A Returner’s Successful Investment Method - Chapter 623



Only Krnovel

Episode 623 freedom of expression (3)

The damage this incident caused to the gaming industry was enormous.

Many game companies were busy finding and deleting or modifying the work of problematic developers one by one.

In particular, as Ice Storm is about to release Mephisto 5, the trailer needs to be remade immediately.

In the middle of a busy day, a man came to the office.

His name is Jim Schneider, and he is the editor-in-chief and reporter for Game Spark, America’s largest gaming webzine.

“welcome.”

“long time no see.”

We greeted each other warmly. He got straight to the point.

“I’m sorry for coming to you when you’re busy, but can I do an interview? “Because it is such an important issue.”

“of course.”

We sat together in the meeting room. Editor-in-Chief Schneider took a few pictures of Sunwoo and then asked him a question.

“There are opinions that support this situation and others that oppose it. “First, I would like to hear the CEO’s thoughts.”

Sunwoo answered calmly.

“This problem must be viewed in two ways. The first is the issue of outsourcing production, and the second is the issue of whether hate speech can be justified. Regarding the first problem, this incident did not happen in-house at Ice Storm, but occurred when the production was outsourced to Stemhouse. Outsourcing production requires products and services to be provided according to the request of the original contractor. However, Stemhouse arbitrarily inserted hate speech here. This is no different from a request to manufacture electronic products and secretly writing profanity on the internal components. In this case, the subcontractor should be held accountable.”

“Then let’s talk about the second problem. Can the hooked finger sign be considered hate speech? “Aren’t you able to do such hand movements in real life as well?”

“I think the meaning contained in the finger shape itself is more important. For example, the Nazi salute simply involves extending your right arm high and placing your left hand on your stomach. This salute was used by many countries, not just the Nazis. However, after World War II, this salute was recognized as hate speech and is now taboo. The same goes for the hooked finger shape used in Mad Men. Ultimately, the intention behind putting this in is important, and we believe it was added intentionally.”

“What do you think about the argument that deleting work and firing people for having a certain ideology or being active on a certain site is a violation of freedom of expression?”

“As you know, there was once a sexual scandal in Ice Storm. Even then, we fired people involved from the company and deleted or modified their work. “It’s common for other companies to get fired due to acts of racism or hate speech.”

“There may have been people with racist, white supremacist, and hateful mindsets, but there may also have been people who did not know much or followed what others did. “Wouldn’t it be problematic to treat these two equally?”

Editor-in-Chief Schneider’s question hit the exact point.

In fact, this problem will arise about a year later.

And then things got so out of control that people were held accountable for even having the slightest connection to neo-Nazis or Mad Men.

There is a real possibility that a pointless witch hunt will occur.

Seonwoo nodded.

“I agree with that. It is impossible and should not be done to evaluate a person’s thoughts and life based on a single photo or line of text posted on social media. Anyone can make mistakes. And I think we should also be given the opportunity to correct our mistakes. “If the problematic part is truly a mistake and they reflect on it sufficiently, I think the company should also protect them.”

Editor-in-Chief Schneider asked again.

“What if users object to this and want to discipline and fire anyone even slightly involved?”

“First of all, game companies exist because of users. Therefore, I think it is right to reflect users’ opinions as much as possible. However, I don’t think many users really want to individually verify employees’ thoughts and take action. And in that regard, I will bow my head first and persuade them.”

Editor-in-Chief Schneider seemed satisfied with Sunwoo’s answer.

“Finally, is there anything you would like to say to gamers?”

Seonwoo thought for a moment and then spoke.

“Whatever thoughts you have and how you express them are your freedom. In the first place, games contain the creator’s thoughts. For example, in the case of a game where the main character gathers his friends to defeat the devil, it can be seen as containing the creator’s idea that ‘good triumphs over evil.’”

“Aren’t there a lot of games that twist that kind of content lately?”

“That’s right. Sometimes it’s fun for the villain to win. Creators have the freedom to create such games, and it is up to the consumer to choose.”

“However, if you want to enjoy freedom of expression, create it yourself. Don’t do the foolish thing of secretly inserting strange things into other people’s works. “If you enjoy freedom of expression by doing something like that to someone else’s work, shouldn’t you also have to pay a price for it?”

* * *

Roy Mickelson.

He is a graphic designer at Three Count Games, a large game company, and has participated in many famous mobile games. However, when this incident occurred, a tweet he posted three years ago became a problem.

I retweeted my friend’s Mad Men post and replied, ‘This is so funny.’

As the problem grew, he deleted his past tweets and posted an apology.

[…] … I did this without knowing much about what kind of organization Mad Men was at the time. We will reflect deeply on this incident and be more careful in the future. We apologize for causing you any inconvenience.]

This situation could turn into an indiscriminate witch hunt if one is not careful. However, as Kang Seon-woo stated that he should be forgiven if he reflects on his actions without knowing much, gamers also seemed to accept this.

-If you didn’t know, it could be so.

-Let’s not say too much about something we did accidentally.

-I’m glad I know now~

-I apologized, so please forgive me!

-You just have to avoid making the same mistake in the future.

Thanks to this, Roy Mickelson was able to take a breather.

‘I’m really glad the problem didn’t get any bigger.’

I immediately cut off ties with that friend and vowed never to go near Mad Men again.

however… … .

-What are you people criticizing Roy Mickelson for?

-What’s so wrong with posting a Mad Men post?

-Can’t believe you gave in to unfair pressure from the public and posted an apology ㅜㅜ

-Roy Mickelson is a member of the Mad Men crew! Let us come forward and protect it!

-Mikkelsen! don’t worry. Neo-Nazis will protect you.

-3 million Mad Men members join Roy Mickelson!

-He is a great neo-Nazi!

-Roy Mickelson Definitely protect me!

-Heil Mad Men! Heil Mikkelsen!

Mad Men members collectively launched a life-saving campaign to protect Roy Mickelson and posted posts on various communities. They also collectively filed a complaint with the game company and certified it.

He even posted an apology and stated that he had nothing to do with Mad Men, but Mad Men members actually came forward to help him!

The person in question was crazy and jumping around when they saw this.

‘No, I’m not a Mad Men member!’

How is this different from pushing a person standing on a cliff?

Roy Mickelson screamed.

“Hey, you crazy people! Please stop!”

* * *

[Neo-Nazi wave hits the gaming industry!]

[Is the hook finger really hate speech?]

[Some people are concerned about overreaction. Freedom of expression must be guaranteed… … .]

This incident is currently the biggest issue in the gaming industry.

For this reason, not only game webzines but also general media covered this issue carefully.

While I was looking through the articles coming up, I received a call from a famous WST reporter.

I got a call.

“hello.”

Trish said curiously.

[Procrastination is also causing accidents.]

“Me?”

[yes. This happened as soon as Miru went to the Ice Storm.]

“no… … .”

Why is this because of me?

It’s so unfair.

[Some of the congressmen said something about this incident. Do not infringe on freedom of expression.]

“Well, there are bound to be politicians everywhere who try to gain votes by colluding with extremist forces.”

Naturally, it is difficult to defend racism and hatred, so it seems like freedom of expression is being risked. If you look at this, politicians in Korea and the United States are doing the same thing.

[Mad Men posted a notice that they would protest in front of Ice Storm.]

“saw.”

I don’t know why neo-Nazis are protesting because they think they’re so good.

For reference, European countries such as Germany do not allow neo-Nazi rallies and demonstrations, but they are allowed in the United States.

It is truly a country that is tolerant of freedom of expression.

[Aren’t you worried?]

“What?”

[There are a lot of photos of guns posted on the Mad Men site.]

“uh! “If you’re not a member there, you can’t see the posts, right?”

[I signed up to cover the story.]

“Only men can join.”

[So, I signed up under the director’s name.]

“… … .”

What is the director’s crime?

Well, we also signed up for monitoring.

I looked at the Mad Men site.

On the protest bulletin board, pictures of all kinds of guns were posted along with resolutions.

-Let’s show the firepower of neo-Nazis!

-It’s finally time to take out my big, beautiful .44 Magnum!

-I hold an AK-47 in my left hand and an RPG-7 in my right. And there is a Toyota Hilux pickup truck sleeping in my garage. Neo-Nazi 3-piece set in full force!

-Mephisto 5’s background is hell, right? Ice Storm will be like that too.

-This is our crusade, World War III!

-I will sacrifice my heart in front of the ice storm!

-Ice Storm will disappear from the Gobble map!

-Heil Mad Men!

“… … .”

Looking at this, I think that the world is big and there are a lot of crazy people.

The United States is a country of guns. As everyone knows, in the United States, individuals can own as many guns as they want under the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution.

The problem is that these guns are not just pistols, but also include machine guns and sniper rifles.

As a result, shooting incidents occur almost every day in the United States.

After all, wouldn’t the death of three or fewer people be considered a shooting rampage?

Trish said sounding worried.

[Isn’t there something we need to do?]

“Hey, there’s nothing to worry about.”

* * *

CEO Matt Cooper said with a puzzled expression.

“Mad Men says you can bring guns to protests. What should I do? “To prepare for an unforeseen situation, why not close the company and allow people to work from home?”

It seems like everyone is really worried.

I reassured him.

“There is no need for that.”

“yes?”

“In times like these, we must react resolutely. “If you care, you lose.”

“But if violence breaks out… … ?”

“It doesn’t happen.”

“How do you know that?”

That’s because I saw it in the first episode.

If you don’t know much about the reality of Mad Men, you may have these vague fears.

I said confidently.

“When the day comes, you’ll know I’m right.”