And the red flag was the automatic silence feature they added. If there’s a pathway for vengeance over trivial things, some people will take it.
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Exactly, I am already prepared to interact ALOT less because I can imagine an interaction like this:
I join a pug dungeon group for M+, I see another group member and I say “Hey I really like your character’s mog, she looks really good.” and that person saying “DID YOU JUST ASSUME MY CHARACTERS’ GENDER?! RACIST!!!” and proceed to have their entire guild mass report and ban me.
There are situations that no matter what you say they will be offended and to quote the ‘social contract’ “Perceive behavior to be disruptive”. NO ‘contract’ should ever leave something up to an individual’s personal perception. It will 100% be abused.
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Can you refund my subscription then? I do not agree with leftist ideals and I have zero interest in supporting something that resorts to fascistic tactics to force me to accept them.
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So basically, just say HI and nothing else when in a pug group…yea i mean this could never be abused
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Wish I had that experience 
both times I was told too bad too sad haha.
#$%! Oh my God hope i did not offend any one. Society has been so dumb down now it begins in game. You can simply block said person or select no profanity. Pethetic
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You agreed not to use profanity, or masked profanity, in game. This has been the case since 2004, even if you were not aware of it. Blizz reacts to reports, so it is up to players to decide if they want to report something. Regarding the filter, no, it does not mean you can break the rules. Spotlight on: Harassment
Mature Language Filter (aka The Profanity Filter)
This can be activated within your Interface Options: Main menu (ESC key by default) Click Interface > Social and check - Mature Language Filter.
Once enabled, all inappropriate words in our profanity database will be filtered and masked to appear as jumbled characters, such as ‘*##@&’.
Note: The filter does not excuse the language used. The filter serves as a temporary shield, to help parents of minors and others who do not wish to see it, to block it. Our policies prohibit the use of both clear and masked inappropriate language.
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You have agreed to the same rules since 2004. If you find you no longer agree, you can consult the refund policy. If you qualify for one, you can use the ticket system to request one. There is an automated tool that grants them if qualified, or you can appeal and have a GM review it.
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The ticket process is on the loading screen. They could make it anything they wanted. But they chose the leftist policy of a social contract. There is debate as to it being invented by mao or Marx, nonetheless it is still leftist. Politics don’t belong in video games so I am voting with my wallet.
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joins lfg pug
Hi, guys!
gets banned for transphobia
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My point exactly. I 100% guarantee this will be happening.
I, for one, am interested to see how this plays out, beginning with the social contract acceptance window upon logging in. I’m wondering whether it will be a collection of concise statements (with some educative value for those unaware) or some unruly wall of text, reminiscent of any ToS most just blindly accept. I think if it’s the latter, this entire exercise is just a means to further legitimize the ban bat and not truly aimed at improving player behavior. Either way, I’m guessing we’ll see, this evening?
I believe the bigger issue, however, is not what we players actually see but, rather, what goes on after we send a report. Historically, I think enforcement has been inconsistent. Over the years, I’m sure many of us have seen people get away with bloody murder, griefing, spamming, yelling obscenities, bullying, etc., with seeming impunity. This is not to mention the botting boomchickens that litter the landscape…or skycoach, wowcarry, and their ilk that infect our LFG on a daily basis. But your friend types characters that translate into something about an orc mother’s rear to the Horde during PvP, and he gets the ban bat for a week. (Oddly specific, I know.)
Now, I don’t know exactly what is going on behind the scenes, because…I don’t work for Blizzard. However, given what we do see (i.e. the results of that behind-the-scenes goings on), I tend to believe that Blizzard likely does not employ enough people to moderate effectively; staffing is not commensurate to the workload. Given that I’ve had some very…special…interactions (not even disciplinary) with GMs, myself, and I’m guessing a great many of you have, as well, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that consistent training and oversight are likely lacking. Moreover, I don’t mean to suggest that it’s the GMs’ faults, because I would also assume that, as an organization, Blizzard may not have clearly set standards for enforcement…or even behavioral expectations for interactions with consumers.
As I said, I’m interested to see how this plays out, but I’m not sure labeling consumers as the problem, as undesirables that need to be purged, is the way to go. That sort of jumps all the other steps of effectively managing people.
- Clearly state expectations.
- Identify performance issues.
- Identify the cause of the issue. (Is the person unable to meet standards? If so, educate, train, offer assistance/accommodations, etc. Is the person unwilling to meet standards? If so, proceed to progressive disciplinary action, while attempting to maintain a positive rapport.)
- Terminate the relationship as a last resort.
I’m all for positivity and stopping the toxic behavior, but reading the contract looks like a child’s first day of 2nd grade.
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[quote=“Estyxium-fizzcrank, post:1012, topic:1249578”]
As I said, I’m interested to see how this plays out, but I’m not sure labeling consumers as the problem, as undesirables that need to be purged, is the way to go. That sort of jumps all the other steps of effectively managing people.[/quote]
Who labels who as undesirable. Folks can keep saying ‘omg wow has had humans review before bans for years!’ The sad part is that they haven’t, and there have been PLENTY of examples of this posted in this thread.
They haven’t. As soon as you bring out the items like “hateful speech” and it’s undefined, that leaves it open to interpretation for whomever is behind the keyboard to do what they want. That’s not good for the players, especially those who may have differing opinions from that of the “GM”.
The game is down again already because of performance issues. We had Beta for Azeroth and now BetaLands. This is getting anemic and close to pathetic.
I don’t think ANYONE in their right mind would take a video game company with a vast history of abuse, harassment and looking the other way, up on getting training, education or assistance. Since Blizzard has not CLEARLY identified their meanings of “hateful speech”, which is just blanket umbrella for them to ban anyone with “wrong think”, no, you can keep that.
And progressive disciplinary action? How about we all grow up, players use functions available to them since 2004, and we all be adults. Let’s PROGESSIVELY get back to that point.
Agreed here, but we shouldn’t even get this close to something like this, it’s a game with features available for players who are sensitive to use to protect themselves. As said by several others, Blizzard trying to act as corporate nannies will not bring people back to the game, it will drive others out. The game hasn’t had disappointing sub numbers because “omg they hurt my feelings” speech, it’s because the game has had over done systems, bad world content and much more, but its all from a game design situation.
You were Silenced, not banned. Let’s not conflate the two.
You self admit that these posts (that you created) were reported on, and you’re telling me you can’t see the problem with the last two? Yes, I reordered it, to clarify which ones I’m referring to.
Doesn’t matter if it’s a bot or person, you’re not supposed to be cursing.
Nobody “abused”, anything. You called people “dense” and to “grow up”. You (also) swore, by your own admission.
LOL yes, you did.
But, you can do dungeons, quest, explore, etc.
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just for you blizzard i turned off all my chat say,whispers,zone,general and trade.
That seems to be the way many of one side of the spectrum see people. There are the Uber Alles and then the plebs to be treated like dumb children. It’s quite odd when a business treats their customers like dumb children.
That picture makes no sense, Horde players can’t even see what Alliance people are saying to them.
True. We have had the same rules since 2004. Same report system for over 10 years now as well.
The rest of your comment, well, act like that around strangers in public IRL, or in most work places, etc - and there are consequences. Nobody has to have their feelings hurt to decide someone is objectionable and not want them around.
My long dead grandparents would be shocked to find out that manners are “woke”.
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