GameFly's Review Policy
Dickie of the Rainbow MMO blog recently discovered a problem with GameFly's review policy. GameFly actually allows users to post reviews of games they have played, which may then be perused by other users of the site. It appears that while we may have games like Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony, actually using the word gay in a review is banned.
GameFly, in response to Dickie's e-mail, responded that this was a standard by which to stop any derogatory use of the term gay. The language in which the initial e-mail was couched, however, managed to conflate the word gay into either profanity or adult content:
Thank you for contacting GameFly. We apologize for any inconvenience caused. Unfortunately, we do not allow certain words to be used on our web site to describe games because our web site is viewed by all people of all ages. For example, we do not allow profanity to be used on our web site even though in a lot of the M rated games there is a lot of profanity. We also do not allow any one to describe any adult content either because again there are people of all ages viewing are web site at all times.
Dickie himself notes how the disparity lies between sex and sexuality; somehow confusing the fact that someone might be gay with the fact that they are automatically engaging in sex the moment such is announced (while some may wish for such, I'm afraid no such technology or ideology has surfaced). Sexuality encompasses more than just the sex you have with people.
Considering Microsoft's rather recent review and change in its policy, it seems odd that they would refuse, after further contact with Dickie, to further consider how to change said policy.
Personally, I am rather tired of having to be protected from the scary denizens of the web, when it usually boils down to someone not wanting to actually moderate. They have good intentions, sure, but there are better ways to go about moderating words such as 'gay' that have a long and varied history.
As a customer of GameFly (and as a fellow Chicago resident, I feel Dickie's pain on slow turn-around rate), I will be contacting them to let them know I would prefer the matter be given more consideration. If you wish to do the same, please visit their 'Contact Us' page.
VorpalBunny
Posted to Miscellany on 30 March 2010
· Comments (4)
Other stuff like this: gamefly, policy, rainbowmmo, the word gay
on a related note, I recently noticed that usernames like "homonym" or "homophone" are filtered on nintendo's service because of the "homo" in them. What's a gal to do?
While I agree it's a heavy-handed and lazy way to go about moderation, how often would you need to use the word "gay" in a game review that wouldn't be a derogatory use?
I assume you can use "same-sex attraction" or the like if you're actually talking about a story element..
I doubt they allow the use of the word homosexual, either.
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