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[Threi]

great going marn

*facepalm*

 

[enzo_gt]

Shouldn't they like... help themselves find something because they're like... journalists?

No, no, you don't understand. You get lots of page views doing this and making articles based on your own comments sections. That way you can perpetuate the views and keep everything inside the site, without the need to go out into the real world!

It's a big problem with many Gawker media sites too. Hate it when Jalopnik does it.

 

[Gentleman Jack]

Marn is shooting his mouth off in a way that doesn't make him sound very contrite over what happened, or even in a way that he indicates understanding of why the Aris incident was a problem. All I see is a grown man covered in a blanket wondering 'why me?'

 

[USD]

SRK and the organizers of EVO has made their response to the WNF issue:

In my article yesterday I tried to remind people why we do what we do, and mentioned that some day soon we as a community would have to face up to our dark side. Well, it turns out that day is today, because of this piece from Kotaku. Please read their article and watch these excerpts from WNF’s stream last night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=an_dIZQDOGU#at=21

So, just a day after one of the biggest scandals to hit the scene, we have guest commentators from one of our most respected groups poking fun at the whole situation and talking about what NOS girl they would hit. And they’re doing this in the most public way possible, so obviously they think this kind of behavior is acceptable.

Well, it’s not. I know there are a lot of good, decent people in this scene, but unfortunately there are way too many a ignorant children among us, who think it’s ok to poke fun at anything and everything. These people exist in all communities, but in the fighting game scene we hand them a mic, listen to them spew their trash, then blow off their hate-speech as harmless jokes. The reaction online to Kotaku’s story illustrates the split in the community. Some were appalled by the comments on WNF, but many continue to make excuses for what to me is clearly inexcusable.

Shirking Responsibility

The most popular excuse is, “no one gets harassed at our live events” or “we’re nice people in person.” That is true, but it misses the point. First of all, good behavior in one venue doesn’t excuse bad behavior in another. Hate is hate. But beyond that, a live video stream is the worst possible medium for this kind of hateful talk. A few hundred people attended WNF, but over 14,000 tuned in online. Our online presence is the face of the community. It is our recruiting tool. Increasingly it will be come a source of revenue. A strong, positive online presence is critical to the growth of the scene. If anything, we should be more respectful and considerate of others online, rather than treating online communication as secondary to the offline event.

Another excuse is that we’re being unfairly singled out, and that “these few bad apples don’t speak for the community.” These guys don’t speak for all of us? We just let them speak for us on-stream, and many of us want to let them off the hook when someone calls them out! For those of you accusing Kotaku of over-reacting and nit-picking, Kotaku didn’t invent a story here. We gave them the story with this shockingly insensitive reaction to a very serious topic.

So, it’s time to stand up. If we continue to let the worst elements in the scene speak for us or excuse their bad behavior, we deserve whatever criticism we get. It’s everyone’s responsibility: the players, the content producers, the tournament organizers, and the fans. We need to be just as serious about the way we treat each other and how we reach out to others online as we are about the game. This isn’t about killing the hype or white-washing the scene. We can be just as loud, excited and hype without belittling entire classes of people. ”It’s ok, we’re all friends”, and “I’m just joking” aren’t valid excuses.

WNF, SRK, and the Evo 2012 Season

Thankfully, Level | Up is responding to the situation. You can read their full release here.

Last night on Wednesday Night Fights (2/29/2012), remarks were said by community commentators that alluded to recent events involving the Fighting Game Community (FGC) and the sexual harassment controversy that surrounds it. … These remarks do not reflect the views and opinions of Level | Up or our affiliates, partners, and/or sponsors. It is not Level | Up’s intention to make light of sexual harassment nor do we condone it. Level | Up and its staff feel harassment of any form is wrong and that everyone should be treated respectfully.

…

Marn and Christian will not be invited to speak on future Level | Up broadcasts, and are reviewing our selection process for guest commentators. Again, we sincerely apologize if anyone was offended by the remarks said on our recent broadcast.



Neither SRK nor Evo in any way condones the behavior from last night. To make this perfectly clear, we are pulling the Evo seeding points for WNF’s first season in 2012, as well as SRK’s sponsorship of WNF. I personally have a lot of confidence in the Level | Up team to set a new standard for themselves and hope to work with them in the future. For now though, that’s not possible.

We cannot continue to let ignorant, hateful speech slide. The nasty undercurrent in the scene isn’t a joke or a meme. It’s something we need to fix if we expect to continue to grow, but more importantly it’s a moral imperative. I don’t want to be a part of a group where it’s ok to bully or make fun of others, and I hope you don’t either.

 

[Wallach]

SRK has made it's response:

Fixed link: http://shoryuken.com/2012/03/01/hurtful-speech-time-to-take-a-good-look-in-the-mirror/

 

[ThatCrazyGuy]

One good thing came of this, Marn no longer doing commentary!!!

Seriously, dude was wack either or.

 

[Threi]

SRK and the organizers of EVO has made their response to the WNF issue:

To make this perfectly clear, we are pulling the Evo seeding points for WNF’s first season in 2012, as well as SRK’s sponsorship of WNF.

uh-oh.

 

[Lazy vs Crazy]

http://shoryuken.com/2012/03/01/hurtful-speech-time-to-take-a-good-look-in-the-mirror/

Evo pulling seeding points and sponsorship from WNF.

I imagine they must be pulling funding and seeding from Big 2 and every major as well, because the stuff said on those streams is as bad if not worse.

 

[AnkiRendan]

They pulled their sponsorship? Oh crap.

 

[bengraven]

I can understand needing to "play a character" on TV or in competition (say, sports) for that competitive edge.

But Jesus, considering how turned off a huge amount of women are by the misogyny in gaming these days, try and be a good will ambassador for fucks suck. Treat her like one of the guys, but don't bully her extra because she's female.


I'm saying this from a part of me that really really wants my wife to play games, especially multiplayer, but she doesn't want to play with "nerds with female issues who treat me different when I get on the mic".

 

[Lucentto]

This nonsense is just getting ridiculous now.

 

[enzo_gt]

SRK and the organizers of EVO has made their response to the WNF issue:

Big point at the end:

If we're talking worthwhile punishments or repercussions that will resonate inside and outside the community, this is much bigger and understandable than anything suggested for Aris alone.

 

[kiryogi]

The end of FGC is beginning. . .?

 

[QisTopTier]

If we're talking worthwhile punishments or repercussions that will resonate inside and outside the community, this is much bigger and understandable than anything suggested for Aris alone.

This is going to get really really messy.

 

[FallingEdge]

Pulling sponsorship? Talk about going from one end of the spectrum to the other. Just wow.

We are all on agreement that trash talking is perfectly fine, correct?

 

[Gentleman Jack]

Way to ignore everything else he said.

He's streaming live right now saying 'this wasn't a big deal 2-3 years ago when I was saying the exact same thing why is it a big deal now why am I getting thrown under the bus?'

These are not the words of a man with a firm grasp on reality. He has dived right into the sharp embrace of the Stream Monsters for comfort and reassurance that he's not wrong. It's pathetic.

 

[erpg]

I honestly wasn't expecting the changes in my post yesterday to just happen over night. This is what I wanted from inkblot. I think the full sponsorship pull is a bit severe, considering the number of people involved, but...well, maybe it'll speed up the process.

 

[Kamek]

Damn.

It seems like people are really going to watch every little thing they say from now on in the FGC after SRK pulled their sponsorship of WNF. I don't condone misogyny or sexism or racism, but I hope that these events don't take away from the "rawness" of the commentary. Hopefully we can have that realness without the bullshit.

 

[PsychoSoldier]

Quicker to send a public announcement maybe, but it was resolved much sooner than that.

Clearly the aggrieved party didn't consider it resolved given what happened afterwards.

That it was handled in a way where Aris wasn't asked to leave, thus forcing her to have to work with someone who harassed her for several days seems like a questionable decision at best.

 

[QisTopTier]

He's streaming live right now saying 'this wasn't a big deal 2-3 years ago when I was saying the exact same thing why is it a big deal now why am I getting thrown under the bus?'

These are not the words of a man with a firm grasp on reality. He has dived right into the sharp embrace of the Stream Monsters for comfort and reassurance that he's not wrong. It's pathetic.

Actually he was calling Kotaku hypocrites for making a big deal about the kayopolice thing. That's what I ment.

 

[Masaki_]

"Hateful speech"? Really? Talk about an unproportional response. This all went too far, now. The issue was resolved, but Kotaku just couldn't let go. Just two dudes making silly jokes about current events, not aimed at anyone in particular. Now the whole FGC is crucified and the big streams are gonna censor themselves.

 

[Kamek]

That it was handled in a way where Aris wasn't asked to leave, thus forcing her to have to work with someone who harassed her for several days seems like a questionable decision at best.

It was a horrible decision not to do so, and I think the trickle-down would have been a lot less severe if they'd taken a stronger stance in the beginning.

 

[Gentleman Jack]

Damn.

It seems like people are really going to watch every little thing they say from now on in the FGC after SRK pulled their sponsorship of WNF. I don't condone misogyny or sexism or racism, but I hope that these events don't take away from the "rawness" of the commentary. Hopefully we can have that realness without the bullshit.

It will be a test of who can prove Aris wrong that the FGC's love of hype cannot be divorced from sexual harassment. That's why it's a good move.

"Hateful speech"? Really? Talk about an unproportional response. This all went too far, now. The issue was resolved, but Kotaku just couldn't let go. Just two dudes making silly jokes about current events, not aimed at anyone in particular. Now the whole FGC is crucified and the big streams are gonna censor themselves.

That's melodramatic, and blaming Kotaku for this is pure shoot-the-messenger.

 

[jbug617]

"Hateful speech"? Really? Talk about an unproportional response. This all went too far, now. The issue was resolved, but Kotaku just couldn't let go. Just two dudes making silly jokes about current events, not aimed at anyone in particular. Now the whole FGC is crucified and the big streams are gonna censor themselves.

Imagine no more Rush Hour or Yipes and Chris Matrix. It's a damn shame it comes to this.

 

[Infinite Justice]

uh-oh.

Yoooo Daaaaaammmmmnnnn!!!

 

[Kamek]

Now the whole FGC is crucified and the big streams are gonna censor themselves.

This is what I'm most scared of.

Imagine no more Rush Hour or Yipes and Chris Matrix. It's a damn shame it comes to this.

You hate to see this type of thing happen

 

[QisTopTier]

It will be a test of who can prove Aris wrong that the FGC's love of hype cannot be divorced from sexual harassment. That's why it's a good move.

Aris' statement didn't even mean that. -.- The big dumbass just put it in the worst words possible.

 

[Chavelo]

Pulling sponsorship? Talk about going from one end of the spectrum to the other. Just wow.

We are all on agreement that trash talking is perfectly fine, correct?

Is there the chance of someone's feelings getting hurt? There is?

Then squash that shit and take away their (useless) evo points. No bullying around these parts, ya hear?

BAN SPOOKY FROM EVO 2012

 

[K.Sabot]

I hope this spreads to other actual e-sports, the shit you hear on LoL player streams (which have more viewers than most FGC majors) is just as 'raw'.

 

[Lazy vs Crazy]

Really though, if someone swears on Spooky's stream this weekend does that mean Final Round doesn't get evo points, or pot bonuses?

 

[enzo_gt]

"Hateful speech"? Really? Talk about an unproportional response. This all went too far, now. The issue was resolved, but Kotaku just couldn't let go. Just two dudes making silly jokes about current events, not aimed at anyone in particular. Now the whole FGC is crucified and the big streams are gonna censor themselves.

I agree this is all horribly disproportional, but the fact of the matter is that they indeed did joke about it when tensions were already high and should've kept shut if they knew what was best. This is feeding the media what they want to twist and put out there like they did this morning.

Smart people like Justin Wong want no part in it.

 

[FallingEdge]

It will be a test of who can prove Aris wrong that the FGC's love of hype cannot be divorced from sexual harassment. That's why it's a good move.

lol what?

There have been tons of hype generated from the crowd that had nothing to do with sexual harassment and everything to do with trash talking and the overall play of the players.

Have you even been to a tourney?

Is there the chance of someone's feeling getting hurt? There is?

Then squash that shit and take away their (useless) evo points. No bullying around these parts, ya hear?

BAN SPOOKY FROM EVO 2012

;_;

 

[daegan]

"Hateful speech"? Really?

Yes, misogynistic speech is hate speech. I don't understand why this is so hard for so many people to grasp.

 

[SarcasticD]

Imagine no more Rush Hour or Yipes and Chris Matrix. It's a damn shame it comes to this.

If it comes down to them having to kill their own entertainment, FUCK.THIS.SHIT!

 

[erpg]

Really though, if someone swears on Spooky's stream this weekend does that mean Final Round doesn't get evo points, or pot bonuses?

Swearing? No.

 

[sleepykyo]

Imagine no more Rush Hour or Yipes and Chris Matrix. It's a damn shame it comes to this.

Yipes seems capable of commentating without stepping on toes. The sisters thing with Chris Hu should probably be put on the shelf for a couple of months at least.

 

[Busaiku]

The end of FGC is beginning. . .?

Probably not, but I doubt streams for anything but the biggest majors will be anywhere near as popular/fun.

 

[Makoto]

lol what?

There have been tons of hype generated from the crowd that had nothing to do with sexual harassment and everything to do with trash talking and the overall play of the players.

Have you even been to a tourney?



;_;

Tell this to the people overreacting and getting worried that somehow hype will be diminished by lack of "raw" commentary.

 

[enzo_gt]

Am I gonna get banned from GAF for laughing at the 16 is barely okay thing?

 

[Azure J]

uh-oh.

Holy shit, this is getting straight up crazy now.

 

[marathonfool]

The end of FGC is beginning. . .?

It won't end because jackasses don't get to go on the mic. It'll end because of the jackasses. How long do you think haunts and spooky can do all this streaming and broadcasting if they can't make a decent living? I imagine it takes lots of work and hours to go to tournaments and do it on a volunteer basis.

I applaud levelup, haunts, and spooky for all the work and effort they put in to help market, highlight, and basically make the FGC visible. I think it sucks a few bad apples have stained the output of their work.

 

[Masaki_]

Damn.

It seems like people are really going to watch every little thing they say from now on in the FGC after SRK pulled their sponsorship of WNF. I don't condone misogyny or sexism or racism, but I hope that these events don't take away from the "rawness" of the commentary. Hopefully we can have that realness without the bullshit.

Unfortunately, if some random game "journalist" who's a complete outsider to the scene decides something in the commentary is offensive to him, you won't see it anymore. How long until they ban sidebets, I wonder.

Just to clarify, I don't condone sexual harassment, but like I said, that issue was resolved all within the community. They didn't need Kotaku or Penny Arcade to give their sensationalist take on the matter in order to do something. And now they'll forever have to give answers to the mainstream internet media.

They will lose the rawness, you can be sure of that.

 

[K.Sabot]

Am I gonna get banned from GAF for laughing at the 16 is barely okay thing?

Yes.

Also "he rook rike monkey".

 

[QisTopTier]

Am I gonna get banned from GAF for laughing at the 16 is barely okay thing?

I don't know, I don't think anyone was banned for posting pictures of miranda's thighs and sherry shaking her ass for the camera

 

[Busaiku]

I imagine it takes lots of work and hours to go to tournaments and do it on a volunteer basis.

Pretty sure they get paid.

 

[ThatCrazyGuy]

Again, Marn ruins everything.

Where's that Marn go home pic.

 

[FartOfWar]

... Let me say something coherent and then shove a couple fuck yous in there. Ignore them though, even though they're the problem I'm being attacked for.

Hahahaha! Brutal logic.

 

[TheChits]

Wow. As someone said earlier, this is gonna get messy.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

Tell this to the people overreacting and getting worried that somehow hype will be diminished by lack of "raw" commentary.

Stream commentary is soooo important, man.

All I really care about is pulling more people into attending real life events. I enjoy a lot of stream antics as much as the next guy, but if that has to be pushed aside then whatever.

 

[Gentleman Jack]

lol what?

There have been tons of hype generated from the crowd that had nothing to do with sexual harassment and everything to do with trash talking and the overall play of the players.

Have you even been to a tourney?

Just so I'm not misunderstood:

This is a community that’s, you know, 15 or 20-years-old and the sexual harassment is part of a culture, and if you remove that from the fighting game community, it’s not the fighting game community.

By an opportunity to prove him wrong, I don't mean to say that the community is wrong or that Aris represent it by himself. SRK's sponsorship pull symbolizes real action to put that best face forward that's not being shown by the oft-villified media.