The FBI offered its assistance to the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) back in July to help with what the organization sees as a growing tide of harassment of game developers, according to a report from Polygon. IGDA Executive Director Kate Edwards said the FBI approached her during Comic-Con in San Diego to let her know "the FBI's capability."
Edwards told Polygon that the FBI noted a rise in activity in the online harassment of game developers. Over the last year, BioWare senior writer Jennifer Hepler left her job after getting death threats from fans, and Adam Orth, a Microsoft creative director, got a "tidal wave of vitriol" for tweeting his support of always-online devices. Since the FBI's meeting with the IGDA took place, developer Zoe Quinn has been harassed over personal details aired by her ex-boyfriend, and a flight carrying Sony Online Entertainment CEO John Smedley was diverted after getting a bomb threat from a gaming hacker group. On Tuesday, thousands of developers released a signed petition "asking for tolerance and acceptance in the larger gaming community."
In addition to keeping in touch with the FBI, Edwards said the IGDA is creating a special interest group for mental health issues surrounding harassment. Last week, the IGDA released a statement condemning the personal attacks that had taken place over the last several weeks against Quinn, her supporters, and supporters of Anita Sarkeesian, who received death threats over her latest video about tropes of women in video games. "We call on the entire game community to stand together against this abhorrent behavior," the statement reads.
322 Reader Comments
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19
Emphasis added. Not all gamers support harassment and threats.
When the scales are tipped, I'd love to see the vocal majority take over; where a call of "Block your lane, you stupid gay f*****" is immediately responded to with *vehement, universal rejection and shame* of the caller.
Emphasis added. Not all gamers support harassment and threats.
But what are the rest of us doing to stop it? What are we doing to help those that are targeted, and what are we doing about those who are carrying on these things in our name?
Emphasis added. Not all gamers support harassment and threats.
This small minority does, however, seem to be quite vocal which is quite unfortunate.
I'm glad the FBI is getting involved in this. I hope they make a big deal out of some arrests, as a deterrent. This behavior is A) illegal, B) socially unacceptable, and C) only leads to more defensive behaviors from everyone.
I don't think this is the final answer to the GIFT problem, but I think that, for the worst cases, there really is no alternative. There are consequences for this sort of behavior, and they need to feel the full weight of those.
Emphasis added. Not all gamers support harassment and threats.
But what are the rest of us doing to stop it? What are we doing to help those that are targeted, and what are we doing about those who are carrying on these things in our name?
Beyond reporting them when we come across them, I'm not sure what else we can do. After all I would imagine that most gamers don't have the time or energy to devote to providing a counter point to the vocal minority due to other commitments and the fact that it take far more energy to provide a counter point to the vitriol than it does to spew it in the first place.
Emphasis added. Not all gamers support harassment and threats.
But what are the rest of us doing to stop it? What are we doing to help those that are targeted, and what are we doing about those who are carrying on these things in our name?
Beyond reporting them when we come across them, I'm not sure what else we can do. After all I would imagine that most gamers don't have the time or energy to devote to providing a counter point to the vocal minority due to other commitments and the fact that it take far more energy to provide a counter point to the vitriol than it does to spew it in the first place.
For starters, we can call out people who start escalating their language. When we see the bull start spewing, we can say things like,
"Dude(tte), not cool, not necessary. Stop it."
If they don't, they'll find themselves kicked from parties/gulids, and/or reported to GMs (in a MMORPG context.)
Conversely, game developers need to extend these capabilities to other genres, particularly FPSes (where some of the really toxic crap goes down.) Right now, if I'm playing Halo 4, and someone goes on a homophobic racist rant, my options are mute my microphone or leave the game. Why should I stop having fun because someone else is being an asshole?
The community and developers are both part of the solution, I think.
There is one issue: People (usually women) being threatened with rape and murder for writing critically about games and the behavior of gamers.
That issue stands alone. It is indefensible, and its wrongness is not subject to any mitigation.
Conversations about the nature of a game critic's evidence, the honor and upright virtue of other members of the community, standards of journalism, whether critics are "nice" or "fair"... none of these have any bearing whatsoever on the fact that threatening people with rape and murder is inexcusable, intolerable, and criminal.
I've read so much bullshit along the lines of, "Yeah, people shouldn't do that, but they are a minority, and Sarkeesian cherry-picks evidence in her videos, and journalists might be corrupt..."
Here's what I conclude from these very common efforts to delete, deflect, and diminish the sheer nastiness that goes on all the damn time: Misogyny among gamers is incredibly widespread and tacitly accepted in online communities, including Ars, at levels that may not rise to the criminal, but are nevertheless disgusting.
Emphasis added. Not all gamers support harassment and threats.
But what are the rest of us doing to stop it? What are we doing to help those that are targeted, and what are we doing about those who are carrying on these things in our name?
Beyond reporting them when we come across them, I'm not sure what else we can do. After all I would imagine that most gamers don't have the time or energy to devote to providing a counter point to the vocal minority due to other commitments and the fact that it take far more energy to provide a counter point to the vitriol than it does to spew it in the first place.
For starters, we can call out people who start escalating their language. When we see the bull start spewing, we can say things like,
"Dude(tte), not cool, not necessary. Stop it."
If they don't, they'll find themselves kicked from parties/gulids, and/or reported to GMs (in a MMORPG context.)
Conversely, game developers need to extend these capabilities to other genres, particularly FPSes (where some of the really toxic crap goes down.) Right now, if I'm playing Halo 4, and someone goes on a homophobic racist rant, my options are mute my microphone or leave the game. Why should I stop having fun because someone else is being an asshole?
The community and developers are both part of the solution, I think.
I seem to recall XBox Live implementing some sort of reputation system a while back to help move these problem people out of the general population. I don't remember all the details, as my gaming is either PC or tabletop, but steps by developers have been taken.
Any evidence to back up that a "sizable percentage of the population seem to think that death threats, racial, ethnic or other discriminatory slurs are acceptable"?
I mean, it only takes one ass-hole with a lot of time to set up a bunch of accounts sending threats to reach an insane number of hateful messages.
Also, at best this may reduce threats that originate from the US, at worst haters will just mask their messages so they seem to be coming from somewhere else.
Last edited by Aeder Redea on Thu Sep 04, 2014 10:49 am
Emphasis added. Not all gamers support harassment and threats.
But what are the rest of us doing to stop it? What are we doing to help those that are targeted, and what are we doing about those who are carrying on these things in our name?
Beyond reporting them when we come across them, I'm not sure what else we can do. After all I would imagine that most gamers don't have the time or energy to devote to providing a counter point to the vocal minority due to other commitments and the fact that it take far more energy to provide a counter point to the vitriol than it does to spew it in the first place.
Report/ban/shun when you're able. Be a helpful person if you're at a retail store and see a parent with game questions. Stand up for the people being oppressed. Retweet or otherwise boost the signal on positive articles on twitter, even if you don't 100% agree with it. Don't nitpick just to nitpick. Don't buy the next "Boob-Puncher!" title that comes down the pike. Email companies when you see blatantly, insultingly sexist marketing. Make an effort to stop using offensive words if you're playing a game. Disconnect for a while and go read a book in the sun.
Be a better person.
There is one issue: People (usually women) being threatened with rape and murder for writing critically about games and the behavior of gamers.
That issue stands alone. It is indefensible, and its wrongness is not subject to any mitigation.
Conversations about the nature of a game critic's evidence, the honor and upright virtue of other members of the community, standards of journalism, whether critics are "nice" or "fair"... none of these have any bearing whatsoever on the fact that threatening people with rape and murder is inexcusable, intolerable, and criminal.
I've read so much bullshit along the lines of, "Yeah, people shouldn't do that, but they are a minority, and Sarkeesian cherry-picks evidence in her videos, and journalists might be corrupt..."
Here's what I conclude from these very common efforts to delete, deflect, and diminish the sheer nastiness that goes on all the damn time: Misogyny among gamers is incredibly widespread and tacitly accepted in online communities, including Ars, at levels that may not rise to the criminal, but are nevertheless disgusting.
The name of the game is to discredit, by any means necessary.
I'm surprised that no one else has pointed out the irony of complaining about anti-social behavior and violent threats in relationship to games that are all about simulating illegal violent behavior.
I assume it's because the majority of us can tell the difference between games and real life.
Any evidence to back up that a "sizable percentage of the population seem to think that death threats, racial, ethnic or other discriminatory slurs are acceptable"?
I mean, it only takes one ass-hole with a lot of time to set up a bunch of accounts sending threats to reach an insane number of hateful messages.
Man, that one asshole is amazing. He's somehow appeared in pretty much every online game I've played, and nearly every forum I've read. I don't see death threats often, but all the other stuff is incredibly commonplace.
Emphasis added. Not all gamers support harassment and threats.
But what are the rest of us doing to stop it? What are we doing to help those that are targeted, and what are we doing about those who are carrying on these things in our name?
Beyond reporting them when we come across them, I'm not sure what else we can do. After all I would imagine that most gamers don't have the time or energy to devote to providing a counter point to the vocal minority due to other commitments and the fact that it take far more energy to provide a counter point to the vitriol than it does to spew it in the first place.
For starters, we can call out people who start escalating their language. When we see the bull start spewing, we can say things like,
"Dude(tte), not cool, not necessary. Stop it."
If they don't, they'll find themselves kicked from parties/gulids, and/or reported to GMs (in a MMORPG context.)
Conversely, game developers need to extend these capabilities to other genres, particularly FPSes (where some of the really toxic crap goes down.) Right now, if I'm playing Halo 4, and someone goes on a homophobic racist rant, my options are mute my microphone or leave the game. Why should I stop having fun because someone else is being an asshole?
The community and developers are both part of the solution, I think.
I seem to recall XBox Live implementing some sort of reputation system a while back to help move these problem people out of the general population. I don't remember all the details, as my gaming is either PC or tabletop, but steps by developers have been taken.
Yeah, it's sort of a social stratification system. Pretty much, people who interact more positively are grouped with people who act similarly. The same applies for people who make GIFT a perfectly valid theory. I don't know the full mechanics of this system, but it looks like the goal of such a system is to quarantine the players who act like garbage.
Of course, quarantining doesn't do anything about the problem in my opinion, it just makes it so that everyone else doesn't notice it. It's a cultural and enforcement problem too. As a game developer, we have a good degree of control of the latter, but we can influence the former.
While I may disagree with some who comment on the subject, I think that some of the antics you see out of the game industry are only enabling this situation. If we want a better 'gamer' society, developers need to give a better example to their fans. Conversely, said fans have to agree that acting in said good way is a good idea. It helps if people who fail to act in said good way encounter real, detrimental consequences for said behavior (in real life, it's getting a visit from your local patrolman, a cup of tea with your principal/HR, or in circumstances where no such authority is available, socked in the face.)
Positive and negative reinforcement are very useful tools.
People like you, who do nothing but stereotype entire groups of people like that, are part of the problem.
https://twitter.com/jennatar/status/507411937383022592
Emphasis added. Not all gamers support harassment and threats.
But what are the rest of us doing to stop it? What are we doing to help those that are targeted, and what are we doing about those who are carrying on these things in our name?
Beyond reporting them when we come across them, I'm not sure what else we can do. After all I would imagine that most gamers don't have the time or energy to devote to providing a counter point to the vocal minority due to other commitments and the fact that it take far more energy to provide a counter point to the vitriol than it does to spew it in the first place.
For starters, we can call out people who start escalating their language. When we see the bull start spewing, we can say things like,
"Dude(tte), not cool, not necessary. Stop it."
If they don't, they'll find themselves kicked from parties/gulids, and/or reported to GMs (in a MMORPG context.)
That works in game, but most of this stuff is happening out of game.
The community and developers are both part of the solution, I think.
I know some games where you run servers (TF2 springs to mind) have the ability to vote on kicking someone. Extending that further might help.
I'm surprised that no one else has pointed out the irony of complaining about anti-social behavior and violent threats in relationship to games that are all about simulating illegal violent behavior.
I'm not sure why you're surprised.
I can play paintball in real life which simulates very violent actions without being a dick about it to my fellow players.
It should be no different in video games.
Emphasis added. Not all gamers support harassment and threats.
But what are the rest of us doing to stop it? What are we doing to help those that are targeted, and what are we doing about those who are carrying on these things in our name?
You are essentially suggesting vigilantism. This stuff has raised to the level of criminal harassment. At this point it's a law enforcement issue. There's nothing "to be done" about it unless you want to play Guardian Angel.
This is a situation with no physical boundaries where really the best you can do is pontificate in a discussion form. It's not like a tire store in Ferguson that you can patrol with a group of your friends.
Making it socially unacceptable to be a racist jerk is not vigilantism. Reporting unacceptable behavior to the authorities is nothing like vigilantism; in fact it's literally the opposite. Standing around and saying, "Well, I'm not like that" does nothing to prevent this behavior, which is what the post you were replying to states.
I'm surprised that no one else has pointed out the irony of complaining about anti-social behavior and violent threats in relationship to games that are all about simulating illegal violent behavior.
I assume it's because the majority of us can tell the difference between games and real life.
Not sure the game / "real life" distinction is relevant to all gamers. And is being verbally abused on chat in-game real life? To me it would be.
Rather than a conveinent split between what happens to you in a game and what happens to you in real life, I think it's more accurate to say that what you experience in relation to games occurs as part of your life.
No one is suggesting playing a violent game is a crime. Just that violent games will normalize behavior and a population of people can be expected to emulate it.
https://twitter.com/caseyjohnston/status/507537785080020993
...I know some games where you run servers (TF2 springs to mind) have the ability to vote on kicking someone. Extending that further might help.
For point #1 - For the stuff that's not happening in a game, then absolutely law enforcement needs to be brought in. Freedom of speech does not mean freedom to violate the peace and other people's rights.
For point #2 - While this is good, I think a part of this problem is that people have to mod in said moderation capabilities. These should come standard with the game. This tells a game's community, "We the developers know there are asshats in the general audience. We are arming the silent majority with the way to do something about them. If you spout off, expect repercussions."
...Actually, an explicit message along those lines, along with social management systems, on day 1 isn't a bad idea either...
There is one issue: People (usually women) being threatened with rape and murder for writing critically about games and the behavior of gamers.
That issue stands alone. It is indefensible, and its wrongness is not subject to any mitigation.
Conversations about the nature of a game critic's evidence, the honor and upright virtue of other members of the community, standards of journalism, whether critics are "nice" or "fair"... none of these have any bearing whatsoever on the fact that threatening people with rape and murder is inexcusable, intolerable, and criminal.
I've read so much bullshit along the lines of, "Yeah, people shouldn't do that, but they are a minority, and Sarkeesian cherry-picks evidence in her videos, and journalists might be corrupt..."
Here's what I conclude from these very common efforts to delete, deflect, and diminish the sheer nastiness that goes on all the damn time: Misogyny among gamers is incredibly widespread and tacitly accepted in online communities, including Ars, at levels that may not rise to the criminal, but are nevertheless disgusting.
A lot of that comes down to wanting to disagree and have a discussion like an adult, yet having to also distance yourself from the scum that are committing the nastiness. It's true that it is a minority, it's just an extremely vocal minority.
It's entirely legitimate that someone might have a problem with the ethics of journalism, or disagree with Sarkeesian's points, and also believe that the harassment is unacceptable behavior. Do they simply not get to express their opinion because of the actions of a few?
...I know some games where you run servers (TF2 springs to mind) have the ability to vote on kicking someone. Extending that further might help.
For point #1 - For the stuff that's not happening in a game, then absolutely law enforcement needs to be brought in. Freedom of speech does not mean freedom to violate the peace and other people's rights.
For point #2 - While this is good, I think a part of this problem is that people have to mod in said moderation capabilities. These should come standard with the game. This tells a game's community, "We the developers know there are asshats in the general audience. We are arming the silent majority with the way to do something about them. If you spout off, expect repercussions."
...Actually, an explicit message along those lines, along with social management systems, on day 1 isn't a bad idea either...
It's not a bad idea, but it does take time and effort to do so, which is time and effort not spent on the actual game content. Unfortunately it does come down to what is a better ROI for the developer.
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