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[Lady Gaia]

What does women/racial minorities/lgbt have to do with video games?

As others have pointed out: we play games, make games, and like to talk about games. We very much appreciate a community that is welcoming and open to all, ideally one that demonstrates a modicum of awareness that underrepresented groups can be disparaged in a thousand ways unless overt efforts are taken to understand how the dominant culture might contribute to a hostile environment.

Any argument that says “keep X out of my Y” is basically saying I think X is fine the way it is. It’s not a non-political statement but rather a political statement in support of the status quo.

I’m a queer woman. I love games. Knowing whether or not this is a place that I can relax and discuss them is very much on topic. Not having to worry about that question is an implicit assertion of privilege. Bully for you, but it’s not my lived experience.

 

[Extra Sauce]

So are you going along with his obvious trolling or do you think he's serious?

I didn't realize he was trolling but I was definitely being sarcastic.

edit: I don't see anything in his recent post history indicating he's not being serious here but maybe I didn't dig deep enough?

 

[Angelus Errare]

As others have pointed out: we play games, make games, and like to talk about games. We very much appreciate a community that is welcoming and open to all, ideally one that demonstrates a modicum of awareness that underrepresented groups can be disparaged in a thousand ways unless overt efforts are taken to understand how the dominant culture might contribute to a hostile environment.

Any argument that says “keep X out of my Y” is basically saying I think X is fine the way it is. It’s not a non-political statement but rather a political statement in support of the status quo.

I’m a queer woman. I love games. Knowing whether or not this is a place that I can relax and discuss them is very much on topic. Not having to worry about that question is an implicit assertion of privilege. Bully for you, but it’s not my lived experience.

Great post Lady Gaia, and the bold is so lost on everyone who are crying about "no more politics".

 

[SOME-MIST]

You don't always have to audio or written commentary about either subjects.

They're called video games for a reason. Its is a visual medium, and people will always relate to the characters they see on screen. Player characters, NPCs, etc.

Which is why you can't separate the two of them.

you're right. you mostly see only ships and bullets while you're playing, but there are most definitely character portraits for the "characters" you choose to play as

 

[Seductivpancakes]

you're right. you only mostly see ships and bullets, but there are most definitely character portraits for the "characters" you choose to play as

Of course some of the older video games might not have any or it's difficult to see it there, but we're in the 21st century, and it's been a very common element to see in video games.

 

[Kem0sabe]

Great post Lady Gaia, and the bold is so lost on everyone who are crying about "no more politics".

Because politics worked so well for GAF before right?

Infusing everything gaming related with gender or social politics, is not representation, its appropriation.

 

[tkscz]

I didn't realize he was trolling but I was definitely being sarcastic.

edit: I don't see anything in his recent post history indicating he's not being serious here but maybe I didn't dig deep enough?

I say don't even reply to him if he's making post like that. He probably only post to get reactions like that.

 

[metalslimer]

Because politics worked so well for GAF before right?

Infusing everything gaming related with gender or social politics, is not representation, its appropriation.

This doesn't even make sense

 

[SOME-MIST]

Of course some of the older video games might not have any or it's difficult to see it there, but we're in the 21st century, and it's been a very common element to see in video games.

it's a 21st century game
but good point nonetheless

 

[Extra Sauce]

Because politics worked so well for GAF before right?

Infusing everything gaming related with gender or social politics, is not representation, its appropriation.

Clearly turning the entirety of Off-Topic into a bonfire is the sensible solution.

 

[tkscz]

Because politics worked so well for GAF before right?

Infusing everything gaming related with gender or social politics, is not representation, its appropriation.

Why can't people just ignore the thread? When there was a subject I didn't want to talk about, I ignored the thread. Problem solved. If you felt the need to comment in it, it's a subject you wanted to talk about and a subject that should have a thread.

 

[Booter]

We very much appreciate a community that demonstrates a modicum of awareness that underrepresented groups can be disparaged in a thousand ways unless overt efforts are taken to understand how the dominant culture might contribute to a hostile environment.

agreed - this forum needs to be a welcoming place to everyone.

 

[Seductivpancakes]

it's a 21st century game
but good point nonetheless

I meant to say like in the 2000s lol.

 

[Aters]

Because politics worked so well for GAF before right?

Infusing everything gaming related with gender or social politics, is not representation, its appropriation.

If someone says a game is sexism, you can disagree and show your reasoning, something I do from time to time. But shut down the conversation entirely will vastly reduce the potential of videogame as a story telling medium.

 

[Laiza]

this has NOTHING to do with video games! it does not belong in a video games forum!

?????

I can only assume you've never seen how anyone who's a member of a minority group gets treated in online games...

 

[Solrac]

really guys still going at it ? let it go...

 

[Peroroncino]

?????

I can only assume you've never seen how anyone who's a member of a minority group gets treated in online games...

I think he's being sarcastic.

Honestly surprised this thread is still open.

 

[Extra Sauce]

really guys still going at it ? let it go...

If you haven't, why should we?

 

[AESplusF]

How can you ignore politics when so many games are inherently political?

It's absolutely necessary.

 

[Joe T.]

Sounds like the same type of people who want to keep politics out of sports. They are all intertwined.

Yes, to an extent, often below the surface and easy enough to ignore if one wants to, which they often do since they're tuning into a sports game and not A CNN Political Debate: Democrat X vs Republican X. Would you feel comfortable if you were forced to debate the political positions your favorite consumer brands supported? Imagine picking up a pair of shoes in a store and suddenly having the entire town treat you like a monster for giving money to someone taking advantage of weak labor laws elsewhere in the world. Imagine then getting criticized for your grocery list because one of the food brands you supported was hurting the environment. Then imagine your immediate family cutting ties with you because you supported an overseas company rather than a local one. And on it on it goes. Those issues are there and should be discussed, but every minute of every day of every week of every month of every year? I doubt many people want their lives playing out that way, almost everyone in the civilized world enjoys the benefits of life within that world, namely the option to tune out the world at large for a short period of time to enjoy a work of art/sporting event/etc.

It's important to keep things in perspective and not go to extremes, which is a problem this forum has suffered for years (i.e. "All cops are trash"). Just because NFL players decide to protest during their games doesn't mean you're forced to debate the nature of said protest or the issues that began the protest. Does that make you a bad person? I would hope not, considering there's plenty of time to discuss those topics, but that seems to be the position you're taking here. Am I wrong? There are important issues that deserve more attention to be sure. However, a person is entitled to a break from those issues from time to time. Games are where many people go to get those breaks. Don't make an enemy out of someone who may share your opinion just because they want to talk about the various aspects of games that don't involve politics.

Nobody should be made to feel guilty for enjoying music/movies/games/sports while you and your friends are busy discussing important issues, they can easily join you at a later time, which is essentially what the separation of Gaming and Off Topic achieved - you don't run into Off Topic to discuss a questionable game design choice Shigeru Miyamoto made just as you shouldn't run into Gaming to talk about Donald Trump and how he may or may not be hurting your democracy. There's a time and a place for everything, you will eventually learn this lesson regardless of whether you choose to stay active here or move to another forum.

 

[JustenP88]

Because politics worked so well for GAF before right?

Yes. What problem did GAF have with politics before this recent fallout? In what way is the fallout related to GAF's politics and the way the community handled them?

Infusing everything gaming related with gender or social politics, is not representation, its appropriation.

What

 

[Stoop Man]

Because politics worked so well for GAF before right?

Infusing everything gaming related with gender or social politics, is not representation, its appropriation.

Appropriation from whom?

 

[Angelus Errare]

Because politics worked so well for GAF before right?

Seeing as political discussion has been a part of GAF since it's inception. Yes it's worked out well.

Infusing everything gaming related with gender or social politics, is not representation, its appropriation.

How is it "appropriation" when your glorious developers, publishers, manufacturers are multi-billion dollar publicly traded companies some of which are in Japan who are all trying to reach the most consumers possible, who set up offices in: Brazil, South Africa, UAE, Korea, Japan.

You as a white straight male never "owned" gaming. So if you're going to cry about appropriation, you should have done it ages ago when Nintendo came in and redefined it and made it popular.

 

[theangrypirate]

I keep seeing the words "cuck", "SJW", and "snowflake" popping up in lots of threads here since the board has been back online. It's fucking depressing seeing a once great board circling down the drain. I don't lean as far left as the mods did (I've been called alt right even though I've never voted for a single conservative/libertarian in my life) but I was always able to argue my points without being silenced. I found lots of the board members were naive and full of hypocrisy with their politics but It was still better than every other board by a long shot. I'm gonna miss GAF. I don't know enough about the individuals involved when it comes to Tyler and the allegations laid against him but the revenge porn move (seriously thats really fucked up and should be illegal) is very telling in my opinion as was the power ass grab move (fuck thats some creepy shit). I love GAF and I want this place to come back but it seems like the odds of that are pretty low. Reading threads on here now makes me feel like I'm still living with a girlfriend that cheated on me lots and I just found out about it and we are trying to make it work but its just weird cuz we both know its not going to be same ever again.

I know I didn't post as much as a lot of you who made this board great but I would love a PM with an invite to the discord channel and I really want to be a part of the new board when it comes online.

Thanks for everything GAF - this place wasn't perfect but it WAS fucking awesome.

 

[Lady Gaia]

this has NOTHING to do with video games! it does not belong in a video games forum!

You have nothing to do with video games! You don’t belong in a video games forum!

See how silly that sounds? Of course players and creators are part of video games. As is the market, and the social context they relate to. Representational characters and human stories are a part of video games. To pretend otherwise is asinine.

As always, it makes sense to participate in threads whose subject interests you, and to move on from those you have no interest in. The community of people who are interested in discussing video games feels very much a relevant topic.

your level of relaxation, just like mine, is NOT on topic in a VIDEO GAMES forum!

The fact that you don’t seem to be particularly relaxed has very much become a topic on this very forum.

 

[TumblingHippo]

really guys still going at it ? let it go...

There are so many more gay video game characters to talk about.

Like gay Link smootching gay male Zelda, or Mario smootch Bowser, or Kirby smootching Dedede.

 

[FuturusX]

Because politics worked so well for GAF before right?

Infusing everything gaming related with gender or social politics, is not representation, its appropriation.

 

[Wink]

/Lindsay-Lohan-Spits-Out-Drink.gif

Getting a lot of mileage out of that gif I see. Must be a hobby of yours.

 

[FuturusX]

Getting a lot of mileage out of that gif I see. Must be a hobby of yours.