@AngryRainbowDifference is people do use gay and trans as insults...But they dont use Cis Straight and bi
EA does more than enough to represent and support all types of people. We have Gay characters, Bi Characters, and with BH maybe even a Trans Character.
So where exatly is that hate here?...
Stop pulling theese Intolerant or Racistcards whereever possible please.
You also dont need to tell everyone that you are Trans with your Pseudonym...
I also dont use the name WhiteMalewithWifeand2Kids69
Community ManagerHey @AngryRainbow,
Thanks for your detailed post and feedback on the topic here. While we're not able to manually change blocked words on an individual basis, I can definitely understand why this would cause you to raise an eyebrow and did want to try and provide some additional info on why certain words can be blocked from use.
As others have theorized here, this type of thing often comes down to words that have been repeatedly and excessively used as insults by others in the past.
Electronic Arts is committed to making our games and experiences fun, fair and safe for everyone. We use various tools to achieve this, including tools to filter inappropriate user-generated content in areas like in-game chat and EA Account, player and team names.
We want to be very thoughtful and consider several things in our filter rules including:
Check out the EA Positive Play Charter to see what kinds of content you can use to keep things positive.
Unfortunately, because of the disruptive behavior of a few members in our gaming community who use certain words or names to harass other players or to glorify offensive conduct, our filter prevents anyone from using those words or names.
We think it's best to proactively eliminate any potential harm or disruption these terms can cause for players of all backgrounds.
And sometimes our filter makes mistakes when a word or name is similar to an offensive term. If that is the case, we’ll fix it as soon as we can. With monitoring and reports from players, we aim to balance things so that players can speak freely in chat, be creative in their names, and still remove the most disruptive content.
With that last point in mind I'll certainly pass this feedback along, but did want to provide some other context and information in the meantime. Thank you for the post.
"Electronic Arts is committed to making our games and experiences fun, fair and safe for everyone. We use various tools to achieve this, including tools to filter inappropriate user-generated content in areas like in-game chat and EA Account, player and team names." I know, EA Mako, this is exactly the PROBLEM. You are saying that the way you fight people who hate on Trans and Gay people is to banish the words Trans and Gay from sight. I am here, spending my limited time and emotional energy, to tell you and anyone willing to listen that this is not a helpful practice; this is an exclusory practice; exclusion does not solve the problem of intolerance; exclusion actually HEIGHTENS intolerance by making the victims seem less common/prevalent/tangible than they really are; representation MATTERS.
The very start of the EA Positive Play Charter reads:
"At EA, we believe in the power of positive play. Being part of a gaming community should be positive, fun, fair, and safe for all."
I, too, believe in the power of positive play. Being part of a gaming community is what I want, very much. I'd love to be able to be who and what I am and have it always be a positive, fun, fair, and safe experience. That actually sounds like heaven.
"Like with most communities, we have positive play guidelines to help make sure our games and services are an enjoyable experience for all players."
Guidelines are good - they give you a place to start from, a place to come back to. But guidelines can't be perfect, I know this, which is why I'm sharing my experience in the way that I have, hopefully to illustrate exactly why it hasn't been an enjoyable experience for this Rainbow. You mentioned that you passed my feedback along; thank you for that. This is really all I can hope for. I don't actually expect Trans and Gay to be taken off of your banned list, because the world doesn't work like that. Justice is never just handed to you, you have to fight and scrabble and campaign and bleed for it. So here I am, fighting. Hopefully not fighting in vain.
"Whether you’re new to gaming or have been an active player for years, we need your help to make this a community we all want to be part of."
I agree, this is why I am here. I wanted to be a part, but I wasn't allowed to be; a part that looks like me isn't allowed in the community. If I want to be a part of the community I have to hide what I am, and I am too tired and too sad to be able to do anything BUT celebrate what I am. TransPride is not offensive. TransPride is not an insult or an attack. Please, do what you can - all of you who have a free hour in your day to put toward something - to help make this community one that allows Trans and Gay people to be included the way we are.
"I also dont use the name WhiteMalewithWifeand2Kids69" That is because Heterosexual White Male is the unspoken default, you don't HAVE to represent yourself because that representation is built into our culture. Imagine, though, if you DID have to fight to represent yourself; if you DID have to take hours out of your days to talk to strangers on the internet and desperately try to explain to them WHY the privilege that they take for granted isn't extended to you. Imagine how discouraging and hurtful it would be to have them tell you that the problem is YOU "pulling theese Intolerant or Racistcards whereever possible" (despite the fact that this is your first post, they have never seen or heard of you before, and couldn't POSSIBLY know you or how often you pull "Racistcards".
Community Manager
