(no subject)

[mcroft]

I like to play computer games. That's no surprise, lots of people do. I have types I prefer and there are games I really don't like. I get bored with games pretty easily and move on. I prefer games I have to think about to games I have to train my reflexes for and I prefer turn-based games to real-time games. The computer game industry has spent a lot of time developing itself away from my preferences. What's been good for me? Flash games, casual games, and browser based games.

I found a flash games portal that had a novel twist: there were badges awarded for achievements in various games, and points and levels based on getting badges. It was a clever way to get people to try new games and play them long enough to get a feel for them.

I enjoyed this site and often would try a game because it had a badge. It led me to play some games I wouldn't otherwise play, but that was good.

I'm not playing there anymore, and the reasons why are still bothering me, so I'm going to lay them out, mostly in the hopes that by writing them down, I'll mentally sort them out.

I played a game there which had it's own in-game "awards" for achievements. If you got to level 10, it would unlock the concept art, etc. I finished the game and it unlocked one last item, the "flexible thinker secret"

What that led to, first, was a disclaimer. "Some of the jokes in the following section are racist. I am not a racist and I understand that the stereotypes in said jokes are untrue." It goes on for a bit, but basically, it's a disclaimer for posting a series of ugly jokes that the author finds funny. "If you cannot cope with racist jokes, please click 'Menu', otherwise, enjoy."

Now, I'm sometimes fine with that sentiment. A similar warning on a porn site is an indicator that the site is run responsibly and isn't going to pop up hundreds of windows with hardcore pictures that you can't close. However, I didn't think that it was OK in this case.

I don't buy the basic dichotomy the author presented, which was "I'm saying racist things, but I know they're wrong, so I'm not a racist." If I have to choose between "what you say you are" and "what you do", I will assume that "what you do" is the real you. [Aside: Players in RPGs for which I am a GM or Mod will recognize this pattern of mine.] "Hey, lighten up! It's just a joke..." isn't really all that convincing, and just because the author didn't mean it to be hurtful doesn't mean it wasn't.


I'm not sure how serious GAR is, but I agree...It was with a certain expectation that I would not find them acceptable that I pressed 'Continue'. Curiosity killed the cat and I didn't think I could object to the content if I didn't know what it was. Onward!

Through about 10 racist jokes, offensively poking arabs, greeks, turks, the deaf, jews (twice), mexicans and jews (again). The ones which weren't racist were scatological. None of them was worth telling.

I decided to contact the site. Given that the developer had such a clear position on these jokes (including comments where he said he would not remove them), I hoped that they'd be able to influence him to remove the offensive content. After all, they're running a business and have advertisers who wouldn't want their products seen next to a joke that implied that jews were cheap.

I contacted them and they'd apparently had complaints before, but didn't know what content was offensive. They asked me for screen shots. I was somewhat relieved. It was, after all, unlockable only by completing the game and they just hadn't seen it. I took a series of screen shots and sent them to the support guy.

A few days later, they replied. They'd decided not to take any action, since the author hadn't intended to be malicious and since the jokes targeted several different ethnicities.

I told him I disagreed with their choice to support (and promote via a badge) racist content and hoped they'd reconsider in the future.

I left it at that with them, thought about it for a while, and deleted my browser shortcut for their page. There are lots of flash games sites out there, and I don't have to play on one that I disagree with.

But obviously I'm still bothered by it.

Comments

[avram]

And I'm guessing that these jokes all relied on long-established stereotypes for their humor. Like, he probably wasn't mocking Jews for being tall, or the deaf for their stinginess.

In other words, he thinks a "flexible thinker" is someone who subscribes to old, widely-held prejudices. Look at me, I'm so mentally flexible that I believe things that have been believed by poorly-educated people for decades, if not centuries!

[mcroft.livejournal.com]

How did you ever guess? Jews are cheap, they have a funny way of talking, and rabbis are really rather secular. Mexicans with cars have stolen them, arab kids blow themselves up. The rest were either scatological or "insert stupid ethnic group here".

Oh, and I noticed I didn't put it in there, but the author was a kid, hoping to earn a buck or two for college on the game sites' revenue sharing.

[avram]

You never hear jokes about Tamil kids blowing themselves up, and the Tamils invented the suicide vest. No respect, I tell ya....

[la-directora.livejournal.com]

Dude, you SHOULD be bothered by that. "He doesn't mean his racism to be offensive" is as weak a defense as, "It isn't racist since it's aimed at different groups." That is seriously awful. Good for you for saying something to them.