Sometimes the Easy Thing is the Correct Thing

So CCP said “Fuck No” to Fon Revedhort.  Good on them.  I’m a defender of free speech.  You have the right to say any damn thing you want.  You also have to deal with the consequences.  Fon has made his statement.  He truly believes he is blessed to be a member of the ultimate race and that he has the right and responsibility to defend it at the expense of everyone who is not pure.  Fan-Fucking-Tastic.  He has spoken publicly about his beliefs, and expressed a degree of extremism that casts doubt on his ability to work on a multi-national group, that will be required to communicate well with multiple groups of people, of multiple ethnicities and genders to be effective.

CCP finally got off the fence (they are uncomfortable) and decided that the Stellar Advisory Board aspect, which requires communication and teamwork, is more important than the “Stellar Management” aspect that requires votes and is subject to the tyranny of democracy at times.  CCP has decided not to hold themselves hostage to the voters and simply say “no” to Fon.

Frankly it’s an easy call.  It’s also the correct call.  It might not be the “right” thing to do from a “Freedom of Speech” standpoint, but CCP has a bigger responsibility to ensure that they provide their paying customers with the best experience possible, and the feedback and communication provided by the CSM is a key to that service.  CCP decided, with the help of feedback from the players, that Fon did not offer enough upside to offset the considerable downsides of:  Bad Publicity, Communication Difficulties, Outright Hostility, and possibly full blow PR Disasters.  CCP attaches its brand to the CSM.  They’ve already had a nightmare with The Mittani a year ago and they decided to pull the plug BEFORE the potential issue could become a real issue.

Poetic Stan talked at length about why he should have been allowed to run.  He makes good arguments, and I can’t say deconstruct them or destroy them.  I can simply say that the responsibility that CCP has to provide services to its players, and the utility of the CSM in that role, is too important to risk on the chance of having a bomb in the room whenever the CSM meets.

I do wholeheartedly support Poetic’s call against hate-speech.  I think it has no part in the game.  Casual hate speech, whether towards Jews, Gays, Women, people of any ethnicity, has no place in recreation.  If you wouldn’t say it to your mother, you better be careful saying it in a public forum.  You are probably offending someone, and you never know who.  Fon spoke out publicly.  This is his right.  Today he faced the consequences.  This is CCP’s responsibility.

I’m using it every time I can