And I'll further assist by translating it into internet speak! =D
But freedom of spe-
Xbox live is not America. It is not a democracy. It is a private institution and Microsoft has a right to enforce any rules they care for(within reason). The comparison to a theme park is fairly apt. Would you wear a Swastika to Disney Land? Would you defend someone who was kicked out of Disney Land for wearing a Swastika? You are a guest on their services and you should act like one.
The internet is not just a series of tubes, but also a series of fascist dictatorships. You agreed to it when you click the EULA button! =/
But III'MMMMMM not offended by Swastikas and neither are my dipshit friends!
Neither am I. Neither, I would wager, is a huge portion of Xbox live. Judging by some of the polls here on the Escapist it's probably a 50/50 split between rational human beings and people who think sticking a Swastika on something constitutes humour. Microsoft isn't just thinking about the people who use the service, they're thinking about the general message the service is sending. They don't want news services reporting that Call of Duty, a game rife with teenagers, has Swastikas and dicks all over the place. That is not good advertising.
If we don't pull swastikas, we'll end up back in the supreme court. And they'll try to take away your Haloz, again... X(
You're just butthurt.
No. I'm not. I'm not offended by the Swastika, nor by cocks, nor by bestiality (it has been said that I put the best in bestiality) nor by that horrific image from Goatse.cx. So why am I for banning people with said emblems? Let me explain the logic behind this.
People who use these symbols or images as an emblem for their shock value are not only unlikable cunts, they're completely unoriginal unlikable cunts. They contribute nothing to the social aspect of the game except a pulse and the occasional racial slur. In essence. I have no problem with what these people are posting. I'm sadly quite numbed to it. Their actions simply serve as a sound indicator that they're well... douchebags and getting rid of douchebags can only improve the service. Hell. If I could I'd ban all the people with hilarious weed related names, but then I'd be stuck playing rounds of S+D against myself.
Obvious trolls are obvious! Also I put the miss in misspelling! XD
But what about that air force symbol... and um... Buddhists.
This is not a Swastika.
This is.PHA+PGltZyBzcmM9Imh0dHA6Ly9icm9rZW53b3JsZC53aWtpc3BhY2VzLmNvbS9maWxlL3ZpZXcvc3dhc3Rpa2EtYmFuZ29uLmpwZy8zMDU3NTYzMy9zd2FzdGlrYS1iYW5nb24uanBnIiBhbHQ9ImltYWdlIi8+PC9wPg==
I, personally, have seen none of the former.
Except in the original Legend of Zelda. But does that really count? Anyway, it stops being a swastika just by turning it 45º. Sort of like turning L into 7, or X into +! <@=)X
Even in the few cases of people genuinely trying to change the way we perceive the symbol (if they exist) Xbox live is not the place to do it. It doesn't provide the context necessary for that kind of debate. Essentially, they're being smug assholes just waiting for someone to get offended so they can show off their superior knowledge about the subject. XBox live could do without them too.
MORAL: When you enter the wretched hive of scum and villainy that is XBL, if you must be a douchebag, don't be a Nazi douchebag. It's not like douchebaggery on XBL is going anywhere. 0=)
DISCLAIMER:
This series of quotes was performed in jest and good-natured ribbing. And in the interest that someone will hopfully recognize my ingenious wit and charm. So that I won't have to prove it to the world by building a machine that turns water into orange sherbet and subsequently be beat up by Aquaman and the Wonder Twins.
Pfft, ban them all I say, the more the better. Take some dodgy cases aswell for good measure! I actually couldn't care less about the banned peoples pleas...
I just might have to mention one small detail though... I'm a PC only player (oops).
One thing though, do they really have that symbol in the game or did they just take the air force symbol and turn it a bit?
This is.PHA+PGltZyBzcmM9Imh0dHA6Ly9icm9rZW53b3JsZC53aWtpc3BhY2VzLmNvbS9maWxlL3ZpZXcvc3dhc3Rpa2EtYmFuZ29uLmpwZy8zMDU3NTYzMy9zd2FzdGlrYS1iYW5nb24uanBnIiBhbHQ9ImltYWdlIi8+PC9wPg==
The real Nazis used both versions of the Swastika, as long as it "turns" clockwise it doesn't matter if you tilt it 45° or not. I don't get why people want to make a distinction between those two, they are the same symbol used by the same people. Which is also why both get banned.
The original Buddhist Swastika on the other hand turns counter-clockwise. Also, all of them are Swastikas, it doesn't matter who used them or how you arrange them.
Well I don't see how it would be tastefull. It's a digital image. Stop licking your screen.
D'oh. Surprisingly humorous for a profoundly literal reading.
I am amused.
And frankly, the quality of xbox live could probably only be improved by hitting 3/4 of the population with napalm. Although that is a solution to many problems.
Webcomic: Comparing the taking away of stupid, worthless, hateful images by a private corporation to a state-organised genocide is not cool.
Comments: OMG! YEW CANT SAY THAT! COMPARING THE TAKING AWAY OF STUPID WORTHLESS HATEFUL IMAGES BY A PRIVATE CORPORATION TO A STATE-ORGANISED GENOCIDE IS NOT COOL! and some trolls
So much hate. This comic keeps getting better and better, but its readership sure as hell doesn't.
Zachary Amaranth: I found the comic tasteless. And while I know people are going to get on me for being butthurt about whatever they have decided to infer I'm butthurt about, I'm not offended. I still think it was tasteless.
You have been successfully trolled by some webcomic authors. Take a bow.
That was some might fine trolling by Critical Miss
i´m starting to understand you are a /b/tard (a user of the /b/ board in 4chan for those that dont know)... but that doesnt make you cool, its just "lol, they´ll laugh at my "Troll face" and the "goatse" all i need to do is keep putting memes generated in 4chan and i´ll be sooooo popular"
or at least that´s what you seem to be doing
if i´m wrong, please excuse my stupidity, but also, please stop with the "4chan" content, i´m sure you are better than that.
carnkhan4: Martin Niemöller's poem, not the most obvious source of comedy, but it works.
The version inscribed on the U.S. Holocaust memorial museum goes:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak for me.
Originally "First they came for the Communists" - but the US version was changed to "Socialists" because around the Cold War, no American liked a Commie. Now nobody seems to like a Socialist. Oh, dear.
Oddly enough, as much as I've hated Microsoft since they killed Windows 3.1 and DOS. I actually find myself in complete agreement with their actions. Now if they weren't only just banning these idiots but having them secretly murdered. Then the world would be an immensely better place.
I kinda of agree with this... Nine times out of ten, if someone is using an image like that, they'll be a troll. If their not a troll then they should know better.
Casimir_Effect: Seriously people. Hands up if you knew this comic was sardonic.
*Hand-up* OT: I think anyone who uses a swastika should be banned. Partly because It takes no originality, and is overdone, but mainly because in Germany, that shit is illegal. You can't expect this to be passed by. It's insensitive, and 90% of the people who were banned won't know what they've been banned for. Which is a fucking disgrace.
This right here, this is the only fucking comment which should have appeared when news stories announced the Swastika ban. Rather than all the comments about restricted freedoms and "I've paid for the service so why can't I be as bigger dick as I want to be on it?" that were posted.
Daffy F: *Hand-up* OT: I think anyone who uses a swastika should be banned. Partly because It takes no originality, and is overdone, but mainly because in Germany, that shit is illegal. You can't expect this to be passed by. It's insensitive, and 90% of the people who were banned won't know what they've been banned for. Which is a fucking disgrace.
This right here, this is the only fucking comment which should have appeared when news stories announced the Swastika ban. Rather than all the comments about restricted freedoms and "I've paid for the service so why can't I be as bigger dick as I want to be on it?" that were posted.
Are you complimenting me?
Yes, in my own Scottish way.
Unless your entire comment was sarcastic in a way to mimic the comic, ie. that you felt the ban was stupid and a breach of people's rights.
HankMan: If you're gunna let people design their own emblems, then LET THEM DESIGN THEIR OWN EMBLEMS!
And if you're gonna let people own guns, then LET ME SHOOT PEOPLE!
Oh wait, it's a business we're talking about? And we have a Terms of Use policy? Microsoft is the one providing the service, and they have the final say on what can be done/shown on Xbox Live. If your actions are giving them a bad reputation and costing them potential money, they have no reason at all to keep you as customer.
I may not mind it, but it's kind of sad in a way that there's an entire culture that has just grown complacent with such things. We are not doing Video Games as a medium any good if they're associated with Nazism and Penises. There is a place for that kind of content. It's called 4chan.
dude, your missin the whole point! its no about you knowing their douchbags and not bein offended, its about those people who actually give a crap about stuff like this and dont want it in there face. im so fed up of everyone yellin "human rights" when ever a corporation steps on them. You cant just claim "human rights" coz Microsoft dont like what your postin. the right to the freedom of speech is not something you just have its something you have to earn. just coz the HRA says you cant be silenced on the issues that are important doesn't mean that you have the right to go throwin you vagina all over the place. dont believe me? im a 2nd year law student. look it up. also, just coz your not offended by it, and your cunt friends arent offended by it doesnt mean its not offensive. if i was a Jewish mom i wouldnt want my little kid goin online to see cocks and holocaust reminders all over the fuckin place. dont get me wrong, i think that society can go WAY over the top in the name of "protecting the innocence of children". Especially when they teach them sex ed at 10. i just think that some of this stuff shouldnt be up there. if u let the trolls have their nazi related fun without some sort of censorship then not only are you going to alienate a HEAUGE proportion of players, but your goin to get trolls pushin bigger and bigger taboos. just look what happened to that youtube girl who said she was better than the people on 4chan. "i cant eat, i cant sleep" not good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSTyHsKu6og im not sayin you should just bend over and let microsoft ban everythin that would every offend anyone ever...... just........ this is too much..... try and see it from there side. XxxX
I am in Japan right now, and there are swastikas all over the temples and shrines, no one seems to care, personally I find it hilarious to see people bowing to a swastika.
Does anyone know whether other consoles are adopting this ban or if its contained to Xbox Live? And, yes, it might be a tasteless symbol, but I don't really mind it. Regardless of what they were fighting for, the German military in World War II performed rather well if memory serves.
Onyx Oblivion: You always act like only Xbox Live is full of douchebags...when on PSN, I found douchebags on Castle Crashers. The last game on earth that I would ever expect to find douchebags on. And let's not act like PC is perfect, either.
However Xbox Live is the only service that's famous for its douchebag quotient.
Xbox Live and its users tends to get more attention in general as far as the current generation of console online gaming
not a great repute to hold when PSN, and heck not to mention the masses using PCs to game, but eh what can you do (except not troll)
albino boo: Kinda ironic, the original quote is from a propaganda piece for the proto fascist state of Augustinian Rome.
really? i was always under the impression it was from the 1950s by a German man you had spent time in a concentration camp (I assume by Augustinian Rome, you're refering to the period of Rome that Augustus ruled?) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came...
HentMas: why would you put a goatse in your comic??
that was... disgusting
i´m starting to understand you are a /b/tard (a user of the /b/ board in 4chan for those that dont know)... but that doesnt make you cool, its just "lol, they´ll laugh at my "Troll face" and the "goatse" all i need to do is keep putting memes generated in 4chan and i´ll be sooooo popular"
or at least that´s what you seem to be doing
if i´m wrong, please excuse my stupidity, but also, please stop with the "4chan" content, i´m sure you are better than that.
You're wrong. I'm not a 4 chan user. (though I have been known to browse the wallpaper section occasionally) The famous Goatse.cx shock image was launched in 1999, 4 chan wasn't founded until 2003. If 4 chan "generated" goatse.cx then it did so Marty McFly style.
albino boo: Kinda ironic, the original quote is from a propaganda piece for the proto fascist state of Augustinian Rome.
really? i was always under the impression it was from the 1950s by a German man you had spent time in a concentration camp (I assume by Augustinian Rome, you're refering to the period of Rome that Augustus ruled?) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came...
He's refering to the "Dulce Et Decorum est" quote in the comic's tagline. Not the poem I was parodying in the actual strip.
albino boo: Kinda ironic, the original quote is from a propaganda piece for the proto fascist state of Augustinian Rome.
really? i was always under the impression it was from the 1950s by a German man you had spent time in a concentration camp (I assume by Augustinian Rome, you're refering to the period of Rome that Augustus ruled?) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came...
Dulce et decorum est pro xbox livus actus douchebagus is reference to Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori which was written by Horace somewhere around 20 BC. However Dulce et decorum est these days is best know from the Wilfred Owen poem who used the original sentiment of how sweet it is to die for ones country in bitter and ironic way.
This is.PHA+PGltZyBzcmM9Imh0dHA6Ly9icm9rZW53b3JsZC53aWtpc3BhY2VzLmNvbS9maWxlL3ZpZXcvc3dhc3Rpa2EtYmFuZ29uLmpwZy8zMDU3NTYzMy9zd2FzdGlrYS1iYW5nb24uanBnIiBhbHQ9ImltYWdlIi8+PC9wPg==
The real Nazis used both versions of the Swastika, as long as it "turns" clockwise it doesn't matter if you tilt it 45° or not. I don't get why people want to make a distinction between those two, they are the same symbol used by the same people. Which is also why both get banned.
The original Buddhist Swastika on the other hand turns counter-clockwise. Also, all of them are Swastikas, it doesn't matter who used them or how you arrange them.
You raise some good point, it is worth mentioning that ancient (and I mean REALLY ancient) swastika symbols appeared in both clockwise and counterclockwise fashion. And yes, tilted and untilted. however, the tilted non stylized clockwise black sastika on a white circle in a red square was the nazi flag. That combination is quite distinct.
I would say it really has to do with context. But: 1. its entirely microsoft's decision. 2. it will indeed be bad press to allow it. 3. the xbox live is really not the place to "take it back" (if you even have an inclination to do so)
Fuck you. Just... Fuck you. There are certain things you should never make fun of or parody, you don't parody them out of a certain amount of respect, you realize that it will be offensive and you understand why the measures were enforced. This is just fucking stupid, insulting, offensive and a new low. You have singlehandedly brought the average maturity and respectability of gamers and escapists, and I hope your're proud.
Warachia: Fuck you. Just... Fuck you. There are certain things you should never make fun of or parody, you don't parody them out of a certain amount of respect, you realize that it will be offensive and you understand why the measures were enforced. This is just fucking stupid, insulting, offensive and a new low. You have singlehandedly brought the average maturity and respectability of gamers and escapists, and I hope your're proud.
Sorry could to repeat that? Mel Brooks couldn't hear you.
The MuthR FuthR: """So, your assertion that "no one else will [laugh]" has failed"""
how did it fail?
Eh, I went back and read all your posts, so I have a clearer reference here.
Just because you CAN laugh at something doesn't mean you SHOULD. Imagine if your dog died, and someone stood of to the side and laughed while pointing for an hour. Would you be good with that?
Hyperbole is a fairly vital part of satire. Obviously being banned is not the same thing as being murdered so drawing a connecting between the two tangentially through a similar phrasing as a famous poem makes the entire thing absurd from the start. It seeks to highlight the absurdity of the complaints that "being a douche bag has repercussions and that's not fair" that are abound every time some group of people is banned for participating in douchebaggery.
The MuthR FuthR: """So, your assertion that "no one else will [laugh]" has failed"""
how did it fail?
Eh, I went back and read all your posts, so I have a clearer reference here.
Just because you CAN laugh at something doesn't mean you SHOULD. Imagine if your dog died, and someone stood of to the side and laughed while pointing for an hour. Would you be good with that?
Hyperbole is a fairly vital part of satire. Obviously being banned is not the same thing as being murdered so drawing a connecting between the two tangentially through a similar phrasing as a famous poem makes the entire thing absurd from the start. It seeks to highlight the absurdity of the complaints that "being a douche bag has repercussions and that's not fair" that are abound every time some group of people is banned for participating in douchebaggery.
No, I liked the comic. I understand the satire and ridiculousness of drawing a line between troll bans and concentration camps.
What the guy I was quoting was saying, though, is that people laugh at swastikas, and that's why they shouldn't be banned. That's silly.
DISCLAIMER:
This series of quotes was performed in jest and good-natured ribbing. And in the interest that someone will hopfully recognize my ingenious wit and charm. So that I won't have to prove it to the world by building a machine that turns water into orange sherbet and subsequently be beat up by Aquaman and the Wonder Twins.