Blue Posts and Other WoW News: "Transsexual" being filtered, some words coming off filter list

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Blue posts
Quote:
Does blizzard actually ever read these post or are they just put here and people just argue back and forth about topics that Blizzard has no intention of reading. I think this thing is an elaborate scheme to distract us. To keep us quiet and to leave the GM's alone thats why they always refer to the forums page.
Does blizzard actually ever read these post or are they just put here and people just argue back and forth about topics that Blizzard has no intention of reading. I think this thing is an elaborate scheme to distract us. To keep us quiet and to leave the GM's alone thats why they always refer to the forums page.
We read them. We also allow conversations to take place without our influence when it seems that it's the better course of action. Sometimes our intervention can actually skew a conversation off track if we're not careful. Then again, sometimes skewing a conversation is something we need to do too, to get people "on track" or even away from non-constructive discussion.
Sometimes we just don't have anything we could effectively add to the conversation, but it may spark some discussion internally that we can have amongst ourselves or take to the developers and producers. If and when we do have something we can bring back, we generally try to. Some may be under the false belief that it was the constant posts about a topic that made us come back to the topic, when in fact we may just need some time to discuss and come up with an answer that works and sometimes, we may have an answer that we just can't share at the time. Timing in our roles is often everything and as many know, "promising" something too soon, can be upsetting or worrisome to some people, while others don't mind being "in the know" even if plans do change. It's a balancing act.
We don't have elaborate schemes. That would mean we have a lot more time on our hands than we actually do to sit, plot and plan. In most cases, when we reply to something on the forums, we're tightrope walking while keeping an eye on the ever so dangerous ps and qs. That's not to say there isn't a method to the madness (see above paragraph.) It just means, we have to be quick on developing our thoughts and typing them out in a way that (hopefully) makes some semblance of sense.
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Quote:
So minding that, Neth-blue-lady, if you guys see some awesome suggestion or idea do you generally keep quiet about it on the forums and just relay it back to your cohorts?
So minding that, Neth-blue-lady, if you guys see some awesome suggestion or idea do you generally keep quiet about it on the forums and just relay it back to your cohorts?
Generally, yes. If we see some really good feedback or ideas, we will often take it with us when we meet with the developers (which is generally a weekly face to face meeting.) We don't want to give the wrong impression that feedback given equals a guaranteed change based on that feedback.
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Quote:
ok but you can't tell us you're just as likely to notice a thread with 5 replies as you are to notice a thread with 23 pages of replies.
ok but you can't tell us you're just as likely to notice a thread with 5 replies as you are to notice a thread with 23 pages of replies.
Yes. We are just as likely to notice a smaller thread as we are to notice the larger ones. Sometimes, the best conversations are on the first few pages (not to say we don't read through the entire thread.) The reason being, that often, the conversation is more focused on the topic at hand and as the thread lengthens, we either see repeat discussions/arguments, or it begins to expand to other topics that may not be as relevant to the main topic of the original post.
BTW, contrary to popular belief (and not to start a moderation discussion.) We do not delete threads solely on the idea that it's saying it dislikes something we've designed or done to the game. We generally delete non-constructive threads or repeat threads since they often don't lead to good discussion or split conversation which makes it more difficult for us to sift through them for the constructive bits.
Quote:
Care to give us some insight as to why this is a bad word, blues?
Care to give us some insight as to why this is a bad word, blues?
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We've reviewed our filter list and there are a few words there that should not be blocked as profanity; we'll be removing them in a future patch. Again, thanks for the report. If you see or are subject to someone using any words in a harassing, defamatory, or derogatory way, you can report the situation to our customer support staff to be handled. You can do so in-game by clicking on the red question mark near your bags.
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Filed under: Today in WoW






Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Chris Anthony Jan 24th 2012 11:19PM
I appreciate the implication, at least, that they recognize that it shouldn't be filtered.
(Even if the preferred term is "transgender".)
Prelimar Jan 24th 2012 11:34PM
maybe TG is also on the list of words to be removed. : )
Agony Jan 25th 2012 12:07AM
Now if they could ADD some words as well, that'd be lovely. Words like "ghey", "ghay", "gahy", or "gehy", for example. I see people using this instead of "gay" when saying, "Oh, that's so _______". Gah...jerks.
Anyway, what I think would be fun is if Blizzard could do like what I saw on a forum awhile back - replace the words with more...ahem...interesting phrases. Things like, "You are such a [I have a potty mouth], you know that? God, you're a [I'm also a homophobe]!"
It would make for some very colorful conversations in Trade, that's for sure.
Xantenise Jan 25th 2012 12:44AM
@Agony I would pay an extra five bucks a month to see that.
Killik Jan 25th 2012 1:54AM
A website I used to frequent put in a profanity filter that replaced swearing with an innocuous alternative. For example, an extremely offensive word for female genitalia was rendered as "cranberry".
It didn't discourage swearing - quite the opposite. So much so that now I get an unwanted double meaning whenever I eat a dried cranberry.
Dea ex Machina Jan 25th 2012 2:20AM
Actually, as I understand it, transsexual and transgendered actually refer to slightly different things. Transsexual individuals are specifically those who feel that their physical bodies are wrong and in need of changing, whereas transgendered individuals are more comfortable identifying with and living as the other gender but may or may not feel the need to alter their physical sex. One's sex is physical, one's gender is social/cultural.
Some people use transgendered as the umbrella term (all transsexuals are transgendered, but not all transgendered people are transsexual), but there's all kinds of arguments and overlaps. The short form "trans" covers most of the bases.
Ozzard Jan 25th 2012 3:05AM
Dea - exactly. Or, given the T* community, perhaps "inexactly".
Aldarion Jan 25th 2012 4:42AM
But how could you roleplay the Rocky Horror Picture Show when the most often appearing word is censored left and right?
Just askin'.
shotiechan Jan 25th 2012 8:33AM
@Chris
Actually, transgender and transsexual aren't the same thing, and if someone is one, they aren't automatically the other. Someone can be transgendered without being a transsexual.
Chris Anthony Jan 25th 2012 11:20AM
Dea, shotiechan: This is the problem with dealing with this phenomenon - there simply isn't a universal vocabulary yet. That said, the distinction I've seen used most frequently is that a transgender person's gender differs from the gender they were assigned at birth, while a transsexual person's physical sex differs from their current gender.
Speaking as a transgender person, I think the distinction is excessively fine and unnecessarily divisive (if nothing else, it divides transgender people into post-op and pre-/non-op, which is dangerous), and the truth is that when you're in doubt, you should be using "transgender" and not "transsexual". (Also, the -ed suffix is pretty thoroughly deprecated.) THAT said, again speaking as a transgender person, with rare exceptions, as long as you're respectful, the terminology you use doesn't bother me. :)
Ametrine Jan 25th 2012 3:51PM
@Killik:
I was just drinking a glass of cranberry juice, how do ya think I feel now?
Medivhal Jan 24th 2012 11:29PM
Transsexual is being filtered, or is being added to the filtered list? It shouldn't be added and if it is currently filtered should be removed. It's a state of being, much like being a mother, brother, father, son, daughter, Mexican, Pakistani, Indian, Russian, Australian, husband, wife, spouse, lover, griever, writer, teacher, politician, toll booth attendant, or any other innumerable adjectives. It is not a condemnation.
Domintal Jan 24th 2012 11:47PM
"Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We've reviewed our filter list and there are a few words there that should not be blocked as profanity; we'll be removing them in a future patch."
Bapo Jan 24th 2012 11:51PM
"We've reviewed our filter list and there are a few words there that should NOT BE BLOCKED as profanity; we'll be removing them in a future patch."
So it'll become unblocked
Al Jan 24th 2012 11:55PM
Although, Blizzard do have a filter set up to ignore any post that uses the word "Australian". Especially if it also contains "quality service".
Ez Jan 24th 2012 11:37PM
So, Patch tomorrow????? Judging by the maintenance schedule...
Jeff (Not that one ^ ) Jan 24th 2012 11:56PM
I guess that's what happens when you tell someone, "Make a list of words for the Mature Language Filter" and they build the list based on their beliefs about what's appropriate or not and then that list doesn't get a proper vetting.
Drakkenfyre Jan 25th 2012 2:40AM
StarGate: Resistance had a riduculously strict chat filter. It would filter things even close to profanity or what they thought was profanity.
One of the classes in the game was called an Ash'rak. It was an assassin character. You could hit a key and bring up a list of phrases for characters to say. One of them for the Ash'rak was "I pass unseen."
This was filtered to "I **** unseen."
Because the game was assuming she was saying piss. A built-in phrase was being filtered. Other things which were filtered were "crap", "butt", "pissed", "killed", "XBox", and I think "PS3". After some complaints, the company said it realized the chat filter was a little too strict, and would modify it a bit.
Maymer Jan 25th 2012 12:11AM
"Transexual is being removed from the filter list".
And suddenly, as if a million voices cried out, countless Rocky Horror Picture Show fans started singing "Sweet Transvestite" in unison.
Jeff (Not that one ^ ) Jan 25th 2012 12:30AM
How many times can I vote this up?