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They banned a player and stripped their prize-money for speaking out in favor of HK. They did this in order to try and maintain access to Chinese markets, prob

They banned a player and stripped their prize-money for speaking out in favor of HK. They did this in order to try and maintain access to Chinese markets, probably assuming that the US market wouldn't care.

vbezhenar 7y ago
They banned him because he spoken about politics which have nothing with video games. I don't think that they tried to censor exactly HK speech. I guess they would have banned him if he would talk about Putin as well.
- danharaj 7y ago
  I believe that you believe that, but I'm here to tell you that your counterfactual is not realistic.
  - belltaco 7y ago
    The same pro player had expressed his HK independence support on his social media in the past, yet was allowed to play.
- Lazare 7y ago
  You reckon they'd have banned him if he'd worn a Elizabeth Warren campaign badge? Really? Like...that's a thing you honestly can imagine?
  - belltaco 7y ago
    Yes, because if unpunished, in the next game that will cause another player to wear a MAGA hat. And another to wear a shirt saying "ICE is just doing it's job". They cannot punish those guys because it will make them look biased. And it's all downhill from there.
    - tareqak 7y ago
      Make Azeroth Great Again [0]? You could by them at https://shop.esfand.tv/ https://shop.esfand.tv/ before, but it’s currently under construction (the website’s <title></title> still has it in the name). I posted this in the original post of the story too [1]. [0] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=494dkjXL3p4 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=494dkjXL3p4 [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21190549 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21190549
  - tutiospose 7y ago
    I believe they would have banned him if he said “Free Palestine.”
- kmonsen 7y ago
  The Chinese version of the Blizzard statement was different: https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/10/10/verified-chinese-blizzard-account-doubles-down-on-political-policy https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/10/10/verified-chinese-bli... It included we will defend the honor of the nation, making it clear exactly what he did wrong.
  - belltaco 7y ago
    Posted not by Blizzard but by Net-Ease, a Chinese company that isn't owned by Blizzard.
    - detaro 7y ago
      At the same time posted by a company officially representing Blizzard, unchallenged by Blizzard, and thus attributed to their brand.
    - magashna 7y ago
      > NetEase also partners with Blizzard Entertainment to operate local versions of Warcraft III, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, StarCraft II, Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, Overwatch in China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetEase https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetEase
      - belltaco 7y ago
        They aren't owned by Blizzard.
        magashna 7y ago
        I'd imagine a licensee, hosting nearly all their games, has much more responsibility in their public statements compared to Blitzchung
        EpicEng 7y ago
        I don't own the law firm I use to defend myself in court, but I do pay them to act on my behalf. Blizzard has also not done anything to backpedal on that statement. Honestly, how many mental hoops did you have to jump through to convince yourself that Blizzard doesn't endorse what NetEase said?
- Rebelgecko 7y ago
  One one hand, sure he broke the rules. If they had said "don't do that any more", or given him a slap on the wrist it would be understandable. But they banned him for a year and revoked the winnings he had already received in tournament play— Blitzchung got a worse punishment than people who got caught cheating at Blizzard games. I think that says a lot about where their priorities are. Based on past events (even Blizzard's own presentations at Blizzcon) it's already clear that the rule against offending people is being selectively enforced. Edit: And I'm presuming it's being selectively enforced based on who is offended by a statement.
  - tgsovlerkhgsel 7y ago
    > One one hand, sure he broke the rules. This is a very generous (towards Blizzard) interpretation. The rules weren't "no politics". The rules were a generic "don't piss us off or do anything we may find objectionable", basically. Per the Verge, 'The rule in question forbids players from doing anything that “brings [them] into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages [Blizzard’s] image.”' It's designed to be arbitrary, because if you were to strictly enforce it anyone would violate it simply by existing nowadays.
- cthalupa 7y ago
  No one said anything about Putin, so we can't really argue that. I could pose another hypothetical and say I guess they wouldn't have banned him if he said he believes LGTBQ+ people deserve equal rights. We don't know because those didn't happen, making them not particularly useful statements. What we can say is that the operator of Blizzard games in China, Net Ease, while posting about this incident under a Blizzard branded account, said that they would protect and defend the pride of China. Blizzard has not distanced themselves from this statement, "clarified" it, or done anything whatsoever to indicate that this stance is not the truth. When someone you have authorized to represent you is making a statement in your name, it will be taken as being endorsed, unless you state otherwise.
ikiris 7y ago
And everyone else in the room at the time was terminated. Which was the amazing part that totally destroyed any attempt at high ground.
- belltaco 7y ago
  Wrong, the casters were fired because they knew what was going to transpire and actively let it happen.
  - cjbprime 7y ago
    I don't think that's true, I believe the casters have said Blitzchung showed up on the live interview stream (it was remote) wearing the gas mask unexpectedly. If someone is to cut him off and not let it happen, it's the job of the production crew. The job of the casters is to try to keep things entertaining and on the rails when the camera's live on them. It's not fair to punish casters for improvising a response.
    - belltaco 7y ago
      >I believe the casters have said Blitzchung showed up on the live interview stream (it was remote) wearing the gas mask unexpectedly. Nah that's wrong. Have you watched the live feed video? Here's a translation of what was said by the casters. https://www.reddit.com/r/Competitiveoverwatch/comments/dfs7aw/taiwanese_caster_who_got_fired_by_blizzard_in/f35ngnf/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Competitiveoverwatch/comments/dfs7a... So many mistruths being spread and believed as facts, it's sad really.
      - gruez 7y ago
        Original source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYCUVBKjddE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYCUVBKjddE
      - cjbprime 7y ago
        Your interpretation is not in contradiction to mine, and I had watched the video. I'm saying that the casters didn't know before the interview started that Blitzchung would wear a gas mask to it. You're saying that during the interview they encouraged him. That's true. But a caster doesn't have many other options at that point, their main job is to keep things genial and entertaining. They are not the production team, who could have cut away from the interview at any time -- even before the casters started responding. The blame goes to production.

vbezhenar 7y ago

They banned him because he spoken about politics which have nothing with video games. I don't think that they tried to censor exactly HK speech. I guess they would have banned him if he would talk about Putin as well.

danharaj 7y ago
I believe that you believe that, but I'm here to tell you that your counterfactual is not realistic.
- belltaco 7y ago
  The same pro player had expressed his HK independence support on his social media in the past, yet was allowed to play.
Lazare 7y ago
You reckon they'd have banned him if he'd worn a Elizabeth Warren campaign badge? Really? Like...that's a thing you honestly can imagine?
- belltaco 7y ago
  Yes, because if unpunished, in the next game that will cause another player to wear a MAGA hat. And another to wear a shirt saying "ICE is just doing it's job". They cannot punish those guys because it will make them look biased. And it's all downhill from there.
  - tareqak 7y ago
    Make Azeroth Great Again [0]? You could by them at https://shop.esfand.tv/ https://shop.esfand.tv/ before, but it’s currently under construction (the website’s <title></title> still has it in the name). I posted this in the original post of the story too [1]. [0] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=494dkjXL3p4 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=494dkjXL3p4 [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21190549 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21190549
- tutiospose 7y ago
  I believe they would have banned him if he said “Free Palestine.”
kmonsen 7y ago
The Chinese version of the Blizzard statement was different: https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/10/10/verified-chinese-blizzard-account-doubles-down-on-political-policy https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/10/10/verified-chinese-bli... It included we will defend the honor of the nation, making it clear exactly what he did wrong.
- belltaco 7y ago
  Posted not by Blizzard but by Net-Ease, a Chinese company that isn't owned by Blizzard.
  - detaro 7y ago
    At the same time posted by a company officially representing Blizzard, unchallenged by Blizzard, and thus attributed to their brand.
  - magashna 7y ago
    > NetEase also partners with Blizzard Entertainment to operate local versions of Warcraft III, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, StarCraft II, Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, Overwatch in China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetEase https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetEase
    - belltaco 7y ago
      They aren't owned by Blizzard.
      - magashna 7y ago
        I'd imagine a licensee, hosting nearly all their games, has much more responsibility in their public statements compared to Blitzchung
      - EpicEng 7y ago
        I don't own the law firm I use to defend myself in court, but I do pay them to act on my behalf. Blizzard has also not done anything to backpedal on that statement. Honestly, how many mental hoops did you have to jump through to convince yourself that Blizzard doesn't endorse what NetEase said?
Rebelgecko 7y ago
One one hand, sure he broke the rules. If they had said "don't do that any more", or given him a slap on the wrist it would be understandable. But they banned him for a year and revoked the winnings he had already received in tournament play— Blitzchung got a worse punishment than people who got caught cheating at Blizzard games. I think that says a lot about where their priorities are. Based on past events (even Blizzard's own presentations at Blizzcon) it's already clear that the rule against offending people is being selectively enforced. Edit: And I'm presuming it's being selectively enforced based on who is offended by a statement.
- tgsovlerkhgsel 7y ago
  > One one hand, sure he broke the rules. This is a very generous (towards Blizzard) interpretation. The rules weren't "no politics". The rules were a generic "don't piss us off or do anything we may find objectionable", basically. Per the Verge, 'The rule in question forbids players from doing anything that “brings [them] into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages [Blizzard’s] image.”' It's designed to be arbitrary, because if you were to strictly enforce it anyone would violate it simply by existing nowadays.
cthalupa 7y ago
No one said anything about Putin, so we can't really argue that. I could pose another hypothetical and say I guess they wouldn't have banned him if he said he believes LGTBQ+ people deserve equal rights. We don't know because those didn't happen, making them not particularly useful statements. What we can say is that the operator of Blizzard games in China, Net Ease, while posting about this incident under a Blizzard branded account, said that they would protect and defend the pride of China. Blizzard has not distanced themselves from this statement, "clarified" it, or done anything whatsoever to indicate that this stance is not the truth. When someone you have authorized to represent you is making a statement in your name, it will be taken as being endorsed, unless you state otherwise.

ikiris 7y ago

And everyone else in the room at the time was terminated. Which was the amazing part that totally destroyed any attempt at high ground.

belltaco 7y ago
Wrong, the casters were fired because they knew what was going to transpire and actively let it happen.
- cjbprime 7y ago
  I don't think that's true, I believe the casters have said Blitzchung showed up on the live interview stream (it was remote) wearing the gas mask unexpectedly. If someone is to cut him off and not let it happen, it's the job of the production crew. The job of the casters is to try to keep things entertaining and on the rails when the camera's live on them. It's not fair to punish casters for improvising a response.
  - belltaco 7y ago
    >I believe the casters have said Blitzchung showed up on the live interview stream (it was remote) wearing the gas mask unexpectedly. Nah that's wrong. Have you watched the live feed video? Here's a translation of what was said by the casters. https://www.reddit.com/r/Competitiveoverwatch/comments/dfs7aw/taiwanese_caster_who_got_fired_by_blizzard_in/f35ngnf/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Competitiveoverwatch/comments/dfs7a... So many mistruths being spread and believed as facts, it's sad really.
    - gruez 7y ago
      Original source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYCUVBKjddE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYCUVBKjddE
    - cjbprime 7y ago
      Your interpretation is not in contradiction to mine, and I had watched the video. I'm saying that the casters didn't know before the interview started that Blitzchung would wear a gas mask to it. You're saying that during the interview they encouraged him. That's true. But a caster doesn't have many other options at that point, their main job is to keep things genial and entertaining. They are not the production team, who could have cut away from the interview at any time -- even before the casters started responding. The blame goes to production.