There is nothing wrong with acknowledging something exists. Yeah its blizzards rules (despite it not being in their rulebook) so thats that. But you are flat out wrong for insinuating that anyone who MENTIONS a virus is making light of it.
1 Like
It is, though:
Any name the player has the ability to customizeâsuch as player names, BattleTags, and guild namesâmust be appropriate and inoffensive. Any name that violates our standards or disrupts the community will be changed, and additional limitations may be placed on the offending account per our discretion.
And as I mentioned, given itâs a major point of contention within the two-party system of American politics, it is heavily divisive, thus inappropriate.
9 Likes
And I say again-- it doesnât have to be offensive to be in appropriate for the game. You seem to be hung up on this word so Iâll let you get back to being offended about literally anything, as you put it. In this case, not being on your side of the field.
I canât abuse things I donât have the ability to report, however. Just for future reference.
Best of luck!
9 Likes
Take care, mate!
1 Like
There is nothing offensive about the word cancer either but that doesnât mean itâs acceptable to parade a pet around with cancer as the name.
You donât get free speech everywhere you go by the way. You get censored when you are at school, work, and other places. Just because you like something doesnât mean a room full of strangers will like it too.
I get why someone who has never been affected by covid or cancer would find nothing wrong with doing this. By âaffectedâ I mean you may not have lost a loved one to them. Others have and tend to have more feelings about hearing or seeing the words you find unoffensive.
I just want people to think before they type out a name that will be seen by other people. I hope you will take this as advice for future names in a game that is meant to be played for fun, not just for you but others who play the game too.
12 Likes
Inappropriate*
Remember, inappropriate doesnât necessarily mean offensive or even upsetting, it may simply be someone just didnât think it was appropriate to see in game. Maybe they just didnât like being reminded of a real ongoing natural disaster. Not offended or even particularly upset, just something they didnât want to see.
taking offense at the word covid, or even cancer, is purely juvenile, and unworthy of praise
Taking offense at being told to change the name and not doing as youâre told in someoneâs private property is also purely juvenile and unworthy of praise. Naming infractions are allowed a name change first before actions are taken. If you did indeed get a 24 hour suspension, then thatâs because you decided to not accept the gesture of goodwill and kept doing what youâre doing. Listening to others and tolerating their viewpoints is a key skill. Throwing a tantrum on the forums is, in my eyes, the only thing âjuvenileâ here. But itâs really not a matter of âmoral high groundâ. Itâs about breaking agreements; you agreed to follow WoWâs rules, you agreed to do as youâre told if a GM asks you to, you didnât, and now here you are.
You may always appeal the decision, and if it gets lifted then hey, you were right, we were wrong. But it does seem thereâs a history of support staff upholding the decision to not allow COVID references in names. Iâd take the learning experience to heart.
Note to readers: I did respond to two different people, apologies for any confusion that might cause. Second quote is threadâs OP.
8 Likes
Well if itâs childish and juvenile to explain what the problem is with examples I guess I am unworthy of praise.
Just an FYI, when someone loses an argument they resort to name-calling. But thanks for thinking of me as childish and juvenile, Iâll take that one on the chin with a 
Good luck on your journey through life.
1 Like
My mother in-law died of cancer. My wife nearly died of breast cancer. My dad nearly died from lung cancer, and my father-in-law is currently battling skin cancer.
So, yes, I think itâs puerile and juvenile for one to parade around the fact that they think appropriate names for WoW combat pets are killer diseases.
Ditto COVID.
You keep talking about moral highground, but you show no empathy whatsoever for those who might find your naming conventions unsettling or inappropriate. Showing empathy and sympathy are signs of solid morals and ethics.
Ignoring empathy and sympathy, on the other hand, are indicators of sociopathy.
In this case, a reasonable person swallows their insistence on having edgy names, apologizes (ideally) and moves on. Now, have some respect. Choose better names.
16 Likes
If I was told to change the name I would have. I was banned with zero prior notice that the name was not allowed. Appreciate the assumption though!
Have you been actioned before for naming violations?
5 Likes
We donât know what the reporter thought the word to be. They may have just thought it inappropriate, they may have been offended by it. They are not so far removed from one another but as neither of us were likely the reporter of OPâs pet, the intent behind the report will never be known. The OP, however, referred to it as being
So that is why I carried the use down into my own post. I actually used both inappropriate and offensive as I chose and meant to do.
You were suspended. Since apparently tonight is the night to nitpick over word usage, a suspension is for a predetermined set of time with a set end. A ban is permanent account closure with no definable end.
But with name and social violations, youâre generally given a warning. Even if you were given a warning and forced name change several years ago, that mark remains against your account and all social violations do stack and double each time. So either youâve had a warning or a period where you were silenced in-game prior to this. After those, it moves to a suspension. If this day long suspension is upheld, youâll be facing a weekâs suspension with the next violation.
10 Likes
The fact that you were suspended for 24 hours is indicative of a history of making poor choices when selecting names, and a pattern of behavior. If you continue to make inappropriate choices, you can expect the next suspension to be at least a week.
7 Likes
Some of us lost people we loved and cared about from this pandemic, and you dont understand why the name is not permitted? Really? If you ask me, you got off easy with 24 hours.
8 Likes
Guild name is questionable too - probably thinks itâs funny.
4 Likes
if you got a 24 hour suspension, you have had past naming violations (pet or character) as 1st offense is a forced name change.
2 Likes
Frankly I donât believe you. People in your position are rarely truthful, but it doesnât really matter. You can submit appeals until youâre told to stop, even after the suspension completes.
4 Likes
Alright. I think itâs about time to lock this one up. I did want to cover a few things though.
A name doesnât need to be a slur or otherwise considered offensive to simply be considered inappropriate.
No, you wouldnât. We donât provide specific examples of names or a list of what may or may not be appropriate. It is a general definition. Specifically,
must be appropriate and inoffensive. Any name that violates our standards or disrupts the community will be changed, and additional limitations may be placed on the offending account per our discretion.
Naming a character, pet, guild, etc⌠after something that has a very real and recent history that has impacted billions, killing millions, just isnât appropriate.
If you had named your pet âFluâ it likely wouldnât have been an issue, nor would something more general like âPlagueâ.
No one is pretending it doesnât exist, but you arenât having a discussion about it, you are using it as a name.
As a matter of fact, our In-Game Code of Conduct does not specifically reference slurs. It is a reference for a myriad of possible names, words and phrases that could be considered inappropriate.
Additionally, you are welcome to say that âyouâ donât find the name offensive, but your opinion isnât the only one that matters here. There are a good number of folks, as illustrated in this thread, that do believe using the word is offensive.
That is entirely up to you, Refrigerated, but for a clearer picture⌠We usually do provide a warning for the first offense. As the others pointed out, if you have been suspended this is likely not your first.
In fact, not only have you been warned about inappropriate names before, but the name you were warned for was the same name as this time. So it seems that you absolutely were warned prior to this.
If you wish to appeal this decision, the only appropriate means to do so would be to submit an appeal. Though given the history here, I donât know how likely it would be that this is overturned, but youâll need to wait for your ticket to be answered.
34 Likes