06 June 2013

Not Everyone Likes Mint Chocolate Chip

If you didn't know already, CCP hired Mintchip to be the DUST 514 Community Representative. A welcome thread was posted on the EVE-O forums as usual, and then a shitstorm ensued. Apparently the rampant misogyny and just general bad behavior got so out of control that the thread was locked with this post:


The thread was deleted shortly after, but you can find around 30 pages of it on EVE-Search. EDIT: Poetic Stanziel let me know this link is dead. Apparently Chribba used to date Mintchip and he's scrubbed EVE-Search of any Mintchip-related content. To be honest, though, you're not missing much with that thread gone.

Frankly, that she allegedly sold nude pics of herself for 190bn ISK doesn't matter. It does negatively impact her public perception, which I'd think is important for a Community Representative, but a little more worrying is the Amazon wishlist that she reportedly actively links to, and encourages her Youtube fans to buy things for her from that list.

It is, first and foremost, in rather poor taste. Secondly, it quietly implies that she can be bought. When coupled with the "190bn ISK for nudes" story, whether it's true or not, you have to ask yourself...what the hell is CCP doing hiring this woman? When people make jokes about selling pictures of breasts to get a job at CCP, or an alliance announces in a Jabber ping that it's time for the "Story of Mintchip Being A Whore" to be told in their publicly accessible Mumble, it's clear that the players of CCP's flagship product have no respect for Mintchip, and since there's a great deal of crossover between EVE and DUST players...

Who is going to listen to Mintchip without thinking she can be bought? The logic of "She's already sold her body and integrity, why not ask her to unban me if I give her a brand-new mouse?" is bound to run through more than one person's mind.

Whether or not that logic is accurate is irrelevant; Mintchip has the reputation of a whore and - since EVE players are not immune to the G.I.F.T. - it's likely people will attempt to treat her as one.

The question that concerns me most is how CCP will react to that sort of thing, whether or not Mintchip disproves the reputation - deserved or undeserved, it's there. CCP has shown they're not afraid to completely censor a thread that's gotten far out of hand, but once you start down that path it's difficult to stop. In regards to female CCP employees, I'm sure Ripley, Punkturis, and others have had to deal with creepy questions or uncomfortable jokes, but the typical sexist bullshit is far less nasty - and easier to deal with - than what I think Mintchip is likely to face.