What Gamergate should have taught us about the 'alt-right'

[Skavau]

Yes. Do you share the same outrage when the people targeted by GamerGate are harassed by members of GamerGate via organized operations?

Sure, albeit there's rarely any 'organised operation'. It's just idiots from chan sites sending nasty comments through email, and making twitter threats.

Do you find it somewhat alarming that GamerGate organizes operations to dig up dirt on people to use as ammunition against them their targeted harassment campaigns?

"Digs up dirt"? What do you mean? There's always a context here.

It's of notice, by the way, that the modus operandi of people like Randi Harper, Brianna Wu, Zoe Quinn, Devin Faraci, Arthur Chu (and many others) is to dig up dirt on people they're trying to discredit in an attempt to force them from social media, and from online activity (under their pseudonym) altogether. If you think that people in GG trying to dig up dirt on people (perhaps you're thinking of Brianna Wu and Srhbutts) is contemptible, then you should be consist.

Threatening to murder someone is not a joke and it isn't funny.

I didn't say it was funny. I wasn't using 'joke' in the literal sense, more using it to say that people who send internet death threats are children and shouldn't be taken seriously.

 

[morningstar2651]

But you don't know that most people in GG harass, stalk and threaten to murder people. You have no idea. As I said, almost every threat and attack against Anti-GG activists are anonymous trolls. You are begging the question.

Yes actually, I do know that. I've been to their headquarters on 8chan. I've been on their subreddits. I've been on their IRC channels. They are an organized movement that whose membership hides behind anonymity to harass, stalk, and threaten the people they disagree with. It's what GamerGate has been about since the day it started as a targeted harassment campaign aimed at Zoe Quinn. They were kicked off of 4chan for being an organized harassment campaign. There is a mountain of evidence that proves what you say can't be known.

 

[Skavau]

What legitimate discussion is being censored?

Criticism of said personalities and their politics. Anita Sarkeesian is a huge example here. She doesn't really do anything nasty, but she consistently characterises all criticism against her as nothing but harassment, threats, insults etc. She get support from celebrities, the media, the gaming press and even politicians in doing this and culminated, eventually, in her and Z. Quinn appearing at the UN calling for widespread internet censorship.

She's also part of the Twitter Trust & Safety Council (along with various other DPRK-esque people like Randi Harper, Zoe Quinn), which should send alarm bells ringing for anyone familiar with their authoritarian tendencies. I would not want anyone who has speeches that include this to be part of any kind of governing authority.

 

[morningstar2651]

Sure, albeit there's rarely any 'organised operation'. It's just idiots from chan sites sending nasty comments through email, and making twitter threats.

What do you call hundreds of idiots from GamerGate planning campaigns, stalking victims, and sending threats and abuse to a single target concurrently? Perhaps you'd prefer the term "raid", but it's an organized campaign.

 

[Skavau]

Yes actually, I do know that. I've been to their headquarters on 8chan.

8chan isn't a GG headquarter. KiA is probably bigger. It's a disorganised muddle of people.

I've been on their subreddits. I've been on their IRC channels. They are an organized movement that whose membership hides behind anonymity to harass, stalk, and threaten the people they disagree with.

This is absurd. I have no reason to believe your assessment of what GG does. You present a parody of what actually happens and the kind of topics that get bought up.

It's what GamerGate has been about since the day it started as a targeted harassment campaign aimed at Zoe Quinn. They were kicked off of 4chan for being an organized harassment campaign. There is a mountain of evidence that proves what you say can't be known.

All you've done is show us pictures of trolls, and made claims. Your most striking death threat example was from an account named "Death to Brianna", that lasted around 1 day real time before getting banned. That was your genie in the bottle?

I've shown you behaviour of actual Anti-GG celebrities. You've refused to even acknowledge this.

 

[Skavau]

What do you call hundreds of idiots from GamerGate planning campaigns, stalking victims, and sending threats and abuse to a single target concurrently? Perhaps you'd prefer the term "raid", but it's an organized campaign.

Mostly fiction. Or you not understanding how Twitter works.

 

[morningstar2651]

Criticism of said personalities and their politics. Anita Sarkeesian is a huge example here. She doesn't really do anything nasty, but she consistently characterises all criticism against her as nothing but harassment, threats, insults etc. She get support from others in doing this and culminated, eventually, in her and Z. Quinn appearing at the UN.

Perhaps you are unaware of the volume of death threats and the severity of the harassment GamerGate partook in directed at these two women.

Should we instead use the GamerGate shorthand for their two primary targets? They refer to Quinn as LW1, and Sarkeesian as LW2.

 

[Haramis]

Is this something you consider normal or acceptable behavior? If not, why are you defending it as normal?

You must have pulled an entire field bare in order to build so many strawmen.

 

[Skavau]

Perhaps you are unaware of the volume of death threats and the severity of the harassment GamerGate partook in directed at these two women.

Should we instead use the GamerGate shorthand for their two primary targets? They refer to Quinn as LW1, and Sarkeesian as LW2.

I'm aware that they, whilst getting abuse, dishonestly said all of their abuse was from people like me. That's what annoyed a lot of people.

It's also of note, that none of those death threats were ever found to be remotely credible. No arrests have ever been made. The entire thing was a sorry affair of nasty Twitter comments and e-mails.

 

[morningstar2651]

You must have pulled an entire field bare in order to build so many strawmen.

I asked a question. Would you care to answer it?

 

[super animator]

I asked a question. Would you care to answer it?

have you stopped beating your wife?

 

[Haramis]

I asked a question. Would you care to answer it?

You have failed to answer literally any of the questions I have asked you. You have repeatedly demonstrated that you are not in any way shape or form interested in honest debate.
I'm posting here for the sake of others, not you.

The misinformation you're spreading is not helpful. Nor is the constant stream of false accusations about racism, sexism, and the various grab bag of Victimology.

The tactics you're engaging in are the reason Trump is president. And why he will be re-elected if people like me sit back and let you have control of the party. Identity politics is killing us. The non-stop sky is falling mentality can motivate conservatives. It demoralizes progressives. And it even spills over to their daily lives, and perception of the world. It would be bad enough if any of it were true. It's a lot worse considering most of it is imaginary.

 

[Skavau]

You have failed to answer literally any of the questions I have asked you. You have repeatedly demonstrated that you are not in any way shape or form interested in honest debate.
I'm posting here for the sake of others, not you.

The misinformation you're spreading is not helpful. Nor is the constant stream of false accusations about racism, sexism, and the various grab bag of Victimology.

The tactics you're engaging in are the reason Trump is president. And why he will be re-elected if people like me sit back and let you have control of the party. Identity politics is killing us. The non-stop sky is falling mentality can motivate conservatives. It demoralizes progressives. And it even spills over to their daily lives, and perception of the world. It would be bad enough if any of it were true. It's a lot worse considering most of it is imaginary.

I hope we see an Alternative Left movement emerge over the next few years.

I'm left-wing, and I won't let social justice Scientology force me to identify otherwise.

 

[morningstar2651]

I'm aware that they, whilst getting abuse, dishonestly said all of their abuse was from people like me. That's what annoyed a lot of people.

I'm sorry that your feelings got hurt because a movement you identify with has a history of engaging in organized campaigns of harassment and targeting journalists that criticize the movement for organizing harassment campaigns. We shouldn't just assume you're guilty by association.

[Staff edit]

 

[Skavau]

I'm sorry that your feelings got hurt because a movement you identify with has a history of engaging in organized campaigns of harassment and targeting journalists that criticize the movement for organizing harassment campaigns. We shouldn't just assume you're guilty by association.

The irony is almost touching.

In any case, you have just asserted this 'history' without evidence. People who may or may not associate with GG, under anonymous accounts, send death threats, insults and attacks to people's Twitter and publicly known e-mail addresses.

And by the way, it isn't that Anita blames GG, it is that she characterises ANYONE who criticises or mocks her ideas as harassing her. The left, or at least much of it, has become unable to laugh at itself.

 

[morningstar2651]

You have failed to answer literally any of the questions I have asked you. You have repeatedly demonstrated that you are not in any way shape or form interested in honest debate.

You haven't asked me a single question. Not once have you posted a question directed at me in this thread.

 

[morningstar2651]

The irony is almost touching.

In any case, you have just asserted this 'history' without evidence. People who may or may not associate with GG, under anonymous accounts, send death threats, insults and attacks to people's Twitter and publicly known e-mail addresses.

And by the way, it isn't that Anita blames GG, it is that she characterises ANYONE who criticises or mocks her ideas as harassing her. The left, or at least much of it, has become unable to laugh at itself.

...Well, again, how about we start at the beginning. Remember how GamerGate originated as a harassment campaign directed at Zoe Quinn? There is a mountain of evidence that GamerGate organizes targeted harassment campaigns.

 

[Skavau]

...Well, again, how about we start at the beginning. Remember how GamerGate originated as a harassment campaign directed at Zoe Quinn? There is a mountain of evidence that GamerGate organizes targeted harassment campaigns.

No. That was just a reaction to perceived and otherwise censorship. It was, in many ways, the straw that broke the camel's back, the Franz Ferdinand incident. I wasn't even really following the events at that point. My 'involvement' (more observation) came a bit later on. I saw how Brianna Wu engineered herself into notoriety, and I've see how Zoe Quinn behaved towards people like Brad Wardell and others, and if her behaviour then was an indication of any trend, I'm disinclined to behave her and her apologists as to what really went down with the TYFC.

 

[super animator]

I'm sorry that your feelings got hurt because a movement you identify with has a history of engaging in organized campaigns of harassment and targeting journalists that criticize the movement for organizing harassment campaigns. We shouldn't just assume you're guilty by association.

That is some lousy, "I'm sorry that I'm not sorry."

 

[morningstar2651]

No. That was just a reaction to perceived and otherwise censorship

GamerGate started when Zoe's ex-boyfriend accused her of sleeping around with 5 other guys. GamerGate's first IRC channel used to plan their harassment campaign against her was named burgersandfries as a reference to 5 guys burgers and fries.