Policy clarification please—3rd-party promotion in-game by add-on

Guides UI and Macro
1

I have seen the comments on DCS’ web page. Do not bring any antagonistic behavior, overt or insinuated, to this thread. Frankly, I do not even want user comments—this is a question only Blizzard is able to answer. I am only posting publicly as proof that I have asked the question.

For context, the add-on in question is DejaCharacterStats (DCS), a very popular add-on hosted by CurseForge that modifies and can customize the character sheet.

Specifically, my question is thus: are add-ons permitted to promote/advertise charities, organizations, groups, etc., inside World of Warcraft?

There has been much back-and-forth in the comments section (some polite but mostly impolite) over DCS’ recent update. The latest build, r902, included code that displays the name and information of several non-profit organizations in the player’s character statistic panel, under the hashtag “ActiBlizzWalkout.”

Images from in-game screenshots hosted on Imgur (remove the extra space):

  • i.imgur. com/DNZlPVg.jpg

  • imgur. com/XHrz0BH.jpg

  • i.imgur. com/kcf4R6c.jpg

  • i.imgur. com/mkj5twc.jpg

  • i.imgur. com/ZK8GsWw.jpg

  • i.imgur. com/lQilGl6.jpg

I object to it because I feel it breaks two rules of the UI Addon Development Policy. (I personally object to the content itself, too, for personal reasons that I will not detail here; it would only be a distraction.)

I use Merriam-Webster’s dictionary definition from which I conclude that the add-on is ‘advertising’ a good or service.

Does the add-on author belong to any of the charities, organizations, etc. that are being advertised? Where has the add-on author explicitly stated they are not employed by or an affiliate of any of those groups in the list? Does any such disclaimer count if it is on the CurseForge page, or does it need to be visible in the game itself? Is the organization legitimate, and, if so, then what if the URL leads to a compromised or fake web site? And that is just the start of the questions!

I am not saying that any of the above specifically apply to the situation with DCS, but these are the questions that all of us must ask if DCS is permitted to set this precedent.

Yes, I am the user that installed DCS and the WoW player using it. Yes, I am able to toggle off their display in the same update that added them. Neither of those is the point.

To repeat the question (since I just posted images and a wall of text):

Are add-ons permitted to promote/advertise charities, organizations, groups, etc., inside World of Warcraft?

  • If yes, then what are the rules and guidelines for it?
  • If no, then how does Blizzard plan to address this particular add-on and any future case?



There is nothing more to see.

1 Like
3

Using a dictionary definition of a word plucked from a legal document is a fast way to misunderstanding. Blizzard clarifies the meaning of “advertising” to be “Add-ons may not be used to advertise any goods or services” and there is no good or service being advertised in those GWOTs.

Yes, I took the time to look at every one of them - it would be easier if you bracketed the proper links in triple grave marks (the backwards apostrophe) so a straight cut-and-paste will work.

Likewise there is no solicitation. Even the RAINN text only describes the percentage of each donation that goes to its stated purpose.

Additionally, these are not pumping these advertisements into chat anywhere (if they were, I’d say there was a legitimate case for them being disruptive).

You’re free to use the addons or not and if you choose to use them you’re free to disable the text (you’d have to have the skills to do so, but I can’t imagine that it would be difficult) as ALL addons have to be code-transparent (editable by anyone).

“Promotion” of a charity is not against the rules (again, provided the promotion is not dumped into channel chat - that could easily be considered disruptive - certainly as disruptive as the endless pro-Trump bile spewed by the trolls in trade chat).

Why anyone would have a problem with RAINN I can’t imagine.

The pro-women GWOTs are a bit misleading in that women have always had a career path open to them that men generally have not - marrying into support and security (yes, it’s possible for men, no, it doesn’t happen with the same regularity that it does for women).

The “70 cents on the dollar” thing is a similar issue as it really doesn’t account for women who choose to take time out of their careers to have children - something men, again, do not have the opportunity to do. Take enough time out of work and you lose seniority, experience, and opportunities - which directly impact earnings potential.

I worked in IT for 30 years as a consultant and I never met a woman in a job similar to mine who didn’t bill for the exact same rate I did. The marketplace really doesn’t care about gender.

Prior to my time in IT, I worked in fast food and managing a chain of convenience stores. I never once saw any directive from corporate that said, “Pay women less”. Pay was directly linked to relevant metrics like “showed up on time x percent” and “had x cash over/undercounts” and the like. Being an innie vs an outie was never part of the equation.

I’m all for equal pay for equal work, equal experience, and equal dedication to the job (willingness and ability to work off-shift at need, for example).

I’m not entirely sanguine about equating “equal pay for equal work” with “equal pay for equal hours worked” because they’re not the same thing. In an on-call environment (for example), someone willing and able to come in at 2 in the morning on no notice is worth more - plain and simple - and second-income earners in a marriage (more often women than men) generally aren’t able to do that if they have children to care for.

That’s reality and it’s also not accounted for in the discussion about “equal pay for equal work” - it’s a gross oversimplification to look at the first-order numbers and claim that women are being mistreated in the workplace.

As to the rest, they seem well-meaning and while they may irritate some right-wing snowflakes out there, they’re not violations of the rules as the rules are written. If there is a trend towards doing more of this and the user community becomes upset by that, Blizzard might change the rules to deal with it - but honestly, just ripping out the offending code is probably a simpler solution on a case by case, user by user basis.

Edited to add: If it bothers you that much…

  • Navigate to your AddOns file under your …_retail_/Interface/ folder
  • Open the folder for DejaCharacterStats
  • Edit the DCSLayouts.lua file IN NOTEPAD (not Wordpad or Word or Open Office - has to be a TEXT editor, not a WORD PROCESSOR)
  • Delete lines 222-224

That’ll prevent the whole lot of them from appearing, ever.

4

Just uninstall it.

When they see their coveted amount of installs dropping, they may learn a lesson.

1 Like
5

Then you posted in the wrong forum. You won’t get any answers from Blizzard here, you’re just talking to other users.

And I suspect you’re only complaining because the charities in question are not to your liking.

But to give you the benefit of the doubt & answer the question seriously: My personal interpretation of the rules you quoted is that Blizzard doesn’t want developers advertising for goods & services that they provide (and financially benefit from) or to solicit users for direct donations to the developer. If users donate to the charities mentioned in DCS it doesn’t put money into the addon developer’s pocket AFAIK. If the developer was a paid employee of one of those organizations, that would be over the line. But short of that, I’m OK with it.

I would also be very, very surprised if this was the first time since 2004 that an addon had included some kind of ad for a charitable organization, or if Blizzard had never anticipated this. I think if Blizzard wanted to ban ads for charity they would have explicitly included that in the rules.

6

Not by the UI policy no.

Would be up to Blizzard to decide.

Try reporting it to WoWUI@blizzard.com

7

That’s an oversimplification - the policy is quite clear and quite specific and as I explained this one does not . . . quite . . . violate it.

If Blizzard wanted no promotions at all, they could have simply said so. They did not.

8

By your opinion maybe.

But that really doesn’t matter - Blizzard are the ultimate arbitrators of what they like and not like to see in game. If they feel it’s against what they like to see in game they’ll take whatever action they feel is necessary. Up to and including … nothing at all.

The best thing to do is let the UI team know about via the email above and let them deal with it.

9

And it’s your opinion that it’s not.

Given that the plain text reading of the rule as written does not prohibit this behavior in addons, I’d say I’m probably closer than you are on this.