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[Sqorgar]

In hindsight, I agree. But this Penny Arcade situation (which I very clearly understand), has made this thread down spiral into a hot mess (which is why it gives me a headache). Largely due in part to posters like Sqorger...

This is the third time you've insulted me and you have still not explained exactly what I have done that is so bad or what has offended so you deeply. Would you honestly prefer that my contribution to this discussion be, "I didn't read your posts, but my opinion is better than yours"? Or would you just prefer I never joined the discussion in the first place? I am truly at a loss here. The only thing I can even remotely come to grips with is that you think people who write more than 100 words in a post think they are better than everyone else.

 

[Hellsing321]

If you're banned from GAF for calling something super gay or making fun of female drivers -- whether or not you think that gay is a completely innocent word and that women really do drive badly -- and you wanted to email EviLore about how wrong and unfair his policies are, how well do you think that would go over?

Anonymity online has given people this idea that they can apply their right to free speech to all spaces when in fact many online spaces are restricted by the rules of the people in charge. It's her space and she can police it however she wants. It's not a difficult concept really and emailing her to bitch about how wrong headed she is in her approach to discussion won't get you very far.

Contrary to popular belief your email is not a private space as soon as you put it out on the internet. She of course doesn't have to respond to them but to say that people are invading her personal boundaries by continuing to email her is ridiculous. By her account the hundreds of unsolicited spam mail I get a day are people contributing to this "rape culture", by refusing to respect the sanctity of my inbox.

 

[lunarworks]

This whole situation is blown out of proportion. But I have to say that with the screams of "rape culture", there seems to be an equal amount of "victim culture" involved.

I was reading one of those linked posts on Shakesville, the site opposing Penny Arcade in this whole matter, and it looked like the writer was essentially upset at any work of fiction involving the interaction between men and women that doesn't somehow involve sexual assault, a history of sexual assault, or a looming threat of sexual assault. Apparently, by not including it, the creator of of the fiction is sweeping the issue under the carpet, and is therefore somehow assisting "rape culture".

Basically, their victimhood has to be projected onto all fictional women in order for the fiction to be realistic enough to be "acceptable".

Wow.

 

[Drinky Crow]

This is the third time you've insulted me and you have still not explained exactly what I have done that is so bad or what has offended so you deeply. Would you honestly prefer that my contribution to this discussion be, "I didn't read your posts, but my opinion is better than yours"? Or would you just prefer I never joined the discussion in the first place? I am truly at a loss here. The only thing I can even remotely come to grips with is that you think people who write more than 100 words in a post think they are better than everyone else.

good lord man, abandon your insecurity before it EATS YOU ALIVE

 

[stupei]

Contrary to popular belief your email is not a private space as soon as you put it out on the internet. She of course doesn't have to respond to them but to say that people are invading her personal boundaries by continuing to email her is ridiculous. By her account the hundreds of unsolicited spam mail I get a day are people contributing to this "rape culture", by refusing to respect the sanctity of my inbox.

Obviously your inbox isn't a private space in the sense that unwanted emails are equal to home invasion but it is certainly your personal space where you can choose to ignore or interact with certain topics or individuals by your own discretion. If you ask repeatedly to be left alone or say repeatedly that you do not want to engage with a certain interaction and people deliberately, actively persist in doing the opposite of what you want, what would you call that exactly other than harassment? Certainly it might be legal, but it is clearly disrespectful and unkind.

And your comparison with spam email is ludicrous, though that's clearly your intention. For one thing, spam does not originate from a human source specifically and deliberately acting out in opposition to your stated desires. She has a very personal past experience with saying "no, no, no" and essentially being told that the wishes of another person are more important than her own. If now she is saying, "No, no, no I don't want to talk about that" and hearing "free speech, I'll do what I want, won't I?" in return, she obviously feels that this is indicative of a larger pattern in overall human behavior where self-interest often supersedes basic kindness and consideration. People are so terrified at even the idea that they might somehow lose their freedom of speech that they seldom want to stop to consider which types of speech are simply unkind and unnecessary. Yes, she's using a shocking terminology to frame the discussion to deliberately add more emphasis to her words. That's kind of obvious. She is trying to emphasize while your comparison is clearly intended to diminish. It's clear why she has a vested interest in shocking people into reconsidering their own selfish motivations and how their words might impact others but I'm not sure what you gain by your comparison other than trying to make her seem silly.

 

[Goro Majima]

Alternatively, people can simply choose to not visit PA anymore if they are offended by the humor and move along to things that do amuse them. It's been well documented that they've done several, several strips where rape is used as part of the joke in some form or fashion.

The nice thing about the internet is that there's lots of junk to choose from. Even if Penny-Arcade doesn't do enough rape humor for your liking, there are probably sites out there to suit your tastes. I can't figure out for the life of me why people spend so much time and effort on stuff like this. Trying to change internet gaming culture is an insurmountable task.

 

[harriet the spy]

Contrary to popular belief your email is not a private space as soon as you put it out on the internet. She of course doesn't have to respond to them but to say that people are invading her personal boundaries by continuing to email her is ridiculous. By her account the hundreds of unsolicited spam mail I get a day are people contributing to this "rape culture", by refusing to respect the sanctity of my inbox.

It depends what do you mean by private space, but I respectfully disagree. Plenty of people - by necessity - have their email on their webpages (for instance, academics), does not mean you are invited to send them emails at will, especially if they are insulting or downright aggressive.

I don't agree with everything Sqorgar says, but the amount of venom (especially in the form of short, self-evident, aggressive emails "LOL you're so stupid i am not going to read what you wrote and just declare you a moron on the spot") he is receiving in this thread makes me shake my head, and I doubt don't for a second the emails she is receiving are much worse. I am assuming she is referring to those.

Though I don't think the spam email is a good analogy (those are robotic emails with no personal message/attacks in them) - I also would agree that unsolicited emails is not part of the 'rape culture'. it certainly can be harassment, though.