Elysium and free speech survey

[boniboni 0]

Greetings!

I am currently trying to understand a few issues regarding free speech and private servers. I invite the staff to answer a few question, if they want and have the time. I believe such an undertaking could prove both interesting and useful for players looking for communities, rather than just scripts.

Disclaimer: This endeavor is motivated by curiosity and an interest in philosophy. The same questions will be addressed to multiple servers (as many as feasibly possible). The results, if any are gathered, will be published ONLY on reddit and on the forums of each queried server and nowhere else, though they are/will be made publicly available with no financial, academic, or any other gain in mind.

The questions can be found at https://pastebin.com/s1T1iPJB and are the same for all servers.

That being said, i invite the staff (but also the players) to answer as many as possible and as many as they see fit! Here we go:

 

Private WoW servers and speech

 

This survey is meant to shed some light on the way staff members of different private WoW servers handle the speech of their users. Given today's social climate, the results could shed some light on the way interactions between said staff and said users is conducted in their communication channels (such as, but not only, worldchat, globalchat, discord servers, forums, etc.) and the philosophical outlooks underlying it, which from now on shall be called 'the Server'.

 

An (*) at the end of a statement means that not all the staff members agree.

 

0. Preliminaries

 

Spoiler

  a. Do you agree with the statement 'in the case of MMOs in general, and WoW in particular (either private servers, or retail, or both), people play not only for gameplay reasons, but also for social interaction'?

 

    b. Do you agree with the statement 'video games in general and WoW in particular are played not only by children, but also by adults'?

 

1. General philosophical principles

 

Spoiler

  a. Do you agree with the statement 'ethics are one of the products of philosophy'? ('ethics' in the sense of 'the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group', as defined by https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethic). Yes, no, partially? Why?

 

    b. If 'yes' or 'partially': is discussing philosophy (including political philosophy) encouraged/tolerated/not tolerated/discouraged on the Server? Why?

 

    c. Do you agree with the statement 'those who think differently are not welcome on the Server'? Why?

 

    d. Consider the following statements:

        A. `Platonic principles are better than Peripatetic ideas because X'

        B. 'Marxist principles are better than Monarchical ideas because Y'

       Is (are) either, none or both of them acceptable? Is (are) either, none, or both of them punishable? Why?

 

    e. Consider the following statements:

        A. 'Death to all X!'

        B. 'Statistically, X commits y% of <crime>'

        C. 'Statistically, X commits y% of the <crime> in <country, region, city, etc>, according to <link to statistic>'

       Is there a difference between them? Is (are) one, two, none or all of them acceptable? Is (are) one, two, none, or all of them punishable? Why?

 

    f. Do you agree with the statement 'communication between users of the Server should consist of issues related to gameplay only'? Why?

 

    g. Do you agree with the statement 'people should be exposed to different ideas, especially those conflicting with their own, in order to achieve intellectual growth'? If yes, do you consider your Server to be a venue for such discussion? Why?

 

2. Speech

 

Spoiler

    a.Consider the following statements:

        A. 'Communities can police themselves'

        B. 'Communities need policing from outside'

    Is (are) either or none of them acceptable?

 

    b. Is presenting or advocating a philosophical idea encouraged/tolerated/not tolerated/discouraged/punishable here? Why? Is it considered advertising?

 

    c. Do you believe people who make use of your Server should always/sometimes/never be allowed to speak their mind? Should they pay no/some/great attention to WHAT they say and/or HOW they say it? Why?

 

    d. Consider the following statements:

        A. 'The Holocaust is a hoax!'

        B. 'The Holocaust is a fact!'

        C. 'The historical documentation of the Holocaust is still incomplete and requires further research'

    Is (are) one, two, none or all of them acceptable? Would any of them warrant punishment?

 

3. Trolling and abusive language

 

Spoiler

    a. Please define the terms 'trolling', 'spam', and 'abusive language' (in your own words or by linking to an existing and commonly accepted definition).

 

    b. Do you think there is a difference between abusive language and trolling?

 

    c. Consider the following statements:

        A. '[thunderfury blessed blade windseeker]'

        B. 'I'm not homophobic, i love fags myself'

        C. 'Why is it called invincible if you can see it?'

        D. 'PVE takes more skill than PVP'

        E. 'X is a religion of Y'

        F. 'All <religious group> are retarded, lol!'

    Are any of them considered trolling? Are any of them punishable? (if yes, do they receive the same punishment?) If only some of them are considered trolling, what are the others viewed as?

 

    d. What is your view on various social -phobias (islamophobia, homophobia, etc.). Is it a real issue which today's society has to overcome? Is it a made-up word by X group in order to achieve Y goal? Other (please specify)? Is bringing up/discussing any kind of -phobia encouraged/tolerated/not tolerated/discouraged on your Server?

 

 

4. Final remarks.

 

Spoiler

  a. Do you think man is born 'good' (less prone or not prone to harm others) but is corrupted by human institutions (such as school, government, etc.) later in life? Or do you think man is bord 'evil' (more or totally prone to bring harm to others) and needs human institutions (such as school, government, etc.) to educate him or her? (Does the Server believe a mention about other gender pronouns should be added at the end of the question above?) Or neither? Why?

 

    b.  Do you have any remarks or recommendation for (potential) users of your Server in particular and people in general when it comes to speech and other forms of human interaction?

 

If any of the staff replies, i will update the first post with the answer(s) and ask for confirmation of accuracy.

Thank you for your time!

Edited October 4, 2017 by boniboni

[Nelythia 44]

Thats a joke right?

[boniboni 0]

No. I have never played here, i am interested in the overall picture. If staff does not want to reply, no problem. I just asked a few questions, no harm done. If i violated some rule, just delete my topic.

[Warlogy 0]

Every server as their own philosophy and guidelines, they made the server, make it works, fix it, etc

they decide the rules, it really is that simple

[boniboni 0]

Fair enough, I'm not challenging that. But my questions are more about the philosophy underlying the rules. Again, i have never played here, nor do i have any intention to. I just find the topic of free speech fascinating in all its aspects, and the private server scene seems to be in a very interesting place in this regard. If i violated any rule, i apologize and feel free to delete my topic.

[ScottK1994 0]

Well these days its only the liberals that are after free speech because the truth offends them.

 

I don't feel like doing any quiz, but even in the US with the best free speech laws its known that you aren't allowed to use speech to harass, act libellous etc.

 

"trolling" is just derailing a topic, that's no big deal.

Edited October 4, 2017 by ScottK1994