TO my way of thinking the new social contract are a sensible addition to the game and hopefully will help to stabilise the player base. Hopefully it will help stop bleeding customers as toxic behaviour is not good for keeping customers. I know this from personal experience.
I left the game after Warlords of Draenor and stayed away until around 6 weeks ago due to the toxic nature of some players. By the time I had left I had stopped grouping with others as I disliked the toxic nature of some people. Sadly that toxic element still appears to be here to some degree so for me grouping with others is not very attractive as a direct result.
In many ways feeling like that goes against everything in my nature as I am a social animal in many different ways. For a job I run a pub. I love being around other people but not when they are toxic.
In my work I run into people each and every week who do not know how to behave even though they are well over the age of consent. If I invite or allow a person into my environment (so my home or the pub I run) then I expect them to abide by my standards. The second they step out of line is the second they end up leaving the establishment no ifs ands or buts. If they use offensive language they are gone. If they upset other customers with judgemental language that is not appropriate they are gone.
This is because I am running a business and that business has to maximise profits. When people become offensive they are doing damage to maximising those profits. The wow servers are being run exactly the same way and that is what this new agreement is designed to achieve.
It makes perfect sense from a business perspective no matter how much those who are complaining want to complain. Toxic players put off other players which in turn affects the profits of the game. This in turn then affects content creation and all sorts of other vital aspects of the game
So the next time people feel like complaining maybe they should be thinking to themselves that the long term viability of the game needs a stable player base.
So to all those who are complaining please give this issue some proper thought before you go getting out of your pram about something you really do not need to get out your pram over.
Can you explain me why blizzard didn’t add just a “blizz message” with some text of “thank for playing wow. Remember everyone is here to have fun. Be nice to everyone. thanks”. and we click “ok”.
Instead of this weird contract.
I love when all the armchair legal experts come out of the woodwork.
The Social contract is encouraging good behaviour and highlights what you already agree to in the Terms of Service.
They can remove your access to the game for a period of time or permanently if you break the rules. You won’t go to prison, you won’t have committed a crime, you will just have broken the contract terms you agreed to.
I doubt most of us have even read the full terms of service. We click accept whenever we start a new game. This social contract highlights a portion of it in an attempt to improve the community.
But ah wanna be rude to other players for bo other reason than… Than…
RAAAARGH!!! BLIZZARD FORCING ME TO BE NICE!!! shakes fist at screen
I kinda like the armchair revolutionaries who have got it into their head that they will be getting knocks on the door from the rozzers… “ello ello ello, you were rude to random nobody online…” Psssssstph (pepper spray)
I think blizz needs to come with an official statement what they actually mean with the contract so we really know what we signed. To me it is completely vague, it totally makes no sense, and is encouraging bad behaviour by mass false reportings and next to that, encouraging to end all interaction, including doing groupcontent, with anyone in the game.
Because Corporate Lawyers, Public Relations, Business Consultants and a bunch of management types would have rewritten it into that gibberish.
Nobody reads these things anyhow, doesn’t really matter what it says. Everyone just click Accept to anything that pops up. What else are you going to do? Maybe there should be a Tentative button, then we could all click that instead.
Your use of the Platform to interact with Blizzard and other players is governed by Blizzard’s in-Game Code of Conduct accessible here (the “Code of Conduct”). The Code of Conduct is not meant to be exhaustive. The Code of Conduct is incorporated into this Agreement by this reference and is available at: https://eu.battle.net/support/en/article/42673 Please note that violation of any of Blizzard’s Codes of Conduct (including with regard to Your use of Blizzard’s Websites and Forums) may result in penalties against your Battle.net Account, including suspension and/or termination of Game licenses.
Code of Conduct as included above:-
Blizzard’s In-Game Code of Conduct
Article ID: 42673
Blizzard games offer a fun and safe place to interact with one another across various game worlds. We encourage our players to cooperate and compete in our games, but crossing the line into abuse is never acceptable. If you come across a player violating the policies below, you should report them.
Communication
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.
Naming
Names are subject to the same rules established above. Any name the player has the ability to customize—such as player names, BattleTags, and guild names—must be appropriate and inoffensive. Any name that violates our standards or disrupts the community will be changed, and additional limitations may be placed on the offending account per our discretion.
Take note that acceptable names are determined by player reports and Blizzard’s decision, and role-playing servers may have distinct standards for using game-appropriate names.
Cheating
You are responsible for how you and your account are represented in the game world. Cheating in any fashion will result in immediate action. Using third-party programs to automate any facet of the game, exploiting bugs, or engaging in any activity that grants an unfair advantage is considered cheating.
Exploiting other players is an equally serious offense. Scamming, account sharing, win-trading, and anything else that may degrade the gaming experience for other players will receive harsh penalties.
Behaviour
Behaviour that intentionally detracts from others’ enjoyment (such as griefing, throwing, feeding, etc.) is unacceptable. We expect our players to treat each other with respect, and promote an enjoyable environment. Acceptable behaviour is determined by player reports and Blizzard’s decision, and violating these guidelines will result in account and gameplay restrictions.
While we encourage you to report players that are behaving in a disrespectful manner, falsely reporting another player with the sole intent of restricting their gameplay is also unacceptable, and will result in penalties to your account.
If you’re unsure if your actions violate this code of conduct, reconsider them. We reserve the right to restrict offending accounts as much as necessary to keep Blizzard games a fun experience for all players.
The Social Contract
We recognize that the Internet is not always a safe haven. With that in mind, please note that the following behaviors are not accepted in Azeroth:
Hate speech, including negative comments that target another player’s identity, including aspects like race, gender, or ability
Harassment, threats, or abusive / derogatory language and behaviors
Spamming, advertising, or other disruptive behaviors
If you harm your fellow adventurers with any of the above behaviors, you are subject to punishment up to and including suspension of your account.
Here is the fundamental problem:
Approx. 90% of the people (or even more) just clicked on “I agree” without even bothering to read what it’s about (same goes for EULA and other license agreements btw):
“Yeah yeah yeah yeah, I just wanna play the heckin’ game”
I actually took my time and read it. Looks good on paper, as most things do ,but won’t change the game much. It is a nice try tho, at least maybe reports will have a bit better impact.
Is this the first time you hear the term “social contract”? You should probably look up what the term means, because you almost certainly adhere to multiple social contracts every day that you live in a society.
When you got up this morning, did you go out in nothing but a speedo? No? Then you adhered to an unspoken social contract. While queueing at the supermarket, did you stand right on top of the person in front of you and breath into their neck? No? Then you adhered to an unspoken social contract.
Please show me where I said it was new. Calling it a social contract is new, as I said it’s the old CoC renamed to be more “woke” as I called it.
Read and understand before you jump on your SJW charger.
You know that the code of conduct still exists, right? Nothing was renamed.
And settle yourself down. Social contracts are philosophical term that has existed for a very long time. You’ve always been bound by a social contract, whether you’re in public or playing WoW. You’ve just never encountered the actual words “social contract”, which is why you’re now making a fool of yourself by whining about wokeness and SJWs.
It honestly depends on Blizzard. If they start taking action against people who behave badly things will change. If it just carries on as it was before, then nothing will change.
Other games do manage to crack down on bad behaviour. It is possible.
Armchair revolutionary is derogatory language? my how sensitive you are. Seems rather than railing about the “social contract”. you ought to be begging Blizzard to be even harsher with people if you’re being that delicate.
And if you’re being facetious, try harder.
MUCH harder.