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Feminist video-games talk pulled after massacre threat

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51–60 of 348 posts

Re: Feminist video-games talk pulled after massacre threat

#51
post #41

So where are the police in all of this? Are you telling me I can send an email threatening mass murder to whomever I want and there are no consequences. We've seen kids thrown in jail for indirect comments on Facebook, surely this is more tangible.

It seems like it's an ongoing investigation, and the FBI are involved.

Re: Feminist video-games talk pulled after massacre threat

#52
post #28

oh, what a fruitful discussion this might trigger.. What I don't get is how they constantly counter-act the common rules on how to deal with trolls or stalkers. It really feels like they are bathing in the outrage, not interested in actually solving it. And that's one reason why I sadly don't feel any sympathy but rather understand the vocal (non socio-/psychopath) critics. There is no fair discussion so I wish the m…

The article is about a speaker who has received numerous death threats declining to appear in front of an audience after the police said they would not turn away people carrying firearms.

In my eyes, this is a simple issue of personal safety. I would not speak under those conditions and I doubt you would either.

Re: Feminist video-games talk pulled after massacre threat

#53
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She runs a show called 'Feminist Frequency', dedicated to calling out sexist tropes in video games (amongst other things). She appears to have become one of the enemies of the movement known as "#GamerGate". Proponents of the movement will tell you it's about ethics in game journalism, but in reality it seems to have largely become corrupted by misogyny and the like. Several female game developers and journalists hav…

but in reality it seems to have largely become corrupted by misogyny and the like Not any more than you'll find idiots in any movement - I would liken them more to the vandals that presented themselves during Occupy Wall Street. I hang around the organizing points for the GamerGate stuff - people are remarkably level headed and respectful (and absolutely NOT driven by misogyny). There is no organized harassment happe…

I feel like at this point, the GamerGate movement is hopelessly tainted. The leaders should realize that at this point, it would be best to abandon the struggle for a bit, and push for ethics in game journalism next year, when their (admittedly, self-proclaimed) members stop threatening to murder and commit violent atrocities against hundreds of people.

Re: Feminist video-games talk pulled after massacre threat

#55
post #14
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If this threat is manufactured, well this would indeed be quite a Machiavellian PR stunt ... That's a common accusation by the GamerGate folks, but given the number of other women in the gaming arena receiving similar harassment it's pretty believable that these are real.

Notice I did not accuse her of anything, simply stating two facts. Why the down votes? All I am saying is that whoever made the threats clearly doesn't want the issue to go away ... Come on guys!

"Just stating facts" is a pretty weasely way to back away from what you were implying in that comment.

Re: Feminist video-games talk pulled after massacre threat

#56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but in reality it seems to have largely become corrupted by misogyny and the like Not any more than you'll find idiots in any movement - I would liken them more to the vandals that presented themselves during Occupy Wall Street. I hang around the organizing points for the GamerGate stuff - people are remarkably level headed and respectful (and absolutely NOT driven by misogyny). There is no organized harassment happe…

Why are people promoting harassment and calling people cunts in your movement's name, then? That comes off as the opposite of level-headed and respectful. One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel.

This might surprise you to know but there is no way to control who participates in a movement. GG has made clear from square one that this kind of behavior is totally unacceptable. If someone goes ahead and acts like a fool anyways, what exactly do you want everyone else to do?

The best that can be done is banning such people from participating in the discussion forums, but this doesn't control whatever they decide to do on their own.

Again - this is analogous to the vandals at OWS.

Re: Feminist video-games talk pulled after massacre threat

#57
post #28

oh, what a fruitful discussion this might trigger.. What I don't get is how they constantly counter-act the common rules on how to deal with trolls or stalkers. It really feels like they are bathing in the outrage, not interested in actually solving it. And that's one reason why I sadly don't feel any sympathy but rather understand the vocal (non socio-/psychopath) critics. There is no fair discussion so I wish the m…

The common rule on how to deal with stalkers is call the police.

When you got abusive messages it was one person, marginalised and removed from a community. I assure you these people get plenty of reaction by showing their messages to their community. They will not go away if ignored.

Re: Feminist video-games talk pulled after massacre threat

#58
post #13

Her video series, which you can see on YouTube, is actually quite good and well-researched. You might disagree with her conclusions (I agree with them) but even if you disagree, you have to admit she's done a lot of legwork.

The 'Women as Background Part 2' video was very well-made, and utterly disturbing. I've seen terrible videos and images - it is the Internet afterall- but it was painful to watch. There's a number of games on there that I no longer care to revisit, or even play for the first time. (Also, what were the makers of God of War 3 thinking? Staggers the mind.)

Yeah... and the worst part is, you kind of grow to ignore these tropes as you play these games. (And of course, this makes developers try to amp up the grit more and more.) Seeing them all at once is quite shocking. This is one of the reasons why I think these videos are very valuable.

Re: Feminist video-games talk pulled after massacre threat

#59
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think calling it "corrupted by misogyny" is a bit misleading. As far as I can tell, it is as pure and uncompromising in its misogyny as ever, the journalism thing has been a smokescreen from the beginning.

It's a bunch of things thrown together. http://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/4395 "If you witness a group of issues, some relevant and some irrelevant, you will feel a need to respond to the relevant issues. If you witness someone responding to the relevant issues of the group, you will think they are responding to the group of issues. The exploit, taken from this, is then clear: Group up a bunch of issues (Apples, Or…

It's a bunch of things thrown together in a carefully calculated scheme to cover up an organized harassment campaign targeting women in the videogames industry. I appreciate that there's some decent people getting mixed up in a 4chan project with no ill intentions of their own, but that's not where the whole thing started.

Re: Feminist video-games talk pulled after massacre threat

#60
post #28

oh, what a fruitful discussion this might trigger.. What I don't get is how they constantly counter-act the common rules on how to deal with trolls or stalkers. It really feels like they are bathing in the outrage, not interested in actually solving it. And that's one reason why I sadly don't feel any sympathy but rather understand the vocal (non socio-/psychopath) critics. There is no fair discussion so I wish the m…

Speaking out against being harassed is not "bathing in the outrage". You sound completely biased, as well. I don't trust you as a neutral observer.

I think there's a difference about speaking out about harassment in general and going against the recommendations of the police who should be dealing with a specific threat. I agree though, it's certainly not "bathing in the outrage" at all.

Perhaps the added attention to a cause, perhaps the added news coverage is worth going against the advice of professionals when it comes to direct threats to the safety of oneself? Or perhaps the institutions and individuals there to deal with such threats are not doing their job properly? Or perhaps the level of fear of online threats is so great that no local, personal support is enough?

I don't know the answers not being in that situation. I can imagine it being very scary though. I'd want to trust someone, anyone, at the very least. Perhaps online social networks can give that level of reassurance for some, for those who depend on them?

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