For those that aren't aware, the hottest Massively Multiplayer Role Playing Game (MMORPG) around right now is Blizzard's World of Warcraft. While games of this sort have generally require lots of action and adventure in playing them, the defining characteristic of the genre is the social nature implied by the "massively multiplayer" part of the genre's name. These games have numerous locales where players congregate to form adventuring groups as well as to simply socialize. Most games also include some kind of guilding mechanism whereby players can solidify their groups as a means to pool resources and build their own mini in-game community.
Recently, a player in World of Warcraft decided to form a GLBT friendly guild. Evidently Blizzard has a policy, which is supposedly designed to protect players from sex related discrimination, of not allowing sex-related guilds and the player's guild was not allowed to form. Thinking this had to be some kind of mistake, the player appealed this decision to higher level of customer relations, but the decision was upheld.
So, whaddya think? Read the article and post your thoughts. This situation is obviously still developing, and I'll keep my eyes open for any new news.
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2 comments:
Blizzard's official response
Based on the wording here, the problem was (a) recruiting for a guild in the wrong venue (broadcast chat channel in-game vs. out-of-game discussion boards) combined with (b) mentioning topics that might spark an unpleasant "discussion" in an in-game public venue. The statement suggests they'd react in the same way to someone advertising a 'straight friendly' or 'Christian' guild.
nice nice nice =)) ROTF...yey mmorpg rulez
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