Shadowstalker16: Plainly and simply, many people understand the principle of ''don't feed the troll'' and didn't reply or care about random alts coming in and trying to start a flamewar,
Vainamoinen: You know it's a fantasy that those were "random alts". I'm trying very hard to not name names, but I shouldn't even have to, because you know these names, you do, at least a fat dozen. Those were the regular frequenters, those were what kept the thread alive, and many only came to the GOG forum for that thing. If we're establishing as fact that what I just quoted was hate speech (if you want 1,000 more examples, sure), then you were quoting, answering to, building on and therewith normalizing that hate speech yourself. Whatever fantastically selective blinders you think people wore on that thread day by day, you can't have worn those yourself.
Shadowstalker16: You're attaching motives and malice to the posters of a thread who barely have anything in common outside of it.
Vainamoinen: I am attaching malicious intent to shockingly and routinely malicious posts; and I am insinuating that those who reply to exactly those posts as if they were the most reasonable thing in the world purposefully further the malicous cause and an atmosphere of hate.
I am of the opinion that people specifically came to the gamergate thread as a release valve to their hate. The "outbursts" or "posts without thinking" were therefore not the exception but the rule.
I furthermore, as a matter of opinion, lament the lack of clear cut opposition to the hateful posts, because yes of course if such crap stands undisputed, the impression absolutely everyone gets is that the opinion is universal. Where was that opposition when e.g. [redacted01] went on a pages long objectively unhinged and dangerously violent hate tirade against Alison Rapp? When I finally stepped in and brought a few facts along (and [redacted01] even eventually had to
identify with the position he'd formerly called pedophilia a dozen times), you couldn't be quick enough with the downvotes.
And you know that it will be exactly like that with the next person that gamergate paints a target on her back. So, no, I don't think that GOG can allow such a thread to exist on its forums.
Shadowstalker16: The GG thread was no worse than the many others that still dot the forum, and in many cases much better if you count the ones about ''cannibal refugee scum'' and that guy posting neo nazi cartoons or the infowars thread (somehow universally hated yet reached so many pages and retained so many people for over a month or two).
Vainamoinen: We may not disagree that shutting down some individual members for abject and hateful ideologies (or "opinions", eh? :) ) is sorely in order. We may not disagree that shutting down the infowars thread should have happened long ago (would you at least agree that this infowars thread "channels alt-right propaganda"? Because that is exactly and exclusively what it's meant to do). But we do not agree that the gamergate news thread was "no worse" than the infowars thread. In a sense, before [redacted02], who brought you a never ending and unchallenged stream of Breitbart/reaxxion/Aurini/Corbett Report/etc. link infodumps, finally left, those threads
were identical. And even last month, the outrage continuously veered outside the gaming sphere while using hateful language
that I haven't yet seen from the infowars guy.
Technically, it
was the containment thread that you wished for, and as you yourself have deduced, that in no way curtailed the spreading of the shit.
I understand your hate for others' hate and all, but please stop acting like I'm obligated to clean up after other people on the forum. I'm not and I won't be shamed for not doing so because you attribute the benefit of the doubt as rationally as Alex Jones.
I understand what you're referring to, and I know that that was far from civil. But having actually read most of the pages after I started posting in that thread, I can say that such posts were not the rule and were exceptions. There is no question that mentioned (and probably un-mentioned other) posts were misinformed and not based in fact. As to how much ''harm'' they caused, I'd doubt anyone on this forum is qualified enough in the science behind verbal weaponry to tell.
I'm not saying anyone could not have had bad intentions or malice when posting certain posts, but I question the malice they may have had to what you equate them to having now. The thread was lacking in opposition, without question, and addressing that to me as a complaint is only as rational as me complaining about that to you.
You should understand by now that I'm not disagreeing with many things you're saying, and that is true. I don't disagree that misinformed posts were in that thread (shocker; compared to the rest of the forum) and I agree that it wasn't smooth sailing maybe even 50% of the time. What I'm saying is that there were peaceful days and weeks where good talk did happen and there were purposes it fulfilled which no other thread did and still don't.
Re ; ''And you know that it will be exactly like that with the next person that gamergate paints a target on her back. So, no, I don't think that GOG can allow such a thread to exist on its forums.''
I don't even know what you were smoking when you wrote this. I understand you referring to the posts you described as misinformed and that they truly were, but if you actually think they were going to do some kind of tangible harm, or that this kind of talk is somehow abnormal or illegal, you need to get in touch with reality. Are fanfics of celebrities also ''harmful'' then? What about all the strange art that accumulates around them? I understand not wanting such posts to be posted, but to use them as some justification to scare people into seeing the poster as some deranged maniac is retarded. It simply is. Please recognize this abject stupidity and try to remedy it.
I agree with shutting people down if they violate the forum rules, you have the right to disperse protestors of whatever cause from your property. Shut them down in real life for wrong opinions? No. Again, the forums rules. If it appeared to be spam of content, ie exploting the forum. IRL AJ has a right to publish what he wishes with help from whoever will; while being called any name under the sun that is there for *retardedly incompetent* in other publications.
As to the spam of links, it really depends on how much damage you attribute to them.
Finally, if you think its the GG side that is in any way more habitual in committing the sins you complain of, then you're sadly mistaken. What you're complaining about is internet toxicity in general and there are MUCH bigger sources of that than this thread, gamergate or whatever group of deemed undesirables the media decides to throw under the bus this week.
