Are ultra-hater gamers a thing, or being kept alive by publicity?

"ACESandEIGHTS" (acesandeights)
10/30/2014 at 10:28 • Filed to: None

^^ Group B Rally Monsters for your time ^^

So now, weeks after the fact, media sites continue to name drop Mmes. Zoe Quinn, Brianna Wu and Anita Sarkeesian, and continue to make noise over a quasi-movement which is far less influential and potentially far less real (and some would say destructive) than the likes of Anonymous.

Do you know its name? If you do, would you have recognized it as worthy of national attention in the internet/media sphere?

Or, would you say that the Gamergate of twenty years ago would be considered some obnoxious bunch of students or offensive subculture of pranksters, not warranting more than a blurb in some journal or tech magazine?

I think dirty tricks, such as someone defaming Quinn's name because how could she possibly be so successful without sleeping with everyone in the industry , are reprehensible. I think organized cyber harassment such as what Wu endured, no matter how public a figure she might be, should be prosecuted. I think Sarkeesian got bullied out of a speaking engagement, and that too should be prosecuted since it involved an overt threat of violence.

Outside of these three instances though, is this a legitimate movement, or are people keeping it alive in order to further their careers? Hypothetical:

Say I'm doing some research. My findings: women are underrepresented and misrepresented in video games. Video games are disproportionately geared toward young men. Hmmm. Nothing earth-shattering, and the well is drying up. Part of the issue is actual interest and demand for women-oriented games. Also, women take part in, and rise up within, the world of video game production. In fact, Jade Raymond simultaneously ran Ubisoft Canada and chaired an organization for the advancement of women on screen. Women do in fact have video game outlets outside of hate-filled XBox Live.

Damn. It's not quite the investigative journalism supernova I thought it might be and it will be hard to dictate policy without the requisite demand for femininity in gaming, and overall concern for this issue.

If only there were some way to make this microcosm of a problem become macro on a Huffington Post level. Media outlets are hungry for the next craze or scare. It will have legs of its own then and three incidents will power this thing like a nuclear reactor for months to come.

Yeah, I know, I'm keeping it alive even as I type. But there were stories on this published even today. And I'm wondering: do they need to be? Wouldn't this thing dry up and go away if some people weren't interested in keeping their weak enemy alive?

TL:DR Gamergate was a small story at best, doesn't deserve front page treatment, and like most movements that thrive on conflict, should be left alone to disappear quietly.

DISCUSSION (6)

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > ACESandEIGHTS
10/30/2014 at 10:32

I agree media response is only making it worse, but yeah hate filled gamers are absolutely everywhere so it's still kinda a big subject. The abuse a girl got on gran turismo when I was on a couple days ago was pretty disgraceful, it happens a lot.

pauljones > ACESandEIGHTS
10/30/2014 at 10:44

Gamergate is not about how the small group of individual asswipes living in their mother's basements have behaved of late; it's about how the industry and gamers in general have behaved for a long time, and continue to behave to this day. It's about highlighting the inequality, danger, and harassment that 52% of the population have shoved in their faces in the industry, both as industry contributors and industry consumers.

I disagree with your assertion that Gamergate should simply forgotten - to do so would be to once again sweep the problem under the rug and pretend that nothing ever happened in the perfect little world and that there really is no problem - and that's simply not true. The little asswipes in the basement are irrelevant, and at this point, it's not about them anymore. It's about a far, far larger issue that needs to be addressed and rectified.

Nibbles > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
10/30/2014 at 10:45

I'm that guy (actually we are that clan ) that puts up with no bullshit on XBL. We've had plenty of ladies join our ranks because we foster a friendly, positive environment. As a whole we are positive players with thick skins, however any time - any time one of our members or someone in the lobby becomes the subject of harassing, we jump on the harasser as a group and berate the everloving shit out of them until they leave.

There is no place for bullying / harassing / abusing anyone.

djmt1 > ACESandEIGHTS
10/30/2014 at 10:45

Gamergate is a convenient banner to label a group of arseholes. Nothing more, nothing less.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Nibbles
10/30/2014 at 11:10

My friends don't play online much these days so all I can do is tell the offenders to lay off the person, which works most of the time as they turn their abuse to me which doesn't bother me.

It's good that you keep that environment, I really dislike assholes that drive women away from gaming just for the sake of it.

66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash > ACESandEIGHTS
10/30/2014 at 16:00

Step 1: Enjoy games

Step 2: Ignore community in its entirety or commit suicide from loss in faith in humanity.

Step 3: ????

Step 4: Profit!

In fact, I didn't even bother reading the TL:DR part!