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Ronald Reagan famously talked about the so-called "11th Commandment" that Republicans should follow. Namely: Thou shalt not attack other Republicans. The idea was that Republicans are sometimes in competition with each other (for instance, in primaries), but they largely believe in similar causes. And those causes are hurt when Republicans are attacked, so Republicans should focus their criticisms on Democrats and, through unity, prevail in elections. Given that Ronald Reagan won two terms and is, to this day, one of the most popular republican presidents in history, one might conclude that this policy worked well for him.
The Starcraft community is diverse, and often disagrees on significant issues. Quite passionately, even (balance, anyone?). And I wouldn't have it any other way. But the community agrees on one thing: namely, that Starcraft is awesome, the professional scene is enjoyable, and we'd like for it to grow, get bigger, and have more resources dedicated to the cause. And when that issue is in the balance, we should be unified as a community. The obvious (and beaten to death) example is the recent controversy regarding Orb, and the conclusion that is generally drawn is that everyone in the community should be very, very slow to contact sponsors with complaints.
I'd like to take that message one step further. I'll call it the 11th Commandment of E-sports. And rather than state it myself, I'd like to quote Barrin from his recent post about mapmaking:
On March 17 2012 02:33 Barrin wrote:
One should not call for a revolution without asking the ever-important question: Does this hurt eSports?
This is not to say that no action can ever be taken if it might harm e-sports in any way. If EG announces tomorrow that they not only will not fire Orb, but in fact support and endorse his comments, I'll call their sponsors myself. If the goal you want to achieve is important enough that the harm to e-sports is regrettable but acceptable collateral damage, then go ahead. But any decision that might hurt e-sports deserves the utmost consideration, and you should always ask if there's another way, or if it's really that important, when those issues are in play.
TL;DR: Thou shalt not hurt e-sports.
 
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E-sports for the sake of growing E-sports I do not support at all. Fuck. That. SHIT.
E-sports because you love to play the game that you play and would like to see others play the game is perfectly acceptable and should be encouraged, even if I personally do not have fun playing SC2.
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Play or watch. "Growing e-sports" just means that you think that content that falls under the heading "e-sports" is good content, and there should be more of it in the world. If you love MLG and want there to be more content like MLG, that's growing e-sports. If you love playing Starcraft, and want to share that passion with other people, that's growing e-sports. It's not some creepy religion, it's just some people that like what an entertainment industry has to offer and want that industry to succeed.
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On March 21 2012 10:04 ChristianS wrote:
Play or watch. "Growing e-sports" just means that you think that content that falls under the heading "e-sports" is good content, and there should be more of it in the world. If you love MLG and want there to be more content like MLG, that's growing e-sports. If you love playing Starcraft, and want to share that passion with other people, that's growing e-sports. It's not some creepy religion, it's just some people that like what an entertainment industry has to offer and want that industry to succeed.
I am just warning against that mentality of "This is something we MUST DO for the sake of Esports." I like passionate people. I don't like people wanting to make a quick buck off of E-sports because it's the new thing right now and they support it by saying "this is for E-sports!"
Seeing the people on this site and elsewhere, I'd say that there's a lot more passionate people than people out to make a quick buck, so I'd say future of E-sports is good right now.
Just remember: E-sports should never be above your love of a game.
Edit: @Thaniri yeah i pressed enter before I finished typing, so sorry about that.
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We don't need to do it jpak, but the people on teamliquid spend hours every day thinking about and playing Starcraft. We want to let people know about our passion, so why not make a professional industry of our great hobby and show people 'yeah, look what we can do.'
Edit: You bastard, editting your comment as I reply to it.
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Hmm... warning of what, exactly? That we WILL become a creepy religion? That there will be a witch hunt for those that are hurting e-sports? Okay fine, creepy religions and witch hunts are bad.
I'm just saying that we are a community built around the idea that this game is awesome and we'd like it to be bigger, better, and more awesome. But to do that, we have to get our shit together so the rest of the world is willing to trust us with sponsorships, or willing to give Starcraft a chance, etc. Angry, torch-wielding Reddit mobs just make people scared of e-sports, which doesn't do anyone any good. For that matter, Orb spouting racial pejoratives because he's ladder raging makes the world scared of e-sports, too (and he has most certainly apologized for that).
I promise not to kidnap your children and practice bizarre rituals on them "for e-sports." But if we as a community want to become more mainstream and get more sponsorships, viewership, etc. we first have to become the kind of community that can BE mainstream. Otherwise we'll always be a niche market for nerds that get indignant when someone tells them to stop spouting racism when they lose.
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On March 21 2012 10:14 jpak wrote:Show nested quote +On March 21 2012 10:04 ChristianS wrote:
Play or watch. "Growing e-sports" just means that you think that content that falls under the heading "e-sports" is good content, and there should be more of it in the world. If you love MLG and want there to be more content like MLG, that's growing e-sports. If you love playing Starcraft, and want to share that passion with other people, that's growing e-sports. It's not some creepy religion, it's just some people that like what an entertainment industry has to offer and want that industry to succeed. I am just warning against that mentality of "This is something we MUST DO for the sake of Esports." I like passionate people. I don't like people wanting to make a quick buck off of E-sports because it's the new thing right now and they support it by saying "this is for E-sports!" Seeing the people on this site and elsewhere, I'd say that there's a lot more passionate people than people out to make a quick buck, so I'd say future of E-sports is good right now. Just remember: E-sports should never be above your love of a game. Edit: @Thaniri yeah i pressed enter before I finished typing, so sorry about that.
Worst is the. OMG BW needs to ----> SC2 so we can overtake LoL.... FOR ESPUURTS DERP.
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Really now? How about respect thy neighbor?
This whole notion wreaks of 
Here's why. F it, I'll just make a direct comparison. You don't have to be a sports fanatic like me (notice how I didn't say esports). I watch all kinds of sports. Basketball, baseball, hockey, MMA, etc. You name it; I watch it. I respect all the athletes and what they have to go through. Doesn't matter the sport. However, I don't expect everyone to have this same mentality. E-Sports and Sports are similar in this nature. Not everyone is going to enjoy watching baseball. They just cannot appreciate it. That's fine.
So this whole notion and vague term of esports is a complete fucking joke.
You want all esports to grow. Fine. This is a gaming website for Starcraft first and foremost. Don't expect everyone to appreciate or follow every single gaming title known to man. I follow quite a few myself, but I'm not going to shove it down people's throats.
Not my style.
Get over esports and celebrate the games you enjoy.
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It's always fascinating to me how people never see a distinction between "share with someone" and "shove down other people's throats." A big part of "growing e-sports" is just trying to get more corporate sponsors so companies like MLG can produce more/better content. What on earth is so offensive about that? The hope, then, is that more people who ALREADY WOULD ENJOY STARCRAFT find out about it because it gets more attention. If they don't want to watch, nobody on earth is making them watch it. If they are kinda curious but have something better to do at the moment, they can do whatever the fuck they want.
E-sports is not big brother coming into your house and telling you how to spend your time. It's not even a missionary proselytizing in hopes of finding converts. It's pretty much just offering a product to people via advertising, and if they want it, they'll seek out that product. So unless Coke is not "respecting its neighbors" (Not one of the Ten Commandments, nor is it even said in the Bible. "Love thy neighbor" is at least something Jesus said) when they advertise on television, then that's really just a moot point.
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So you're literally arguing that people shouldn't have contacted EG/sponsors and said some dumbshit affiliated with your team/product is running around calling people niggers on a stream?? lol
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On March 22 2012 06:12 Hawk wrote:
So you're literally arguing that people shouldn't have contacted EG/sponsors and said some dumbshit affiliated with your team/product is running around calling people niggers on a stream?? lol
I don't think you understand the point of the OP's reference to that situation.
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On March 22 2012 06:04 ChristianS wrote:
It's always fascinating to me how people never see a distinction between "share with someone" and "shove down other people's throats." A big part of "growing e-sports" is just trying to get more corporate sponsors so companies like MLG can produce more/better content. What on earth is so offensive about that? The hope, then, is that more people who ALREADY WOULD ENJOY STARCRAFT find out about it because it gets more attention. If they don't want to watch, nobody on earth is making them watch it. If they are kinda curious but have something better to do at the moment, they can do whatever the fuck they want.
E-sports is not big brother coming into your house and telling you how to spend your time. It's not even a missionary proselytizing in hopes of finding converts. It's pretty much just offering a product to people via advertising, and if they want it, they'll seek out that product. So unless Coke is not "respecting its neighbors" (Not one of the Ten Commandments, nor is it even said in the Bible. "Love thy neighbor" is at least something Jesus said) when they advertise on television, then that's really just a moot point.
That's the thing. It's about developing your own brand. I don't think Blizzard gives two shits about any game that isn't on their label. The term esports is stupid on a corporate level in that regard. I've already touched base on the personal interest level:
If you ALREADY ENJOY Starcraft you will watch regardless. Your interest level is already there. This is why gaming is by definition a niche market. You aren't going to watch something that doesn't peak your interest.
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It's by definition a "niche market" in that not everyone will enjoy watching Starcraft, that's true. In which case all I'm arguing is that the niche could be a lot bigger than it is now. Starcraft isn't all that obscure or esoteric. It's shit blowing up on a screen, to the tune of two guys trying to kill each other. I absolutely believe there are people out there who would love watching Starcraft, but either don't know about it, or think it's too nerdy for them, or didn't quite understand what was going on and would enjoy it a lot more if somebody told them what was going on. If for no reason, I think those people are out there because I was one at some point, and I'm sure there are more like that.
The more friendly, the more grown-up our community is, the more it is ready for time in the public eye. And the more time it spends in the public eye, the more people that would like to watch Starcraft but haven't for some reason will come and enjoy. That's not forcing it on anyone; if they don't like Starcraft, then more exposure to Starcraft won't change their mind. If the community behaves awfully and it gets public attention, it could make things worse, but as long as that doesn't happen, then more time in the spotlight would either a) make more people aware of/excited about the scene, or if you're really right and anyone who might have interest in Starcraft is already in the community, then b) nobody joins the community, but Starcraft becomes a little more culturally accepted.
On March 22 2012 06:12 Hawk wrote:
So you're literally arguing that people shouldn't have contacted EG/sponsors and said some dumbshit affiliated with your team/product is running around calling people niggers on a stream?? lol
Uh, yes. It was an absurd over-reaction without even waiting for EG's response. Reddit is nothing if not a mob of uninformed people, so it doesn't surprise me that the torches and pitchforks came out so quickly, but that doesn't mean it was justified.
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