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Breaking up in the time of Twitter
For nearly 10 years, we shared everything, but it never occurred to me that sharing a four-digit PIN could ruin it all.
Talk show's 'Nintendo Gay Marriage' video pairs up Mario, Link
Last Week Tonight discussed the ten-year anniversary of Massachusetts' legalization of same-sex marriage by poking fun at Nintendo's apology for not including same-sex relationships in Tomodachi Life. Steamier than the average fan-fiction, the talk show played match-maker with Nintendo's characters.
Political backlash against Mozilla's new CEO continues as OkCupid suggests browser alternatives (update)
Last week Mozilla appointed former CTO Brendan Eich as its new CEO, but the response to that move has centered on something other than its focus on mobile. In 2008 Eich donated $1,000 to support Proposition 8, a ban on gay marriage in California, and as a result a number of employees have called for him to step down. Today that protest extended to other websites, as The Verge points out Firefox users visiting the dating site OkCupid are greeted with the page shown above, saying it would "prefer that our users not use Mozilla software to access OkCupid." At the bottom it includes links to Google Chrome, Internet Exploder (natch), Opera and Safari as friendlier alternatives, above a link for users to bypass the page and continue browsing with Firefox. Since Eich's appointment, Mozilla has posted several statements about its support for diversity, inclusiveness and marriage equality for LGBT couples, including one penned by the CEO himself. Three board members have also resigned from the foundation, although it says that's not related to the CEO choice. Mozilla says that OkCupid never reached out to it to "confirm facts" (the full statement from a spokesperson is included below) but so far is sticking to its previous responses -- we'll see if Eich's request for "the time to "show, not tell" is granted. Update (4/2): CNET mentions that OkCupid has removed the notice, and the company says it plans to issue a statement "in the next few days."
Apple applauds Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage
In the wake of the Supreme Court overturning the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Apple issued a statement to All Things D praising the decision. "Apple strongly supports marriage equality and we consider it a civil rights issue. We applaud the Supreme Court for its decisions today," an Apple spokesman told AllThingsD in a statement. Apple, of course, has long been a vocal supporter of gay rights. The company this past March lent its support to have California's Prop 8 deemed unconstitutional, noting in a statement provided to All Things D at the time that "Apple strongly supports marriage equality and we hope the Supreme Court will declare the law unconstitutional." Before that, Apple put its money where its mouth is, donating $100,000 back in 2008 in an effort to fight against California's Prop 8. In a statement issued at the time, Apple said: Apple was among the first California companies to offer equal rights and benefits to our employees' same-sex partners, and we strongly believe that a person's fundamental rights -- including the right to marry -- should not be affected by their sexual orientation.
Apple files statement with US Supreme Court backing gay marriage
Apple is among 60 companies filing a brief with the US Supreme Court in support of gay marriage nationwide. The iPhone maker will argue that gay marriage bans in 41 states are a detriment to workplace morale, harm employees and undermine recruiting, according to Bloomberg. The brief comes at a time when the Supreme Court will hear arguments about the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in the state in 2008. Apple, along with companies as diverse as Facebook, Nike, Office Depot, AIG, Barnes & Noble and more, hope its brief will spur President Barack Obama's administration to announce today that it will urge the Supreme Court to back gay marriage nationwide. The 60-strong conglomerate of companies are joined by another group of over 200 companies, led by Goldman Sachs Group, which will urge the Supreme Court to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, a law which defines marriage as a heterosexual union and bars gay couples from receiving the same federal tax breaks that heterosexual couples receive.
Square to consider player feedback on same-sex marriage for Final Fantasy XIV
Among the many additions coming to Final Fantasy XIV's A Realm Reborn reboot is the ability for player avatars to tie the knot. The option isn't being extended to same-sex avatars, though, at least initially. Square Enix's official position on the matter was gleaned from a recent two-hour producer video which we've embedded after the break. "As for same-sex marriage, this is an extremely controversial topic that has been under discussion in the MMO world for the past few years," the firm says. "First we would like to start out with opposite-sex marriage, and then consider the feedback from our players in order to make a careful decision. I can't say whether or not it will be possible at this point in time. I'd like to keep dialog open with our players as we deliberate the matter."
Why the NFL's Chris Kluwe will always be @ChrisWarcraft on Twitter
It's been a big week or two for Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe. Beyond his resolute focus on the field, the former WoW player has been juggling an avalanche of media interviews after lighting up the internet with a ferociously profane tongue-lashing on equality and gay marriage. When a Maryland legislator tried to tighten the screws on Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo's support for marriage equality, Kluwe unleashed a tirade on sports blog Deadspin that quickly went viral. "Your vitriolic hatred and bigotry make me ashamed and disgusted to think that you are in any way responsible for shaping policy at any level," Kluwe wrote. "I can assure you that gay people getting married will have zero effect on your life. They won't come into your house and steal your children ...They won't even overthrow the government in an orgy of hedonistic debauchery because all of a sudden they have the same legal rights as the other 90 percent of our population." While we couldn't actually print the Kluwe's most choice quotes on a safe-for-work site like WoW Insider, Kluwe most assuredly made his point. The Maryland delegate backed off, and Kluwe's been snowed under with interviews. One of those interviews was with yours truly at Tecca -- and we concluded our discussion with an email conversation about that other thing you've all been waiting to hear about: his love of gaming and history with World of Warcraft.
Conservative Christian site decries Game of Life's 'gay agenda'
Uber-conservative Christian site WorldNetDaily recently published a hard-hitting investigative report into Hasbro's downloadable PC title The Game of Life, an adaptation of a board game created by Milton Bradley in 1860. Their qualm with the game stems from the fact that it allows players to have same-sex marriages. A WND representative elocuted his or her hang-up with a review on the game's hosting site, explaining, "Many sections of society accept this as normative, but many also would consider this too mature a theme for children. Others would consider this downright offensive."According to the WND report, one unnamed "concerned mother" found that the inclusion of same-sex marriages raised questions in her six-year old daughter that she wasn't ready to answer. She posted a similar review containing these concerns, which was quickly deleted by an administrator for being "inappropriate." Her response to this censorship is where the story really jumps the shark -- "I had no idea how insidious they were being with pushing the homosexual agenda," she explained to WND.It's great when parents keep an eye on their youngsters' gaming habits, especially when they play said games with them. We understand a parent not wanting to discuss sexuality with a toddler -- what we don't understand is how the mere inclusion of same-sex marriages in the PC version of Life is the same as endorsing, or insidiously pushing, an "agenda." As WND concedes, even the original Life board game allowed players to bond two same-colored (and similarly gendered) pegs in holy plastic matrimony.[Via GamePolitics]
