recruiting our children for a lifetime of gardening against gravity. They are simply stating that gays, lesbians and everyone else making Jesus cry in the bedroom are welcome and won't find a hostile environment.
The thing is, WOW is a pretty nice place. Compare Warcraft to any other online escapade and you'll think you've stumbled into an Internet tree-hugging convention discussing the merits of tofu and patchouli oil extraction. There have been openly gay members in WOW from day one and everyone in SPOnG's experience gets along just fine. We can only advise Greg Wu and Sara Andrews against playing Halo 2 on an America server.
From the reactions we've gauged and the general feeling within WOW, we expect Blizzard to climbdown with a formal apology and make the necessary amendments to its guidelines within the week.
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Comments
Falien 7 Feb 2006 09:24
1/13
I'm sorry, but I really think this article is sad. While I am in no way against anyone's rights, including LGBT rights, I feel that the matter discussed here is way overrated. Think about it: WOW is a multiplayer online game world, and as such it has all the advantages, but also all the DISadvantages of such worlds. Interaction between players is there, but I fail to see how that interaction can include sexual preferences, or even why it should! There are no "sex" emotes in the game anyway, so the only thing one can do in the game is talk about it. Also, there's absolutely nothing in the game's world and/or storyline that bears any relation to people's sexuality. If someone wants to meet (and interact with) other LGBT people, why should they do it in WOW, since for such a case WOW offers the same functionality as any IRC chatroom or messaging program. If that someone wants to slay dragons and role-play, why do they need to bring their sexual orientation in the game since it won't really matter? In other words, I fail to see the purpose of a "LGBT friendly" guild in WOW.
On the other hand, just because I see no purpose in it, that doesn't mean that there IS no purpose. Clearly, what to me is irrelevant is important to someone else, and I have no right to impose my own opinion. There are lots of "thematic" guilds out there, based on common nationality, common interests etc., and I don't think a guild based on common sexual orientation is different from them. Problem is, sexual orientation is still a "controversial" issue, and as such it always raises eyebrows. On that matter, Blizzard GMs were right to point out that announcing someone's a LGBT will be viewed as provocative by some. I agree that prohibiting such an announcement is not the way to eradicate the problem, but at the same time I don't think that blowing trumpets over it is the way to go either.
Unfortunately, we live in an imperfect world.
On the other hand, just because I see no purpose in it, that doesn't mean that there IS no purpose. Clearly, what to me is irrelevant is important to someone else, and I have no right to impose my own opinion. There are lots of "thematic" guilds out there, based on common nationality, common interests etc., and I don't think a guild based on common sexual orientation is different from them. Problem is, sexual orientation is still a "controversial" issue, and as such it always raises eyebrows. On that matter, Blizzard GMs were right to point out that announcing someone's a LGBT will be viewed as provocative by some. I agree that prohibiting such an announcement is not the way to eradicate the problem, but at the same time I don't think that blowing trumpets over it is the way to go either.
Unfortunately, we live in an imperfect world.
schnide 7 Feb 2006 11:50
2/13
Falien wrote:
Problem is, sexual orientation is still a "controversial" issue, and as such it always raises eyebrows. On that matter, Blizzard GMs were right to point out that announcing someone's a LGBT will be viewed as provocative by some. I agree that prohibiting such an announcement is not the way to eradicate the problem, but at the same time I don't think that blowing trumpets over it is the way to go either.
Unfortunately, we live in an imperfect world.
Unfortunately, we live in an imperfect world.
The point you are very much missing is that if they want to build a community based on their sexual orientation, it has no effect on anyone else except those ignorant enough to attack their preferences.
The way to deal with this is to ban those who make homophobic comments, not those who so supposedly "incite" them.
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YenRug 7 Feb 2006 13:51
3/13
Falien, you have to remember the most common epithets used by, so-called, hardcore online gamers when referring to newbies; in another article I read about this, it was pointed out that "fag" and "homo" were often used to describe new players who are lacking in skills. One of the reasons people wanted LGBT guilds was so that they could apply the Guild-only filters to chat messages, thus cutting out such crass and commonplace usage of these terms.
This is what was meant by LGBT-friendly, not that they would be promoting their sexuality and values to members, nor to voice them to those outside their guild.
This is what was meant by LGBT-friendly, not that they would be promoting their sexuality and values to members, nor to voice them to those outside their guild.
Falien 7 Feb 2006 21:13
4/13
schnide wrote:
The point you are very much missing is that if they want to build a community based on their sexual orientation, it has no effect on anyone else except those ignorant enough to attack their preferences.
The way to deal with this is to ban those who make homophobic comments, not those who so supposedly "incite" them.
The way to deal with this is to ban those who make homophobic comments, not those who so supposedly "incite" them.
I am not missing that point, I am making that point exactly. In a supposedly perfect world, what you say would be just like you said: a LGBT guild would have no effect on others. However, the world is not perfect, the ignorant people are there in large numbers, and such a guild will get harassed. The Blizzard GMs will have their hands full coping with both the demands of players feeling harassed by a LGBT guild, AND the demands of LGBT players being harassed by others.
In short, the point I was trying to make is that it's sad to bring a real-world problem into a fantasy-world setting, especially when bringing it in WOW serves no purpose. I would say exactly the same thing if, for example, an ethnic or religious minority decided to make a guild. It is out-of-context, pure and simple.
LUPOS 7 Feb 2006 22:14
5/13
Falien wrote:
I would say exactly the same thing if, for example, an ethnic or religious minority decided to make a guild. It is out-of-context, pure and simple.
the great irony here being that the whole game is based around different races ganging up on and killing each other.
am i the only one out there that feels this sort of thing is actually kind of counter productive? didnt minorites (blacks mainly)fight for years to end segrigation? what point is there in intentionally segrigating yourself? do you think the world will be made more used to your being aroudn by never having you around? do you thinking hanging out in big gay groups will in some way help your gorups integration into a somewhat unexcepting world?
its like BET (black entertainment television)... what a terribel idea this is! if your black you shoudl watch BET! cause we all konw all black people like rap music and steve harvey! I can think of few things more racist than a channel that supposidly knows what all black people like to watch. same with magazines and whatever else.
you can keep your self respect and pride without having to form a veritble gang of peopel with one thing in common just because you feel threatened.
I'm tangenting again. anyway... if someone calls you a fag... and you happen to be gay... ignore em... if someone calls you fat... and you happen to be fat... same deal.... i know alot of people really consider WOW to be their lives, but part of the draw of it is that it saves you the ridicule and problems of the real world. it is a shame to see a world where men freqeutnly pretend to be hot elvish girls, burdened by stereotypes. But such is the human condition... cant leave well enough alone can we.
_______
schnide 8 Feb 2006 12:07
6/13
Falien wrote:
In a supposedly perfect world, what you say would be just like you said: a LGBT guild would have no effect on others. However, the world is not perfect, the ignorant people are there in large numbers, and such a guild will get harassed.
If you've taken the point you've dealt with it wrongly then and in the same way Blizzard have - you combat ignorance by educating the ignorant of what they're ignorant of, not by hiding away who they're being ignorant towards.
DoctorDee 8 Feb 2006 12:21
7/13
LUPOS wrote:
am i the only one out there that feels this sort of thing is actually kind of counter productive? didnt minorites (blacks mainly)fight for years to end segrigation? what point is there in intentionally segrigating yourself?
They fought, I believe, to be treated equally despite their colour. Not for the "right" to have to hide their colour in order to be treated equaly.
Equality means that people of any colour, creed, religion, race or sexual orientation should have the right to declare, with pride their affiliation, and still have the respect (and equalt treatment) of their fellow man.
No one fought to have to hide what it is about them that makes them different in order to be treated the same.
LUPOS 8 Feb 2006 15:26
8/13
DoctorDee wrote:
They fought, I believe, to be treated equally despite their colour. Not for the "right" to have to hide their colour in order to be treated equaly.
so martin luther king faught hard all those years and died in the name of his cause so that black people coudl have the right to stero type themselves through horendous mass media?
______
DoctorDee 8 Feb 2006 15:32
9/13
LUPOS wrote:
so martin luther king faught hard all those years and died in the name of his cause so that black people coudl have the right to stero type themselves through horendous mass media?
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______
I think, that with the best will and the most concise mind in the world, and I am not suggestion you have either, there is no conceivable way you could infer that from what I said.
LUPOS 8 Feb 2006 15:47
10/13
DoctorDee wrote:
I think, that with the best will and the most concise mind in the world, and I am not suggestion you have either, there is no conceivable way you could infer that from what I said.
i dotn see where in what i said originaly i implied peopel shoudl hide their color in order to gain acceptance but you felt like throwing that in their anyway... all i said was things like bet do more harm than good and i seem to be made out to be some kind of conformity pushing jerk.
be different, be proud of who you are... thats fine, but when people specificalyl latch on to things that other peopel of a similar skin tone sterotypically latch on to in order to gain acceptence in their particulat hue range, i feel its far worse for the cause, correct me if im wrong.
____
DoctorDee 8 Feb 2006 16:33
11/13
LUPOS wrote:
i dotn see where in what i said originaly i implied peopel shoudl hide their color in order to gain acceptance
You said
LUPOS wrote:
this sort of thing is actually kind of counter productive? didnt minorites (blacks mainly)fight for years to end segrigation? what point is there in intentionally segrigating yourself?
Black, gays etc fought for the right not to be discriminated against. But you are saying that the best way for them not to be discriminated against in WoW is to hade the fact that they are black/gay/whatever.
What I am saying is that that may be the EASIEST way to avoid discrimination or harrasment. But it is not the best way, and it is not the right way. And of course, in 'real life" it may not even be possible for people to hide their "difference" to avoid discrimination.
Saying that people should hide their difference, because declaring it would be "counter-productive" is just brushing a problem aside until later (when MMORGs DO feature sex) and it's asking someone who is clearly proud of this aspect of their character not to be. Which strikes me as wrong.
The right thing to do would be for all decent people to turn against those who do discriminate on people of colour, or guys who like dick or whatever, both in WoW and IRL.
LUPOS 8 Feb 2006 16:57
12/13
DoctorDee wrote:
Black, gays etc fought for the right not to be discriminated against. But you are saying that the best way for them not to be discriminated against in WoW is to hade the fact that they are black/gay/whatever.
i dont think hiding is exactly acurate when we are talkign about an imaginary world that is supposed to act as a fun alternative to the real world... in theory people should be pretending they are cow people, or elves, or whatever they chose to be... having split up groups in a world that already provides ananimty and removes any portenial for racism seems liek it is more harmfull than helpfull
DoctorDee wrote:
What I am saying is that that may be the EASIEST way to avoid discrimination or harrasment. But it is not the best way, and it is not the right way. And of course, in 'real life" it may not even be possible for people to hide their "difference" to avoid discrimination.
in real life you cant hide your skin color, in the world of warcraft, you look like a zombie... no one knows what you really are or who/what you are having sex with or worshipping... so why inject these problems into such a place?
DoctorDee wrote:
Saying that people should hide their difference, because declaring it would be "counter-productive" is just brushing a problem aside until later (when MMORGs DO feature sex) and it's asking someone who is clearly proud of this aspect of their character not to be. Which strikes me as wrong.
im not asking them to hide it, im just saying in a game where it has no bearing whatsoever, that it doesnt need ot be added. i know alot of people really love the game and make alot of real world friends and even fall in love in there... but the fact is its a game about fighting and collecting magic stuffs and killing dragosn or whatever... not abotu sex, if someone does make an mmo about sex then they will have to deal with these problems... wow has NOTHING to do with sex/race/religion and there for people shouldtn be takign blizzard to task over this.
DoctorDee wrote:
The right thing to do would be for all decent people to turn against those who do discriminate on people of colour, or guys who like dick or whatever, both in WoW and IRL.
thats for people to do, the government cant force white peopel to liek black people and blizzard cant force it to happen in their game either. just like IRL its up to the people to make the change. perhaps a gorup of wow vigilantes who go aroudn killing only bigoted people? coudl be a fun new angle for all those level 60 players to explore untill the next update. a bit of an a-team sort of thing. not that i recomend that IRL though!
_____
Falien 9 Feb 2006 08:52
13/13
schnide wrote:
If you've taken the point you've dealt with it wrongly then and in the same way Blizzard have - you combat ignorance by educating the ignorant of what they're ignorant of, not by hiding away who they're being ignorant towards.
OK, slight misunderstanding here. I am not trying to suggest a way to combat ignorance, I am simply making the point that ignorance is there. I know how ignorance should be combated, I'm just saying that, of all possibilities, World Of Warcraft (or any other online multiplayer game for that matter) is the least appropriate place to discuss this problem, let alone solve it.