Support NeoGAF

[mattiewheels]

Cancelled my pledge. I supported it the way it was sold but happy to read this thread to see how dodgy this really is.

If you're still here, did you pledge after the $800 came in?

 

[akira28]

Because he made several million in profit doing it before, and could probably do it again if he wanted to?

I'm just saying that with his resources he could easily fund that game himself, and make a tidy profit on Steam. He will probably make less money doing it this way than if he had done it himself. But there's less risk here, obviously.

Yah, risk/reward. I'm just saying, you wouldn't catch me doing something like that if all i had were a few million. I'd need megabucks before I felt safe making that kind of gamble.

 

[News Bot]

Jane McGonigal can't be that ignorant, can she?

 

[moka]

Jane McGonigal can't be that ignorant, can she?

Well, I dunno. She seems to have a very loyal following, a highly regarded, best-selling book and actually seems like a decent person, judging by her older tweets (which don't seem to be loading anymore).

I don't know man.

 

[ido]

Reading McGonigal's tweets is disheartening.

She wrongly assumed this KS was legit, and then gives her opinion on twitter. Once she is shown why she is wrong, she either ignores it or attacks the person who is trying to enlighten her.

I really wish people would see that this backlash has absolutely nothing to do with gender. The only person who has ever made gender an issue is Susan Wilson.

I kind of think some people refuse to join the side of reason because they are embarrassed that they were duped in the first place. Much like when someone spams facebook with an annoying fake story, and someone else gives them a snopes link proving that it is wrong, and the original poster gets weirdly upset.

 

[Doczu]

The only thing that comes to my mind when i still see this kickstarter is "Can't touch this".

 

[LukeTim]

Well, I dunno. She seems to have a very loyal following, a highly regarded, best-selling book and actually seems like a decent person, judging by her older tweets (which don't seem to be loading anymore).

I don't know man.

Well, even smart people can say stupid shit sometimes. I've seen it happen plenty of times before.

She also thinks that because people have uncovered so much information about Susan Wilson it must be a co-ordinated attack... so apparently she has never heard of Google.

 

[YouEnjoyMySelf]

So it doesn't look like it's going to be taken down, which is seriously unbelievable. How these gaming blogs/"journalists" are defending it is also beyond me. This Susan Wilson woman seems like scum.

What the fuck is wrong with people?

 

[Doczu]

So it doesn't look like it's going to be taken down, which is seriously unbelievable. How these gaming blogs/"journalists" are defending it is also beyond me. This Susan Wilson woman seems like scum.

What the fuck is wrong with people?

I told you homeboy, can't touch this.

 

[inky]

So she is a professional scammer that abuses gender issues on top of her children to get sympathy and support.

Unsurprising really, but Jesus. That women who are creating awareness for such issues legitimately don't see her for the fraud that she is is totally disheartening. =/

 

[Apath]

How the fuck is this misogyny? The response would be the same if it was a father running the campaign? The mother is a total sociopath.

What is with people calling rich assholes sociopaths? She's blatantly not a sociopath -- just an asshole.

 

[kuroshiki]

So it doesn't look like it's going to be taken down, which is seriously unbelievable. How these gaming blogs/"journalists" are defending it is also beyond me. This Susan Wilson woman seems like scum.

What the fuck is wrong with people?

Kickstarter is not a benevolent god send organization like people used to believe? They are for money man, like everything else.

All hail our bright cloud sourcing future.

 

[LukeTim]

What is with people calling rich assholes sociopaths? She's blatantly not a sociopath -- just an asshole.

Whilst it's not completely evident that this particular lady is a sociopath, many rich capitalists are known to exhibit sociopathic tendencies.

Capitalism promotes sociopathy, since its sole purpose is the procurement of capital regardless of any human/social issues or impact.

 

[Azih]

Kickstarter is not a benevolent god send organization like people used to believe? They are for money man, like everything else.

All hail our bright cloud sourcing future.

Why shouldn't kickstarter get a cut of that bullied bus lady type viral charity money? That's good business!

 

[SolidSnakex]

Reading McGonigal's tweets is disheartening.

She wrongly assumed this KS was legit, and then gives her opinion on twitter. Once she is shown why she is wrong, she either ignores it or attacks the person who is trying to enlighten her.

She mentions this in another tweet

@csoandy the giveaway in that article was the slur against Anita's kickstarter project, it is the dog whistle for sexist attacks.

This is the only mention of Anita's project

He even is so kind as to link to Sarkeesian in the article so you don't forget how great it feels to stick it to the patriarchy by tossing money at things people know almost nothing about.

 

[Zoe]

Just reported it. Would have reported it yesterday, but I thought it would have been taken down by now :\

 

[YouEnjoyMySelf]

Kickstarter is not a benevolent god send organization like people used to believe? They are for money man, like everything else.

All hail our bright cloud sourcing future.

I'm talking more about the "feminism/media" crowd and all these people giving their opinion on twitter. How are they so stupid?

I've never endorsed and would never use kickstarter. They are obviously in it for their cut.

 

[ido]

She mentions this in another tweet


This is the only mention of Anita's project

Like I said, it's just really disheartening. It must be embarrassing to have to admit that you were duped into believing this to be a legit KS, but shit.

It's been a couple of days now, and this is still going. I predict nothing but silence from Kickstarter.

 

[clear31]

I wonder if she'll use any of those leftover capes as rewards

 

[Apath]

Whilst it's not completely evident that this particular lady is a sociopath, many rich capitalists are known to exhibit sociopathic tendencies.

Capitalism promotes sociopathy, since its sole purpose is the procurement of capital regardless of any human/social issues or impact.

Being a sociopath is a multitude of characteristics. It is ridiculous how every greedy rich person is called a sociopath. The word starts to lose meaning.

This is a sociopath:

This is not:

 

[Byakuya769]

I don't see the problem here. Her daughter is learning a valuable lesson: how to be rich and become richer by fleecing the unassuming and gullible masses.

 

[-COOLIO-]

Cancelled my pledge. I supported it the way it was sold but happy to read this thread to see how dodgy this really is.

how did you see it before?

 

[Takao]

I just noticed three people donated $500.

why would you burn money like that

 

[semiconscious]

Whilst it's not completely evident that this particular lady is a sociopath, many rich capitalists are known to exhibit sociopathic tendencies.

Capitalism promotes sociopathy, since its sole purpose is the procurement of capital regardless of any human/social issues or impact.

people who see other people as simply resources to be exploited by whatever means possible. which very obviously's what this woman's all about...

Being a sociopath is a multitude of characteristics. It is ridiculous how every greedy rich person is called a sociopath. The word starts to lose meaning...

see above. it's all about the 'whatever means possible' part (that is, with any & all moral considerations not included)...

 

[Dave Meltzer]

Why are feminists so sensitive, come on now.

 

[semiconscious]

Why are feminists so sensitive...

why the generalizations? ...

 

[DocSeuss]

She mentions this in another tweet



This is the only mention of Anita's project

It's because people still believe you hate women if you think Anita Sarkeesian is doing women a disservice.

 

[Drake]

I just noticed three people donated $500.

why would you burn money like that

Who would donate any money to this to begin with?

 

[LukeTim]

Being a sociopath is a multitude of characteristics. It is ridiculous how every greedy rich person is called a sociopath. The word starts to lose meaning.

This is a sociopath:

This is not:

It is in fact ridiculous that whenever the word sociopath or psychopath is used, so many people think solely of murderers and rapists.

Psychopathy and sociopathy do not simply lead to violent crime. They are characterised by a complete lack of empathy and higher than usual activity in the brain's reward pathways; meaning a person with this problem often gets a huge high off one certain thing, that thing might be violence, it might be making money, but it always means that it is done without regard for the feelings of those around them.

It is not difficult to see how modern business rewards this kind of behaviour, since in business making as much money as possible is the only goal.

 

[Alucrid]

i fail to see how anyone could think this kickstarter could actually help get women into stem or even help this 'girl' get into stem. she's fucking nine.

 

[polyh3dron]

Having said her involvement in this is disappointing, she doesn't deserve any kind of vitriol like she just retweeted. Unfortunately that's how the internet seems to work. I think she's essentially "got it wrong" on why people are against this KS, but assholes attacking her are only going to reinforce her position and the same old cycle will repeat itself. One reason why this sexism debate never seems to get anywhere, or only makes forward motion at a snail's pace, is down to people positioning themselves awkwardly like this. They call out some perceived sexism and instantly label everyone on that "side" as misogynists, without fully understanding or caring to understand what's actually going on. The more attacks the person gets, the more staunchly they stick to their position, and the less likely they are to actually engage with valid criticism. In fact, valid criticism or attempts to discuss are thrown in with the vitriol spewers, AKA the "misogynists".

Yep this is exactly what happened with the Tropes KS and I wouldn't be surprised if the millionaire mom here took some cues from that.

I've backed a good deal of projects through KS, but if this goes through I am done with it.

 

[MBison]

i fail to see how anyone could think this kickstarter could actually help get women into stem or even help this 'girl' get into stem. she's fucking nine.

As I've said several times in this thread, there's zero proof that a nine year old is involved at all. Everyone is simply taking Susan's word for it.

 

[HolyBaikal]

This is nothing like the Anita Sarkeesian Kickstarter.

 

[MBison]

If this was my project, I would be attempting to address the concerns about authenticity. I'd have a Googlr Hangouts or similar Q and A session with the 9 year old to answer her love for video games, why Dragon Age 2 is her favorite game despite being the exact opposite of what she wants to make and not only being rated M, etc. it would instantly dispel any ill will about this.

It's telling that it isn't happening.

 

[faceless007]

Ugh, this should not be an issue of misogyny or how women are treated in tech, but now that the MRAs and Internet trolls have gotten hold of it they're doing their usual thing. I feel dirty being even remotely aligned with them.

 

[DocSeuss]

This is nothing like the Anita Sarkeesian Kickstarter.

But it is trying very hard to garner the same white knight response.

 

[udivision]

This is nothing like the Anita Sarkeesian Kickstarter.

The only connection is that people like an underdog, but in this case it was deliberately taken advantage of.

 

[Gully State]

It must really suck being this woman's son if she's so willing to throw them under the bus like that. I've reported this KS but I doubt they'll do anything at this point. I really liked the concept of KS and actually crowd funding legit projects, but shit like this is disheartening.

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

It must really suck being this woman's son if she's so willing to throw them under the bus like that.

Yes I'm sure their lives are terrible.

Spoiler

Spoiler: They're in on it, and they're more privileged than most of us ever will be!

 

[Charoncaori]

Her spoiled rotten kids are going to grow up to be miserable human beings, just like her. This is pathetic.

 

[Stet]

But it is trying very hard to garner the same white knight response.

Yeah, which is why it's so exploitative. It's depressing too, because in a lot of peoples' eyes they will be lumped into the same category.

I tweeted at Jane McGonigal as well, incidentally, because I actually wanted to discuss this after her remarks, maybe even get her to sign up here so she can see that the rampant misogynists who threaten rape aren't necessarily indicative of male gamers.

But she never responded, so oh well.

 

[Brak]

I don't know why this is making me so angry. I mean, I'm fully aware that people get ripped off all the time, especially by pseudo-charity scams. I'm also fully aware that there are a bunch of greedy rich motherfuckers who will do anything to make a buck. If I heard a story on my local news about someone who scammed $20,000 from people by claiming they had cancer or something, I would be disgusted by that, but I probably wouldn't think about it for more than a minute. I have been thinking about this stupid kickstarter for like 24 hours now.

Ultimately, I think my anger is a reaction to her perverting a site that seems to hold so much potential. I can't abide this scam sitting next to valuable works. The fact that it hits so many buttons too. Throwing her sons under the bus, exploiting her daughter, invoking misogyny preemptively (or at all), spamming twitter, her history of shady deals, and the fact that she's a millionaire asking for a handout for some trivial bullshit.

Despite how much I adore the potential of kickstarter, and the fully legitimate projects that I have funded and will wish to fund in the future, I am tempted to boycott kickstarter if this scam is not shut down. It feels like cutting off my nose to spite my face, but I don't know how else to remedy this feeling.

 

[chifanpoe]

I don't know why this is making me so angry. I mean, I'm fully aware that people get ripped off all the time, especially by pseudo-charity scams. I'm also fully aware that there are a bunch of greedy rich motherfuckers who will do anything to make a buck. If I heard a story on my local news about someone who scammed $20,000 from people by claiming they had cancer or something, I would be disgusted by that, but I probably wouldn't think about it for more than a minute. I have been thinking about this stupid kickstarter for like 24 hours now.

Ultimately, I think my anger is a reaction to her perverting a site that seems to hold so much potential. I can't abide this scam sitting next to valuable works. The fact that it hits so many buttons too. Throwing her sons under the bus, exploiting her daughter, invoking misogyny preemptively (or at all), spamming twitter, her history of shady deals, and the fact that she's a millionaire asking for a handout for some trivial bullshit.

Despite how much I adore the potential of kickstarter, and the fully legitimate projects that I have funded and will wish to fund in the future, I am tempted to boycott kickstarter if this scam is not shut down. It feels like cutting off my nose to spite my face, but I don't know how else to remedy this feeling.

I hear you and feel the same way. This is going to give Kickstarter a black eye and loose future support by a lot of folks around here.

 

[clear31]

Am I the only one annoyed at the picture of her kids ???

Well we dont even know if they are her kids but they do look annoying

 

[polyh3dron]

But it is trying very hard to garner the same white knight response.

This. And the false accusations of misogyny placed on anyone who questions the campaign's validity.

 

[Gully State]

Apparently there's quite a few comments on the KS page saying that KS has officially supported it. When and where did KS come out and say that this is a valid project?

 

[empressdonna]

I'm surprised this is still up. Honestly, this 'scam' is the same as sending someone a spam e-mail asking for money for their cause (in this case, their little girl). It's basically a 'legal' scam.

I hope it gets taken down but I'm not holding out hope for it. I also hate that the usual crap has happened. Minority throws hate, the ones getting 'hated' on use that to dismiss everything, etc.

Happens all the time and it's disgusting for everyone involved :/

 

[Takao]

Apparently there's quite a few comments on the KS page saying that KS has officially supported it. When and where did KS come out and say that this is a valid project?

Kickstarter has a screening process before a campaign can go public. This campaign is public, so it got their seal of approval.

 

[bernardobri]

Kickstarter has a screening process before a campaign can go public. This campaign is public, so it got their seal of approval.

The report button is there for a reason, you know.

 

[Stuart444]

I hope it gets taken down but I'm not holding out hope for it. I also hate that the usual crap has happened. Minority throws hate, the ones getting 'hated' on use that to dismiss everything, etc.

Happens all the time and it's disgusting for everyone involved :/

This is more or less what I wanted to say. It's absolutely disgusting and you see it all the time on here whenever something happens that goes public. (I won't name any examples but I'm sure most know what I'm talking about).

Eh, in any case I'm hoping KS does the right thing here and sends a message to anyone else hoping to 'scam' people like this on KS.

Kickstarter has a screening process before a campaign can go public. This campaign is public, so it got their seal of approval.

Oh :/ well that sucks. Still hope they will realize their mistake but it's doubtful that they will.