Society & Online Games

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    • Society & Online Games

      Blizzard is in the middle of a real sticky problem - they basically have a policy against offensive behavior on WOW, and yet there is a group of Gay and Lesbian people that want to form a guild.

      gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=14480

      So - for online games that attract a huge audience like WOW, what is one to do about one group of people offending another simply based on their background or choices they've made in their lives?
      Mr.Mike
      Author, Programmer, Brewer, Patriot
    • My first thought is as long as there is no explicit talk or behavior, or solicitation (all should result in a perm ban), then I dont see how to really stop it. It's unfortunate that they feel like they have to flock together based on sexual orientation.

      On second thought it shouldn't be allowable to have a guild based on any sexual premise.

      -Dragon
    • Is sex the only offending dimension? What if the guild were formed based on political leanings or religion?

      "I hear them right wing Christians are forming their own guild to get away from all that anti-religion talk that's goin' around."

      Where do we draw the line on which premise is acceptable?
    • I wouldn't mind it so much, and I kind of understand that why they want it, after all this is the age of "organizations" based on very distinct premises usually populated by the highly sensitive and easily offendable.

      But as an adult playing a game that involves all ages, I would say the line stops with profanity and/or sexual content or as I stated earlier, premise. Face it, any group explicitly based on sexuality hetro or other has no place in games with kids.

      Otherwise... its all good.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by DragonCode ().

    • Well, as an avid WoW forum troller, the issue seems to be that Blizzard is banning guilds simply advertising as gay friendly, and not just gay exclusively. Fact is that WoW is a rather harsh society when it comes to homosexuals.

      Blizzard does NOT want to be seen as anti-gay (I'd be willing to bet a larger than average percentage of their staff is gay, given their larger-than-normal focus on art talent. Certainly the best artists that I know are gay, or close to it. Mikh from ATYD excluded.). I can imagine quite a few guys in upper management over there spending their days banging their head on the wall right now.
      -Larrik Jaerico

      www.LarrikJ.com
    • Good point advertising the guild as gay friendly[/] - and given that online gaming can be pretty harsh from a language perspective - would it also be bad to try to organize a guild that shuns offensive language of any kind???

      The tougher issue is where does one draw the line, and when something gets as big as WoW is it important for the organizers to accomodate special group needs? Might it simply expand their customer base? Is it more of a business decision or ethical decision?
      Mr.Mike
      Author, Programmer, Brewer, Patriot
    • I'm completely of the "mind your own business" mindset when it comes to these things. If people spent half the time dedicated to world hunger as they did worring about what this or that gay or lesbian group was doing we'd have solved world hunger a long time ago.

      Really, what's even the issue here? Does this gay/lesbian guild stop or decrease anyones game enjoyment? Does this gay/lesbian guild want to be called and offensive name such as the "Flaming Fags"? I highly doubt it. So, what iss "offensive" about this?

      Blizzard has a policy against policy "against offensive behavior" not against a group of people wanting to form a guild. Would blizzard stop a group of "black" people from creating a guild that was completely "black"? I bet not! I KNOW not!However, that is EXACTLY the same thing. A group of people that have something in common wanting to form a guild!

      If they are going to say that a persons sexual preference is what is offensive here... come on! Everyone in this world finds something different offensive... so technically Blizzard should discontinue guild formation based on that fact alone.

      The post was edited 2 times, last by Alien_Attack ().

    • Originally posted by Larrik
      Well, as an avid WoW forum troller, the issue seems to be that Blizzard is banning guilds simply advertising as gay friendly, and not just gay exclusively. Fact is that WoW is a rather harsh society when it comes to homosexuals.

      Blizzard does NOT want to be seen as anti-gay (I'd be willing to bet a larger than average percentage of their staff is gay, given their larger-than-normal focus on art talent. Certainly the best artists that I know are gay, or close to it. Mikh from ATYD excluded.). I can imagine quite a few guys in upper management over there spending their days banging their head on the wall right now.


      lol, I'm sorry. I know this is supposed to be a serious thread but this post just got me laughing. I was playing wow with my wife the other night (she loves the game) and I was making comments that either blizzard management is all women or there are a lot of gays working there. Not that it matters to me one way or the other. But it was funny to see this post.

      Now since I posted in this thread, I will put my opinion in on the subject. I think it's important to be careful about ruling on things such as this. Where do you draw the line? I think Kain made a great point. What is wrong with like minded people wanting to form a guild together. I certainly don't want to form a guild with a bunch of people 25 years younger than me. I want to be with people I have things in common with.
    • It seems that WOW has done the right thing, in my mind - opting to be inclusive and allow tolerant guilds....

      gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=14666
      Mr.Mike
      Author, Programmer, Brewer, Patriot