File Under: Really, Blizz? Really
So Blizz has finally decided that “homosexual” and “transsexual” are no longer bad words and will be removed from the adult content filter in WoW. Which is awesome because “fag” has been totes okay this whole time. So I guess that tells you the politics of their language filter programmers. Or something.
Note this was only slated to be fixed (hasn’t been fixed yet, I believe — I don’t play WoW anymore) after it was brought up in the WoW forumses.
And to add this to the list of Shit I Did Not Know But GG Bliz, from Joystiq:
In 2006, a World of Warcraft player named Sara Andrews decided to start a guild that was LGBT-friendly and began publicly recruiting players. The guild was touted as a safe haven free of judgment and intolerance. Though many would assume the act innocuous, Blizzard’s initial reaction to Andrews was extremely hostile. Specifically, Blizzard said that “advertising sexual orientation is not appropriate for the high fantasy setting of the World of Warcraft.” Andrews was — inexplicably — in violation of the company’s harassment policy. Follow-up conversations with the company only confirmed the company’s stance: Recruit for a gay-friendly guild in chat, and your account will be banned.
…
[Official word from Blizz]
Topics related to sensitive real-world subjects — such as religious, sexual or political preference, for example — have had a tendency to result in communication between players that often breaks down into harassment.
So, if Blizz is trying to avoid harassment, why is “homosexual” banned, but “faggot” is just fine?
I can’t believe this was an issue in 2006, and I can’t believe this is still an issue in 2012.