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Blizzards ongoing censorship of seemingly inappropriate World of Warcraft content in response to the lawsuit against the company is overshadowing what some players really want An end to toxicity in WoW.

In the wake of the lawsuit against Activision Blizzard for fostering a pervasive frat boy culture within the workplace, the company has actively set about removing explicit content from their games.

Overwatch will see the hero formerly known as Jesse McCree receive a new name in future updates, whileDiablo 2 Resurrected also saw the gladiator-esque Amazons exotic beauty erased to a point where fans claimed she looked like legendary actor Willem Defoe.

World of Warcraft has also had heavily sexualized images toned down, but a lot of WoW fans arent interested in the removal of offensive in-game content: theyd rather Blizzard actively dealt with the ongoing toxicity issues instead.

Please be aware that this article contains a discussion regarding suicide and mental health issues.

While Blizzard has expressed at the upcoming WoW Shadowlands update, Patch 9.1.5, will look to clamp down on rulebreakers and bad behaviour, a large section of the games community want the issue solved now.

Blizzard should do something about toxic player behavior instead of censoring paintings and turning them into fruit bowls, writes one Reddit user, referring to the decision to change an in-game artwork of a semi-clad woman into a collection of pears. Being told to kill myself over a mistake or a petty disagreement is not okay at all.

They go on to slam the devs for censoring /spit and some half-naked portraits but not punishing players for this awful s**t.

Ultimately, they conclude that even posting about the issue ended with their Reddit DMs being flooded with messages telling them to take their own life, proving that this is a real problem.

Blizzard should do something about toxic player behaviour instead of censoring paintings and turning them into fruit bowls, because being told to kill myself over a mistake or a petty disagreement is not okay at all. Its incredibly hurtful. from wow

A whole host of players have jumped in to support the original poster. One writes: Prioritize the game and the community over profit and youll see a huge difference in the quality of player.

It has nothing to do with banning 100% of toxic players, another states. It has everything to do with setting rules and f**king enforcing them.

Hopefully Patch 9.1.5 will bring the ban hammer down on those who are choosing to insult and abuse others, however only time will tell what punishment will be introduced for toxic players. Either way, its clear players want a new punishment system implemented soon.

If you are experiencingsuicidalthoughts, or know anyone that is, and you would like to talk to someone, please reach out and call theSuicidePrevention Helpline 1-800-273-8255 (USA), the Samaritans 116-123 (UK), or Lifeline 13-11-14 (AUS).

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WoW players urge Blizzard to combat toxicity instead of censoring game content - Dexerto

While the American Library Association hosts discussions and programming around banned books in public institutions and libraries, the topic of prison book access is lacking. They do have resources and guides to donating books (including to prisons), but the advocacy side for those incarcerated is mostly left up to organizations that do this year-round. This is probably because, as a nation, people arent ready to confront their own bias against those incarcerated (even for non-violent offenses), and advocates get labeled radicals or hippies.

Some books frequently banned from prisons are works by Frederick Douglass, Alice Walker, Shakespeare, Stephen King, George Orwell, Anne Rice, James Patterson, many holy books that are not the Christian Bible, and thousands more.

Common reasons are sexually explicit imagery/text (it doesnt matter the context), the book helping hide/plan criminal schemes, encouraging deviant sexual behavior (???), information on drugs, information on weapons/weapon-making, or having contraband in it. Instead of going down how almost each one of those is used to exploit and dehumanize incarcerated people, lets talk about the most nefarious of all general rules.

One reason the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) bans books is if:

It contains materials that a reasonable person would construe as written solely for the purpose of communicating information designed to achieve the breakdown of prisons through offender disruption such as strikes, riots, or security threat group activity.

While this is the language used for TDCJ, many other prison systems across the country (including territories and military bases) have a similarly worded clause in guidelines. This vague language allows them to ban books about civil rights, race/racism (as well as other isms), social studies, or really anything. Because prisons can be private, state (over 50%), country/local, or federally-run, these rules and restrictions vary in severity and application between systems. Needless to say, but the type of incarceration (general populations vs. solitary confinement) also affects book access.

When a journalist from The Marshall Project asked for an updated book ban list from the TDCJ, they were asked to pay $400 for a spreadsheet listing the titles.

Books can be sent back or rejected for misspellings, where the book was mailed from, notes inside, letters attached, if it is hardback, and many other reasons. All of these reasons (like the type of books rejected) are under the guise of protection.

I know this phrase gets old, but the pandemic made this worse for many incarcerated people. On top of overcrowding, lack of masks/sanitizer, medical experimentation (giving inmates ivermectin, saying they were vitamins), and more, they are on lockdown mode for the most part. Prison lockdowns mean no access to libraries, classes, or any social spaces (visitation, etc.).

What can you do to help?

There are tons of organizations that help incarcerated folks access books year-round and bring attention to the biased nature of prisons banned books to the press. Many of these organizations need volunteers, but all of them need money and books. Some also look for writers to become pen pals.

Another indirect way to aid is to educate yourself about the nature of the prison system and about prison abolition. These are titles such as The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexzander, The End of Policing by Alex Vitale, and Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Davis. These books are banned in many prisons because the state fears educating the public, and for that terrible reason from TDCJ mentioned earlier.

The way prisons exist (purposely) acts to strip all humanity and dignity out of peoplethose people being disproportionally poor, Black/brown, and disabled (mentally, physically, etc.). So, books can increase literacy, lower recidivism, improve critical thinking skills, provide answers as to the systems designed to put them there (and keep them there), or just relieve the pain of incarceration through escapismand their access is weaponized against them, all on our dime and in the name of our safety.

(image: Alyssa Shotwell)

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Prison Censorship Should Be a Bigger Discussion in Banned Book Week - The Mary Sue

THERE'S something a little fishy about the photos of this remote tropical island on Google Maps.

Satellite imagery provided by the digital map service shows the left side of Mururoa in French Polynesia, but blurs the other half.

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In place of satellite imagery is a blueish blob that obscures whatever lies beneath from users.

Moruroa is a small atoll in the southern Pacific Ocean.

It's not clear why much of the island is censored, but some suspect it relates to the island's nuclear history.

France undertook significant nuclear testing on the atoll between 1966 and 1996 with as many as 181 tests performed during this time period.

Some of the explosions at the island are said to have been 200 times the strength of the bombs dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima in 1945.

A study by Greenpeace found that it contaminated the water as far as Peru and New Zealand, with radiation levels of 12 millirems reported.

Revealed

Unsurprisingly, the island is off limits to visitors.

Testing at the site stopped in 1996 after then-French president Jacques Chirac ordered the dismantling of nuclear testing facilities.

Chirac said live on the radio that "the safety of our country and of our children is assured."

Due to safety concerns, the island is still guarded by French troops - which could explain why it's blurred out by Google.

In 2018, France's government asked Google to pull all images of French prisons and other sensitive sites from the web.

The order followed a daring escape from a prison near Paris that involved a helicopter that flew it into the courtyard.

It's thought that notorious killer Redoine Faid and his accomplices used Google Maps to scout out the layout of Reau prison.

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Google Maps censors mysterious nuke island that visitors are BANNED from going near... - The Sun

Supporters of the jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have accused Google and Apple of capitulating to Kremlin pressure after the two tech companies deleted his tactical voting app from their online stores.

Both companies had come under significant pressure from Russian regulators in the days before the courntrys parliamentary elections to block access to Navalnys Smart Voting initiative, which tries to channel opposition votes toward the strongest opponents of the ruling party, United Russia.

Google and Apple were accused of election interference by Russian officials amid a larger standoff between the Kremlin and big tech over how much control Russias authoritarian government can have over information disseminated inside the country. The Kremlin said on Friday it welcomed the apps removal.

As voting in the parliamentary elections began on Friday, the apps disappeared from both companies Russia stores and Ivan Zhdanov, a senior adviser to Navalny, posted a letter from Apple that appeared to confirm that companys decision.

We are writing to notify you that your application will be removed from the Russia App Store because it includes content that is illegal in Russia, the note read. The Navalny organisation had been declared extremist in Russia, the note added.

Zhdanov wrote: Removing the Navalny app from stores is a shameful act of political censorship. Russias authoritarian government and propaganda will be thrilled.

He also said that Navalnys team was considering launching a lawsuit against the tech firms. The Guardian has approached Google and Apple for comment.

A Russian court imposed fines on Google last month, as regulators demanded social media companies including Twitter and Facebook stored Russian users data in the country and that they deleted material banned by Russian courts and regulators. The Russian government also told Google it must remove search results related to Navalnys Smart Voting initiative.

Apple was also fined $12m earlier this year for allegedly holding a monopoly position on the app market. It has challenged that decision in court.

Google and Apple were singled out for pressure for hosting Navalnys online application before the elections. Local representatives for both companies were invited to the Federation Council, a lawmaking body, for a severe telling-off by Russian senators and regulators.

A lawmaker also said that employees of the two companies could face criminal prosecution if they ignored demands to block the Navalny application.

Entities and persons associated with Apple and Google should realise that the knowingly unlawful actions and criminal inaction demonstrated upon receiving relevant warnings from Russian officials will invariably entail legal consequences, up to criminal prosecution, Vladimir Dzhabarov, a member of the Federation Council, said at a commission meeting on Thursday, according to Interfax.

The US ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry for a similar scolding. The Russian governments accusations of US interference in the elections appears to intentionally mirror similar investigations in the US.

The Russian side possesses irrefutable evidence of the violation of the Russian laws by US digital giants ahead of Russias elections, the foreign ministry wrote.

Link:
Apple and Google accused of political censorship over Alexei Navalny app - The Guardian

Content warning: this article contains language and content related to suicide. Reader discretion is advised.

Comedy comes from dark places.

At least, thats the case for many comedians. Richard Pryor grew up in a brothel with a prostitute and a pimp for parents. Eddie Murphys father was murdered when he was 8 years old. Trevor Noahs mother was shot in front of him. Hannah Gadsby, Jim Carrey and Tiffany Haddish were all homeless. John Belushi, Mitch Hedberg and Chris Farley lost their lives to drugs. Robin Williams took his own life. The list goes on.

Although not all comedians experience such degrees of trauma, adversity or bad childhoods, the link between comedy and tragedy is undeniable and well-documented. Humor often becomes a strength for deeply wounded people.

Take Pete Davidson for example, who lost his father in the Sept. 11 attacks when he was 7 years old. In his stand-up special SMD, he tells the audience that after his father died he was gifted a PlayStation 2. He then follows up with a joke about how pushing his mother down the stairs might get him a PlayStation 3.

Thats my new life, Davidson quips. Murder and toys.

Regardless of how you feel about the joke, its admirable that Davidson managed to take a personal tragedy and turn it into something positive that people can laugh about, himself included. Instead of attempting to ignore or suppress the pain of losing his father, he deals with it directly and tries to find the humor in it.

Taken at face value, it sounds insane. How can someone possibly find humor in the death of their father, especially when it happened as the result of a national tragedy?

When you try to ignore something that bothers you, whether its an intrusive thought, character flaw or negative experience, it chips away at the back of your mind. No matter what you do, it never goes away. When you purposely acknowledge that thing, point it out and laugh at it, it removes all the power and control it has over you. To quote Charlie Chaplin: In order to truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain and play with it.

Its a concept that can be difficult for some people to grasp, but for Davidson and like-minded comedians, its how they heal themselves and their audiences. When therapy and medication fail to do their jobs, humor becomes a coping mechanism.

As much as comedy helps performers and listeners, some feel that it goes too far in the subject matter. Comedy has historically pushed boundaries and poked fun at sensitive topics, which has led a lot of groups and activists to demand censorship across the medium. If comedy was censored, anything considered potentially offensive would be off-limits to joke about (like Davidsons 9/11 joke).

Because comedy functions as an art form, censoring it would set a dangerous precedent. Comedy is in the same category as music, film, painting or literature. Everyone has their own taste, style and preference.

For example, I think country music is one of the worst things thats ever happened to our planet. The fact that bands like Florida Georgia Line are successful makes me question the existence of a God. Almost every song uses the same basic melodies and is about drinking, driving or drinking while driving. At some point in the song, the main character gets hammered, goes for a cruise and ends up near a body of water surrounded by women. The phrases raisin hell, good stuff and step up in the truck are said for what it feels like hundreds of times.

As much as Id like to see Florida Georgia Line get catapulted into space, there are millions of people who find enjoyment in their music. Its the same concept with comedy. A comedian, late-night host or entertainer you think is terrible might bring joy to someone else. We all have different opinions on whats good, whats bad, acceptable and funny.

Also, as with all forms of art, comedy tends to come from a personal place thats deep, emotionally raw and unfiltered. Any attempt to censor that is a bad idea. Passing comedy through a filter is like shaking up a Dr. Pepper and drinking it after its flat. Sure, its still Dr. Pepper, but all of the flavor is gone.

Humor comes from real-life experiences and you cant censor reality. The comedians I mentioned in the beginning all used comedy to deal with their adversity. Humor was the only thing that helped mend their pain and allow them to tell their stories, which allows other people to heal and tell their own stories.

Comedy can be just as healing to the people who tell it as it is to the people who hear it. For those people, laughter isnt just the best medicine its the only medicine.

Featured Illustration by J. Robynn Aviles

Continued here:
The power of comedy and why censorship does not belong in it - North Texas Daily