Real time online strategy game League of Legends censored the word “gay” by automatically filtering the word out of all chat and forbidding its use in screen names and game names “to avoid it being used in an offensive manner” after seeing it repeatedly used as an insult. LGBT players complained and the LoL development team pledged to un-censor the word in the next patch release.
Microsoft’s XBOX has had an ongoing problem with gamer homophobia, so we empathize with LoL’s attempt to quiet the haters, but they should probably just incorporate a flagging system for users who regularly toss slurs at other players.
And isn’t it odd that those same anti-gay haters spend hours masquerading as elf rangers, fire cherubs and goblin mages and putting on skimpy armor to win gold and go shopping? We know another guy who does that. He’s a go-go boy.
Daez
I think this whole PC mess in gaming is just that. If you can’t handle yourself on the other side of the computer screen against a big bad bully that might just call you a few names, I hate to see what you will do when faced with the same situation in real life, and unfortunately, even in this day and age, there is a lot of bullying and stupidity that we face in real life.
Rebecca Juro
This kind of thing isn’t really news. In fact, it’s a pretty common practice among online video game operators. When I played Eve-Online, I took on CCP, the company that owns and operates that game for filtering the word “gay” on its discussion boards, on the blog I used to write about that game: http://justagirlandherthorax.blogspot.com/2007/08/gay-is-not-dirty-word.html
The reality is that for the most part the operators of these games and the media surrounding them don’t really care much if LGBT players are made to feel welcome because we’re not seen as part of their core audience or player base (read: paying customers). At the same time, however, they’re very much concerned about preventing personal attacks and slurs from appearing in their game and media because they’re concerned that parents, and increasingly adult players, will find such content distasteful and inappropriate.
What it really boils down to is maximizing profits and eliminating anything that’s seen as having the potential of possibly cutting into those profits. This is particularly true of games which are popular with younger audiences, especially teens. Frankly, I don’t expect this to change anytime soon, but a little media coverage on the issue never hurts.
Sebizzar
They need to understand that censoring a word isn’t going to solve anything, anybody can use any word & try to make it an insult. They need to just block the ones who obviously want to offend.
Truth
evony.com also censors the word gay out from chat. so everyone uses ghey or g@y.
Binx
So basically fags are getting mad because people are calling them gay? For one I didnt think that they were allowed access to the internet. Get over it, stop crying about being called gay. Fags have been nothing but a thorn in our side ever since they came to this country from France
jonny
fucking sexy
Sebizzar
@Binx: You do realize this is a gay website right? Oh right, you’re obviously very stupid.