Real life in virtual worlds

It's a controversy that points to what gamers encounter in virtual worlds, and it's significant because it involves World of Warcraft (WoW) - with 5.5 million members, one of the world's most popular MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing games). "Longtime virtual gamer Sara Andrews didn't know she would cause much of a ruckus when she began recruiting new members of her … virtual gaming guild, which mostly caters to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender [GLBT] players," CNET reports. "In recruitment messages she posted on WoW, she wrote that the guild was not 'glbt only,' but we are 'glbt friendly'." WoW publisher Blizzard Entertainment said her message "violated the game's harassment policy, specifically the section of that policy regarding sexual orientation." Blizzard said it was trying to avoid potential harassment problems. Members of the GLBT community countered that Blizzard should stop harassers, not silence gay people, CNET reports. Players in WoW and other MMORPGs are recruited into "guilds" or clubs of like-minded players, based on the idea of strength in numbers; CNET says WoW has eight GLBT guilds. It'll be interesting to see how controversies like this play out, and parents probably should know that these online fantasy worlds with real people behind game characters are only in some ways an escape from everyday realities. To understand these games better, see "A Virtual World of Their Own," by Jerald Block, MD. For more MMORPG news, search for "MMORPG" in the search box on any page at NetFamilyNews.org.