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

Skavau

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I hadn't heard of any. I'm not denying it, just asking for information about it.
Death threats towards GG? You haven't heard because it got no attention. Almost none of them were worth noting. All anonymous trolls.

I mean, there's a huge difference of culture at play here. GG people don't care, and will barely notice threats from 1 day old egg accounts on Twitter. Anti-GG, at least the champagne celebrities, will, and will tell the media about each and every one. Look at the silliness of the "Death to Brianna" picture posted on page 2 of this thread.
 
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Gene2memE

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GamerGate fascinated me initially, and then repulsed me rather quickly.

The beginnings were less than auspicious - a he said/she said involving a bad break up, apparent sex-for-favourable reviews and some catty behaviour all around on social media - but at one point it appeared to be starting a serious discussion over ethics in games journalism, which was the career I originally wanted to pursue, and cronyism/insularism in the independent (and not so independent) video games world. At the fringes of this, were issues related to the portrayal of females in video games, which had become something of a cause celebre in the previous few years, and sexism in the video gaming industry.

Unfortunately, the discussion degenerated into a spiteful war VERY quickly, and was co-opted by groups on both sides who had agendas that were totally removed from video games and more related to one particular sub-section of the 'Millenials' version of the culture wars.

What then occurred was a race to the bottom - banning of individuals from discussions, editorial boards taking sides, banning and censorship on any number of frousm/boards, doxxing and harassment (primarily, but certainly not exclusively, from the pro-GG side).

The idea of GG being about actual video games and the industry reporting on them became noting more than a catalyst for the discussion to pivot on, rather than the topic of discussion itself.

In the end, it became a cess pit for awful people, on both sides, to act offended while throwing vile sewerage at each other. Neither side came out of it undamaged, although for me Brianna Wu and Milo Yiannopoulos came to exemplify the worst of both sides.
 
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super animator

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super animator

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I don't see how you view it as primary GG.

Regardless, you are right about the censorship part. That got out of control so fast, and hard. r/games and r/gaming are the ones that spring to mind. Even innocent post asking what the heck is going on is censored.That created undoubtedly created a powder keg.
If anyone tell me that gg is banned from 4chan because of doxxing, then that is utter bull. The founder of 4chan admits that doxxing exist ever sense he founded the website. Do NOT for a minute think they are for feminism, it a simply case of power abuse.

The idea of GG being about actual video games and the industry reporting on them became noting more than a catalyst for the discussion to pivot on, rather than the topic of discussion itself.
That didn't happen over night however. That happens months later, I stop visiting those places, as they devolved into a useless culture war. The straw that broke the camel's back for is a modder being resign by community pressure for daring to remove threads/post that has nothing to do with ethics/journalism with gaming!
I didn't stop being GG because of the nonsense spouted by anti-GG rather it simply because they slowly loosed their sighted goal.
 
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YogaFlame

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I'm an indie game developer and was initially anti-GG as I bought in to the media perception of GG being a misogynistic, racist, sexist, etc movement of 4Chan trolls and doxxers. I'm very left-wing progressive and I started working on a small social justice type game that's intent was political satire. I figured it might be controversial for the left-wing message in it. Well, I released it and to my surprise it did become controversial but it was the SJW side that turned against the game and it was banned on some left-leaning gaming forums. I was extremely worried that I was going to be doxxed and fired from my job, and that fear wasn't coming from the GG 4Chan crowd, it was a real threat from the SJW side who have shown that they love using those tactics to shame, deplatform, and generally ruin anyone they disagree with.

Seeing the GG side actually come out in support for the game made me take a real look at their side and I found the instances that Skavau pointed out and more. It opened my eyes to the media narrative that GG has been trying to point out through the whole "ethics in game journalism" thing, how most news sources and major players like to vilify and shame anyone with an opposing view and label them racist, sexist, and misogynist, and how when taken instance per instance the SJWs want to keep their perceived moral high ground by lumping in every dissenter with a fringe group of anonymous "twitter egg" trolls. If you're not with them, then you might as well be sending anonymous death threats yourself and you should be shamed, while at the same time turning a blind eye to the fringe group of regressive leftists who don't shy away from the same exact tactics as the fringe GG trolls - exactly as morningstar2651 is trying to do.

So yes, it was certainly a canary in the coal mine, because I saw the same exact situation unfold during the election. Hillary supporters and the campaign itself labeled everyone who wasn't in line with her as a sexist, and threw everyone voting for Trump into the basket of deplorables. I thought their loss would open their eyes, but the Clinton camp and a lot of left-wingers are doubling down and blaming everyone for their loss but themselves.
 
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LoAmmi

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I don't think that's necessarily left/right. I certainly wouldn't need to go to a hug box if someone gave me an Internet death threat. I'd probably tell them to bring it on.
 
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morningstar2651

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I'm on the internet. I discuss political topics. Of course I've had threats. Everyone has.
Really? How many messages have you received from someone threatening to murder you and your family? Did anyone supply those people with your home address? Is this something you consider normal or acceptable behavior? If not, why are you defending it as normal?
 
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Skavau

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I just adore how this thread has devolved into posts justifying death threats and harassment campaigns.

Please, continue proving the point of the article I linked to in the OP
Can you point to the part where I justified any death threats or any harassment campaign, please.
 
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Skavau

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Do you share the same outrage when Milo has to repeatedly cancel events he goes to (or has them canceled for him) because of bomb threats? Or when he gets a syringe sent to him [staff edit - link removed for profanity]? Or people like the Internet Aristocrat getting their home address put out online?

No-one is saying that deaths threats are normal, but that they are just a part of internet culture. Always have been. People getting doxxed is and always has been way worse, but threats taken alone, from anonymous accounts should be treated like they joke they are.
 
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morningstar2651

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Can you point to the part where I justified any death threats or any harassment campaign, please.
Sure. Could you explain the purpose of this post? It doesn't seem to be an argument against death threats so much as an argument for "This is why these people deserve to be threatened"

We also have other posts in this thread describing death threats as normal and expected.
 
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super animator

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It doesn't seem to be an argument against death threats so much as an argument for "This is why these people deserve to be threatened
How in the world did you reach THAT conclusion!?

No, the point is that GG has received death threats from anti-GG. Which apparently you keep ignoring that fact NUMEROUS time already. You keep whining about the death threats from GG, while at the same time ignoring the death threats being made by anti-GG towards neutrals and towards self declare GGers. I don't know about you, but I consider that to be a double standard.
 
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Skavau

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Sure. Could you explain the purpose of this post? It doesn't seem to be an argument against death threats so much as an argument for "This is why these people deserve to be threatened"
Is that really what you took from that post? Good gracious.

It was detailing the behaviour from known Anti-GG zealots on Youtube. You appear competely indifferent to the behaviour of actual celebrities, journalists and activists but obsess over the activities of anonymous trolls. If you read my post in full you'd see the purpose of that list:

"These are actual journalists, developers, 'activists' and critics saying these things. They aren't no-name anonymous accounts made 2 days ago. They're real people, putting their disgusting and contemptible opinions out there. Honourable mention goes to Arthur Chu's "it ends tonight" implicit threat towards a GG meetup that actually ended up being interrupted by a bomb threat (also barely reported anywhere)."

Almost all of the nasty behaviour from GG (or purported to being from GG) have been anonymous, or no-name trolls. The nasty behaviour from Anti-GG is committed openly.

We also have other posts in this thread describing death threats as normal and expected.
Saying that anonymous threats and nasty comments exist online is just describing the obvious. They are almost always from trolls, and should be ignored and reported - not used as the basis of a campaign to smear and attack entire groups of people.
 
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YogaFlame

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They are almost always from trolls, and should be ignored and reported - not used as the basis of a campaign to smear and attack entire groups of people.

And they certainly shouldn't be used to create an internet police to make every internet platform nice, safe, family friendly and bully proof because the result is that unpopular opinions are now considered harassment and legitimate discussion is being squelched.
 
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morningstar2651

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

Threatening to murder someone is not a joke and it isn't funny.
 
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morningstar2651

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Saying that anonymous threats and nasty comments exist online is just describing the obvious. They are almost always from trolls, and should be ignored and reported - not used as the basis of a campaign to smear and attack entire groups of people
What if that group of people, referred to as GamerGate, is comprised primarily of people who harass people, stalk them, and threaten to murder them? Should I not condemn the movement for what the majority of their membership engages in?
 
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morningstar2651

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What legitimate discussion is being censored?
 
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Skavau

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What if that group of people, referred to as GamerGate, is comprised primarily of people who harass people, stalk them, and threaten to murder them? Should I not condemn the movement for what the majority of their membership engages in?
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.
 
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