Okay I am old, slow, and a mediocre player that has been playing blizzard games since the inception. I love the game. It was created by brilliant people. The thing I miss most about this game is the inability to freely communicate with other players in the community while I am waiting to play a game. No one talks and it is a very dry environment. It seems to me that everyone is terrified of being politically incorrect. The game site appears to be autocratic verses the old freewheeling flux of old. Freedom of expression is squelched and staid. Because of the abuse of the few we are subjected to being placed in a very dark environment of silence. There has to be a solution so people can communicate freely. Please donât ban me for observing that Blizzard is indoctrinating people to the idea that silencing freedom of expression is okay because it puts us in a safe space.
Uhm⌠What?
First of all, freedom of speech does not apply here or in the game, Blizzard/Microsoft has the right to control (and in some cases, legal responsibility to) what you can and canât do on their platforms.
Second, no one is being squelched, no one is afraid of anything, people just donât chat in the lobby because they have no reason to. Your observations are based on false premises but you havenât broken any rules, so I donât see why youâd get banned. But your post makes no sense, the lack of chat in game has nothing to do with any restrictions. Nothing has changed with the game from old to new. Your notion that people are afraid to talk is false.
ok bozo have you seen how many people use slurs on bnet
Just because someone has the right does not make it right. Slurs are part of life and the act of controlling speech is repressive and autocratic. Rejoice that slurs are slung because that is a celebration that freedom and liberty is well and good.
Virtually every game on the market with online chat has filters for cursing. This is not a free speech issue. If you make a game you can absolutely control what people say on it, and in fact many countries have laws that obligate you to control such things, especially if minor children are able to play. This isnât unique to Warcraft III and this forum isnât a platform for political silliness.
And even if free speech laws did apply in this environment, just becuase you can say something doesnât mean you should.
And in no context in this universe should we be celebrating that âslurs are slung.â Again- Just because you can do something doesnât mean you should or that it is ârightâ to. Itâs also not a matter of repression. I donât feel ârepressedâ because someoneâs hate speech is filtered. The only repression occuring this game is when you repeatedly click on Peasants while playing the game.
nah this is dumb as hell
A slur upon your family
And a delicious dinner
Now, have I hurt you by using my freedom of speech?
Just because you have the freedom doesnât mean you donât have the responsibility associated with it. And enforcing that responsibility through anonymous channels like the internet is exceedingly difficult.
Paradox of Tolerance says hello. To have true freedom, one must know what is not acceptable. Slurs are one such thing. If your only response to something is slurs and insults, itâs better you donât say anything at all.
What does âfreedomâ even mean if youâre saying I am also obligated to only use the freedom how you want?
About a year ago, when I was forced to use Microsoft software for something where I wanted to use a different program instead, I opened up the YouTube video with ID NaFd8ucHLuo and then I listened to this video on loop while I thought about Microsoft and how I feel about their company. Whatâs the problem with that? Do you want to take away my freedom?
They only want freedom for themselves, to heck with anyone elseâs.
O yes. It has changed. There are tons of sissies playing now that dont want their little feelers hurt so they need a report button. Thats controlling freedom of speech and hate to tell u, Freedom of speech is part of the law of the land not a dumb policy. 
cannot even type the word donkey on here without being flagged. Thats controlled speech. U kids just wont get it til its to late for u all.
- telling people not to be butts is not controlling speech. Youâre not under any obligation to listen, that doesnât mean that it isnât a bad idea.
- In the US, the 1st Amendement restrains the government, not anyone else. The 1st Amendment means the government canât pass laws to specifically restrict speech or the press. individuals and private busnesses are NOT subject to this. Companies like Microsoft and Blizzard absolutely have the right to decide what can be said or not said on their platforms, just as you and I have the right to kick people out/off our property if they break the rules of our household (such as âdont be a buttâ).
- What I just said only applies to the US. Many people on this forum are not from the US and even if freedom of speech was applicable on this forum (itâs not), the law of the land is different in other countries from the US.
- When you sign up for a Battle.net account (used to sign in to this forum) you EXPLICITLY AGREE to the Terms of Service which includes the rules which govern this forum. If you donât like their rules against typing certain words, you should not have signed up. And since you specifically agreed to their rules when you signed up, you agree that they can suspend or ban you for any reason they like. Again, they are a business and they can choose to do or not do business with whoever they like.
And yes, that applies to me too, I was banned for 2 weeks for âthreatsâ (it was a joke, but their rules are clear and they treat all threats as serious regardless of context), so before you say something stupid like âyou must work for Blizzardâ, no I donât and Iâm not immune to their rules either.
If I remember correctly, the first amendment does apply to so-called âcommon carriersâ (the definition of which is something of a legal grey area); however, this clearly does not extend to sites as specialized as in-game chats or game forums. I think Blizzardâs terms of service already make that clear.
Microsoft isnât a common carrier. This term refers to things like utilities such as telephone service and electricity. Private businesses and most corporations are not restrained by the first amendment.
This is an extremely common misunderstanding of the so called right to free speech. Itâs really an implied right based on the Constitution restraining the governmentâs ability to dictate what people and the press can and canât say.
The first amendment means the government canât pass a law that says âwe hereby decree you canât say the F word without our permission.â It does NOT say that you, me, or, for example, a business such as Microsoft/Activision/Blizzard canât make a rule against saying the F word on their forums. It also does not prevent someone like me from considering someone a tresspasser if I have rules about what people say or do on my own property. Similarly, a business, such as Walmart for example, can call the police to have someone removed if theyâre going around the store cursing up a storm and people object to that. Such things do not violate the first amendment because, as I said earlier, the first amendment RESTRICTS THE GOVERNMENT from making laws that explicitly curb free speech.
Like 90% of the people who throw around free speech complaints do not know at all how these things actually work.
why are you bumping this thread? especially with this booty opinion girl go outside
Probably just baiting me, but I was happy to oblige lol