Blizzard Suspends Professional Hearthstone Player for Hong Kong Comments • Hacker News Board

Re: Blizzard Suspends Professional Hearthstone Player for Hong Kong Comments

#441

Post by streb-lo » Tue, Oct 08, 2019, 2:11 PM UTC

lettergram wrote: post #298

dm3730 wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In our society, it still matters that people can tolerate other opinions. Who is "our" in this? If you mean USA, then are you sure about your claim? Eg: "Guy chooses to kneel on the field because kids were getting shot, guy gets canned.". How is that significantly different than what is happening in this case?

I think it’s a bit different. In this case you’re economically punishing the responsible party - not trying to raise awareness (make a scene). I can silently stop playing Hearthstone and the effect would be felt. I’m not wasting other people’s time or breaking a contract. In regards to the kneeling specifically, my impression was it was free publicity to the players. Honestly, looked like they were taking advantage o…

Ah yes, how dare those black players lift their heads up and 'make a scene'. What grifters they are, taking advantage of their blackness to promote themselves.

Re: Blizzard Suspends Professional Hearthstone Player for Hong Kong Comments

#442

Post by mercutio2 » Tue, Oct 08, 2019, 2:11 PM UTC

ourlordcaffeine wrote: post #319

zwaps wrote: post #139

Then we have to boycott Hearthstone. While the current case is neither surprising nor substantially important, it is important because of principle. Blizzard is not responsible for what players say in interviews. In our society, it still matters that people can tolerate other opinions. The Chinese government tries to make it a new normal that entire people can have their "feelings hurt" (what?) by mere non-insulting…

To that end, I've started a list on github https://github.com/caffeine-overload/bandinchina

You started a list about musical performers in China?

[EDIT: I see, it was deliberate wordplay from South Park. Sorry!]

Re: Blizzard Suspends Professional Hearthstone Player for Hong Kong Comments

#443

Post by chromaton » Tue, Oct 08, 2019, 2:14 PM UTC

Can we get the top leaders in tech to say something about the situation in Hong Kong? I feel like with enough public pressure, this should be doable. For instance, have Paul Graham or any of the YC partners expressed any support for democracy and freedom in HK?

Re: Blizzard Suspends Professional Hearthstone Player for Hong Kong Comments

#444

Post by ushypocritesjd » Tue, Oct 08, 2019, 2:15 PM UTC

zwaps wrote: post #139

Then we have to boycott Hearthstone. While the current case is neither surprising nor substantially important, it is important because of principle. Blizzard is not responsible for what players say in interviews. In our society, it still matters that people can tolerate other opinions. The Chinese government tries to make it a new normal that entire people can have their "feelings hurt" (what?) by mere non-insulting…

Oh please spare me the narrative that America is somehow above this.

Look up the history of government censorship of TV, court decisions that limit speech, people getting fired from AMERICAN companies in America for comments on personal social media accounts, how quickly one gets shutdown here even for suggesting that our culture is chasing ephemeral economic models to the point of destroying our environment for the benefit of billionaires and you’ll get scolded about not understanding economics and how smart people have been discussing this for years and the economics keep coming out just so that they benefit the elite. Oh yeah and non-whites in cages. Again.

The brain washing to protect American power is just as strong. The gentlemen’s agreement is wrapped in a warmer narrative.

You’re being Machiavellian and not having a raw look at the reality.

Re: Blizzard Suspends Professional Hearthstone Player for Hong Kong Comments

#445

Post by whatshisface » Tue, Oct 08, 2019, 2:15 PM UTC

groby_b wrote: post #374

whatshisface wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you think back to before gay marriage was accepted as a culturally obvious fact, some of the arguments against it involved hating gays, but others didn't. Without the ability to tell which beliefs actually motivated his donation, it is not possible to discern if he was against gays or not. (I'll refrain from giving any specific examples in order to avoid starting that debate again, but I think most of us can remem…

It's kind of hard to say "you do not deserve to share your life with the person you love. You don't deserve to take care of them when they're sick. You don't deserve a family with them. Because you're gay" without actually hating gay people. Just because you don't call for somebody to be killed doesn't mean you don't hate them.

In 2008 some people were against gay marriage without saying any of those things. At the time some arguments against gay marriage didn't involve being against gay people. One example would be the people who saw marriage and its attendant privileges as a reproductive subsidy. Yes, there are many reasonable ways to disagree that, but I'm not saying Eich was right - only that we don't have clear proof of any inner hatred. A nice, rational person can believe something that is realized to be untrue a decade later, that's just how science works. Even if you're 100% convinced that every argument in 2008 against gay marriage was false, that's still not sufficient to demonstrate that everyone who was against it was evil.

Re: Blizzard Suspends Professional Hearthstone Player for Hong Kong Comments

#446

Post by cmsonger » Tue, Oct 08, 2019, 2:15 PM UTC

> While we stand by one’s right to express individual thoughts and opinions, players and other participants that elect to participate in our esports competitions must abide by the official competition rules.

Laff.

Re: Blizzard Suspends Professional Hearthstone Player for Hong Kong Comments

#447

Post by eric_cc » Tue, Oct 08, 2019, 2:16 PM UTC

wincy wrote: post #335

shrimp_emoji wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They've made it crushingly, erode-absolutely-all-of-their-good-will-and-prestige-as-a-developer-despite-monopolizing-your-childhood-imagination easy. Natural late-stage corporate life cycle, I guess. :,c But they'll keep making EZ $$$ as long as store whales keep buying mounts and pets. :D Tell them to boycott.

I mean they became successful by making Totally Not Warhammer: The Video Game and Totally Not Warhammer 40K. And I’m pretty sure those people are long since gone away from the company. Companies are like the Ship of Theseus. When every plank has been replaced, it’s not the same ship even if it looks like it is.

They became a successful company by producing amazing games. Games like Warcraft 1, 2, & 3, Starcraft, Diablo 1 & 2 were straight-up fantastic games. The fact that they borrowed heavily from existing fantasy art and literature does not have anything to do with their gameplay merits. Fantasy is a genre that is always borrowing heavily from previous material. Did Warhammer invent Orcs and Dwarves?

To your second point: I agree. They’re not at all the same company that they once were.

Re: Blizzard Suspends Professional Hearthstone Player for Hong Kong Comments

#448

Post by asdf333 » Tue, Oct 08, 2019, 2:18 PM UTC

busterarm wrote: post #429

loceng wrote: post #259

[flagged]

[flagged]

i think you are conflating fake accounts supporting china or pro china people from people who are liberal democrats. they are mostly different.

Re: Blizzard Suspends Professional Hearthstone Player for Hong Kong Comments

#449

Post by LocalH » Tue, Oct 08, 2019, 2:19 PM UTC

cicero wrote: post #378

Cancel culture is becoming universal. Violations of political correctness can cause cancellation of TV shows, loss of jobs, and now banning from video game competitions. It is interesting that these days this is primarily a tool of the left end of the political spectrum even though in the past, book burnings, etc. were seen as a conservative tactic. However, cancel responses are becoming so common that I would not be…

It's a spiral to the bottom

Re: Blizzard Suspends Professional Hearthstone Player for Hong Kong Comments

#450

Post by ndury » Tue, Oct 08, 2019, 2:20 PM UTC

KaoruAoiShiho wrote: post #353

Absolutely agree, it's time for American video games to stop publishing in China. It's not worth the Chinese influence on our society.

These studio's should not stop publishing their games in China. The issue lies that these studio's happily comply with whatever restrictions a govt is willing to oblige due to possibly playerbase loss. Think lootboxes, forbidden skins in regions, exc... exc..

Companies as big as Blizzard should be prepared to lose 5/10/15% of their playerbase to defend free speech, the thing is they do not care about free speech. All these companies care about is revenue.