Blizzard Drops the Hammer on "Inappropriate" StarCraft 2 Maps

[Mysnomer]

It's nice to know that the possibility of a glut of penis- and swastika-shaped maps now justifies an entire support team.
Really reflects well on gaming. Well done, guys. Hurr hurr.

Gamer culture needs to take a long, hard look at itself.

Soooo... Unintended irony? Or subtle and masterful use of the English language?

Spoiler: If my friend were here, he'd say...

"That's what she said."

 

[Mysnomer]

However, the fact is, pussification (and I need to find a synonym for it) is happening.

I suggest "culture of meekness" or perhaps "the dainty society plan".

 

[Mysnomer]

For everybody who thinks the holdouts just want their porn maps, wake up, this is not about porn, it's about free speech. Porn is obcene, and can therefore be censored (in accordance with community standards), but speech that is "merely objectionable" such as talks of the possibility of other gods, or the implementation of suicide, or use of ambiguous terminology (thank you, slang) cannot and should not be restricted like this. Oh, okay, it's Blizzard's server, so I guess it's like private property, but why would you want to report someone who infringes speech wholesale, instead of cracking down on specific instances like deliberate hate speech, DESPITE boasting about and flaunting their resources. It's completely contradictory. "We have this large team that we didn't have before, which will allow us to use unfocused blanket censorship to reduce the amount of content we were previously known for."

In addition, they could sidestep this whole issue with the compromise of a flag system. I mean, they had faith in RealID, because no child would dare lie about their age in their battlenet profile, which means you can safely keep them away from harmful content by restricting it to certain age groups, or putting a "may offend religious people" tag on it.

 

[similar.squirrel]

It's nice to know that the possibility of a glut of penis- and swastika-shaped maps now justifies an entire support team.
Really reflects well on gaming. Well done, guys. Hurr hurr.

Gamer culture needs to take a long, hard look at itself.

Soooo... Unintended irony? Or subtle and masterful use of the English language?

Spoiler: If my friend were here, he'd say...

"That's what she said."

Subtleties and intrigue, my friend.

I noticed, and I was half hoping that others may also do so.
Imbuing my posts with covert phallic imagery does undermine the point I was making somewhat, though.

Perhaps I should get a dedicated support team.

 

[Ironic Pirate]

And also, "Your English is Worst than mine" is hilarious. Normally, you know, it'd be just a grammatical error, I've probably made three in this post already. But when you're trying to use the "But you're a stupid!" argument, it's absolutely hilarious.

Wow! You really need to defend your girlfriend there? How dumb do you have to be to just get in a conversation and laugh at one party because you don't agree with them. Glad you have a chuckle at my expanse, child, but there's a grown-up discussion in progress so please go back to the kid's table.

OT: Why can't they just have a flagged content system? Youtube has one, and Youtube sucks.

Scared of censorship? The fact that youtube strive on user-generated content and that the best of youtube got stolen by Blip which give the author a piece of the revenue from adds isn't... can't be the reason why it suck now.

Okay, look, I agree with a mix of both of you, I just felt the need to step in and help him out a little bit. Have a harmless little joke and be on my way. But alright, it's fine of you to want to respond in a civilized way... oh, wait, no. You resort to personal attacks quickly, which serves only to undermine your argument instead of furthering it.

You don't seem to get that you won't be convincing ciortas1, nor will he be convincing you of anything. The only possible reason for this argument is for some kind of self-fulfillment, or that you're trying to convince others in this thread, maybe without such a strong interest in the issue. Now that you're insulting random people who actually kind of agreed with you. Disraeli you are not.

Anyway, I feel I should get this out of the way, but my point (and I must admit, I hadn't mentioned it earlier) was that while censorship is a slippery slope, the game was, in fact, rated teen, and Blizzard had some kind of obligation to the minors (really more likely their parents, but whatever) to censor porn. That said, the words chosen by players online are not censored either.

So really, Blizzard has a few options. Ignore it, and expect lawsuits. Regardless of the legality of them, someone will pull a TOTC. Option two, is censorship, which, again, slippery slope. Option three, is flagging content, which would only be possible to view if you verified your age and was proven to be over some kind of arbitrary age benchmark.

In response to that, you ask if I was afraid about censorship, which I'm not, and then go on about something called Blip. No idea what the hell Blip is, I'm afraid. And the reason youtube sucks is poor community, a slew of awful content, and some technical issues.

And really, I have no stake in this argument, nor do I care, as I don't game on PC nor do I often make user developed content. I was just defending myself.

 

[Akalistos]

Look if you're whining and crying about not being able to play on your favorite dick/boob shaped map because it violates their ToS/ToU/EULA/whatever, get a life.

Good advice! If you feel the need to insult someone to get your point across, you should too. BTW, you have been reported.

 

[Akalistos]

Okay, look, I agree with a mix of both of you, I just felt the need to step in and help him out a little bit.

Then don't be a prick. You know (but may not remember... I remember your Avartar tho) that i'm a French Canadian. You should remember this because the very first thread i made was my own intro... and you commented. So, went you laugh at me. IT'S INSULTING!!!!!! Get it?

And by the way, I have also come to Ciortas' help for that bullshit probation when HE WAS PROVOKED.

You don't seem to get that you won't be convincing ciortas1, nor will he be convincing you of anything.

Nor do i wish to. He's clearly afraid of censorship and in this age of political correctness, he as the right to be. But like everything, faith and taboo are fading at a joyful rate. Pretty soon, it will die down.

Anyway, I feel I should get this out of the way, but my point (and I must admit, I hadn't mentioned it earlier) was that while censorship is a slippery slope, the game was, in fact, rated teen, and Blizzard had some kind of obligation to the minors (really more likely their parents, but whatever) to censor porn. That said, the words chosen by players online are not censored either.

Read above.

So really, Blizzard has a few options. Ignore it, and expect lawsuits. Regardless of the legality of them, someone will pull a TOTC. Option two, is censorship, which, again, slippery slope. Option three, is flagging content, which would only be possible to view if you verified your age and was proven to be over some kind of arbitrary age benchmark.

Yes. But that's can't be arrange for the time being. The Mass are dumb and you can Always be certain they will found thing to complain about. It's in our very nature. The best you can hope for is to educate. As soon as the old generation will be gone, the world will be ours to shape. The Thompson And Parent Against Videogame will grow old and their voice will dim. Political correctness will fade. But that's for us to decide, and I have already chosen.

In response to that, you ask if I was afraid about censorship, which I'm not, and then go on about something called Blip. No idea what the hell Blip is, I'm afraid. And the reason youtube sucks is poor community, a slew of awful content, and some technical issues.

And really, I have no stake in this argument, nor do I care, as I don't game on PC nor do I often make user developed content. I was just defending myself.

 

[Computer-Noob]

Probably has a fair bit to do with the fact that this is Starcraft 2 we're talking about. Blizzard REALLY doesnt want to mess this up. Its kind of what's going to distract people until Cataclysm/Diablo 3 comes out. They're going to get rather picky/unforgiving on subjects like this, but hopefully they'll prevent the removal of games that don't purposely end up being inappropriate (See earlier tank defense post)

Also, does anyone else find it funny how Blizzard released Starcraft 2 just in time for the end game raiders in WoW to finish killing the Lick King? Marketing strategies prove to be so restricting to gamers time and time again, I find.

 

[Akalistos]

snip

You're right, I'm afraid of it. However, the fact is, pussification (and I need to find a synonym for it) is happening. Everyone's afraid of offending anyone because anyone who gets offended thinks it's a human right to always be safe of it. And the majority of people are this way. If a game that is rated 16+ (which is way over the age of a child that needs protection from the scary interwebz) gets hit by, let's be honest here, censorship stupid beyond belief, something is not right here. Hell, all the ESRB needs to do is say "Online interactions are not rated by the ESRB" meaning "you go online, you're responsible for what's in there, not Blizzard, not anybody else.". That, apparently, doesn't prevent people for suing the shit out of companies for "corrupting their children".

Another reason I don't think it'll go away is because politicians and the mass media are the bastards who are encouraging this dumb shit. I'm a little tired of this topic, so won't get into huge detail, but let's just say fear-mongering works perfectly on the mindless sheep.

Edit: Completely forgot the MTV thing. Basically, the reason I mentioned it is that this is 'supposed' to be the hip and cool channel where all the cool kids hang out. And cool or hip in my mind doesn't get associated with 'afraid of the word fuck'. Hell, they completely butcher the songs with that god damn censorship. How about "... you. ... you very very much" or "If you wanna be rich, you gotta be a ....". It's like that or even worse with almost all channels, in America anyway, but since they're the shiny beacon of it and every country wants to follow them with that, I'd say we should be afraid of it.

NO we shouldn't. Here's why:

The best you can hope for is to educate. As soon as the old generation will be gone, the world will be ours to shape. The Thompson And Parent Against Videogame will grow old and their voice will dim. Political correctness will fade. But that's for us to decide, and I have already chosen.

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

Here's a challenge for the News Room:

In the following week, can you find me a story that doesn't paint Acti/Blizz as something short of the Third Reich?

I mean, fair's fair, you get a week.

(That's not to say the news is, in any way, biased; but they just keep acting like such control freaks)

But... this news story doesn't.
I mean, this action is entirely rational and I can't see any reasons for it being in the News Room other than to show that Blizzard keeps a close watch at content that isn't welcome in any game.

 

[Ironic Pirate]

Okay, look, I agree with a mix of both of you, I just felt the need to step in and help him out a little bit.

Then don't be a prick. You know (but may not remember... I remember your Avartar tho) that i'm a French Canadian. You should remember this because the very first thread i made was my own intro... and you commented. So, went you laugh at me. IT'S INSULTING!!!!!! Get it?

And by the way, I have also come to Ciortas' help for that bullshit probation when HE WAS PROVOKED.

You don't seem to get that you won't be convincing ciortas1, nor will he be convincing you of anything.

Nor do i wish to. He's clearly afraid of censorship and in this age of political correctness, he as the right to be. But like everything, faith and taboo are fading at a joyful rate. Pretty soon, it will die down.

Anyway, I feel I should get this out of the way, but my point (and I must admit, I hadn't mentioned it earlier) was that while censorship is a slippery slope, the game was, in fact, rated teen, and Blizzard had some kind of obligation to the minors (really more likely their parents, but whatever) to censor porn. That said, the words chosen by players online are not censored either.

Read above.

So really, Blizzard has a few options. Ignore it, and expect lawsuits. Regardless of the legality of them, someone will pull a TOTC. Option two, is censorship, which, again, slippery slope. Option three, is flagging content, which would only be possible to view if you verified your age and was proven to be over some kind of arbitrary age benchmark.

Yes. But that's can't be arrange for the time being. The Mass are dumb and you can Always be certain they will found thing to complain about. It's in our very nature. The best you can hope for is to educate. As soon as the old generation will be gone, the world will be ours to shape. The Thompson And Parent Against Videogame will grow old and their voice will dim. Political correctness will fade. But that's for us to decide, and I have already chosen.

In response to that, you ask if I was afraid about censorship, which I'm not, and then go on about something called Blip. No idea what the hell Blip is, I'm afraid. And the reason youtube sucks is poor community, a slew of awful content, and some technical issues.

And really, I have no stake in this argument, nor do I care, as I don't game on PC nor do I often make user developed content. I was just defending myself.

Okay, you know what, I realize, with hindsight, that both of my posts were a little prickish, the first one in particular. I'm sorry about that, and I would like to apologize. I won't edit the posts, as I've always felt it's a sneaky thing to do, but I will pretend I hadn't made them. I get very frustrated at times, and retaliate towards anyone I can find, which has broken a few screens over the the years.


I do vaugely remember that thread now, actually, do you know what I said in it?

 

[Akalistos]

Okay, look, I agree with a mix of both of you, I just felt the need to step in and help him out a little bit.

Then don't be a prick. You know (but may not remember... I remember your Avartar tho) that i'm a French Canadian. You should remember this because the very first thread i made was my own intro... and you commented. So, went you laugh at me. IT'S INSULTING!!!!!! Get it?

And by the way, I have also come to Ciortas' help for that bullshit probation when HE WAS PROVOKED.

You don't seem to get that you won't be convincing ciortas1, nor will he be convincing you of anything.

Nor do i wish to. He's clearly afraid of censorship and in this age of political correctness, he as the right to be. But like everything, faith and taboo are fading at a joyful rate. Pretty soon, it will die down.

Anyway, I feel I should get this out of the way, but my point (and I must admit, I hadn't mentioned it earlier) was that while censorship is a slippery slope, the game was, in fact, rated teen, and Blizzard had some kind of obligation to the minors (really more likely their parents, but whatever) to censor porn. That said, the words chosen by players online are not censored either.

Read above.

So really, Blizzard has a few options. Ignore it, and expect lawsuits. Regardless of the legality of them, someone will pull a TOTC. Option two, is censorship, which, again, slippery slope. Option three, is flagging content, which would only be possible to view if you verified your age and was proven to be over some kind of arbitrary age benchmark.

Yes. But that's can't be arrange for the time being. The Mass are dumb and you can Always be certain they will found thing to complain about. It's in our very nature. The best you can hope for is to educate. As soon as the old generation will be gone, the world will be ours to shape. The Thompson And Parent Against Videogame will grow old and their voice will dim. Political correctness will fade. But that's for us to decide, and I have already chosen.

In response to that, you ask if I was afraid about censorship, which I'm not, and then go on about something called Blip. No idea what the hell Blip is, I'm afraid. And the reason youtube sucks is poor community, a slew of awful content, and some technical issues.

And really, I have no stake in this argument, nor do I care, as I don't game on PC nor do I often make user developed content. I was just defending myself.

Okay, you know what, I realize, with hindsight, that both of my posts were a little prickish, the first one in particular. I'm sorry about that, and I would like to apologize. I won't edit the posts, as I've always felt it's a sneaky thing to do, but I will pretend I hadn't made them. I get very frustrated at times, and retaliate towards anyone I can find, which has broken a few screens over the the years.


I do vaugely remember that thread now, actually, do you know what I said in it?

You sang the Theme from CSI:Miami because i named it: Who are you?

 

[Ironic Pirate]

Okay, look, I agree with a mix of both of you, I just felt the need to step in and help him out a little bit.

Then don't be a prick. You know (but may not remember... I remember your Avartar tho) that i'm a French Canadian. You should remember this because the very first thread i made was my own intro... and you commented. So, went you laugh at me. IT'S INSULTING!!!!!! Get it?

And by the way, I have also come to Ciortas' help for that bullshit probation when HE WAS PROVOKED.

You don't seem to get that you won't be convincing ciortas1, nor will he be convincing you of anything.

Nor do i wish to. He's clearly afraid of censorship and in this age of political correctness, he as the right to be. But like everything, faith and taboo are fading at a joyful rate. Pretty soon, it will die down.

Anyway, I feel I should get this out of the way, but my point (and I must admit, I hadn't mentioned it earlier) was that while censorship is a slippery slope, the game was, in fact, rated teen, and Blizzard had some kind of obligation to the minors (really more likely their parents, but whatever) to censor porn. That said, the words chosen by players online are not censored either.

Read above.

So really, Blizzard has a few options. Ignore it, and expect lawsuits. Regardless of the legality of them, someone will pull a TOTC. Option two, is censorship, which, again, slippery slope. Option three, is flagging content, which would only be possible to view if you verified your age and was proven to be over some kind of arbitrary age benchmark.

Yes. But that's can't be arrange for the time being. The Mass are dumb and you can Always be certain they will found thing to complain about. It's in our very nature. The best you can hope for is to educate. As soon as the old generation will be gone, the world will be ours to shape. The Thompson And Parent Against Videogame will grow old and their voice will dim. Political correctness will fade. But that's for us to decide, and I have already chosen.

In response to that, you ask if I was afraid about censorship, which I'm not, and then go on about something called Blip. No idea what the hell Blip is, I'm afraid. And the reason youtube sucks is poor community, a slew of awful content, and some technical issues.

And really, I have no stake in this argument, nor do I care, as I don't game on PC nor do I often make user developed content. I was just defending myself.

Okay, you know what, I realize, with hindsight, that both of my posts were a little prickish, the first one in particular. I'm sorry about that, and I would like to apologize. I won't edit the posts, as I've always felt it's a sneaky thing to do, but I will pretend I hadn't made them. I get very frustrated at times, and retaliate towards anyone I can find, which has broken a few screens over the the years.


I do vaugely remember that thread now, actually, do you know what I said in it?

You sang the Theme from CSI:Miami because i named it: Who are you?

What's the theme from CSI: Miami?

*googles*

Oh, it's Won't get Fooled again, by the Who. Love that song, Entwhistle's bass is amazing.

 

[Akalistos]

What's the theme from CSI: Miami?

Dammit, i meant CSI:LAS VEGAS... The one with Laurence Fishburn.

Who are you?
Who, who, who, who
I really want to know
Who are you?
Who, who, who, who

Remember now?

 

[Ironic Pirate]

What's the theme from CSI: Miami?

Dammit, i meant CSI:LAS VEGAS... The one with Laurence Fishburn.

Who are you?
Who, who, who, who
I really want to know
Who are you?
Who, who, who, who

Remember now?

Maybe vaguely, but not those lyrics. Did I maybe sing "My Generation/Land of Hope and trust"? I remember singing that recently...

Talking 'bout my generation...

 

[Devil's Due]

Blizzard Drops the Hammer

And is ready to dispense some indiscriminate justice!

Oh god I couldn't help myself, got to love siege tanks!

Oh man, nice one. I miss that line.

But wow Blizzard, what does it matter? Those old random custom maps in SC1 never hurt anyone. Heck, I thought it was funny that sometimes you'd see "Sexy Tank Defense" and whatnot, because it's funny thinking that instead of completing the game for fun, you get random stuff in the end. Also, if they're so against this kind of stuff, why do they allow VIDEO's to be installed into maps? Literally, I've seen a few games where it's just a giant rickroll, can't tell me that's just asking to be abused.

Lastly, I've heard they've deleted a few maps because of mild curse words, yet their game has more than those maps. I love SC1 and SC2, but Blizzard goes overboard sometimes. In my opinion, at least :-/

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Look if you're whining and crying about not being able to play on your favorite dick/boob shaped map because it violates their ToS/ToU/EULA/whatever, get a life.

Good advice! If you feel the need to insult someone to get your point across, you should too. BTW, you have been reported.

Wow didn't know "get a life" was an insult of epic reportable proportions, I've been reported for expressing an opinion, sweet. I didn't even know that it was an insult, did it hurt someone's feelings? Wow, welcome to the world. Perhaps you should have read the ignorant post that was written in response to, you know... the one where I was told to "fuck off" for speaking my mind about what companies can do with their property, and here I am again being repressed for speaking my mind once again.

Edit: But really I don't care about being reported for saying "get a life", just pointing out the glaring issue where you call me out and overlook (conveniently) the person who was a lot more offensive in his reply. I wonder sometimes if people who have issues with companies laying ground rules (EULA's, TOS's etc.) would also argue your "right" to shout "FIRE" in a crowded room when there is no fire...

 

[Taern]

I guess it's fair enough that they want to keep this out of their game. I mean, I recall a certain SC 1 map..

I don't like how Blizzard or Battle.net is working right now all that much, but I guess this isn't the worse thing they've done lately.