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Blizzard bans HS Pro for political statement - Page 5

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Blizzard’s Official Statement:

https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/blizzard/23185888/regarding-last-weekend-s-hearthstone-grandmasters-tournament

Comment by JJR in case Blizzard tries to pull off a ninja edit:

https://tl.net/forum/general/551816-blizzard-bans-hs-pro-for-political-statement?page=27#529
Schelim
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
Austria11528 Posts
October 09 2019 09:35 GMT
#81
On October 09 2019 18:29 Ej_ wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 09 2019 17:57 Branch.AUT wrote:
On October 09 2019 17:52 Schelim wrote:
this is fucked and btw they do not always enforce this rule

i have definitely heard Tasteless and Artosis make several statements about Donald Trump on GSL broadcasts before. and nothing happened. as it shouldn't.

I don't think the two are compareable. Making fun of Trump is a whole industry in and of itself in the US.

Of course they aren't. Trump won't ban your games in America .

And Americans themselves won't rally to keep politics out of the game.

but that's my point. they didn't enforce the rule because they're so intent to always enforce that rule, they did it out of fear of political consequences.
TY <3 Cure <3 Inno <3 Special <3
Archeon
Profile Joined May 2011
3269 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-10-09 09:45:14
October 09 2019 09:37 GMT
#82
If Reddit was a dumpster fire when D:Immortal was announced, it's now a full blown fire storm.

Obviously Reddit is pretty left wing and generally sympathized with the HK protesters beforehand already. But this goes a bit for gamers in general, it is really easy to sympathize with people who peacefully protested for months against one of the most oppressive regimes on the planet which was trying to force legal abductions into areas controlled by a totalitarian regime that's treating prisoners like slaves. The fact that the protests turned violent recently doesn't really change that.

Waiting for an update on the Atvi-stock development because this will probably damage them for a while.

Also interesting to see where this goes long term, because there's an increasingly clear conflict of interests between Western standards that we are used to and the censorship the Chinese gov has been pushing due to their huge market.
low gravity, yes-yes!
abuse
Profile Joined April 2011
Latvia1945 Posts
October 09 2019 09:39 GMT
#83
On October 09 2019 17:41 stilt wrote:
Don't see the problem.
Hk is like a Singapore, a parasite city with ultra privileged rich citizens who got special rights. I am glad China is finally taking actions against it even if I am bit upsed for their light reaction, why don't they intervene with the army for god sake. They are nothing but rich kids who would flee, it's a disgrace.

All in all this is a struggle between the same international bourgeoisie who exploits billions and destroy the planet and the last nation state who can deal with it, if China loses it, it just means nothing can be done.


"oh no, if they're doing better than me, then we need to beat them up and put them in line"
disgusting.
I don't believe you.
Ej_
Profile Blog Joined January 2013
47656 Posts
October 09 2019 09:41 GMT
#84
On October 09 2019 18:35 Schelim wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 09 2019 18:29 Ej_ wrote:
On October 09 2019 17:57 Branch.AUT wrote:
On October 09 2019 17:52 Schelim wrote:
this is fucked and btw they do not always enforce this rule

i have definitely heard Tasteless and Artosis make several statements about Donald Trump on GSL broadcasts before. and nothing happened. as it shouldn't.

I don't think the two are compareable. Making fun of Trump is a whole industry in and of itself in the US.

Of course they aren't. Trump won't ban your games in America .

And Americans themselves won't rally to keep politics out of the game.

but that's my point. they didn't enforce the rule because they're so intent to always enforce that rule, they did it out of fear of political consequences.

Well yes. I do agree with you.
"Technically the dictionary has zero authority on the meaning or words" - Rodya
KT_Elwood
Profile Joined July 2015
Germany1160 Posts
October 09 2019 09:42 GMT
#85
Blizzard and other companies are free to make special products, rules and even streams for china. I think what angers (me) the most, is that they are too cheap, and just try to push chinese censorship onto the world.
"First he eats our dogs, and then he taxes the penguins... Donald Trump truly is the Donald Trump of our generation. " -DPB
deacon.frost
Profile Joined February 2013
Czech Republic12131 Posts
October 09 2019 09:44 GMT
#86
On October 09 2019 18:35 Schelim wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 09 2019 18:29 Ej_ wrote:
On October 09 2019 17:57 Branch.AUT wrote:
On October 09 2019 17:52 Schelim wrote:
this is fucked and btw they do not always enforce this rule

i have definitely heard Tasteless and Artosis make several statements about Donald Trump on GSL broadcasts before. and nothing happened. as it shouldn't.

I don't think the two are compareable. Making fun of Trump is a whole industry in and of itself in the US.

Of course they aren't. Trump won't ban your games in America .

And Americans themselves won't rally to keep politics out of the game.

but that's my point. they didn't enforce the rule because they're so intent to always enforce that rule, they did it out of fear of political consequences.

I don't think making fun of a public figure is sending a political message. I'm making fun of Trump every time I get a chance and yet if I were an american I would have been supporting him (but as I am not I am just making fun of him)
I imagine France should be able to take this unless Lilbow is busy practicing for Starcraft III. | KadaverBB is my fairy ban mother.
Z3nith
Profile Joined October 2017
485 Posts
October 09 2019 09:56 GMT
#87
As someone who currently has a friend here in the UK who is coming here from Hong Kong for university I think it's disgraceful. He is going through severe problems mentally as he tries to make sure his family are safe over there while constantly having to worry whether or not he will be able to even return and should he return to HK, whether or not he will be able to complete his degree here in the UK.
In short his life is being ruined by this and the state that is responsible for that is being validated in its position by the likes of Activision-Blizzard. It's horrifying to watch.
Waxangel
Profile Blog Joined September 2002
United States33648 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-10-09 10:17:14
October 09 2019 10:05 GMT
#88
Anyone aware of Blizzard's history and consistency with handling political statements during esports broadcasts? And I mean OVERTLY political statements, not wisecracks about Trump from Tastosis that have ambiguous political leaning.

Marineking bringing up the Dokdo territorial dispute in 2011 is the only example I could think of in SC2, which I recall simply fizzling out without any public response from anyone. I do feel this has limited applicability (if any), as this was a GomTV operated league (directly operated by blizzard vs receiving some funding from Blizzard is a meaningful difference), and probably years before Blizzard had serious esports aspirations/policies.

It would be interesting to hear if there are examples from other Blizzard esports titles, or examples from SC2 that I missed.
AdministratorHey HP can you redo everything youve ever done because i have a small complaint?
darthfoley
Profile Blog Joined February 2011
United States8004 Posts
October 09 2019 10:26 GMT
#89
Free Hong Kong
watch the wall collide with my fist, mostly over problems that i know i should fix
juicop
Profile Joined October 2019
1 Post
Last Edited: 2019-10-09 10:30:50
October 09 2019 10:26 GMT
#90
--- Nuked ---
Schelim
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
Austria11528 Posts
October 09 2019 10:33 GMT
#91
On October 09 2019 19:05 Waxangel wrote:
Anyone aware of Blizzard's history and consistency with handling political statements during esports broadcasts? And I mean OVERTLY political statements, not wisecracks about Trump from Tastosis that have ambiguous political leaning.

Marineking bringing up the Dokdo territorial dispute in 2011 is the only example I could think of in SC2, which I recall simply fizzling out without any public response from anyone. I do feel this has limited applicability (if any), as this was a GomTV operated league (directly operated by blizzard vs receiving some funding from Blizzard is a meaningful difference), and probably years before Blizzard had serious esports aspirations/policies.

It would be interesting to hear if there are examples from other Blizzard esports titles, or examples from SC2 that I missed.

what tournament was it a few months ago where this previously rather unknown British caster (i'm sorry i don't remember his name either) made a statement - phrased as a joke, but it still was a clear political statement - about Brexit? there was a little ruffling online but no actual consequences from what i remember.
TY <3 Cure <3 Inno <3 Special <3
Silvanel
Profile Blog Joined March 2003
Poland4768 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-10-09 10:42:32
October 09 2019 10:42 GMT
#92
I seem to recall statment supporting Brexit during HomeStory Cup (i think it was all British cast - but i also dont remmber the name of the guy who said it). It was phrased as a joke, but it was clear he was supporting Brexit even NO DEAL Brexit (at least i took it that way).
Pathetic Greta hater.
ihatevideogames
Profile Joined August 2015
570 Posts
October 09 2019 10:42 GMT
#93
Political statements like this are a big no-no. So they guy knew exactly what he was doing.
That said, I can't believe Activision-bliz didn't realise this would blow up in their faces. They shoud have just said something along the lines of 'No politics plz' and banned him for a a couple of months, instead of going full on crackdown on the whole thing.
With all the bad press they've been getting over the new CoD, surely you'd think they want to avoid more drama. You just gotta wonder, how can they spend so many millions in marketing and still get into shit like this?
Also, some reddit user had a translation of the chinese Activision-bliz statement that said something ludicrous along the lines of 'we shall defend the country's honor' or something. Can anyone confirm this? If it's true, it's even more hillarious tbh.
dalecooper
Profile Joined July 2019
56 Posts
October 09 2019 10:52 GMT
#94
It's getting messy.
pointless
kmh
Profile Joined November 2010
Finland351 Posts
October 09 2019 10:55 GMT
#95
'we shall defend the country's honor' or something. Can anyone confirm this? If it's true, it's even more hillarious tbh.


Can't remember the exact phrase, but it's a very very very common stock phrase you'll see in lots of official communiques. You can read it as "god bless america" if you will, and shouldn't really read into it more than that.

naughtDE
Profile Blog Joined May 2019
158 Posts
October 09 2019 10:59 GMT
#96
On October 09 2019 16:20 Destroya5 wrote:
[...]
Blizzard clearly have no moral integrity whatsoever in this instance, it's like if Hearthstone was around in the 1940s and they censored a Jew on their platform from complaining about their plight with the upcoming Nazi regime in Germany. Yes, there are rules but they should at the very least not seek to appease the wrongdoings being committed against the Hong Kong people, they must publicly apologise and revoke the ban issued to this young gentleman, and return his prize money.
[...]

There is an assumption there. You think the Nazi regime is going to lose, while Blizzard as an economic entity bets on the economically stronger force.
"I'll take [LET IT SNOW] for 800" - Sean Connery (Darrell Hammond)
Alejandrisha
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
United States6565 Posts
October 09 2019 11:00 GMT
#97
what a crock of shit. spineless executives bowing to communist regime. the people who own you are the people you cannot criticize.
get rich or die mining
TL+ Member
seemsgood
Profile Joined January 2016
5527 Posts
October 09 2019 11:03 GMT
#98
On October 09 2019 19:42 ihatevideogames wrote:
Political statements like this are a big no-no. So they guy knew exactly what he was doing.
That said, I can't believe Activision-bliz didn't realise this would blow up in their faces. They shoud have just said something along the lines of 'No politics plz' and banned him for a a couple of months, instead of going full on crackdown on the whole thing.
With all the bad press they've been getting over the new CoD, surely you'd think they want to avoid more drama. You just gotta wonder, how can they spend so many millions in marketing and still get into shit like this?
Also, some reddit user had a translation of the chinese Activision-bliz statement that said something ludicrous along the lines of 'we shall defend the country's honor' or something. Can anyone confirm this? If it's true, it's even more hillarious tbh.

shit already happened you know...i wonder when will blizzard release thier statement tho
and it better not piss those senators off or after NBA,blizzard could be next
Dangermousecatdog
Profile Joined December 2010
United Kingdom7084 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-10-09 11:04:31
October 09 2019 11:04 GMT
#99
On October 09 2019 20:00 Alejandrisha wrote:
what a crock of shit. spineless executives bowing to communist regime. the people who own you are the people you cannot criticize.


They aren't bowing to a communist regime. China is a capitalist regime and Blizzard's actions are fully in line with capitalism. They are still totally spineless of course, and they are fully aware that money owns them.
Alejandrisha
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
United States6565 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-10-09 11:12:43
October 09 2019 11:06 GMT
#100
On October 09 2019 20:04 Dangermousecatdog wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 09 2019 20:00 Alejandrisha wrote:
what a crock of shit. spineless executives bowing to communist regime. the people who own you are the people you cannot criticize.


They aren't bowing to a communist regime. China is a capitalist regime and Blizzard's actions are fully in line with capitalism. They are still totally spineless of course, and they are fully aware that money owns them.

there is no capitalism without free press. there are positive externalites in taking a stand against suppression of expression
i am not even talking about capitalism in its purest form. don't try to sell me that china is a capitalist state.
get rich or die mining
TL+ Member
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