It’s been over a year since the events that led to Gamergate occurred. It’s been an interesting year, and it is amazing that the consumer revolt that popped up around the hash tag is still alive and well today.
The video game industry has had a number of minor scandals, but those seemed to have fizzled out over the course of a couple of weeks. What ultimately kept Gamergate going was the fact the movement had gained the attention of people who were outside of the typical gamer demographic. Much of that was, of course, the significance Gamergate had on the neverending culture war.
The Quinnspiracy
Perhaps the shot that was heard around the internet is the now infamous Zoe Post. The Zoe Post, for those out of the loop was a blog post made by Zoe Quinn’s ex boyfriend Eron Gjoni detailing how Zoe Quinn had cheated on him with five guys, one of which was Kotaku writer Nathan Grayson, in order to further her career as a game developer.
The incident probably would have faded into obscurity had other people not come out to question to Zoe’s character. Of course this was just the beginning. If you want to read good deconstruction of that incident, Billy Chubbs wrote a pretty good piece on Zoe Quinn from last August not long after the Zoe Post went public.
Not long after Zoe Quinn’s drama was coat-tailed by people like Anita Sarkeesian and transsexual game developer Brianna Wu. Anita was already disliked by people for making ridiculous claims about sexism in video games and thus quickly defended Zoe. Brianna Wu of course claimed that he was harassed by people for supporting Zoe; Personally I think Brianna Wu was just trying to make a play at some easy publicity for Revolution 60.
Zoe Quinn later went on to form Crash Override with Alex Lifschitz. Their goal is to stop online harassment. In a more naive time I would have thought their goals admirable—not so much these days, considering that most online “harassment” could be avoided by turning off your computer or cell phone. I also have serious doubts that Crash Override has done anybody any good except for Zoe Quinn. For the most part Zoe Quinn remains largely irrelevant, and yes that’s even with her recent appearance at the UN to discuss “cyber violence.”
As for Eron Gjoni, Zoe had filed a restraining order that bars him from discussing Zoe’s personal life any further. Eron Gjoni has filed an appeal and had some legal help: this amici curiae brief was authored by a couple of constitutional law professors. As of now Eron Gjoni has updated the status of his trial and the gag order has been dropped.
Eron Gjoni is currently considering further legal remedies. If he is to continue, the legal process case law could be established to protect speech such as the Zoe Post. While he is hardly the most vocal person in the Gamergate movement he still chimes in once in a while, and is expected to have an AMA on Reddit in the near future. I can empathize with the guy and I hope he continues to seek further legal action.
There Are No Ethics In Social Justice
Gamergate didn’t happen because Zoe Quinn cheated on Eron Gjoni. Gamergate happened because there was a conflict of interest between Nathan Grayson’s work for Kotaku and his relationship with Zoe Quinn. It wasn’t just Nathan Grayson’s ethics that brought into question, and several other journalists including Kotaku’s Patricia Hernandez and Polygon’s Ben Kuchera had both been scrutinized for ethical practices.
In Patricia Hernandez’s case, she too had become romantically involved with game developers and had given them positive press. Meanwhile, Ben Kuchera had subsequently been supporting Zoe Quinn’s Patreon and had written an article about Depression Quest without disclosing a possible conflict of interest.
It eventually got to the point where websites such as Polygon and Kotaku needed to update their ethics policies to either prohibit or require journalists to disclose any kind of contributions made to a game developers. Gamergate could have ended right there, but instead video game journalists decided to use accusations of sexism as a red herring to hide their corruption. It’s dirty trick if you think about it, but nonetheless it backfired.
Video game journalists initially thought they could simply swat this away, but later added more fuel to fire by publishing a series of articles attacking gamers across several websites. The 17 “Gamers are dead” articles made it quite clear there was some kind of collusion going on between journalists in the industry, and it was obvious that many game journalists were more interested in social justice than actually playing video games.
Since the year has progressed, many video game websites have seen their revenue sources dry up. Gawker alone may be on its last breath, considering Gawker’s writers have made the decision to unionize. Since last year a couple of video game websites have sprung up in an effort to replace sites like Polygon and Kotaku. Some have been successful, like Tech Raptor, while others didn’t gain enough traction to continue.
How Long Will Gamergate Continue?
Gamergate had been a long time coming, and all it took was for game journalists to attack gamers before people became aware of the corruption in the industry. Certainly many people have become aware of the fundamentally flawed state of social justice dogma.
Perhaps a lot of this had to do with fair news coverage. The big news networks that covered Gamergate didn’t even consider that there might be a legit concern being raised by the movement. Even then ABC’s Nightline special was largely sensationalist and was aimed at getting ratings out of their key demographic: women.
Personally I feel that Gamergate should expand its scope to call out the non-gaming mainstream media too. Too many stories in the past year have been sensationalist hit pieces aimed at making people angry rather than informed. That in itself is a larger problem, and Gamergate could inspire more people to push for change in how the news is covered.
Certainly neomasculinists and MRAs both have a vested interest in the outcome of Gamergate, but it hasn’t stopped people who don’t necessarily agree with those ideas from supporting the movement. While SJWs claim to be fighting for woman and minorities, there where many woman and minorities that sided with Gamergate. This group of people didn’t want the special victim status that SJWs had granted them, and they also didn’t want the industry to change on their behalf either.
Where Gamergate could do better is to minimize the concern with Twitter drama. A great deal events have happened on Twitter, but as a social network now controlled by SJWs it is not the best way to communicate ideas. It doesn’t help that many of Gamergate’s opponents, such Randi Harper and Nicolas “Sarah” Nyberg, have connections and have gotten several Gamergate supporters banned from Twitter.
Of course there’s also the infamous block bot which had somehow managed to brand KFC’s twitter account as “misogynistic”. Even worse was the idea that block bot could be used as a blacklist to specifically target and discriminate against Gamergate supporters. Of course Reddit hasn’t fared much better. The grip that SJWs have on social media is another thing that Gamergate should consider addressing.
Gamergate will last as long as it needs to. At this point is more than a movement or hashtag; it’s a community. As long as people feel discontent with SJWs trying to push their agenda on the masses, Gamergate will continue. Here’s to another year.
Red More: This Is What #GamerGate Taught Us About Social Justice
GamerGate could update their tactics. But apparently some “right wingers” suggested these so they won’t consider them.
Anyone familiar with how the term cuckservative describes te failures of the conservative movement will see a lot of parrallels here (“I’m not racist!” And “democrats are the real racists!”)
My counterargument has been “racism and sexism are ideas, and the censorship of such is infinitely worse than what one thinks of those ideas.” The fundamental issue with Gamergate and Sad Puppies is an individual’s right of free expression. The cuckservative epithet evolved as a result of the failure of the conservative establishment to defend individual rights even though they advertise themselves as the defenders of such. The conservative establishment, as you’ve suggested, buys into the arguments of the SJWs each time they disingenuously counter with a Black Republican and a female conservative. One of the most disgusting things I’ve seen the establishment conservatives do is to argue that Martin Luther King, who was a socialist, was republican in his sentiments.
I see where you’re coming from and kind of agree. Not sure if the GOP is disingenuously countering with Black Republicans…I mean I know we have Ben Carson running for president, but it’s not like he’s receiving special treatment from the GOP and everyone’s fawning over him. He’s just another dude in the debate. That being said, I do think we need to get past this weak, defensive stance on racism/sexism accusations. Our go-to response should be “So what if I AM racist/sexist? Address my damn point or concede defeat!”
It’s really hypocritical most of the time because we are surrounded by and participate in “necessary discrimination” all the time. We have to have it or society collapses.
We don’t allow sociopaths to wantonly commit murder or arsonists to burn towns down without punitive consequences. We eat things we enjoy the flavor of more often than eating what is simply at-hand. We associate with like-minded people sharing our values and goals given the choice. We date according to our subjectivity, and so on.
The more any group (government or otherwise) attempts to limit that at least partially instinctive drive towards choice and preference, the more discontented people are, and the more unstable things get.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. To deny natural preferences is to deny part of being human itself.
And this is the thing collectivists abhor, an individual’s right to distinguish and differentiate. In their pursuit of making everything and everyone “equal”, the collectivists (liberals, statists, etc.,) seek to eradicate an individual’s right of choice by making everything the same.
Capital post. Arguing with these people on their terms is a losing strategy. GG needs to realize these people are never going to like you, so it doesn’t matter what names they call you.
It’s been said before, leftists are experts at discourse poisoning.
That’s why everybody in GamerGate should buy and read Vox Day’s SJWs Always Lie.
Yes! It seemed to me, a septugenarian curmudgeon, that Vox Day was irrelevant. Then I read the book (and reviewed on Amazon). Right on, dudes!
http://www.amazon.com/review/R1YZ7BREA8JHUX/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
Gamergate is full of hipster liberals
Not tumblr-level leftists, but still kids trying to fit in with liberal trendiness
Let’s hope the next round of media critics leans further right
Beyond that, liberals should be treated as having nothing worth saying, and thus ignored.
Just looking at Zoe Quinn’s picture, there is NO WAY in hell that she could possibly be the type to be sexually disloyal, let alone consult the patriarchy to file a restraining order… I didn’t notice any incriminating visual indications to speak of.
She looks like a slut with aids.
The thing is, most Gamers don’t bother reading anything produced by Game Journalists.
But then they decided to get the negative attention a toddler tries to get by acting out. And they got it.
Mmmmm 100 gold for everybody, except social justice warrior! only 77 for you! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaLiWVTRVeU
I don’t even really get what is gamer gate. Can someone do a post explaining why I should care some whore had sex with five guys and then the guy who though he was in a monogamist relationship spills the beans about a whore being a whore? The other question I have is who were these five guys who would insert their cocks into that ugly woman? We should be shaming them because that chicks is uggggllllyyy.
Mostly, no one cares about the sex aspect other than it is a severe conflict of interest to be involved with someone who then turns around and gives your product a glowing recommendation.
But of course, being called out on questionable ethics led to significant portions of the industry attacking the fans who cried foul as sexists instead of conceding the actual complaint was valid and addressing it. Then some of those same industry folks made public speeches to the same effect and also claimed varying degrees of harassment (insult, rape and death threats, etc.) Many of the GG side were treated to the same along with doxxing and swatting and most major media completely ignored everything other than the “damn sexists” line which was fabrication to begin with, further fanning the flames.
That’s pretty much the condensed version.
EDIT: If you don’t play games or if you do, but don’t care that so-called professional reviews are pretty much paid advertisements, then no reason to care, minus the potential for this attitude/agenda to spread out into other areas/industries.
Yeah that is one hideous louse, and a mentally deranged skank on top of that (one hand tends to wash the other). Can’t help but feel sorry for the sad sack who will eventually wife her up (read: act as her bill-splitter as she continues to whore around) and tell himself he’s “so luck to have her!”
You know, I can’t help but think Anita might be moderately attractive if she got rid of those jowls and didn’t have that perma-cunt look on her face.
Because she traded sex for good write ups, which impugned the integrity of the gaming review critics, which then turned into her and her feminist compatriots doing the Crying Game and screaming “misogyny!” because she was caught fucking-for-ratings. They tried to SJW the gaming community in other words, going so far as trying to turn this into “You treat girls badly in the gaming world!” despite it actually being “Girl polishes knob of dweebs to obtain good reviews for awful games”.
This is the official abstract for GamerGate.
“Yeah baby, it turns me on so much and gives me a mad raging boner when you feign interest in video games and comic books and other masculine things just to try and make a political statement and posture that you can do anything a guy does!”
Said no man ever.
Gamergate should expand into broader social criticism of games and not just focus on a few miscreants. Their current position is still too defensive
It’s very easy to pick up feminist or equalist tendencies in media – the offense starts when you begin to criticize and dissect these things without even being provoked
Its an “offense” to criticize and dissect something? Since when? What do you think of the culture of entitlement which the internet enables such as this…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3266757/Boy-15-threatens-mass-shooting-Idaho-high-school-cheerleaders-wouldn-t-send-nude-pictures-themselves.html
I think what Terry meant was to begin the offensive actions and not be on the defensive side all the time.
and btw roosh, what happened to reaxxion? a quarter million views is still viable, just cut down on the number of writers and put out an article every 2-3 days
They shut it down a couple of months ago. They put out an article about it.
SJW/Feminist Mantra:
“Tow the line we define as morally superior, or we’ll wrap it around your neck and hang you with it.”
The problem with #GamerGate, Twitter, the internet and today’s logged on young people in general is this …
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3266757/Boy-15-threatens-mass-shooting-Idaho-high-school-cheerleaders-wouldn-t-send-nude-pictures-themselves.html
Who cares about any of these people (teenagers) anyway. They’re already disconnected from reality in their self enclosed cocoons of computer gaming. What are they masters of, absolutely nothing…makes you laugh that anyone takes this teenage horseshit story seriously.
Don’t know which country you’re from but in mine teenagers have been known to commit mass murder, therefore the police have to take every threat seriously.
Letting kids whose minds haven’t even solidified have access to guns so they can start mowing others down, because some tart didn’t flash her tits at him on facebook is something your country should examine. Only mature men of sound mind with good character references should be allowed use them.
I agree with you but in Murica its legal for CHILDREN to buy guns so they can “hunt animals” or “practice” or whatever because…… MURICA!!!!
Bull. If you know of anyone who has sold or is selling a rifle or shotgun to anyone under the age of 18 or a handgun to anyone under the age of 21 in America, contact your local Police Department and also call the ATF. They’re breaking Federal law.
I still have this horrible fascination with the fact that anyone could actually have sex with Zoe Quinn. Her face resembles a pudding that has been smashed repeatedly with a baseball bat. Just goes to show you how many desperate thirsty men there are out there that will do anything just to have sex. Even if its with an ugly slut.
She’s pretty… pretty skanky, that is.
I think society is finally reacting to the SJW overstepping, this is why trump, don draper gamer gate and beards have been getting so much traction.
Lumbersexuals crack me up. In Colorado, it is over the top.
Do they get the full flannel going too?
Yeah man, even women wear it. I was out last night and thought I was magically transported to 1993, but the ridiculous beards gave it away.
I think it’s time for people to stick a fork in #GamerGate for now. It has accomplished a lot of its goals extremely well and made a huge difference. But, the forces that helped make it big in the first place are no longer interested in it, and its proponents are becoming increasingly SJW themselves, since there’s not really much more for them to focus on at the moment. It’s better for it to end now, with the threat of rising up again later if needed, than to decline into an irrelevant laughingstock.
To me, there are bigger issues in the gaming industry that GG never addressed. GGers/gamers have awful taste in games; “cinematic experiences” and over-marketed flavor-of-the-month games still get all their attention. None could tell you what actually makes a game good, and most would struggle to list any good games older than the 360/PS3 generation. In addition, GGers/gamers never backed up what they fought for by actually BUYING games. For example, Bayonetta 2 was a game made solely for GG’s tastes (a sexy yet strong heroine, flawless non-casual gameplay, a complete working game at launch on the only console with free online play, etc), and it BOMBED in sales. Most of the time, GGers never actually cared about game quality or making a difference in the industry, they just wanted to bitch on the internet, just like SJWs. Most of them only play games because it’s the trendy and popular thing to do right now, not because they actually like them.
And this whole rant is only relevant if you’re the sort of person who plays video games at all, instead of doing something more useful with your time.
What the hell does this article even mean? ***Does not compute*** ,,, people need to get a life