(BIG FREAKING NOTE: please try not to be offended. At this point I'm using humour to cling to sanity. And really, I think 4chan can afford to laugh at itself)
Me: Hey 4chan, how you doing? How's Gamergate these days?
(at this point, please imagine this: http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/034/4/1/hydra__dipsy_demo__by_sandara-d74271p.jpg
standing in for 4chan)
4chan: WE ARE LEGION/NAKED PICTURES OF EMMA WATSON/OH NO NOT THIS AGAIN/GAMES JOURNALISM/FAGFAGFAG
Me: Yeah. . .about that. So, I saw an article on the business insider this morning, and well, I don't think it paints you in a very good light. Dare I say it, it makes you look like deplorable douches. Now I understand that not all the heads speak for each other, in-fact that as a community there is a wide range of both good and bad people (like most communities) but do you think you could deal with that head that keeps being such a sexist asshole all the time? I'll just post the link down here:
http://www.businessinsider.com/4chan-hackers-threatening-to-post-naked-photographs-of-emma-watson-2014-9
4chan: KILL ONE HEAD AND TWO APPEAR/SHE'S A SLUT AND SHE DESERVES IT/BUT FREEDOM OF SPEECH/THATS NOT WHAT GAMERGATE IS ABOUT/WE ARE NOT A HIVEMIND!
Me: Right, I know you're not a hivemind, no community is. . .now, the problem you have is that every-time something like this happens recently, it originates from one of the boards, either /b/ or /v/. It just seems that maybe its time for the moderators to take it in hand and do something about it. I know the anarchic nature of the community is one of the main draws for its members, but as long as you don't police the boards the worst, loudest voices in that community will continue to paint the rest of you in a bad light. Publicly attacking figures like this is only proving their point, and turning people against you. Are you aware of a quote commonly mis-attributed to from Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., but actually originating from Zechariah Chafee?
4chan: WE ARE THE SPAWN OF DARKNESS/SCREW THAT FEMINAZI/WE DON'T CONTROL THOSE GUYS/HAVE YOU SEEN WHAT SILVERSTRING ARE DOING/NO I AM NOT
Me: It goes "The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins." Its a good rule to live by in my opinion. It plays into Free Speech as well. You have the right to talk, everyone does. You just don't have the right to be heard. People are free to judge you on your actions and words, and that means if you say something bone deep stupid or sexist, they are free to ignore, condemn, critique or ridicule. Just like Anita Sarkessian is free to critique video games. You are in turn, free to criticism her, but don't be surprised if after insulting, harassing and threatening her, she defends herself by shutting down comments. Thats a pretty reasonable response. Being civil, stopping your fist short of the other persons nose, means people are more likely to listen to you.
4chan: WE ARE THE VOICES OF CONTAGION/STFU SJW SHE WON'T SCREW YOU FOR IT/GODDAMNIT SHUT UP YOU ARE NOT HELPING/LOOK AT THESE CONNECTIONS IN MEDIA/THATS A GOOD POINT
Me: Similarly, attacking a public figure with threats of spreading pictures of her online is just going make people condemn the whole damn community. Maybe its time to stop ragging on the moderators over at 4chan and let them do the best job they can at cutting of the arsehole heads. Maybe they'll grow back, maybe in the meantime 4chan won't be a good place to discuss Gamergate, but I think for the good of the forum as a whole, and all the good parts of it, those voices need to be cleaned out.
4chan: WE ARE LORDS OF TYPHON/STFU FEMINAZI ARGH SWORD AND ACID/OH THANK GOD HE GOT CUT OFF/COLLUSION BETWEEN MODERATORS AND PRESS/THANKS FOR BEING REASONABLE.
Me: No problem. I'm going to go cruise /tg/. Stay classy you many headed beast of ruin!
4chan: WE ARE LEGION/...ARGH REGROWING HURTS LIKE YOUR MOM/DAMN HE'S BACK AGAIN/THE MOVEMENT IS NOT ABOUT ZOE QUINN/SEE YOU AROUND!
(Note: again, not overly serious. . .but come on guys, you have to understand why you have such an awful reputation around the internet, and people struggle to take you seriously, even when you have good points, when 4chan self identifies as the anarchic Mos Eisely of the internet.)
captcha: in over my head. . . .ho boy. . .