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Regarding Last Weekend’s Hearthstone Grandmasters Tournament

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Re: Regarding Last Weekend’s Hearthstone Grandmasters Tournament

#141

Post by ivalm »

diminoten wrote: post #38
Pfhreak wrote: post #9

Not a great look. This line: > The actions that we took over the weekend are causing people to question if we are still committed to these values. We absolutely are and I will explain. Is basically saying, "What we did actually exemplifies our values", or maybe saying, "Well actually, our values..." Combined with the complete lack of acknowledgement of wrongdoing and not addressing their initial online response at al…

Lack of acknowledgement? They reduced the penalties, both for the casters and the player...

The only reasonable response is removal of all penalties and an apology, anything short of that is insufficient.

Re: Regarding Last Weekend’s Hearthstone Grandmasters Tournament

#143

Post by eric-hu »

samtheprogram wrote: post #136
minimaxir wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Scanning social media, I haven't seen a single gaming influencer say it's a sufficient statement: https://twitter.com/search?q=filter%3Averified%20https%3A%2F... The contrarian viewpoint is "what were you expecting?" in which case the reply is "an actual apology."

Anecdotally, most those I know, while unhappy about it, are continuing to play. While I don’t think people are going to defend this, I doubt this will meaningfully affect them in the long-term. It’s easy for companies, after some backlash by a loud yet small crowd on social media, to blacklist a certain high profile individual out of risk. It’s hard for that same group to make a difference against an organization as…

I've been unable to play this week. I haven't outright deleted my account, but it made me sick to the stomach to think about opening the Blizzard launcher.

I've seen others in StarCraft related subreddits share similar feelings. I agree the majority seem to still want the game and community to continue on as is.

Re: Regarding Last Weekend’s Hearthstone Grandmasters Tournament

#144

Post by nmca »

mewse-hn wrote: post #26

This part descends to absurdity: > Every Voice Matters, and we strongly encourage everyone in our community to share their viewpoints in the many places available to express themselves. However, the official broadcast needs to be about the tournament and to be a place where all are welcome. In support of that, we want to keep the official channels focused on the game. One of their core values is "every voice matters"…

Right? It's fucked to the point of comical absurdity. How on earth did they let anyone write this?

Re: Regarding Last Weekend’s Hearthstone Grandmasters Tournament

#145

Post by zwaps »

Digusting. If that had happened in the context of any other unimportant country, where no launch of a mobile game is planned, and which is not in a habit of crying and shouting down foreign press and companies, then Blizzard would have done nothing.

In fact, the language used here, about openness and 'feeling welcome' (cf hurt feelings) comes close to the CCP phrasebook. CCP, to remind you, has publicly stated that opinions on China affairs from foreigners and utterings that make people feel unwelcome ot hurt feelings, are not free speech.

HK people are fighting for their freedom and their lives. They need public support in the West to have a chance. Blizzard sanctioning them or others for this shows abundently clear on which side this company is!

Re: Regarding Last Weekend’s Hearthstone Grandmasters Tournament

#146

Post by bertil »

ng12 wrote: post #138
bertil wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reddit has to make a lot of decisions, some were soon after she joined. Not sure CEOs of social media company get involved in making that decision personally, rather than name people who would -- Pao might be an exception, though. From all the subreddits that were closed, I’d be hard-pressed to name one that I felt contributed to free speech.

> contributed to free speech. What does it mean to "contribute to" free speech?

In most cases, the subreddits openly advocated for crimes, often violent, which I understand is the type of speech that isn’t protected by even the most relaxed definition of free speech.

Re: Regarding Last Weekend’s Hearthstone Grandmasters Tournament

#148

Post by darepublic »

falcolas wrote: post #15

I might believe this, if the American team who made the exact same statement (pro-Hong Kong) in a virtually identical context (on a stream with shoutcasters) had received the same punishment. They didn’t. They didn’t receive any punishment, they were immediately moved on to the next match. So, Blizzard is not acting any anything resembling consistently on this matter. Some voices matter more than others; in this case…

Well the real test of hypocrisy is if someone made a statement in support of China on the same topic in a streamed event. Or if someone made a comment about any divisive issue from any side. Note I am saying it's a test of hypocrisy not whether their policy is "moral" or not

Re: Regarding Last Weekend’s Hearthstone Grandmasters Tournament

#149

Post by icu »

It's a soft peddle statement drafted by the PR department hoping the mainstream media would pick it up. There are too many contradictions between:

a) what was said in the statement, and Blizzard's statement made on Chinese social media at the time, and

b) the lack of discipline on American tournament players who also protested.

Furthermore a written statement is nothing compared to a video, where vocal intonation and body language communicates a lot.

Bottom line, releasing this statement will only intensify criticism that Blizzard is "Lawfully Evil".

The irony is that Blizzard's fanbase are 'heroes' who overcome evil in their games. Blizzard's actions are the very antithesis of their player bases' psychology.

This isn't over, and with Blizzcon around the corner, I predict escalation and Blizzcon being a total PR disaster.

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