Open and helpful communities
I saw a post come across my dash which the main point discussed the images of two women kissing in front of an anti-LGBT protest. They were counter protesting, and it was making it's way around the Internet. Lo and behold, it turns out the two women were straight, which for some meant the images became invalid. Most of this was coming from one user, whom I will refrain from mentioning here (it's the in the list of those who posted), who seemed appalled that two straight women would attempt to derail and take credit for pro-LGBT side of things.
the-real-seebs put up a pretty good rant on it, but added as well into the fact that the person who asked the question why two straight people suddenly get a lot of credit, that the-real-seebs checked their about information and found they support Blizzard Entertainment and play WoW. I couldn't find that when I went to check out their page, so they may have taken that down since then, however...
Now, personally, WoW can take a mighty leap from a tall bridge and I'd never blink an eye. I tried playing the game and find it... really dull. Also, incredibly unhelpful within the community, especially for someone just getting into it. So, I never darkened that door again. Which I guess is why I do like Guild Wars 2. They actually make it rewarding to help people.
Faceplant? No problem, someone will get you up. Crafting materials? Don't worry, that guy's not stealing it, 'cause you can still mine it while he's doing so and you're not stealing from him. Kill Stealing? No, it's actually helpful to join the fight. Plus the forums that are around for GW2 are very helpful.
I know that Blizzard got slapped hard when they played a video that harassed someone, And it wasn't until there was a complete backlash in the media about it that they finally apologized. I'm not 100% certain what ArenaNet and NCSoft's position is on LGBT rights. I guess I could look it up. Give me a minute...
The only thing I could find was from City of Heroes website which held a Gay Prom in Paragon City a while back. Here's the text.
Gay.com is covering a recent LGBT prom night - Rainbow Prom - that was held in Paragon City. They take a good look at the positive LGBT community in City of Heroes, and report that attendees had a blast at the prom.
Rainbow Prom may have been the first virtual LGBT prom ever. Hundreds of super-powered lesbians and gays let their magical hair down at a new LGBT prom recently. They danced, flirted, elected a prom king and (drag) queen, played outdoors in their underwear at a mountain ski resort, and levitated with robotic boots and angels' wings until they crashed the server. Yes, they were in a virtual online world called "City of Heroes."
Gay.com is also working with NCsoft to provide 14-day free trial memberships.
Read the full article here.
Now, I have seen a lot of promotion for LGBT friendly guilds in Guild Wars 2, and no one really gives them any flack (when they promote themselves in zone chat). As for ArenaNet...
It seems ArenaNet has gone on the offensive against offensive speech in game, going so far as to setup a Reddit thread which explains to users why they were banned. From a Forbes article:
Here’s how it’s currently working: Redditors have posted to the thread asking to know exactly why they’ve been suspended, and ArenaNet has researched and responded.
Redditor gamer_vice, whose in-game name is Vice, was banned for “not OK” chat. gamer_vice had told another player, “shut the fuck up with non-english, geez >.< ”
Redditor Clouce wrote, “
Hi, my in game name is Clouce and I was banned for inappropriate behavior. I think its because I said boner… but I am not sure.” ArenaNet let him–and all of Reddit–know that it was because Clouce wrote, “Oh I am gonna break dance on your anal intercorse.”
Redditor MolestingSandwich also wanted to know why he was banned. ArenaNet posted the offensive language: “he probably was gay so they banned him due to gay.” (In one of the Internet’s funnier disses, Redditor Jegorex was quick to point out, “Looks like you got yourself banned due to ‘gay.’”)
Of course, a lot of Reddit gamers have taken offense to this, stating that ArenaNet's policies aren't clear. However...
To explain it plainly, Redditor Fleshgrinder wrote, “This is a very simple concept… ‘[F]uck’ is fine. ‘Fuck you!’ however is not.’”
There's flaws in the system, but it's only been a few months. But it looks as though they want to create a safe environment for everyone with their game.
There's probably other stories about NCSoft and ArenaNet and their policies on LGBT rights, but it's Sunday morning and I'm kinda lazy.
