Doesn’t matter its there for a reason, he’s playing politics here.
No, you don’t need to be an adult to play. You need to be an adult to create a Battlenet account and agree to a contract (the EULA). Parents accept that for their minor child that they allow to play.
As for the filter, no, that does not excuse people breaking the rules that they agreed to. Never has been permission to do so.
No, it really does not mean it is allowed. It exists because some people can’t follow the rules they agreed to. Going all the way back to 2004. This post is from 2006.
EDIT: I see nobully already posted that example. Ah well. Leaving it in there.
I will give another more recent one 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.
while we’re on a roll, I’ll add this, too.
When participating in communication of any kind (chat, voice communication, group finder), you are responsible for how you express yourself. You may not use language that could be offensive or vulgar to others.
Hate speech and discriminatory language is inappropriate, as is any obscene or disruptive language. Threatening or harassing another player is always unacceptable, regardless of language used.
You have agreed to this.
You don’t get to decide that it’s something “political” which exists to oppress or suppress you.
source:
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Their forums, their rules. Play ball or get suspensions.
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ActiBlizz’s “My house, my rules” policy is perfectly acceptable. Think of it this way, would you come into my house and start talking trash? No, no you would most definitely not do that. Not without serious, possibly long term debilitating consequences. So, I get why ActiBlizz enforces their policies on the forums the way they do.
Do I agree with their viewpoint on most things? Hell no, in fact, I am proud to say I am probably one of their biggest critics. However, other players opinions should never come into account in this matter.
Semper Fi! 
I think about the arcade days. Run your mouth, don’t be surprised when someone wants to cash that check.
I agree the forums do have a bias, but it’s not my playground.
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The Constitution is a 250-year old piece of paper written by people who couldn’t pass a high-school equivalency test today, and we worship it like a religion.
That’s my honest opinion. Half of it is nonsense that doesn’t apply 250 years after it was written.
The whole “freedom of speech” thing is great, but it needs to be re-written so as to apply to the different forms of communication we have today, and it needs to CLEARLY re-iterate the distinction between public and private, because many people don’t get it today.
(Places like the WoW forums and Twitter are private, folks. They can censor any which way they choose on any topic and in any manner they see fit.)
Get rid of the gun nonsense, it no longer applies. The “founding fathers” had no idea of how things would be in the 21st century, and if they had half a brain (even by 1787 standards) they wouldn’t have used such gorram dubious grammar. The sentence that causes all of the controversy isn’t even a complete sentence.
There ya go, honest.
Yep, in total agreement here, hoss. I may not agree with ActiBlizz’s hopelessly woke viewpoint and bias,
Semper Fi!
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this signing off doesn’t seem to fit properly with the name…
all you sneaky people changing your posting characters while i was hibernating!!
heres my free speech, please go away
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Agreed, but for the sake of being pedantic anything can potentially be offensive to someone. They should be more clear on what constitutes as offensive.
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the second line does that.
…but in the big scheme of things, Blizz are always intentionally ambiguous.
They’ve been around long enough to know that if they attempt to be specific, people will play devils advocate or rules-lawyer.
It’s easier to remain vague, so they have wiggle room when people want to try new and creative ways of breaking the rules.
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Dear god we are STILL having this discussion. The First Amendment and the PHILOSOPHY of “free speech” are not the same thing. The former protects you from government persecution and/or punishment. Your opinion on the later is not something any company is required to agree with. If you want to say whatever you want, go to the RPGCodex. You have options. WoW isn’t one of them. Either deal with it or take hike. Your choice.
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Why thank you Sedaria, I didn’t know about the RPGCodex website forum. I took a quick look at it and it looks very promising. The forum specializes in the general RPG player sphere of discussion. I think I might join the discussions there as well.
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A late reply here:
I often see the opinion expressed that activism should not exist for issues that were settled in the distance past. I agree, with the caveat that “the distance past” is defined as something I don’t personally remember.
I was 10 years old when Illinois became the first US state where adult consensual same sex intimacy was no longer something you could be arrested and jailed for under criminal law. I was 13 when Jim Crow laws were struck down, I had personally witnessed them applied. I was 16 when miscegenation became legal in all states. I was 52 years old when adult consensual same sex intimacy became legal in all states.
Same-sex marriage only became legal in all states in 2015 and a member of the current Supreme Court has publicly declared that that decision was wrong and should be revisited. In fact, all of the above listed changes continue to be challenged and still could be overturned.
So, although these aren’t on the top of my personal list of issues, I’m not bothered by, in fact am sympathetic to, the people impacted by the old laws actively highlighting these issues.
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WoW forum Moderators are doing the same thing the government is doing. They are trying very hard to walk the fine line between being too permissive and letting chaos rule. And being too restrictive and becoming oppressive.
It is not an easy balance to maintain. It’s like what some in here have talked about as parents. Does a good parent let their children do whatever they want? Or do they set guidelines. Just take this analogy to a society wide issue. There are no easy answers.
Wow’s forum moderators are doing the best they can with a difficult issue.
In my opinion the moderators are succeeding in their mission.
Wish I could agree, because that’s how Moderators are supposed to work.
When a line from Warcraft III such as the Mortar Team gets deemed Trolling, I have to disagree and assume it was motivated by ulterior motives such as politics / ideology, a sheer need for control; or if neither… Then someone with a serious amount of personal loathing toward their employment.
No really. Unless it’s Lord Garithos, or the Silverpine / Garrosh removed lines, linking a quotation from Warcraft III in good humor, ought to be completely permissible on the forums for… …World of Warcraft.
If it isn’t? Well I don’t know what else can be said.
in the us public schools have slowly been turned in to daycare centers with the bare minimum of education. A stupid populous is easier to control then an educated one.
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I agree with you for the most part – there are types of speech that are banned though (inciting a riot, defamation, etc…)
That beings said, Blizzard is not a governmental entity or the public square, so the 1st amendment does not apply to a private company’s forums. You are paying to post here.
Social media has grown to the point where it should be considered a public forum, but these forums are not the same.
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This is the funny thing the freeze peach gang seems to forget.
Forcing businesses to platform them would just lead to them closing the platform down if they don’t want to.