One thing I can agree on is that online harassment is unacceptable. It does not contribute and it doesn't put the gaming community in a positive light. But the question on my mind is how to respond to it, if we should respond at all.
Here's a video from a TedxToronto talk.
Here's what I don't understand. There have been accusations of the gaming community of 'standing by and doing nothing' while trolls harass other players. But, what is meant by doing 'nothing'? If I see violence on the street, I would call the police. If I were to encounter sexist, racist, homophobic slurs on a forum, such as this one, I would report it to the administrator. If I were to play on Xbox Live and the opposing player was being rude, I would file a complaint, ignore said player, and give them a bad review. The question being do these methods work and does it help?
Sometimes, other activists go one step further and post the offensive tweet and attempt to tell other Twitter users to acknowledge this person. Other times, people post Youtube videos about offensive behavior and the user in general. From my perspective, it seems a bit much and giving unwarranted attention to someone who doesn't deserve it.
What do you believe is the right way to approach harassment and trolls?
Here's a video from a TedxToronto talk.
Here's what I don't understand. There have been accusations of the gaming community of 'standing by and doing nothing' while trolls harass other players. But, what is meant by doing 'nothing'? If I see violence on the street, I would call the police. If I were to encounter sexist, racist, homophobic slurs on a forum, such as this one, I would report it to the administrator. If I were to play on Xbox Live and the opposing player was being rude, I would file a complaint, ignore said player, and give them a bad review. The question being do these methods work and does it help?
Sometimes, other activists go one step further and post the offensive tweet and attempt to tell other Twitter users to acknowledge this person. Other times, people post Youtube videos about offensive behavior and the user in general. From my perspective, it seems a bit much and giving unwarranted attention to someone who doesn't deserve it.
What do you believe is the right way to approach harassment and trolls?