#Gamergate goes off the deep end

[Tonitrus]

Internet trolls of the level need to put in the gaol.

Get on it BB.

[Syt]

It's the stuff that makes you feel ashamed to identify as "gamer."

[Agelastus]

Isn't gamergate an online game store?

I cannot tell you how confusing that was in the early stages of this.  I was like 'why is everybody talking about Gamersgate...wasn't that shut down?'

Looks like they are still up.  But here's something:  Paradox said they weren't going to be releasing their content for Crusader Kings 2 on there anymore (which was weird by its self since Paradox stated up Gamersgate).  Everyone who used that service was encouraged to use steam.  So I typed in every stupid game code into Steam to register it.  I look at their front page and they're selling the most recent DLC right now.

They also "sell" Total War Games. I assume they work on commission from Steam since what you are actually purchasing is the Steam version with Steam activation codes...so you still need to install that piece of crap software.*

There's no GamersGate version.

*which now brings up a message every time I load CK2 that I need to input "this code" when asked. I have never been asked for this code but am always forced to alt-tab into the Steam screen to get rid of the message that obscures the start button. It's minor but very annoying...

[Syt]

Or you could just deactivate the Steam overlay for the game in its properties. And I've never had those messages bother me after I clicked "Don't show this again" when the screen pops up in game.

[Agelastus]

Or you could just deactivate the Steam overlay for the game in its properties. And I've never had those messages bother me after I clicked "Don't show this again" when the screen pops up in game.

I've been leaving them up just in case it actually asks me for them, no matter how annoying it is; I originally brought CK2 on Gamersgate and got the Steam codes in the transfer. I keep expecting the game to tell me that it's never been properly activated after Steam itself updates (which it does quite regularly.)

Probably a little technophobic that, on reflection...

[Syt]

Those registration code pop ups usually are only relevant if a game makes you register it either for multiplayer (e.g. the Wargame series) or if the developers make you register the game with them, too (e.g. Ubisoft). And then you'll only need it once, too.

You can deactivate them, and if a game actually asks for them, you can still look up the code in your library.

[Grallon]

...

http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-things-i-learned-as-internets-most-hated-person/

I read her account and it convinced me all the more that my disdain for social media is well founded.




G.

[Malthus]

How does one "play the victim card" in this scenario? By saying, "Because I said this game was sexist against women, I'm being threatened with rape, torture, and murder. Oh, and now an entire university is being threatened, too."? Is that "playing the victim card" or is it reporting what's actually happening to her simply because she says, "This game isn't socially acceptable."? ie voicing an opinion that others don't like.

If somebody gets death threats they should be quiet to protect the death threaters.  They at least owe them that much.

But again um if you have a cause you would be a freaking idiot not to use these attacks to advance it.  Her harassers are proving her right.  Anybody who didn't think sexism is a huge problem amongst the male population are being shown otherwise.  Anybody who didn't think gaming culture wasn't violently misogynistic have to reconsider.  It is amazing how counter-productive the efforts of the Legbiter community are.

Certainly. Though, being trolls, one naturally wonders if they aren't equal-opportunity haters - that is, if their chosen victims' sensitivity is to misogeny, they are misogynists to the (absurd) max; if their chosen victims were Jewish activists, and so sensitive to anti-Semitism, they would be neo-Nazis to the max; if their chosen victims were gay, homophobic lunatics; etc.

In short, that the trolls are taking on the persona necessary to get a rise out of their victims. Which isn't to say misogyny, anti-semitism, and homophobia aren't major issues, or that these trolls do not have some (or all ) of these traits, only that it is most unwise to judge their relative prevelence in the population at large by the activities of trolls.

[derspiess]

I'd totally lay the homoeroticism on you to make you uncomfortable. Just because it'd be funny.

I bet you would.  But it probably takes more to make me uncomfortable than you think.

[Malthus]

I'd totally lay the homoeroticism on you to make you uncomfortable. Just because it'd be funny.

I bet you would.  But it probably takes more to make me uncomfortable than you think.

Just how far will these two go to prove a point?

Stay tuned! [Boom-chica-wow-wow]

[Jacob]

Certainly. Though, being trolls, one naturally wonders if they aren't equal-opportunity haters - that is, if their chosen victims' sensitivity is to misogeny, they are misogynists to the (absurd) max; if their chosen victims were Jewish activists, and so sensitive to anti-Semitism, they would be neo-Nazis to the max; if their chosen victims were gay, homophobic lunatics; etc.

I don't think that's the case, and I think it's not just a matter of "trolls". There's been a growing segment of the MRA "men as victims" crowd that has been growing increasingly louder, and enough of that shit is perfectly earnest. I've had enough real life conversations with actual people who are buying into parts of the rhetoric; it's not just "this is absurd, I'll pretend I mean it. Lolz!"

In short, I think your hypothesis is incorrect.

In short, that the trolls are taking on the persona necessary to get a rise out of their victims. Which isn't to say misogyny, anti-semitism, and homophobia aren't major issues, or that these trolls do not have some (or all ) of these traits, only that it is most unwise to judge their relative prevelence in the population at large by the activities of trolls.

I don't really care about the "relative prevalence" of trolls. What I care about is that their activities are spilling over from mean words on message boards and out into the real world, with real world consequences. When people get harassing phone calls, when death threats are being called in to threaten public speakers, when peoples personal details are being spread across large networks with calls to harass them, then dismissing them as "equal opportunity trolls who are just out to get a rise out of people" is an inadequate response.

[Malthus]

Certainly. Though, being trolls, one naturally wonders if they aren't equal-opportunity haters - that is, if their chosen victims' sensitivity is to misogeny, they are misogynists to the (absurd) max; if their chosen victims were Jewish activists, and so sensitive to anti-Semitism, they would be neo-Nazis to the max; if their chosen victims were gay, homophobic lunatics; etc.

I don't think that's the case, and I think it's not just a matter of "trolls". There's been a growing segment of the MRA "men as victims" crowd that has been growing increasingly louder, and enough of that shit is perfectly earnest. I've had enough real life conversations with actual people who are buying into parts of the rhetoric; it's not just "this is absurd, I'll pretend I mean it. Lolz!"

In short, I think your hypothesis is incorrect.

That could well be the case. I can't say I've studied the matter.

Edit: though this assumes that the people trolling, harrassing, and making terroristic threats are simply a subset of those earnest people who are into that MRA stuff. Which may or may not be the case.

I don't really care about the "relative prevalence" of trolls. What I care about is that their activities are spilling over from mean words on message boards and out into the real world, with real world consequences. When people get harassing phone calls, when death threats are being called in to threaten public speakers, when peoples personal details are being spread across large networks with calls to harass them, then dismissing them as "equal opportunity trolls who are just out to get a rise out of people" is an inadequate response.

Of course people who make death threats and the like should be policed. You seem to be reacting as if that was in dispute, which it is not.

That's rather orthogonal to my point, which was (if you will recall) that you can't take the activities of these people as evidence that the theories of the folks they are threatening or harrasing are generally true, as their activities gain publicity out of all proportion to their actual numbers - which is true whether they genuinely believe the shit they spew (your opinion, which may be correct), or whether many if not most of them are completely indifferent to the content of the shit they are spewing, and are simply taking the opportunity to spew shit.

[garbon]

Those registration code pop ups usually are only relevant if a game makes you register it either for multiplayer (e.g. the Wargame series) or if the developers make you register the game with them, too (e.g. Ubisoft). And then you'll only need it once, too.

You can deactivate them, and if a game actually asks for them, you can still look up the code in your library.

Yeah sounds like the real problem here is that Age is a very silly man.

[Jacob]

That could well be the case. I can't say I've studied the matter.

Edit: though this assumes that the people trolling, harrassing, and making terroristic threats are simply a subset of those earnest people who are into that MRA stuff. Which may or may not be the case.

I'm paying a fair amount of attention, for professional and personal reasons.

I can't speak to whether the individuals are the same, but the rhetoric and lines of reasoning have some similarity. There's a whole bunch of "cultural marxism"/Jewish conspiracy things mixed into it as well, which makes it fairly uncharming. Except, of course, this time it's "evil feminists" who are manipulating the mainstream media for their foul ends, rather than Jews.

We believe that games are an art form that should be allowed to flourish and evolve naturally and freely and should thus be protected from the dogmatic rhetoric of a clique of totalitarian ideologues who seek only to reign over an intellectually monolithic empire.

Of course people who make death threats and the like should be policed. You seem to be reacting as if that was in dispute, which it is not.

Ok, we're on the same page on this then

That's rather orthogonal to my point, which was (if you will recall) that you can't take the activities of these people as evidence that the theories of the folks they are threatening or harrasing are generally true, as their activities gain publicity out of all proportion to their actual numbers - which is true whether they genuinely believe the shit they spew (your opinion, which may be correct), or whether many if not most of them are completely indifferent to the content of the shit they are spewing, and are simply taking the opportunity to spew shit.

Okay, fair enough. I guess my response to that point is that it doesn't really matter to me whether they believe it or not when I'm still dealing with the fallout. I do, on occasion, have some academic interest in figuring out what's going on inside someone's head and what might have pushed them to say and do the things they said and did, but at this point the motivations for trolling and harassment are of less concern than the repercussions.

[Jacob]

But if you want try to delve into the motivations, here are a few bits to delve into:



Here's a manifesto to enjoy: http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/printthread.php?t=217525

And here are a couple of counterpoints:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/16/of-gamers-gates-and-disco-demolition-the-roots-of-reactionary-rage.html

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/10/gamergate-is-an-attack-on-ethical-journalism/

To me - and I obviously have my own sets of bias etc - it doesn't seem to be primarily trolling, but rather a reactionary mob with a few bits of legitimate complaint mixed into a giant ball of incoherent rage.