An open letter on the discrimination in Overwatch

General Discussion
1

Dear Blizzard,

I have been an avid fan of Overwatch since its release, all the way back in 2016. I’ve followed your changes and developments, from the introduction of Ana and hype of Sombra prior to her reveal, to the announcement of Baptiste. I’ve taken days off work and study to enjoy new events, and through Overwatch I’ve met a really cool bunch of people who are lifelong friends. There are so many ways this game is awesome.

But you know what I’ve also dealt with?
Some of the worst sexism I have experienced and seen in communities, online or not, to date.
Last night I got called a useless little girl, and screamed at for not doing enough healing in a comp match. Those examples alone spanned about twenty minutes. And that’s a common thing. People have quit comp matches halfway through just because I’m a female who wouldn’t go Mercy, or have otherwise screamed at me, for seemingly no reason. Climbing through platinum was one of the most unpleasant experiences; the higher I ranked, the worse the behaviour got until I couldn’t put up with it anymore. I quit playing competitive for almost a year. Rejoining last night for the first time since that date, I have found out the hard way this situation has not been improved whatsoever by your new reporting options, nor your endorsements system.

I shouldn’t have to consider changing my battletag name (and paying $15AUD for it) and using a voice-changer to mask being female, just to avoid toxic slurs and abuse, or else face the other end where teammates hit on me or crack sexualised jokes. Nor should I just “not use voice chat” (an option that has been suggested) in comp games, where communication is an important element to victory. And I shouldn’t have to feel uncomfortable just for wanting to play a game I love with a group of friends.

This is far from an isolated problem; I’m not the only girl this happens to, and it’s a problem prevalent across all game modes, but especially competitive. Your forums are littered with posts and threads about women trying to enjoy Overwatch and facing unfair behaviours just for being female. And in just about every single one of them the same statement repeats itself: we do not feel welcome in your game.

I know you have a ‘solution’ in place. We can just report them, right? Abusive chat is an option.
But the punishment for discrimination against women (and undoubtedly it’s not just women), is basically a slap on the wrist. The account gets suspended for a day, maybe. For a mindset that has consistently been making women feel unsafe and disrespected, for creating stress and anxiety that we should not have to deal with, a slap on the wrist is not enough.

You take hackers seriously. They get permanently banned because their actions undermine the integrity of the game, lower morale in the community, and risk your reputation if you allow the cheating to continue. I have seen articles and videos of hackers being permanently banned and unable to play Overwatch again for their behaviour.

Why do you not take discrimination seriously? There needs to be more done than a simple slap-on-the-wrist. Because for 3 years, I have not seen the problem improve. For 3 years I’ve put up with being told to go back to the kitchen, and insulted based entirely on my gender. If you’re not going to permanently ban players for unacceptable discrimination and making half your fanbase feel so consistently disrespected, then by all means we’re open to ideas.

Forum Mod Edit: This post has been edited by a moderator due to language. Blizzard Support - Forum Code of Conduct

95 Likes
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Do your job properly, block and report the toxic behavior, problem solved. This isn’t rocket science.

I don’t think you understand the word “discrimination”. You are not barred from anything nor prevented or kept away from something.

I wonder what kind of “micro-aggression” you experience on a daily basis. How are you unsafe in your own home? :grinning:

Blizzard have provided you with tools, use them. Everybody has challenges in the real world and in-game, that’s normal.

Also look up the word discrimination and what it means please.

EDIT:

And when you provide valid reasoning, OP resorts to insults:

The hypocrisy.

EDIT2:

Apparently people seem to be unaware:

People can actually get permanently banned from the game for abusive chat.

152 Likes
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They make money from casual players. Casual players are toxic because they don’t care and know nothing much will happen. Unfortunately not much can be done than keep reporting. Hopefully they add more useful call out emotes and voice chat becomes truly optional.

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wow, this attitude is not helpful

OP, my friend told us she experiences this when she solo queues and she mainly only plays with us now because of it. My advice would be use LFG until you can find a group of mature people you can play with. Until then, report abusive people, mute voices and keep finding enjoyment in the game whereever you can.

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Let the punishment fit the crime.

Which means you judge based on the actions of the person at fault, not the gender of the victim.

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See. These topics are so pointless. Yes, people are terrible and say mean things, no, they are not saying them because you are a girl. I don’t get why people receive toxicity and try to make it “about” something as if people just are never toxic otherwise. Whether you’re a girl, a boy, or a AI program with no personality traits, people will be toxic to you. Stop trying to make it about sexism or whatever. If you wanna make a post about toxicity, fine, but don’t sit there going “Oh it’s sexism because I’m a girl! They’re toxic because I’m a girl!” when we both know that’s not true.

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I can hear the legions of forum gremlins storming in to tell you why you’re wrong rumbling in the distance.

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Dear OP,
This happens to everyone male or female.
Solutions? Stop giving a crap about what people that have no significance in your life think. Including myself. Grain of salt.

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I’ve ran into women who’ve had, and haven’t, experienced toxicity based on their gender. But I’ve never once met a woman who felt ‘unsafe’ to play an online virtual game.

That’s a first.

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What would you prefer then? :grinning:

In my 20+ years of gaming as a woman I’ve never had any problems. Block the toxic behavior, report it and get good, pull your own weight.

I’m actively wanted on any and all teams in multiple games, have led many guilds over my time to great success. Not once has my gender being a deterrent. If anything it made things marginally easier.

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Ah yes… the usual support deal ;p Nothing really connected to gender. Sadly some really want to mock healers for that, sometimes just because.

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really? I think you could have worded your advice in a more tactful way.

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It’s a genuine confusion. How can one feel unsafe in their own home while playing video game? Like how would you even consider yourself unsafe?

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from having abuse hurled at you online? :man_shrugging:t2:

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It wouldn’t help, as this is not descrimination.

They are not insulting you because you are female. At least, the vast majority of them aren’t - I can’t speak for every human that you meet- they are insulting you because they’re self-righteous and insecure and want someone to blame. They are making fun of the fact that you’re female because they think it’ll bother you. Hide the fact that you’re female and they’ll just call you something else.

This is not the result of a surge of sexism, it’s just immaturity and ignorance.

It’s also not exclusive to Overwatch. It’s an equally significant issue in pretty much all Multiplayer games, but that’s not an important detail since it shouldn’t be happening anywhere.

12 Likes
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I feel sorry you had to deal with sexism, but personall i have only come across it once or twice, the latter was resolved and apoligized within the same match.

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Nah, reporting is not ideal as the system is… questionable. And blocking them after the fact does not solve the problem. It is just shoving your head in the sand after the fact. They could definitely do better… such as reviewing reports. And the punishments, if you violated the rules, should be vaguely more severe. It is really not that difficult. I am not a snowflake, but I just fail to see how having this counter-intuitive system is okay just because you can ignore the problem. Rofl. That literally gets us nowhere.

I am annoyed because I have to cycle accounts to avoid false reporting based on my hero choices and people purposely breaking the code of conduct need to do it dozens upon dozens upon dozens of times to get flagged. It does not take a “rocket scientist” to figure out that it is wack, homie.

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welcome to the internet.
report, block, move on, remove chat if bothered too much…you have tools in game to deal with stuff, use them…

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I have no idea how women tolerate online gaming sometimes, y’all have more patience than me. I’ve been verbally attacked before but never about who I am as a person and my role in society.

I get cross if someone spams the “need healing” button after dying while I’m actively healing them.

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“Abuse”, “Discrimination” and “Sexism” are terms used very profusely, all-encompassing, and mean anything in today’s post-modernist society. If I tell you, you ain’t doing your job it can apparently count as “abuse” when it’s simply a fact or a statement.

If I felt unsafe due to some absolutely random person on the internet saying bad words to me I would question my sanity.

The world is a tough place out there, if you can’t handle something as simple as that I would suggest some coaching. Real life is infinitely harder.

I never had this problem - on the few occasions somebody was trolling me in Overwatch, I blocked them and reported them. Never met them again. Problem solved. The overwhelming experience I have in Overwatch (and every other game I play) is positive, particularly from other males.

But then again I pull my own weight and I’m actively good in what I play.

Your loss.

17 Likes