Should Blizzard have banned 'sexuality talk' on their game?
www.joystiq.com/2006/01/31/blizzard-vs-gaymers-are-other-minorities-next/
Heh heh. A bit of a fuss over nothing perhaps, but they make a fair point. However, if the game makers want to say 'we don't have the staff to police sexuality/religious/political issues' then it's their damn server. People often miss this amid an emotional roller coaster of 'freedom of expression', and they forget that there are still some counter rights to take into account. For example; if you come onto my property, I have the right to dictate to you what you can and cannot do based upon any whim I wish. If you don't like it, you can leave. Harsh, but remove that right and you have supreme 'Big Brother' action.
It's the old 'should a Jewish club have to accept membership from a KKK member?' argument archetype all over again.
It's saying you can't pick who you want at work or whatever, you have to have anyone. If it's my money, I can spend it on whoever and whatever I want. I resent any authority telling me that I have to be 'fair' in a Government-set sense, with what's mine. There's two sides to the issue; Blizzard's server rights and people's right to express themselves.
You can't swear in game. That's freedom of expression limited right there, and you don't see people really objecting, because it's common sense. At the end of the day, you can ask for permission to do something anywhere, but if the answer is no, you have the option to leave. Personally I don't play MMOs to discuss religion, politics or sexuality - so I don't feel effected by such a rule. Those who do, I have a degree of sympathy with, but at the end of the day, I fear any society that tells owners of property (whether cyber or real) what they can and can't do with their own land/space.
The trouble with people's rights, is that there's more than one person's rights to consider. Always.
posted by -=Kim Kaze=- at 8:18 AM
1 Comments:
In addition, I should like to add a few minor rebuttals to the article.
They make a comment about colour of skintone. Irrelevent; you cannot choose or do anything about your skin tone (unless your name is Mr Jackson). You are born what you are and that's it for life. Therefore, discrimination against colour of skin in any setting whatsoever is always completely inappropriate for exactly this reason. The other topics are all ones that can be discussed and chosen in terms of behavioural actions. I can choose to be religious, but I cannot choose to be black or white.
Secondly, Blizzard aren't banning straights, gays or bisexuals from playing their game; they're dictating the behavioural actions within the game itself, in this case in game speech and guild names. I do not think it discrimination for example, that a Mosque allows entrance to anyone, but once you are inside, insists that you follow their strict instructions, such as removal of shoes or whatever it happens to be. Expressing freely your pagan, jewish, christian or otherwise faith within a mosque would be considered very rude and inappropriate; an affrontal. Is that unfair?
In short - no one is saying a straight, gay, liberal democrat, christian, muslim or transexual person cannot enter and play WoW. But they are saying 'when in game, please follow these rules'. If you don't like the rules, leave.
Is this unfair? Or is it simply 'their house'?
8:52 AM, February 01, 2006
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