Mass Effect
Member
not even close to being a gaming-exclusive problem
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I'm becoming disenchanted with the larger internet gaming community
- Thread starter Dance Inferno
- Start date
- Status
not even close to being a gaming-exclusive problem
YoYo Switch
Banned
Well if you let petty non video game related drama bother you I see why
Video game discussion has just gone so far off from discussing actual video games and is just rumor mongering and controversy now.
You should start thinking about why you game. Pick up a great game and get lost in it. I suggest Resident Evil 6
Video game discussion has just gone so far off from discussing actual video games and is just rumor mongering and controversy now.
You should start thinking about why you game. Pick up a great game and get lost in it. I suggest Resident Evil 6
People will be people.
We won't change.
There are all kinds of us.
If you don't like certain people, well... get away from those.
Unfollow, Unfriend, Unthread?
Whatever you want, you are free to join and leave groups as you wish.
Every community has good and bad people, that's how society works.
Too many points of view and too many ways to think.
There is no point in telling some people to stop because they won't.
Just leave them be and join a different group that is more aligned with you.
If laws or rules allow it, your group will be able to lead if the majority agrees.
tl'dr: Pointless thread.
We won't change.
There are all kinds of us.
If you don't like certain people, well... get away from those.
Unfollow, Unfriend, Unthread?
Whatever you want, you are free to join and leave groups as you wish.
Every community has good and bad people, that's how society works.
Too many points of view and too many ways to think.
There is no point in telling some people to stop because they won't.
Just leave them be and join a different group that is more aligned with you.
If laws or rules allow it, your group will be able to lead if the majority agrees.
tl'dr: Pointless thread.
The majority of the online gaming community is vile, though. Even a not-insignificant percentage of GAF, SomethingAwful, and Penny Arcade (3 forums off the top of my head I can think of as generally having a good reputation) believe in GG shit. And then the dozens of other forums out there are full of it or an equally fucked up attitude. I don't think you can say the same for film communities or other groups.
When it seems like the majority of people playing the same hobby as you are just awful fuckers, I completely understand being resentful of the hobby.
NinjaCoachZ
Member
But do you not think that this minority is a problem? I should hope that we're all able to separate ourselves from them. But just turning a blind eye to the fact that this stuff is going on and is having actual effects on actual, fellow members of the community, is what allows this kind of thing to keep happening.
stufte
Member
Yep.
mikefrails
Banned
If you think GAF is excempt then go to any given "social rights in gaming" thread.
chaobreaker
Member
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
I'm kind of torn here. If this is not open to discussion at all, then please just let me know and I'll edit it out, but I'm not comfortable with this really stark crackdown about any commentary on the latest speculation about Rapp's moonlighting profession. The air in this thread is kind of off-putting, honestly.
In some of the previous threads, when no evidence was available, plenty of people posted about hypothetical situations in which it would have been perfectly reasonable for Nintendo to terminate her employment.
If we're not allowed to speculate at all, despite this all being a very public incident, then that's fine, but shouldn't it go both ways? People can say Nintendo was terrible and out of line with the termination (and timing-wise, I agree), but if they are going to do that then context is important, isn't it? If we're all going to agree to just shut up and stop talking about the issue because we should respect Rapp's privacy (a sentiment I agree with), then I don't think anyone should be commenting on whether or not Nintendo made a bad decision in firing her.
It's no one's business, but if the claim is true, and it had been pretty public at the time of her firing, I imagine the reaction would have been a hell of a lot different. I think it's relevant as long as the discussion is taking place at all. In respect of Alison, simply not talking about it at all would be appropriate, but any discussion about the righteousness of Nintendo's actions must also not be allowed in that case. That's how I see it, anyway.
In some of the previous threads, when no evidence was available, plenty of people posted about hypothetical situations in which it would have been perfectly reasonable for Nintendo to terminate her employment.
If we're not allowed to speculate at all, despite this all being a very public incident, then that's fine, but shouldn't it go both ways? People can say Nintendo was terrible and out of line with the termination (and timing-wise, I agree), but if they are going to do that then context is important, isn't it? If we're all going to agree to just shut up and stop talking about the issue because we should respect Rapp's privacy (a sentiment I agree with), then I don't think anyone should be commenting on whether or not Nintendo made a bad decision in firing her.
It's no one's business, but if the claim is true, and it had been pretty public at the time of her firing, I imagine the reaction would have been a hell of a lot different. I think it's relevant as long as the discussion is taking place at all. In respect of Alison, simply not talking about it at all would be appropriate, but any discussion about the righteousness of Nintendo's actions must also not be allowed in that case. That's how I see it, anyway.
As someone who frequents hip-hop / music boards, and more importantly, sports boards, Gaming is waaaaaaaay the hell better. Political boards used to be much worse prior to everyone sort of going to their own little circlejerks for the most part (myself included). Gamers tend to be pretty normal all things considered when you look at the whole rather than the outliers who get news / controversy.
(Seriously, gamers can't even fathom how crazy sports fans get)
Silver Arrows
Banned
Commanche Raisin Toast
Member
i feel like it's worsening/accelerating because of 2 factors i'm observing:
1. a lot of the angry mobs are actually getting results, and likely make others feel that joining/leading an online mob isn't a fruitless endeavor because there's evidence that it works.
2. as far as gaming specifically, the culture is becoming ever so slowly more and more cozy with the masses**, which could make a lot of people feel like they need to push toward changes they think need to happen to appeal to the masses. ie: as gaming becomes more accepted in mainstream society suddenly political correctness is becoming even more of a hot button topic since it's no longer a (mostly) boys club of a specific age range.
**as in, conan and fallon doing these video game segments all the time, celebrities that are old enough to have likely grown up playing them being open about being gamers, mobile gaming and other super-accessible means of gaming like the Wii suddenly opening up the market to a whole new demographic and making it seem less intimidating. all of these things i think factor into it becoming more of a mainstream industry rather than a niche hobby of the olden days.
1. a lot of the angry mobs are actually getting results, and likely make others feel that joining/leading an online mob isn't a fruitless endeavor because there's evidence that it works.
2. as far as gaming specifically, the culture is becoming ever so slowly more and more cozy with the masses**, which could make a lot of people feel like they need to push toward changes they think need to happen to appeal to the masses. ie: as gaming becomes more accepted in mainstream society suddenly political correctness is becoming even more of a hot button topic since it's no longer a (mostly) boys club of a specific age range.
**as in, conan and fallon doing these video game segments all the time, celebrities that are old enough to have likely grown up playing them being open about being gamers, mobile gaming and other super-accessible means of gaming like the Wii suddenly opening up the market to a whole new demographic and making it seem less intimidating. all of these things i think factor into it becoming more of a mainstream industry rather than a niche hobby of the olden days.
YoYo Switch
Banned
Exactly. My fellow gamer here gets it
Drama does not mean I dont think its real...im saying I come to GAF for game news, the community, the Off topic, etc. Threads about Gamer Gate or gaming jornalism / pr personalities are not interesting to me.
TBH, I always was disenchanted with the gaming community. The heavy moderation of GAF is one reason why I come here, but this site isn't without it's flaws and some threads can get... difficult before mods can take care of it (part of the problem seems to be that people forget the mods can't be everywhere and you sometimes have to tell them about the thread...).
Right, then it's not our position to judge if Nintendo was right or wrong in firing her.
petethepanda
Member
It's disheartening, definitely. I've been in the Overwatch beta for a while and I started toying with the idea of taking the game a little more 'seriously,' maybe keeping up to date with threads and such about its development, but then the reaction to Butt-gate hit and I went "well then, this is a community that I have extremely little desire to engage with." And the Rapp situation, and the tidal wave of gamergate bullshit over the last couple years...
Like, I'm not even comfortable saying that I'm disheartened about this, since I'm acutely aware that I haven't been on the receiving end of it and it feels pretty stupid to say "aw man I feel sad about my dumb hobby" when people are out there having their lives torn apart.
What's even more disheartening is the "just ignore it" response. Like, I get the urge to just try to block it out, but that's what allows this garbage to continue.
Like, I'm not even comfortable saying that I'm disheartened about this, since I'm acutely aware that I haven't been on the receiving end of it and it feels pretty stupid to say "aw man I feel sad about my dumb hobby" when people are out there having their lives torn apart.
What's even more disheartening is the "just ignore it" response. Like, I get the urge to just try to block it out, but that's what allows this garbage to continue.
Gold_Loot
Member
I was going to say pretty much the same thing, but you hit the nail on the head.
People pulling the race card, screaming bigotry, and gender shaming. Jesus people, give it a rest..
I mean, there's nothing wrong with discussing these problems. But you can't go just a few posts into a new game preview or a reveal without someone turning it into a affirmative action debacle.
Wowfunhappy
Member
Why did you ever have faith with the larger internet gaming community? Or any large internet community, for that matter? Also, how did GamerGate in general not have this affect ages ago?
The reason I love Neogaf so much is because everyone acts like reasonable people, although even here it can get iffy sometimes.
The reason I love Neogaf so much is because everyone acts like reasonable people, although even here it can get iffy sometimes.
SlipperyFishes
Banned
Fair enough. On first read it was a little different.
Glass Shark
Banned
Not that I don't believe you, but does the sports community have a thinly-veiled subreddit dedicated to driving out voices of diversity in sports? Like, I genuinely don't know. I'm not denying people in other communities or with other hobbies can't be terrible people, but I get the impression from the outside looking in that those people don't organize the way they do in gaming.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
It's not hard to follow at all. I'm pretty much with you right there, but at the same time:
I'm with this poster. It can't just be one-sided.
chaobreaker
Member
The context matters, but not the context of Nintendo firing Rapp for whatever people want to speculate (I don't want to get into that). The simple fact is that they decided to let her ago after months of her dealing with harassment by an organized hate mob.
This same mob wanted nothing but to get her fired and Nintendo just vindicated everything they done to her and (countless other victims in the gaming industry) by doing exactly that in the end. That's why people are arguing that Nintendo made a bad decision.
StrangeTaco
Member
I've honestly seen very little judgement over her character in this thread, mainly just people saying that the reason she was fired was misrepresented. Also there's apparently been an article in the Washing Journal regarding this so there is "potentially" some truth behind it.
also this
Scientist Supreme!
Banned
There are still great people in this people this community but it's oblivious a significant part of it is incredibly toxic.
Also this:
Also this:
CaptainGyro
Banned
I never said anything about turning a blind eye towards the vocal minority that ruin people's lives. The title of the thread is " the larger internet gaming community"
I still think the larger internet gaming community is fine
Dr. Zoidberg
Member
I don't worry about this too much because nobody outside the hardcore gaming/tech community seems to know or care about any of the controversies that get places like NeoGAF up in arms. I've not once had a coworker, casual-gaming friend, or family member mention, discuss, or ask about Gamergate or anything of the sort. Anecdotal, for sure, but I don't worry too much about having any negative social connotations about being a serious "gamer" other than the old standbys like I must be a socially maladjusted nerd, and that's been around for decades. Society on the whole still doesn't take the hobby seriously and maybe that's part of the problem. If they did and more light was shown on the problems, maybe some of these things would improve. As-is, it's mainly just online forum-dwellers and people who actually work in the industry that seem to care.
Glass Shark
Banned
Welcome to the internet. Enjoy your stay.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
I understand that, and I completely agree that the timing was extremely poor and it looks really bad.
With that said, without the context, there's no reasonable way to judge Nintendo or Rapp.
Or are people arguing that there is simply no possible context in which Nintendo could not have found itself in a position where immediate termination was the only decision available to them?
Yeah, I'm quite disgusted by the games industry, but I feel that things need to be spoken to. Maybe engaging with these things are simply not the right avenue for you, but instead you should focus your energy and self-care differently. E.g. take it up with the companies and societies creating these people.
I believe "pulling the race card" has been used in reference to a very thinly veiled racist remark, that seems to be widely tolerated because it's against white people.
Personally, I consider the gaming community to be one of the best out there. It's full of passionate people that love their hobby, which is also my hobby. Unfortunately, not all niche communities in gaming are the same, but this doesn't mean that the gaming community as a whole isn't great. The same happens in every community where humans consort.
LegendofLex
Member
Sure there is. This thread isn't about what she was doing outside of her employment. The OP actually was very careful never to address this at all. This thread's topic is specifically about the way certain sectors of internet gaming culture behave toward people they perceive as outsiders.
And there's already good discussion happening around just that topic.
Chet Rippo
Member
But young nerds are the exact kind of people that would have a lot of pent up rage when you think about. Not that it excuses them for their terrible behavior...
Mass Effect
Member
disregarding the obvious slanted wording, is that such a bad thing? Is it wrong for people to not support developers/publishers if one feels like their games are perpetuating a problem (in that person's eyes)?
If no one ever talks about it, nothing ever gets done...
Oddly enough I heard, within the past week, them mentioned on my way home from work on NPR in a segment about internet harrassment. The topic of internet harrassment is becoming more frequent in mainstream media.
Surface of Me
I'm not an NPC. And neither are we.
Do you forget literal riots happen when a sports team loses sometimes? Gaming is small time.
NinjaCoachZ
Member
But the larger community in itself by definition cannot be fine, if this percentage of it is becoming more and more active and hard to ignore. Even here on GAF, which is pretty much one of the only gaming communities I actually enjoy visiting, you can just look at any of the "controversial subject" threads and see that the kinds of mentalities that define this minority are deeply-rooted in numerous facets of the community.
If you don't see a problem then okay, but for myself, it's just reached a point where it has coloured virtually every game community there is.
Yes it is. Do you have even the slightest idea about the background of this case?
Exactly. It's everywhere.
Massive Duck. C.M.
Banned
I think we all know what kind of posts to expect from certain posters by now lol
OP, you really do see the worst of it on the net because it's much easier for people to be antagonistic. It's treated as an anonymous (for the most part) interaction with no real consequences even for behavior that would be considered criminal were it through some older method of communication. But as was said earlier, interacting with more of the community in person shows the bright side.
chaobreaker
Member
They could have denounced the harassment while it was happening and not after they fired her. That was the least they could have done but they just threw her under the bus. Did I mention how shitty it was that they publicly revealed the circumstances of her termination? What kind of company does that in a press release for a individual employee.
Nintendo could have handled this situation a shit ton better.
Excellent point that won't be picked up by posters who only want to keep pushing their agenda.
LegendofLex
Member
I mean, with eSports starting to become an arena spectator sport, I think it's only a matter of time.
Joyful
Member
quotes are like a ban multiplier
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