Recently, Star Wars: The Old Republic's Community Manager, Sean Dahlberg, stated that he'd filtered out words like "gay" and "lesbian" from the game's forums because "these are terms that do not exist in Star Wars." ... And the internet gasped.
Turning things around faster than the Millennium Falcon making the Kessel Run, Dahlberg issued an apology to accompany BioWare's removal of the filters. Although Dahlberg likely had the best of intentions in forming the policy, it helps if MMO community managers learn from a time not so long ago nor far, far away -- World of Warcraft tripped over a similar drama three years ago. More recently, Microsoft's Xbox Live handled a less clear case of discrimination just this year.
Reader Comments (55)
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 11:23AM (Unverified) said
This shouldn't be such rocky ground as it is. You ban the people using it in a derogatory manner, and allow people having a genuine conversation about it to continue. Anything less certainly constitutes descrimination.
Reply
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 11:30AM WiNGSPANTT from TopTierTacticsco said
I think people were more taken aback by the "those terms don't exist in [the Star Wars universe]."
Remind you of anything?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_3RUwAJ_MI
Reply
Remind you of anything?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_3RUwAJ_MI
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 11:34AM TheDarkWayne said
holy crap he really is like a hairy jake gyllenhall
Reply
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 11:34AM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said
copa might have a point there
Reply
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 11:36AM MystileArmor said
Maybe If George releases a special edition of the final cut, it could go something like:
LUKE: Obi-Wan Kenobi? I wonder if he means old Ben Kenobi?
C3PO: I beg your pardon, sir, but do you know what he's talking
about?
LUKE: Well, I don't know anyone named Obi-Wan, but old Ben lives out
beyond the dune sea. He's kind of a gay old hermit.
Reply
LUKE: Obi-Wan Kenobi? I wonder if he means old Ben Kenobi?
C3PO: I beg your pardon, sir, but do you know what he's talking
about?
LUKE: Well, I don't know anyone named Obi-Wan, but old Ben lives out
beyond the dune sea. He's kind of a gay old hermit.
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 11:36AM MarkezJM said
Strictly don't ask don't tell in the Empire, but they still 'dabble'
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SZcjZyLEcFw/SKtbR3igwpI/AAAAAAAAAGY/7bL84Du2OKo/s400/star-wars-geek.jpg
Reply
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SZcjZyLEcFw/SKtbR3igwpI/AAAAAAAAAGY/7bL84Du2OKo/s400/star-wars-geek.jpg
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 11:26AM R Planteer said
Term may not exist, but the concept certainly does.
Ive never heard the word poop in star wars either. Be sure to filter that out.
Reply
Ive never heard the word poop in star wars either. Be sure to filter that out.
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 11:33AM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said
poop was said in one of the books...
Reply
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 11:36AM R Planteer said
The word OMWERGJERHNBIAWEUGHFBRG
isnt mentioned in any of the star wars lore either, dont forget to censor that.
(excuse me for not having read all 5 bazillion of the SW books)
Reply
isnt mentioned in any of the star wars lore either, dont forget to censor that.
(excuse me for not having read all 5 bazillion of the SW books)
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 11:39AM TheDarkWayne said
they probably replaced it with a star wars swear word like Krif or Droyk or stang
Reply
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 11:27AM vidguy said
Maybe he meant what he said and said what he meant - whether or not those terms "exist" in Star Wars has no bearing on whether the conduct would be allowed or policed. The terms were filtered to prevent derogatory commenting, not mature discussion of homosexuality. Obviously communities should be open to different lifestyles and opinions, but it was a private area after all.
Reply
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 11:31AM Boffo the Sock said
Yeah, because there are heaps of mature conversations regarding homosexuality on internet forums.
Reply
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 12:10PM Master Bruce said
I'm not exactly sure why the SWTOR board would be an ideal place for having a "dialog about sexuality" or whatever it is people do these days on forums.
Reply
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 11:33AM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said
no no no...the fall out from that was they gave him "Jamaican" traits and if that wasnt racist enough they just made him dumb and clumsy as fuck
Reply
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 11:34AM David Black said
I guess this guy is one of those people who they invented sensitivity training for...
Reply
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 5:06PM (Unverified) said
No, they invented sensitivity training for everyone. Anyone of us could commit thoughtcrime at any moment, after all.
Reply
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 11:35AM (Unverified) said
That was ridiculous. That ass should be fired. Period.
Reply
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 11:39AM NaeemTHM said
Recently, Star Wars: The Old Republic's Community Manager Sean Dahlberg stated that he'd filtered out words like "gay" and "lesbian" from the game's forums because "these are terms that do not exist in Star Wars."
Oh yeah then what do you call this?!?!
http://kswolff.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/ziro.jpg
Reply
Oh yeah then what do you call this?!?!
http://kswolff.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/ziro.jpg
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 11:57AM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said
Hey Ziro isn't gay....him just confused....
Reply
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 11:46AM (Unverified) said
It's Bioware's game they can do whatever they want with it. Do you all really have the burning passion to run around screaming: I'M GAY!!!!!!!!!!! It's not like Bioware has a history of hating on the homos; did you guys even play Mass Effect?
Reply
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 10:45PM original fred said
He probably just wandered in here by accident.
Reply
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 12:06PM kmcroc said
it a fictional world , so what if all the petty bullshit in the real world is not included it . maybe it's bioware way of wanting to see the universe , come who does want a world where your personal life is your own . plus we all know those words that they tried to filter will be used in demeaning ways .
Reply
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 12:08PM The Wicker Man said
"filtered out words like "gay" and "lesbian" from the game's forums because "these are terms that do not exist in Star Wars." ... And the internet gasped."
Has he not seen the films? The sequels are very ghey.
Reply
Has he not seen the films? The sequels are very ghey.
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 1:24PM Batzarro The worlds WOrst Detect said
I thought it was a glitch. A sexy glitch.
Reply
Posted: Apr 30th 2009 8:22AM (Unverified) said
How could you miss it? It was pretty obvious from the start...
Reply
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 12:41PM (Unverified) said
And once again gay people and internet are overreacting. Words gay and lesbian are banned because the likehood of them being used in a non-offensive context on an internet forum and an MMORPG game is very fucking slim to absolutely fucking none.
You're acting as if the manager suddenly made a public announcement that these words are banned because homosexuality doesn't exist, while the truth is, they implemented the filter for the reasons stated in top paragraph, trolls started complaining at which point the mod(who most likely doesn't actually know much about Star Wars or the game) simply gave them a throwaway 'because it is so, now fuck off' line.
Sure, that reply wasn't very well thought, but I'm pretty certain that Mr.Not-so-subtle-Mod didn't expect the gay community or anyone in fact to digg this up and make such a big fuss out of it...
Reply
You're acting as if the manager suddenly made a public announcement that these words are banned because homosexuality doesn't exist, while the truth is, they implemented the filter for the reasons stated in top paragraph, trolls started complaining at which point the mod(who most likely doesn't actually know much about Star Wars or the game) simply gave them a throwaway 'because it is so, now fuck off' line.
Sure, that reply wasn't very well thought, but I'm pretty certain that Mr.Not-so-subtle-Mod didn't expect the gay community or anyone in fact to digg this up and make such a big fuss out of it...
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 12:51PM (Unverified) said
he'd filtered out words like "gay" and "lesbian" from the game's forums because "these are terms that do not exist in Star Wars." ... And the internet gasped.
Well all i can think of here is that he said it meaning, there is no real differenciation from man love, woman love, same sex or however you want to put it, in the star wars universe (as they're technically dealing with various species n races) .... so in order to prevent silly and uncalled for, abuses of the words, he filtered them, now i really don't see anything wrong with that, though gays or lesbians might see it differently, but seriously, is there a need go on a STAR WARS forum broadcasting your sexuality, unless it's for spammage??
Reply
Well all i can think of here is that he said it meaning, there is no real differenciation from man love, woman love, same sex or however you want to put it, in the star wars universe (as they're technically dealing with various species n races) .... so in order to prevent silly and uncalled for, abuses of the words, he filtered them, now i really don't see anything wrong with that, though gays or lesbians might see it differently, but seriously, is there a need go on a STAR WARS forum broadcasting your sexuality, unless it's for spammage??
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 2:36PM Michelobius said
Blasphemy. I liked the Mass Effect mythos a lot, but saying you like it better than Star Wars is like saying you like fish living in a fishbowl better than fish living in an ocean. The two hardly register on the same scale to me.
Besides, biotics vs the force? Yeah right, not even a conversation. Not to mention lightsabers. Lightsabers, man. Literally swords made of concentrated light.
Class dismissed.
Reply
Besides, biotics vs the force? Yeah right, not even a conversation. Not to mention lightsabers. Lightsabers, man. Literally swords made of concentrated light.
Class dismissed.
Posted: Apr 30th 2009 2:09AM (Unverified) said
And the Firefly Mythos trumps them all.
Screw han and Greedo, Mal shot first and that guy didn't even have a gun.
Reply
Screw han and Greedo, Mal shot first and that guy didn't even have a gun.
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 1:20PM Batzarro The worlds WOrst Detect said
Why apologize? It is true that such terms are not used in Star Wars. It's not like he owns the damn franchise. But, hey, at least we know this terms will be used completely respectfully and never derisively in the game!
Reply
Posted: Apr 29th 2009 1:33PM Crusty Magic said
Juhani always did look like a future lesbian.
Gays do exist in Star Wars!
Reply
Gays do exist in Star Wars!
Sorry, you must be logged in to leave a comment.
Featured Stories
The most popular posts
in the last 7 days
- Vita 'UMD Passport' won't be offered in US 220 comments
- Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning review: A tempting fate 153 comments
- David Jaffe leaves Eat Sleep Play, layoffs hit developer [Update] 108 comments
- Don't call it a remake: Final Fantasy X is a 'remaster,' to be clear 95 comments
- Battleship movie adapted into FPS by Double Helix 93 comments










