Chinese WOW players speak out

By Ellie Gibson Published 17 January, 2006

On being discriminated against.

Chinese World of Warcraft players are being discriminated against by English speakers who assume they're all gold-farmers, according to reports on Chinese-language website Tales of Warcraft.

More than 7,000 posters on the site's forum claim they have fallen victim to the problem, which is said to occur when Chinese players attempt to join groups. Apparently there is a common belief among English speaking players that most non-English speakers are gold farmers and are only playing for commercial gain.

As a result, players are asking anyone who wants to join a group to type one or two sentences in English. If the sentences contain spelling or grammar mistakes, the player is rejected. Since you have to join groups to complete certain quests in WOW, this is presenting many Chinese players with a serious problem.

Mark MacKay, owner of the WOW Gold Price List website, has condemned this practice in a statement which reads: "Over over 1.5 million World of Warcraft players are from China alone, with the majority of these players being non-English. While their has been recent publicity about the gold farm factories in China, it by no means justifies thinking that every Chinese or non-English speaking player is a gold farmer."

MacKay doesn't have an instant solution to the problem, but says that English-speaking WOW players should "Keep a more open mind and trust people a little more.

"This would go a long way to bringing some racial harmony to World of Warcraft and the world in general."

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (47) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • BlackJedi #1 6 years ago

    "As a result, players are asking anyone who wants to join a group to type one or two sentences in English. If the sentences contain spelling or grammar mistakes, the player is rejected."
    Is it April 1st already?

    What utter bollocks. If that were the case, no-one would ever get a group, as I can count the number of WoW players I've met who can formulate a grammatically-correct sentence on the fingers of one hand.

    And why are you providing a link to a gold-farming site, eh?

  • Frogger #2 6 years ago

    What about a blacklist of nicknames who really are gold farmers ?
    This system exists for scammers on dating websites and could be adapted to such problem.

  • mezzomorto #3 6 years ago

    Exactly BlackJedi!

    If rejection is just based on a player's command of the English language, then you can't claim that this is specific anti-Chinese discrimination. I play on Aggrimar and I can tell you that half the players would fail the test (English native-speakers as well as "foreigners";)!

  • Teeth #4 6 years ago

    I blame Penny Arcade.

  • marilena #5 6 years ago

    Wait. If there are 1.5 million of them, how come they have trouble finding groups? They don't reject each other, do they?

    I don't support the discrimination though, it's silly. Obviously most Chinese players aren't gold farmers.

  • jumpdeveraux #6 6 years ago

    Half the time everyone is speaking Dutch anyway!

    And they're not just farmers... they're also ninja's too... :-P

    No doubt Blizz will eventually build an Asia server farm given the no. users from that region and better access to new markets without everyone long routing to European or US farms.

  • Flightrisker #7 6 years ago

    I want glod!

  • ecureuil #8 6 years ago

    If the sentences contain spelling or grammar mistakes, the player is rejected.

    Hahaha. 99% of all people on the internet can't structure a decent sentence to save their lives.

    Hell, I would bet that Chinese people are actually better at English than many English/Americans.

  • Dizzy #9 6 years ago

    Are there no Chinese servers?

    Nuff said...

  • brokenkey #10 6 years ago

    er, why is this a problem? Why can't the chinese players find each other to group with?

  • jack_klugman #11 6 years ago

    Lip my stockings!

  • bionutz #12 6 years ago

    marilena
    17-Jan-06 12:01:50
    Wait. If there are 1.5 million of them, how come they have trouble finding groups? They don't reject each other, do they?    .
    Exactly!
    The annoying thing is that they don't speak English, not necessarily the gold farming.

  • ozzit #13 6 years ago

    "I want glod!"

    Glod Gloddson perchance?

  • #14 6 years ago

    I bet their English is just fine most of the time. Just people being openly mildly prejudiced... I guess we're stuck with it like that. As long as people are free to choose who goes in their party, they're free to discriminate too if they choose. Sorry my Chinese friends, they're assholes, you'll just have to accept it...

  • Sko #15 6 years ago

    "What about a blacklist of nicknames who really are gold farmers ?"

    'Cos people are dicks and like to blacklist people who just piss them off.

    The funniest thing when people bleat about gold farmers is in one breath someone will be grouping all Chinese together as gold farmers and in the next, asking were the best place is to farm gold "'cos I needs my epics!".

  • Stoatboy #16 6 years ago

    "While their has been recent publicity about the gold farm factories..."

    Their?

    Mark MacKay is obviously a Chinese gold farmer - don't let him in your group!

  • varsas #17 6 years ago

    Wait a minute...aren't the chinese players playing on the chinese realms? That being the case they would not encounter english speakers!

  • Ceatlan #18 6 years ago

    As biontuz said, I'd heard that the tests were being used to make sure everyone in the team speaks english so that they can all understand instructions from the team leader. This is very important when groups are trying to tackle tough objectives, somebody attacking at the wrong time, not attacking when required, not healing when asked etc etc can cause unnecessary deaths and annoying deaths for other team mates, in addition to the friction caused by taking gold and pick ups when its not their turn.

    I'd also heard it wasn't just weedling out Chinese players, but anybody who couldn't speak english.

    So personally I don't see that they are doing anything wrong.

    Ceatlan.

  • BootLace #19 6 years ago

    Why are you quoting the owner of a site that promotes cheating?

  • WhyMeeeeee #20 6 years ago

    how can chinese speaking ppl group and communicate with english speaking ppl as you need to in groups?
    if there are 1.5 million chinese playing wow why don't they go join all chinese group to battle larger monsters.

    so mark makay why would english speaking me wanna join a german speaking server for instance. "anyone wanna party?" "spekken die deutch" or whatever. "oh its not fair noone speaks english"

    so don't say its unfair on the chinese. go play japan server see how long b4 u get bored

    so how do u get someone to type something correctly. surely if u type a sentence u want someone to say they just copy it lol
    Edited by 1 at 17/01/06 @ 14:22

  • reality_cheque #21 6 years ago

    @Sko: There is a difference between farming to sell the gold on your website for really money, and farming because "dammit i only need 1k more gold to get teh awesome sword of megajustice and orc killing".

    From what I hear, it's not the gold farming that's a problem, it's the item farming - 20 people waiting for a mob to respawn so they can get the unique item it drops which is needed to make a suit of armour or whatever (I don't play, but I know people who do) is many times more annoying when you realise that some of those people only want the item in order to sell it for cash.

    Although I imagine these people would quit complaining if they had enough spare money to be able to afford to buy the item off them ;)

  • Sko #22 6 years ago

    Isn't everyone kinda missing the point. It's not about not getting groups, it's about being treated like shit because some arseholes instantly assume you're a gold farmer simply because you don't speak English.

  • Sko #23 6 years ago

    "@Sko: There is a difference between farming to sell the gold on your website for really money, and farming because "dammit i only need 1k more gold to get teh awesome sword of megajustice and orc killing"."

    I know, it's exactly the point I'm making. That some idiots in game go to their favourite cash-well, see someone else also trying to scrape together some coin for an item and start screaming about gold farmers. They figure that anyone playing the same area for an extended period must be a gold farmer (despite their own intentions to do the same) and all gold farmers must be Chinese.

  • rinoaMW #24 6 years ago

    bloody gold farmers... coming over to our servers... ;p

    The Chinese are running on their own WoW servers, so how is this an issue? Surely all the other players on their servers are chinese also :/

  • Sko #25 6 years ago

    Well, depends when it launched, doesn't it? The US servers still have a bunch of European players who couldn't wait for their (announced) launch.

  • rinoaMW #26 6 years ago

    i dunno.. 7000+ seems like alot who couldn't wait... a server holds what? 12000?

    im sure if blizz saw this as a problem, they'd create a new server and let all chinese people migrate there...

  • Sko #27 6 years ago

    7k really isn't that much compared to the 20 million people who play online games in China. I think segregating people probably wouldn't help matters and kinda sets the wrong example.

    But some people are always going to be dicks. What can you do?

  • Stickman #28 6 years ago

    "so don't say its unfair on the chinese. go play japan server see how long b4 u get bored

    so how do u get someone to type something correctly. surely if u type a sentence u want someone to say they just copy it lol "

    Bet you have trouble grouping!

  • Kami #29 6 years ago

    As a former FFXI player, may I just say that Japanese and Chinese players rank amongst my favourite allies! While it is true my grasp of the languages is pretty pathetic at best, I've always admired their ability to get maximum potential from the minimum sized party. More than two thirds of my former FFXI characters high-end lvls (50 and over up to lvl 72) came in the form of Japanese and Chinese parties. They're so dedicated.

    I don't see many of them in WoW sadly. But I certainly wouldn't discriminate down to their language. They are playing the game too, and the majority play it for fun. I won't let a small minority of sell-outs sway my opinion of some good players.

    BTW, money farmers are not always Chinese. There are plenty of American freelancers who make a living from farming in-game currency...

  • Tweakmonkey #30 6 years ago

    This story is hilarious. Oh the humanity!

  • kazuya69 #31 6 years ago

    My name is Earl.

    You see, I am Engrish.

  • mezzomorto #32 6 years ago

    Just wanted to say thanks to Stoatboy and Stickman for making me laugh out loud and livening up an otherwise grim day at work...

  • Pirotic #33 6 years ago

    But they have their own servers don't they? and neither us europeans or the americans can join them - so i really don't see how this story came about, we're not supposed to be playing with chinese players.

  • yagisencho #34 6 years ago

    I've seen very insensitive comments, primarily in IF in the trade channel. I haven't seen much of that out in the zones though, where people are hooking up for basic quests. In fact, I was grouped with a Chinese player out in STV last week. His English skills were fine, if rough around the edges. I gave him a couple grammar pointers at the end of the night (used to teach ESL).

  • Psi #35 6 years ago

    id rather group with someone i could talk too :S if you dont talk the same language as me we're going to have problems....

    I thought there were more chinese than anyone else, how can they not find a group? their country's got the biggest population :S

  • Fozzie_bear #36 6 years ago

    MacKay doesn't have an instant solution to the problem

    Really? Here's one for you mr mckay. You and everyone like you shuts down their sites. Problem solved. Instantly.

    What's the point of buying gold in the game anyway? Doesn't that sort of defeat the object a bit? Why buy a game and pay a monthly subscription to then pay more money so that the game's not a challenge?

    Pointless. It's like cheating on an online FPS game. Well done. You cheated and won a game which is now meaningless. Big man.

  • Psi #37 6 years ago

    it wouldn't happen if there wasn't such a cheap workforce to provide the service, i mean would you grind all day for a couple of quid? hey i've bought cheap trainer's footballs matchsticks coffee and chocolate and they are well known for using the same type of cheap labour.


    anyway what about all the out of work UK goldfarmers these cheaper chinese's worker's have put out of work due!?!?!?

  • Winterwolf #38 6 years ago

    1. There are Chinese servers. So why would a Chinese person who does not speak English very well and has problems grouping on US or EU servers, not play on a Chinese server? I think it is in fact highly likely that he is a gold farmer.

    2. I cannot believe that you actually support gold farming by posting a link to such a website and writing such a benevolent article about gold farmers in general.
    I am not sure whether this is a send-up or just poor form.

  • Psi #39 6 years ago

    if people are so poor they need to gold farm let them ffs, who care's its just a game.

  • Kami #40 6 years ago

    In WoW, the enemy isn't currency farmers really. There are plenty of instance runs, and making money has never been easier since the new collections quests (I get at least 1G for each turn-in of materials, more if I sell the materials on the AH). If people MUST cheat that way, let 'em, they're only fooling themselves. It's the ninjas - and I've been ninja'd a few times before. Bastards.

    But currency farmers are not all chinese. While it is true the chinese workforce are cheap, there are many other workforces across the globe who make a living from this kind of thing, in numerous MMOG. That's what bugs me. A currency farmer is a currency farmer. End of story.

    It's unfair to just paint all Chinese players with the same brush...

  • Zero_ #41 6 years ago

    "There are Chinese servers. So why would a Chinese person who does not speak English very well and has problems grouping on US or EU servers, not play on a Chinese server? I think it is in fact highly likely that he is a gold farmer."

    * Maybe he or she wants to play with his or her friend who lives in America.
    * Maybe he or she wants to play on a more/less populated server.
    * Maybe Americans/Europeans are better roleplayers or otherwise generally play more in a style he or she likes.
    * Maybe he or she has a nighttime job, and can only play when Americans are generally awake and playing.
    * Maybe he or she hopes to move to America or Europe someday and is using the game to also help practice English. (Two birds with one stone!)
    * Maybe he or she just likes Americans/Europeans. I know I always think it's pretty neat when I get in a group with a lot of foreigners, and often, I ponder the possibility of trying out a foreign server.

    Very good points made by "KingSkippus" at Slashdot.

  • evade #42 6 years ago

    This is news? What a load of bollocks. And anyway they're discriminated not because they're Chinese but because of language difficulties. If they chat properly, which doesnt even have to that good, they'll have no difficulty grouping.

    They have dedicated chinese servers. They should use them.
    Edited by 1 at 18/01/06 @ 14:05

  • Psi #43 6 years ago

    Zero_ lol learning to speak english via an online roleplaying game. Talk about learning to run before you can walk.

  • Zuiyo #44 6 years ago

    Fukk ch3at3r$

  • dever #45 6 years ago

    I am chinese with poor english.over billion people speak chinese. we speak chinese with proudly.

    actually, over 200+ wow servers in china,we have the best wow server on the world.
    as such,we reject english player if english player will group with us,we will ask them two question,if the answer with any spelling or grammar mistakes,we will reject them,haha.
    example:
    if a english player can't understand follow sentence,we will reject them:

    stsm,need zs,74,xd,dz.

  • DTF-McBain #46 6 years ago

    Disclaimer: I am exclusivly talking about those CN players that can't speak english at all.

    * Maybe he or she wants to play with his or her friend who lives in America.

    right, for one guy he'd play on a server where he understood nobody else.


    * Maybe he or she wants to play on a more/less populated server.

    No reason not to play in china. They probably have overcrowded and ghost town servers just like we do.


    * Maybe Americans/Europeans are better roleplayers or otherwise generally play more in a style he or she likes.

    Hahhahahhahahahaha. How can he participate in our playstle or roleplay if he can't speak english at all?

    * Maybe he or she has a nighttime job, and can only play when Americans are generally awake and playing.

    and how is he going to play with them if he can'T talk to them?


    * Maybe he or she hopes to move to America or Europe someday and is using the game to also help practice English. (Two birds with one stone!)

    that's why the only phrase he knows is "party me thx"

    * Maybe he or she just likes Americans/Europeans. I know I always think it's pretty neat when I get in a group with a lot of foreigners, and often, I ponder the possibility of trying out a foreign server.

    yeah I guess, at least he doesn't understand the insults flying his way.

    If they only speak mandarin (and I got a few quick phrases to tell a chinese only able to speak mandarin from someone that just doesn't talk at all) and play outside china, they are gold farmers. There are a few chinese players like your examples on my server, however they all speak english.

  • caronia #47 4 years ago

    Wow...from what I'm reading in the previous posts, it sounds like Chinese people aren't welcome on European servers.

    Not that anyone cared to find out, but you can't play on Chinese servers without having a Chinese service provider. So, if someone was studing in Europe, he would be forced to play on the European servers if he wants to play at all. I've talked to several people who play on American servers but have diffculty communicating because the study or work in the US.

    People play on servers for different reasons and I personally know a lot of people for whom the reasons Zero_ cited are valid. It's just easier to dismiss them because it's easier to be ignorant than tolerant. To assume all Chinese are gold farmers is like how Americans assume all French are rude, all Brits have bad teeth, and all Germans are Nazis. That cover all the European stereotypes you guys don't like?