Normally I'm a "Well, I don't care what so-and-so does at their table, I don't care if they're into tabletop gaming" but honestly, I don't want her in my hobby.  I don't.  I really, really do not.  I'm not saying women in general, I'm not saying people whose political ideals don't align with mine, I mean her, her specifically.  Kind of like I don't want that multiple kickstarter scammer dude in my hobby.  For many of the same reasons, even.

GenCon was never seriously on my radar* , and it's definitely not now.  

The only thing that would really worry me is if she wormed her way into GaryCon.  That would be troubling.

...

* - well it was but only for a humorous, petty reason that has long since passed...

Quote from: Lurtch;1041612Nobody cares about the guests of honor like Gronan said. It's social media fare. I still think it's awful she's being recognized but GenCon is run out of Seattle now.

I wish guests of honor actually liked games and gamers but it is what it is

Quoted for truth.

Anita & RPGPundit can team up for #DnDgate! Let Twitter burn!

For epic LoLz, let's hope the very worst of Gamergate get wind of GenCon's antics.

JiffyPop is my stock pick for this week!

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;1041590MUCH as I hate to interrupt the swooning and repining, GenCon is so fucking big and so fucking disorganized that their "guests of honor" are utterly irrelevant.

GENCON has become a "pan-con" much like DragonCon and ComicCon.  There are thousands of anime cosplayers who have never played a game, media fans of various varieties, hogs, frogs, dogs, cats, bats, rats, goats, boats, and stoats.

The overwhelming majority of attendees neither know nor care about any of the guests or panels.

I have 99 reasons never to return to GenCon, but who their stupid guests of honor are ain't one.

We are sorry we interrupted your jerking off to pictures of Anita.

Like Gronan, I don't particularly care who the guests of honor are. I couldn't tell you who the guests of honor were for previous Gen Con, or for pretty much any convention I've been to. I'm there to game.

My main issue with Sarkeesian is that as far as I know, all her commentary has been about video gaming, not tabletop gaming. So she seems like an odd choice.

But I don't make any sort of deal over conservative guests of honor at a con. I think it would be good if there were guests of differing politics, actually. I realize that's a stretch, though, since most people don't actually want free speech and open exchange of ideas - they just want to crap on what they see as the opposing side.

Quote from: jhkim;1041628Like Gronan, I don't particularly care who the guests of honor are. I couldn't tell you who the guests of honor were for previous Gen Con, or for pretty much any convention I've been to. I'm there to game.

My main issue with Sarkeesian is that as far as I know, all her commentary has been about video gaming, not tabletop gaming. So she seems like an odd choice.

But I don't make any sort of deal over conservative guests of honor at a con. I think it would be good if there were guests of differing politics, actually. I realize that's a stretch, though, since most people don't actually want free speech and open exchange of ideas - they just want to crap on what they see as the opposing side.

Have there been conservative guests at gaming conventions who have gone specifically to push their political agenda, though?

I don't know what annoys me more - Origins disinviting Larry Correia, or Gencon inviting Anita Sarkeesian.

Quote from: waltshumate;1041626We are sorry we interrupted your jerking off to pictures of Anita.

3/10

Anita Sarkeesian is part of the reason why I became a Cowboy.

On one hand, I agree with those who say the GoH doesn't matter. Most attendees never interact with the GoH. When I was involved with the LA Cons, we focused on getting GoHs who ran games and the "Play with the Creator" events were a hit. John Wick (L5R, 7th Sea) gets some crap on this forum (sometimes with good reason), but Wick is a great guest. He runs lots of events, shows off new stuff and his fans have a good time. Andy Looney of Looney Labs (Flux) is another excellent GoH.

HOWEVER...the GoH of a convention gets a lot of press. As the GoH is supposed to be a marketing draw, they are featured heavily in the advertising of the con and on-site with the con booklet, etc. Even if you don't interact with the GoH, the name and association is in the air. We can say we don't pay attention to billboards or buy what they are selling, but we all know that billboards work, otherwise nobody would pay for them.

So now GenCon has tied itself to an extremely divisive figure who has NOTHING to do with the tabletop hobby.

And we all know why.

May the worst of Gamergate crawl from their internet lairs and make their way to Indianapolis.

GenCon deserves nothing less.

Quote from: Spinachcat;1041643On one hand, I agree with those who say the GoH doesn't matter. Most attendees never interact with the GoH. When I was involved with the LA Cons, we focused on getting GoHs who ran games and the "Play with the Creator" events were a hit. John Wick (L5R, 7th Sea) gets some crap on this forum (sometimes with good reason), but Wick is a great guest. He runs lots of events, shows off new stuff and his fans have a good time. Andy Looney of Looney Labs (Flux) is another excellent GoH.

HOWEVER...the GoH of a convention gets a lot of press. As the GoH is supposed to be a marketing draw, they are featured heavily in the advertising of the con and on-site with the con booklet, etc. Even if you don't interact with the GoH, the name and association is in the air. We can say we don't pay attention to billboards or buy what they are selling, but we all know that billboards work, otherwise nobody would pay for them.

So now GenCon has tied itself to an extremely divisive figure who has NOTHING to do with the tabletop hobby.

And we all know why.

May the worst of Gamergate crawl from their internet lairs and make their way to Indianapolis.

GenCon deserves nothing less.

I agree with this statement in its entirety.

We Cowboys hate SJW hipster scum like Anita Sarkeesian, and the virtue signallers who enable them too!

Quote from: jhkim;1041628I think it would be good if there were guests of differing politics, actually. I realize that's a stretch, though, since most people don't actually want free speech and open exchange of ideas - they just want to crap on what they see as the opposing side.

No GoH should be spewing politics at a game convention. I don't care if I agree with them or not. GenCon is a gathering of gamers whose commonality is love of games. Why fuck up that friendly commonality by inserting divisive elements that have nothing to do with gaming?

If RPGPundit was a GoH, I would not want to hear him discuss politics or his Swine Crusade. If he was a GoH, his involvement should be about his games. If he wants to host a private gathering to discuss politics, that's fine, but NOT as part of the convention.

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;10416363/10

That's not fair.  I'd give her at least a 6 or 7.

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;1041590MUCH as I hate to interrupt the swooning and repining, GenCon is so fucking big and so fucking disorganized that their "guests of honor" are utterly irrelevant.

The overwhelming majority of attendees neither know nor care about any of the guests or panels.

I have 99 reasons never to return to GenCon, but who their stupid guests of honor are ain't one.

Not quite. The players rarely care or can even attend some of these due to the sometimes fees for the "honour". But, and this is why some actually git irked over all this, is the fact that designers and occasional execs and the rare distributor do attend these things and Nutcases spewing their latest screed can end up infesting product or causing trouble down the line.  You can bet good money that Anita will poison a few minds while there because she is really good at weaving falsehoods with cherry-picked examples and then champion how to "fix" things. Which will make the allready troubled RPG biz even more precarious.

The fact that this grifter has set her sights on GenCon is ample reason for concern.

But at the end of the day. Who cares? Anyone gullible enough to fall for her spiel deserves to crash and burn.

Quote from: Doc Sammy;1041639Anita Sarkeesian is part of the reason why I became a Cowboy.

Gotta have a horse to be a cowboy, kid.