Is Blizzard discriminating against gays?

[cynatnite]

In all started when player Sara Andrews received a warning e-mail from World of Warcraft administrators after she mentioned in a general WoW chat cannel that she was recruiting for her “GLBT-friendly” party OZ. According to a collection of e-mail messages sent between Sara and Blizzard, her original comment read:

OZ is recruiting all levels, but especially 50-60s! We are working on our Onyxia Chains and will be doing UBRS and hopefully Onyxia soon! We are not “glbt only”, but we are “glbt friendly”!

Shortly after she made the comment, Sara received a warning about posting material that might be construed as “sexual harassment.” While the suggested penalty for such an infraction is a temporary suspension, the customer-service rep was sure to let Sara know she was lucky to only receive a warning. (Watch out for the Penalty Volcano!) After Sara persisted in explaining to Blizzard that she was not “insultingly” referring to anyone’s sexual orientation, the customer-service rep changed tactics, claiming GLBT-friendly parties were banned to prevent GLBT players from actual harassment by other players, that may not have existed otherwise. Riiiiiiiiight.

http://blogs.download.com/Power-Up/post.php?p=886

[MercutioATC]

1. Sounds like one rep with an issue.

I haven't heard any complaints about Blizzard as far as discrimination issues. It's something to e-mail Blizzard about, though...maybe include a link to the blog so they can see they're getting negative press.

[w13rd0]

2. I saw a person...

...on Scarlet Crusade in Ironforge recruiting for an "Alternative Lifestyles" guild. Overall, I'd prefer "real-world" identities were left in the real-world. Guilds can also be self-regulating. I don't tolerate bigotry and hateful bullshit, and if others in a guild I'm in share the same view, those that don't find someplace else to play.

It's a different approach. I know that on City of Heroes, on the server I played on, there were several GLBT "guilds" and if I'm not mistaken, one of their events was even featured on the games main page.

Whether it's appropriate or not really depends on the game, the style of the server (is it RP? PvP?), and the general age range of the players. I find for instance that in WoW, most of the PvP servers have an abundance of kiddie types that engage in a lot of griefing and antagonism (shit-talking). I'd steer clear of creating a GLBT guild on one of those servers. But on a good RP server (are there any?), it could be quite appropriate.

I did msg the recruiter and tell them I applauded their efforts. On that server, I'm in a guild with my kids though, so I couldn't join :)