EXTRA CREDITS demands that E3 not becovered by video game websites, should Escapist follow?

[Geo Da Sponge]

'think what we tell you to or we'll organise ourselves against you'.
.

... That's what protesting is you feeb. A group of people sees something they find unjust, thus they organize in an attempt to stop it. Man, you woulda been a great southern white guy back in the 40s, stopping all those darn coloreds organizing to change the minds of a country that didn't view them equally.

*Head desk*

Really? Really? You're going with that? Why not chuck in some Nazi references, hit Godwin's law for bonus points! XD

Seriously, did you not read anything else I said? Yes, that's protesting. Individuals can protest against the ESA and so can game developers if they want to. Heck, anyone can and indeed should, but news sources shouldn't becuase their purpose is to inform their readers in as neutral manner as possible.

Seriously: Using your position as journalists to further your political agenda is not a good thing. Next time try a little more reading.

 

[Rednog]

No, this won't work and I am glad it won't. E3 is too big, and Extra Credits is too preachy for anyone to care.

I've been in the Extra Credits is too preachy boat for quite a while.
I was a fan of their stuff when it was informative, you want to know about this aspect of the industry well here are the facts. But that well has run dry over the time they have been around so they shifted to opinion pieces...which people sadly take as fact.
And I'm somewhat dismayed at this attitude Extra Credits has, they just seem to be all about the talk, sitting on the sidelines and telling everyone else what to do and what should be done. They aren't ever taking any flak nor in danger of getting flak. Oh yea guys go boycott E3, sure your sites will lose a bunch of money...but we'll still get paid for this video and the follow up video either decrying our victory or chastising sites for not doing what we say, either way this won't harm us at all!

 

[Whit]

No, this won't work and I am glad it won't. E3 is too big, and Extra Credits is too preachy for anyone to care.

THIS!

If you want to stop SOPA you should contact your representative or however the American democratic system works.

HAHAHAHAHAHA I'm guessing you aren't American. Let me explain how our "democratic" system works. Corporations file as much money as they feel like anonymously to lobbyists and political action committees, this money goes to our representatives, funding their re-elections and personal greed in exchange for loyalty. We vote for who we're told to, it's a 2 party system and public perception is governed exclusively by news outlets owned by the same corporations responsible.

 

[drthmik]

boycotts are both effective and historical some of the most famous include
the American boycott of the Townshend Acts that culminated in the Boston Tea Party
The Boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow
the Sudanese Civil War Sex Boycott where wives refused sex with their husbands so long as the war lasted. Peace came within 3 years.
and quite possibly the most famous
the Montgomery Bus Boycott that started with Rosa Park's arrest and lead directly to the Montgomery laws requiring segregated buses to be ruled unconstitutional

If boycotts are unethical than so is freedom
and if freedom in unethical you might as well sign SOPA and PIPA into law now

 

[esperandote]

Game journalism websites will not lose their credibility by not covering E3, on the contrary, any website that is willing to lose traffic and revenue to stand up for their principles and freedom of speech will GAIN TONS of respect not only as videogame journalism websites but as organizations in general.

I support this motion.

 

[squid5580]

Sure and next write your daily newspaper and news channel and ask them to boycott all republican meetings because you are democrat. If you don't want to support the sites covering the news then don't click the links. Don't give them the traffic. But don't expect them to not do thier jobs bacause their jobs involve covering an organization you don't approve of.

 

[IamGamer41]

So because someone supports a unpopular bill lets all go fuck with there income till they agree with us......

I'm no supporter of SOPA and PIPA but this kinda strong arming is just lame.Is there no better way to get people to come around other then this?

 

[Lunar Templar]

snip

snip

since nether of you actually watched said video I'll drop some knowledge on ya.

its not JUST EC in the video.

Loading Ready Run
the CEO/head guy of something called Fire Wall, which is apparently some kinda game
and Screwattack, gaming website, WAY MORE so them the Escapist, go look em up, lot of fun stuff

all 4 of them are calling for this boycot, and all 4 have already said they're not covering E3.

this might not hurt EC or LRR much (i don't actually KNOW what LRR dose >.>;

but I'm pretty sure the Fire Wall guys and Screwattack WILL take a pretty big hit from this, Screwattack i know reports on the event, so they will lose a lot of traffic.
and Fire Wall is a game, not going to E3 could literally kill its chances due to no major exposure.

so no, its no a 'no risk' situation as you two think.

 

[T8B95]

Game journalism websites will not lose their credibility by not covering E3, on the contrary, any website that is willing to lose traffic and revenue to stand up for their principles and freedom of speech will GAIN TONS of respect not only as videogame journalism websites but as organizations in general.

Part of being a news site is covering the news. The Escapist is a gaming news site, therefore it is their obligation to cover gaming news. Whatever we may think about the ESA as a business, E3 is still the biggest annual event in gaming, and it is therefore the Escapist's obligation to report on what happens at E3.

OT: I've found that it's very easy to get up on a soapbox and preach "This is the way the world should work," by it's much harder to actually follow through on it. While boycotting E3 may sound like a noble, if flawed, ideal right now, it will be much harder to actually do it and make an impact.

 

[tippy2k2]

Game journalism websites will not lose their credibility by not covering E3, on the contrary, any website that is willing to lose traffic and revenue to stand up for their principles and freedom of speech will GAIN TONS of respect not only as videogame journalism websites but as organizations in general.

I support this motion.

The very fact that there are people in here saying "No, terrible idea" shows that it would lose some credibility (or at least respect). Hell, I'll go ahead and just say that my respect level for any journalism site skipping out will drop.

I said it above and I'll say it again, just because you disagree with something doesn't mean you don't cover it. A news organization would never get away with skipping a big event because they don't agree with it.

People talk about SOPA being a slippery slop by giving these companies all this power? How is this not a slippery slop as well? If a journalism group disagrees with something, black it out and pretend like it's not happening.

 

[emeraldrafael]

Its smart in principle, but you know it not happening. One site will think "damn, we can get so mhc traffic cause no one else wants to do it", then other sites will look, freak out and say we gotta get someone down there. hten they will, and the whole thing will collapse while everyone who covered gets to revel and say "well, we did, but then ______ did, so since they did, we might as well" while the ones that didnt will have that small dedicated group defend their actions and the much larger, dumber less knowledged group of "casual" fans will demand their heads for not coverng E3.

besides, just on a personal level, I've been caring less and less about what EC says. I know they dont mean it, but any time I see something they put up on facebook or something someone says about them it sounds like its just fullof this smugness as if they're saying "yeah, we're on PA, that means you have to listen to us" when I was never big (actually, thats not the best way to say it. I just never cared) on what PA said/did anyways.

 

[InsomniJack]

So, wait, The Escapist follow Extra Credits/Loading Ready Run/ScrewAttack's plan of boycotting E3?

That's like having your ex-girlfriend tell you that you shouldn't go to your best friend's wedding because she doesn't agree with his life choices. Aside from the obvious "what the frak is WRONG with you" mentality, there's the whole "You don't dictate the way I live my life" side to take into account.

Don't get me wrong, I like watching Extra Credits. But this is nothing more than the independents trying to exert power over the mainstream. They can form a fellowship with other independent groups, but the mainstream is going to leave them in the dust.

So no, Escapist is fine wherever its stance is at.

 

[renegade7]

I'm all for it, but I don't really think it would do much in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Zen Toombs]

While i truly want to boycott those who support SOPA, the Escapist News cannot avoid E3 in good conscience. They have a duty to report the news, and they would be preforming a disservice if they avoided one of the most important videogame events of the year.

HOWEVER, it would be wise for game developers to avoid E3 so long as they support SOPA, and it MAY be wise for websites like the Escapist to not actually attend E3.

 

[josemlopes]

Isnt everyone on the Escapist already aware as hell about SOPA and PIPA? Does it really need to not cover E3?

 

[jeremiah.appleman]

So because someone supports a unpopular bill lets all go fuck with there income till they agree with us......

I'm no supporter of SOPA and PIPA but this kinda strong arming is just lame.Is there no better way to get people to come around other then this?

Honestly, the biggest way to really show the ESA that they've taken the wrong position and are alienating their consumer base it to hit them where it hurts: their wallet. Simple, but effective nonetheless

 

[cthulhumythos]

well i support this.

bare in mind that i don't really like e3 anyways/ don't really understand how this works anyhow.

 

[Thaius]

Well it's not just Extra Credits; the video also included Screw Attack and Loading Ready Run, the latter of which is still directly involved with The Escapist in many ways. This is a general idea, and The Escapist should not let its association with Extra Credits dissuade it from participating.

The idea is brilliant. If the ESA is going to betray us all like this, we pull support in such a way that makes them understand that we will not stand for this. I think The Escapist should most certainly participate.

 

[jeremiah.appleman]

The idea is brilliant. If the ESA is going to betray us all like this, we pull support in such a way that makes them understand that we will not stand for this. I think The Escapist should most certainly participate.

I couldn't have said it any better myself

 

[Thaius]

Isnt everyone on the Escapist already aware as hell about SOPA and PIPA? Does it really need to not cover E3?

This isn't about raising awareness for SOPA and PIPA, it's about getting the message across to the ESA that we, the gaming community and institutions within it, do not support this freedom-killing trainwreck of a law. The ESA is representative of the video game industry, so even if all the gamers in the world and the vast majority of ESA members spoke out against the bills, as long as the official stance of the ESA was in support of it, it would be seen as having the support of the video game industry.

So yeah, this isn't about the Escapist community, it's about the ESA, and sending a clear message to them that we do not support SOPA or PIPA, nor will we support the ESA if they insist on backing these awful bills.