Editor's Note: Why I Still Call Myself a Gamer
- Thread starter Greg Tito
- Start date
BRAVO!
BRAVOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Greg, this has been one of the truest and real things I have heard throughout this entire debacle. I applaud you on this piece, and hope to see more great things coming from you in the future. I really wish your mentality was spread more across the gaming media.
BRAVOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Greg, this has been one of the truest and real things I have heard throughout this entire debacle. I applaud you on this piece, and hope to see more great things coming from you in the future. I really wish your mentality was spread more across the gaming media.
Bingo. Spot on and a constructive message I for one can only applaud and fully support. Coming to The Escapist (as a full member, not just reader) now feels even more like the right thing for me as a video games enthusiast.
Mr. Tito, what you, Archon and the rest of the Escapist hierarchy have said and put into place this day have really stirred the gamer spirit within me. What has been written in that note is something of a beacon to us all: a reminder, a remembrance...and a hope. I think the only other thing I can add is a moment from Wild ARMs 1:
"The light that has been forgotten is waiting among our people. The power that is derived from Courage is the power to conquer the past. It is the essence of the inner revolution. The power to protect the precious is the power of Love. The powers of Love and Courage are the powers of the west wind. The hope for tomorrow. The belief in possibilities is the power of Hope. The great flapping wings of Zephyr will ultimately open Filgaia's future." - Baskar Chief
"The light that has been forgotten is waiting among our people. The power that is derived from Courage is the power to conquer the past. It is the essence of the inner revolution. The power to protect the precious is the power of Love. The powers of Love and Courage are the powers of the west wind. The hope for tomorrow. The belief in possibilities is the power of Hope. The great flapping wings of Zephyr will ultimately open Filgaia's future." - Baskar Chief
Some sanity in this ugly mess, big applauds to you Greg. I knew there was a reason why I only visit The Escapist on a regular basis when it comes to gaming sites.
Looks like keeping the forum thread open has brought some new eyes to the The Escapist, much more importantly peoples ears were unplugged and actually listened. I can't thank everyone involved enough, except by sticking around.
Have to point out here that The Escapist in general and Greg Tito in particular have always been pretty progressive in preventing harassment of female developers in the comment section. The Escapist handled a stalker making inappropriate sexual remarks and personal attacks in the comment section of an interview I did on the site a few years ago very well, and fairly quickly.
Sexual harassment of female journalists and game developers is not "free speech", and removing such remarks is not censorship. Male journalists and developers do not have to tolerate this kind of abuse, and there is no reason that women in this industry should.
Sexual harassment of female journalists and game developers is not "free speech", and removing such remarks is not censorship. Male journalists and developers do not have to tolerate this kind of abuse, and there is no reason that women in this industry should.
Thank you, Greg.Greg Tito said:
And with you as a proxy I am thanking everyone here on the Escapist that helped make these discussions a bit less painfull to endure.
I just hope that we can salvage the debris of gameing culture now and take the few positive things and thoughts that came out of this mess.
Lets be good people and work together, focusing on our one true enemy: The Publishers!
(just joking. A little bit at least.)
We'll said and thank you. Both for this post, and for keeping the discussion open (please give Topaz and crew a fruit basket and a day or two off, from all of us.)
We all fully respect your stand on harassment. Making it vile and personal is never a good thing. But one other important takeaway from this. "Don't read the comments" helped create #Gamergate. On top of calling out and standing up to the harassers there is another step which is critical. One that you either intent or through the best snap judgement ever made you highlighted these past three weeks. Reading the comments are important. The conversations need to happen. But let them happen in places that can be kept safe and fairly moderated. Where we can discuss ideas and not people. Your forums are useless to you if you are not reading them. Walk away from Twitter and have the conversation with your customers in your backyard. Learn from your superb moderation staff and spread their example. Don't fear the conversation, just don't tolerate the assholes.
We all fully respect your stand on harassment. Making it vile and personal is never a good thing. But one other important takeaway from this. "Don't read the comments" helped create #Gamergate. On top of calling out and standing up to the harassers there is another step which is critical. One that you either intent or through the best snap judgement ever made you highlighted these past three weeks. Reading the comments are important. The conversations need to happen. But let them happen in places that can be kept safe and fairly moderated. Where we can discuss ideas and not people. Your forums are useless to you if you are not reading them. Walk away from Twitter and have the conversation with your customers in your backyard. Learn from your superb moderation staff and spread their example. Don't fear the conversation, just don't tolerate the assholes.
While what you say makes perfect sense and I agree with you, I can't help but feel you're preaching to the choir here. As far as abuse go, the Escapist has very little of it. It rears its face now and again, like with the I hit it with my axe videos, but compared to other places on the internet, this is like a damned zen garden of peace and tranquility.
Greg we may not like the same games and we may not even agree about why they are good or bad, but today we agree on this issue.
I thank you for letting the discussion to continue despite the horribly behaviour displayed early on by people in that thread, while anger and bile does still crop up from time to time it has become a mostly civil discussion that I feel has led to changes for the better, it must have been tempting to close it and forget the whole thing, but as a fan of the site thank you for keeping this a place that respects it's user base.
I hope that you do not receive any abuse by anyone for any perceived "giving in" to whatever the detractors feel it is appropriate to call us today, if nothing else comes out of the discussion or discourse at least we can say there was one and it was for the better.
I wish we could have the discourse with others, any or all of them, free of the anger bile and abuse that seemingly permeates every aspect of the internet from the smallest site to the biggest, we can work together and keep abuse down.
I thank you for letting the discussion to continue despite the horribly behaviour displayed early on by people in that thread, while anger and bile does still crop up from time to time it has become a mostly civil discussion that I feel has led to changes for the better, it must have been tempting to close it and forget the whole thing, but as a fan of the site thank you for keeping this a place that respects it's user base.
I hope that you do not receive any abuse by anyone for any perceived "giving in" to whatever the detractors feel it is appropriate to call us today, if nothing else comes out of the discussion or discourse at least we can say there was one and it was for the better.
I wish we could have the discourse with others, any or all of them, free of the anger bile and abuse that seemingly permeates every aspect of the internet from the smallest site to the biggest, we can work together and keep abuse down.
Nicely written Mr. Tito. Thank you for working to give all of us a voice, thank you for giving us a fair shake. Not one person has stood up for harassment, but likewise nobody should using the existence of harassment on the internet as a defense against valid criticism. Engage people as equals and individuals, and understand that a fellow human being is on the far end of your communications.
Its been thrown about that various people some in the community, some in in the press, and some in development have used either numbers, or influence to bully others into silence and it needs to stop. All of them. Not simply trying to shout down troublemakers with faceless accounts, but people with higher profiles need to act responsibly with that influence.
I cancelled my pub-club a year ago. I'll be back in by the end of the night.
Its been thrown about that various people some in the community, some in in the press, and some in development have used either numbers, or influence to bully others into silence and it needs to stop. All of them. Not simply trying to shout down troublemakers with faceless accounts, but people with higher profiles need to act responsibly with that influence.
I cancelled my pub-club a year ago. I'll be back in by the end of the night.
Liked this article!
Honestly, those "gamer culture is dead" articles all seemed a little over-dramatic to me. I mean, I've always maintained "gamer" is a bit of a silly word, but all the same, they came across as insulting to anyone playing video games.
I'm very happy to see peoples tempers cool down, and though the escapist isn't a perfect site, I like that their stance has been level-headed.
Honestly, those "gamer culture is dead" articles all seemed a little over-dramatic to me. I mean, I've always maintained "gamer" is a bit of a silly word, but all the same, they came across as insulting to anyone playing video games.
I'm very happy to see peoples tempers cool down, and though the escapist isn't a perfect site, I like that their stance has been level-headed.
Just stopping by to say thanks, this website really was going around in circles without learning anything from its mistakes.