Feb 03, 2006  |  By: ALEXANDER SLIWINSKI  | COMMENTS     

By Sara Andrews thought it was a misunderstanding when she received an e-mail from a game master in Blizzard Entertainment’s popular online role playing game "World of Warcraft" citing her for harassment based on sexual orientation.

Andrews had posted a message that she was recruiting for a "GLBT friendly" guild in a general chat channel within the game. Believing that her notice had been accidentally flagged, she e-mailed Blizzard to correct the problem. Blizzard, to Andrews’ surprise, upheld its decision.

Blizzard’s policy on sexual orientation harassment, which is set forth in the game’s terms of use and cited in the e-mail to Andrews reads, "This category includes both clear and masked language which insultingly refers to any aspect of sexual orientation pertaining to themselves or other players."

When word of the citation got out, Blizzard Entertainment was inundated on its message boards and last week released a statement defending the policy but saying it would rewrite portions, and that the company would clarify the policy’s enforcement with its online game monitors.

The statement, posted Jan. 27 on the site’s message boards, said that use of the term "GLBT" was not allowed, because it has a "tendency to result in communication that often breaks down into harassment."

Rather than diffusing the controversy, the message fueled it further.

"Does this mean I should report people who mention their wives and children?" asked a character named Artos on the boards.

Andrews said she was not satisfied with the statement.

"Blizzard has yet to address the fact that I never violated the policy," claimed Andrews, "as it was stated at the time the citation was given. I did not violate the policy as it was written at the time that I agreed to it"

Andrews said she plans to cancel her membership to World of Warcraft because of the way the incident has been handled.

Flaunting heterosexuality?

As of Jan. 31, there were more than 2,500 postings in the online general discussions area concerning the topic. The controversy has even spilled over into game play.

During the weekend while play was under way on the website, which is the world’s largest massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), it was reported there was a wedding at which several characters showed up to protest people flaunting their heterosexuality.

The original posting by Andrews that led to the flap was fairly innocuous: "OZ [the name of her guild] is recruiting all levels—We are not ‘GLBT only,’ but we are ‘GLBT friendly’! (guilduniverse.com/oz)."

Blizzard’s stance was clear that recruiting for a guild using "GLBT" was inappropriate as, the company said, it may "incite certain responses in other players that will allow for discussion that we feel has no place in our game."

Two large gay guilds, Stonewall Champions and Spreading Taint, have expressed displeasure at the incident.

"Of particular concern to us is that the policy in practice punishes players for hypothetical harassment at the hands of another. This is not only a GLBT issue; but one which could easily escalate to impact guilds who are family-friendly, religious, geographical, or recruit gamers of a certain age," the gay guilds wrote.

"Silencing a guild that is seeking friendly new members is not a satisfactory preventative for harassment. Rules should exist to punish the harasser, not those who may be harassed."