Freedom of Speech

First off, this is a topic I am so passionate about it will be posted on my non-gaming blog as well.  I woke up this morning and read a post from Belghast from my Twitter gaming feed.  So far nothing unusual there but the first half of his post made me grind my teeth which is unusual.  In response to a blog piece written by someone he follows, he re-tweeted the blog twice and there was some long involved Twitter chatter about it yesterday. 

All well and good, nothing abnormal so far but then apparently the chatter devolved when another person chimed in to state that the author of the original blog piece was “pretty”.  Apparently, this became objectification of women as sexual objects and the man (presumably) was lectured, instructed, on why this was inappropriate.  I freely admit I didn’t read the conversation because quite frankly, I am so incredibly tired of this victim thread/conversation types.

I’m a woman and by God I am sick of this crap from women!  A man pays you a compliment and instantly you are a sexual object?  Whatever happened to taking the compliment gracefully and moving on?  If the behavior is so offensive, then you could have just muted or blocked the offending user instead, as I understand it from Belghast’s blog this morning, the poor bloke got called out on social media for being male. 

Yes, it can be uncomfortable as any person when someone else pays you a compliment that is unexpected, unsolicited, and out of left field.  But that doesn’t mean you’ve become a sexual object by any means.  It used to be a simple act of common courtesy to pay compliments to others.  Now it has become grounds for harassment, “objectionification”, and more.

Free speech isn’t just speech that makes you comfortable.  Free speech means everyone is free to engage is speech regardless of the feelings of others.  You have the choice to engage those whose speech you disagree with either verbally, written, or by ignoring said speaker.  You do not have the right to shut down the speech of others because it makes you uncomfortable. 

Whatever happened to civil dialogue between those that disagree?  Whatever happened to difference of opinion that where freely expressed?  Whatever happened to the knowledge that differing ideas are what founded this country and once made Her great?

Oh yeah, political correctness and hurt feelings run amuck happened.  If you don’t like the speech of another, then there are better options than playing the victim card.  Learn from the differences, engage the other person to see if you can find common ground, ignore them, or just walk away for a while.  But please, for the sake of sanity and common dignity don’t play the victim card and deny someone else the right to their freedom of expression.

Technorati Tags: Games,Gaming Lifestyle,gaming sexism,Free Speech,blogging,Twitter,Belghast

Daybreak Games Restructuring

Unlike many on my Twitter feed, I am not surprised and far from upset at the announced personnel changes at the newly acquired and renamed Daybreak Games.  I’m not so heartless that I don’t feel for the people who went into work this morning employed and left work today without a job.  I wish them all the best and hope they find positions they excel in and love sooner rather than later.  I’ve been laid-off, I know how unexpected and scary it is.  I’ve been through a corporate acquisition where the new bosses seem to be blindly making decisions for no regard for people loved and cared about by many.

That being said, I think shaking things up over at the former SOE is a good thing and will result in positive changes for the community and the games.  New ideas and change needs to be blown through the catalog of titles over at Daybreak.  Some games need to go, others need resourced poured into them to make them more than the niche game they currently have become. 

There is no fathomable reason that truly solid games like Everquest and Everquest II did not succeed far more wildly than they did.  SOE failed, repeatedly and often, over the years to spend time, money, and resources on their continued development.  Bugs that have existed since launch should have been squashed by now.  A graphics update for a game that is over fifteen years old, and still supported with an active community, is unforgiveable. 

Instead, SOE felt free to spend time and resources flitting from game to game, developing half-finished crap and expecting gamers to be satisfied.  SOE repeatedly, under the leadership of Dave Georgeson and Linda Carlson (among others), said one thing publically and did the exact opposite later.  SOE and now Daybreak have too many games in their catalog, too few resources, and no true vision or commitment.

Look I like who Linda Carlson is on Twitter but she wasn’t the best Community Manager I’ve ever encountered.  At events, she was far more accessible to drinkers and those willing to buy a round in a bar.  I’m no teetotaler but I as a gamer shouldn’t have to buy the public CM of your gaming division a round to get a chance to speak with you.  And while that may not have been your experience, it was definitely the experience I walked away from SOELive with.  Dave Georgeson has devoted much of his career to the Everquest franchise but completely ignored long time Everquest fans and players who objected to the cartoon graphics of Everquest Next.   John Smedley is still at Daybreak but he too ignores Everquest players and concerns for the new “hotness” game in development.

We pay for two yearly All Access subscriptions to Daybreak which is a terrific value.  That being said, as Everquest II players we are tired of having long standing bugs not being squashed, outrageous prices for digital only expansions every year, cash shop changes that make no sense or contradict public statement made earlier, and those are just a few examples. 

I am hoping that Daybreak gets the financial house in order and speaks to players with a consistent and honest voice at events, on social media, in game, and on the forums. 

Technorati Tags: Daybreak,SOE,SOELive,gaming,Everquest,Everquest II,Linda Carlson,Dave Georgeson,John Sedley