Our Guild Name and A Good Friend
As we’ve said before, we hate it. Also as we’ve said before, we weren’t going to guild-quit because of it. For those of you who read our WoW Insider column, you probably were just as unsuprised as we were that some people decided to jump on the guild-name as a reason to get upset. If some anonymous poeple want to get their undies in a bunch over a guild name and write to the WoW Insider editors and complain, we really don’t care. If WoW has a Big Problem with it, the guild officers will certain hear from them.
However.
When one of our good friends writes to us expressing her concerns, we listen:
“You need to not be in that guild. It does affect how seriously you are taken. It’s distasteful, and while you didn’t choose it, and while your opinion is that it’s not nice but you can deal with it to be in a decent guild… not everyone feels the same. It’s really unpleasant and it really does reflect poorly on you. I don’t mean that to be offensive. But it really does. Temerity Jane“
We value her council very much, and at this point, we must agree that the name does reflect poorly upon us and action must be taken. So what do we do?
We don’t like the guild name. Had we known they were going to pick it, we would’ve argued against it, vociferously. But we don’t see it as a sole issue to cause us to want to quit it. And if we did quit the guild, the name would remain. We would remove ourselves from the problem, making it look like we were covering our @ss and praying the flak would die down. That sticks in our craw; we cannot do that.
So instead of becoming righteous and indignant, throwing up our hands at the altar of Political Correctness and quitting the guild in a massive huff, we have decided to attempt to convince the guild to change the name. Our progress, of course, shall be documented herein.
Comments
48 Responses to “Our Guild Name and A Good Friend”
Leave a Reply




[quote] We would remove ourselves from the problem, making it look like we were covering our @ss and praying the flak would die down. That sticks in our craw; we cannot do that [/quote]
Or that after talking to a friend you realized that you were promoting or at least joking about sexual assault. There’s nothing wrong with admitting that a friend helped you to see more clearly and you changed your mind.
That said I think you’re tactic of explaining to your friensd how messed up that name is, and asking them to change it would be the first course of action.
I’m surprised with this kind of things.
Guild name is politically correct? NO.
But WTH!, is there no humour out there?
Um… BRK’s little character link at the top of this page says guild “Vanquished”. What guild name is being referenced in this post?
The guild in question is
“Sapped Girls Can’t Say No”
which of course alludes to sexual assault/rape, which was actually a hot topic of debate on WoWInsider written by Mike Schramm (the dude who runs the show on WoWInsider I believe).
So… honestly, it doesn’t look good for BRK as an official dude in a public forum/blog like WoWInsider, and if a guild name would cost him a job, that’d be pretty darn sucky.
My suggestion is the following if it already hasn’t been done, is that the guild name can be reported and that the guild would be disbanded. So, I’d honestly suggest breaking the guild and making a new name before you get new members or anything and then all of a sudden you log in and there’s no guild left and you don’t remember all the names that were on the guild list, etc.
In short, write down all the names in the guild, and disband it before it’s reported and disbanded by a GM, it’s going to save you a lot of stress if you’re prepared for the disband in advance.
PS. I find the guild name kind of funny, but then again it’s up the alley of ‘dark humor’ for me and I’m pretty laid back/not overly sensitive about a lot of ‘hot’ topics.
I’d agree that it does reflect on you but I’m not one who is going to throw their hands up and cry fowl. As I said before, I would just assume your guild is a bunch of @sshats. Thus, you are an @sshat. Not that you are but that guild name sure gives that impression.
With all the guild hopping you seem to be doing lately, who really cares where you end up at? People still read BRK for the content not how you are portrayed by the people you choose to play with. Temerity wasn’t the only one to mention the name of the guild, she was just the only one heard by you on the subject. You didn’t care before, and I don’t see why you would now. It’s a bloody game! Play, have a good time, enjoy a laugh over the name and ridiculous tabard and move on. It’s not that big of a deal. If people get offended they should take it to the guild leader as it was his decision to name this guild as such. Undergarments are wadded all over due to a silly name that was meant out of fun. Get over it!
In humor, timing is everything.
Unforuntately for a Guild Name, because the “humor” is presented at all moments above characters, there is no specific timing and it often fails.
On a related note, I rather hate obscene Arena Team names—I don’t get easily offended, but sometimes I wish certain people just had got more hugs and kisses from mommy and daddy.
yes, thats fine what you said anonymous, but the fact is that not everyone in the WoW community that frequents WI or BRK for that matter is objective enough to relate to wht you have spoken. though it be the truth, one must come to terms as to not only “not be a stumbling block for others,” but also how it reflects on the reputation of BRK. People do take personal offense to questionable guild names, and are not just doing it to start a ruckus, although guite the number of them are just raising the issue for some drama and trolling. the best thing to do would be to NOT be self-righteous and zealous, and try to resolve the problem for BRK’s own reputation and good, and quite possibly keep a job out of jeopardy. for an example, take Isaiah Washington from TV hit Drama “Grey’s Anatomy.” He called someone a f*g and in the end, lost that gig. Although there will be further opportunities down the road, he will be forever marred by those whom he offended :/
just my 2.5 cents
Lol that guild name is funny. But yeah, stay away from something that puts your job at risk… People getting offended and so upset that they have to destroy other peoples lives (grey’s anatomy reference) or complain about a guild. I NEVER notice a person’s guildname unless I’m looking. Is the videoquality of these people’s machines so horrible that they spend more time looking at guildnames of random characters than everything else? Cause if not, then that guildname is not hurting you. Look once, be displeased and move on with your life. I hate people.
Meh. I wrote him that email. I’m not uptight, and I’m not particularly personally offended by his guild name. He’s a professional writer now, though, and as someone has pointed out, assumptions of asshattery go along with that name. It’s a silly stance to take, to say people should get a sense of humor, just deal with it, etc. Truth of the matter is, people are going to make judgements, correct or not, and that name reflects poorly on all members of the guild. I’m not going to get my panties in a wad over it, but when I run across something like that in game, I just roll my eyes and assume there’s a bunch of immature teenagers behind it. Whether or not people are offended or suffering from bunched undergarments is not the issue - the reflection on the members of the guild is. And as someone in a place of e-authority, BRK has to be concerned with his reputation and presentation, regardless of whether or not he personally agrees with the opinions of others.
The fact that you don’t feel comfortable in updating your graphic sig at the top of the homepage with the new guild name should be sign enough that the name needs to change, or the guild needs to change.
And as someone else has stated, if I saw that guild name, I’d assume certain things..
Agreed Morianna, but BRK is not the one who named the guild, and he’s shown that he’s disgusted by the name and tabard. For people to suddenly discover the name and get all frantic about it is just silly. I don’t like the name either. I personally take offense to it. I think that the people in the guild may have some association with what it refers to, but seeing it from a few members perspective I see that this is not the case. It has been brought to BRK’s attention, as well as other members of his guild. It is thier decision to remain and play, and get the job done of instances and pleasing themselves and others. Otherwise they would have left already instead of contemplating that maybe they will if they continue to not get what they want. What’s in a name?
And TJ, if BRK was so concerned about what it would do to his ‘job’ as he might have shown by refusing to show the tabard or offer the name of the new guild, he would have left already… wouldn’t he?
Or perhaps this is just another ‘mage’ issue that he’s using to get more attention whether it is good or bad.
Anon looks at something like this in a vacuum, where only the game and the implications within have any meaning. Welcome to Big Boy land, where double standards exist, reputations matter and most issues are nuanced and not black-and-white.
Bigger issues like what TJ bring up are what really matter. A paying gig, your perceived knowledge of your class and the topics you write about can all hinge on things like this.
And because BRK hasn’t made a blog post about it yet, doesn’t mean it didn’t bother him before or that he wasn’t working to change it.
Am I appalled by the guild name? Yes. Does it make me think less of the people who would belong to a guild with a name like that? Yes. Will it make me stop reading BRK … probably, yes. Despite the fact that I’ve loved your WoWInsider articles and your blog, I don’t want to read them anymore. I like to relate to the people whose blogs I read and I can’t relate to BRK if you think that’s an acceptable guild name.
It’s not funny and it’s not black humour. And you can try to change things from the inside, but I would be a lot more impressed if you said that you would have to leave if the guild name didn’t change. That’s not called “covering your ass”, that’s called standing on principle.
Would you find it amusing if someone sapped your wife and she couldn’t say no? I don’t think so.
Leave the guild and reform under a new name. The name reflects badly on you and your kitty and thus all of us hunters. You are besmirching the noble hunter class with that guild name.
I wish it were a vacuum. I’ve brought the name up before to members of this guild and told them it was offensive and no one seemed to care. Yes, it’s offensive, they agreed, but what can we do about it? I’ve been on the receiving end of what the name refers to so it has some pretty real meaning to me. I do not like it and am thoroughly disgusted by it. But knowing that the members of the guild are not as concerned and seen it as just having fun, why get all torn up over it?
If BRK chooses to tackle this problem himself and publish the progress of such here, then kudos to him for finally taking a stance instead of shrugging it off. Perhaps TJ’s friendship will rub off on him and help open his eyes to what others see.
He was concerned enough not to name it, or share the tabard image with his viewers, but not enough to not join the guild in the first place, report it’s offensive name to a game master, or suggest that it be changed to the guild leader upon joining.
It’s their decision. Making a huff about it or getting your undergarments in a bunch over it is only going to help them do what we all seem to agree would be the right thing. Had a WowInsider columnist not joined a guild by such a name though, this would have been no big deal.
Oh, and if I have to choose between being accused of exibiting righteous indignation or general asshattery, I’d stick with righteous indignation. At least your conscience is clear
“Sapped Girls Can’t Say No”
Truer words can never be spoken. I can even remember how many
“girls” i have sapped just for the purpose of them NOT saying no.
Thats how I got my new truck:
“Hey babe look a nice 2007 Toyota Tundra”
Wife says” Can we really aff..” SAP!!
Dizzy, dizzy, dizzy.
“Yeah sure Bob I’ll take the black one….huh?….her?. Oh she will be alright in 30 seconds. By that time I’ll be away and out of combat so I can Sap her again.”
Sapping a female is not the only thing that can be done, just think of the millions of men sapped daily by women using frying pans and such. Though they use the Imp Sap version 2: Keeps target comatose for up to 2 days.
I think BRK has chosen the best possible solution to this problem. His friends are there and he has chosen to play where he wants. Yes, the name is poorly chosen. To leave the guild would have him leaving his friends I do not find that as an option. If he left, the guild would remain as such on the server and the issue would continue. I believe he is stepping up in the most adult manner possible by trying to show them that the name needs to be changed rather than just bailing out on hard won friends with a good team dynamic. I say this as openly as possible considering I too posted on WI in the overwhelming debate regarding the use of certain terms. I see that BRK is trying to fix the issue at hand not just running to save his name. I think that if they do not heed his advice at that point he should consider leaving, but at least now he is trying to give them the option to do the right thing.
Megan… You can give me hugs and kisses.
If you want to use that guild name I certainly can’t stop you. But I’m the relative of a woman who was raped. It was so shattering even 20 years later she can’t literally can’t talk about it. It’s going to be hard for me to be objective towards somebody who thinks that name is “just fun”.
It is only a matter of time and you WILL BE FORCED to change the guild name. You just as well come up with something good now (BRK factory of humor and ingenuity - get to work!) because someone WILL COMPLAIN and you will have to change it.
Some crybaby complained, and my guild had to change it’s name from “PWN STARS” (which you have to admit is much funnier and less offensive). We ended up being called “Prime”
My advice: Take the initiative and suggest a new (funny) name to the guild leader. Then file a complaint (or have a friend file one) to a GM that forces the guild to change its name.
Taz
I agree with you completely. I have been a victim myself and I will not joke about it. It seems I have had to say that more in the last week than in the last 6 years combined due to the topics on blogs I visit. I have moved on, but it brings it back very vividly every time someone jokes even vaguely about it. I will not turn this into another WI debate. So my comments on this subject are ending now until BRK posts further updates.
Anonymous said…
If you want to use that guild name I certainly can’t stop you. But I’m the relative of a woman who was raped. It was so shattering even 20 years later she can’t literally can’t talk about it. It’s going to be hard for me to be objective towards somebody who thinks that name is “just fun”.
I think the name is hilarious.
Screw sensitive people. Everyone is so uptight, and afraid to have their feelings hurt these days. I don’t even understand how comedians can stay in business anymore.
Oh, and on a side note … my impression of funny guild names, is that the people in it are actually having FUN PLAYING. That doesn’t make you an asshat, but it does make you someone i’d rather play a FRIGGIN GAME with.
Yeah, I’m with you rizzah. Assuming someone in a guild with a double entendre guildname is automatically a bad person is ludacrous. And further, if something happened over 20 years ago and you’re still not over it? Seek help. I’m not flaming, I’m being serious. With 8 years in psychology, I can tell you that it’s unhealthy to be upset to the point that a guildname seeming to imply something to you is hard to bear after an incident that took place 20 years ago. There may be some issues that should have been worked though. I also agree with the poster who says to change it as you’ll have to anyway. That is pretty accurate. May as well do it now. But I in no way condone the people who can’t look the other way and mind their own business. It used to be offensive to people that black people were seen in public. But those people had to get over it didn’t they? Gays in public? People had to get over it. If it offends you, go about your business and shut the hell up. Now if the person with that guildname is putting you on follow and going afk so you have to see his guildname every second of your gameplay, then you have a real concern. But BRK, I still suggest that for your reputation with the bleedinghearts, you drop this guild and or guildname. There’s a guy I play with all the time whos character name used to be Knotzi. They made him change it because it was offensive. Now it’s just knotz. To the anonymous poster who linked guildname to guildmembers personal lives. You honestly think he chose that name because he’s a Nazi? Don’t be retarded.
What proof do you have of this, Guy? I hear you complaining but without evidence your words are only opinions and/or heresay.
And Zemulos, I certainly hope you didn’t get licensed. This babble of your friend choosing a name he knows would be viewed in a harsh light because he knew he’d get the attention even if he’s not an actual Nazi is ridiculous. And telling someone who’s been through such a serious and heart wrenching ordeal to seek more therapy, is just sad. All the therapy in the world cannot change what happened, the fear that it causes, and the lack of trust developed for others because of it. It’s simply not something you can ‘get over’.
The thing I truly like about the BRK blog is the general lack of comments by trolls and flamers.
Reading Dans posts on WI, followed by the inevitable torrent of generally hateful comments, I find myself shaking my head in disgust. I can only think that these same respondants are the ones that feel compelled to decorate public restrooms with their witty rejoinders. At least that forum seems more appropriate for those “writings”.
Dan, you continue to provide good, solid content for players in spite of little praise or reward. I salute your intent and efforts in this regard. Having said that, the guild name issue is not one to be ignored. As a fellow hunter, I understand the difficulties in finding a good guild, even for a hunter of your reknown (repute?). There is a fine line between distasteful and immoral and the guild name appears to fall along that line. Since WoW is a game that appeals to adults as well as children, there is a need to be careful regarding what the open public is subjected to in the in-game environment. I suspect that WoW management wouldn’t take much pressure before the name becomes unacceptable and takes action.
As for your membership in that guild, I doubt you gave it much thought before it became an issue to others. Now that it has, you are in the unenviable position of having to take action. I wish you luck in your efforts to convince the guild to change the name, but should you fail - I hope you will seek membership elsewhere. A guild would be lucky to have a player with your talents and dedication.
As for the flamers, try to remember: “Illegitimi noncarborundum”.
SeaBrat & Seacat
Alliance
Blackrock-US
Nothing can ever change what has happened in the past, and I am not trivializing traumatic situations. Therapy is needed if recovery takes that long. It’s not about changing the past, it’s about learning to accept it, cope with it, and learning to move on. I got a little heated because this situation is WAY out of proportion. And someone picking a name that he finds humorous is not a reflection on his character. It is a reflection on the character of those who would choose to judge him.
Anon.. as I learned at this site a long time ago, you don’t have an account, you don’t have the right to call others out.
You are due the respect we give you, not the other way around.
The fact is I have supplied ample evidence to the writer of this blog, and the readers and writers of WI.
While it may fall on deaf ears (deafened because of the noise of money coming in) of some… Other sites ARE pulling the adds.
EVEN the google ones.
Every business has the right to choose who their vendors are. WI is no different and I find it quite offensive that they would blog as if they don’t support the practice but still support the adds.
What should disgust their readers more is that they hand pick which gold sellers can promote and which they can’t. They need to abolish the whole practice of supporting google ads if they can’t control it.
WoWhead, thottbot, other sites are catching on. WI needs to as well and YES, I do find it funny that BRK would tackle his guild tag and not his employer. And some Anon punk is’t going to change my stance on it.
I have posted my evidence. You are a nobody. Doubt me if you will, I KNOW the information is out there for anyone to find.
Now unless someone wishes to address the topic again… I’ve written more about this than I said I would ever do in this forum again. Good Day.
-guy
I SAID GOOD DAY!
See what Guy did there? Excellent use of righteous indgination. Excellent! I may write fan mail yet!
What should disgust their readers more is that they hand pick which gold sellers can promote and which they can’t. They need to abolish the whole practice of supporting google ads if they can’t control it.
I’m not sure exactly what this means, but rather than flame, I suppose I’ll dig a tad deeper…
Chris,
It means that WI has stated several times that they have ad filters and have huge lists of websites they won’t advertise YET you go anywhere on their website and you can find MULTIPLE links to gold sellers.
They just need to suck it up and do what the other sites are doing, DROP google ads.
-guy
Guy-
Funny thing is, I do have an account. I just choose not to share who I am so as not to have the followers that BRK deems worthy coming to my site with this sort of drivel. And respect is earned, not given.
From what I gather is you feel that any employer who uses ads to promote their site/business is considered slave labor. I wonder where television, radio and print media would be without this kind of slave labor helping to pay for the bills that keep them running so that you can voice your opinion. The world wide web didn’t just fall into the hands of the public, it was given with a price that even you pay.
Utoh! I guess that means that you too support slave labor. *gasp*
-’I met god this afternoon
Riding on an uptown train
I said “Don’t you have better things to do?”
He said, “If I do my job, what would you complain about?”‘
No.. YOU purposely misconstrue my writing to try and prove a flawed point and draw conclusions which haven’t anything to do with the topic at hand.
That and you are an Anon punk.
You double lose by default.
Grats.
-guy
Then why don’t you lay it out for us so we can understand what you are trying to get at. It appears as no one has been able to follow your point before being as no one is doing anything about it.
And yes, you do help support this so-called slave labor due to the fact that you read this blog and WI, and for every hit that you generate, money is being made to support the very cause you are against.
Yours truly,
Anon Punk
You mention WoWHead and Thott as those that are “catching on” though. As far as I know they are flat out owned by gold selling firms (or their cloak and dagger subsidiary)
http://www.techsoapbox.com/hot-off-the-presses-wowhead-sold-for-over-1-million/
The only site I know that pays anything other than lip service to staying gold ad free is the incgamers sites (worldofwar.net and their new database site, etc). And I could be wrong there too, but thats the appearance they give and I don’t see the ads.
I’m not disagreeing with you on WI, FWIW, I’m just saying the sites you list as doing it right are as bad or worse. Every time my favorite community site is bought I have to go find something new so that my inner Sally Struthers isn’t guilting me when I alt-tab.
/resisturgetorespondtoanon
chris
If someone gets how offensive it is that the guild name suggests date rape is funny, knows how seeing it will emotionally affect others including victims - don’t think they’d consider leaving to be a matter of political correctness or covering their rear. It’s something they’d want to do on principle. Like speccing BM, only more important. Trying to get the name changed is a reasonable alternative to leaving that involves just as much integrity, though, and I hope it works out.
Chris,
These websites gain notoriety from their content.
They make money from the people that use their links.
My “hit” gives a gold seller the incentive to advertise there.
But no money is exchanged till I utilize their links.
Thottbot and WoWhead are changing owners faster than you think and their policies are changing just as fast.
At one time you could find those adds there, not today.
I’m glad Blizzard is picking up that these people are selling a service and making money off their product. It’s resulted in a lot of things like the armory.
I would imagine these other sites will soon find themselves out of business, unable to give third party support to something the Blizzard sells already. Making this entire issue a waste of our time.
Till then, all these sites have to do is pull their ads. It’s that simple, and that’s what they are doing.
-guy
Okay, I’ll try to elaborate a bit more clearly:
WoWHead, owned by IGE doesn’t advertise for gold service. My traffic there, just by being there, helps drive their ad revenues, even if I don’t click on the ads. So IGE makes money.
WI, not owned by a gold selling company, adverts for these companies. My traffic on WI is what makes that site desired by said company.
The way I see it, its 6 of one, a half dozen of another. I guess I disagree that no money changes hands until I click a link. Traffic is what determines how viable a site is to advertise on. So I avoid the site if its owned by IGE, or if they advertise there.
Chris,
It’s been my experience when purchasing ads on the internet that the payment is usually a “per click” deal.
Maybe I am wrong about those sites, but working off my own experience learning about this stuff and purchasing online ads for my companies, as well as selling advertising space for my companies… it’s all been on a “per click” basis.
How about we think about it like this? if these websites DON’T advertise these things and are owned and operated by gold farming websites.. Then WTF is WI doing actually advertising the gold selling websites?!?
It’s messed up and I’ll agree with you.. 6 of one… blah..blah..blah..
-guy
PS: I must apologize to BRK, I promised not to bring this up again, the content just struck a nerve this morning. I think the obvious solution is to spam this blog with more articles about how awesomely awesome Guy is. So much so that this article gets buried and forgotten. Maybe an article with a headline that reads “Hey guys! Look over here!”
How is this guild name different than ‘bound and gaged women can’t scream’ or simply ‘rape is fun’?
I enjoyed pointing people to BRK, but will not as long as that involves there being a chance they will see the armory page with your guild’s name on it.
How dissapointing.
Do you want to be in a guild with people who actually consider their guild name acceptable? I’d leave the guild because every minute your in it is a minute longer your tarnished.
Well, i see a lot of you have issues with humour. This is the leader of Sapped Girls cant say no. Now here’s my question. Where at all do i imply its rape. Im simply giving you an answer to a question that is not asked. You perceive this answer as a answer to Rape. If One says to you. i have an offer you cant say no to. Your not going to assume its rape. This is only perverted if you make it perverted. Im not saying they cant say no to sex. I could easily be saying “sapped girls cant say no to a great deal. or cant say no to rogues stealing they’re money or loot.” There is no implications of perversion unless you look at it like that. This joke is only offensive because you are perverted. And for an FYI. This was originally created because Rogues are theives and are perceived as theives. Therefore they sap an steal your stuff. So to all that find it offensive, i think you all should take a look at yourself every time you laugh at a racial comment or joke. I know EVERY one of you have laughed at a 3 guys of different origin walk into a bar joke. How is that any different? Basically all im trying to say here is. its only perverted because people are perverted.The first thing that comes to theyre mind is Sex/rape not anything to do with the game. If you werent so perverted you would have thought of something other then rape.
If you have a problem with this guild dont give BRK problems. My screen name is Alzarial on the Drenden Server. Ill gladly deal with you there.
because the blogs written by jane @ http://www.temerity-jane.com/ are so humane, politically correct and caring. hypocrites ftw.
The semi-coherent blathering above is certainly true - I would never call my blog… er… safe for children. However, I believe I made myself clear to the literate portion of the BRK readership above, in saying that while I am not personally particularly offended, the name does carry with it certain connotation that possibly aren’t fitting for a professional resource such as BRK.
Given the shining example above, I can see that I was clearly, deeply, and gravely mistaken. Why in the WORLD would ANYONE make any kind of snap judgments of immaturity, lack of intelligence or complete social retardation of someone in such a guild?
Wonder why…
So, Alzarial, if it was meant as clean fun and was started for the rogues ability to sap and pickpocket, why didn’t you name it Sapped for free Pickpockets, or something similar? Seems to me you were aiming for these snap judgements to be thrown upon you because you are looking to start a fight. Which is now a given with ‘here’s my name, here’s my server.. bring it on’ kind of attitude. I suppose Damh was right about allowing a 17 year old boy create the guild. BIG mistake.
And TJ explained before that she wasn’t personally offended by the name, but thought it would bring Damh nothing but bad news with his new job as a columnist.
I see people typing so you couldn’t be totally illiterate, but apparently not everyone reads or else they’d see her previous comment on her stance, Damh’s comment of it’s bad but nothing to quit over, and the small print at the bottom of the columns showing Moony drew this, not Damh for the flamer who commented that Damh’s drawings suck.
Open your eyes people. If you want to leave a nasty comment as least make sure you’ve read all the information so you aren’t jumping into the conversation blindly and making yourself look more ignorant.
If I had to choose to be in the guild “Sapped Girls Can’t Say No”, or a guild with the people who find it offensive, i’d go with SGCSN.
Perhaps you should just watch Bambi on DvD instead of logging on to the scary internet.