Can someone explain to me (a mostly non-gamer) what this big gamergate controversy is all about?
Just curious what the furore is about.
Thanks!
My slightly impolite summary:
Mysogynist Asshole "Gamer" (terrorist) threatens woman critic and audience if she gives speech as scheduled in Utah. Cops claim they can't screen for guns in public venues. Assholes support asshole. Civilized people react differently.
http://m.mic.com/articles/101398/a-gamer-threatened-a-mass-shooting-if-this-woman-spoke-about-gender-and-video-games. (http://m.mic.com/articles/101398/a-gamer-threatened-a-mass-shooting-if-this-woman-spoke-about-gender-and-video-games.)
There have been plenty of similar (and worse) threats made in the past, but this is the level of misogyny required before the average citizen hears about it...
It really bothers me when a small select group of idiots ruin things for the masses. I say everyone should "GAME ON" and don't let a few bad eggs spoil it all for the rest of us.
Yes, I think it is better not to give publicity in cases like this.
There's a small group of outspoken women, journalists and game developers as well as some minor celebrities, that have been speaking out for the past year or so against inequalities in the tech industry in general, and have recently been focused on the gaming industry specifically. They have garnered a lot of supports from the general populace due to their compelling arguments as well as the negative publicity surrounding the incidents that have occured; such as the terroristic threats against Sarkeesian, threats of rape and murder over Twitter of some of the game journalists speaking out against the perceived injustices in the industry, as well as the most recent "doxxing" (releasing of personal information over the web) of Felicia Day for simply writing a blog post about Gamergate the other day.
The "Gamergaters" do their best to distance themselves from what they call fringe supporters responsible for these acts, after all, all you really need to do to be considered part of one side or the other is post something with a hashtag supporting your case. They claim their issue is years of corruption in games journalism...cronyism, preferential treatment, whatever. It's likely made up of a large group of teenagers who get a kick out of stirring up crap anonomously over the web to see how far they can go. Here's a couple articles that sums up both side of the argument:
Pro Gamergate
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2014/09/gamergate_explodes_gaming_journalists_declare_the_gamers_are_over_but_they.html (http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2014/09/gamergate_explodes_gaming_journalists_declare_the_gamers_are_over_but_they.html)
anti Gamergate
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/224400/Gamers_dont_have_to_be_your_audience_Gamers_are_over.php (http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/224400/Gamers_dont_have_to_be_your_audience_Gamers_are_over.php)
Here's another great article that points out some of the more reasonable arguments of pro gamergate rather well
https://medium.com/@upstreamism/to-fair-minded-proponents-of-gamergate-7f3ce77301bb
Cool, thanks - I will check them out.