Demonization of Moviebob and other Escapist Staff

[firebobm173]

Lately there seems to be a huge backlash against some of the escapist staff, and Moviebob seems to be the one bearing the brunt of it. There was even a thread [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.859921-Poll-Should-MovieBob-be-Fired-An-Open-Letter-to-the-Escapist] calling for him to be outright fired. Grey Carter of Critical Miss fame wasn't [https://twitter.com/GreyTheTick/status/508239619427557376] impressed [https://twitter.com/GreyTheTick/status/508242063473639424], and evidently neither were the moderators since that post was locked almost immediately. While Moviebob has actually calmed down quite a bit since then, Grey seems to have picked up the metaphorical sword and has been vocally against the gamergate movement on twitter [https://twitter.com/GreyTheTick], although he hasn't been quite as vehement about it as MovieBob was. People have even been trying to get Greg Tito fired by writing to his superiors at Defy Media. As for the forums in general you can find something of a "greatest hits" here [https://twitter.com/Escapist_TXT].
Even Jim Sterling hasn't been safe, and he was actually trying to stay neutral about this whole thing. The week before last, he made a video [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/9676-Everythings-Awful-But-Its-Not-That-Bad] where he just tried to get people to calm by saying that things weren't as bad as they seemed at the time and that we're all still gamers (although in light of the events since then I feel it's safe to say that things really are that bad). By the time of next week's Jimquisition [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/9695-Quit-Using-The-Term-Social-Justice-Warriors] he had been harassed by gamergate advocates to the point where he made the entire video about how stupid the anti-SJW movement is. He's even talked about how even though he wanted to be neutral in this, was effectively [http://i.imgur.com/lQrls16.png] forced [https://twitter.com/JimSterling/status/504974988944748544] to take a side, and found that he was in good company [https://twitter.com/JimSterling/status/504976633652985857].
While all of these people have been painted with the same tar brush, Moviebob seems to have become the mascot for the Social Justice Warrior conspiracy here on the escapist forums. As one last thing, I'd like to post what I believe to be moviebob's commentary on issues relevant to this.
Moviebob on #Gamergate [http://moviebob.blogspot.com/2014/09/a-long-post-about-gamergate.html](posted just before Zoe's 4chan IRC's were posted in twitter)
Moviebob on #GamerGate and how other media's journalists reacted [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/moviesandtv/columns/moviebob/12173-Comparing-Film-Journalism-and-Games-Journalism]
Moviebob on bullying in gaming culture [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJi0C3fhVtc](posted just before this whole Zoe Quinn and Gamergate thing exploded)
Moviebob on [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/5950-Tropes-vs-MovieBob]tropes vs women [http://www.screwattack.com/shows/partners/game-overthinker/game-overthinker-overbytes-tropes-vs-women](posted a while ago, obviously)
MovieBob talks about sexism in nerd culture [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/5436-Not-Okay](another old one)
Moviebob on conflicts between gamers and feminists [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/4719-Gender-Games]
Moviebob on problems in game culture [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/4969-Words-for-Nerds](for the most part only the last point in the video is relevant here)
For what it's worth I agree with him on these issues, but want to give him a fair shake here on the forums and would like to here what other people think of what he's said.

 

[Colour Scientist]

The paranoia in that list of SJW journalists is astounding.

Ruin our hobby.
Culture of shaming and censorship.
Welcoming diversity as long as it's not diversity of thought.

You couldn't make that shit up. XD

 

[Soviet Heavy]

As usual, when people disagree with what someone has to say, idiots will not walk away and instead try to silence the opposition.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

That SJW list made me laugh, and then I laughed harder when people were declaring that those people are ruining games.

I'm surprised I hadn't broken my spleen, or at least a kidney. I mean, have you ever laughed so hard your whole body hurts?

Shit ain't fun, yo.

Anyhoo, there will always be people who don't like things and will go out of their way to tell other people how much they don't like something. This whole thing went to hell so fast that I'm surprised no one got whiplash over it, and that they're are no reports of hearing loss from all the people shouting at the "opposition" over... something. I don't even know anymore. I felt really bad for Jim since everyone was yelling at him to say something about it, and never mind he has been for a long time.

In any event, this whole thing has just shown just immature the "gaming community" still is, and will probably be for a while. Kinda sad really.

 

[Muspelheim]

The paranoia in that list of SJW journalists is astounding.

Ruin our hobby.
Culture of shaming and censorship.
Welcoming diversity as long as it's not diversity of thought.

You couldn't make that shit up. XD

Amusingly, I imagine there is quite some overlap between the valiant gaming minutemen and the type of person who says "lel butthurt!" alot. Or did, perhaps butthurt is a bit oldhat now. But still, I suppose irony is the word.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I've always liked MovieBob and to be honest, I'm rather baffled by the outright hatred that he has been attracting simply because he's pointing out how silly this whole thing is. All these people have done is proven him, and so many others out there, right about how the gaming community is a terrible place for anyone who might have a different opinion than the people screaming the loudest.

I don't know much about MovieBob, but I've watched Jim Sterling take a lot of flak on Twitter and the like for the last two weeks. It's been depressing as hell. Jim's a good guy, he's a nice guy, and he's a good critic. This attack on the Escapist Staff has been really harsh, and I wish that Escapist would stand up for them somehow. I don't know how, without upsetting that huge monster thread, but I wish they could.

Honestly, I think they're doing a good job about standing up for themselves. When a two year old starts screaming and throwing a tantrum, you don't cave. You ignore them. I think that's what they're doing. Eventually, these people will either shut up, or they will leave and the escapist will be better for it. If they want to stand up to these losers, then they should just keep doing their jobs and not worry about them. I'm fairly certain there are more of us out here who enjoy the staff here than the ones who hate them.

 

[Cyberstrike_v1legacy]

The paranoia in that list of SJW journalists is astounding.

Ruin our hobby.
Culture of shaming and censorship.
Welcoming diversity as long as it's not diversity of thought.

You couldn't make that shit up. XD

Sounds like a bunch of ultra conservative right-wingers to me. People who can't stand the fact the world has changed and is changing around them and they don't like it. So they rant and rave like crazy people and think that everyone is with them, when in reality most people don't like them or their bad and outdated ideas and they make up stupid conspiracy theories to explain why the number of people who show up at their stupid rallies are laughable small and how the government is too blame for their hangnails and watch liars sell them overpriced (and basically worthless) gold coins. Then they wonder why most people who aren't with them think they should be taken to mental hospital for much needed help.

 

[Neverhoodian]

Look, I know people are spewing shit (on BOTH sides, I'll remind you) and tempers are frayed, but the Escapist staff are all adults here. I think they can take care of themselves just fine.

Also, I'm not sure why you think Archon's comments were "utterly sarcastic." One only has to look at his excellent article [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/profiles/posts/Archon] Greg Tito recently wrote about 4Chan and Zoe Quinn.

 

[The Wooster]

I think that the Escapist can do something similar. It wouldn't have to go to the trolls, but it would give the guys support and let everyone know that they're not just floundering here. A lot of people are under the impression these guys are about to lose their jobs (I'm a lurker, what can I say). And I would love it if the Escapist could do something a bit subtle, but still funny enough that would let everyone know that their support is behind their staff.

If that makes sense.

While I appreciate the sentiment, I think the Escapist has done a good enough job of supporting us through pretty much every controversy you can think of. If they didn't fire my ass for WGDF, I doubt they're going to fire me over this nonsense.

 

[thundra]

this is why i hate nerd and gaming "culture". Suggest that it isn't perfect in every conceivable way or that it isn't superior in storytelling than other mediums like comics, books or movies and you get callef as anti-christ or next hitler.

 

[firebobm173]

He is not a mascot of anything but twitter drama. He is getting shit on twitter for saying intolerant things, especially about fat or disabled people.

You do not gang up on someone with cancer. You do not gang up on someone in a wheelchair. I shouldn't have to be the one to tell anyone this. I shouldn't have to tell people that bullying people who are too sick to fight back is BAD.

What next, are people going to go pick fights in the cancer ward of a fucking children's hospital? Is this how far we have fallen?

Moviebob isn't an SJW because he is way too intolerant in his twitter. Sure he apologized, but the 2 week long tirade is unforgivable. He even associated with other intolerant people but then turned around and said he despised intolerance in gaming.

Gamergate has been writing all advertisers and linking them to intolerant messages and telling advertisers that gamers are offended by their sponsoring of hate speech and to drop those gaming sites. Hell, the entire point was to get advertisers notified of the crap some gaming figureheads post on twitter.

Moviebob isn't getting demonized on twitter because of his SJW slant. He is getting demonized for associating with intolerant people and saying (or retweeting) intolerant things in his twitter.

Ever since this scandal became racialized, you can't afford to insult anyone anymore. This isn't the 1980s were gamers are all rich white people. When you insult gamers or talk down to the industry TODAY, you are also talking down to minorities and women as well. It doesn't matter if you didn't realize that the market is more diverse than it was in the past.

Minorities are sick of being ignored. Women are sick of being ignored. The advertiser boycott and the complaints are just a symptom of the rage they feel.

Ok first of all could you please show me what intolerant people he's associated with and things he's said? I have no knowledge of this so I'd like to see what evidence you can get to back up your case. As for the things he's said about fat people, to my knowledge all they really are is him telling people to get up off their asses and exercise. While it is a bit hypocritical to see this without acknowledging that he is overweight, it's still a good message and it's never been fat shaming. And about the minorities part, where did you get the idea that he's against minorities and women in gaming? Everything I've seen of him points to the exact opposite position on this issue.

 

[DANEgerous]

I do not agree with any of Moviebob's ideas on GamerGate but I do not think he should be fired just because I disagree with himI I do think he likely has been unfairly demonized as has most of the opposition to GamerGate. I no not think any of them a trying to destroy the game industry even if I do think they are all wrong.

 

[Angelblaze]

Oh look, people doing to the escapist what the whole internet, including the escapist, has been doing to tumblr for YEEEEEEEEARS

After many years of people essentially saying they didn't care when I asked them to chill it down with the tumblr hate, I offer you my sympathies but damn am I glad its happening.

 

[firebobm173]

You had no knowledge of what was happening, but you put up a thread defending someone? Really?

Devin Faraci - He thinks #notyourshield is fake. Moviebob retweeted it after his apology.

https://twitter.com/the_moviebob

That is highly offensive to try to disregard minority opinions.

Not only that, but Moviebob got into a spat with Boogie for saying we should be skeptical of gaming media. Body shaming of a guy who can't walk.

Rami Ismail - Disregards everything because of "how it started." Stifling discussion.

http://ramiismail.com/2014/09/my-brief-opinion-on-gamergate/
https://twitter.com/tha_rami

Also says we should just drop the whole thing. Just because.

Hell some off these comments say gamers are "just bored" so they "invent drama."

On september 4th, Moviebob retweeted Andy Khouri saying any gamers who care about gamergate should be told to fuck off by journalists and content producers.

Moviebob's entire twitter is retweeted insults.

I am aware of Devin Faraci (in fact I started the thread [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.859458-Devin-Faraci-on-what-is-driving-the-gamergate-gamers#21334557] that seems to have brought him to the forum's attention). As for #notyourshield it really was [https://archive.moe/v/thread/261343810/#261347271] started on 4chan, with the link taking you to the first known use of the term. Also, Zoe Quinn's IRC posts showed people saying they'd go "blackface" [https://twitter.com/TheQuinnspiracy/status/508184768815448064/photo/1] on twitter to support #notyourshield. It's also worth mentioning that someone brings up the fact that they're not Caucasian in the IRC pic, and the fact that he bothered pointing that out seems to show that white people using sockpuppets is the norm. As for what he's been saying himself, I agree with most everything he's said and don't think he should've apologized for it.

 

[Happiness Assassin]

Now I am going to preface this by saying that the last thing I want is for anyone on the Escapist staff to be fired. I may disagree with them in this regard, but never would I consider having an differing opinion a fire-able offense. However...

This whole thing has left me extremely bitter against people in the industry and sites that I once frequented often, including contributors on this site. Moviebob has conducted himself in an extremely unprofessional manner, both in regards to this and at other points in the past and at this point I have stopped listening to anything he says, as he is so condescending and so abrasive that he makes Richard Dawkins appear cuddly by comparison. Jim on the other hand just makes me sad. He is always so vocal when gamers get the raw end of the deal and he has said almost nothing in regards to the mass censorship that has been going on sites like Reddit. I honestly couldn't care less about his personal stance on women in gaming (FYI I agree almost entirely agree that women are underrepresented), but the fact that he has being pretty damn selective in how he applies his ideals when it comes to people he personally knows disappoints me more than anything.

However, I also Devin Faraci (editor of Badass Digest) is an asshole to the nth degree and honestly is the only person in this whole debacle who should be straight up fired. Never have I seen someone in the games industry (much less an editor of a major website) act with open contempt in regards to anyone who disagrees with them (as well as those who had no skin in this game at all, like Boogie2988).

What got me into this whole thing was when I started hearing about this whole scandal on Reddit I went into a thread regarding this and asked why no site ever talked about The Fine Young Capitalists. I was then apparently shadowbanned (and later un-shadowbanned) for seemingly no reason at all. The fact that TFYC have barely even been talked about in the games media just drives that home for me. If you had told me a month ago that I (as a person who did and still does identify as a feminist) would be railing against the likes of Anita and others, I would have said you were crazy.

 

[firebobm173]

Jesus christ.

So suddenly 4chan is all white men? Secondly, #notyourshield was started by a black developer. Even the fucking chat was asking where #notyourshield came from when it started popping off.

It caught 4chan off guard.

There are people in #notyourshield who are actually *gasp* not white. How fucking far how we fallen where if you aren't white you are suddenly a sockpuppet?

Now its not just "fake gamer girlz" anymore, I guess we have "fake black gamers" too! Oh no!

News flash: Black people exist, and they are not obligated to agree with you. Do I have to spell this out for people?

Twitter is a huge fucking entity. 4chan is not as powerful as you think it is. Its been dead for years as any sort of force on the internet. Anonymous either left or it got caught when anonOPS got taken down.

Twitter is much larger than 4chan and people actually use it. There WILL be nonwhite gamers. There WILL be women.

In fact, 40-50% of gamers are women.

Of course Zoe is going to say "its a conspiracy" because if she doesn't she will be the black sheep of the industry. Do you think the court stops at the not guilty plea too?

I never said that there weren't minorities in #notyourshield, I simply said that the whole thing was started by 4chan. While I believe that the whole was caused by 4chan manipulation, some people did get caught up in it as a sincere attempt to fight corruption in games journalism. As for black gamers not existing, I never said that or implied that in any way. I know that it's easy to get angry about this, but please do not mistake me for someone pretending minorities to not exist and shouldn't be represented in gaming, as I believe the polar opposite.

 

[firebobm173]

Now I am going to preface this by saying that the last thing I want is for anyone on the Escapist staff to be fired. I may disagree with them in this regard, but never would I consider having an differing opinion a fire-able offense. However...

This whole thing has left me extremely bitter against people in the industry and sites that I once frequented often, including contributors on this site. Moviebob has conducted himself in an extremely unprofessional manner, both in regards to this and at other points in the past and at this point I have stopped listening to anything he says, as he is so condescending and so abrasive that he makes Richard Dawkins appear cuddly by comparison. Jim on the other hand just makes me sad. He is always so vocal when gamers get the raw end of the deal and he has said almost nothing in regards to the mass censorship that has been going on sites like Reddit. I honestly couldn't care less about his personal stance on women in gaming (FYI I agree almost entirely agree that women are underrepresented), but the fact that he has being pretty damn selective in how he applies his ideals when it comes to people he personally knows disappoints me more than anything.

However, I also Devin Faraci (editor of Badass Digest) is an asshole to the nth degree and honestly is the only person in this whole debacle who should be straight up fired. Never have I seen someone in the games industry (much less an editor of a major website) act with open contempt in regards to anyone who disagrees with them (as well as those who had no skin in this game at all, like Boogie2988).

What got me into this whole thing was when I started hearing about this whole scandal on Reddit I went into a thread regarding this and asked why no site ever talked about The Fine Young Capitalists. I was then apparently shadowbanned (and later un-shadowbanned) for seemingly no reason at all. The fact that TFYC have barely even been talked about in the games media just drives that home for me. If you had told me a month ago that I (as a person who did and still does identify as a feminist) would be railing against the likes of Anita and others, I would have said you were crazy.

I have to disagree with you about moviebob. I believe that what he's said in his videos and articles here on the escapist has been professional, and that what he's said on twitter is a non issue because that's not part of his job. As for the fine young capitalists they have since made peace with zoe, saying that she didn't understand the project [http://thefineyoungcapitalists.tumblr.com/post/96578864050/on-apologizing-for-getting-punched-in-the-face]. While it's obvious they're still bitter about it, they still believe that she was simply mistaken about what their project was and that she overreacted to it. Oh and FYI for everyone trying to get Devin Faraci fired, his boss is totally on his side, because he's his own boss. He's the head honcho at badass digest and the buck stops with him.

 

[firebobm173]

Is this 2006? Because that is the only reason anyone would still think 4chan has any power to do anything.

A secret cabal of hackers manipulating the internet?

They are all gone. 4chan can't even set up a simple raid anymore after anonymous started betraying each other to avoid jail. Hell, it barely managed to piss off tumblr SJWs.

The fact that people still think 4chan controls anything shows how legendary their reputation was.

4chan is not the 4chan in its heyday. Its a shell of its former self. Nothing happens there anymore. Nothing has been happening since the feds stepped in and the NSA was exposed.

The Wild West is gone. Its been gone for a few years now. Anyone pointing to 4chan for doing anything is pointing to the boogieman. It doesn't actually exist.

Hell, it hasn't lived up to its reputation for a long while. The huge raids and the huge manipulation are long gone. Especially since website security is top notch now.

Ok, please understand that I'm not trying to get into a fight with you. However, I believe that it is clear that there are people on 4chan who have the will, hacking ability and lack of ethics to be able to pull this off. And as for 4chan being too weak to do so, while I cannot comment on how it compares to how it as 8 years ago, I think the fact that the whole thing got too big for 4chan to control and is now coming crashing down on their heads shows that while they got this started, it doesn't mean they did a good job keeping it going. I'd also like to mention that I respect your opinion, and do not wish to get into a back and forth argument for the sake of the thread.

 

[Mikeybb]

I spend a lot of time in the GamerGate thread.

I support it's goals.

I also immediately voted against firing bob and I'm glad the post was closed.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

You know, this stuff makes me miss the simpler days. You know, when we all irrationally hated pony threads for no reason.

Keep calm and blame Kross I guess, I'mma make a sandwich.

That SJW list made me laugh, and then I laughed harder when people were declaring that those people are ruining games.

I'm surprised I hadn't broken my spleen, or at least a kidney. I mean, have you ever laughed so hard your whole body hurts?

Shit ain't fun, yo.

Don't you fucking DARE get yourself hospitalized over this. We need you for the Pokemon podcast! >:O