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[Gestault]

Simply put: this is the best response I've seen to the wider movement from an "outside" entity, particularly from one directly involved in the games media side of the issue. I do think it's taking a broader approach to the issue, while still calling out the insidious elements of it. I think it contextualizes it in a way that should be seen, and seen outside of a topic collection thread.

http://www.giantbomb.com/articles/letter-from-the-editor-10-17-2014/1100-5049/

How, exactly, did we jump from a group of knuckleheads bombing a Steam page for a game designed to, in its own way, help people better understand depression, to a hardened and politicized hate movement? How did we get from people arguing that Gone Home isn't a game to people harassing women in the video game industry while simultaneously claiming that they aren't? It's beyond the pale. And, preposterously, it's still happening. That might be the most shocking part of all.

To those of you who have been led to believe that this is all about ethics in games journalism and not about the harassment of game developers, I'll say this up front.

You have every right to not believe a word I'm saying here.

I'm a man in the media business. I've been doing this since I was 16. I could sit here and defend my line of work, which I think is largely just and on the level, but if you're deep into the 'Gate, your only reaction will be to probably say "of course he would say that." That's fine. Some of you have been politicized so completely that this is just another "left vs. right" issue to you, and many of you are using the same language used in arguments over other hardened political issues. So keep on "rolling coal" on video games journalism if you think it's actually that corrupt. I'm not here to tell you what to do. But you might want to really look in the mirror and ask yourself if you're spending your time crusading for the right fight.

But GamerGate is a speed bump for the video game industry, at best. It was already on its way to the back burner when a fresh crop of death threats whipped everyone back up into a frenzy. The core group of instigators will probably find another group to target, and they'll leave behind a big mess of harassment, hurt, half-truths, and twisted words. It'll be fascinating to see how video games--whether you consider that to be a community, a business, a profession, or a hotbed of increasingly political bickering--moves forward.

In many ways, that's been the most frustrating part. To watch talented folks like Jenn Frank get pushed right up to a breaking point and for the rest of us to have nothing better to combat this with than "hey, I know you think you're waging some kind of holy war and solving some kind of real-world issue but stop this" feels like the most empty and toothless statement around. It's easy to feel helpless and I don't have a real solution to this. I'm not sure that there is one, honestly. GamerGate has created a group of people who speak in political terms and attack the people they disagree with in the same way a political action group would target someone speaking out against that group's specified cause.

Continued success in the face of adversity is the best defense against those that would seek to derail you and mire you in endless arguments that they control, that they frame, and that they aren't actually trying to win. Regardless of your own personal politics, stop letting GamerGate be in your way. For some of you, obviously, that will be an incredible challenge. Some people are getting a lot of hateful garbage hurled their way. But to give in would be to further enable a collection of people who don't even know what they actually want other than to simply disrupt you as much as they possibly can. We can't let that happen. We have faith that video games and the people who make them will persevere.

(Appreciate the title edit, mods)

Addendum: For additional context of where this editorial is coming from and responding to a theme in responses of "why now?", Mr Gerstmann made the following comment in discussion here:

At some point it's a personal note that would probably be taken by people as something of an excuse (and it's something that people involved in the Giant Bomb community are already a little more aware of), but I had a death in my family last month that took 100% of my attention away from anything happening in games or the internet. It's made a lot of the "WHY AREN'T YOU CONDEMNING THIS AS FORCEFULLY AS I AM RIGHT NOW" things that have been slung my way over the last chunk of time have a fairly nasty tinge to it. It's also left me quite disappointed by the people who automatically assume that not saying anything means that I/we were somehow complicit or that we stood in approval of various things. Maybe that would have made that entire point make more sense had it been included, but at some point my personal life is just that... my personal life.

People can argue all they want about the timing, and obviously there's no way to please everyone, but there you go.

_____________________________________
If you need a more general sense of what Gamergate even is, I'd recommend the general purpose megathread.

 

[MThanded]

#gamergame aside this is a great post,

 

[Lime]

I think it's best to relegate this to the gamergate thread itself. Also, Shockingalberto made a good criticism of that one paragraph in which Jeff argues that silence isn't complicity:

This sort of comment doesn't make any sense because I've never been particularly pro-gamergate or felt like they were anything more than a hate group striking at phantoms that they have been unable to properly identify.

This isn't about stances, it's not two people looking at the same thing and there being two entirely valid stances. There is one group that wants to stop being attacked and wants more inclusiveness while the other group doesn't and is willing to harass and threaten to get it done. This is not two sides of congress arguing about tort reform, it is one side arguing and the other side pointing a gun at them if they don't change their votes.

So, yes, fucking obviously I expected Jeff to legitimize one group over the other because not doing so allows truly terrible people to believe they're not all bad and their opponents aren't all good.

This is what Gamergate does:

So forgive me for being unhappy when someone says "Silence isn't complicity," because that is an excuse and a bad one, at that.

 

[Blablurn]

Good words from Jeff

 

[Gestault]

#gamergame aside this is a great post,

I already have an edit request in.

 

[Mononoke]

I think, GamerGate is clearly a dead movement w/ some terrible people using it as a vehicle to drum out anyone in the industry that would try to change it. However, there are a lot of people that have joined the movement, because they have actual criticisms of certain aspects of the industry. It's true some of those criticisms might be unfounded (i think, it's easy to have a perception how the media is, without really knowing -- and I think that can impact how your audience sees things).

I just feel like, clearly a lot of people have issues with this industry. I wish that those that had legitimate criticisms, had separated from the GamerGate stuff and started their own thing. Or that on the whole, we could do a better job having discussions/debates.

 

[vcc]

That is a solid letter by Jeff Gerstmann.

 

[markot]

How was that a good post by Jeff? It didn't seem to offer any insight at all.... On any aspect of the issue....

 

[iMax]

I'm not sure this is the place but where should I go to understand what #gamergate actually is? I've seen bits and pieces but haven't really followed it enough to understand what's actually happening.

There was a decent summary post on here but it wasn't hugely detailed and didn't actually explain the reasoning behind the causation of where we're at now.

 

[Jburton]

Calm and reasonable response from Jeff.

Pretty much sums up the majority of my feelings on the subject.

 

[Mononoke]

But some of the people falling on the "anti-" side of the GamerGate are employing the same sort of "you are with us or against us" mentality. As those people get more frantic, they also damage the message they're trying to express. Silence isn't complicity. Silence might also be not letting a campaign of hate and chaos be taken seriously by not giving it a place at the table. Now, from a distance, this whole topic looks like every other politicized media conspiracy, with two sides full of extremists and a bunch of people in the middle looking disillusioned by the whole debacle.

I've always said that I think the messaging from political activists in this industry (whether that be about sexism or other issues), have always been aggressive and alienating. They aren't to blame for the crazy psychos attacking them, as those people would have attacked them regardless of how reasonable they were. But I think a lot of damage has been done to regular people (the people they need to educated to understand), and a lot of normal gamers have been turned off from their messaging.

This Us vs. them mentality is stupid. This "what I say is - and if you don't agree you are X" doesn't work. Because the reality is, not everyone is going to agree with you. Even people that do agree with you, might not agree to the extent that you are arguing. As someone that thinks we have major problems with equality and representation in this industry, I seriously hope moving forward, there is a better approach to how we talk about these issue, and how activists and journalists who believe these issues approach their messaging.

EDIT: I guess his point was more so about feeling bullied for not speaking out against the GamerGate stuff (for him staying silent). And people have an issue with the silence isn't complicity line. I still stand by my points above. But they don't really apply to what he was talking about. I agree with him about the Us vs them mentality being bad (I think from either side). But I wasn't talking about the whole keeping silent thing. Which he was. So my apologies.

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

I think it's best to relegate this to the gamergate thread itself. Also, Shockingalberto made a good criticism of that one paragraph in which Jeff argues that silence isn't complicity:

I thought a lot of people were arguing that there's no "two sides" on this?

 

[TheMoon]

I think it's best to relegate this to the gamergate thread itself. Also, Shockingalberto made a good criticism of that one paragraph in which Jeff argues that silence isn't complicity:

It's also quite ironic after everyone in the media got hung up on the "saying you didn't want to make a statement is making a statement" thing during "Tomodachigate" (sorry lol) earlier this year. Now suddenly it's a different thing. Of course the situation and wording is not exactly the same but the similarity is still there and cause for irony.

 

[Gestault]

How was that a good post by Jeff? It didn't seem to offer any insight at all.... On any aspect of the issue....

Well it's the sincere outlook (and reflection two months in) of someone who's been long involved in the industry. It's giving what I consider an accurate outlook on the nature of the "movement" and why reacting politically to something that isn't a sincere attempt at it's stated goals is fruitless. It's putting the idea that honest people who relate more closely to one "side" or the other are damaging their own message when they make blunt ultimatums on "for us or against us," because it will alienate anyone who doesn't have an outlook yet. It would play into the hands of those behind Gamergate. This is spelling out that dynamic without throwing hands in the air to say "I guess we'll never know who's right!"

The nature of this issue is disruption, and when people unknowingly play into that tactic in a way which compromises their own intent, someone needs to point it out.

 

[mambadragon]

I'm not sure this is the place but where should I go to understand what #gamergate actually is? I've seen bits and pieces but haven't really followed it enough to understand what's actually happening.

There was a decent summary post on here but it wasn't hugely detailed and didn't actually explain the reasoning behind the causation of where we're at now.

I generally dismiss anything related to gaming culture, so I ignored this Gamergate thing. Since it's been going on for a few months now I decided to read up and try to understand it, but I honestly can't make any sense of it. It somehow involves "ethics in journalism", a female game developer cheating on her boyfriend, and death threats.

 

[Lime]

I'm not sure this is the place but where should I go to understand what #gamergate actually is? I've seen bits and pieces but haven't really followed it enough to understand what's actually happening.

There was a decent summary post on here but it wasn't hugely detailed and didn't actually explain the reasoning behind the causation of where we're at now.

http://gawker.com/what-is-gamergate-and-why-an-explainer-for-non-geeks-1642909080

 

[markot]

So false equivalency wins the day again.

 

[vcc]

I thought a lot of people were arguing that there's no "two sides" on this?

There is #GG and then there is everybody else. Some of that everybody else is more passionate and I think that's the 'otherside' Jeff refers to. The small segment of 'everybody else' which is as passionate on this non topic as the #GG.

 

[REV 09]

I'm not sure this is the place but where should I go to understand what #gamergate actually is? I've seen bits and pieces but haven't really followed it enough to understand what's actually happening.

There was a decent summary post on here but it wasn't hugely detailed and didn't actually explain the reasoning behind the causation of where we're at now.

I'm in this boat...i still have no idea what "gamergate" is. I just enjoy playing games and tend to stay out of these "movements"/debates.

 

[Sai-kun]

I think it's best to relegate this to the gamergate thread itself. Also, Shockingalberto made a good criticism of that one paragraph in which Jeff argues that silence isn't complicity:

Absolutely agreed. There are not two valid sides here, and silence is complicity.

 

[Joey Fox]

I'm not sure this is the place but where should I go to understand what #gamergate actually is? I've seen bits and pieces but haven't really followed it enough to understand what's actually happening.

There was a decent summary post on here but it wasn't hugely detailed and didn't actually explain the reasoning behind the causation of where we're at now.

I listened to a podcast that was trying to describe it for people just joining in, and it doesn't make any freaking sense. It does remind me of politics with two sides attacking each other without there being any actual unity amongst either group.

 

[Lime]

Well it's the sincere outlook (and reflection two months in) of someone who's been long involved in the industry. It's giving what I consider an accurate outlook on the nature of the "movement" and why reacting politically to something that isn't a sincere attempt at it's stated goals is fruitless. It's putting the idea that honest people who relate more closely to one "side" or the other are damaging their own message when they make blunt ultimatums on "for us or against us," because it will alienate anyone who doesn't have an outlook yet. It would play into the hands of those behind Gamergate. This is spelling out that dynamic without throwing hands in the air to say "I guess we'll never know who's right!"

The nature of this issue is disruption, and when people unknowingly play into that tactic in a way which compromises their own intent, someone needs to point it out.

Silence is complicity when it comes to matters of clear-cut sexism.

If you notice someone terrorizing another person at your workplace or school or what-have-you, and you do not speak up or help or support, but simply just stand there, you are enabling the transgressor.

I hope you don't think Jeff's letter is good thanks to its worst and weakest paragraph.

 

[Htown]

"Silence isn't complicity" is nonsense. What's that saying about good men doing nothing?

Jeff was doing so well, but he kind of fumbled the landing.

 

[Gestault]

So false equivalency wins the day again.

What do you believe was the false equivalence made in the Letter from the Editor?

 

[Mononoke]

Silence is complicity when it comes to matters of clear-cut sexism.

They could have spoken out against those using GamerGate for sexism. But GamerGate wasn't just about that. It evolved beyond that and became about a bunch of other things. So I dunno. Maybe GiantBomb should have condemned those specific aspects of it, or those things in general?

Seems to me, a lot of the letter is addressing it from the perspective of it being about corruption in the media (which is something a lot of people believe, and who aren't using it as a vehicle for sexism).

 

[KimonoNoNo]

Sorry that was a whole load of fence sitting, using the same old "There are extremists on both sides". I appreciate the exasperation at the whole damn mess, but that was rather a weak response.

 

[BreezyLimbo]

Silence is complicity when it comes to matters of clear-cut sexism.

If you notice someone terrorizing another person at your workplace or school or what-have-you, and you do not speak up or help or support, but simply just stand there, you are enabling the transgressor.

That's uhm, a false equivalence. This didn't happen in the vicinity of GiantBomb-It happened in the internet, and the internet is far reaching, but that doesn't mean that every single person it touches has to say something or else they're enabling it.

 

[Gestault]

I think it's best to relegate this to the gamergate thread itself. Also, Shockingalberto made a good criticism of that one paragraph in which Jeff argues that silence isn't complicity:

Silence is complicity when it comes to matters of clear-cut sexism.

If you notice someone terrorizing another person at your workplace or school or what-have-you, and you do not speak up or help or support, but simply just stand there, you are enabling the transgressor.

"Silence isn't complicity" is nonsense. What's that saying about good men doing nothing?

Jeff was doing so well, but he kind of fumbled the landing.

I strongly question whether that's an intelligent characterization of the ideas being presented in the text:

But some of the people falling on the "anti-" side of the GamerGate are employing the same sort of "you are with us or against us" mentality. As those people get more frantic, they also damage the message they're trying to express. Silence isn't complicity. Silence might also be not letting a campaign of hate and chaos be taken seriously by not giving it a place at the table. Now, from a distance, this whole topic looks like every other politicized media conspiracy, with two sides full of extremists and a bunch of people in the middle looking disillusioned by the whole debacle.

Continued success in the face of adversity is the best defense against those that would seek to derail you and mire you in endless arguments that they control, that they frame, and that they aren't actually trying to win.

 

[vcc]

I listened to a podcast that was trying to describe it for people just joining in, and it doesn't make any freaking sense. It does remind me of politics with two sides attacking each other without there being any actual unity amongst either group.

#GG is extremely homogeneous. If you find those folks on reddit, the vast majority post on /r/mensrights, /r/theredpill, /r/tumblrinaction, and /r/conspiracy before the gamergate thing.

They also organize on 8chan and /r/kotakuinaction.

#GG is a organized movement. The anti-GG peopel are just everyone else who became vocal for what ever reason. Usually disgust of #GG logic and tactics.

 

[moondoggerr]

I don't think Jeff is arguing that there are two valid sides here. The letter clearly and explicitly calls out Gamergate as an idiotic, destructive movement. That's by far the bulk of the letter. He also adds that some people on the anti Gamergate side have been high horsing a bit. He explains that it's possible to be silent and not agree. The existence of the letter at all suggests that he understands that there is a line where being silent is no longer appropriate.

 

[vcc]

They could have spoken out against those using GamerGate for sexism. But GamerGate wasn't just about that. It evolved beyond that and became about a bunch of other things. So I dunno. Maybe GiantBomb should have condemned those specific aspects of it, or those things in general?

Nope. It has not in anyway changed or evolved. It's still a revolting mess of hate; just like how it started and how it keeps rolling.

 

[megalowho]

They could have spoken out against those using GamerGate for sexism. But GamerGate wasn't just about that. It evolved beyond that and became about a bunch of other things. So I dunno. Maybe GiantBomb should have condemned those specific aspects of it, or those things in general?

They make clear upfront they're not taking to those people, because it's not a group worth reasoning with.

We don’t feel we are addressing the offenders that have lashed out most savagely, claiming an agenda to give themselves clearance to continue harassment and attacks. They are not participants in this discussion, and serve only to inflame and frighten those of us who seek resolution. In the end, we’ve decided to speak directly to you, our fans and community.

 

[Juice]

I think t was very good but got a little weak and equivocating at the end.

While it's true in the abstract that silence isn't necessarily complicity, in this specific situation where individuals are being targets for harassment/abuse/threats, silence absolutely *is* complicity.

By trying to avoid painting it as a two equal side issue, his discussion of "anti" as a side does exactly that.

 

[Lunar15]

Well, I mean... silence can be a form of compliance.

 

[Htown]

I strongly question whether that's an intelligent characterization of the ideas being presented in the text:

Problems don't just go away when you ignore them. It doesn't work that way, it has never worked that way, it will never work that way.

 

[markot]

What do you believe was the false equivalence made in the Letter from the Editor?

"But some of the people falling on the "anti-" side of the GamerGate are employing the same sort of "you are with us or against us" mentality. As those people get more frantic, they also damage the message they're trying to express. Silence isn't complicity. Silence might also be not letting a campaign of hate and chaos be taken seriously by not giving it a place at the table. Now, from a distance, this whole topic looks like every other politicized media conspiracy, with two sides full of extremists and a bunch of people in the middle looking disillusioned by the whole debacle."

It's like comparing those who campaign to hard on climate change are just as bad as those who campaign against it.

It doesn't look like that from a distance either. Unless you are an idiot. Again, a strange sort of false equivalency.

Silence is also complicity in the face of such blatant sexist crap. When women see the gaming industry not react strongly to this, how are they meant to feel?

 

[moondoggerr]

Problems don't just go away when you ignore them. It doesn't work that way, it has never worked that way, it will never work that way.

I dunno, sometimes it works not to feed trolls.

 

[Mononoke]

Nope. It has not in anyway changed or evolved. It's still a revolting mess of hate; just like how it started and how it keeps rolling.

I disagree. I mean I agree the movement is disgusting and is being used for the wrong reasons. But as someone that saw it form on Day 1, I saw it change pretty rapidly after a week or two. A ton of regular gamers that aren't psycopaths started to use it to complain about issues of the media (things they've had problems with for a long time and bottled up).

There has been tension growing between the media and their audience for the past 5 years. I've seen it on GAF over the years. So I definitely think the movement became something else then what it was originally intended for. And sadly, the people that were using it for Sexism are able to still use it to hide behind to do their bidding. I think it's a mistake to ignore the fact that, the movement has become about other things (and has a lot of regular gamers attached to it). I'm with you in that, I think GamerGate is terrible. I think it should be disbanded. And I think anyone that has serious grievances should separate themselves from this (because of the movements origins, or how it's being used by a group of people). But it doesn't change the fact that the movement has other people involved in it.

They make clear upfront they're not taking to those people, because it's not a group worth reasoning with.

Well yeah, that was kind of my point. GiantBomb seems to be approaching this whole thing from the media/corruption side of things - and not the people that are being sexist and psycho (as the line says, they don't think they are participants in any kind of debate and don't deserve to be acknowledged). I guess the question is, SHOULD the site have condemned those using it for the wrong reasons from the very beginning? Should they condemn any form of sexism/death threats being made?

That seems to be what people are hung up on (that they stayed silent). My point is, they are viewing GamerGate as a bigger thing then those issues. And that is what this letter mostly addresses.

 

[Prime crotch]

I don't think it's a good idea to speak on such matters until a certain stage, especially if you have a certain media presence, should have he spoken earlier? Maybe, but so many times people take someone taking their time to collect as cowardice or ignorance.

As for the whole debacle, it's a great piece of study, if anything, of political platforms, one of the reasons I tried to keep my distance was to just how deranged it got. Some of the propaganda is downright fascist.

 

[Tegernako]

I'm not sure this is the place but where should I go to understand what #gamergate actually is? I've seen bits and pieces but haven't really followed it enough to understand what's actually happening.

There was a decent summary post on here but it wasn't hugely detailed and didn't actually explain the reasoning behind the causation of where we're at now.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=134839993&postcount=15450

Here you go!

 

[Etnos]

That was great writing, it is confortable to remember most people of the game industry are not fanatic nuts.

 

[Bold One]

Twitter, its too ripe for abuse,

at first it was a great tool for communicating directly with creators but it would inevitably lead to abuse.

The # culture is a disease that's convinced every Joe Public that he has a voice but also that that voice MUST be heard even if it means spewing toxic hate the slightest provocation.

Devs and Jornos should leave twitter even if its for a week in protest instead of leaving the industry all together, why toss your career in the bin?

 

[Somnid]

Problems don't just go away when you ignore them. It doesn't work that way, it has never worked that way, it will never work that way.

Actually this is completely wrong. Nearly any problem will go away by ignoring it, the sole exception being when the problem itself is that something is being ignored. The reason is because it takes effort to sustain something and the less people seem to care the harder it is to sustain an effort.

 

[SegaShack]

I don't know what Gamergate is, but I do know that the harassment of game devs has to stop. I'm all for valid criticism, but the hatred and negativity thrown at them is not OK.

 

[Nuke Soda]

Remember when gaming was a cool little hobby that we all enjoyed? Yeah, good times. Now it's all death threats and corruption and bitches aint allowed.

Welp see you all later, I got some games to play. Maybe Borderlands 2 or Street Fighter 4 or Deadly Premonition or I don't know. Peace out homies.... and homie-etes?

 

[markot]

Actually this is completely wrong. Nearly any problem will go away by ignoring it, the sole exception being when the problem itself is that something is being ignored. The reason is because it takes effort to sustain something and the less people seem to care the harder it is to sustain an effort.

Ignoring racism has certainly worked for the USA.

 

[Zomba13]

I disagree. I mean I agree the movement is disgusting and is being used for the wrong reasons. But as someone that saw it form on Day 1, I saw it change pretty rapidly after a week or two. A ton of regular gamers that aren't psycopaths started to use it to complain about issues of the media (things they've had problems with for a long time and bottled up).

So a bunch of people who didn't know its origins or what it was being used for thought it was a legitimate thing and chimed in? Cool. Doesn't change the fact that it was started with misogynistic intent and that same misogyny continues to this day by some of the same people (and even more as this has gotten bigger and bigger).

 

[7DollarHagane]

That was great writing, it is confortable to remember most people of the game industry are not fanatic nuts.

Yep its important to remember that this is a group of maybe a few hundred people I would estimate vs another few million that find the actions disgusting and awful.

 

[Lime]

Yep, I'm sure that Quinn, Sarkeesian, and Wu were super relieved that gaming media were silent on their harassment. Sure made it easier for them.

It's seriously a bullshit rationalization.

 

[SegaShack]

Problems don't just go away when you ignore them. It doesn't work that way, it has never worked that way, it will never work that way.

It certainly did work that way for occupy wallstreet. Once they were ignored by the press and general public they stopped.