Quote from: apparition13;791880Except they have been fairly effective at stifling the free speech of people that don't toe their line. Reddit is a major online speech forum, getting shunted off that is the online equivalent of being told you're free to protest all you want, just do it outside the city limits.

That's because it's a private site at the end of the day. Not exactly like standing on a public street and speaking your mind.

That being said, there's nothing they can do to stop others from setting up their own cheap web server and write whatever the heck they want there. Might eventually be the best option since I heard that even 4Chan started censoring people.

Quote from: ArrozConLeche;791934That's because it's a private site at the end of the day. Not exactly like standing on a public street and speaking your mind.

That being said, there's nothing they can do to stop others from setting up their own cheap web server and write whatever the heck they want there. Might eventually be the best option since I heard that even 4Chan started censoring people.

You mean like 8chan? Which got nailed by a DDoS attack? Along with a few other sites?

Quote from: Warboss Squee;791984You mean like 8chan? Which got nailed by a DDoS attack? Along with a few other sites?

That can happen to any site whether you own it or not, unfortunately. At least there's no bossman who can censor you without that cheap tactic.

Quote from: Spinachcat;791917I've heard about it. But just like a random jackass sending "anthrax" dust in the mail isn't a national wave of terror...

...except when it did happen, our government DID make it a "national terror attack".

Quote...I don't see how the various threats, doxxing, phone calls to employers, etc by represents more than jackassery, thuggery and cyberbullying by a few shitheads, not an offline movement that affects the masses, or even a notable segment of the population.

Well, realize it never was targeted at "a notable segment of the population"; it only affects people who 1) identify as Gamers, 2) Have internet, 3) Read online journalism, and 4) can be arsed to give a fuck.

QuoteI am also not seeing Blizzard, EA, Nintendo, etc feeling the need to say "because of (GG or anti-GG) we are now doing XYZ instead of ABC" - but maybe I am just unaware. If so, I am happy to read links.

Intel and the UAT have pulled ads off Gamasutra, due to e-mail writing campaigns. "Operation Disrespectful Nod" is probably the smartest idea out of GamerGate, seeking to hit these unethical bastards in the only place they actually care about, their wallets.

...aaaaaaaaand... Anita Sarkeesian cancels speech, after death threats

QuoteLOGAN — Canadian-American author, blogger and feminist Anita Sarkeesian has cancelled her scheduled Wednesday speech at Utah State University after learning the school would allow concealed firearms at the event despite an anonymous terror threat promising "the deadliest school shooting in American history."

Utah State confirmed Sarkeesian's decision to cancel in a tweet sent out shortly after 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

University officials originally decided to move forward with Sarkeesian's speech after several staff members received an anonymous email terror threat on Tuesday morning from someone claiming to be a student proposing "the deadliest school shooting in American history" if it didn't cancel the Wednesday lecture.

The school later reversed their announcement after a discussion with Sarkeesian over whether firearms would be allowed at the event.

"Sarkeesian was informed that, in accordance with the State of Utah law regarding the carrying of firearms, if a person has a valid concealed firearm permit and is carrying a weapon, they are permitted to have it at the venue," reads a statement on the university's website.

Sarkeesian, well-known for her advocacy for improved portrayals of women in the video gaming industry, took to Twitter on Tuesday night to express her frustration with police.

"Forced to cancel my talk at USU after receiving death threats because police wouldn't take steps to prevent concealed firearms at the event," Sarkeesian tweeted.

Officers wouldn't agree to new security measures, Sarkeesian said in another tweet.

"Requested pat downs or metal detectors after mass shooting threat but because of Utah's open carry laws police wouldn't do firearm searches," she said. I'm safe.

Sarkeesian reassured her Twitter follows the recent cancellation didn't mean she was intimated.

"I will continue my work. I will continue speaking out," Sarkeesian tweeted. "The whole game industry must stand up against the harassment of women."

The email author wrote that "feminists have ruined my life and I will have my revenge, for my sake and the sake of all the others they've wronged."

USU officials earlier consulted with federal, local and state law enforcement and determined it was safe to allow Anita Sarkeesian to give her presentation, said spokesman Tim Vitale.

In order to determine the degree of risk the letter posed, police ran the information they had through the FBI cyber terrorism task force and a number of other statewide database analysis information centers.

"They determined the threat seems to be consistent with ones (Sarkeesian) has received at other places around the nation," he told the Standard-Examiner. "The threat we received is not out of the norm for (this woman)."

The email was sent to Ann Austin, director of the Center for Women and Gender Studies, along with several others, according to a spokesman for the center.

Sarkeesian is the author of the video blog "Feminist Frequency" and the video series Tropes vs.Women in Video Games, which analyzes how women are depicted in pop culture. She was scheduled to speak at 11:30 a.m. in the Taggart Student Center Auditorium.

My first thought is decidely unkind:
"I trample over your 1st Amendment Rights all the time! Who would have thought you'd be so protective of your Second and Fourth, amiright?"

Sacrosanct posted this elsewhere and I thought it was tragically relevant.

Quote from: SacrosanctYou probably only got brought up because they're doing a purge over at TBP, officially making it a bannable offense to support GG under rule#2. So they are on their witch hunt to identify anyone who might. Which is ironic, seeing as how doxing and harrassing are the reasons they are giving for banning people (because that's what GG turned into, and if you support GG, that's what you support*). But as always, hypocrisy is no stranger to those folks.

*for the record, and I've been pretty quiet on this whole issue of GG because I haven't been surrounding myself in it, I think a lot of awful things have been done in the name of GG, and that's what the anti-GG groups has focused on rather than the legitimate issue of journalistic integrity. Another irony, because watch how pissed they get when you talk about how protestors are a bunch of looters and hooligans, to which they will quickly respond with, "you can't tar the entire legitimacy of this protest by the actions of a few wackos." They'd be right of course, but funny how they don't apply the same logic when it's not convenient.

I'm totally using that hooligans at a protest example the next time something like this spills into my life.

I guess here's the thing for me.  I've never really got worked up about the journalistic intergrity part, despite it being a legitimate complaint, because I guess that's parr for the course in our society.  People in influence and/or power get together to make the rules.  Every industry has been that way.  Why should gaming nerds be any different.

Also, the threats and behavior by some of the pro-GG group is downright appalling.  Threats and harrassment are never OK.  NEVER.

Which is why the goons at RPG.net really give me a bad taste.  Because on the surface, they get outraged about this harrassment and threats.  As they should be.  But why suddenly so silent when it's their own members doing it?  We've all see the death threats that Pundit got over consultant gate.  Nary a peep from this soldiers of justice.

And that's what bugs me.  Blatant and utter hypocrisy based solely on their own personal agendas.  That tells me that they don't give a rat's ass about Anika or Quinn.  They are using them only as tools to go after personal agendas of their own.  Because if they did care about harassment and death threats, they'd be upset about all of it, and not excuse (or even engage in themselves) in the very same behavior they are condemming.  

Vile examples of humanity.  And that's my opinion.

*Edit*  And to anyone who reads this post and says, "Not everyone anti-GG condones or engages in harrassment themselves."  I'll quickly add, "and not everyone who is pro-GG condones or engages in harrassment of Anika or Quinn either."

You can't have it one way and not the other folks.  Not if you have a shred of integrity.

This is where, to someone not wired in to the personalities involved, rpg.net's actions really look weird.  As near as I can tell, the sequence went something like this.

Zoe Quinn's ex goes psycho.
This creates two reactions: outcry about gaming journalism, and ugly harassment of Quinn.
In response to the harassment gaming journos collude to write death of the gamer articles.
This collusion comes out, further increasing outcry over gaming journalism ethics.  Gamergate hashtag is born.
Rpg.net bans the hashtag and anyone associating with it.  Criticism of feminist critics is okay.  Criticism of game journo collusion is okay. But use of the hashtag in specific response to a specific incident of collusion?  Insta-ban.

What am I missing?

Iosue: Basically, GG is a hate group, so you can't go 'yay GG!' there any more than you can say 'well, the Nazis aren't all bad, they had great ideas about train scheduling.'

(As an aside, 'gamergate' is such a pretentiously overwrought label.)

A hate group consisting of all those people they're supposed to hate. #notyourshield.

Quote from: Will;792233Iosue: Basically, GG is a hate group, so you can't go 'yay GG!' there any more than you can say 'well, the Nazis aren't all bad, they had great ideas about train scheduling.'

Forgetting the GGers themselves for a minute, consider this. Thanks to this mess we will not be able to discuss ethics in gaming journalism or overreaching social justice advocates for a while without someone conveniently tarring the critics as part of a "hate group" with a hidden agenda, even if they don't use the gamergate label on themselves. It's just too good a tool to pass up.

This doesn't strike you as somewhat worrisome?

Quote from: Shipyard Locked;792243Forgetting the GGers themselves for a minute, consider this. Thanks to this mess we will not be able to discuss ethics in gaming journalism or overreaching social justice advocates for a while without someone conveniently tarring the critics as part of a "hate group" with a hidden agenda, even if they don't use the gamergate label on themselves. It's just too good a tool to pass up.

This doesn't strike you as somewhat worrisome?

Additionally, it presumes an argument that if applied to all groups equally will leave everyone a 'hate group'.

Feminism? They never shut down Andrea Dworkin! Hate Group.

Civil Rights? One of the Black Panther founders advocated for sexually assaulting white women as a form of politcal protest! Hate Group.

Gay Rights? I can't believe they allowed lesbian separatists into their camp! Hate group.

You know what's a hate group? Nazis. Because they're 1. organized and 2. the core of their organization is advocating hate.

I mean jesus H christ, grow up.

as somebody involved in #gamergate the accusations that all the hate is coming from us is ether naïve or insincere view on the topic. presumably many SJW live in there own little hug box.

Quote from: Novastar;792127...aaaaaaaaand... Anita Sarkeesian cancels speech, after death threats


My first thought is decidely unkind:
"I trample over your 1st Amendment Rights all the time! Who would have thought you'd be so protective of your Second and Fourth, amiright?"

I actually live in UT and am a member of a local atheist group. It's currently tearing itself apart over this story, with those who are familiar with Anita's history of dishonesty pointing out the matter was investigated by several government agencies (including the FBI Cyber Terrorism Task Force), every single one of which determined it wasn't a credible threat and there wasn't sufficient justification to suspend the students' constitutional rights in order to satisfy the overblown demands of the speaker. On the other side, of course, you have the feminists and SJWs pointing and screeching hysterically at everyone who doesn't immediately agree with them about what a horrible travesty the whole thing is. I'm half convinced if this discussion were taking place in person rather than online someone would have started literally slinging shit.

It's been interesting to see the different backgrounds of those on the side of USU. Some of them are staunchly anti-feminist (like myself), some of them see feminism and social justice as a good thing but don't like Sarkeesian's sliminess, some are firearm enthusiasts and CCP holders who don't give two flying fucks about feminism, video games or any of the rest of it but agree with USU's decision on the grounds that their rights don't end where some self-important public speaker's delicate feels begin.

Some of the latter group have even taken to sardonically using #NotYourBogeyman in response to the hysterics of the SJWs and PC Police. I'm rather keenly amused by that bit.

Quote from: Shipyard Locked;792243Forgetting the GGers themselves for a minute, consider this. Thanks to this mess we will not be able to discuss ethics in gaming journalism or overreaching social justice advocates for a while without someone conveniently tarring the critics as part of a "hate group" with a hidden agenda, even if they don't use the gamergate label on themselves. It's just too good a tool to pass up.

This doesn't strike you as somewhat worrisome?

If someone feels compelled to link in 'overreaching social justice advocates?'

It's not worrisome, it's proving the fucking point.