Since Polygon launched in 2012, we've worked hard — thanks to the efforts of our tireless moderation team — to engender a safe space for our readers, writers and contributors. We have zero tolerance for racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia ... any type of harassment or trolling on our site, which is laid out in our written community guidelines. While we've addressed aspects of the harassment that exists around it, we've been silent on GamerGate specifically. That ends today.
Video games are changing, and it's incredible! New technology, new devices, new marketplaces, new players — this is all transforming the entire world of video gaming under our collective feet. It's growing bigger. It's becoming more inclusive. This is a win-win scenario. Did you love The Last of Us? I don't think we'd have seen a character like Ellie just five years ago. What about The Walking Dead, a game with an African-American lead and a nuanced view of race?
Video games are capital "C" Culture now. There won't be less attention, only more. There won't be less scrutiny. There certainly won't be less diversity, in the fiction of games themselves or in the demographics of their players. What we're in control of is how we respond to that expansion, as journalists, as developers, as consumers. Step one has to be a complete rejection of the tools of harassment and fear — we can't even begin to talk about the interesting stuff while people are literally scared for their lives. There can be no dialogue with a leaderless organization that both condemns and condones this behavior, depending on who's using the hashtag.