3 ms·

Why is this newsworthy? Random video game publisher implements arbitrary rule in video-game land. Seems to me like the goal of this story is just to stir up con

Why is this newsworthy? Random video game publisher implements arbitrary rule in video-game land. Seems to me like the goal of this story is just to stir up controversy over something that's not at all important. Anyone who plays a lot of online games knows that game publishers regularly ban users for a wide variety of arbitrary reasons, even mundane profanity is enough to earn a ban or suspension in many popular games.

pfraze 6y ago
It's newsworthy because there's a pretty significant debate occurring in the US about how private companies can moderate speech in their spaces. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is being actively relitigated by both parties (though it's not clear yet if anything will come of it).
- root_axis 6y ago
  > Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is being actively relitigated by both parties I feel like I am taking crazy pills. We're talking about the creator of a video game banning the confederate flag in-game, we are a long way off from free speech rights in the supposed public square of a private enterprise. In what world can you imagine video game creators not being able to determine what kind of content is acceptable in their own game. I don't feel convinced that this is anything other than aggrieved culture warriors trying to make something mundane into a controversy.
  - pfraze 6y ago
    > I don't feel convinced that this is anything other than aggrieved culture warriors trying to make something mundane into a controversy. I don't wholly disagree, my point is that the culture war is hot right now over this specific topic and that's why it's news-worthy.
  - lopmotr 6y ago
    > In what world can you imagine video game creators not being able to determine what kind of content is acceptable in their own game. You're over-generalizing. If a game explicitly banned players from creating characters that look like black people, would you still make that comment? I'm sure you can at least see why others would find that newsworthy.
    - root_axis 6y ago
      > If a game explicitly banned players from creating characters that look like black people, would you still make that comment? YES! Without a shadow of a doubt I would. In the most extreme case I might say "Wow, very disappointing, I won't be purchasing any more titles from that publisher" and that'd be the end of it, I certainly wouldn't regard it as newsworthy discussion except in a gaming forum. I'd also add that for the vast majority of gaming history, the vast majority of games do NOT allow you to create black characters, and while I've heard activists decry the lack of inclusion, I've never seen the lack of black characters in a specific video game title presented as a news story.

pfraze 6y ago

It's newsworthy because there's a pretty significant debate occurring in the US about how private companies can moderate speech in their spaces. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is being actively relitigated by both parties (though it's not clear yet if anything will come of it).

root_axis 6y ago
> Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is being actively relitigated by both parties I feel like I am taking crazy pills. We're talking about the creator of a video game banning the confederate flag in-game, we are a long way off from free speech rights in the supposed public square of a private enterprise. In what world can you imagine video game creators not being able to determine what kind of content is acceptable in their own game. I don't feel convinced that this is anything other than aggrieved culture warriors trying to make something mundane into a controversy.
- pfraze 6y ago
  > I don't feel convinced that this is anything other than aggrieved culture warriors trying to make something mundane into a controversy. I don't wholly disagree, my point is that the culture war is hot right now over this specific topic and that's why it's news-worthy.
- lopmotr 6y ago
  > In what world can you imagine video game creators not being able to determine what kind of content is acceptable in their own game. You're over-generalizing. If a game explicitly banned players from creating characters that look like black people, would you still make that comment? I'm sure you can at least see why others would find that newsworthy.
  - root_axis 6y ago
    > If a game explicitly banned players from creating characters that look like black people, would you still make that comment? YES! Without a shadow of a doubt I would. In the most extreme case I might say "Wow, very disappointing, I won't be purchasing any more titles from that publisher" and that'd be the end of it, I certainly wouldn't regard it as newsworthy discussion except in a gaming forum. I'd also add that for the vast majority of gaming history, the vast majority of games do NOT allow you to create black characters, and while I've heard activists decry the lack of inclusion, I've never seen the lack of black characters in a specific video game title presented as a news story.