Quick Action From BioWare On GLBT Discrimination
Last night I got the first of what would be many tips concerning a thread in the Star Wars: The Old Republic forums that addressed the question of GLBT discrimination on the SWTOR forums. At the time I wanted to err on the side of caution and avoid any immediate, reactionary posting and give BioWare time to comment - and while BioWare has not yet responded, they've certainly taken action on the forums.
The thread in question was abruptly closed by a BioWare community manager for the following reason:
As I have stated before, these are terms that do not exist in Star Wars.Thread closed.
While there are many valid reasons for closing a thread that may have become nasty, that's not one of them. In fact, the SWTOR forum's own rules of conduct specifically protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation - it's the second item on the list.
Additionally, the words "gay" and "lesbian" and "homosexual" were censored on the forums.
And while those terms might not exist verbatim in the Star Wars universe, homosexuality certainly does - most overtly in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic's Juhani, a party member who can have, depending on the player's choices, either a lesbian love affair with a female Revan or an unnamed female Jedi who attacks the player should he/she choose to kill Juhani instead of recruit her.
I asked BioWare if other posts concerning race, gender, religion or heritage had been shut down because their terminology was not literal Star Wars cannon, and pointed out the numerous other threads that used non-Star Wars terminology (as it would be impossible to do otherwise unless the forums are strictly for Role Playing, which they are not). I also pointed out the PR snafus suffered by Blizzard and Microsoft for similar incursions against GLBT visibility, and that while it's a very, very, very difficult line to walk from a community management perspective, it's equally very, very, very important not to appear to suppress GLBT gamers' voices.
In fact, it's those same protective urges to "keep it clean" that help create a safe haven for anti-GLBT hate speech in the gaming community. Visibility is the key to making intolerance socially unacceptable.
But by 2am this morning, all has been sorted out - the thread unlocked, the words "gay," "lesbian," and "homosexual" no longer censored, and while the community manager did not apologize, he did clarify:
I would like to clarify that no one was suspended or banned from this website for any discussions on this subject with the exception of individuals who were being derogatory and insulting to others. Those posts have been removed and the posters dealt with. But, just to be clear, the original poster on this topic was not suspended or banned.
I'd like to praise BioWare for quick action, if not for forethought. As recent developments at Microsoft show, these stumbling blocks will occur from time to time as the industry sorts out the best ways to be inclusive while at the same time avoiding and deterring hate speech.
As members of both the GLBT and gaming communities, it is in our best interest to respond with calm determination and persistence - in the majority of cases, the error is one of misguided good intentions rather than intentional discrimination (or, for the jaded, common sense kicks in and the company in question decides to avoid a glut of negative press).
And for good measure, how would you manage GLBT issues in a forum that has the potential for both constructive and destructive discussion about homosexuality in gaming?
tiny dancer
Posted to Hot Stuff, MMOs, Video Games on 28 April 2009
· Comments (13)
Other stuff like this: bioware, censorship, forums, glbt discrimination, star wars, star wars the old republic
I think it's simple how to handle these things - these threads in forums have to be dealt with on a case by case basis. It's quite obvious to tell when there is destructive language being thrown around - especially in online forums. The same goes with the Xbox Gamertags (and similar cases#. They have to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. And while it may be more annoying to hire people to monitor the millions of gamertags being created #as opposed to a computer program that sees the word "gay" and disables the gamertag) it's the only way to ensure fairness.
So, again, this issue was needlessly overblown, contrary to what was said no one got banned.
Call me crazy but if I had millions of dollars invested in developing an MMO, I'd make sure I spent the money on a professional community manager rather than some guy who mistakes his personal biases for company policy.
On a related note:
http://www.allaboutthegames.co.uk/feature_story.php?headline=Lesbians-discuss-homophobia-in-World-of-Warcraft-News&article_id=9077
I'm just wondering when BioWare's going to put a gay MALE character in any of their games.
seems like every game they have there's an option for a female character to be a lesbian while the guy character is always stuck with the chicks.
Chubby Chops (nice name, btw ^^) already mentioned this, but it also bugs me that you can only ever play a lesbian in a Bioware game. And from what I've read, they don't really like to comment on why that is...
"And for good measure, how would you manage GLBT issues in a forum that has the potential for both constructive and destructive discussion about homosexuality in gaming?"
The answer? You simply read the reports as they are made by those in the forums and you ensure that you watch over such forums to ensure that folks aren't being abusive. I've done this job in regards to forums moderation, it's not an exact science, but it's NOT that hard to simply read what folks post. If the post is harassing, you take action and if the post simply contains mention of that person's lifestyle, you leave it. Unless there's ruling in your forums to block such content, it's not a fine line to tread, it's not a complicated issue...
you simply read them.
scarrit: Don't the excuses range from 'we don't know how to right for the character' to 'it wouldn't fit in the universe'? Those were what they said about Mass Effect at any rate. Interesting how neither of those apply to lesbian relationships...
chubby chops and scaritt - Jade Empire had the ability to form a romantic relationship between two males.
Kuddles: IIRC, doesn't the screen fade to black just before they kiss? Unless you hack it so you character is actually a female in a male skin.
Anyways, I have nothing but amused contempt for BioWare, and this situation does not help that at all.
Penny Arcade made a strip about this:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2009/20090429.jpg
Kuddles: That only raises the question why they don't seem to include a male-male relationship in any of their other games.
While I enjoy the kind of games Bioware makes, I find myself not trusting or particularly liking them as a company.
None of the labels apply to lesbian relationships, oh no. That would be silly. What with heterosexual white men still thinking that they're the only major market that is being targeted by every game under the sun. That sense of entitlement from a dwindling faction is stubbornly persistent; something that no longer holds truth in this day and age. I think part of it is because the people now making games are still of that 80s-90s mindset of what the market 'is.'
Anyway, tangent I suppose. I am a lover of BioWare, but not of Star Wars and its views that 'there's no such thing as gays' in their universe. BioWare is working within the Star Wars IP. If the higher-ups say 'no,' they can't say 'yes.' It's not exactly their fault, IMO. And BioWare has shown gay relationships in their past games, when no one else really was, so that's something at least.