Any good game/general geek sites that dont moan about sexism/racism/homophobia?

[MrHide-Patten]

Oh, this person had a problem with the violence with the violence/sexism/other things people are within their full rights to be offended by as the Lehman ay also find them offensive, especially if the reader is interested or in tune with the reviewers/critics preferences.

It's not like I can look at multiple sources, I'd need a system that can connect me to a wealth of information from all over the globe, but such tech is surely the stuff of Science fiction.

 

[Vigormortis]

no I'm not, I am being 100% serious (well ok 95%), it might have become a punch line (for people who generally don't understand the idea of privilege) but this is one of the few times I would say that and mean it

Egh. The very idea behind the terminology is ridiculous. It is deservedly a punch line.

because in op's case the fact that they are THAT incensed over someone bringing these things up in a context of a review or pretty much AT ALL (Honestly? is it actually in the reviews that much?) and they not only declare it utterly unimportant and irrelevant but want to actively avoid it paints a very clear picture of their outlook, and no people can care about what they want and I can't help that but there's really no being neutral here

Sure there is. One can easily be neutral on this. If the OP doesn't want to listen to those kinds of discussions, he's more than welcome to voice his disdain with always seeing them. (though I'd argue what kind of prevalence they ACTUALLY have to cause such alarm, but that's another discussion for another day)

He's well within his rights of voicing his opinion. As are you. But chastising him for not wanting something you or I want isn't the best course of action.

Now, if the OP wants to actively silence these kinds of discussions, then we have a problem. Then I support your fervor entirely. But I do not believe that is what the OP wants in this instance.

There are better ways of approaching and responding to the topic. Saying "check your privilege" may seem like a concise and apt response, but it's needlessly dismissive, pointless derogatory, and does a disservice to the actual discussion people like you and I would like to engage in.

You are better than that, Vault. I've seen how smart and level-headed you are, as evidenced by your tenure here at The Escapist. We don't need to stoop such levels by using phrases like, "check your privilege".

[sub]For the record: I believe you and I are likely far more in agreement on a lot of things than this singular thread may be an indication of. So don't take my criticisms as an attack or disagreement with your beliefs.[/sub]

 

[tilmoph]

I want news about games/movies/comics, I don't give a shit about whether or not something is 'problematic'.

Are there any major sites that keep this shit out of their reviews, previews and basic discussions? I don't want to give ad revenue to any company that thinks these things are relevant in the discussion of video games, tv shows or comics or whatever.

While it definitely is not major by any stretch of the term, I think ChristCenteredGamer might actually fit the bill content wise. Hold on, I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out.

The reviews themselves are focused 99% on the game's content; world building, graphical quality, mechanics, and execution and glitches. The whole christ-centered aspect comes in in 2 forms. First, at the end of the review, the reviewer will have a one paragraph overview covering things like level of mandatory drug-use, how the game treats sins like murder and theft (good, neutral, or evil acts), the kinds of things concerned parents and conservative christian types might care about. Secondly, the reviews have two sideboxes, one, called highlights, has strong points and weak points, which are focused solely on the game, and morality warnings, which are things of specific interest to the prior mentioned groups. The second is the keeping of two separate scores; the first is, again, the game score using a percent score, based on x/50. x Is the total of the subscores; gameplay (rated 0-20) graphics, sound (both 0-10) stability, and controls (0-5). The morality score, which again is separate and has no bearing on the game score, is again percent of x/50, and is made of violence, language, sexual content, occult, and ethical/moral, all having up to ten points.

The reviews themselves are detailed and well-written, and do a good job of conveying the in game experience of the reviewer, which, as noted, and in spite of the name, don't go into conservative/christian moral perspectives until the end "morality paragraph", otherwise being solely focused on the game itself. I think this might be up your alley, regardless of your beliefs, since the site does an impeccable job of separating moral and cultural arguments about a game from discussion and overview of the quality of the game as a game.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

I want news about games/movies/comics, I don't give a shit about whether or not something is 'problematic'.

Are there any major sites that keep this shit out of their reviews, previews and basic discussions? I don't want to give ad revenue to any company that thinks these things are relevant in the discussion of video games, tv shows or comics or whatever.

If you find one, please let me know! I'd desperately like to know too. I would dearly love a gaming site without the social issues surfacing every which way.

 

[Vault101]

Egh. The very idea behind the terminology is ridiculous. It is deservedly a punch line.

maybe throwing out "check your privilege" isn't the best response since in some cases it relies on the assumption that they do fit that certain demographic (and one would look something like a fool if they didn't)...BUT

but but but but

Privilege as the general concept goes is I think a perfectly valid idea, and we often see it in action. Being able to dismiss it so freely indicates they aren't adversely affected by it

and yes I can't help what people wish and do not wish to see...its just an utter refusal to acknowledge something really grinds my gears

oh well...I suppose its better than being disingenuous

 

[MiracleOfSound]

I'm of the opinion that a review should stick to telling people whether or not the product is worth their time and money. .

If a game represents a person or their gender, race, social group in a negative light, it's very likely to not be worth their time or money.

It's perfectly fair for a reviewer to point this out. Unless they're docking it points it doesn't need to be an issue.

You might not care if it has elements that people find kinda shitty, but other people do.

This is you right now:

 

[renegade7]

Well usually when a site reviews a game, only one member of the site reviews of it. So if a game I'm interested in gets reviewed by the resident feminist instead of a reviewer who's opinion I actually care about, I'll have to go to a different site instead.

Part of the process of growing up is realizing that no one is ever going to align perfectly with your beliefs and that your beliefs aren't relevant to every damn thing. Just because a feminist wrote a review does not mean the review drew entirely, or even at all, on feminist ideology. In life, there are going to be people who are religious, or atheists, liberals, conservatives, moon landing deniers, and whatever else including feminists, and you're not going to have a choice about what the people around you believe, and if that's your attitude then you're going to be a miserable and lonely person indeed. People aren't defined solely by what causes they identify with. It's really shallow to think "this person believes differently than me, therefore I can't respect his opinion on anything regardless of its relation to the subject on which we disagree."

Well why not? No one is stopping you. I'm a fan of metal, and I don't care if you think metal is pointless bullshit. It's your opinion, which you are obviously free to have.

Sure, but that wouldn't mean that it's pointless to everyone. If the Escapist was a music-related news site, then there would no doubt be some metal stuff discussed. It might seem trivial to you, but you're not the only person the Escapist serves. Some people actually are interested in the place of video games within society and that means we can't ignore the social influences of games and the social influences that effect how they are made. You don't have to read them if you're not interested, but don't come into such a large platform as the Escapist and then complain that it doesn't cater only to your interests.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

He's well within his rights of voicing his opinion. As are you. But chastising him for not wanting something you or I want isn't the best course of action.

Of course he's "within his rights", Vigor, but that's kind of a worthless assertion. That's not the only way we weigh or assess publicly stated opinions. Whether the person was "within their rights" to make them. We also consider things such as whether they are intelligent, reasoned, balanced, etc, etc. How we express ourselves in speech can reflect everything from our intelligence to our values.

"I like X, everything that isn't X is stupid and worthless" is an opinion people are within their rights to have, but that doesn't make it a particularly admirable or defensible position. No one can force the OP to not think that way, but the OP should fully expect a certain degree of censure if they state such an opinion in a public space.

I could have the opinion that modern economies should run on a barter system. It is my right to have that opinion! If I state said opinion in a public forum, and it faces ridicule or debate, I cannot really get stroppy about it. Well, I can, but that says something even further about me, and my ability to carry on civilized discourse with other human beings.

TLDR "I want less politics in my gaming reviews" is a perfectly reasoned statement. "I want less politics in my gaming reviews because that stuff is stupid and worthless" is not. Further elaborating on that position by suggesting the people who care about such things need psychiatric help is an openly ignorant statement. It does not merit impassioned defense.

 

[Vigormortis]

snip

I was going by the opening post. I have not perused the entirety of the thread, so if further statements were made I was not privy to them.

I only quoted Vault's post because hers was directly above mine and I'd glanced at it while making sure my comment had posted correctly.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I was going by the opening post.

The problem began in the opening post and only got worse from there. OP is welcome to their preferences, but if they choose a combative stance from the word go, they're going to find a lot of combat.

I only quoted Vault's post because hers was directly above mine and I'd glanced at it while making sure my comment had posted correctly.

In your defense that was the first time I've ever seen someone use "check your privilege" non-ironically before. I assumed it was a straw-argument thrown around by those who go in terror of the wicked SJW hordes I am to understand are lurking behind every URL.

 

[Vigormortis]

The problem began in the opening post and only got worse from there. OP is welcome to their preferences, but if they choose a combative stance from the word go, they're going to find a lot of combat.

Well sure, but I've come to expect that sort of thing around here whenever this sort of topic is brought up. So I thought I'd just ignore the hostility, give a recommendation to a good geek-culture news site, and move on.

In your defense that was the first time I've ever seen someone use "check your privilege" non-ironically before. I assumed it was a straw-argument thrown around by those who go in terror of the wicked SJW hordes I am to understand are lurking behind every URL.

That's the only reason I responded to her post.

 

[Thaluikhain]

A good site that caters solely to straight white guys?

Huh...

 

[Schadrach]

I want news about games/movies/comics, I don't give a shit about whether or not something is 'problematic'.

Are there any major sites that keep this shit out of their reviews, previews and basic discussions? I don't want to give ad revenue to any company that thinks these things are relevant in the discussion of video games, tv shows or comics or whatever.

You can never be entirely free of that sort of thing, but there are some sites that at least try. Unfortunately, they are mostly smaller sites.

This site honestly isn't too bad, aside from the past year or two of the forums, but just don't click on those threads.

GoodGamers, TwentyOz, NicheGamer, TechRaptor all at least aren't at Gawker/Polygon levels. However, none of them are as content rich as this site, not even close. They just aren't big enough.

 

[IceForce]

Well, this thread backfired, badly.

Often I can't just 'read around it', because the perceived sexism or whatever has an impact on the final score.

So, if a game gets 0.5 (or even less) points taken off at the end for something you "don't care" about and view to be "unimportant", you require another reviewer or review site altogether?

How petty are you?

That would be like me saying I don't care about graphics and believe them to be "unimportant", so I refuse to consume any reviews where points are docked because the reviewer didn't like the graphics.
Oh, and I also demand a site/reviewer cater to my specific tastes on graphics.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I think we all should go back to political correctness. As least I never saw any neo-nazis flagrantly using that phrase.

You never saw "it's PC gone mad!"?

 

[Skatologist]

snip

3.46% referenced every variation of realism and immersion

Oh God, I'm much angrier finding those words being used in a review or editorial than any mention of an -ism or a -phobia. It usually just seems so...utterly boring and useless to say and has absolutely no reason to be brought up for any sort of discussion

 

[the December King]

This is a general rule I try to follow when considering games:

Don't listen to reviews, plain and simple. Look at trailers, demos, let's plays and alpha/betas, but don't for a second rely on the perceptions of others for your entertainment. Make up your own mind.

I don't tend to follow this guide when considering movies or books, but the medium change merits other considerations most of the time.

 

[mecegirl]

In your defense that was the first time I've ever seen someone use "check your privilege" non-ironically before. I assumed it was a straw-argument thrown around by those who go in terror of the wicked SJW hordes I am to understand are lurking behind every URL.

That's the only reason I responded to her post.

Considering the OP's stance is anyone surprised? I think it's fair to assume that most people play games to have fun. I think we can also agree that (insert ist, ism, or phobia here) are not fun. So for those of us who have to deal with such things in our day to day lives having them pop up in media that we are trying to enjoy puts a dampener on the fun. He may be tired of hearing people's complaints about it, some of us are tired of dealing with it. And he can be tired of hearing it all he wants, but to dismiss others concerns as "pointless bullshit" is pretty self absorbed. The phrase "check your privilege" may be used to death but why avoid using it if the shoe fits? And I don't see how using it is any less dismissive than telling the OP that the world doesn't revolve around him (like a lot of posters are doing in this thread). All in all the meaning of both phrases are the same, one just has the specter of "SJW's" behind it.

 

[BytByte]

ITT: Person asks for recommendations for sites that don't talk about sexism/racism/homophobia because he personally doesn't care for it and you get two pages worth of people telling him he's selfish and should check his privilege.

You forgot to mention that he called the stuff he personally doesn't care for "shit" and how he won't give "ad revenue to any company that thinks these things are relevant". People like Guppy pointed out that he is perfectly reasonable in not wanting to read those things in his reviews. That's cool. But what's not cool is him saying that the stuff he doesn't like is, again, "shit". It's not his opinion people are criticizing him for, it's how he voiced it.

 

[Sleepy Sol]

ITT: Person asks for recommendations for sites that don't talk about sexism/racism/homophobia because he personally doesn't care for it and you get two pages worth of people telling him he's selfish and should check his privilege.

I want news about games/movies/comics, I don't give a shit about whether or not something is 'problematic'.

Are there any major sites that keep this shit out of their reviews, previews and basic discussions? I don't want to give ad revenue to any company that thinks these things are relevant in the discussion of video games, tv shows or comics or whatever.

I imagine if he would have worded it as perhaps "Are there any sites out there that tend to stay largely apolitical? I'm not worried about any of these topics and would like to avoid them." he wouldn't have gotten such responses.

The issue is not his question, but his tone.