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[Giever]

Just gonna make a hopefully non-derailing reminder to people that pedophilia itself isn't a crime or a thing to get locked up for. I haven't read the apparently disgusting posts attributed to her, but I assume the actual contention here is whether or not she actually harassed or molested a child, possessed child pornography, etc., not whether she's a pedophile.

This is the problem I have whenever the "GamerGate" boogeyman is brought up. Who is GamerGate? Is there an official membership list? What stops someone from claiming to be a member when they aren't? What stops someone who IS a member from just being a jerkhole and giving a lot of other people a bad name?

The whole thing has been messy, and horrible people have existed on both sides, if there are even sides.

Please don't misconstrue, I was making a technical explanation for the sake of defending someone who was being mocked in a ridiculously disingenuous way.

Whether or not absolutely 100% of the people who refer to themselves as GGers are terrible people, it would be silly to suggest that there aren't two "sides", because there obviously are.

There are those who are harassing and trying to push out minorities in gaming, and there are those who are against that. The former is pretty much indefensible, and while it may(?) be the case that there are "horrible" people on both sides, the proportions are going to be pretty well stacked not in favor of, you know, the group of people that are harassing minorities in gaming.

It's unfortunate that there are stubborn or ignorant non-terrible people that continue to align themselves with GG, but it is what it is. So even if it doesn't line up 100%, of course the natural course is going to be to refer to the harassment campaign with the name they give themselves "GamerGate" even if that encompasses more than them.

If there are people who really do care about ethics in journalism and aren't on board with the whole harassing thing then they should probably be less stubborn, inform themselves somehow, and just start a new movement with a new name that actually investigates and cares about shitty bribes, review scores, etc., whatever that would entail.

 

[Phocks]

This all feels so much like American politics.

 

[Fhtagn]

People are posting without reading the article and/or ignoring this part:

If it puts anyone at ease, I retained a lawyer and proactively contacted the police. They saw right through the avalanche of bad faith reports, and under independent scrutiny, have stated they have no reason to believe any crime ever took place. All of this, no doubt, must come as dire news to the chorus of voices openly cheering for and pledging to organize my prison rape or murder. This was never about the law, and never about justice; if it was, I never would have had to worry. It has been, from the start, just another harassment campaign.

Considering that Breitbart recently posted allegations about Shaun King that were completely disproven a few days later that turned out to be sourced from a gamergater who was just arrested by the FBI for a 9/11 memorial bomb plot, a bunch of you need to learn to be more skeptical.

 

[SolicitorPirate]

Absolutely agree. There's no way to divorce it from the GamerGate conversation due to who did the story and the medium it was posted on and the target of the story, but if there are actual, serious charges of pedophilia that exist as a part of all of this, they're far more important than being put into the middle of a squabble over video games.

Multiple issues. Firstly, this never was squabbling over video games. Gamergate is a sustained attack on feminism in gaming culture. Yes, games are involved, but they are not the focus of conversation.

Secondly, the reason people aren't giving accusations of pedophilia much weight is because of who the accusers are. Yes, pedophilia is a serious issue. But we have due process for that. Breitbart however is a tabloid with clear agenda that specialises in character assassination and has historically shown blatant disregard for accuracy or ethics.

 

[Puppypizza]

The logs were true by Butts' own admission.

Chat logs from an IRC room I was in nearly a decade ago were leaked to gamergate. To say the contents of those logs were not flattering would be putting it lightly. They are, in some ways, much what you’d expect from an early-2000’s chatroom of 4chan expats trying too hard to outdo each other for shock value. Even with that context, much of what I said was gross and disturbing, and I have no interest in defending it.

Now the question I want to ask is: why the hell is this a topic in the Gaming forum? And why are people trying to defend this person's behavior or past? Right above me is a post saying "Well, pedophilia isn't technically illegal". What the fuck?

This person distributed pictures of their 8 year old cousin to other people. Using the excuse "Joke's on them, I was only pretending to be a pedophile" is horribly disingenuous.

 

[Fantastapotamus]

Nobody here says "Well, she might a pedophile BUT...."
If she is, indeed, an active pedophile she deserves to be punished for it, just like any other active pedophile. Punished by the law. After a trial and an investigation. Not punished by the internet after an article on Breitbart.
Simple as that.

 

[Sumois]

Multiple issues. Firstly, this never was squabbling over video games. Gamergate is a sustained attack on feminism in gaming culture. Yes, games are involved, but they are not the focus of conversation.

Secondly, the reason people aren't giving accusations of pedophilia much weight is because of who the accusers are. Yes, pedophilia is a serious issue. But we have due process for that. Breitbart however is a tabloid with clear agenda that specialises in character assassination and has historically shown blatant disregard for accuracy or ethics.

Like it or not Nyberg herself proved the logs were real with that story on medium. Trying to play it off as teenage edginess isn't a valid defense.

As for Milo, he claimed to have called the cousins parents and the police. Whether he did or not is another story.

If a gamergater was accused of pedophilia this discussion wouldn't be so forgiving.

 

[Corronchilejano]

Nobody here says "Well, she might a pedophile BUT...."
If she is, indeed, an active pedophile she deserves to be punished for it, just like any other active pedophile. Punished by the law. After a trial and an investigation. Not punished by the internet after an article on Breitbart.
Simple as that.

.

 

[Giever]

Now the question I want to ask is: why the hell is this a topic in the Gaming forum? And why are people trying to defend this person's behavior or past? Right above me is a post saying "Well, pedophilia isn't technically illegal". What the fuck?

My reminder wasn't at all meant to be a defense for her statements or actions.

 

[Thalnos]

iono this dude not only talked about wanting to bang his young cousin but at this point doesn't even deny writing these things. I'm not saying that harassment is the right way of going about things, but at the same time I don't think a pedophile should be going around without being a registered sex-offender.

 

[HowlingMad]

What is Sarah's relevance to gaming? I hadn't heard of her before but doing some quick google searches I can't find any immediate connections to the gaming industry. Was she a game developer or popular reviewer/journalist at some point? All I'm finding is that she has been the center of some internet shitstorms.

 

[SolicitorPirate]

I see people are just ignoring(as is Nyberg) the part were he said he wanted to molest his 8 year old niece by name (he was in his 20's at the time so it's hardly edgy teenage rebellion).

I usually don't get involved with GG or SJW threads on here and don't know much about Sarah Nyberg beyond the Breitbart article and her reply of deflection and finger-pointing. We've all said fucked up shit online but I can't imagine anyone that isn't a legit creep claiming that they wanted to fuck a young relative and also claimed that child/pedo relationships are morally ok and healthy for the child...THAT'S FUCKING HEINOUS.

Can you please not misgender transexual people? For fuck's sake, you already know her first name is Sarah.

Like it or not Nyberg proved the logs were real with that story on medium. Trying to play it off as teenage edginess isn't a valid defense.

As for Milo, he claimed to have called the cousins parents and the police. Whether he did or not is another story.

If a gamergater was accused of pedophilia this discussion wouldn't be so forgiving.

Firstly regarding Milo, the sheer fact he claims to have called police should put everything he says into suspicion. As far as I am aware, there is no formal charge and no police investigation, past or ongoing. Why would police even have anything to comment? And if there was an investigation, why on earth would they comment on an ongoing investigation?

Secondly, people aren't trying to play off pedophilia. The support you see for Nyberg is because of two reasons:
a) people wish to show support for the victim of a targeted and sustained harassment campaign that has made it quite clear that causing suicide would be an acceptable end goal

b) people put a lot more face in the legal process than a witch hunt. If she truly is guilty, then let there be a police report and let the police and legal process take it from there.

iono this dude not only talked about wanting to bang his young cousin but at this point doesn't even deny writing these things. I'm not saying that harassment is the right way of going about things, but at the same time I don't think a pedophile should be going around without being a registered sex-offender.

Jesus fucking christ. Is it too much to ask you people not to misgender transgender people?

 

[Monkey Blue]

Why does GAF always need to have witch hunts every time the word "pedophile" is used? You need evidence like a victims statement at the very least to throw such a word around.

 

[Thalnos]

Jesus fucking christ. Is it too much to ask you people not to misgender transgender people?

The chatlogs are from before he transitioned and became a she, as such I am referring to the male that posted the pedophilic messages and not the female who is now being harassed.

Also: VIDEOGAMES, what does this shit even have to do with them?

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

I don't think a pedophile should be going around without being a registered sex-offender.

What if they have not done anything with a child because they are in meetings or some such?

So you want to ruin someone's entire life over their mental imbalances. Okay.

 

[Infernal Monkey]

What is Sarah's relevance to gaming? I hadn't heard of her before but doing some quick google searches I can't find any immediate connections to the gaming industry. Was she a game developer or popular reviewer/journalist at some point? All I'm finding is that she has been the center of some internet shitstorms.

Aside from running FFShrine (a massive video game OST piracy forum) for years, nothing.

 

[Primus]

Once again, from THE FUCKING ARTICLE:

If it puts anyone at ease, I retained a lawyer and proactively contacted the police. They saw right through the avalanche of bad faith reports, and under independent scrutiny, have stated they have no reason to believe any crime ever took place. All of this, no doubt, must come as dire news to the chorus of voices openly cheering for and pledging to organize my prison rape or murder. This was never about the law, and never about justice; if it was, I never would have had to worry. It has been, from the start, just another harassment campaign.

 

[Toxi]

Aside from running FFShrine (a massive video game OST piracy forum) for years, nothing.

There's also the fact that GamerGate is about ethics in video ga-PffffffffffHAHAHAHA

 

[Kinsei]

The chatlogs are from before he transitioned and became a she, as such I am referring to the male that posted the pedophilic messages and not the female who is now being harassed.

Doesn't work that way. She was always a she.

 

[Walpurgis]

If a gamergater was accused of pedophilia this discussion wouldn't be so forgiving.

That is true, which is why I find this thread so bizarre. Personally, I think that pedophiles are cursed people and I really feel sorry for them. They can't help how they feel so I have a lot of respect for that organisation of pedophiles that support each other to resist their urges and prevent child abuse. It must be a very hard life. I wish there were more avenues for them to find support so that they don't go straight to 4chan whenever they feel an urge. I think that the massive stigma surrounding it causes a lot of problems that make it very hard for them to seek help. That being said, from past threads that I have read, this is not a common opinion on NeoGAF. Maybe that's changed.

 

[mollipen]

Secondly, the reason people aren't giving accusations of pedophilia much weight is because of who the accusers are. Yes, pedophilia is a serious issue. But we have due process for that. Breitbart however is a tabloid with clear agenda that specialises in character assassination and has historically shown blatant disregard for accuracy or ethics.

I absolutely admit to not having a lot of working knowledge of Breitbart. It seems like a very dangerous decision to me to post these kinds of chat logs and make these kinds of accusations without real proof, so obviously it's a super-huge problem if that's what happened. However, Sarah herself seems to have confirmed that the chat logs are real, which is of course an important point.

 

[Alchemy]

What is Sarah's relevance to gaming? I hadn't heard of her before but doing some quick google searches I can't find any immediate connections to the gaming industry. Was she a game developer or popular reviewer/journalist at some point? All I'm finding is that she has been the center of some internet shitstorms.

She spoke out against GG, thats basically all it takes. Calling out assholes on being assholes apparently cranks up their asshole meter to 11. Whatever happens with Sarah over issues of pedophilia can be done legally, and she isn't trying excuse any of her behavior while she was still associated with 4chan.

 

[Krabboss]

The chatlogs are from before he transitioned and became a she, as such I am referring to the male that posted the pedophilic messages and not the female who is now being harassed.

Also: VIDEOGAMES, what does this shit even have to do with them?

The chatlogs are not before Sarah transitioned. Her handle is literally Sarah in these logs.

 

[Primus]

I absolutely admit to not having a lot of working knowledge of Breitbart. It seems like a very dangerous decision to me to post these kinds of chat logs and make these kinds of accusations without real proof, so obviously it's a super-huge problem if that's what happened.

Within the past month, a Breitbart writer (Milo Yiannopolous) published a slanderous and quickly-disproven piece accusing a prominent Black Lives Matter activist of not actually being black, and also of sourcing stories from a now-arrested Redditor who worked a network of troll accounts in order to prop himself up. So, yeah, Breitbart doesn't give a crap about journalistic integrity.

 

[Walpurgis]

I wonder what the thought process is when they do this. What is the goal? Ever since elementary school, I've always been afraid that if I bullied someone, they would commit suicide so I've been careful.

I haven't been following very closely. Has GamerGate killed anyone yet?

 

[pgtl_10]

Doesn't work that way. She was always a she.

Is that how she considers herself? I ask because I think Caitlin Jenner expressed confusion about what Caitlin's is.

 

[FyreWulff]

I absolutely admit to not having a lot of working knowledge of Breitbart. It seems like a very dangerous decision to me to post these kinds of chat logs and make these kinds of accusations without real proof, so obviously it's a super-huge problem if that's what happened. However, Sarah herself seems to have confirmed that the chat logs are real, which is of course an important point.

Brietbart's behind the edited ACORN videos, the edited videos that got someone in Iowa fired (and then later got an apology from the governor when everyone found out it was fake), etc.

They're nothing more than the media wing for the tea party.

 

[Toxi]

I wonder what the thought process is when they do this. What is the goal? Ever since elementary school, I've always been afraid that if I bullied someone, they would commit suicide so I've been careful.

I haven't been following very closely. Has GrokGuest killed anyone yet?

No.

But they certainly haven't been a positive force.

 

[DarkArterialGore]

Can you please not misgender transexual people? For fuck's sake, you already know her first name is Sarah.

Pump your brakes and read what I wrote, I said he as Nyberg was a man when those comments where written, note how I also said her when I mentioned her recent reply article.

Also, it's a bit rich of you to complain about my supposed gender ignorance while implying that a man can't have the name Sarah...

Spoiler

persnickety I know

 

[Walpurgis]

No.

But they certainly haven't been a positive force.

That's a relief but I feel like, at this rate, it's only a matter of time. I wonder how law enforcement would handle a thing like that.

 

[AlimNassor]

But clearly I'm not wanted here. You realize you're harassing me? It's not vulgar, but you're pretending my opinion has no merit whatsoever. You don't need to become what you hate. It's not a good way to do things.
.

GG is repulsive, it is vile, it is evil incarnate and you have allied yourself with an organization dedicated to the continued harassment of women.

 

[NinjamicWZ]

The stuff she cops to saying and doing here is some of the most disgusting stuff I've ever read on the internet. It's like bygone, 56k era, no man's land putridity.

Nobody should be taking in somebody like that's projection. It's bad for you.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

Has GamerGate killed anyone yet?

Besides a bomb threat to an entire university, SWATTING, going to places of female dev employment and tweeting pictures of yourself there with a knife, hundreds of graphic death threats, and literally I shit you not clogging the lines of a transgender suicide hotline....

Surprisingly nobody yet.

 

[DarkArterialGore]

I absolutely admit to not having a lot of working knowledge of Breitbart. It seems like a very dangerous decision to me to post these kinds of chat logs and make these kinds of accusations without real proof, so obviously it's a super-huge problem if that's what happened. However, Sarah herself seems to have confirmed that the chat logs are real, which is of course an important point.

Didn't Nyberg say she wanted to buy the 8 year old niece off her parents, like a...sex slave or some shit.

 

[TwEE-N-Toast]

The stuff she cops to saying and doing here is some of the most disgusting stuff I've ever read on the internet. It's like bygone, 56k era, no man's land putridity.

Nobody should be taking in somebody like that's projection. It's bad for you.

Not sure about he allegations one way or the other but this seems like the whole "the enemy of my enemy" thing.

 

[LaserBuddha]

iono this dude not only talked about wanting to bang his young cousin but at this point doesn't even deny writing these things. I'm not saying that harassment is the right way of going about things, but at the same time I don't think a pedophile should be going around without being a registered sex-offender.

A convicted sex offender shouldnt go around without being a registered sex offender, AND THEY DON'T. I wonder if you know what a sex offender is when you imply that these IRC musings qualify.

 

[Ouren]

gaf, you're better than this

 

[BobbyRobby]

She's procured a lawyer, but does she intend to sue Breitbart for libel?

Those are some really damning accusations.

 

[Nanashrew]

If a gamergater was accused of pedophilia this discussion wouldn't be so forgiving.

I know you're banned now, but to be clear some have been accused because 8chan hosted child pornography. That is GamerGate's home and they hosted pictures of real life children, not anime, on their site in the pedophile section. The owner's response to the investigative piece about his own site was "how else will I compete with other chan boards." GamerGate would later accuse Dan Olsen for being a pedophile for his investigative piece just for having looked through it. 8chan has now been delisted from Google.

 

[pgtl_10]

She's procured a lawyer, but does she intend to sue Breitbart for libel?

Those are some really damning accusations.

Doesn't mean she is guilty.

 

[BobbyRobby]

Doesn't mean she is guilty.

Yeah, of course.

I think it would be really easy to prove damages in this case for her if it's libel.

 

[crimsonheadGCN]

Besides a bomb threat to an entire university, SWATTING, going to places of female dev employment and tweeting pictures of yourself there with a knife, hundreds of graphic death threats, and literally I shit you not clogging the lines of a transgender suicide hotline....

Surprisingly nobody yet.

Not a person, but a dog was supposedly killed by one of 8 Chan's swatting attempts earlier in the year.

Also, several members stalked some of the targets. Like i believe The Ralph Retort was thrown out of a conference that Brianna Wu was attending and a security guard (who was a GG member) followed her around PAX and talk a picture with her.

 

[Walpurgis]

Besides a bomb threat to an entire university, SWATTING, going to places of female dev employment and tweeting pictures of yourself there with a knife, hundreds of graphic death threats, and literally I shit you not clogging the lines of a transgender suicide hotline....

Surprisingly nobody yet.

That's....uh...creative.

 

[pgtl_10]

Yeah, of course.

I think it would be really easy to prove damages in this case for her if it's libel.

Briebert is media.(I know it is Briebert but it is media nonetheless) That would make it very hard to win at libel.

 

[Dryk]

Nobody should be taking in somebody like that's projection. It's bad for you.

It was all locked in the past and the minds of the other dipshits in that chat room until some fuckstain hacked the servers and released it to the public :\

Didn't Nyberg say she wanted to buy the 8 year old niece off her parents, like a...sex slave or some shit.

There's a lot of awful things in those logs but that's one of the few things that is obviously a joke.

 

[DICKS AHOY]

Briebert is media.(I know it is Briebert but it is media nonetheless) That would make it very hard to win at libel.

If it's libel they might have a case if that material was from hacked/stolen documents and not stuff that was already public (albeit very obscure and hard to find).

 

[Phediuk]

Even by Gamergate's standards, this latest smear campaign of theirs has been some utterly vile shit.

 

[cosmicblizzard]

I haven't been following very closely. Has GamerGate killed anyone yet?

I've heard mixed reports on whether a dog has died or not due to swatting.

I wouldn't be surprised if it caused a few suicides, but that's impossible to prove outright.

 

[Fantastapotamus]

I hope that this whole thing will at least be a lesson for some people: If you post vile shit on the internet, wether you mean it or not, it can always, always, always come back to haunt you. Now more than ever.

 

[BobbyRobby]

Briebert is media.(I know it is Briebert but it is media nonetheless) That would make it very hard to win at libel.

Injury -- To succeed in a defamation lawsuit, the statement must be shown to have caused injury to the subject of the statement. This means that the statement must have hurt the reputation of the subject of the statement. As an example, a statement has caused injury if the subject of the statement lost work as a result of the statement.

Seems like she could prove that.

But would she be considered a public figure? I don't think so.