this post was submitted on 19 Jun 2024

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The disturbing online misogyny of Gamergate has returned – if it ever went away (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

28 comments fedilink hide all child comments

While some of their language has changed, the sentiment of this latest aggressive movement is just as distressing. It’s time for the games industry to stand up to it

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

So that was a thread huh?

Sorry to have to lock the post and clean up some comments, but I think it's safe to say that gamergater apologia is not cool on the gaming community here.

Please do not downplay death threats, especially when they come from a site absolutely known for sending them out. Think what you want about SBI, but to deny Gamergate and other harassment campaigns and the damage they have caused is dangerous and also absolutely does not contribute to making beehaw a safe place.

Thanks ❤️

Edit: and thank you to everyone who reported!

[–] [email protected] 45 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Gamergate was one of the first online instances that showed how easy it is to spread lies and misinformation through social media in order to manufacture outrage and weaponize it against specific targets.

The same exact tactics have been used by the far-right since. Gamergate felt like a testing chamber, before the full blown nazi propaganda plan that's getting far-right politicians elected in many places. I live in one of such places, and the online tactics used by literal nazis against progressive politicians are 1-to-1 the same used in gamergate.

Those issues with social media have never been dealt with. If anything, social media has become more mainstream since, and now these tactics of lying and manufacturing outrage have become more powerful.

Traditional media seemed to have some semblance of accountability (although not really), but in social media, anyone makes up shit, people will take their word for it, if they like what they hear (or aligns with their beliefs), and it doesn't matter if it's debunked, because no one listens to that part.

The only solution is, and has always been, a zero tolerance policy against any kind of hateful or bigoted behaviour, by the people who control these online spaces. No one expects 4chan to moderate their content at this point, but when someone makes a new online space for conversations, those same people shouldn't be welcomed, or they'll shit all over the floor, turn it into another gross place, and you'll have to start over.

These new complaints about "wokeness" in games, that happen with every game announcement, aren't even dog-whistles at this point. They've been straight up howling for a while. The follow-up attacks, threats, lies, the dismissal that "none of this happens, it's all made up", and the support of fellow misogynists (like the companies with a history of sexism mentioned in the article), are all just part of the program.

And of course, you can see them in some of the comments in this very thread.

[+] [email protected] 43 points 4 months ago (5 children)

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[–] [email protected] 40 points 4 months ago (2 children)

never targeted by harassment

Sweet Baby Inc found themselves at the center of attention at kiwi farms, a website known for harassment and driving people to suicide. I find it very far fetched to believe they received no harassment.

Ubisoft being in bed with SBI is also not a lie

Unless I totally missed it, I see nowhere in this article that said they didn't work with SBI?

Everything I have seen points to Yasuke being a samurai. Lots of reading on it sourced in this reddit comment: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1css0ye/comment/l4bghbu/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

How is the game disrespectful to Japanese people?

There are so many outlandish claims in this comment with basically nothing backing it up

[–] [email protected] 33 points 4 months ago

There are so many outlandish claims in this comment with basically nothing backing it up

This 100%

I deleted my reply because it was too much but the original ign article on wukong is very tame. I can't see why they're so worked up to harass the author off the internet.

Some days beehaw not having downvotes is a real issue.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 months ago

You are appreciated 🙏

[–] [email protected] 35 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Never did anyone in this steam group go out of their way to harass anyone involved with the company.

Never was it "a bunch of sexist and racist white people being upset about diversity in videogames".

Very bold statements in favour of people that I know myself are extremely "anti diversity / anti woke". Do you even know who the creator of the Steam group is? Guy is known for being the scum of the Brazilian WoW community.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago (1 children)

One extreme doesn't justify another, plus what matters here is the information. Couldn't care less about who runs or frequents the group, but I'm glad it brought awareness to SBI and their influence.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 months ago

The "extremes" here being "social justice" and "anti-social justice"

...I'm gonna side with the social justice side here.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Defensive much? I find myself being very suspicious of this opposing narrative. I'm not up to speed on this these days, but I remember Keza MacDonald being generally outstanding in her ~~betrayal~~ portrayal of events in video games culture.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

What part do you find suspicious? I can provide some links and screenshots.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago (1 children)

7 million dollars? You could get multiple professional historians, mythologists or whatever expert your game's theme is focused on to review and revise your entire game's story for less than that.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago

Imagine when they learn about executives. Also it is funny that no one mentions BG3 when talking about DEI consultancy groups.

[+] [email protected] 31 points 4 months ago (5 children)

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[–] [email protected] 69 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

You should educate yourself on the subject 👍 you appear to be defending death threats while not actually saying anything substantial or relevant

Wow, there’s an article on the subject right there! How convenient

[–] [email protected] 52 points 4 months ago

Bruv you are severely misremembering the movement that allowed the alt right to coalesce. No one is saying it's bad to not buy products you don't want to buy. We're saying it's seriously concerning the racism and sexist that attached itself to that movement has congealed into something permanent in our political climate

[–] [email protected] 45 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Did you read the article? What are you trying to say?

Just after Summer Game Fest finished, the anti-woke gamers found a new target: a report at IGN, which credibly and comprehensively lays out a history of sexism at the developer of upcoming Planet-of-the-Apes-meets-Sekiro action game Black Myth: Wukong. The response – surprise! – was to go after the woman who wrote it, while also spinning up a ludicrous conspiracy theory that IGN was blackmailing the developer.

Targeted harassment of a journalist isn't, "reviewing products poorly." I went to go find an example of exactly what was being slung their way, but they took their whole profile private.

[–] [email protected] 44 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Hi there, you seem to be equating death threats and harassment with voting with your wallet, which is wrong and stupid and you should fucking know better.

Also, if everybody else doesn't need to feel pandered to in order to feel good buying a game with a protag that looks like you, you being so "principled" and "vote with your wallet" about games featuring characters that look like everyone else is pretty fucking sus.

You don't live in a bubble of no context, where this energy at defending black consumers who aren't interested in yet another generic brunette white male dudebrotagonist with the snarky quips even Spidey and Joss Whedon would be cringing at.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 4 months ago

I'm not sure which game this comment is in context of, but steam reviews showcase the issues pretty clearly. For example, I went on the steam reviews for MTGA at one point for fun and saw a comment complaining about there not being enough white male masculine looking avatars. I'm not sure how Gideon Jura (literally the definition, even in cards, of a masculine white guy) and Garruk are not masculine enough for this person lol.

Most likely, from how the comment read, they were complaining about the female portraits and portraits with non-white characters. I'm assuming they missed the NB character portrait (Niko Aris) since they didn't specifically call them out.

I also remember back when Horizon: Zero Dawn came out there were a lot of people complaining about a female MC. Personally, that was one of my favorite parts of the game since it gave a non-traditional perspective of the story in my opinion. Maybe some people disagree, and that's fine, but giving a game a poor review just because the MC is female is honestly just a dishonest review of the game.

You are not entitled to my money.

I don't think the article claimed anyone was, at least from my read of it. It's your loss if you refuse to enjoy games over such a petty reason though.

It's also honestly just childish to give a game you haven't played a bad review for having a more diverse cast. The main character is literally on the box art - if it bothers you, then the game is clearly not for you. It's like me reviewing an otome game poorly because I don't like otome games.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

[false claims that] journalists gave the recent PS5 game Stellar Blade (pictured below) bad reviews because its female characters are too hot

That seems an inadequate way of summing up the Stellar Blade controversy which on the whole was considerably more ridiculous than that.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 4 months ago

The Gamergaters really wanted the game to get bad reviews so they could use it to fuel their self-victimhood.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Tbf I have never looked at Assassin's Creed as a historically accurate game. It can really be only called accurate in broad terms probably. (Only played Black Flag and Odyssey tho).

She seems to bring up pretty great points, like harrassing her, complaining about not hot enough greek god girl, but I'm interested about the other side.

Also she worked at Kotaku in the past, so listening to these gamergate people too could help to make a throught decision overall

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

If it's a small but loud group of unpleasant people on the internet, can't we just do what we've always done and ignore them?

[–] [email protected] 29 points 4 months ago

Those of us who aren't being harassed and sent death threats by them can, sure. But that's kind of the problem.