Using accusations of moral failure and encouraging others to socially censure said accusations of moral failure as a cudgel to shut down debate predates these lawsuits by a lot. It’s an inherent byproduct of an environment where there is both anonymity and (especially) an audience.
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If I walk into a party and yell “Anyone who is wearing knee-high socks is someone who enjoys killing cats” and manage to get a few other folks in the party to stand up and say “yeah that guys right, screw knee-high sock wearers!” nobody in that environment is going to contest the notion that wearing knee-high socks makes you a cat-killer, nor openly admit to wearing knee-high socks, even though the argument is completely absurd.
Because that’s how crowd psychology works.
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The conversations were being had, but not with this much activity. The lawsuits really put a huge set of binoculars on them so more people are discussing it.
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They also provided a convenient opening for bad-faith accusations of IRL moral failure to serve as ways for manipulative people to try to advance their stupid lore crusades.
Case in point:
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WotLK:
Me: “Yeah, they are setting up Garrosh to be the next big bad.”
Playerbase: “YOU JUST HAVE ALLIANCE BIAS!”
Cata:
Me: “Yeah, Garrosh is going to get into some Old God stuff”
Playerbase: “STONETALON! GARROSH HAS HONOR!”
MOP:
Me: “Notice how Tyrande and Night Elf women in general only exist as a narrative mcguffin foR their male counterparts or male non-nelves. It seems like a reoccurring pattern.”
Playerbase: “GAMERGATE! STOP MAKING UP THINGS TO BE MAD AT!”
WOD:
Me: “I know Vol’jin was made Warcheif, but personally, I think Sylvanas would be more interesting. If Blizzard did it right.”
Playerbase: “THEY’LL NEVER DO THAT! SYLVANAS CAN’T BE TRUSTED! THE HORDE WOULD NEVER FOLLOW HER!”
Legion:
Me: “Notice how the last few expansions, the Alliance has been more and more homogenized into human culture? I think at this point, Blizz should abandon the factions. Ditch the Faction conflicts. Allow all races their one racial identities instead of a faction identity.”
Playerbase: “IT’S NOT WARCRAFT WITHOUT A FACTION CONFLICT! IT IS WORLD OF WARCRAFT, NOT WORLD OF PEACECRAFT!”
BFA:
Me: “Okay, Blizzard has essentially did everything I said they SHOULDN’T do. And now they have written themselves into a corner where they couldn’t possible satisfy all parties.”
Playerbase: “YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE END YET! WAIT AND SEE!”
Shadowlands:
Me: “Okay… So, Blizzard writes female characters either as narrative Mcguffins for Male characters, or write them as unstable and emotional nut jobs with little to no self control or discipline. They continuously rake them over the Trauma coals then criticize or villainize when they speak or act out against those who wronged them, usually with some BS ‘Vengence isn’t the answer’ moral. Are we ready to talk about a sexist Corporate culture yet?”
Playerbase: “YOU SEE WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE! THAT DOESN’T MEAN THE PATTERNS ARE REALLY THERE! TAKE YOUR FEMINISM SOMEWHERE ELSE!”
Lawsuit
Me: 
Playerbase: 
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Now apply your logic to the racial/ethnic codification of the various playable races.
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Nah. /10char
And discern what from that, exactly?
That the corporate culture is also racist within blizzard.
Otherwise you’re just doing a big “I can tolerate racist stories, but draw the line at misogynistic stories”
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The stories themselves isn’t so much the problem as much as the portrayal of the characters, and the narrative role they serve. Off the top of my head, I am not recalling much in the way of heinously racist portrayals in the Warcraft setting. At least nothing that was specifically making a particular irl race the butt of the joke.
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Case in point lmao
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Give me an example then, if I am not seeing something I should be.
Hmm yes I see
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Ainhin desperately trying to hide his pain.
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If you think you’re so great go get a writing job at Blizzard and stop constructing some disingenuous narrative about a decade of you warring against the entire playerbase.
What an ego lol
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And as everyone can see, the war continue to this very day. More than a decade I have warred tirelessly against these vermin… Greedily, they covet my super, titan sized, galaxy brain. But they shall not have it. I am resolute in my cause. A great bastion against the hordes of ignorance and fanboyism. I will not relent. I shall not surrender. I shall fight and bleed until victory or death.
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This is baalsamael the guy literally just goes “No you are wrong lmao”
everytime he gets called out on being a racist or just an Erevien poster.
And then he goes back to his corner and starts liking posts because he cant fight his own battles.
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And as they say that which can be proven without proof can also be proven without it.
…do people just not remember the fact the Night Elves still have a stronghold?
Feathermoon Stronghold still exists. It’s was rebuilt after the Cataclysm destroyed the original one.
On top of that, Hyjal houses a lot of Night Elves.
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But this isnt an “ideal world” or even the world where this idea would have grown organically. As the original human city in a medieval setting/Warhammer clone it being some sort of generic medieval city just happened to “fit” what it was suppose to be.
Or not. Look these characters are already established. Adding new characters like say Cariel Roeme or Makasa Flintwill ingame and developing them to the extent of any major lore figure seems like a better aand ultimately less controversial fit,