A petition to black out Steam for an hour

[DrOswald]

Ok, first of all, anyone saying she faked the threats: Stop it. The fact of the matter is that Anita doesn't need to fake the threat. If her angle here really is publicity all she has to do is take her pick of threats that already exist.

Second, the petition was not started by Anita nor has she retweeted it or anything like that as far as I can tell.

As for the petition, if anyone actually thinks this will discourage this type of behavior they are morons. Can you imagine if this got through? Now you don't even have to DDOS Valve, all you got to do is act like an asshole and they will shut themselves down!

 

[Nowhere Man]

Pretty laughable. Not gonna happen. I wish they would stop trying to desperately take control of everything. If the threats are real (which I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt) its best to find a different way to handle this and keep Valve and it's millions of users out of it. And stop comparing this to SOPA. That's like apples and oranges.

 

[the7ofswords]

What if the petition was set up by a bunch of MRA-types in order to make it look like their game access has been threatened in some way? There's just no way to know, so I guess no one has the right to be upset about the petition.

 

[DrOswald]

What if the petition was set up by a bunch of MRA-types in order to make it look like their game access has been threatened in some way? There's just no way to know, so I guess no one has the right to be upset about the petition.

Honestly? I wouldn't doubt it, though I wouldn't say MRA types, I would say trolls. People who sit in the middle and poke the bear on either side for the sheer joy of screwing with people. This petition actually makes a hell of a lot more sense that way.

 

[thundra]

This is reaching new levels of idiocy.

 

[Eve Charm]

Well when you black out steam or any other service for that matter all the sane people that would just ignore it are going to be pretty pissed and all that down time is going to turn into a lot of free time for more hate to spew.

 

[oooooooooooooooooooooooooo]

What is this a contest to see who is most oppressed ?
Other peoples problems can't possibly be valid because bigger problems exist in the world ?

Peoples problems exist, dismissing peoples problems as stupid etc leads to bad situations and unfortunate outcomes.

Again, I never dismissed anything, but saying all people's problems are equal to all others' is nonsense. There are instances of violations of male rights, I never denied that, but they are not equivocal to the violations of female rights and it makes no sense therefore to believe they deserve equal attention.

So do you live in these other countries ?

Is this about these countries ?

what's that no ?

I live in a country with a 'corrective' rape problem, on top of a rape problem in general. I live in country where our president has been accused of rape and stories of taxi drivers raping girls because of the way they dress are not uncommon on the news, and still this country is far from the worst of it. What it's about is the people and how unacceptable the treatment of them is. It's about how obviously destructive the disregard for female's rights is when it's a part of a society's mindset.

Secondly.......... Ok you did just dismiss someone's problems as unimportant. I guess it's fine guys can just keep throwing themselves off bridges it's not like they have a problem that is important and matter to them [footnote] My uni flat mate nearly did this at one point such that he walked onto the bridge and was actually contemplating it, also also http://dwavenhobble.tumblr.com/post/94506445438/the-story-ive-not-told I wrote that true story, that was me so if I've offended someone here, then good maybe they'll think next time about this. [/footnote]

Again, I never said anything about being dismissive, I said have some perspective. I also read your linked post and I have every bit as intimate an experience with the problems and consequences of depression, so perhaps you should be less presumptuous before you start getting dismissive yourself over whether they my problems.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Regardless how much of an issue the sexism in gaming is. All this talk is making people not give a crap about it. Its getting like PETA now, everyone can agree that animal abuse is bad, but now due to all the stupid stunts PETA does everyone now just ignores them or laughs at them. Their message now lost.

Thing is gaming is big business. Companies are not going to make a ton of gender equality games just because people moan. It will take time. When you are spending millions to make a game you are not going to risk it on a project that wont sell. Thing is why just games, what about movies? TV shows? Music videos? Deal with it in real life first, the likes of Miley etc using their bodies to sell albums. Magazines having woman airbrushed to perfection yet selling them as an ideal female figure. Sort this stuff out and im sure games will follow.

 

[BoogieManFL]

What an idiot. That's like blocking out ALL car manufacturers because you don't like some of them.


Not only with that NOT happen, no matter how many signatures it gets, it wouldn't change anything even if it did. Someone is desperate for attention. The shocking magnitude of some people's idiocy never ceases to amaze me.

 

[CriticalMiss]

So her supporters want to stop the millions of Steam users getting access to their games to raise support for her cause? I'm no expert, but that sounds like a bad idea.

 

[Ragnar47183]

Can we go back to the days where I just bought a video game, played it, and then talked about the cool scene or character with my friends?

It seems strange to constantly see this women rights issues pop up about gaming all the time. You people remember that this isn't real life yeah?

I already dont use social media aside from the forums here. The past year or so of the same crap popping up once a day here is making me want to never come back. Please dont make me leave, I used to like it here....

 

[Zipa]

Does anyone else find it weird that its just Steam and not any other providers like Origin or XBL or PSN?

 

[oooooooooooooooooooooooooo]

That's entirely based upon perspective.

A man stuck with a paper cut on a island with no boat and a lake full of Piranhas doesn't seem like a huge world breaking issue. Unless you're that person

So what you're saying is 40% of Physical abuse cases deserve no attention or effort to stop them ?

yet it's fine to punish 99.9991% of gamers for the actions of 0.0009% and highlight them to represent the community ?

You're saying that it was fine professor Stephen Hawking has his arms slashed and was left outside in the summer head to burn and that doesn't warrant talking about ? Or him often going into work with a Black eye or other injuries ?

Telling other's their problems are small and unimportant is disingenuous and totally failing to see anyone else's perspective. Funny someone claiming to understand and have experienced depression wouldn't get that and would want people to simply ignore their problems to tackle the perceived higher priority ones in society.

If you're unwilling to take anything other than an absolutely binary view of the situation then there is no point taking this discussion further. I've stated multiple times it's got nothing to do with dismissing anyone's problems, but rather having perspective over which problems are more destructive and have a more widespread effect. It's not absolute attention or absolute dismissal, and it's unfortunate that you can't 'get that'. And don't bring this "claiming to understand and have experienced depression" bullshit, as if your experience has given you an absolute understanding of what depression is in everyone else. I have the perspective to understand many people are being forced through a hell of a lot worse things than what I deal with or problems with the girlfriend. That doesn't mean I think my problems are meaningless, they matter a great deal, but I understand that doesn't make them as absolutely vital as issues that are effecting many whole societies across the world.

So strange then that the corrective approach of "don't Rape" doesn't seem to be working then ?
i take it you also live in the country that sided with Heath Mills over paul Mccartney ?

You're seriously going to accuse me of dismissing other peoples' problems and then make a joke about groups of men trying to rape women in heterosexuality? Again, perspective.

Edit: I suppose I should point out the obvious now as well; depression isn't a men's rights issue, seeing as how depressed women exist and they aren't exactly treated any differently.

 

[SweetShark]

It is so serious to be for 1 hour Steam off-line?

 

[Irregular Dice]

Can we go back to the days where I just bought a video game, played it, and then talked about the cool scene or character with my friends?

It seems strange to constantly see this women rights issues pop up about gaming all the time. You people remember that this isn't real life yeah?

I already dont use social media aside from the forums here. The past year or so of the same crap popping up once a day here is making me want to never come back. Please dont make me leave, I used to like it here....

I feel the same way, I'm tired of this. Every time I look at the forums it's always some topic about controversy, misogyny, SJWs, Circle jerks or the occasional "Nintendo is doooooomed!" thread. But even with that, it was tolerable for me, but with these recent controversies I feel overwhelmed. Now there's this petition that does way more harm than good.

PROTIP: If you want people to join on something like this, why not just ask them to do it on their own? That way, you'll leave people neutral to all this alone and your supporters would obviously do it and maybe get a few more people on this. It's a million times better than this, which will only get more people angry at your cause.

Look, Gaming does have problems but it won't be fixed by doing extremes.

Can we all just take a breather, play games, discuss said games and then maybe discuss social matters after tea time?
I just want to talk about games.

 

[Rayce Archer]

I think it's a good idea, just not very well thought out.

Gaming as an industry and fanbase needs to step up and make a decisive statement against the kind of scummy trash that have infested our beloved hobby for years. From the folks who go to street fighter tournaments to scream rape threats at female entrants to the kids who call people faggots for being good at Counter Strike, it's a fact that a lot of sleazy butthats find refuge in gaming and we frankly do nothing to deter them. The sad fact is that most gamers are either utterly ambivalent or are so worried about perceived threats to their hobbies that they gladly tolerate any kind of gibbering anus that calls itself a gamer. Its nothing new, although it does seem to be more discussed of late.

That said, cutting people off on Steam just makes no sense. You'd be dinging the fedora'd, neckbeard-wearing, fund-my-misandry-awareness-videos-on-patreon crowd, but you'd also be dinging the three or four women I play Left 4 dead with, the world cultures prof who I play TF2 with, and tons of other people who are already sympathetic to the problems in the gaming world, and to its need for change.

What we need is to attack these taint-trolls where they live. Drive them from pubbies, kick them from forums, ban them from anything we can for stepping out of line. Much like Kentucky declaring war on the Klu Klux Clan, we must make it so difficult to be a sexist, racist, homophobe asshole in the world of online gaming that those who are either grow up or go the hell home.

 

[NCR Ranger]

Yeah, let's punish Valve, a company that has done absolutely nothing wrong for the actions of a small minority of assholes in the gaming community. I'm sure that'll solve everything.

 

[disgruntledgamer]

there is a good chance she might of done it to her self

Wow, going straight for the victim blaming angle huh? Great way to get people to see your side of the issue pal.

I already showed evidence on the first page that there's a very probable chance they are made up, if you chose not to acknowledge that evidence that's on you.

I could site the literally hundreds of examples of so-called "SJWs" experiencing very real death threats, rape threats, threats of violence, you name it that have accumulated over the last couple years that have been verified, but I know I'd just be wasting my breath.

No by all means show me.

FYI Number of games critics killed for criticizing games = 0

 

[omega 616]

Personally, I don't care about who this woman is or what she says... she could literally be wrong about absolutely EVERYTHING she says and in a slacktivism kind of way, I would support her.

Here is why, she is forcing the conversation ...

Games like dragons crown, which show female body portions that barbie would say "WTF yo!" to or lollipop chainsaw (with the achievement to look up her skirt!), are still being made. What is even more concerning to me is gamers defending games like this.

I am sick of playing an RPG with my male characters in over sized metal armor, looking like literal tanks but the women get cloth to cover the essentials. Men being the hero to save the women. Women being token or just the love interest. Women being men with boobs.

Just want things to be more fair ... plus I find it a little patronizing, like the game designers think I am some low-browed, knuckle dragger, Beevis and Butthead styled "huh, huh uhuhu ... bewbs"

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

Regardless how much of an issue the sexism in gaming is. All this talk is making people not give a crap about it. Its getting like PETA now, everyone can agree that animal abuse is bad, but now due to all the stupid stunts PETA does everyone now just ignores them or laughs at them. Their message now lost.

Thing is gaming is big business. Companies are not going to make a ton of gender equality games just because people moan. It will take time. When you are spending millions to make a game you are not going to risk it on a project that wont sell. Thing is why just games, what about movies? TV shows? Music videos? Deal with it in real life first, the likes of Miley etc using their bodies to sell albums. Magazines having woman airbrushed to perfection yet selling them as an ideal female figure. Sort this stuff out and im sure games will follow.

Exactly, Anita Sarkeesian is quickly turning herself into a joke to many of the people whom she is trying to convince. Almost everything she says or does is a punchline, because she is acting very much like an the animal right's group that sends out ridiculous, yet serious, demands to shut down the meat industry immediately with no ideal how business works, makes violent flash parodies that are played/viewed more by curious people who are opposed to the group than those that could be swayed to their side, and contradicts itself in much of it's PR. If you want your message heard, you don't act like the nutjobs that make demands that are almost impossible to meet.

She's definitely focusing on the wrong industry right now. Games are getting really big, like you said. Sex sells in all markets (except if it's aimed at little kids and there is no reason for parental bonus). Although the over sexualization exists there too, at least the video games and animation industries isn't objectifying real women. Everything else has the latest female stars sexed up to sell their products, and they don't care since it makes them much richer to show skin or not complain about the ad department "enhancing" their assets. It also has the side effect of making young girls who look up to these young women emulate their choice of provocative clothing and attitude as they grow older, and making young boys expect those traits in girls. Maybe, Sarkeesian and crew needs to put more effort into that first before attacking what, even at a glance, can be seen as fake.