I was recently banned for saying “ez” after a game. We all know that this is the abbreviation for ‘easy’. I contacted a GM who made up some nonsense about it being against the code of conduct as it is “unsportsmanlike behaviour”. I read the code of conduct and it says nothing about “unsportsmanlike behaviour” so basically the GM made up reasons to keep the ban active as they won’t admit that their reporting system is heavily flawed.
So Blizz, can you give me a list of non-offensive words that are found in the dictionary (such as easy) that won’t get me banned? I have a few to start off with:
Will any of these words get me banned? They are all non-offensive and found in the dictionary (like ‘easy’, which did get me banned)
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Apple
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Table
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Antelope
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Car
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Shoelace
Obviously the community will need a comprehensive list, however just use these as a starting point.
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Since there is no further context, I’d assume you said “ez” because the game was easy.
That is an unsportmanlike behaviour. You show no respect to the opponent by saying it was an easy game. You insult the opponent in an indirect way, stating that this player is a weakling, a loser, someone you can defeat without a sweat.
Context matters! This is why those words you mentioned can be used in an offensive way.
Car itself isn’t offensive but wishing someone to be hit by a car is offensive.
Why exactly have you said ez? (Btw, that 2-letter-combination is infamous for being used by “toxic and salty” players.)
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Fatbludragon, thanks for your reply.
It can be sugar coated as much as you like, saying “easy” is not offensive. As I have stated “unsportsmanlike conduct” exists nowhere within the code of conduct. Could you have a read through my post again so I don’t have to repeat things. Thanks.
Your name contains Fat, as a Fat person in real life I’d like you to change your name as I find that offensive.
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Regarding the OP.
I have to agree. I think OW has taken a downward spiral regarding bans and “unsportsmanlike conduct” (which doesn’t exist) nowadays you can say the smallest thing to someone (i.e ‘ez’) and boom a ban. Personally, I think competitive games always have those sort of things being said, IT’S COMPETITIVE, if you didn’t get amped up in games like that then you’re not in the right gamemode, and if you can’t take someone saying ‘ez’ to you then you should find a more child friendly game.
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I agree, FatBluDragon assumed there was no further context. There wasn’t. I said “ez” after a mystery heroes game and received the ban and poor explanation from Blizz staff.
Well, you could report me, due to my name but context wise, it isn’t offensive.
On the contrary, I could claim that I am fat myself and I find it offensive that you are “fat shaming” me.
I actually got that name because friends called me like that. Never show your buddies what you draw.
You can understand anything out of context because if you change the context, the whole situation changes.
You are still able to break the CoC:
When participating in communication of any kind (chat, voice communication, group finder), you are responsible for how you express yourself. You may not use language that could be offensive or vulgar to others.
Hate speech and discriminatory language is inappropriate, as is any obscene or disruptive language. Threatening or harassing another player is always unacceptable, regardless of language used. Violating any of these expectations will result in account restrictions. More serious and repeated violations will result in greater restrictions.
That part is the crucial one. While the CoC is another terrible topic to discuss, let’s focus on the following question: Was it rude or offensive?
Here’s the thing. Everything in itself is not offensive. Even the n-word itself isn’t offensive. What makes it offensive is how you use it. Context matters!
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We won the game. I typed “ez”. Are you telling me that is language that is rude or vulgar? Is it hate speech or discriminatory language? Is it obscene or disruptive? Please don’t add things into the code of conduct that aren’t there in your reply.
In cricket there is a term called sledging. This is perfectly fine to do during a game( assuming you don’t take it too far) I believe blizzard need to tone down banning people for the little things like “ez”. Obviously a bit of banter is fine and the game community loves a bit of it. I dont want a game where everybody was like “Joly good game old chap” “you all played well shame I didn’t win, maybe next time” I’d go insane. It needs a bit of banter and tilting.
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Yes, it is rude. Try to see your phrasing in multiple perspectives: If you are the losing team and the winners say “ez”, its equivalent to them calling you “loser”. The other player interpreted it as an insult and thus reported you for chat abuse.
As a side note, I’m trying to explain how this can be considered a reportable offense, not whether you should report someone for saying “ez”.
This would be fine in the competitive scene, which would be equivalent to trash talking or taunting. However, Overwatch is played by casual players, too which does make the behavior issue even more difficult to discuss or solve.
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Did I type “loser” though? No. I typed two letters and received a 10 day ban. How you are trying to defend this is beyond me.
I could call you a “n4zi” without using that word. Then I would get away with it, wouldn’t I?
As a safer example: I can explain blue without using that word: It’s the color of the sky.
I can even call someone out a s5xist without using that word: that person hates women.
See? Still able to have the same context with different words.
Do you understand the problem? It’s the context that matters.
This means you’ve been penalized multiple times or you actually have said something way worse than that during your playsession.
The context was that I said “easy”. You are saying irrelevant things and making up irrelevant scenarios to my situation. Oh yeah, I also said “ffs” which earned me the ban. Blizz needs to grow up, that’s the bottom line.
Hold on, I’m talking about context, not content.
The context is what that word “easy” means. it means the game was easy. In the loser’s perspective, it means that they suck. The other players can read that out of context, thinking that you were insulting them, which is a crucial part due to the CoC.
See that “Could”? It implies that anything that has the possibility to be offensive or vulgar is against the CoC. “Easy” might not be offensive for you but for the loser, it might be.
How about we agree to disagree?
Why do you even need to say “ez” in the first place? It’s completely unnecessary, isn’t it?
So back to my original post. I have asked for a comprehensive list of non-offensive words that are in the dictionary that can be said.
Based on your logic, where context doesn’t matter, any word can be said. The word itself cannot be offensive, no matter which word you take.
However, as you’ve experienced yourself, this isn’t the case. This means there are other factors than the word itself determine whether a word “is” offensive.
Sorry, but we’re just cycling back to the “context” issue again.
The main problem is that we can hardly create objective rules for a subjective case. It is difficult to add facts in a scenario where only feelings matter.
This is why people hate the “chat abuse” report button.
I’ve explained the context to you and you still agree with the ban. Too many precious people abusing the report button.
I don’t agree with the ban. I find it stupid that people get banned for saying “ez”. The only thing we can do is try to understand the system so we can either point out its flaws or be aware of the traps.
I don’t understand why do you even feel the need to type “ez” at the end of a game you just won , unless it’s meant to be in an offensive way to address your opponents which it is indeed unsportsmanlike behaviour . If you really want to say something ,that is not offensive in any way ,you could say " well played " etc. But from what I see you really wanted to be rude /offensive to your opponents and this happened multiple times since you got banned for it. So no matter how much you want to twist this you are the only one responsible for the ban you’ve got.
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I think sending “ez” to the match chat to the enemy team is completely unnecessary. What is the purpose? What do you want to tell them with “ez”? Because they will try to look for your intentions and I can’t see any good intentions behind a message like that. Sending it to team chat conveys a different message even to your teammates compared to sending it to match chat.
I’m not surprised if someone finds messages like that offensive. If you have the urge to send messages to match chat then try sending meaningful ones. After all you need text/voice chat during the match only to communicate with your teammates.
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