Except they've just endorsed one side of an argument which really doesn't have a plain right or wrong; it's all subjective. As such, they've taken a side and, as this thread is demonstrating, pissed off a lot of other people in the process. It's not like Gama or Leigh killed somebody or did something that is flat-out reprehensible and inexcusable - she expressed an opinion and the publication backed her up by publishing it.
In instances like this, the only way to win is not to play, to act and make decisions as if this entire debate isn't happening at all. Intel's about to get a massive backlash, except instead of people trying their luck to get something pulled, people are now actually going to be mad at them.
I don't particularly see them as taking a side. GG is desperately trying to spin this as them "taking a side", but I don't feel that's particularly accurate or fair. That seems like a group that is about to lose a battle desperately looking for any signs of hope, rational or not. (Personal Note: I think the entire GG thing is stupid. They should be concerned about the recent issues with YT streamers and Shadows of Mordor if they really cared about journalistic ethics. This indie stuff is dumb.)
I mean, to quote Leigh's article directly
"‘Games culture’ is a petri dish of people who know so little about how human social interaction and professional life works that they can concoct online ‘wars’ about social justice or ‘game journalism ethics,’ straight-faced, and cause genuine human consequences. Because of video games. "
If someone at Sports Illustrated had written that statement about the crazed sports fans that frequent talk radio and do really dumb things (see Auburn, tree poisoning)...they would get fired. Because it's unprofessional as hell; even as an opinion piece.
"When you decline to create or to curate a culture in your spaces, you’re responsible for what spawns in the vacuum. That’s what’s been happening to games. "
So, if someone said that about, say, crazed religious extremists. Let's change that to be a little more topical.
"When you decline to create or to curate a culture in your religion, you’re responsible for what spawns in the vacuum. That’s what’s been happening to Islam."
Yeah, gonna bet that doesn't sound so good when you change the group of people from "gamers" to "members of a religion". I feel like if someone wrote that (and I'm sure people have), they would rightfully get destroyed.
I think GG is stupid, but what Intel is doing makes a ton of sense. Everyone wants to talk about how gaming culture needs to grow up. Well, that's true for our entire industry, from developers to writers to critics to fans. We also have to raise the level of our discourse - everywhere.