Fun with the Armory: Everyone's a little bit racist
by Elizabeth Wachowski 
Jun 4th 2007 at 11:09AM
Mallory has an issue with one of the ranked arena teams, Kool Kids Klub. Because the initials of the guild are spelled KKK, she believes the guild is openly racist. Which really only works if you assume that so is Krusty the Klown. I can't exactly picture real-life KKK members sitting down to form an organized racist arena team in WOW. Plus, as several people pointed out, arguing about racism in an arena where you kill characters because they're of a different race is weird.
But the interesting thing in the thread isn't about the Kool Kids Klub. Rather, it's how many really ridiculous character, guild and arena team names fall below the radar. Particularly bad are arena teams, which don't seem to have the same filter as character and guild names. Examples given in the thread include:
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Nucken Figgers
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Jew N Da Oven
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Maybe Hitler Was Right
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Muslimkilla
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Jesus Had A Soulstone
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I Survived Virginia Tech
Eh ... while I don't condone racism, most of these names are clearly done for shock value. And if they're actually racist, then that would just help anger their opponents. I know I'd fight harder against Maybe Hitler Was Right. If we have to ban something, can we ban the horribly overused guild/arena team names? I'd be happy if I'd never have to face another STDs are BOP, Naga Stole My Bike or Ihavecandy Getinthevan member ever.
What do you think about the naming policies of WOW? Do you think their should be stricter enforcement of naming rules, or should Blizzard let it be?
Filed under: Virtual selves
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Sylvina Jun 4th 2007 11:38AM
LMAO... a handful of those are DEFINITELY funny (not the racist ones, but the ones at the end)... but I'm into 'dark humor' or whatever... things like pbfcomics.com make me giggle.
I think a lot of them are dumb and immature, but Jesus Had A Soulstone, is pure win... I don't even think I'm offended by it, and I believe in him. But, I can easily see this exploding into an 'LOL GAY' blog debate again.
In short, welcome to the internet, hopefully Blizzard will start addressing arena team names and making changes or disbanding these teams for inappropriate names. Although, one may argue some names could be legit... for all we know 'I survived Virginia Tech' could be a group of kids from VT who did indeed survive the shootings or experienced them first hand... long shot I know, but still.
Hank Jun 4th 2007 11:39AM
Considering that enforcement on Blizzard's part is reactive, rather than proactive, the WoW community itself needs to step up to have something done. Remember, if you don't stand up for others, there will be no one left to stand up for you...
Hiroshi Jun 4th 2007 11:41AM
While I think Kool Kids Klub is an obvious reference, it's still debatable and I wouldn't press it beyond mere speculation. I certainly wouldn't label them as actual racists because I agree that it's primarily done for shock value.
I will say, however, that the blatant references are taking it too far. I still agree that they're not necessarily real Nazis or Muslim killaz, or whatever, but a line has to be drawn somewhere. For the sake of the industry and the stigma of "gamers," we don't need more flak thrown at us if the mainstream media ever runs the headline, "Racists Raiding the World of Warcraft?"
Chris Jun 4th 2007 11:41AM
Jesus had a Soulstone... LMAO!
Walterion Jun 4th 2007 11:50AM
Jesus had a soulstone....cleary deserves a trofey for that. i know some are REALLY rasists....but it's a Game, what will do an Arena team Name do on the game ? Take it as a joke and not as something serius.
Sylvina Jun 4th 2007 11:52AM
I got bored and did some quick photoshop work... /giggle.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v17/Laughing-Man/jesus_risen.jpg
Milkstar Jun 4th 2007 11:54AM
Racist jerks defending those arena names and the criticism therein as "Too PC!!" in 3...2...
Mad Cow Jun 4th 2007 11:53AM
From what i've seen, blizzard is pretty lax on names. The only time they step in to make a change is when a little drama flares up.
token Jun 4th 2007 12:06PM
To #5: "but it's a Game, what will do an Arena team Name do on the game ? Take it as a joke and not as something serius."
I think that most people won't take it too seriously or take it to heart, but you're forgetting something here. A lot of young children play this game. I can tell you that if my 8 year old nephew saw "Jew N Da Oven" while he was just trying to a play a game, it would upset him. As I am sure "Nucken Figgers" would upset others. Frankly, no one should have to see this overtly racist filth while playing a game. We see enough of that crap in the real world.
I don't particurlarly care for the PC BS that goes on the U.S. most of the time, but they're lines, and names like these clearly cross them.
Aiggan Jun 4th 2007 12:22PM
@7 -- they are uneven at what they do. They made the guys from the Podcast "The Instance" change their guild name. For some reason they did not like the name "I Eat Babies" - something trolls say in game (or at least used to).
Darkwarder Jun 4th 2007 12:28PM
I've seen some dumb articles on wowinsider, but this one's moronic. You clearly are condoning racism. Let me guess, none of those racists names relate to you.
Shock value? You mean like burning crosses on someones lawn? That would be done for shock value. I bet if you're trying to offend someone, you're probably going for shock value.
Here's what you should have said, "These kind of blatantly racist and offensive things have no place in WoW." Yeah, you kind of missed the point. Maybe social commentary isn't your thing.
bob Jun 4th 2007 12:30PM
There is lag in RL.
It took Jesus three days to rez.
Jason Jun 4th 2007 12:36PM
Soulstone, nothing. Jesus was a Shaman.
Kabbalah Jun 4th 2007 12:41PM
Hm... come to think of it, Jesus could have been a Shaman - self-res, walking on water, being persecuted by an evil empire (Rome/Blizzard)...
The only thing that doesn't fit is conjuring water and food. Maybe Shamans could do that in a remote patch, before all nerfs hit them :)
The Crowing One Jun 4th 2007 12:46PM
@11
Burning a crucifix on someone's lawn is shock value? Jeeze, that sounds a lot more like threat, harassment and a slew of other illegal activities.
Call me old fashioned, but I remember days back in (AOL) NWN when the very notion of a guild/team named anything other then something (even thinly) RP-based was unheard of.
While I agree that the initial post is "wishy-washy" it is attempting to spark conversation by not taking a hardline stance.
Sadly, we're not going to see "better" names because, for Blizzard, the sort of RP-naming that is truly called upon for a Swords and Sorcery RPG is a thing of the past. These names should be stricken for the fact that they target a certain group hatefully (with the exception of "Jesus had a Soulstone, THAT is clever and innocent) and, PC be damned, I think we're all intelligent enough to realize that we can do without this sort of childishness.
Corrodias Jun 4th 2007 12:50PM
its fine, lern2play
Supamunky Jun 4th 2007 12:57PM
Hehehe 'Naga stole my bike'. I would like to see that in WoW.
I haven't spotted anything dodgy yet. Although I still have a lot of content to play through (I've had it for a year too :-/). I'm guessing there's dodgy stuff in higher level PvP and Arenas.
Scruffy Jun 4th 2007 1:24PM
@14
Private server. 'nuff said. :P
baron Jun 4th 2007 4:18PM
I can't exactly picture real-life KKK members sitting down to form an organized racist
The FLQ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLQ) or at least followers of their doctrine have guilds in both WoW and Star Wars Galaxies. These guilds relate in game scenarios to real life ones. E.g. The Rebellion / Horde are the French and the Alliance / Empire are the English. They then use the in game lore to draw comparisons spin propaganda and recruit more members for their real life organization.
This is a pretty common scenario historically, games and activities have very often been used to recruit young people into extremist organizations.
cupio Jun 4th 2007 1:26PM
Welcome to reality. People are idiots and morons, and you're going to hear a lot of things from them you won't agree with. If you want to avoid dealing with them, maybe an MMO isn't the right kind of game for you. It's certainly easier to escape into a dreamworld when you play alone.
I don't like many of these names either, but if you start policing words, then you will end up with the lowest common denominator. Something nobody is offended by (if such a thing exists). Something really boring. And I feel offended by boring things.
In fact I feel offended by people who want to decree what can be said or written.
I understand that you want to protect your child from disturbing influences. But you won't succeed in shutting the world out for very long. If he's old enough to play world of worldcraft, he is old enough to learn to deal with the fact that the world is full of idiots and morons.
I defend everyone's right to say stupid things, and have racist team names.
If only so I can identify them and don't accidentely end up in a PUG with them. ;-)