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Blizzard
Uploaded by 123LOL4LOL123 Oct 20, 2019 at 11:05AM EDT
blizzard pewdiepie ban china censorship brennon hook blocked on twitter maya angelou criticism
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![QAnonymous asked: Any thoughts on the Hong Kong Blizzard situation? Now that you're all caught up, let's talk about Blizzard and their business situation in China in general. China represents an enormous portion of Blizzard's market. One of the designers I know A Ihave a lot of thoughts on the matter. Those who participate on our Discord] server have probably seen my comments and thoughts on the Hong Kong Blizzard (and greater China) situation in real time over the past few weeks. It is a very complicated topic to cover (as geopolitics tends to be), but I will attempt to distll it down for you Fair warning, this is a long post. at Blizzard said "I was once told that Warcraft is to China what Star Wars is to the US" and I believe it. China has gone so far as to build a Warcraft-inspired (but not licensed) (theme park). You'd think this might give them some clout, but you'd be wrong. The cCP has no qualms about completely banning any company that steps out of line. 時代革命 It's also important to note a few other relevant details you might not be aware of: Several of Blizzard's own employees staged a walkout in protest of the company decision [Blizzard is far from alone in this behavior. The CCP has their foot on the necks of many foreign companies. The Hong Kong Blizzard issue has also garnered [mainstream [media] [coveragel [Both Republican and Democrat lawmakers have criticized Blizzard's response in this incident] Before we begin, for those who don't understand what's happening in Hong Kong, here's a [quick link to a BBC summary of what the Hong Kong protests are about] Now.. a little more background about doing business in China. You have to realize that all Chinese companies operate in China at the whims of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). All companies above a certain size must have a CCP representative on their board, and all companies above that size just happen to be run by people who have deep ties to the CCP. There are no exceptions to this. To compound this, all foreign companies must partner with a Chinese company in order to do business in China. This gives the CCP unprecedented control and leverage over all major businesses in China. Blizzard's Chinese partner company is NetEase. Why does everything hove to be so complicatrd? Here's the thing-a lot of Blizzard's critics in this situation are saying that it's greed motivating their decision... but I don't think it's just greed. If Blizzard gets cut off from China, it would be disastrous for their bottom line, as well as Activision-Blizzard's valuation. That would not only mean they lose a lot of money, but the entire company (and many of their employees' jobs) is potentially in jeopardy. Given just how much of their business is done in China I would not be surprised if being banned from China would be an existential crisis for Blizzard as we know it. For anybody within Blizzard, that should be terrifying I OWN YOU! The CCP is very sensitive about certain things. They tolerate no dissidents and have built massive internal systems of social and economic engineering to maintain that level of control things like individual [social credit scores] that determine a citizen's ability to travel or buy a home, [massive facial recognition software] to pair with the literal [hundreds of millions of cameras everywhere, and the ["Golden Shield"] - China's special "walled garden" internet with rigidly controlled access to the outside world. Everything is fantastiel Let's go back to the Hong Kong and Blizzard thing directly. One of the competitors in the Hearthstone Grandmaster tournament was blitzchung, a Hong Kong native who, during a post-match interview, put on a gas mask like those the protesters are using and said "Liberate Hong Kong, the revolution of our times - the HK protester slogan. In response to this, [Blizzard banned blitzchung from competing for a year, took back his prize money, and removed him from Grandmasters]. The day after, the official Hearthstone Weibo (essentially China's version of Facebook) account posted this: Now that we've been through all that, here are my own thoughts on the matter: Blizzard is stuck between two awful choices. This has become a full-blown international incident, which puts it in a different class entirely than the usual kinds of gamer recreational outrage. It's a public relations shitstorm of the highest degree and one that will likely take years to recover from. However, their only other option is potential ruin with many, many lost jobs and irreparable harm done to the company at the pleasure of an authoritarian government. IfI were in their position, I would say that (some of) the players could possibly be won back by making good games and keeping a low profile while a ban by the CCP is not something they can appeal. My view is that Blizzard asa company is essentially a CCP hostage at this point. Maybe it wasn't when they first launched WoW in China back in 2005, but a lot has changed in the 14 years since then. It certainly doesn't excuse what they did, but I don't believe it is as simple as "they want China money so they compromise their ideals". I believe the CCP has them by the neck and will not hesitate to squeeze. s0400 我们对上周末护石亚大比赛中发生的事件表示强型快想与建责,并决反对在任 何赛事中传播个人政治理念。沙事进手将被禁赛,沙事解说将被立即止任何官 方工作,同时,R也将一如既往地决护国家尊严。 Q當中国:雪(炉石传说》电团队对Bitzchung违规事件的郑重声明!原文 ERR Translation e are very angered and disappointed t wut hppened at the eventand do net condone it n any way, also ily ject the sprealing of persnal pelitical bellets in this ffective edately e've baed the contestant fro vents and terminated work with the troadnters PS Edit wil alays respect and defend the prie of our country.1 I wanted to paraphrase something that Brian Kibler, former Hearthstone caster, said today. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to step back from this. Do not take your anger out on the other casters, or streamers, or employees of Blizzard. This is not the kind of decision that comes from the rank and file. Most likely they're just as For those who can't read it, the text roughly translates to this: We are very angered and disappointed at what happened at the event and do not condone it in any way. We also highly object to the spreading of personal political beliefs in this manner. Effective immediately, we've banned the contestant from events and terminated work with the broadcasters. We will always respect and defend the pride of our country angry as you are.](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/list/001/601/862/122.png "A game dev's view on the matter")
![Boo!-bell Follow @SGBluebell i have been keeping quiet out of fear but as an english major and chinese speaker i feel like i really need to point this out since i don't know how many ppl will know enough to explain the blizzard post really seems like it was written by a chinese (non-native EN) speaker 5:37 PM 11 Oct 2019 916 Retweets 2,076 Likes 60 t916 2.1K Boo!-bell@SGBluebell 7h before i go into this, i want to point out that the tone & language is all over the place- some are more native EN phrasings, others seem like typical CN, which makes me think there's some cobbling together here 1 336 i 17 Boo!-bell @SGBluebell 6h in CN it is very common to use ellipses & space them out like this. this just doesn't happen in EN unusually this starts in the first person and uses casual contractions ("what's happening"). contractions don't exist in CN, so using them in formal situations is a common error 2 298 ti 15 Boo!-bell @SGBluebell 6h the structuring: in chinese writing it's typical to add what an english teacher might call "topic sentences" at the beginning and end of paragraphs. this isn't conventional and sounds very heavy-handed in english. At Blizzard, our vision is "to bring the world together through epic entertainment." And we have core values that apply here: Think Globally; Lead Responsibly; and importantly, Every Voice Matters, encouraging everybody to share their point of view. The actions that we took over the weekend are causing people to question if we are still committed to these values. We absolutely are and I will explain. 4 344 t18 Boo!-bell@SGBluebell 6h in the same vein, headers containing incomplete clauses or rhetorical questions before paragraphs are common in chinese, but clunky in english. for an OW example look at the HZS krystal callout. also, why are the blizz parts indented? doesn't it look like it was copy & pasted? As to how those values apply in this case: First, our official esports tournament broadcast was used as a platform for a winner of this event to share his views with the world. We interview competitors who are at the top of their craft to share how they feel. We want to experience that moment with them. Hearing their excitement is a powerful way to bring us together. Over the weekend, blitzchung used his segment to make a statement about the situation in Hong Kong-in violation of rules he acknowledged and understood, and this is why we took action. Every Voice Matters, and we strongly encourage everyone in our community to share their viewpoints in the many places available to express themselves However, the official broadcast needs to be about the tournament and to be a place where all are welcome. In support of that, we want to keep the official channels focused on the game. Second, what is the role of shoutcasters for these broadcasts? We hire shoutcasters to amplify the excitement of the game. They elevate the watchability and help the esports viewing experience stay focused on the tournament and our amazing players. Third, were our actions based on the content of the message? 1 297 ti16 Boo!-bell @SGBluebell 6h this header ("OK") makes it obvious that there are two voices here (minimum): whoever wrote this and whoever wrote the indented statement "copy and pasting official blizz statements" is even weirder- if there IS an official blizz statement why are we getting it in this wrapper?? OK, what could Blizzard have done better, and where do we go from here? Over the past few days, many players, casters, esports fans, and employees have expressed concerns about how we determined the penalties. We've had a chance to pause, to listen to our community, and to reflect on what we could have done better. In hindsight, our process wasn't adequate, and we reacted too quickly. We want to ensure that we maintain a safe and inclusive environment for all our players, and that our rules and processes are clear. All of this is in service of another important Blizzard value--Play Nice; Play Fair. In the tournament itself blitzchung *played* fair. We now believe he should receive his prizing. We understand that for some this is not about the prize, and perhaps for others it is disrespectful to even discuss it. That is not our intention. 4 286 t16 Boo!-bell @SGBluebell 6h we then get into this long section where the grammatical indicators become apparent using "When we think about..." instead of the present participle ("thinking", or something else bc "think" isn't really the best word here- it's too personal for a statement) is another CN sign But playing fair also includes appropriate pre-and post-match conduct, especially when a player accepts recognition for winning in a broadcast. When we think about the suspension, six months for blitzchung is more appropriate, after which time he can compete in the Hearthstone pro circuit again if he so chooses. There is a consequence for taking the conversation away from the purpose of the event and disrupting or derailing the broad cast. 2 281 ti16 Boo!-bell @SGBluebell 6h in chinese, verbs don't take on diff conjugations- e.g. "think" is just "think", to indicate time it looks like "when i think", "i think back", "i once think" (NOT thought), "think [word serving the purpose of ing]" bc words like "thought" and "thinking" just don't exist 1 251 ti 13 Boo!-bell @SGBluebell 6h so using "When we think about" (maybe ... in CN), which is kind of awkward and unfitting in EN, instead of "Looking back on", "Considering our", etc. is a red flag in the same vein, why "with regard to" instead of "regarding"? it's not wrong just weird 4 11 263 Boo!-bell @SGBluebell 6h also, in CN there are no plurals (no dogs or cats, only dog or cat) see: "there is a consequence" (instead of the native EN phrasing "there are consequences") that's everything that pops out to me immediately, i'll add if i find anything weird compete in the Hearthstone pro circuit again if he so chooses. There is a consequence for taking the conversation away from the purpose of the event and disrupting or derailing the broadcast. With regard to the casters, remem ber their purpose is to keep the event focused on the tournament. That didn't happen here, and we are setting their suspension to six months as well. 7 296 21 Boo!-bell @SGBluebell 6h so why is this statement... like this? it's not a vocal recording of j. allen brack. here's what j. allen brack sounds like. news.blizzard.com/en-us/blizzard... if it's not him then who is it? why a non-native EN speaker? why didn't PR edit this? what's going on here? BIZARD ENTERTAINMENT Message from J. Allen Brack Message from J. Allen Brack news.blizzard.com 15 430 ti 41](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/list/001/603/149/634.png "Blizzard's response by J. Allen Brack might not actually be from J. Allen Brack")
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Uploaded Oct 20, 2019 at 11:05AM EDT
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blizzard, pewdiepie, ban, china, censorship, brennon hook, blocked on twitter, maya angelou, criticism
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