Author Topic: So... that whole GamersGate thing (Read 84447 times)

Keith Stack · « **Reply #150 on:** October 18, 2014, 03:54:35 PM »

Which side am I supposed to sign up for if I am both pro-corruption and misogynistic?

SuitCase · « **Reply #151 on:** October 19, 2014, 04:19:29 AM »

Quote from: Sz on October 17, 2014, 08:38:33 PM

Bearing in mind that women in gaming isn't really the problem, it's women in engineering. Which in turn spirals into the lunacy of modern gender roles, and little boys playing with legos while little girls play with barbies, etc etc

yeah she should stop spending all her time agitating gamers and make a feminist video about lego

god this place is a shithole

Zodberg · « **Reply #152 on:** October 19, 2014, 10:05:31 AM »

"Hey, so about Gamersgate where a girl had to leave her house..."

"Oh, she was a gamer and she couldn't get through her front gate?"

"No, it's like watergate."

"A water-gate? she lived in a dam?"

"No, the watergate HOTEL"

"Oh, after she left her house, she went to the hotel where Nixon was shot?"

"No, that's where the Nixon scandal happened! You know, the journalists Woodward and Bernstein!"

"Oh yeah, game journalists are so corrupt."

James · « **Reply #153 on:** October 19, 2014, 11:02:27 AM »

Why are you even here then, Suitcase? Are you a fan of anal?

Y'know, 'cuz you're a dick?

0005 maS maS · « **Reply #154 on:** October 19, 2014, 11:51:56 AM »

I've avoided posting in this topic because of the obviously high emotions that fly and rage in a "debate" like this. But I've had to break my pact to myself to tell you, James... your smack-talk is awful, dude.

Matt_TY · « **Reply #155 on:** October 19, 2014, 12:42:19 PM »

James: Well it's hard to see the better stuff happening when you go to check what's happening on Twitter and it's 95% US vs. THEM nonsense. GUess you have to have good timing, or ride with either side more closely than I intend. Also I concur with the above - "yeah, well you're a dick" isn't exactly Oscar Wilde.
Suitsy: Wow dude, really? I know this place is often home to the finals of Olympic-level Conclusion Long Jump but... wow. "There is sexism in society as a whole that has long discouraged women from programming*, therefore GAMES ARE FINE STOP ANNOYING US?" Just... wow.
Keith: I think you have to go into talkback radio in that case.

*hell, even Ada Lovelace had to go by her initials when publishing papers

James · « **Reply #156 on:** October 19, 2014, 01:10:15 PM »

I never claimed to be eloquent when dealing with things that irk me.

And speaking of, another GG charity started up. This time it's about autism research.

SuitCase · « **Reply #157 on:** October 19, 2014, 04:11:03 PM »

hitler donated to charity too

Sofox · « **Reply #158 on:** October 19, 2014, 05:25:35 PM »

James: I'm sounding like a broken record asking you to link to the stuff you talk about, and I'm not saying I'm better, but please especially when you're talking about charities, please link to the stuff you're talking about. Remember, the people in this thread can't easily find the stuff you're talking about, and in any event, linking directly to a source will automatically boost whatever argument you're making.

Suit: You're meant to use Al Capone for examples of "people who donate to charity can still be bad people", you use Hitler for "people who are vegetarians can still be bad people."

Matt_TY · « **Reply #159 on:** October 19, 2014, 05:48:24 PM »

But who would win in a fight between Al Capone and Hitler?

Luckett · « **Reply #160 on:** October 19, 2014, 06:57:51 PM »

Where else could that snippet have been from. I knew. Of course I knew. My precious babies.

Gamergate was doomed from the start, like any fucking "conversation" on twitter. Lets unite under a banner where any anonymous nutbag or group thereof can drag any well intentioned initial debate kicking and screaming into inevitable internet shitageddon.

Thats also the problem with any other banner mind. The feminist side also has its own share of the bad eggs, and so it all turns into what a war would look like if two toilets filled with turds from opposite dimensions began to phase-space into each other, one swirling one way, the other counter to it. A never ending cyclone of butt-spawn, smashing up against its equal and opposing force. Stare into it for too long yourself, and your face will be covered in the fallout. A shitspray of multidimensional origin, Ray.

I do feel bad for some of the Gamergaters though. Its like this was the first big-time they understood that an industry or social group of individuals inevitably falls into clique-dom. This was the first crystal clear moment where the horrible truth of human tribalism came into focus, and it was... about precious videogames. Now they had to start piecing everything else together, why they werent offered that promotion, why they were always picked last in sports, and so on. Then cometh the rage. Where will it all go? What channel of expression will they be able to funnel their emotions through and return to stability?

Not ONE but TWO RELEASES OF SMASH BROTHERS!

Keith Stack · « **Reply #161 on:** October 19, 2014, 07:29:04 PM »

Quote from: James on October 19, 2014, 11:02:27 AM

Why are you even here then, Suitcase? Are you a fan of anal?

Y'know, 'cuz you're a dick?

DAAAAMN.

yaj · « **Reply #162 on:** October 19, 2014, 08:06:28 PM »

i still don't understand how this got as much attention as it did, since what it all boils down to is some woman got a positive review for a game that nobody even knows about, which may not have been impartial. i thought all the kids these days were playing space invaders, or uh..ya know, grand theft elmo.

maybe that's just a small part of an even smaller part. and inside of that smaller part is a fraction that is even smaller.

Sz · « **Reply #163 on:** October 19, 2014, 08:40:33 PM »

Quote from: SuitCase on October 19, 2014, 04:19:29 AM

yeah she should stop spending all her time agitating gamers and make a feminist video about lego

god this place is a shithole

Here, I'll put this in suitcase terms:

Learn to read, you dumb motherfucker! I don't know what they teach in Australia (maybe Matt can elucidate?), but it seems your ability to comprehend the meaning of sentences is lacking, and I'm not sure we can continue this conversation like grownups until you retreat back to the warm confines of remedial english.

These insults are meant to be partially joking, in that I'm not actually mad, but I do mean them! God damn, how did you even get there from what I wrote?

Sz · « **Reply #164 on:** October 19, 2014, 08:53:12 PM »

Incidentally, topic relevant (IMO, but what do I know!)

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/10/17/356944145/episode-576-when-women-stopped-coding

... which may have something to do with gender roles in gaming?

Alternatively, we can talk about how Al Capone would totally kick Hitler's ass, on the logical basis of USA USA USA

Sofox · « **Reply #165 on:** October 19, 2014, 09:17:51 PM »

Quote from: yaj on October 19, 2014, 08:06:28 PM

i still don't understand how this got as much attention as it did, since what it all boils down to is some woman got a positive review for a game that nobody even knows about, which may not have been impartial.

That isn't actually true, the guy she slept with never actually reviewed her game, even thought that misconception got spread around pretty early on, propelling the early part of GamerGate. By the time that the truth about that was being spread, several other issues came to the light that propelled GamerGate further, and this led to more stuff, and more stuff. If you want a not-terrible summary that isn't blatantly biased and covers many of the main points without getting too messy, go here: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/gamergate

yaj · « **Reply #166 on:** October 19, 2014, 10:23:09 PM »

Okay, so since that was dis-proven, the main points of contention seem to be an alleged affair that Quinn had with a judge, censorship issues with 4chan, and death threats. And a bomb threat! I'm not sure about the donations, because it's not clear in the article you linked to who the benefactor was, and if there was anything wrong with that. What I don't understand so far is why people on the GamerGate side aren't distancing themselves from the people who made threats against Anita Sarkeesian. From reading this topic, they're saying the threats didn't happen. I would say "The threats happened, but it has nothing to do with our cause." There's a couple of bad apples in every group of people, but don't dismiss what they did.

Another part of this story that's fascinating is the subject of gamer culture, and whether video games are a form of art or entertainment. Then there's the way women are portrayed in video games. These came about from the youtube videos I think? But these subjects are too buried under all the mud slinging to have a discussion about them at this point. Kinda sad.

(Ah, I wasn't reading closely enough. Ben Kuchera who wrote a positive review of her game made a donation. I guess people count on impartial reviews, for an unbiased opinion. It's understandable why somebody would be a little irked but I still can't wrap my mind around how this became such a big deal. Maybe the indie game scene is bigger than I thought it was.)

Keith Stack · « **Reply #167 on:** October 19, 2014, 11:38:24 PM »

I think it got so big just because it's become a culture war us-vs-them thing that people get really defensive/offensive over. Are you some trust-fund hipster jerk who manipulates the industry and oppresses video games with excessive political correctness? Or are you a gross, shut-in, neckbearded, misogynistic gamer virgin who harasses women? Some people get really, really, really angry at the thought of one of these groups existing.

Quote from: Matt_TY on October 17, 2014, 09:25:50 PM

I don't think this is going to do the job and I put far more credence for industry change in things like magazines outright encouraging people not to buy Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 as the sad masturbation fodder that it is.

I don't know about you, but I am never sad when I masturbate to Dead or Alive Xtreme 2.

Sofox · « **Reply #168 on:** October 20, 2014, 11:22:27 AM »

On the topic of charity, GamerGate raised over $16,000 for a bulling prevention charity: https://www.crowdrise.com/GamerGateStompsOutBullying/fundraiser/

Zodberg · « **Reply #169 on:** October 20, 2014, 04:00:15 PM »

I'm not following this whole thing at all, because, well, it's tragic effect of people who were at home being homophobic and racist and everything on Xbox now having grown up to be terrible people in real life. I thought "Gamergate" referred to the scandal, but so apparently "Gamergate" actually now refers a group of people who sent death threats to women because she triggered a compromise of journalistic integrity? (in an industry where journalistic integrity was never substantial anyway?). So now they're in spotlight and acting nice and basically being Misanthropists for A Better World?
Is that actually what's happening?

James · « **Reply #170 on:** October 20, 2014, 04:48:20 PM »

No, that's idiotic media spinning courtesy of Brianna "I made a sockpuppet in an attempt to troll GG, and made a whole bunch of anti-GG posts and decided to delete them claiming I was HAXXORED" Wu.

James · « **Reply #171 on:** October 20, 2014, 05:05:01 PM »

Autism charity.
#GamerFruit hunger charity.
Suicide prevention charity.
And of course, the original The Fine Young Capitalists project with profit breakdown.

Sofox · « **Reply #172 on:** October 20, 2014, 05:37:09 PM »

Zodberg, let me state something. Remember the death threats that Anita received that made her cancel her lecture? Remember the one that's quoted the most and is most serious that talks about instigating a massacre at the lecture theatre? That threat made absolutely no mention of GamerGate, so did most of the threats she received, save for possibly one.

One website, Ars Technica did state this lack of clear connection between the threats and GamerGate, however the vast majority of news sources instantly connected the threats with the GamerGate movement, treated them as one and the same, and responded as such. Think about this for a second:

A horrific and illegal act is performed that attacks freedom of speech and causes more hardship for someone who's had a lot of it, and suddenly news writers immediately shove the blame large movement despite a total lack of evidence.

James · « **Reply #173 on:** October 20, 2014, 05:43:07 PM »

And the threat that Anita received was proven to come from Something Awful, anyway.

0005 maS maS · « **Reply #174 on:** October 20, 2014, 06:39:55 PM »

I'm guessing Zod was probably referring to the Quinn debacle that started this whole thing.

The one thing I really, really have to ask is... if your social movement was originally incepted by some horrific bout of misogyny, why would you keep the same name for the supposedly "noble" plight instead of forming a whole new movement? Of course you're going to be met with skepticism and more, even if you're doing good things, when you're still associating with that initial event. If anything, it undermines any good done as it all seems like a defence - "no, we can't be horrible people because look at all this charity work we've done!". That's why threats against Anita will get lumped in with the same movement, even if unrelated - because the name is obviously synonymous with misogyny through the way it started. Everything about holding on to that name and trying to play the good guys is idiotic.

EDIT: i know how to grammar