Discrimination Debate Rages On
by Mike D'Anna 
Jan 18th 2006 at 6:21AM
The heated debate over discrimination in WoW continues to grow. Ferrago.com 
and PRWeb both report today that Chinese
players, in particular, are reporting more & more instances of discrimination in-game, with one Chinese web site
that reported on the story logging over 7,000 complaints from players who feel they have been unfairly mistaken for
gold farmers & harassed, simply because of the language they speak.
With over 5 million subscribers, one thing is for sure, WoW will continue to be a multi-cultural virtual melting pot, the likes of which we've never seen before. Blizzard likely did not foresee many of these issues while developing the game, but it will be interesting to see how they address them, because, judging from the amount debate this controversy has stirred, this problem likely will not go away on it's own.
and PRWeb both report today that Chinese
players, in particular, are reporting more & more instances of discrimination in-game, with one Chinese web site
that reported on the story logging over 7,000 complaints from players who feel they have been unfairly mistaken for
gold farmers & harassed, simply because of the language they speak.With over 5 million subscribers, one thing is for sure, WoW will continue to be a multi-cultural virtual melting pot, the likes of which we've never seen before. Blizzard likely did not foresee many of these issues while developing the game, but it will be interesting to see how they address them, because, judging from the amount debate this controversy has stirred, this problem likely will not go away on it's own.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Stormgaard Jan 18th 2006 7:23AM
Garbage like this is also why an idea like the Station Exchange would work well for Blizzard. We all know that there are a lot of Chinese farmers out there. That's not racist, that's just a fact. It doesn't mean they eat babies for breakfast and that we have to fire up the ovens and turn on the gas chambers. But the only people who really seem to have a problem with them are the game "Purists" who are against ideas like the Station Exchange and/or anything that resembles a free market in the virtual world.
Most people in the real world who play this game obviously don't give a crap about farmers and/or appreciate the service farmers offer. For all the objections you see on teh intraweb opinion outlets against farming, you have to admit the farmers are dramatically successful aren't they? Blaming farmers in the virtual world is like blaming immigrants in the real world. Don't get mad at them because you're too fat and lazy to be as competative as they are.
And it also goes back to the game design (to a degree). The drop rate in WoW is actually pretty good. You can get some decent gear even if you play casually. But 100 gold for a mount? C'mon that's just damn rediculous. 1000 for a level 60 mount? Dumb. Mounts change the game play significantly - ESPECIALLY for the average player who can't powergrind to get the gold in the first place. It's not like a new weapon or piece of armor that change the gameplay by small degrees.
PodMonkeys Jan 18th 2006 10:12AM
#1. "We all know that there are a lot of Chinese farmers out there. That's not racist, that's just a fact."
That is no excuse to harass every Chinese you see. That is no different than looking at crime rates in poorer neighborhoods and saying "We all know there are a lot of minority criminals. That's not racist." To work off an assumption like that, and treat all minorities as criminals IS racist.
No matter how much you want to rationalize it, its still racism. It doesn't matter what name you want to use: "stereotyping," "profiling," etc, its all still treating someone different based on their race. The moment you treat a group differently based on their race, you are a racist.
How about we deal with the farmers, instead of harrassing every Chinese person we meet? How about not blaming entire races for problems? Don't people even learn anything from history?
Darkwarder Jan 18th 2006 10:44AM
I really don't care about the race or the nationality of the farmer. I do care that you have no choice but to buy from them. You can't mine enough ore anymore, because of the farming, to build anything. What used to take a couple hours to find enough thorium, now is impossible. I feel sorry for anyone trying to reach 300 in blacksmithing. To get enough material, they'd probably have to buy gold from farmers on ebay, so that they could buy ore from farmers in WoW. But the whole farming thing is nothing compared to the "ninja" looting. Never invite a guildless female rogue that doesn't speak english to anything. I've lost countless blues and an epic to them.
So spare me, the "Oh you're racist" crap. It has nothing to do with racism.
Why don't I play on the Chinese servers?
1) Don't know how.
2) Don't speak Chinese.
Why would someone that doesn't speak english play on US servers?
1) No server for their language/region (not their fault)
2) Farming and looting.
So if gold farming is against Blizzard policy, why should the players support it? It has everything to do with someone interferring with you trying to play and enjoy your game.
Silvertusk Jan 18th 2006 11:39AM
Yesterday, I did Stratholme undead with a group of 4 other chinese players. It was quite interesting; they spoke very, very broken english, and were all "Cheerful to be with me". It was actually pretty touching, the way we all just worked well together regardless of the language barrier.
They passed on all the drops (probably searching for specific items), while I only clicked on "Greed". This was met with "It is okay" whenever it happened.
I dunno, my tiny little story.
Stormgaard Jan 18th 2006 1:03PM
PodMonkeys, your hypersensitivity is part of the problem, not the solution. Attitudes like yours blow things way out of proportion. There are a lot fewer real racists in the world than you think there are. Most people treat other people (regardless of race) based on what they do, not what they are. The day I see rednecks sitting in a darkened room tapping away for hours at a computer keyboard is the day I'll believe that you'll open the door to your home for a guy that looks like Tupac Shakur with a smile on your face and gladness in your heart.
The biggest problem isn't with race or ethnicity - as the hypersensitives would turn it in to - it's got to do with economics. These people aren't teasing the Chinese because they're Chinese - they're teasing them because they think they're all farmers - which (drumroll please) a lot of them are! Holy crap! Rednecks don't go to college and Mud-Bog, East Indians run 7/11's, and Greek people make good cheese.
It's the economy. If Blizzard had something like Sony's Station Exchange there would be no taboo, and therefore no Stigma, therefore no teasing.
But again, you'd have to get it past the Control Freaks who want a totally closed system.
Topher Jan 19th 2006 9:06AM
In reading your posts I thought I would comment on racism.
I don't view people who badmouth chinese as racist. There may be a few who are truely racist but I don't think this phenomenon largly has to do with racism.
I get upset about seeing someone who doesn't speek english in my group not because they are "chinese" or any other ethinic group. Plain and simple wow is a team effort in many circumstances and requires alot of communication. How many times has my warlock died because a non-english speaking person does not work as a team.
I suspect that if a great deal of french or german etc speaking people played this game on improper server it would be them getting tourmented aswell. It isn't the Chinese ethnic group so its not racism. Its a plain and simple matter of how the game is played and there lack of the ability to do so. I can't even count how many english speeking people get poked fun at or booted from a group because of there attitude and so on.
The economy of the game can in fact be hurt by this "farming" we all spoke of and blizzard tries very hard to prevent this. Its a shame some chinese "players" not "farmers" have troubles. However, they should be on the proper server so the real "farmers" can be identified and delt with.
Patrick Jan 19th 2006 1:44PM
I have played with some Chinese players in the past, and some of them are very nice.
I think this is a case of human intrest, in other words, if it bleeds it leads. I would never imagine in a thousand years a story being posted on how comraditiy is growing between various cultures through WOW. No, that wouldn't make it past the first editor who saw it. What the editrors of publications, and to an extent their audiances, want and expect is something shocking.
Is there descrimination in WOW. No doubt, but their is also a vast base of young and immature players in Azeroth. Im not going to say that every racist remark was delivered by a 14 year old, but I am going to say we cannnot rule out age group as a variable.
Also, though my first instinct is to disregard this as a shock story, one cannot ignore the geopolitical tension between the two nations to whom these players belong. In no way am I saying this will result in World War 3, but you can't help but see that our goverments don't like each other to begin with.
I like the Chinese players I have gamed with in Azeroth. My personal philosophy is that unless someone approaches you offering a proposition, said person is not a gold farmer. In the spirit of the game I would want to get along with as many people as possible, because all players are potential allies.
Fianally think about Gold farming in genearl. With the Chinese Yens value less than the American dollar it would seem like a dream job to play around and offer fake money for the more valuable American dollar.
All though it is certainly legaly questionable, and ethically wrong, it is clever.
Persoanally. I never plan to buy from a gold farmer, and if you, like I, don't like Gold farming, and think it is wrong (regardless of who dose it) then you should not buy gold.
Well, I think I have bloviated on that topic to my hearts content. It's not like the chinese goverment is doing this to get revenue of it's military... or is it? :-D
Nappy Tnt Jan 19th 2006 3:11PM
It's a game, get over it... GOSH!!!!!
Can you be racist if refer to the group as Post Communist have-nots getting a guilty pleasure by daydreaming they can grow precious metals?
Whoops, Sorry, GOSH!!!!
Oracle Jan 19th 2006 4:22PM
Personally I'd like to see Blizzard take action to make life miserable for places selling gold/items for real cash.
I'm have the feeling that my opinion runs counter to the people wanting something like station exchange, because I'd like to see perma-bans placed on accounts and credit cards used for such equipment.