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[Hearthstone] THIS THREAD IS DEAD! POST IN THE NEW ONE!
Anyone else having issues download the update tonight? I'm getting less than 1 Mb/s when other downloads are normal. I wonder if Blizzard's servers are getting hit by attacks as backlash.
+2
lwt1973King of ThievesSyndicationRegistered Userregular
This is making the rounds on Hearthstone Twitch chat currently:
I'm glad Blitzchung got banned! Keep politics OUT of Hearthstone! I love Tencent and Mao Zedong! (You will receive 100 social credit for posting this message in chat. Your family's organs will not be harvested this month. Please remove this part from the message before posting).
"He's sulking in his tent like Achilles! It's the Iliad?...from Homer?! READ A BOOK!!" -Handy
jaina's is far and above the best one of the 9 though
hands fucking down
(guldo's is a close 2nd tho)
Battle.net Tag: Dibby#1582
+3
GoodKingJayIIIThey wanna get mygold on the ceilingRegistered Userregular
China is the global leader now, or will be soon, in large part because guys like Rubio have happily watched their corporate buddies gobble up anything and everything they please.
Well they are in for a rude awakening because we’re going to see this kind of thing more and more. This is rampant, unchecked global capitalism.
By the time I tuned in tonight, both teams were just showing as the class portrait. I figured it might have been a preemptive effort, but I guess that explains it!
Just watched Zalae play Hireek + Evolve for a full board of 9 mana minions. 3 of them ended up being Charge/Rush to help him clear enough of his opponent's board to keep himself from dying. Definitely a peak Hearthstone moment.
i have just been informed that blizzard has long since changed the format for their live Q&A during blizzcon so that people can no longer blindside them with questions such as:
"Hey guys, I love your game, but yknow what I don't love? That people are dying and fighting for their lives in Hong Kong."
or
"Hey so I noticed that in the Saviors of Uldum expansion, there's a statue out in front of the Blizzard campus that says Every Voice Matters but I guess that doesn't apply to Hong Kong?"
i have just been informed that blizzard has long since changed the format for their live Q&A during blizzcon so that people can no longer blindside them with questions such as:
"Hey guys, I love your game, but yknow what I don't love? That people are dying and fighting for their lives in Hong Kong."
or
"Hey so I noticed that in the Saviors of Uldum expansion, there's a statue out in front of the Blizzard campus that says Every Voice Matters but I guess that doesn't apply to Hong Kong?"
shame
That was in response to the “Is this a late April Fool’s joke?” burn during the Diablo Immortal Q&A.
It seems people are targeting Thijs now for banning any HK talk on his streams. There goes your job, mate.
Wanna try my Mario Maker levels?
Shoot m to BITS (hold Y) [hard] C109-0000-014D-4E09 P-POWER Switch Palace 3838-0000-0122-9359 Raiding the Serpents Tomb 1A04-0000-0098-C11E I like to move it, move it FCE2-0000-00D7-9048
The caster's name is M.Yee. He has worked very hard to get to where he is today. He is mainly an Overwatch caster who also casts Hearthstone and WOW. Very talented and the HearthstoneTW stream's audience absolutely loves him.
In the video he said that he prepared a ton for this weekend's Overwatch Pacific Showdown (as well as the HS Grandmasters Playoffs, needless to say) but it seems like he will not be casting Overwatch anymore either. He finds the situation very sad; years of cultivating his passion and hardwork may just be gone in vain.
"He's sulking in his tent like Achilles! It's the Iliad?...from Homer?! READ A BOOK!!" -Handy
Either way, it saddens me people are forced into expressing their political views on gamestreams.
Wanna try my Mario Maker levels?
Shoot m to BITS (hold Y) [hard] C109-0000-014D-4E09 P-POWER Switch Palace 3838-0000-0122-9359 Raiding the Serpents Tomb 1A04-0000-0098-C11E I like to move it, move it FCE2-0000-00D7-9048
Kibler said he was going to say something “soon” and now it’s been nearly a day and all he’s done is post screenshots from his Hearthstone stream.
It's a Blizzard type of "Soon".
"He's sulking in his tent like Achilles! It's the Iliad?...from Homer?! READ A BOOK!!" -Handy
+3
KoopahTroopahThe koopas, the troopas.Philadelphia, PARegistered Userregular
It's also really crappy because the 'mid-expansion expansion' patch with Tombs is really really good content in that it shakes up every game mode in Hearthstone. I just don't want to touch it now.
I certainly never expected that my position in the Hearthstone community would lead to me making a statement on sensitive topics regarding international relations, but I have always viewed my strange place as a public figure in gaming as an opportunity to try to make the world a better place in whatever way I can, so here we are.
Here are the facts as I understand them.
After finishing his final match of the second season of the Asia-Pacific Hearthstone Grandmasters, Hong Kong player Ng “blitzchung” Wai Chung appeared on the official Taiwanese Hearthstone stream for his post-game interview wearing a gas mask. He lifted the mouthpiece and shouted, in Chinese: “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our age!” – a rallying cry of the ongoing protests in Hong Kong.
On Tuesday, Blizzard announced their ruling, claiming that Blitzchung violated one of the Hearthstone Grandmasters rules against “engaging in any act that, in Blizzard’s sole discretion, brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard image.”
The penalty they imposed was expelling Blitzchung from the Grandmasters league entirely, including retroactively revoking the prize money he had earned throughout the season, and additionally banning him from competing in events for a year. They also announced that they would no longer work with the casters involved in the controversial interview.
I want to start by saying that I feel what Blitzchung did was very brave. He knew that his actions would likely have serious consequences, not just for his future in Hearthstone but possibly even for his personal safety, and I commend him for the fortitude that takes.
Even so, I do think that Blizzard was correct in issuing him a penalty for his actions. They do not want to set the precedent for their official broadcasts being used as political tools. The players agreed to particular rules for behavior, and he violated those rules.
I have seen many descriptions of the situation claim that Blizzard took action against Blitzchung “for his support of the Hong Kong protests”, but that’s not an entirely accurate description. They did not penalize him for his political stance – they penalized him for breaking the rules by using their official broadcast to promote that stance.
Anyone who pays attention to my social media feeds knows that I am not someone who shies away from politics. I am frequently quite vocal about my views about what’s going on in the United States. I have kept a deck titled “Election 2016” in my collection for the past three years, full of cards like Corruption, DOOM, and Validated Doomsayer. I would rather risk alienating those who disagree with me rather than stay silent on matters I consider important.
But when I am on the desk for an official Hearthstone broadcast, I leave those views at home. Maybe I’ll make a subtle snide remark on occasion, but I know that I am representing Blizzard in addition to myself. If I were to close a show with speech about how I feel like Trump should be impeached, I wouldn’t expect to be invited back for future events.
All that having been said, there are additional factors at play here. The punishment meted out to Blitzchung is incredibly harsh. I could understand a fine, or even a short suspension from competitive play, but removal from Grandmasters, clawing back the prizes he already earned, and banning him for a full year seems completely overboard to an extent that feels completely unwarranted and unfair.
I won’t pretend to understand either the intricacies of the geopolitical situation in China and Hong Kong or the full extent of Blizzard’s business interests there, but to me this penalty feels like it is deeply rooted in both. The heavy-handedness of it feels like someone insisted that Blizzard make an example of Blitzchung, not only to discourage others from similar acts in the future but also to appease those upset by the outburst itself.
That kind of appeasement is simply not something I can in good conscience be associated with. When I learned about the ruling, I reached out to Blizzard and informed them that I no longer feel comfortable casting the Grandmasters finals at BlizzCon. I will not be a smiling face on camera that tacitly endorses this decision. Unless something changes, I will have no involvement in Grandmasters moving forward.
However, I want to make clear that not everyone involved in GM has this luxury. 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 angry as you are. I know I am.
Civics is not a consumer product that you can ignore because you don’t like the options presented.
+32
AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
I had assumed that Blizzcon this year was going to be ho-hum.
Now though? I think it may prove to be very entertaining.
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
+8
3cl1ps3I will build a labyrinth to house the cheeseRegistered Userregular
Whew, was nervous with how that started but it ends on a very correct move.
Unrelated (sort of), I've been thinking about this a fair amount today, and I take real umbrage with any justification that leans on "well he broke the rules so what Blizzard did is okay," because the rule he broke very literally says that Blizzard can ban you at their whim whenever they want for any reason. That's fine, but it is also a rule that is absolutely impossible to modify your behavior around because you've been provided zero guidance about what will and won't break that rule. They could have banned him for wearing the wrong T-shirt or not liking eggnog, if they felt like it, so to say "well he clearly broke the rule and had to be punished" is completely worthless in this scenario.
+19
DemonStaceyTTODewback's DaughterIn love with the TaySwayRegistered Userregular
edited October 2019
Yea I mean the biggest thing that has been getting repeated that seems to get lost in a lot of the responses in defense of the decision is the harshness of the punishment.
Unless that is the same harshness for every other violation for saying something deemed inappropriate then it is absolutely a statement being made. Anyone ignoring that is going in there with some serious blinders.
Kibler’s site is giving 503 errors right now. I wonder if that’s from traffic or from an attack on it.
Civics is not a consumer product that you can ignore because you don’t like the options presented.
0
3cl1ps3I will build a labyrinth to house the cheeseRegistered Userregular
Probably just traffic, there's still a lot of buzz around this from basically every Blizzard community this morning and his statement is making the rounds.
Posts
I'm glad Blitzchung got banned! Keep politics OUT of Hearthstone! I love Tencent and Mao Zedong! (You will receive 100 social credit for posting this message in chat. Your family's organs will not be harvested this month. Please remove this part from the message before posting).
lmao
https://www.hearthpwn.com/news/6985-doom-in-the-tomb-patchnotes-standard-changes-and
As usual, Valeera gets the short end of the stick.
hands fucking down
(guldo's is a close 2nd tho)
Battle.net Tag: Dibby#1582
Well they are in for a rude awakening because we’re going to see this kind of thing more and more. This is rampant, unchecked global capitalism.
Jaina's new outfit for BFA is the best part of the expansion.
hit rank 5 today and.... i believe that was a pack from the adventure? if not, it was from an arena run. WHO KNOWS. just in time for daddy n'zoth tho.
anyways i had an arena run parked at 6 wins before the patch went out hooray (and an abysmal 0-3 run before that YOWZA)
Battle.net Tag: Dibby#1582
Battle.net Tag: Dibby#1582
"Hey guys, I love your game, but yknow what I don't love? That people are dying and fighting for their lives in Hong Kong."
or
"Hey so I noticed that in the Saviors of Uldum expansion, there's a statue out in front of the Blizzard campus that says Every Voice Matters but I guess that doesn't apply to Hong Kong?"
shame
Battle.net Tag: Dibby#1582
Viewership was also down about 50% tonight, from what I saw.
I'm actually in that Reddit thread arguing with people about this.
They seem to be shocked that Blizzard is acting to protect their access to a highly profitable region.
It's shitty, but no one should be surprised.
People need to boycott to make them take notice
well! time to continue not supporting blizzard in any way.
I unfollowed the Playhearthstone channel. I don't think I'll be interested in watching official Hearthstone tournaments in the future.
BlizzCon: It’s for the sharehold- I mean, fans.
Shoot m to BITS (hold Y) [hard] C109-0000-014D-4E09
P-POWER Switch Palace 3838-0000-0122-9359
Raiding the Serpents Tomb 1A04-0000-0098-C11E
I like to move it, move it FCE2-0000-00D7-9048
See my profile here!
I mean, don’t watch, spam the channel with “Free Hong Kong” or some clever variation that doesn’t get immediately auto-modded until you get banned.
A sad quote from it:
Shoot m to BITS (hold Y) [hard] C109-0000-014D-4E09
P-POWER Switch Palace 3838-0000-0122-9359
Raiding the Serpents Tomb 1A04-0000-0098-C11E
I like to move it, move it FCE2-0000-00D7-9048
See my profile here!
It's a Blizzard type of "Soon".
Twitch: KoopahTroopah - Steam: Koopah
PSN: Bizazedo
CFN: Bizazedo (I don't think I suck, add me).
http://bmkgaming.com/statement-on-blitzchung/
Now though? I think it may prove to be very entertaining.
Unrelated (sort of), I've been thinking about this a fair amount today, and I take real umbrage with any justification that leans on "well he broke the rules so what Blizzard did is okay," because the rule he broke very literally says that Blizzard can ban you at their whim whenever they want for any reason. That's fine, but it is also a rule that is absolutely impossible to modify your behavior around because you've been provided zero guidance about what will and won't break that rule. They could have banned him for wearing the wrong T-shirt or not liking eggnog, if they felt like it, so to say "well he clearly broke the rule and had to be punished" is completely worthless in this scenario.
Unless that is the same harshness for every other violation for saying something deemed inappropriate then it is absolutely a statement being made. Anyone ignoring that is going in there with some serious blinders.