Mentalechoes

So I had sat down to my morning coffee at work, and was just perusing the headlines of my personal email before rolling my sleeves up and getting stuck in for the day, when one particular message from a mate grabbed my eye - ”Australian Government Declares it’s truly a Nanny State”.

What the fuck have they done now? Was the first thought through my head. What new act of stupidity had they performed that deserved an email from this friend of mine. Believing it was something more to do with the mandatory filtering of the internet proposal, I was totally gobsmacked to read what I did next.

[extract]

Australia, February 3, 2009 - In a shocking move this morning, the Sydney Morning Herald has reported that Australian retailers will no longer be allowed to sell any online game that has not been classified by the Australian Classification Board. 

This move directly affects games such as World of Warcraft, Warhammer Online, Age of Conan and Pirates of the Burning Seas – titles that don’t contain a single-player experience, and therefore did not apply for classification. The previous understanding was that online games, by their nature, fell outside of traditional national classifications – a loophole that the Classifications Board want stitched up. 

[/extract]

Words failed me! So after 4 years of having WoW around, and nobody in the government seemingly giving a shit, all of a sudden they’ve come out and effectively banned the thing by making it illegal… overnight! Holy camels humping your grandmother, where the hell did this come from? Did anybody see this coming? Err… NO! Especially not Blizzard, or Goa, or Turbine Studios, who are the companies who make and distribute WoW, Warhammer Online, and Age of Conan. And it’s not like they didn’t want to, or couldn’t afford it; Blizzard has more money than most African countries do, and could easily afford the legal process to get WoW legitimised with a certification. However it wasn’t required the day before yesterday! Now however, WoW is an illegal game, and those caught selling it can be prosecuted in court. Which actually would be every major retailer in the country.

It’s not so much the fact that MMORPGs need to be classified that guiles me, it’s the fact this is just another example of the Australian government jumping on something else to do with the internet – something they clearly don’t understand – and applying absurd restrictive policies that baffle and upset consumers, which they say, is somehow meant to protect them.

I ask you mister government minister, how the hell is banning WoW going to make Australia a safer place? Do you even know what WoW is? My guess is your average 8 year old has a better grasp of the issues of internet gaming than your average politician. They would definitely show a damn sight more thoughtfulness in their opinions and are probably in possession of more maturity and longer attention spans too. Really, we should think about taking the minister responsible for this gem of a decision and replacing him with some kid from a primary school nearby Parliament house. So what if he might dribble on the Bills coming past his desk laiden with crayons, at least he knows the difference between a horses arse and Google.

After reading this, I had a quick skype chat with this mate of mine and we quickly agreed that we best stay put in Europe for the time being. I wouldn’t put it past our government to ban the internet altogether and make using webmail an offense punishable under the Patriot Act.

I truly wonder what new depths of stupidity the Australian government will acheive next? A prospect laughable and terrifying at the same time.

Andy.