Adding to what Activision Blizzard is surely considering a week from hell, World of Warcraft Classic LGBTQ+ guild GAY BOYS took to the Internet over the weekend to report it had its guild name changed over the weekend due to user complaints.
On Friday (Australian time), GAY BOYS was renamed to “Guild ZFXPK” alongside a temporary account suspension that was handed out to the guild’s creator. While the account ban was lifted, the guild name remained as gibberish for quite some time.
In an email sent to the guild by Blizzard customer service, it was confirmed that the name change was made because “your fellow players reported your in-game name as inappropriate multiple times.”
“If you reviewed my chat logs, you would see multiple messages from individuals through my recruitment process of getting us to where we are today, with individuals messaging “Fuck the gays, reported,” amongst other extremely hateful and discriminating comments,” GAY BOYS guild member told ArsTechnica. “These are the individuals that find our name inappropriate. Giving in to their demands only means that you are siding with them as a company, which, after a decade of playing your games, is a surprise to me.
“To say there is anything inappropriate about the words GAY or BOYS is, in and of itself, inappropriate, childish, and discriminatory,” Jilani continued. “Individuals that found the name inappropriate should be the ones taking a good look at themselves in the mirror, because this is 2019, and we have a right to exist as a community.”
Since the initial report by ArsTechnica, the guild’s name has been changed back.
“I too would hate to lose my account if the account was caught up in something some [sic] thought was violating the TOS/EULA and got the guild renamed, and I’m bummed yours was,” another email from Blizzard’s customer service reads. The email also advised that “There isn’t a way to stop people from reporting this name, as some find the way the term is used offensive. If you get actioned again, you can appeal like this, and we can look at it once more. For now, though, you have your guild name back!”
Blizzard is also under fire for the way it has handled Hearthstone players using livestreams to register their support for Hong Kong protests calling for democratic freedom from China.
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