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[nush]

For those who have posted there, did it ever feel like you could genuinely share a dissenting opinion without fear of biting a ban?

 

[Balducci30]

Ultimately this is all very entertaining but also very sad. These people are mentally ill. Clearly mentally ill.

Cyberpunk is probably the coolest, newest videogame to come out in years. I know some don’t feel that way but the majority of people I think do. And after this clusterfuck of 2020 they can’t even enjoy that? They can’t just maybe not take life so damn seriously for two fucking seconds and enjoy a weird original videogame? Sad man.

Like I’m a pretty casual gamer - dunno if I’ve ever been as stoked on a videogame as this - and ALL my fuckin friends feel the same way, and we’re all liberal as fuck artists in New York City and mostly don’t even play games anymore. But it just... you guys had to turn into a bad thing. And then destroy your own “safe space” in the process. Because let’s face it, this is ALL on you. You CHOSE to turn the game into horribly transphobic nightmare based off a tweet by a guy who they fired and a goddamn poster - some paper thin Bullshit. AND THEN you chose to be victims and hatefully lashed out at anybody who had an ounce of joy for just wanting to fuckin play a cool videogame. And the conspiracy theories you made up to try to dodge taking any responsibility for yourselves had to be the most straight up dumbest, half assed theories I’ve ever seen. Like, the most inconsequential paranoid delusions that can only be described as an obvious symptom of narcissistic personality disorder with schizophrenic features or maaaaybe the result of a months long crystal meth binge. Maybe.

I know it’s shocking, but no one cares enough about you, no one is even CAPABLE of playing the twelve dimensional chess that Black Chamber would have had to in order to pull off what you’re retroactively accusing him of. He’d have to be some sort of actual higher being that can at the VERY LEAST see the future and read minds.

And hell if that’s actually the case then we have far bigger issues to deal with than the fate of Resetera - we are directly communicating with a literal superhuman and the last thing I want to do is piss him off.

Sadly it’s not. It’s just sad.

On a positive note you can change, you can some day take responsibility for your own happiness without inflicting your baggage on the people around you. You CAN do that and I hope for your sake that you do. So if you’re reading any of this - that’s the only message I hope you take away. I don’t want to hurt you or insult you or make your life more miserable or painful than it already clearly is. I want you to take actions in real life (yeah not online) to build a solid foundation where you can respect yourself. And please don’t fucking spoil Cyberpunk for me, k? Let’s turn that train back around and take some steps forward in a positive direction instead of that petty shit. Thank you.

EDIT: tdlr? I dunno the acronym. Please don’t fuck this game up for me. 2020 has been a shit show. Let people have this. Thanks.

 

[nush]

Oh no! They put images in the OT when they said it would be text only!

Pitchforks!

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Woah, this thread’s sprouted wings these last two days. I just can’t keep up!

The fact that this whole hullabaloo was caused by Cyberpunk alone reminds me of the words of the great Iwata: “All it takes is one game.”

How right he was.

 

[Daffy Duck]

Oh no! They put images in the OT when they said it would be text only!

Pitchforks!

didn’t they also promise that a post would be pinned at the top of every single page?

 

[wolfmat]

I don't give a fuck about spoilers myself. It's childish to go around posting spoilers, that's all I have to say about that.

 

[Turnstyle]

Oh no! They put images in the OT when they said it would be text only!

Pitchforks!

Pictures? ON THE INTERNET???

THIS. WILL. NOT. STAND.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

no one is even CAPABLE of playing the twelve dimensional chess that Black Chamber would have had to in order to pull off what you’re retroactively accusing him of. He’d have to be some sort of actual higher being that can at the VERY LEAST see the future and read minds.

To be honest, Era is so repetitive and predictable that you can easily foresee a lot of replys, almost word for word (the only variable being the amount of “fuck” and “fucking” between other words).

But yeah, when I read that poster saying that Black Chamber’s plan all along was to sow division between those lunatics, all I can see is Obi-Wan yelling “You have done that yourself!”.

Incidentally, after that utterly revolting post from B-Dubs about Black Chamber being ”a well-meaning idiot”, I asked to ban my account there. Hadn’t used it in ages, but it’s clear enough at this point that no rational post can be written there without a complete cretin finding fault with it. Gaming side has been declining for some time anyway, and after this fuckup it’s gonna become utterly useless soon.

 

[eastcoastkody]

reading the psycho babble over there is like seeing a "nottheonion" post on reddit.

Its like its not even real. Its like an toxic forum made up for a tv show or a movie. So cliche and braindead.

 

[C4.lukin]

I am having a fun time switching back and forth between the Cyberpunk Resetera threads, and the new Heaven’s Gate doc on HBO. They really compliment each other in a Darkside of the Moon/ Wizard of Oz sort of way.

 

[Dries]

Honesly somewhat surprised the OT is still open and not locked. Wonder how long it'll take before the shit hits the fan again.

 

[lunnuyu]

the meltdown on TransEra once the 2-4M copies sold in the first week for Cyberpunk 2077 are reported will be glorious

"I can't believe there are so many people who are so transphobic, I don't want to live on this planet anymore!11!!"

 

[Stiflers Mom]

... I asked to ban my account there.

Not to criticize you personally, mate, but what's the use of that?
just don't post there anymore and that's it.

No need for the same drama that happened when people left here back then.. ; )

 

[Charles Brandon]

Claven you fucking clown

 

[Thaedolus]

reading the psycho babble over there is like seeing a "nottheonion" post on reddit.

Its like its not even real. Its like an toxic forum made up for a tv show or a movie. So cliche and braindead.

I find myself constantly wondering if the majority of those posts are trolls or actual insane people that believe what they’re saying. It’s almost impossible to tell. The fact there are discords and shit where they apparently hang out too makes me think it would be too difficult to keep up the charade long term, though...so god, these people are real? That’s a big oof and a woof and a yikes from me y’all

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Not to criticize you personally, mate, but what's the use of that?
just don't post there anymore and that's it.

No need for the same drama that happened when people left here back then.. ; )

It’s one less user for that madhouse.

Besides, what’s the use of an account that’s never used? To spy on them? To actively troll them? Way too many people doing that already, and watching the show takes enough of my time already without participating in it. And my already low activity surely wouldn’t have them come to me begging to create new content when their site’s activity goes down. My time there has been over for a while.

I’d been doing exactly what you say from even before I joined here, but I don’t want anything to do with that place anymore except watch its shenanigans from afar.

 

[SidViscous]

I would be really pissed to be spoiled on this game, especially by those people.

It's a very difficult game to spoil, a lot of different endings and branching narrative paths. What happened to someone else probably won't happen to you.

 

[GnomeChimpsky]

Yeah genius, CDPR deliberately put it there to fuck with epileptic people.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

I will never understand how a game can harm their health and safety. I mean...what the fuck...

Ah, yes. Violent games never made anyone violent. Joseph Lieberman, fuck you forever!

... yet, somehow, a scantily clad woman or the portrait of an (assumed) woman with a giant penis in a video game will turn boys (it’s always, always the boys) into sexists and transphobes.

 

[MudoSkills]

Claven you fucking clown

Be cautious playing? Is he gonna strap himself into his chair and bite down on something in case he swallows his tongue?

 

[kiryani]

GAF gold on me for the first person who gets a post in there saying they’re not epileptic but they identify as someone who has epilepsy

 

[Master of Disguise]

I was a member of old-GAF who got banned when the mods started going absolutely insane towards the end. I think I got banned in mid-2017? Can't recall. I joined Era hoping that it would be better than late-stage-GAF, and to be fair it was for a while. But after mid-2018 it started degrading rapidly and never stopped. There's a revisionist narrative prominent on Era that heavily downplays that a major reason people left GAF over time was disagreements with the site culture and moderation. I was there when GAF was disintegrating. The revisionist narrative is spread by people who were problematic members on GAF enjoying free reign on Era.

I have some criticisms of GAF, particularly with mods being too hands-off towards racism, for example. It's not necessarily the absolutely hate-filled racism you see on Era whenever a black man doesn't know his place, but it creates an unwelcome atmosphere, I think.

And I think that just as Era has a US politics problem, GAF has one, too. Some of the election stuff is pretty cringe. Obsessing over American politics and assuming everyone is American has a really negative impact on communities. But on Era, there's a class of user that never viewed Era as a videogame forum. These people are genuinely shocked that Era's pretense of being an open, inclusive, respectful website to talk about videogames attracted people who actually believed the sign on the door, and spent their time being good members and keeping their (usually completely banal) politics to themselves. On GAF, people are here to talk about videogames first and foremost. That is the glue that holds the community together.

Sites like Era and GAF are vulnerable to poisonous people worming their way into the power structure, and creating a site culture where nobody except them is welcome. We often hear about how Nazis can really shit up a board, and that's true. But in an age of political polarization, poisonous people determined to expel everyone they don't like and create a utopia can came from any angle. The total lack of self awareness of this is something that has slowly strangled Era from the inside. They're incapable of having a "are we the baddies" moment because us = goodness and light , them = Satan. And by banning literally everyone who resembles "them" on sight, you create a culture of increasingly out of touch political zealots. When Era first started, I recall genuine threads about religion. But over time, pretty much all the sincerely religious members were expelled. So now all the religion threads on Era are Fedora Shrek cringe.

The big difference between GAF and Era is that people can be the change they want to see. Era is designed to prevent positive change. Anyone who attempts to foster an inclusive atmosphere or stand up against bullying will get permanently banned. The moment Era started banning people for voting wrong on a global scale was the moment the mask fell off. That was one of the things that started destroying GAF 1.0 towards the end. People were getting banned because rogue mods didn't like their politics or simply for disagreeing with said mods on the most banal nonsense. So I was really disappointed to see that return on Era.

So yea, it's interesting to be back. Ideally, GAF grows into a positive place where people can discuss heavy topics like the politics of Cyberpunk 2077, but aren't getting bullied, aren't getting dogpiled, etc. That includes people I disagree with. You disagree with. Fedora Shrek is welcome as long as they conduct themselves respectfully.

 

[Stiflers Mom]

GAF gold on me for the first person who gets a post in there saying they’re not epileptic but they identify as someone who has epilepsy

I know a few people over here on GAF who don't have huge cocks but identify as having one.

 

[Charles Brandon]

Queen K says the game has a juvenile veneer

Doesn't that mean that the juvenility is only superficial though? Implying a richer, more mature work lies beneath? Is that what she meant to say?

 

[EviLore]

I was a member of old-GAF who got banned when the mods started going absolutely insane towards the end. I think I got banned in mid-2017? Can't recall. I joined Era hoping that it would be better than late-stage-GAF, and to be fair it was for a while. But after mid-2018 it started degrading rapidly and never stopped. There's a revisionist narrative prominent on Era that heavily downplays that a major reason people left GAF over time was disagreements with the site culture and moderation. I was there when GAF was disintegrating. The revisionist narrative is spread by people who were problematic members on GAF enjoying free reign on Era.

I have some criticisms of GAF, particularly with mods being too hands-off towards racism, for example. It's not necessarily the absolutely hate-filled racism you see on Era whenever a black man doesn't know his place, but it creates an unwelcome atmosphere, I think.

And I think that just as Era has a US politics problem, GAF has one, too. Some of the election stuff is pretty cringe. Obsessing over American politics and assuming everyone is American has a really negative impact on communities. But on Era, there's a class of user that never viewed Era as a videogame forum. These people are genuinely shocked that Era's pretense of being an open, inclusive, respectful website to talk about videogames attracted people who actually believed the sign on the door, and spent their time being good members and keeping their (usually completely banal) politics to themselves. On GAF, people are here to talk about videogames first and foremost. That is the glue that holds the community together.

Sites like Era and GAF are vulnerable to poisonous people worming their way into the power structure, and creating a site culture where nobody except them is welcome. We often hear about how Nazis can really shit up a board, and that's true. But in an age of political polarization, poisonous people determined to expel everyone they don't like and create a utopia can came from any angle. The total lack of self awareness of this is something that has slowly strangled Era from the inside. They're incapable of having a "are we the baddies" moment because us = goodness and light , them = Satan. And by banning literally everyone who resembles "them" on sight, you create a culture of increasingly out of touch political zealots. When Era first started, I recall genuine threads about religion. But over time, pretty much all the sincerely religious members were expelled. So now all the religion threads on Era are Fedora Shrek cringe.

The big difference between GAF and Era is that people can be the change they want to see. Era is designed to prevent positive change. Anyone who attempts to foster an inclusive atmosphere or stand up against bullying will get permanently banned. The moment Era started banning people for voting wrong on a global scale was the moment the mask fell off. That was one of the things that started destroying GAF 1.0 towards the end. People were getting banned because rogue mods didn't like their politics or simply for disagreeing with said mods on the most banal nonsense. So I was really disappointed to see that return on Era.

So yea, it's interesting to be back. Ideally, GAF grows into a positive place where people can discuss heavy topics like the politics of Cyberpunk 2077, but aren't getting bullied, aren't getting dogpiled, etc. That includes people I disagree with. You disagree with. Fedora Shrek is welcome as long as they conduct themselves respectfully.

A great deal of commentary about the current status of GAF for someone who's just shown up. Welcome back, but get the drama out of your system and leave it behind you.

 

[SoggyBiscuit]

this dude wouldn't be surprised if CDPR did put in strobe lights specifically to cause seizures:

These people are broken in the head. What the actual fuck am I reading.

 

[edbrat]

I forgot I had an account here until today, I just wanted cyberpunk discussion and that’s apparently not going to happen at era, and that brought me back here.
Now I don’t really feel the need to go back.

edit-I just saw how old my account is. I’m an old man, fuck.

Old man GAF represent

 

[iNvid02]

Absolutely bananas in a sad way, but at least it’s entertaining while these bugs get ironed out

 

[FunkMiller]

I was a member of old-GAF who got banned when the mods started going absolutely insane towards the end. I think I got banned in mid-2017? Can't recall. I joined Era hoping that it would be better than late-stage-GAF, and to be fair it was for a while. But after mid-2018 it started degrading rapidly and never stopped. There's a revisionist narrative prominent on Era that heavily downplays that a major reason people left GAF over time was disagreements with the site culture and moderation. I was there when GAF was disintegrating. The revisionist narrative is spread by people who were problematic members on GAF enjoying free reign on Era.

I have some criticisms of GAF, particularly with mods being too hands-off towards racism, for example. It's not necessarily the absolutely hate-filled racism you see on Era whenever a black man doesn't know his place, but it creates an unwelcome atmosphere, I think.

And I think that just as Era has a US politics problem, GAF has one, too. Some of the election stuff is pretty cringe. Obsessing over American politics and assuming everyone is American has a really negative impact on communities. But on Era, there's a class of user that never viewed Era as a videogame forum. These people are genuinely shocked that Era's pretense of being an open, inclusive, respectful website to talk about videogames attracted people who actually believed the sign on the door, and spent their time being good members and keeping their (usually completely banal) politics to themselves. On GAF, people are here to talk about videogames first and foremost. That is the glue that holds the community together.

Sites like Era and GAF are vulnerable to poisonous people worming their way into the power structure, and creating a site culture where nobody except them is welcome. We often hear about how Nazis can really shit up a board, and that's true. But in an age of political polarization, poisonous people determined to expel everyone they don't like and create a utopia can came from any angle. The total lack of self awareness of this is something that has slowly strangled Era from the inside. They're incapable of having a "are we the baddies" moment because us = goodness and light , them = Satan. And by banning literally everyone who resembles "them" on sight, you create a culture of increasingly out of touch political zealots. When Era first started, I recall genuine threads about religion. But over time, pretty much all the sincerely religious members were expelled. So now all the religion threads on Era are Fedora Shrek cringe.

The big difference between GAF and Era is that people can be the change they want to see. Era is designed to prevent positive change. Anyone who attempts to foster an inclusive atmosphere or stand up against bullying will get permanently banned. The moment Era started banning people for voting wrong on a global scale was the moment the mask fell off. That was one of the things that started destroying GAF 1.0 towards the end. People were getting banned because rogue mods didn't like their politics or simply for disagreeing with said mods on the most banal nonsense. So I was really disappointed to see that return on Era.

So yea, it's interesting to be back. Ideally, GAF grows into a positive place where people can discuss heavy topics like the politics of Cyberpunk 2077, but aren't getting bullied, aren't getting dogpiled, etc. That includes people I disagree with. You disagree with. Fedora Shrek is welcome as long as they conduct themselves respectfully.

Welcome back.

Nobody gets bullied, and nobody gets dogpiled here. What does happen is that people are sometimes allowed to express views and opinions that others might find unsavoury... but the mods allow other forum members to call those people on their shit. This forum encourages both freedom of speech, and the freedom to rips someone's ass to shreds if what they say is bullshit. The only thing that gets you banned is obvious trolling or outright hate.

What this forum frankly doesn't encourage is whining, or snowflakiness. If you're not prepared to stand your ground against people sometimes, then either stay out of the more controversial sub forums or don't post on GAF.

Nothing is a perfect compromise when it comes to online discussion forums. You can't please all of the people all of the time, but so far, Gaf's approach has felt like the best and fairest, which is why i post here.

 

[Martinski43]

Welcome back.

Nobody gets bullied, and nobody gets dogpiled here. What does happen is that people are sometimes allowed to express views and opinions that others might find unsavoury... but the mods allow other forum members to call those people on their shit. This forum encourages both freedom of speech, and the freedom to rips someone's ass to shreds if what they say is bullshit. The only thing that gets you banned is obvious trolling or outright hate.

What this forum frankly doesn't encourage is whining, or snowflakiness. If you're not prepared to stand your ground against people sometimes, then either stay out of the more controversial sub forums or don't post on GAF.

Nothing is a perfect compromise when it comes to online discussion forums. You can't please all of the people all of the time, but so far, Gaf's approach has felt like the best and fairest, which is why i post here.

Tbh all you gotta do here is to watch out for Cunth like i said before.

 

[Stiflers Mom]

Welcome back.

Nobody gets bullied, and nobody gets dogpiled here. What does happen is that people are sometimes allowed to express views and opinions that others might find unsavoury... but the mods allow other forum members to call those people on their shit. This forum encourages both freedom of speech, and the freedom to rips someone's ass to shreds if what they say is bullshit. The only thing that gets you banned is obvious trolling or outright hate.

What this forum frankly doesn't encourage is whining, or snowflakiness. If you're not prepared to stand your ground against people sometimes, then either stay out of the more controversial sub forums or don't post on GAF.

Amen, Brother.

 

[DemWalls]

Yeah genius, CDPR deliberately put it there to fuck with epileptic people.

I mean, if there's one thing I learned over the past few months, is that "CD Projekt" is probably some weird Polish code for "Fourth Reich".

 

[FunkMiller]

Tbh all you gotta do here is to watch out for Cunth like i said before.

Wise, wise words. I have a sneaking suspicion he might be from South Australia, and they're all weirdos from there.

 

[wolfmat]

The only thing that gets you banned is obvious trolling

I got a warning when I did it, so I guess there's some wiggle room with mod messages like "tone down the low-effort trolling".

 

[smileBrandon]

covfefe

 

[Charles Brandon]

In all this, what the hell happened to the black people on Era? There seems to be a distinct lack of the obvious black voices that used to be everywhere. I can't even find the BCT. Does it still exist?

 

[600Breezy]

Lmao the hysteria is unbelievable

next thing you know, CP2077 has given them herpes and murdered the neighbours dog

 

[nush]

In all this, what the hell happened to the black people on Era? There seems to be a distinct lack of the obvious black voices that used to be everywhere. I can't even find the BCT. Does it still exist?

They moved to another forum and I believe rumor has it the ones that stayed are basically Carltons and an angry midget furry on a power trip.

 

[cromofo]

Queen K says the game has a juvenile veneer

Does it have the exaggerated swagger of a black teenager tho

 

[Martinski43]

Lmao the hysteria is unbelievable

next thing you know, CP2077 has given them herpes and murdered the neighbours dog

Yeah totally man, this game will give you a seizure. jfc.
I am pretty sure, if you are epileptic and are prone to seizures, you are damn aware of that.

 

[.hacked]

wtf?

I hardly ever post and get banned as an alt account?

And I am unbanned, brother helped me out. Now I can go back to lurking while on the shitter.

 

[Barry Burton]

Claven you fucking clown

Not gonna lie, I've felt nauseous in the past while reading his posts.

 

[Topher]

Lmao the hysteria is unbelievable

next thing you know, CP2077 has given them herpes and murdered the neighbours dog

Ever since I preloaded the game, I've got this horrible rash.....you know where. Just sayin...

 

[CharmingCharlie]

Yeah totally man, this game will give you a seizure. jfc.
I am pretty sure, if you are epileptic and are prone to seizures, you are damn aware of that.

Pretty much this. The game cannot GIVE you epilepsy anyone with half a fucking braincell knows this. However ANY game can trigger a seizure in those that already have epilepsy (you know that is why EVERY DAMN GAME has a warning somewhere on the packaging). This is a huge nothing burger that the drama queens are trying to push cos "CD Projekt RED are the evils man the evils".

 

[Master of Disguise]

Nobody gets bullied, and nobody gets dogpiled here. What does happen is that people are sometimes allowed to express views and opinions that others might find unsavoury... but the mods allow other forum members to call those people on their bullshit. This forum encourages both freedom of speech, and the freedom to rips someone's ass to shreds if what they say is bullshit.

Never say never. My point was that I hope GAF grows positively over time, and doesn't slip as numbers increase, staff turns over, etc. Era had a catastrophic shift in moderation in 2018. In mid 2018, bans skyrocketed after founding members quit, new mods were promoted, etc. It happened in the space of a few weeks. You could argue the site was just showing its true face, but I think any site can go sour quite quickly under the right circumstances if the wrong people get into power positions.

Something that stood out to me about Era as 2018 led into 2019 and beyond was that a lot of aggressive, spiteful users didn't have an actual argument to give. They didn't join Era to defend their self-righteous opinions, after all. What they had instead was a report button, "yikes", and a moderation team who didn't care about the ToS. As far as I know, people on modern GAF get banned for breaking rules. And there's transparency there. I think there's a public ban list somewhere? I know there's always murky ground around "trolling" bans. But at least you can discuss bans on here. On Era, questioning a ban is grounds for banning. That destroys all pretense of transparency, openness, and honest from the community. A community is held together with rules that are enforced consistently and fairly.

Something that is clearly tearing Era apart is this obsession with seeing trolls under every bed. I've seen collections of bans where users who've been reasonably active since 2018 or even earlier are being slammed with trolling permabans not for breaking any rule but because the mods think they might be secretly working to subvert the site with their friendly personalities, aversion to conflict, and positive outlook on life. The genuine, friendly users are being banned while genuine trolls are right there in plain sight, enjoying the protection of the mods. I've seen nothing like that on GAF. And that's one reason I've finally decided to rejoin. I'm very optimistic, and I hope to be an exemplary member. If I'm not, I hope people call me out. Like you say, that's what GAF tries to stand for.

 

[Kingdok]

In all this, what the hell happened to the black people on Era? There seems to be a distinct lack of the obvious black voices that used to be everywhere. I can't even find the BCT. Does it still exist?

They slowly got banned and now there are very few remaining, most post on EtcetEra more than GamingEra as well

 

[Kev Kev]

I've seen nothing like that on GAF. And that's one reason I've finally decided to rejoin. I'm very optimistic, and I hope to be an exemplary member. If I'm not, I hope people call me out. Like you say, that's what GAF tries to stand for.

i hear ya. EL has said many times hes taking a more hands on approach now and wont let all that happen. and dont worry so much about what kind of member you are. there are no vips or prominent members here. just be cool and post whatever is on your mind as long as it isnt racist or foot fettish stuff (lol). were just here to have fun man.

 

[CharmingCharlie]

They slowly got banned and now there are very few remaining, most post on EtcetEra more than GamingEra as well

Really it is their own fault what they should have done is start wearing dresses. I mean can you imagine the power they would have had at Resetera ............. black transgender we are talking GOKU levels of power over the mods there.

 

[Balducci30]

I was a member of old-GAF who got banned when the mods started going absolutely insane towards the end. I think I got banned in mid-2017? Can't recall. I joined Era hoping that it would be better than late-stage-GAF, and to be fair it was for a while. But after mid-2018 it started degrading rapidly and never stopped. There's a revisionist narrative prominent on Era that heavily downplays that a major reason people left GAF over time was disagreements with the site culture and moderation. I was there when GAF was disintegrating. The revisionist narrative is spread by people who were problematic members on GAF enjoying free reign on Era.

I have some criticisms of GAF, particularly with mods being too hands-off towards racism, for example. It's not necessarily the absolutely hate-filled racism you see on Era whenever a black man doesn't know his place, but it creates an unwelcome atmosphere, I think.

And I think that just as Era has a US politics problem, GAF has one, too. Some of the election stuff is pretty cringe. Obsessing over American politics and assuming everyone is American has a really negative impact on communities. But on Era, there's a class of user that never viewed Era as a videogame forum. These people are genuinely shocked that Era's pretense of being an open, inclusive, respectful website to talk about videogames attracted people who actually believed the sign on the door, and spent their time being good members and keeping their (usually completely banal) politics to themselves. On GAF, people are here to talk about videogames first and foremost. That is the glue that holds the community together.

Sites like Era and GAF are vulnerable to poisonous people worming their way into the power structure, and creating a site culture where nobody except them is welcome. We often hear about how Nazis can really shit up a board, and that's true. But in an age of political polarization, poisonous people determined to expel everyone they don't like and create a utopia can came from any angle. The total lack of self awareness of this is something that has slowly strangled Era from the inside. They're incapable of having a "are we the baddies" moment because us = goodness and light , them = Satan. And by banning literally everyone who resembles "them" on sight, you create a culture of increasingly out of touch political zealots. When Era first started, I recall genuine threads about religion. But over time, pretty much all the sincerely religious members were expelled. So now all the religion threads on Era are Fedora Shrek cringe.

The big difference between GAF and Era is that people can be the change they want to see. Era is designed to prevent positive change. Anyone who attempts to foster an inclusive atmosphere or stand up against bullying will get permanently banned. The moment Era started banning people for voting wrong on a global scale was the moment the mask fell off. That was one of the things that started destroying GAF 1.0 towards the end. People were getting banned because rogue mods didn't like their politics or simply for disagreeing with said mods on the most banal nonsense. So I was really disappointed to see that return on Era.

So yea, it's interesting to be back. Ideally, GAF grows into a positive place where people can discuss heavy topics like the politics of Cyberpunk 2077, but aren't getting bullied, aren't getting dogpiled, etc. That includes people I disagree with. You disagree with. Fedora Shrek is welcome as long as they conduct themselves respectfully.

I’m gonna be real here. I do not think I’ve actually visited the political part of this forum - haven’t felt pressured to do so in any way. I am only vaguely aware of its existence. I posted like one or two things on resetera before I asked to be permanently banned when suddenly realizing how dogmatic and serious it took itself. I didn’t say anything offensive there and get backlash, it just was super clear what it was and I don’t want to associate with that in my life.

Maybe it’s my personal preference, maybe it’s just me, but I just feel like the internet is a terrible place to discuss subjects that are actually heavily important to me - we’ve never met, I don’t know you, you don’t know me. We don’t see each other or hear each other speaking or tone of voice. I don’t know your story, you don’t know mine, I dunno - it’s a pretty limited way of communicating, especially on a videogame forum.

The internet is a place where a bunch of people with actual mental conditions that believe they have chips implanted in their brains are able to find each other and convince each other that they are actually the sane ones. This just isn’t real. Like I barely recognize my own friends lives on social media compared to their reality how am I supposed to have any actual accurate approximation of who you really are with the insanely limited information I have.

I dunno it just, taking it too seriously would drive me insane. I got outlets in my life for that shit, people I actually know. The resetera situation was an obvious echo chamber from the word go. This place? Do people say weird inappropriate shit from time to time, sure. I guess? YouTube comments are way worse and I somehow survive seeing those so yeah. I dunno what I’m saying I’m just kinda over this whole narrative of NeoGAF growing into anything it isn’t already. Like it’s fine, it’s been fine. It is a site on the internet that provides an outlet to talk about video games - as long as it is treated with the appropriate amount of importance it’ll continue to be so - I mean what exactly are we expecting to get here?

Maybe I’m insane I actually don’t know anymore I have never posted so much on a forum in my entire life.

 

[Soodanim]

I missed all the Cyberpunk drama and I've been trying to catch up. I've seen dozens of references to the "Pain caused" to trans people, but I don't know exactly what the pain is caused by. I'm not looking to bait the "It's nothing, they're all insane" comments, I'm genuinely curious because it's referred to as this abstract concept and I'm trying to understand the roots of it all. Is it just the pinned thread stuff?