Activision-Blizzard Sued By California

[anveena]

Looks like California's Department for Employment and Housing might have fucked up their lawsuit against Activision-Blizzard.

https://www.pcgamer.com/activision-b...cs-violations/

[Chadow]

Looks like California's Department for Employment and Housing might have fucked up their lawsuit against Activision-Blizzard.

https://www.pcgamer.com/activision-b...cs-violations/

I heard something in Angry Joe Show news video along the lines of...

Both California and another company are suing Blizzard.
The "other" company suing is settling for 18 million dollars BUT that "settle" agrees with Blizzard destroying evidences.
So California is pissed as fuck at this other company and telling them not to settle for 18 million slap on the wrist.

[Edge-]

I heard something in Angry Joe Show news video along the lines of...

Both California and another company are suing Blizzard.
The "other" company suing is settling for 18 million dollars BUT that "settle" agrees with Blizzard destroying evidences.
So California is pissed as fuck at this other company and telling them not to settle for 18 million slap on the wrist.

It's complicated and I don't pretend to understand it all but...

CA (DFEH) and Federal agency (EEOC) both involved in separate investigations.
DFEH agency is lead by two previous members of EEOC and were ethically obligated to not be involved in the case given at the DFEH given that they'd worked on the EEOC case previously.
EEOC settlement is supposedly "standard" and doesn't actually destroy evidence, just removes it from the files of accusers or something.
DFEH is suing EEOC over that clause claiming it harms their lawsuit against ATVI
EEOC is rebutting saying that those lawyers (who were apparently already moved off the case at the DFEH) were improperly working on the case and to toss their challenge

That's my best understanding of the events. Seen lots of takes of all different flavors from different legal folks and I still can't make heads nor tails of it.

[Moadar]

I wonder how blizzard will recover. The stuff going on with the workplace is going to take time to work out and that will obviously slow the process of making games. Once that's done the new team will have to handle what feels like a sinking ship.

I wonder how any work ever got done with all the scumbag shit that was going on.

[Rennadrel]

I do find it hilarious how Blizzard thinks all this hollow virtue signaling by changing the names of characters, changing text lines and artwork is somehow going to make them appear less shitty as a company. Nah, it just shows that you refuse to stand behind your products and keep them as they were.

[Elegiac]

I wonder how blizzard will recover. The stuff going on with the workplace is going to take time to work out and that will obviously slow the process of making games. Once that's done the new team will have to handle what feels like a sinking ship.

I wonder how any work ever got done with all the scumbag shit that was going on.

Answer: It didn't.

What a lot of the people insisting that "SJWs are ruining video games" or shit to that effect don't understand is that the lack of quality is almost entirely a result of toxic work environments and bad management practices that have become normalized in the entertainment sector. In Blizzard's case it helped reinforce an insular boys club of developers that has become increasingly detached from the market and survives purely off nostalgia-based inertia.

If that also reminds you of the current situation at Disney, you win a bonus prize.

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Nah, it just shows that you refuse to stand behind your products and keep them as they were.

You say this without explaining why "standing behind your products" is necessarily a good thing, though.

[Draco-Onis]

I do find it hilarious how Blizzard thinks all this hollow virtue signaling by changing the names of characters, changing text lines and artwork is somehow going to make them appear less shitty as a company. Nah, it just shows that you refuse to stand behind your products and keep them as they were.

It seems that they are just cleaning up house, getting rid of references and things the people who were accused put in the games. Aside from that though it's pretty clear nothing is changing since Blizzard is not making real changes to their policies. The only thing that will come out of this will be people getting raises hopefully since their reputation is shit there's no reason for anyone to take a "tax" to work for Blizzard.

[Grapemask]

I do find it hilarious how Blizzard thinks all this hollow virtue signaling by changing the names of characters, changing text lines and artwork is somehow going to make them appear less shitty as a company. Nah, it just shows that you refuse to stand behind your products and keep them as they were.

I don't think "virtue signaling" is the right word. I think my wife got it right - she said this was more like "malicious compliance."

Some of the stuff they're changing was necessary - but a lot is absurd to the point that it's just a mockery to the groups they suggest they're trying to be more sensitive toward. It's borderline satirical, as if it's aimed to give ammo to the 14 year olds on 4chan who use words like "virtue signaling" or screech about "libcuck pussification." As if Blizzard wants a reason to throw up their hands and blame all the sensitive people of the world for what they've been forced to turn this game into, effectively becoming the victim.

[Elegiac]

Hm, it goes further than that when you look into it.

Nah, not really, because these changes do not happen without the approval of the corporate higher ups that remain actively hostile to the viewpoints you claim are ruining the game. You're just falling for aforementioned malicious compliance - which is the entire point of it. "Pay no attention to the toxic work environment behind the curtain!"

[Elegiac]

Do you mean that corporate was encouraging it's "Diversity Taskforce" to go around attacking the people on twitter that disagreed with the excessive chances the developers asked for?

No, I mean you put far too much stock on what happens on a website whose algorithm actively encourages confrontations rather than paying attention to how the corporation is actually structured and operated.

Which, again, is what said corporation wants you to do. Imagine falling for it, rofl.

[Elegiac]

Seems you're not basing your assumptions or claims on much but thin air.

He says, before immediately launching into a tirade of claims that have no evidence beyond set dressing on social media. Lol.

That said, glad to see you aren't one of the people defending these changes though. I would've taken you to take on the same absurd stances as these activist devs on twitter attacking <a majority of people> for existing.

Wow, it's almost as if your impression of social justice "activists" is entirely based on a caricature. Who would have thought.

Meanwhile, you continue to validate my existing impressions by putting out garbage takes like "the strikes are over the fruit bowl nonsense" rather than... you know... a toxic and hostile working environment.

[unfilteredJW]

Seems you're not basing your assumptions or claims on much but thin air.

I can’t believe you had the gall to type this out.

[Elegiac]

I can’t believe you had the gall to type this out.

The lengths people will go to in order to try and justify their reactionary nonsense because they're upset their safe space is being "invaded".

If these changes were not associated with pushback against the culture of toxicity that is inherent to gaming, they would likely neither notice nor care because very few of them have any actual impact on their experience - unless their experience is contingent on being toxic, of course. Blizzard games have been declining in quality ever since the merger with ATVI, "SJWs" or "activists" have fuck all to do with it, but go figure that people blame minorities for problems caused by capitalism (see: Star Wars).

Life is funny. Sad, but funny.

[Draco-Onis]

Seems you're not basing your assumptions or claims on much but thin air.

It's the Blizzard devs that made the demands. It's the Blizzard devs that are running this inquisition against everything that causes micro-aggressions in the game. It is the Blizzard devs that are defending the choices heavily on twitter. Maybe corporate is condoning it while they shouldn't, but I don't hold them nearly as responsible as the activist devs that threaten to riot / strike if they don't get to turn paintings of women into fruitbowls. And with Blizzard devs I mean mostly their "diversity / inclusion task force". I can't imagine someone like Ion is involved in it.

That said, glad to see you aren't one of the people defending these changes though. I would've taken you to take on the same absurd stances as these activist devs on twitter attacking <a majority of people> for existing.

So the devs and office workers run the show not their you know bosses? are you high?

[Elegiac]

-snip-

Once again, you're conflating and misrepresenting a lot of shit in an effort to justify being upset that your safe space is being invaded.

The strike action was not about "microaggressions in game", nor are all the changes being made in game on the same level as the fruit bowl nonsense (see: removing references to certain sex pests and cutting back on transphobic jokes). For all we know a lot of the sillier changes were insisted upon by corporate in exchange for some of the necessary ones.

Like I said, though, were it not for the context of it being a useful cudgel in your perpetual anti-SJW crusade I doubt you'd have noticed or cared about most of said changes. Because it isn't about what's being changed, it's about who is making the changes and why.

[Draco-Onis]

The only accusation that could be made is that corporate and the managers are maliciously complying with letting these employee task forces do whatever they want to do and allow the employees to remove all the 'micro-aggressions' from the game. Nobody seems to have yet (dared) state that enough changes have been made already or that the changes went too far.

Holy cow dude, you just admitted it corporate and managers complied aka gave the go ahead for all these changes and direction. They are responsible the employees can't do jack shit without their approval, Bobbi would not give two shits about firing all of them if he wanted.

They haven't given the employees all they wanted case and point the stuff that actually matters to them like salary, releasing force arbitrage etc. If the employees had such an iron grip why would they get worthless shit like changing emotes and not money in their pockets?

[Elegiac]

Why distrust the word of the Blizzard developers themselves when they are so vocal about it?

Because I'm not high and remember that the developers exist within a corporate structure they ultimately do not have the final word in.

I'm also not conflating every change with the most ridiculous ones as if they are all equal.

As for me not noticing? I literally cancelled my years-long WoW subscription over these changes. I don't want to play a game that is dead and lacks passion or is now curated by an awful ideology.

r/thathappened

As mentioned previously, the decline in Blizzard's product quality is a trend that predates this by years and has fuck all to do with "SJWs". You are blaming minorities for problems resulting from capitalism.

Holy cow dude, you just admitted it corporate and managers complied aka gave the go ahead for all these changes and direction. They are responsible the employees can't do jack shit without their approval, Bobbi would not give two shits about firing all of them if he wanted.

They haven't given the employees all they wanted case and point the stuff that actually matters to them like salary, releasing force arbitrage etc. If the employees had such an iron grip why would they get worthless shit like changing emotes and not money in their pockets?

You're replying to the person that thinks workplace abuse is self-inflicted by not "just quitting" and complained about unions because they prevent him from forcing trash collectors to potentially injure themselves picking up overloaded garbage bins, if that gives you an idea of how they perceive things.

[Mayhem]

Why distrust the word of the Blizzard developers themselves when they are so vocal about it?

And everyone can blatantly see and witness here what kind of an absurd sort of changes the SJW crowd pushes for.

As for me not noticing? I literally cancelled my years-long WoW subscription over these changes. I don't want to play a game that is dead and lacks passion or is now curated by an awful ideology.

Just how often did you look at that painting and use some emotes to say "ok, I was happy with the state of the game so far but this, this crosses the line!"?

[Lorgar Aurelian]

Hm, it goes further than that when you look into it.

It's some of the Blizzard Developers themselves who are pushing for these changes, not out of maliciousness, but because they're a small gathering of 'minorities': eg. LGBT people and people of color and vegans and twitter-activists who made a small collective / task force to clean up all these things out of the game. Some of these developers were having a twitter-rage-war over the past few weeks where they were furiously verbally attacking everyone who disagreed with these changes, accusing them of being bigots etc.

This was part of the "demands of the employees" iirc, where they demanded of corporate to allow some of these workgroups and task forces to be made to counter bigoted elements at the workplace and in the game. At the workplace these little task forces usually don't have much impact or influence, but in the virtual world, the game itself they're basically ruining everything right now in their little inquisition.

This has nothing to do with there employee demands which were only.

An end to mandatory arbitration clauses in all employee contracts, current and future. Arbitration clauses protect abusers and limit the ability of victims to seek restitution.

The adoption of recruiting, interviewing, hiring, and promotion policies designed to improve representation among employees at all levels, agreed upon by employees in a company-wide Diversity, Equity & Inclusion organization. Current practices have led to women, in particular women of color and transgender women, nonbinary people, and other marginalized groups that are vulnerable to gender discrimination not being hired fairly for new roles when compared to men.

Publication of data on relative compensation (including equity grants and profit sharing), promotion rates, and salary ranges for employees of all genders and ethnicities at the company. Current practices have led to aforementioned groups not being paid or promoted fairly.

Empower a company-wide Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion task force to hire a third party to audit ABK's reporting structure, HR department, and executive staff. It is imperative to identify how current systems have failed to prevent employee harassment, and to propose new solutions to address these issues.

[Elegiac]

r/thathappened

Just replying in kind.

Not being high isn't a claim that beggars belief in the same way as "I was fine with everything up to this point but quit WoW because they changed a painting in game and can't be as toxic in PvP via emotes", so... No.

- - - Updated - - -

I actually was happy with the state of the game before, until they started pushing these changes. It indicated to me that there's no longer any sensible talent present at the WoW development team. I could sense it already, having played the game over the past recent years almost daily, that there was very little soul and heart left in it anymore. These changes just confirmed it to me that I can't expect anything beautiful, honest or passionate to be delivered by these developers any longer.

It's a spiritual and artistic thing, you either have a sense for it, or you don't.

The one in which you admit that the problems predate any of this but are still choosing to blame it on Blizzard's sex pest problem being outed.

Rofl. At least get your story straight if you're going to play stand-up philosopher, dude.