Namedrop +1

I just want to point out that the hockey segment was actually recorded on the 17th of October.

Dishonour for Connor! #LeafsTank

Also, I'd like to day that Kotaku is FINALLY talking about Gamergate because the actions of Gamergate have gotten Intel, Mercedes, BMW, and several other partners to pull their Advertising partnerships with Gawker Media.


The reason the Mysogynist angle of it has 'overshadowed' the folks who have given money to charities like the Fine Young Capitalists, Unicef, and various Anti-bullying charities is because the controlled end of the information (The Press) are the ones under fireand always bring it back to the idiots who doxx and threaten. all the while, you have tweets like http://puu.sh/cr0uO/8b3841a3d0.png From one Earnest W. Adams http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_W._Adams that seem incredibly threatening to any Indie Dev who wants to make any pro-Gamergate buzz. There's dirty laundry on both sides of this. Ugliness lies on both ends of the line when discussing Gamergate.


Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Jenn Frank re-emerge to continue to support anti-gamergate stuff after being scorned off the interwebz?

I'm still waiting for GamerGate to tackle pressing games journalism issues like the murky and ambiguous relationships between AAA companies and major gaming media outlets or the lack of separation between marketing and press departments (IGN First, Gamestop/Game Informer, etc.). Hell, I'll settle for them questioning the very nature of things like previews and unboxings in major news outlets.

But nah, they're just chill making smoke screen charity donations, bullying advertisers into pulling ads, harassing an ever growing list of female and LGBTQ folk, letting bullies and misogynists become the face of the movement, and going after indie devs and blog writers, the smallest possible piece of the pie.

#NotYourShield

We all said it in the segment, and I'll say it again: people with legitimate concerns about ethical games journalism need to start a new hashtag and distance themselves from "GameGate," which has become toxic and, yes, overpowered by harassment. I don't understand the constant calls from people to get the media to rescue that hashtag. It's not worth saving. Just develop a new hashtag! It's not difficult!

Yeah.  I think that the darkside of #gamergate is that the nutjobs are distracting from this.  It also gives the press something to shield themselves from legit criticism.  Which is an actual problem.  Hashtags are stupid in general.  People should just have discussions without buzzwords.

Please go watch "What critics of GamerGate get wrong" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RVlCvBd21w). Thanks.

What she gets wrong, when she said that critics have been calling gamers nerds for years, and are now calling them misogynistic, is that the critics are gamers.

Go Oilers!
oh, um, never mind

Some of those critics may or may not be gamers, that doesn't make their critics right.

For example, the damsel in distress trope. Some will interpret its use as misogynistic because the female is portrayed as defenseless and the male as the hero. Another simplistic way of interpreting it would be to see the female as valuable and the male as disposable (how many Marios died in order to save Peach?). The reality though, I think, is that the trope is used simply because it's convenient: everybody understands it, no need to explain it, it's an easy story to use, especially in the earlier games where gameplay was all that truly mattered.

A more modern exemple, games that let you kill innocent people, often the critics will point out the fact that you can kill innocent females while ignoring that you can do the same with innocent males. Is it misogynistic to treat women the same way as men?

I see the call to switch to a different hashtag frequently and as someone who agrees and aligns himself with GamerGate just not often vocally, I think that's not a reasonable demand. As it is, GamerGate has power and sway. There are two reasons why I believe it serves little purpose. First, any new tag will not have all the reasonable human beings migrating to it. It's already established and making a new one from the ashes of GamerGate will just be seen as another tag which was birthed from harassment. The second reason being, it's an online hashtag with nothing blocking anybody using it. There's nothing stopping the small handful of harassers from jumping ship as well and the whole cycle starts again.

From what I understand, GamerGate is currently trying to improve their public image as much as they can so they can have that discourse about ethics in gaming journalism. Because of how things are right now, there's very little talk between GamerGaters and those who oppose it. Now, it's possible that people are willing to have discussion about the topic without having to use the hashtag, but is that going to really change anything? The main issue with the movement thus far is a lack of constant focus on the main problem. It's too easily distracted and incensed.

Anyway, that's my two cents on the matter as an infrequent listener to the podcast. I am glad to see acknowledgement and an understanding that there should be a conversation about ethical concerns despite a general dissenting opinion the site has against my own. I just hope that things get better and people realize that gamers and GamerGaters aren't these misogynistic harassers and they only comprise a small group of hateful people who are honestly in almost any demographic; gamers just tend to be the most tech savvy.

I think this article is really insightful on the whole situation and how stupid all of it is.  http://www.popehat.com/2014/10/26/ten-short-rants-about-gamergate/