Jack Thompson Burnout: Can We Stop Now?

[Andy Chalk]

Jack Thompson Burnout: Can We Stop Now?

I have no idea what the solution is. Waiting for Jack to consign himself to the pits of absolute irrelevance sounds good, but who decides when he's hit bottom? If he is disbarred, as many observers expect is inevitable, will we find ourselves free of him?

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[krysalist]

I'm going to bump this to oblivion. Don't try to stop me, Joe.

 

[Bongo Bill]

People will never stop talking about him as long as we keep writing articles asking when people will stop talking about him.

 

[VanishedOne]

I like to think that one man's base voyeurism might be another's fascinating psychological study.

Seriously, though, a question: suppose you could pick any person to write an article about who's arguing some variant of the position that violent games can be dangerous, without having to worry about marketability, political relevance, etc. Whom would you pick? If I want to take on a thoughtful, cogent position, whose would you recommend?

 

[krysalist]

Bongo Bill, you need to use Jack Thompson's name in a post about Jack Thompson. I think it's in the Escapist's by-laws somewhere.

So, to make up your error, here is a reinterpretation of your post:

"Jack Thompson JT Jacky T. Jack Thompson Thompson, Jack Jackie Boy Jack O'Thompson Thompson Jack Tommy Jack Jack Jack Jack JT JT JT."

 

[anyGould]

I have no problem with ol' Jack being the poster boy for the "evils of gaming" - he's clearly an idiot and a moron, and the more people associate "censorship = raving lunatic", but better the world will be, IMO.

 

[krysalist]

VanishedOne, please refer to the post below yours.

 

[krysalist]

anyGould, you left out the "Thompson."

 

[Repo Man]

Right, i hadnt sacrificed a single thought for this wanker untill i stumbled upon this thread on my usual late night forum rounds. Fun reading as these Escapist articles always are though.

So i shouldnt read about Jack Thompson then ? i agree and you know i dont even bother because in my humble opinion Jack Thompson is a person who has seen too many episodes of and he wants his 15 minutes of fame that is probably guaranteed in the constitution by now but at the end he just wants to score with some M.I.L.F.

Whenever i see news ( if one can actually call them news ) about Jack Thompson, i usually ignore it for the simple fact that the man is scum of the earth in its purest form and this is the reaction he probably wants to generate in audiences around the globe. I simply made an exception this time since it was the Escapist after all and the article hit the nail in the head as always

 

[Katana314]

It's like the Britney and Lindsay things. Stop making stories and it goes away. Stop making stories about him.
And NO, I'm not going to bother with his name. It just gives him more attention.

 

[Andraste]

I agree with some of the things said both in the article and in the comments - media writes about Jack because people read it, and people like to laugh and point at the stories that are there. I actually think there's another point in here, too.

Someone needs to make sure it's documented how completely bizarrely then man acts. It gives people something to point to when the anti-game people trot him or his lawsuits/interviews out. Making sure to let people know this man, claiming such outrageous things about games, is not to be trusted is important to the livelihood of the industry.

 

[ccesarano]

Oh man, I actually plan on going to the Video Game Expo, partly to see Lorne Lanning. But Jack Thompson is going to be there? Man...

Anyway, like Repo Man, I don't read Jack Thompson articles anymore. I only read this because, well, it's The Escapist, and the quote made me think "What? Something might happen where we don't hear about him ever again?". Instead, I find out he may very well be at a gaming convention that I'm attending.

 

[krysalist]

There is far too little JACK EVERLOVING THOMPSON FOREVER in this thread. Jack Thompson and I are out of here.

 

[korosora]

brilliant. piece. of. writing.

i actually do care about the subject but the use of metaphors and freshly stylized writing.

truley the escapist is not just another website about videogames.

 

[Trulock]

Jack is whitewashing in my opinion. I think he is being paid mega bucks by someone to play the fall guy that tries to make games look evil. After him who would try to do something similar just with more reserve and debate? No one since he/she will just be labeled as a JT clone no matter how relevant the argument.

So keep writing about the fool so that we can always point at anyone else trying the same thing and LOL at them without reserve or thought about moral right or wrong.

 

[Lanowar]

Thompson is to use a FF9 reference here Queen Brahne she's loud, annoying, has some sort of power but is ultimately a joke. Last thing anyone wants is Kuja the slick powerful, smart and witty central villain to take center stage.

In short I'd rather have Thompson give these people a bad name then some lawyer who actually can put strong arguement across without resulting to name calling is all.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

Personally, though I find Jack "the Whack" Thompson's opinions odious and reprehensible I also find that his antics make me reach for the popcorn and shush those nearby. This is better entertainment than most theatres offer these days.

Let him hate on, so long as he keeps going so ridiculously over-the-top that even the mainstream media can figure out he's got some rabid bats in his belfry.

Raisinettes, anyone?

-- Steve

 

[Arbre]

I think you should have a script where each post gets at least one "Thompson" from the moment a "Thompson" is mentionned in the title.
Can this be done?

And Maly, we don't read your articles because we love Jack. It's because we love YOU. <3

*wet kisses*

EDIT: Initially, my "smiley" in that post was supposed to look like a heart, but after a second thought, it seems to have more to do with something phalic. Considering the words it follows, I hope you won't misinterpret this symbol of true love. x_x

 

[goodpoltergeist]

Jack Thompson has been in the news recently? I must have missed this under my rock.

And feel free to stop writing about him anytime. I find him to be complete trash and I doubt he's ever going to accomplish much, not when people with brains look back on his track record...

 

[JasonT]

I think most of us would be quite happy to move on to other things, if you'd just let us. Which makes it all quite simple: Want us to stop talking about Jack? Stop reading about him.

With all due respect, this is absolute rubbish.

First of all, you people have the power of agenda setting [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agenda-setting_theory] on your side. It may not be pretty, but go ahead and take some license in what seems newsworthy. Not all papers cover the same tripe. The New York Times ignores the stuff that People covers. Let some other "news" sites cover Jack Thompson.

Second of all, even those of us who seem to be reading about him with you here aren't necessarily doing so. Yes, you will see me registering on your pageviews/requests as I pull links to all your (and Kotaku's, and Joystiq's, and Game Politics's, etc.) articles. Yes, I skim everything I have time to skim, assessing what is actually relevant before I read. And no, I am not interested in reading the stuff about Jack Thompson &mdash; except the posts about whether we can stop talking about him, hoping that they will end with a pledge to stop writing about him. You let me down on this one.

Seriously, he has moved from mildly threatening through loveably zany and into irrelevant. Don't lay this on us. Please write about things that matter to the development of gaming as an industry, a medium, and a culture, and quit pandering to an audience that can get amusingly sensationalistic junkfood elsewhere.