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OPINION: The Tone Deaf Hypocrisy of Blizzard and 'Keep Politics Out'

SystemSystem Member UncommonPosts: 12,599
edited October 2019 in News & Features Discussion

imageOPINION: The Tone Deaf Hypocrisy of Blizzard and 'Keep Politics Out'

In case you missed it, Blizzard suspended a pro Hearthstone player by the name of Blitzchung for voicing support for the Hong Kong protests. Here’s why Blizzard’s actions are nothing more than craven hypocrisy, and why, “keep politics out,” is an asinine non-argument.

Read the full story here


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Comments

  • XiaokiXiaoki Member EpicPosts: 3,823
    Oh, the irony

    MMORPG.com Rules of Conduct

    Minor Infraction

    Religion and Politics

    MMORPG.com is a site to discuss massively multiplayer online roleplay gaming. While users are encouraged and permitted to use our Off-Topic forum to discuss real life and non-MMORPG gaming, threads concerning sensitive subjects such as religion, politics, or ethics are forbidden.
    Read more at https://://www.mmorpg.com/disclaimers.cfm
    fcweddnfacatriusdruezKyleranAsm0deusTykam123BobVaAmathebcbullyFlyByKnightand 42 others.
  • fcweddfcwedd Member UncommonPosts: 196
    edited October 2019
    It's so far beyond annoying now.

    Even as a kid, I remember thinking of McDonald's as being deceptively brilliant and petty. Their ads where literally one young person from every race on planet earth sit around a table to share McNuggets. lol.

    I mean... it's ultimately a good message, but we all know that they don't care about anything but money, else their food would be geared towards good health.
    Post edited by fcwedd on
    pantaroSiphaedmcd6993XingbairongTuor7infomatzTacticalZombehMaddog666ManWithNoTan
  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 43,435
    edited October 2019
    Totally awesome reply @Xiaoki, practically a headshot I think.  :D

    So two threads full of comments but author saw a need to create another to rage in? So be it, I'm game.

    Let's talk some "common sense" as it is clearly lacking in the article.

    Blizzard is a business where most everything they do is designed to increase revenues and profits, which is what their shareholders expect them to do.

    The number of customers they'll lose from this in the long run (because most gamers have short memories and / or weak wills) is just a rounding error compared against the potential loss of the Chinese market.

    I think most here are aware of the many transgressions of the Chinese Gov't, their businesses (all closely aligned with the Gov't,) and the Chinese people themselves.

    Yet many here slagged the recent US tariff efforts against China, almost all purchase Chinese made goods for .... reasons, despite knowing inherently the entire nation lacks the conventional morality most here share.  

    Yeah, I get it, China is an evil, oppressive regime which needs to be stood up to (hope you all rush to enlist in the military, your country will soon need you) but almost every business in the world is in bed with this devil and I feel it's unfair to single out Blizzard due to circumstances.

    Did you know my other job is being an armchair economist? I even have a BS degree in it.

    I'm sure the BS part doesn't surprise anyone.   B)






    Post edited by Kyleran on
    Asm0deusmmoloubcbullyalkarionlogNephethAmatheScotcheebaIceAgebartoni33and 14 others.

    "True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde 

    "I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant

    Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm

    Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

    Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™

    "This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon






  • druezdruez Member UncommonPosts: 120
    The dude even said he thought he would get suspended for saying about the protests. Look it is blizzard's rules, if they want the game to be about the game and not about social issues that is their right to do so. I felt the same way about Kaep's national flag protests in the NFL.

    I watch and play games to escape and not deal with real life crap for a while. I don't need my entertainment time invaded by what other people believe is the right way for me to act or feel.
    KyleranOGDeathRowalkarionlogNephethIceAgeswagholeScot[Deleted User]black_islePanzerbeorne39and 1 other.
  • DaranarDaranar Member UncommonPosts: 392
    edited October 2019
    Obviously MMORPGs Rules of Conduct is outdated because ethics is discussed in every thread about every Kickstarter game.

    But to the OP, I won't be the one that disagrees with you. What blizzard did was so pathetic. It's against their touted core values as a company (not just their Rules of Conduct). Furthermore they are incorporated in a country built upon the fundamental right to stand up for what you believe in, and they have the audacity to take money from and ban someone (who isn't an employee or representative of Blizzard, rather a customer participating in a promotion) who exercises those rights in which Blizzard has profited off of.

    But this whole thing is really interesting because it's really shining a light on what American companies are slimy spineless jellyfish who have 0 values to even put in front of profits.
    ValentinasynnKyleranbcbullyklash2defNephethcheebaJeroKaneXingbairong[Deleted User]and 7 others.

    If I want a world in which people can purchase success and power with cash, I'll play Real Life. Keep Virtual Worlds Virtual!


  • AmatheAmathe Member LegendaryPosts: 7,630
    I respect that this is an issue people care about. So I am not throwing shade on the matter itself.

    But I don't understand why the rules prohibiting political discussions on these boards seem to have been put out to pasture.

    Is it now open to everyone to discuss whatever political topics we wish? Because I have hundreds of them I would like to raise. They have been piling up since January 20, 2017.

    You are opening Pandora's box.
    ScotSamhael[Deleted User]itchmonSBFordMaddog666

    EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests

  • ShankTheTankShankTheTank Associate Editor / News ManagerMMORPG.COM Staff, Member RarePosts: 217
    edited October 2019

    Xiaoki said:

    Oh, the irony



    MMORPG.com Rules of Conduct



    Minor Infraction



    Religion and Politics



    MMORPG.com is a site to discuss massively multiplayer online roleplay gaming. While users are encouraged and permitted to use our Off-Topic forum to discuss real life and non-MMORPG gaming, threads concerning sensitive subjects such as religion, politics, or ethics are forbidden.

    Read more at https://://www.mmorpg.com/disclaimers.cfm



    Because virtually every other article on here has absolutely zero comments regarding religion, politics, or ethics in the slightest? Interesting. Interesting indeed. These topics are no doubt tricky to handle, but when situations like Blizzard’s suspension arise, it’s worth discussing. Like i mention, literally everything is political.
    Valentina[Deleted User]Amathemmolouklash2defalkarionlog[Deleted User]Nephethcheebapantaroand 8 others.
  • Tykam123Tykam123 Member UncommonPosts: 95

    Xiaoki said:

    Oh, the irony



    MMORPG.com Rules of Conduct



    Minor Infraction



    Religion and Politics



    MMORPG.com is a site to discuss massively multiplayer online roleplay gaming. While users are encouraged and permitted to use our Off-Topic forum to discuss real life and non-MMORPG gaming, threads concerning sensitive subjects such as religion, politics, or ethics are forbidden.

    Read more at https://://www.mmorpg.com/disclaimers.cfm



    Yup, I remember a thread when the Division 2 came out where people were making political references and there was a threat to silence them, yet full out editorials are okay. To be clear, I am not necessarily a big fan of the decision, and I love politics. With that said, politics should stay out of games.....always. I've always respected the gaming community, because it's truly the single place where I don't see politics. What a garbage editorial.
    Amatheklash2defalkarionlogNephethpantaro[Deleted User]SBFordMaddog666
  • AeanderAeander Member LegendaryPosts: 7,821
    "Keep politics out of gaming" has always been a nonsense stance. This is just a case where the corporate side is leaning on it to appease their overlords.
    klash2def[Deleted User]cheebaTuor7infomatzMaddog666
  • ValentinaValentina Member RarePosts: 2,077
    edited October 2019
    What Blizzard did was gross, plain and simple. I've cancelled my WoW subscription over it because while they have decided they are willing to betray the core values they claim to hold as a company, and are the foundation of the country in which they operate out of, I am not willing to sacrifice mine. If their business in in China is more important than peoples freedom and liberty, then China can have them.
    alkarionlog[Deleted User]NephethcheebapantaroJeroKaneTuor7infomatzTacticalZombehMaddog666
  • phoenixfire2phoenixfire2 Member UncommonPosts: 228
    edited October 2019
    And would you take the same stance if the political view that was broadcast on the gaming platform was not one of your liking? Are you the final arbiter in which political view is appropriate to espouse and which is not, if not then who? I'd love to see you in the veritable quicksand of trying to figure out which political opinions to allow on your platform and which to censor. The only answer is to disallow ALL political discourse on your platform, which is what Blizzard does in the contract these guys signed before doing this broadcast and which predates any "China pandering" conspiracy theories.

    Blizzard specializes in video games about orcs and elves, they are not responsible for picking and choosing political sides or for giving you a soapbox on their platform to do so yourself.
    Post edited by phoenixfire2 on
    AeanderTykam123alkarionlogNephethswagholeScotForgrimm[Deleted User]WhiteLanternTuor7and 2 others.
  • Panther2103Panther2103 Member EpicPosts: 5,766
    Amathe said:
    I respect that this is an issue people care about. So I am not throwing shade on the matter itself.

    But I don't understand why the rules prohibiting political discussions on these boards seem to have been put out to pasture.

    Is it now open to everyone to discuss whatever political topics we wish? Because I have hundreds of them I would like to raise. They have been piling up since January 20, 2017.

    You are opening Pandora's box.
    New group of people running the site probably realize political discussion get a lot of back and forth in threads which = more hits. I kind of preferred the no politics rule. 
    AmathemmolouNephethcheebaScot[Deleted User]zigalucardMaddog666
  • AmatheAmathe Member LegendaryPosts: 7,630
    Amathe said:
    I respect that this is an issue people care about. So I am not throwing shade on the matter itself.

    But I don't understand why the rules prohibiting political discussions on these boards seem to have been put out to pasture.

    Is it now open to everyone to discuss whatever political topics we wish? Because I have hundreds of them I would like to raise. They have been piling up since January 20, 2017.

    You are opening Pandora's box.
    New group of people running the site probably realize political discussion get a lot of back and forth in threads which = more hits. I kind of preferred the no politics rule. 
    There are about a million websites where I can hang out and discuss politics. There are just a few where I can discuss gaming without reading politics. Now there are a few minus one. 
    Panther2103Tykam123mmoloualkarionlogNephethphoenixfire2cheebaScotForgrimm[Deleted User]and 2 others.

    EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests

  • CelciusCelcius Member RarePosts: 1,865
    edited October 2019
    That awkward moment when you get upset because someone broke the rules of a tournament and that person got kicked out of said tournament as a result.
    phoenixfire2mmoloualkarionlogNephethForgrimmOGDeathRowMaddog666swaghole
  • FlyByKnightFlyByKnight Member EpicPosts: 3,967
    Wow a featured article none the less. Brought to you by the people who are passive aggressive on mediocre/bad game ratings.  Brought to you by the folks who would review a scooter with a built in 50 inch display and say "give it a try".  Brought to you by the people who allowed sh!# stirring political/industry posts to go on for days while banning/infracting folks who got caught up in them, THEN closing the threads. :D

    Couldn't resist getting in on the conversation and some "official" SEO eh? Couldn't simply merge the 2 other threads with the convo eh? Not enough nards to just post an official opinion in those threads eh? Not enough time and manpower to closely moderate these threads yah? Gonna hide behind the whole "this is one persons opinion" eh?



    @Xiaoki is absolutely right, whether we agree or disagree with Blizzard.

    This is why everything is going haywire in the world right now. HYPOCRISY. PEOPLE IGNORING RULES THEY SET FOR OTHERS.
    mmolouCelciusbcbullyAeanderNephethswagholeScotSamhaelPurplePepeXarkoand 2 others.
    "As far as the forum code of conduct, I would think it's a bit outdated and in need of a refre *CLOSED*" 

    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  • bcbullybcbully Member EpicPosts: 11,838
    Two things you should never punish people for supporting -

    Freedom
    Human rights 

    Idk what your beliefs are about whatever. Punish a person for those things you will lose. 
    Aeanderklash2def[Deleted User]XatshitchmoninfomatzPhryTacticalZombehMaddog666
    "We see fundamentals and we ape in"
  • calibekcalibek Member UncommonPosts: 300
    @Xiaoki love that post!

    Sorry but I agree with Blizzard here. While i do not agree with actions of certain countries i do understand Blizzard's stance. This guy used a platform that was company sponsored to project his own thoughts and his actions have a price.

    I say a lot of off the wall terrible things at times and people tell me "you can't say that!". My response is simple, I can say WHAT I want WHEN i want as long as i am willing to accept the consequences that go with it. I have paid said consequences in the past and it has cost me but at least I owned up to it and accepted my responsibility in them. Society anymore is used to anonymity so no one is paying the consequences anymore of their actions. This leads people to believe they can say what they want when they want and expect no repercussions. That excuse doesn't work in a business setting and this setting is certainly no different then if he were to go to his job and say things against company policy.

    Sorry but if you sign a contract you should adhere to the items within and he did not. His actions had consequences and he paid them.
    ScotMaddog666

    image
  • vegetableoilvegetableoil Member RarePosts: 768
    edited October 2019

    bcbully said:

    Two things you should never punish people for supporting -

    Freedom
    Human rights 

    Idk what your beliefs are about whatever. Punish a person for those things you will lose. 



    Hmm I got several warning playing star trek online, and all I said is "Trump may not be as stupid as he appear" I'm pretty sure it's not only exclusive to cryptic. and voila blizzard and also probably most of companies. Until I cited first amendment, US constitution. A lot of company forget that they have violated the first amendment.
    Maddog666
  • lotrlorelotrlore Managing EditorMMORPG.COM Staff, Member RarePosts: 543

    Amathe said:




    Amathe said:

    I respect that this is an issue people care about. So I am not throwing shade on the matter itself.



    But I don't understand why the rules prohibiting political discussions on these boards seem to have been put out to pasture.



    Is it now open to everyone to discuss whatever political topics we wish? Because I have hundreds of them I would like to raise. They have been piling up since January 20, 2017.



    You are opening Pandora's box.


    New group of people running the site probably realize political discussion get a lot of back and forth in threads which = more hits. I kind of preferred the no politics rule. 


    There are about a million websites where I can hang out and discuss politics. There are just a few where I can discuss gaming without reading politics. Now there are a few minus one. 



    I'm personally someone who doesn't like to "read politics in gaming," but unfortunately it's part of our industry - especially when a giant gaming company (who is one of the most important companies in our specific niche, if not the most important) makes a statement like they have, it's one of those topics we really can't avoid.

    As far as the forum code of conduct, I would think it's a bit outdated and in need of a refresh. I understand the spirit of the way it's written - religion and politics are dumpster fire subjects that can devolve from thoughtful discussion to outright rage induced baiting - but I don't think we can avoid these discussion. Now I think if it's no longer a discussion, but rather something that has turned from thoughtful speech to hate speech we'll have a problem. But it might be time to revisit these guidelines as the industry itself has changed so much.

    You aren't going to see weekly political topics from us, I know how tiring it can be to go from one gaming site to the next seeing nothing but political bias in headlines and such - but something like this, on this magnitude just can't be ignored.

    As always, if y'all have issues - shoot me an email and let's talk! [email protected]
    bcbullyklash2defAmatheNephethcheeba[Deleted User]QuizzicalitchmonRenoakuTacticalZombehand 1 other.
  • bcbullybcbully Member EpicPosts: 11,838
    @PoornaShankar

    Thank you for your passion. Thank you for you words.
    mmolouklash2defNephethpantaroTuor7XarkoTacticalZombehMaddog666
    "We see fundamentals and we ape in"
  • TillerTiller Member LegendaryPosts: 11,125
    edited October 2019




    bcbully said:


    Two things you should never punish people for supporting -

    Freedom
    Human rights 

    Idk what your beliefs are about whatever. Punish a person for those things you will lose. 






    Hmm I got several warning playing star trek online, and all I said is "Trump may not be as stupid as he appear" I'm pretty sure it's not only exclusive to cryptic. and voila blizzard and also probably most of companies.



    I'm gonna interject here and say that the political outrage trolling that was going on by what I consider a troll flash-mob in STO chat on a daily basis over the summer was probably what attributed to your ban; as well as many others who may or may not actually have been there to play the game.
    SWG Bloodfin vet
    Elder Jedi/Elder Bounty Hunter
     
  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 43,435
    edited October 2019
    Daranar said:
    Obviously MMORPGs Rules of Conduct is outdated because ethics is discussed in every thread about every Kickstarter game.

    But to the OP, I won't be the one that disagrees with you. What blizzard did was so pathetic. It's against their touted core values as a company (not just their Rules of Conduct). Furthermore they are incorporated in a country built upon the fundamental right to stand up for what you believe in, and they have the audacity to take money from and ban someone (who isn't an employee or representative of Blizzard, rather a customer participating in a promotion) who exercises those rights in which Blizzard has profited off of.

    But this whole thing is really interesting because it's really shining a light on what American companies are slimy spineless jellyfish who have 0 values to even put in front of profits.
    Did you type your reply on a Chinese made PC or was it the cell phone mostly made with components manufactured in China?

    I'm thinking Blizzard may not be the only guilty party here.

     :D 
    Tykam123mmolouNephethAmatheSlapshot1188[Deleted User]SBFordMaddog666

    "True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde 

    "I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant

    Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm

    Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

    Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™

    "This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon






  • FlyByKnightFlyByKnight Member EpicPosts: 3,967
    There you have it folks. Let The Purge begin:

    image

    Blizzard/NFL what's the difference? Who's worse? Should another country especially a communist one have the ability to pressure and dictate what is said in other countries? GO!
    bcbullylotrloreklash2defNephethIselinMaddog666
    "As far as the forum code of conduct, I would think it's a bit outdated and in need of a refre *CLOSED*" 

    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  • AlbatroesAlbatroes Member LegendaryPosts: 7,671
    Diablo Immortal is coming out which will be 'huge' in China. It was obvious that Blizzard kiss up to China....
    ManWithNoTan
  • foxgirlfoxgirl Member RarePosts: 485
    While Blizz isn't blameless, this was Activision's doing, they just let Blizzard take all the heat.
This discussion has been closed.