Ide lehet hordani a botrány körüli cikkeket

World of Warcraft Development Interrupted Following Activision Blizzard Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

... fordítás hamarosan

”Activision Blizzard is being sued by the state of California for its treatment of female employees, and it's impacting World of Warcraft productivity.

After the recent announcement of California suing Activision Blizzard over its culture, many employees, former employees, fans, and more have taken to Twitter to talk about what this means for the future of the company and gaming. And based on some of those Tweets, it looks as though World of Warcraft fans may suffer for it.

Activision Blizzard is currently being sued by the state of California for what was called “pervasive frat boy culture” and its alleged poor treatment of female employees in the past. The developers are known best for AAA titles like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and other big-name games. But it is making headlines for a whole different reason right now, leading WoW players to protest Blizzard in game, as well as boycotts. And all of this has lead to what Senior System Designer Jeff Hamilton says is almost a complete halt in work.

In a lengthy collection of Tweets, Jeff Hamilton wrote that while his experience at Activision Blizzard has been a great one, that it is "DAMNINGLY OBVIOUS that that experience has not been universal." He stated that "Activision's response to this is currently taking a group of world-class developers and making them so mad and traumatized they're rendered unable to keep making a great game," after letting fans know that almost "no work" is being done on World of Warcraft at this time.

After the allegations became public, Activision's Executive VP for Corporate Affairs Fran Townsend sent a company-wide email to employees stating that the lawsuit was "a distorted and untrue picture of our company, including factually incorrect, old and out of context stories — some from more than a decade ago." This response has upset several Blizzard and Activision employees according to Jason Schreier, a reporter for Bloomberg.

With many teams unhappy with the company's response as well as the allegations themselves, it seems that work at Blizzard has come to almost a complete standstill, making it almost impossible for fans to expect any new content to be coming their way for either World of Warcraft: Shadowlands or The Burning Crusade Classic. "And this benefits nobody - not the players, not the developers, not the shareholders," Hamilton Tweeted.

Another set of Tweets, sent out by Blizzard Co-Founder Mike Morhaime, stated that he was "ashamed" and blamed himself for the culture devolving to its current state. "Harassment and discrimination exist. They are prevalent in our industry. It is the responsibility of leadership to keep all employees feeling safe, supported, and treated equitably... I am so sorry to have let you down." The lawsuit is still ongoing between Activision Blizzard and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing; it came after a two-year investigation into the treatment of women at the gaming company and the culture that allegedly allowed these abuses to occur.

It is currently unknown when World of Warcraft developers will return to working at normal on the game's updates. It also unknown if this may alter Blizzard's recent announcement of the Phase 2 release of PTR for TCB Classic slated to be released sometime next week.“

Activision Blizzard Exec Repeats Lawsuit Is 'Meritless and Irresponsible' in Internal Email

... fordítás hamarosan

A letter from Activision Blizzard executive VP Fran Townsend shared internally reiterates a rejection of California's allegations.

This past week a lawsuit was filed by the state of California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing against Activision Blizzard, accusing the company of fostering a "frat boy culture" that enabled many alleged instances of sexism, harassment, and abuse. Activision Blizzardhas since issued a public statement decrying the descriptions within the lawsuit as "distorted" and "in many cases false." In a leaked internal email, Activision Blizzard executive VP Fran Townsend reiterated this sentiment, calling the allegations "meritless and irresponsible."

Bloomberg reporter Jason Schrier stated on Twitter that Townsend recently sent the letter to Activision Blizzard employees. The letter starts by repeating the company's public allegations that California's lawsuit "presented a distorted and untrue picture of our company." Further, Townsend alleges that the lawsuit includes "factually incorrect, old, and out of context stories," again language that comes directly from Activision Blizzard's public statement. Townsend isn't specific with what she considers false, but clearly wants to share her refutation of the lawsuit with employees.

Townsend goes on to describe Activision's companies as "great" and with "good values," saying that when she joined the company less than four months ago she was joining a place where she felt she'd be "valued, treated with respect, and provided opportunities equal to those afforded to men of the company." She says that this has been true during her time with Activision and that, as a leader, she's committed to ensuring that experience is shared throughout the organization.

Jason Schreier

@jasonschreier

Jul 23, 2021

Blizzard president J. Allen Brack sent out an email to staff last night addressing the allegations from this week's explosive lawsuit, calling them "extremely troubling" and saying that he'd be "meeting with many of you to answer questions and discuss how we can move forward."

The body of Townsend's letter details initiatives and investments that Activision Blizzard has made to foster a healthy and diverse environmentin the past. This includes ways for employees to speak out about problems, but also systems to encourage fair compensation and equal opportunities.

Activision Blizzard executive Fran Townsend, who was the Homeland Security Advisor to George W. Bush from 2004-2007 and joined Activision in March, sent out a very different kind of email that has some Blizzard employees fuming.

Lastly, Townsend continues to expand on the idea that Activision Blizzard is currently a company with a "safe, fair, and inclusive workplace." She makes no note regarding whether Activision is working to improve things from where it currently stands. Rather, she rejects the "egregious actions of others, and a truly meritless and irresponsible lawsuit," saying Activision cannot let them "damage our culture of respect and equal opportunity." Again, Townsend isn't specific with what exactly her rhetoric is referring to, but she clearly does not see Activision to be at fault or responsible for any of the allegations California has laid out in its lawsuit.

Schrier does add alongside the letter that Townsend's email has left "some Blizzard employees fuming," though he doesn't say why. It's perhaps in part due to Blizzard president J. Allen Brack's letter from yesterday in which he does what Townsend refuses and acknowledges the allegations within the lawsuit. Brack says that "it is completely unacceptable for anyone in the company to face discrimination or harassment" and refers to "iterating" on Blizzard's culture in order to move forward.

It's unclear at this time when California's lawsuit against Activision Blizzard will move forward.

Ex-Blizzard chief Mike Morhaime: To the Blizzard women …, I am extremely sorry that I failed you

... fordítás hamarosan

”Former Blizzard Entertainment president and company cofounder Mike Morhaime issued an apology to the women of Blizzard who have suffered alleged sexual discrimination charged in a lawsuit by a California state agency this week. Blizzard company that makes games such as World of Warcraft and Overwatch.

Morhaime spent 28 years at the company, and he stepped down in early 2019. He has since gone on to start a new game company, Dreamhaven, with his wife, Amy. This week, the California Department of Fair Employment and housing sued parent firm Activision Blizzard for sex discrimination, and the details of the two-year investigation included explosive and ugly allegations about a “frat boy culture” at the game company, which owns both Activision (maker of Call of Duty) and Blizzard.

Morhaime's comments were honest, powerful, and not defensive. He said he was ashamed. ...”

”I have read the full complaint against Activision Blizzard and many of the other stories. It is all very disturbing and difficult to read. I am ashamed. It feels like everything I thought I stood for has been washed away. What's worse but even more important, real people have been harmed, and some women had terrible experiences.

I was at Blizzard for 28 years. During that time, I tried very hard to create an environment that was safe and welcoming for people of all genders and backgrounds. I knew that it was not perfect, but clearly we were far from that goal. The fact that so many women were mistreated and were not supported means we let them down. In addition, we did not succeed in making it feel safe for people to tell their truth. It is no consolation that other companies have faced similar challenges. I wanted us to be different, better.

Harassment and discrimination exist. They are prevalent in our industry. It is the responsibility of leadership to keep all employees feeling safe, supported, and treated equitably, regardless of gender and background. It is the responsibility of leadership to stamp out toxicity and harassment in any form, across all levels of the company. To the Blizzard women who experienced any of these things, I am extremely sorry that I failed you.

I realize that these are just words, but I wanted to acknowledge the women who had awful experiences. I hear you, I believe you, and I am so sorry to have let you down. I want to hear your stories, if you are willing to share them. As a leader in our industry, I can and will use my influence to help drive positive change and to combat misogyny, discrimination, and harassment wherever I can. I believe we can do better, and I believe the gaming industry can be a place where women and minorities are welcomed, included, supported, recognized, rewarded, and ultimately unimpeded from the opportunity to make the types of contributions that all of us join this industry to make. I want the mark I leave on this industry to be something that we can all be proud of.

-Mike”

... fordítás hamarosan

Regis Talks!

Nem erről szól a vidi, de az elején kiáll egy kicsit, de a szép dolog az a saját véleméye, es hozáállása a szituációhoz.

”A korábbi Blizzard Entertainment elnök, és társ-alapító Mike Morhaime kiadott egy bocsánatkérést a Blizzard összes női munkatársa felé, akik feltehetően elszenvedői voltak a szexuális diszkriminációnak, amivel Kalifornia állam vádolja a Blizzardot.”

...

“Morhaime 28 éven keresztül dolgozott a cégnél, és 2019 elején mondott le a vezetőség éléről. A távozása óta új játék gyártó céget alapított -Dreamhaven-, a felségével Amy-vel. Ezen a héten a California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (a kaliforniai egyenjogúságért felelős hatóság) beperelte az Activision Blizzard anya vállalatot a diszkrimináció vádjával, és egy két éves nyomozás eredményeire alapozott vádakkal...”

...

“Morhaime kommentárja őszinte, és erőteljes, egyáltalán nem védekező. Az szégyenét fejezi ki.”

“Elolvastamaz Activision Blizzard elleni összes vádat, és sok ehhez kapcsolódó történetet. Az egész nagyon felkavaró volt, és nehezemre esett elolvasni. Szégyellem magam. Úgy érzem minden, amiről úgy gondoltam, hogy kiálltam egyszerűen elkopott, megszűnt. Ami még rosszabb, és egyben még sokkal fontosabb, hogy igazi emberek sérültek, és néhány női munkatársunknak borzasztó élményei voltak.

28 évet voltam a Blizzard-nál. Ez idő alatt keményen dolgoztam azon, hogy olyan munkakörnyezetet biztosítsunk, ami biztonságos, és befogadó nemtől és háttértől függetlenül mindenki számára. Tudtam, higy nem tökéletes, de most mar világos, hogy nagyon messze álltunk ettől a céltól. A tény, hogy olyan sok nőt részesült megkülönböztető bánásmódban, és támogatás nélkül maradt azt jelenti, hogy mi (vezetők) cserben hagytuk őket. Hozzá kell tenni, hogy hibásak vagyunk abban is, hogy az érintettek nem érezték biztonságosnak a helyzetük jelentését (a vezetőség felé). Az sem nyújt vigaszt, hogy más cégeknél is hasonló helyzettel küzdenek. Azt akartam, higy mi különbözzünk, különbek legyünk.

Az erőszak, és a diszkrimináció létező dolgok. Ezek jellemzőek az iparágunkban. Az a vezetőség felelőssége, hogy a dolgozói számára biztonságot és támogatást  nyújtson, hogy egyenlő elbánásban részesüljenek, mindenféle hattertől, vagy nemtől függetlenül. A vezetőség felelőssége, hogy kiirtsa a gyűlölködés, és a zaklatás minden formáját a vállalat minden szintjén. A Blizzard nőinek, akik bármilyen formában kapcsolatba kerültek ezekkel a dolgokkal, szeretném legnagyobb sajnálatomat kifejezni, sajnálom, hogy cserben hagy talál benneteket.

Tudatában vagyok, hogy ezek csak szavak, de szeretném, ha az érintettek tudnának róla. Meghallgatlak benneteket, hiszek a szavaitokban, is sajnálom, hogy cserben hagytalak benneteket.

Hallani akarom a történeteiteket, ha készek vagytok megosztani. Vezetőként, az iparunkban, használni tudom, és használni is akarom a befolyásomat, ahol csak tudom, hogy egy pozitív változást hozzunk, és harcoljunk a nőgyűlölet, a diszkrimináció, és az erőszak ellen. Hiszem, hogy képesek vagyunk jobbak lenni, és hiszem, higy a videojáték gyártó ipar egy olyan környezet lehet, ahol a nőket, és a kisebbségeket szívesen látjuk, és bevonjuk, támogatjuk, felismerjük a munkájukat, és mindenek előtt lehetővé tesszük, hogy a megfelelő  intézkedéseket iparág szinten hozzuk meg. Azt akarom, hogy a nyom melyet hagyok magam után valami olyan legyen, amire mindannyian büszkék lehetünk.

-Mike”

Mindig is szimpi volt ez az ürge, így többszöri olvasásra mar a legkevésbé sem gondolom álszentnek, ha élharcosra van szükség, számomra ez így hitelesnek tűnik.

Itt valamiféle hurok szorul:

Noha kezd bulvárosodni a hírfolyam, mert a korábbi hírekre pontatlanul referál, és a tényekhez nem szolgáltat alapot. Más kérdés, hogy mennyire lehet profi az adatmegsemmisítésben egy játékfejlesztő cég, megint más kérdés, hogy kaphat valaki ilyen feladatot, amikor már mindenki számára világos miért kapja...