How open is Blizzard to negative criticism...

They're not open at all. Said topics get deleted no matter how constructive the criticism is.

Actually, we welcome constructive feedback, and these forums contain many good examples of the sort of feedback that is well thought out and useful.

As others in this thread have pointed out, there are a few reasons why a thread might have been deleted. A thread could have violated the forum code of conduct and posting guidelines, or it may have been sufficiently similar to an existing thread to potentially constitute spam.

For further insight regarding what kind of posting behaviors might lead to the deletion of a thread, read on: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/900930866

Color me guilty, I believe paying customers are *entitled* to respect.

All posters who take advantage of their forum privilege are expected to abide by certain standards of conduct. Failure to abide by the prescribed codes of conduct or posting guidelines can result in the deletion of a post or thread, and indeed, the loss of posting privileges altogether.

This isn't a matter of perceived respect, it's a matter of creating a posting environment that is as positive and constructive as possible for all involved.

03/07/2011 4:45 PMPosted by Mathray

as a troll. Its a quote from Francois De La Rochefoucauld. Its not a troll. But I suspect the person who banned me for 24 hours has never heard of Francois De La Rochefoucauld.

The historical pedigree of a statement has little or nothing to do with whether it is trolling or not.

If it is designed to harass others, could be construed as insulting, or otherwise derail or incite hostility in a thread, it could be.

The problem is your code of conduct is worded to excuse inexcusable biases.

The thing about rules is that you aren't obligated to like them.

Well, you can be critically cynical yet constructive (read: satire). I tend to find the concept and execution quite entertaining and enjoyable, not to count usually informative.

I'm considerably less sanguine about that kind of feedback. Why? Because it nearly always casts a negative shadow that taints any conversation that it touches.

It might be entertaining to some, but in my experience, it's generally the opposite of constructive.

I understand you're required to say that

I'm not required to say anything of the kind. I posted what I posted because it was precisely what I meant to say.

Last time I checked it wasn't public knowledge of who gets banned and how long they get banned for.

Um the posts that are actioned are removed.

Not always. It depends on the content. On some occasions a post or thread will be removed, but no action is taken.

Not always. It depends on the content.

So only the ones with famous quotes, not posts containing personal insults? That makes sense to you?

Ooh, biting sarcasm. Nice =).

Given the confrontational conduct I've observed in this thread, I'm unsurprised that you were subject to a suspension in the past. That kind of aggression often can lead to forum suspensions and for otherwise constructive threads to be removed.

No, but when you're banned all of your recent posts are tossed.

This is also not entirely accurate - this varies from case to case and the content of those posts.

I go to the customer service forum and they wouldn't remove the "strike" from my record.

The Customer Support forum is not for forum moderation issues. The people manning that forum have no oversight in forum moderation outside of their forum.

That's correct. If the concern at issue was related to the forums and moderation and you wish to dispute a suspension, then the appropriate point of contact is via email at [email protected].

03/07/2011 7:19 PMPosted by Hecelin

How is chocolate covered bacon offensive, its off topic yes, but its random humor. Go ahead and delete this.

Off-topic is the key, hence why I've banished your bacon.

I can see that this thread is going to devolve further into flaming in my absence, so I'm going to lock it up.