Are people not allowed to learn and grow? Do we not take the atmosphere and environment into consideration? Are we so quick to cancel, without option of redemption?
5 Likes
Welcome Back
2 Likes
Maybe Thrall gets his groove back?
3 Likes
He did know about it, but he didnât do anything about it. I think you make some valid points, but 20-30 years ago isnât some mystical Mad Men era. Metzen says there is no excuse, so why are you making excuses?
âThere is no excuse. We failed too many people when they needed us because we had the privilege of not noticing, not engaging, not creating necessary space for colleagues who needed us as leaders. I wish my apology could make any kind of difference. It canât.â
2 Likes
There is a wide scaling slide for what is socially acceptable/tolerable and what is downright wrong.
Take old cartoons for example. As a kid, the thought didnât cross my mind in the slightest that what I was watching was inherently racist, sexist, and stereotyped to the wazoo. I just enjoyed it innocently for what it was. As an adult with a lot more education and life experience under my belt, I can appreciate the finer nuances. I do not think the animators/producers and the like should be tossed in jail or be âcancelledâ or whatnot. Society wasnât there yet and those cartoons can serve as examples of how society has progressed and learned.
But on the other end, Iâm not too keen to give a nahtzee or a klansman a pass. You burned down black peopleâs homes? You should be in prison. You can, at best, get reformed and learn to respect or at least tolerate their existence and humanity after, but you still did blatantly illegal acts and should pay for it.
So like I said, and Iâm not going to keep typing it out, so long as Chris didnât DIRECTLY SA anyone and/or directly cover up or otherwise protect those that did and/or try and silence victims, heâs ok in my booksâŚnot pristine perfect because I would also argue he had a measure of responsibility to use his power and influence in defense of victims, but thatâs certainly a more nuanced take and one that has a lot more variables to consider so Iâm fine with it being âmyâ stance.
1 Like
Thatâs society today right there. You get one shot if you mess it up, youâre out.
4 Likes
Thatâs life, dude. Even Eminem knows that. You got one shot.
1 Like
Thatâs exactly it. At least heâs not Ion.
1 Like
And so he recognizes heâs failed as a leader and instead is back in the role of Creative Advisor, contributing to the narrative direction of the franchise without being in a leadership role. Seems reasonable to me.
I was ready for a giant turd of an announcement, but this actually made me smile. I hope that means Thrall will be back, in original, shaman glory (Iâm talking vanilla days. WCIII days).
4 Likes
Welcome back Metzen! Very excited for this.
5 Likes
Thank you for the Warcraft 2 - Tides of Darkness artwork.
2 Likes
You wouldnât have wanted to be a woman in the 1920âs lmaoâŚ
Mental gymnastics? You call acknowledging that the past was different is mental gymnastics?
3 Likes
Welcome back, Chris.
I am very happy to have you back.
5 Likes
I believe in redemption. He might not be able to be a leader again but I donât see why he can never touch Warcraft again just because he made mistakes in a role he never wanted (leading, rather than creating - the dude is an artist and storyteller at heart).
1 Like
Welcome to the new guy! 
Saying 20 years ago you couldnât speak up against predatory workplace behavior is mental gymnastics. It wasnât just women affected by this, it was men too.
3 Likes
This is why we have courts and judges. If you let the average numbnut on the internet who âread some thingsâ pass judgement, you get ding-dong stuff like this.
6 Likes
Who said anything about not letting Chris Metzen learn and grow? You need to learn the difference between being hesitant and outright blocking something out. Iâm not blocking Chris Metzen out. Iâve already said that this may come as a unique opportunity for him to right his wrongs and, for what itâs worth, I am interested in seeing where the franchise goes with his direction. Despite my concerns, Chris Metzen is most assuredly an excellent developer who has done a lot of good for the franchise.
But I think itâs somewhat bizarre how quick we are to immediately accept him with open arms, completely ignorant to the fact that he, despite having done nothing innately horrible, was still a leader at Blizzard when these things were happening and he did nothing. As of right now, Chris Metzen has done jack squat to demonstrate learning and growth outside of a semi-weak Twitter apology last year and one minor situation years back with his daughter asking about Alexstraszaâs getup. If thatâs enough for you, good for you then. Iâm a bit more cynical when it comes to video games and workplace culture since things like this are so heavily pervasive in the industry and still are to this day.
1 Like
The shift toward modern mores definitely started. But it existed mostly in paperwork. It takes a long time to actually change the lived culture.
A few weeks ago, I brought in a new employee. A week later, I hear he made a comment about his thoughts on the neckline of one of his coworkerâs shirts. Within fifteen minutes, we had security escort him off site. The culture has finally changed. We can get that done now. Easily, with support from all levels. Ten, fifteen years ago? Slap on the wrist and some ineffectual sensitivity training. Lip service was everywhere, but there was no true accountability yet.
I would certainly still feel awful if I had been put in a position like that. But I refuse to trash someone for being in that position through the lens of modern culture.