@James_Giant_Peach said:

@EliminatoR said:

I have huge respect for the fighting game community, mostly because they break the nerdy gamer stereotype and also bring more diversity to the gaming scene as well.

Trust me, to the average Joe Public out there, seeing someone who devotes a lot of their life to video games and seriously plays them for money, is NOT breaking the 'nerdy gamer stereotype'.

Hey, it's better that actual hardcore gamers fit the stereotype rather than annoying drones who play CoD an hour a day calling themselves nerds.

@EliminatoR said:

I have huge respect for the fighting game community, mostly because they break the nerdy gamer stereotype and also bring more diversity to the gaming scene as well.

Trust me, to the average Joe Public out there, seeing someone who devotes a lot of their life to video games and seriously plays them for money, is NOT breaking the 'nerdy gamer stereotype'.

I have huge respect for the fighting game community, mostly because they break the nerdy gamer stereotype and also bring more diversity to the gaming scene as well.

I started watching a lot of fighting game tournaments and really liking them, especially when they are backed up by some great commentary (loud, hype, over the top, slang)

All I can say is that I am looking forward to further events, and seeing these guys respecting each other and building a great community around a great genre.

@Sooty said:

Every time people call it the FGC I just hear Michael Bluth saying "Don't call it that."

The issue of sexism in competitive gaming has come to the forefront recently, but it's been a problem for many years. David and James speak with four guests, Monique Mendoza, Kara Leung, Sherry Nhan, and Tricia Sugita, about what it's like to be a woman in a competitive gaming community, how women in gaming are treated, and what can be done to provide a better atmosphere for women gamers.

Sorry for the lack of editing, I just transferred it here directly from Twitch because my download and upload speeds would have made a file like this take forever.

Please subscribe here, follow us at http://twitch.tv/ultrachentv, and like us at http://facebook.com/ultrachentv. Also follow David on Twitter at @UltraDavid, James on Twitter at @jchensor, and the show at @UltraChenTV.

• Show starts about 3 minutes into the video
• There's a big loud noise at 5:58 and a few more into the video, watch out for that
• James and David's volume does vary because they're sharing a mic

@S0ndor said:

@groin said:

@dungareeshiraz said:

I just wanted to say something about the Larry video. He looks like an amazing guy who works hard to bring people together to share their hobby.

At the same time I couldn't take my attention off the sidebar chat. It was like a volcano of racism erupting in real time. The only thing that (briefly) stopped the slurs was the announcement that his mother died.

Well I certainly agree that Larry would be an ideal model for how the FGC could behave, the live stream chat is the true representative of the community.

Leaders can be extremely virtuous, but that does not mean their constituents are.

Terrible stream chat is a problem with every community on twitch.tv. People like iNcontrol and Destiny (SC2 players) are constantly attacked while streaming. This type of shit also happens on XBox live, PSN, battle.net and etc. It is not exclusive to the FGC.

Indeed, even TNT, with its relatively limited amount of viewers, attracts a significant amount of random assholes who mock and bash the Bombsquad in the chat. These are people who know nothing about the site, and yet are extremely vocal with their bashing. We could safely assume that this is a universal problem.

Good points guys. I follow Starcraft 2 streams and the hate is just as predominantly there. But maybe that means many communities just haven't had their controversy moment like the FGC had.

@Hailinel said:

@Dan_CiTi said:

@Hailinel: To be fair, stream monsters have been slipping lately. They used to have good discussions and come up with some good stuff, but honestly now they have devolved into this majority of mindless trolls & spammers. It sucks, because the chat at big tournaments used to be pretty fun, now I just turn it off most of the time. The only good thing lately has been some of the names, particularly the Empire Arcadia mock names and even those are inconsistent. The whole #teammirandasthighs thing was sad, pathetic, and horrible. I couldn't even stand it before it blew up. Like really, low res screen caps of this girls legs on a dedicated tumblr? Pathetic. No offense but it is not even like Miranda is a model or anything...you can find better looking girls at the mall any given day of the week.

You had a good argument going until you decided to insert your own commentary regarding Miranda's physical attractiveness.

WOOW

@Hailinel said:

@Giacomito said:

@chocolaterhinovampire: I'm 100 % with you!! never liked Jared, don't understand why everybody on GB seems to

Jared is a friend of members of the Giant Bomb staff. He's been on the Bombcast a couple of times and was the one responsible for introducing the GB community to Jackie Chan in Fists of Fire.

I understand why the staff likes him. But just because he's their friend and has been on the bombcast a couple of times doesn't mean everybody in the GB community has to like him too and I don't understand why they do. He comes across as someone who thinks he's better than everybody else (that's just the feeling I get from him).

@Giacomito said:

@chocolaterhinovampire: I'm 100 % with you!! never liked Jared, don't understand why everybody on GB seems to

Jared is a friend of members of the Giant Bomb staff. He's been on the Bombcast a couple of times and was the one responsible for introducing the GB community to Jackie Chan in Fists of Fire.

@chocolaterhinovampire: I'm 100 % with you!! never liked Jared, don't understand why everybody on GB seems to

@groin said:

@dungareeshiraz said:

I just wanted to say something about the Larry video. He looks like an amazing guy who works hard to bring people together to share their hobby.

At the same time I couldn't take my attention off the sidebar chat. It was like a volcano of racism erupting in real time. The only thing that (briefly) stopped the slurs was the announcement that his mother died.

Well I certainly agree that Larry would be an ideal model for how the FGC could behave, the live stream chat is the true representative of the community.

Leaders can be extremely virtuous, but that does not mean their constituents are.

Terrible stream chat is a problem with every community on twitch.tv. People like iNcontrol and Destiny (SC2 players) are constantly attacked while streaming. This type of shit also happens on XBox live, PSN, battle.net and etc. It is not exclusive to the FGC.

Indeed, even TNT, with its relatively limited amount of viewers, attracts a significant amount of random assholes who mock and bash the Bombsquad in the chat. These are people who know nothing about the site, and yet are extremely vocal with their bashing. We could safely assume that this is a universal problem.

Jared Rae is a total hipster wiener....but what Aris did was disgusting...everyone is a wiener in my books...anyone with me on the whole Jared thing? Does it annoy anyone else?

@Hailinel said:

@Dan_CiTi said:

@Hailinel: To be fair, stream monsters have been slipping lately. They used to have good discussions and come up with some good stuff, but honestly now they have devolved into this majority of mindless trolls & spammers. It sucks, because the chat at big tournaments used to be pretty fun, now I just turn it off most of the time. The only good thing lately has been some of the names, particularly the Empire Arcadia mock names and even those are inconsistent. The whole #teammirandasthighs thing was sad, pathetic, and horrible. I couldn't even stand it before it blew up. Like really, low res screen caps of this girls legs on a dedicated tumblr? Pathetic. No offense but it is not even like Miranda is a model or anything...you can find better looking girls at the mall any given day of the week.

You had a good argument going until you decided to insert your own commentary regarding Miranda's physical attractiveness.

It is just that if you refused to be on the side of the people on mirandasthighs thing, you were "gay" according to the mob in the chat. I know it is an immature sentiment, but that is why I included it. I just do not understand the mentality very well. I understand parts of a woman are attractive, but I did not get the obsession because it is not like Alysha Nett or Christina Hendricks came on the show. This is a girl who has been on streams before(competitive Catherine is oddly interesting) and at plenty of tournaments. I have said it a couple times to kind of frame it in reality and give the girl a break. She's just a girl in a game community, not a model in the public eye and should not be treated like that at all. Even though no one should be harassed, it is more expected for a lady who poses for the camera to be a target of such things and be more prepared for it. The only thing is, that whole public eye thing totally changed these past few weeks.

At least I think that's my thought...kinda juggling five things at once right now.

@Dan_CiTi said:

@Hailinel: To be fair, stream monsters have been slipping lately. They used to have good discussions and come up with some good stuff, but honestly now they have devolved into this majority of mindless trolls & spammers. It sucks, because the chat at big tournaments used to be pretty fun, now I just turn it off most of the time. The only good thing lately has been some of the names, particularly the Empire Arcadia mock names and even those are inconsistent. The whole #teammirandasthighs thing was sad, pathetic, and horrible. I couldn't even stand it before it blew up. Like really, low res screen caps of this girls legs on a dedicated tumblr? Pathetic. No offense but it is not even like Miranda is a model or anything...you can find better looking girls at the mall any given day of the week.

You had a good argument going until you decided to insert your own commentary regarding Miranda's physical attractiveness.

@Hailinel: To be fair, stream monsters have been slipping lately. They used to have good discussions and come up with some good stuff, but honestly now they have devolved into this majority of mindless trolls & spammers. It sucks, because the chat at big tournaments used to be pretty fun, now I just turn it off most of the time. The only good thing lately has been some of the names, particularly the Empire Arcadia mock names and even those are inconsistent. The whole #teammirandasthighs thing was sad, pathetic, and horrible. I couldn't even stand it before it blew up. Like really, low res screen caps of this girls legs on a dedicated tumblr? Pathetic. No offense but it is not even like Miranda is a model or anything...you can find better looking girls at the mall any given day of the week.

@Hailinel: Understood.

@Brewmaster_Andy: Yeah, I won't lie when I say that there's been some poor choice of words spoke on behalf of defending the FGC when this whole thing started and I've been a bit disappointed with some of it. The only saving grace was that the Aris thing happened just before Final Round, giving the internet a chance to see the FGC at its best as well as its worst. Thanks for reading.

@Gaff: Ahhh I've often suspected that something must have already happened to set things off. And here we are again with bad news and no Capcom games at MLG. But at least I now I believe the FGC is in a position to get rid of its worse tendencies. Thanks to the greater exposure of the internet, the good points are being seen by more and the bad points are getting exposed and punished.

@Dan_CiTi said:

@PixelPrinny said:

Personally, I think that if the community didn't tolerate, let alone play up to, the retarded "stream monsters", this really wouldn't even be an issue. But somehow "stream monster" has become an endearing term for assholes trying to outdo each others attempts at trolling and being as despicable as possible. I hope this media attention might actually be a wakeup call for the higher ups in the community to start telling these morons to shut the fuck up.

If you're watching the stream and with the chat, you're a stream monster. Obviously there are levels of it, like people who make fake accounts to troll, but even Ultra David, one of the most mild-mannered and popular commentators, a part of the ST community, and a lawyer has troll accounts.

Then Ultra David needs to set a better example.

@PixelPrinny said:

Personally, I think that if the community didn't tolerate, let alone play up to, the retarded "stream monsters", this really wouldn't even be an issue. But somehow "stream monster" has become an endearing term for assholes trying to outdo each others attempts at trolling and being as despicable as possible. I hope this media attention might actually be a wakeup call for the higher ups in the community to start telling these morons to shut the fuck up.

If you're watching the stream and with the chat, you're a stream monster. Obviously there are levels of it, like people who make fake accounts to troll, but even Ultra David, one of the most mild-mannered and popular commentators, a part of the ST community, and a lawyer has troll accounts.

@FLStyle said:

@Hailinel: If Tom Cannon has agreed to speak with Patrick as it seems he has you may get your answer.

I'll wait and see on that. For now, I'm still skeptical.

@FLStyle: http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/newmarcom/mlg-vs-the-street-fighter-community/30-51762/http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=430842

From looking at the GAF thread, in 2005 MLG partnered with EVO. FGC shat on the FPS community, and vice versa. SRK blew a gasket, Capcom Japan caught wind of it and barred MLG from ever doing Capcom games for fear of "harming the community". The last couple of years has seen the MLG taking up non-Capcom fighting games, in what I presume to be a gesture of good will and competence towards Capcom Japan. Of course, the FGC is having none of that. And around that time Justin Wong and Marn had to resort to asking for donations to go to ESWC, Electronic Sports World Cup in France. Mind you, I think this was before Justin Wong got a sponsorship deal with Evil Geniuses. And whether sponsorships are still a part of "being grass roots" is a question for another time.

I distinctly remember this, because, at its core, it was the same discussion: keep things grass"roots, warts and all, or get professional and organised.

@FLStyle: I should have added in my original post, but I definitely agree that there are positives in the community. I just found it ironic that one of the most ardent defenders of the community over the last few pages is also acting toward the stereotype he seems to be trying to get rid of. I think you did a great job with this post, very informative.

@Hailinel: If Tom Cannon has agreed to speak with Patrick as it seems he has you may get your answer.

@FLStyle: I never thought nor claimed that there weren't. But this community cheerleading over the past week has gotten tedious. There's only so many times I cans see the I Heart the FGC video reposted before I wonder if the FGC is in fact willing or able to discuss its faults with people outside the community.

@GlenTennis: Thanks!

@Hailinel: The fact that you believe there are positives in the FGC is good enough for me. I fully accept that nothing is perfect, as shown in the media over the past week. I can only hope that the negatives are worked upon over the next 12 months and that in turn that the positive side is also given its time of day too and then the likes of Arturo won't be put off by the media.

@ThePhantomnaut said:

So how about that Japanese Marvel Tech?!

No way! If only there was a log in the background haha

So how about that Japanese Marvel Tech?!

@FLStyle: I know you want to keep peddling this side of the community as the "true" side, but the truth is that despite all the positives, there are some terrible elements to it as well; elements that are too exposed to even classify as an underbelly. And it doesn't help when figures like Arturo are actively dissuading people from going to members of the press to talk about it.

I just got to this post. Very well done.

@Gaff: MLG have been trying to get Capcom onside with the whole eSports thing for at least the past year to my knowledge, but Capcom is staying away with the claim that they're focusing on the community. So MLG had to look elsewhere to begin their introduction of fighting games to eSports. Enter NetherRealm Studios, Namco Bandai and Atlus.

@Brewmaster_Andy: @ZeForgotten: May I invite you to check out the following recording of last night's UMvC3 Grand Final at Final Round? I hope you find it a more accurate representation, thanks.

@FUMN said:

@Legendary: So LordOfUltima has done tutorials. How does that make him the face of a community?

SkiSonic was never directly asked by Partrick for a interview. So what about that. Yeah he does a podcast. But why should it be focused on this one issue in the FGC? Aris is a nonissue among the SF community. The SF community doesnt give a shit about a tekken player. Why now? SRK has voiced their opinion on how they feel, which is who sponsors SkiSonics podcast. What else is there to say.

Auturo does talk about how he wants the community to grow. But he also broke the story that Jago and Mike Ross might be fixing matches. He's a little busy because hes balancing ostracism by the FGC and responding to Patrick's questions on this different controversy.

Keep acting like I dont understand the FGC. Shut the fuck up.

You're not exactly doing much to change the stereotype of "FGC" members.

@FUMN said:

@Legendary: So LordOfUltima has done tutorials. How does that make him the face of a community?

SkiSonic was never directly asked by Partrick for a interview. So what about that. Yeah he does a podcast. But why should it be focused on this one issue in the FGC? Aris is a nonissue among the SF community. The SF community doesnt give a shit about a tekken player. Why now? SRK has voiced their opinion on how they feel, which is who sponsors SkiSonics podcast. What else is there to say.

Auturo does talk about how he wants the community to grow. But he also broke the story that Jago and Mike Ross might be fixing matches. He's a little busy because hes balancing ostracism by the FGC and responding to Patrick's questions on this different controversy.

Keep acting like I dont understand the FGC. Shut the fuck up.

You're not exactly doing much to change the stereotype of "FGC" members.

People really do presume too much, too often...

@FUMN said:

From the select links that I checked, Patrick has asked via Twitter for a direct response from Team Sp00ky, LordOfUltima, and various faces that form the FG community. The problem is that none of the aforementioned names represent any large part of the FGC. They are not spokesmen, they are members. Their opinion is moot. Their opinion is just that; THEIR opinion. NOT the opinion of the FGC.

First, Patrick never solicited most of them first.

LordofUltima:

nycfurbyAvoidThePuddleSuper__Yan As a big giantbomb and patrickklepek fan that article really upsets me. Sensationalized is right.

https://twitter.com/#!/lordofultima/status/174588540687089668

Arturo Sanchez:

Thankfully AvoidThePuddle and Super__Yanlistened to me and did not talk to dtoid or Giantbomb since I knew it would be sensationalized :(

https://twitter.com/#!/nycfurby/status/174587589486055424

If you want to prove something is wrong, you should come up with counter-arguments. If you claim that a story is sensationalized, point it out. If you call someone's integrity in question, you should back that up with proof. What you don't do is talk smack and walk away. And again, we won't know who has responded until the follow-up article hits, but judging by Patrick's frustration it doesn't look too good. The most promising "positive" reaction has been Mark Julio, aka MarkMan, founder of SDTekken and now Community and Sponsorship manager at Madcatz. Not really a man with plenty of free time (launching the new SFxT Stick, representing Madcatz at major tournaments, commentating, single father) and he still found time to offer a talk with Patrick.

Also, assuming that Patrick is looking for the end-all-and-be-all declaration from the fighting game community is, again, presuming too much. He's not going, nor intending, to ascend a mountain, speak with the fighting game gods and come down with giant marble slabs that speak for all of the gaming community. Has the idea ever crossed your mind that the prominent "faces" of the fighting game community:

1. Have been in the fighting game community for a long time, before this shitstorm happened?
2. Have seen their fair share of smack talking from spending all those years in the FGC?
3. Have a unique perspective on the historic development of said smack talking?
4. Have plenty of heart-warming, positive stories about the FGC that prove that those people aren't all that bad?

Apart from all these points being direct answers to the big question (do Aris' claims about the nature of the FGC hold water?), they would be fascinating historical accounts about the FGC as a whole. Imagine the Cannon brothers and Seth Killian talking about the very early days of EVO, the first tournaments, getting international players and its explosive growth. Alex Valle about playing in the early days of the scene, his first tournaments, playing well into his 30s (?) and the difference between the players then and the players now. There are probably tons of stories out there, but no one is telling them because no one is engaging the mainstream press.

If Capcom followed the Tekken scene with a slight bit of interest, they would understand that giving Aris a live microphone was like giving a child a handgun.

Again, Madcatz' Mark Julio is a prominent figure in the Tekken community, a regular at major tournaments and Madcatz is one of the main sponsors. I find it hard to believe (though not impossible) that a main sponsor would be kept out of the dark in these matters.

The idea of Phoenix being a bitch is completely accurate, and it was a bad analogy by the questioner. Phoenix was a character in MVC3 that, after out playing her for 90 seconds, could destroy you in less than five seconds without an ounce of skill. She was a bitch. If Phoenix was a male character, she would be a bitch. There is no way around it. If you played Vanilla MVC3, you would understand how that this character could completely undermine your skill with pure luck.

Whether or not Phoenix' Dark Phoenix super was completely overpowered in Vanilla MvC3 is not the point. People could argue that pre-nerf Sentinel with his life lead, damage output and reach was a better fit? Never mind. The problem is equating bitch - a very gender specific word - to the character, and by association the player, and far worse, the word "rape", again, a very gender specific word.

Last thing: I would refer to David Sirlin's age old book "Playing to Win". In short, there is no such thing as cheap. Whether it is Magneto x Storm x Sentinel in MvC2, or Dark Phoenix x ANYTHING in MvC3, you're unnecessarily hamstringing yourself to win. Throwing isn't cheap. Fireball spam isn't cheap. Dark Phoenix + full level 3 X-Factor isn't cheap. Whether you like it or not: You were outplayed.

What has the FGC done in response?
W-

Stop, again, stop. Again: You can't claim that there is no UNITED FGC and then point to two statements on two of the FGC's major websites as proof of a concerted effort by the FGC to clean its act. Of course, you could've mentioned IPlayWinner's banning of Marn and another commentator, SRK's subsequent pulling of WNF's first season EVO seeding points(trying to help here), so, yes, something is happening. Is it too late to start, after almost 25 years in isolation? Maybe, then again, is treating each other with respect and dignity that much to ask?

I guess there's always the MLG, if things don't pan out?

@groin: Keep calling me ignorant then.

@Legendary: Being a stream monster has nothing to do with being part of the FGC.

A stream monster would say: That Nigger is GOOD!? :D :D D: :D

A Fgc member would say: holy shit, that guys reactions are sick.

And OFC pretend like I dont understand the FGC.

I in no way defend Aris actions.

@FUMN said:

@groin: I was responding to the person critiquing me for saying that lordofultima has only done a eryu tutorial. Why would Patrick expect a response from him?

Then direct the reply whoever you are actually talking to.

@FUMN: I'm not acting like you don't understand. I can tell you don't. You're assuming lots of shit, friend.

I have a question for all of you, which been on my mind for quite awhile. Do we include Stream Monsters as a part of the FGC? I've heard Aris catered to the stream's trolling.

@groin: I was responding to the person critiquing me for saying that lordofultima has only done a eryu tutorial. Why would Patrick expect a response from him?

@FUMN said:

@groin: Ok. He's done that. Wonderful.

That doesnt qualify him to respond to an interview as a representative of the FGC.

When did I say he was? Present a quote please.

@groin: Ok. He's done that. Wonderful.

That doesnt qualify him to respond to an interview as a representative of the FGC.

And it sure as hell doesnt make me ignorant.

@FUMN said:

@groin: Cool. How does does that make him a spokesman for the community?

Find a quote of me saying that.

@groin: Cool. How does does that make him a spokesman for the community?

@Legendary said:

@FUMN: Hmm, LordofUltima has done various mini tutorials on hit-confirms, option-selects, and as well as an Akuma tutorial.

You're right, Skisonic doesn't talk to the community and doesn't do commentary, and also isn't friends with various people in the FGC. I guess he isn't in SRK either right or doesn't have a podcast interviewing people from the FGC?

Arturo loves the community. He goes to a SHIT ton of majors and is friends with a TON of people. He WANTS this community to grow and to be respected.

Really man, you have no idea what you're talking about. I'm kind of sad. :\

LordOfUltima has also made promo videos for many iPlayWinner streams. Keep on being ignorant @FUMN.

@Legendary: So LordOfUltima has done tutorials. How does that make him the face of a community?

SkiSonic was never directly asked by Partrick for a interview. So what about that. Yeah he does a podcast. But why should it be focused on this one issue in the FGC? Aris is a nonissue among the SF community. The SF community doesnt give a shit about a tekken player. Why now? SRK has voiced their opinion on how they feel, which is who sponsors SkiSonics podcast. What else is there to say.

Auturo does talk about how he wants the community to grow. But he also broke the story that Jago and Mike Ross might be fixing matches. He's a little busy because hes balancing ostracism by the FGC and responding to Patrick's questions on this different controversy.

Keep acting like I dont understand the FGC. Shut the fuck up.

@FUMN: Hmm, LordofUltima has done various mini tutorials on hit-confirms, option-selects, and as well as an Akuma tutorial.

You're right, Skisonic doesn't talk to the community and doesn't do commentary, and also isn't friends with various people in the FGC. I guess he isn't in SRK either right or doesn't have a podcast interviewing people from the FGC?

Arturo loves the community. He goes to a SHIT ton of majors and is friends with a TON of people. He WANTS this community to grow and to be respected.

Really man, you have no idea what you're talking about. I'm kind of sad. :\

@Legendary: What has LordOfUltima done other then the E.Ryu Tut and bringing E.Ryu to light? Please tell me?

Arturo nor Skisonic represent the FGC. They represent only themselves.

@FUMN: Just want to say LordofUltima has done way more things than just give an E.Ryu tutorial...

Also, I like how you, someone I have no idea about, is saying something for the whole community while you're saying Arturo, Skisonic, LordofUltima shouldn't need to speak because they're aren't the faces of the FGC. Please dude...

@Gaff said:

And before people bring up Kayo Police or Ricky Ortiz: having one transgendered or openly gay individual among the ranks does not mean that the community is suddenly "the pinnacle of tolerance and acceptance".

And before people bring up Aris and SuperYan: Having one sexist member among our ranks does not suddenly mean that we are "the pinnacle of sexism and intolerance.

You ignore my fact that I stated that there is no UNITED FGC. Unlike SC2, there is no major league, there is no cohesive circuit that leads to the World Championship of SC2. There are a ridiculous amount of circuits that have nothing to do with EVO. We have no united community. We have a shit ton of facets; Eventhubs, SRK, Iplaywinner, r/sf4, and many more. We are in no way united, but we all get together at EVO. Before you attempt to formulate an articulate opinion, why don't you attempt to understand the entire community?

I am writing this essay in between SF4 rounds, smoking cigarettes, drinking beers, so excuse my lack cohesion.

My intro: I am a member of the FGC. I play SSF4ae daily, check eventhubs, SRK, Iplaywinner and R/Sf4 with great fervor. I currently have 3100pp on PSN using Hakan, and 3400pp on XBL using Hakan. I have been playing fighting games since about 2007-8~. I started playing as Zappa in GGx2. I dedicated an enormous amount of time to understanding the game, and when I hit a brickwall, I found myself delving into dustloop.com in an attempt to get a grasp on how the combo system worked. I found enormous amounts of help within the small communities of Weeaboos that inhabit that forum. I also found a bastion within SRK. And I am eternally grateful for how they treated me, as this was absolutely paramount to my interest in FGs.

A short year later, SF4 was starting to come out and many people got excited and got caught up in the "release fever." I was one of the many that got caught up. So I bought it on its release day. I popped it in my Xbox360 and have been completely enveloped by the game since. EventHubs sprang up and I immediately was a follower, I spent just as much time in the game as I did researching the game. Weeks after the release of SF4, SRKs forums were littered with helpful advice and encouraging words for me to continue my support. I explored and delved headfirst into the genre. Completely engrossed by this one game, I spent all my online time dedicated to beating people, and learning from my mistakes when I lost. I was an online warrior. Hovering a little over 1000pp I was proud of my accomplishment, willing to brag it to any of my friends. This continued and continued to grow for several years.

Fastfoward to around the year of my graduation from High School; I felt confident in my abilities in SSF4. And I started attending local tourneys and get togethers. The first time I met the self-proclaimed SF4 champ of KC, Axiom, .... I whooped his ass with my Deejay. Then I beat him with Seth, my secondary at the time. I felt great. It was awesome to play him in a noncompetitive environment and show him what I was made of. Then the community died, we lost our local spot to play FGs. We would have weekly roundtables, but they were at various people's houses and I was never able to attend. For months this continued, as I lamented in my inability to play with my new found friends. Then, finally, a tournament happened at a local Magic card shop. I returned my full glory..... I was knocked into the losers bracket in the first round by Axiom, who proceeded to yell at me from across the room how I was "fucking free", I left, embarrassed, and have yet to return. That was around one year ago.

As you can tell from my origins, I do not understand nor condone shittalking within the FG community. I have yet to work up the courage to show my face back, shit talking is completely toxic to the community. I have continued to follow the FGC closely since my exile. I am planning on attending EVO this year as well.

Anyways, that's who I am. I am a member of the FGC.

How I see this controversy:

First---- Let us respond to how people think that the FGC is giving Patrick the cold shoulder—-

From the select links that I checked, Patrick has asked via Twitter for a direct response from Team Sp00ky, LordOfUltima, and various faces that form the FG community. The problem is that none of the aforementioned names represent any large part of the FGC. They are not spokesmen, they are members. Their opinion is moot. Their opinion is just that; THEIR opinion. NOT the opinion of the FGC.

Team Sp00ky mostly represents the East Side mentality of FGC. Which entails mostly shit talking, calling each other faggots/niggas/dicks, saying politically incorrect shit and laughing it off. Also they end most of their sentences with “Godlike” or “Swag.” Team Spooky has no PR person, and they have no idea how to respond directly with the press. It probably is for the best. , as the east side represents the most archaic ideology out of any subFGC. Jeff explained this antiquated ideology the best in the latest podcast.

Asking LordofUltima for a response is absolutely ridiculous. The only thing LordofUltima has done is help the rise of a new character. All he’s done is work on a video guide for Evil Ryu’s combos, and this was within the first month of his release. That’s it. He hasn’t done anything else. Expecting a response from a combo maker is absurd. He’s only a member of the community.

Patrick has also sought responses from various other sources, such as Skisonic or NYCFurby (Aurturo). These people would be too busy to involve themselves with another scandal. As both, Skisonic and Aurturo are themselves in the midst of a scandal already. Mike Ross and Jago are suspected of throwing their matches to build hype and make money off of advertising and streams. That’s a real controversy, instead of that this one.

If you want to get the gut reaction of the community, check the SRK comments on articles pertaining to this topic. That’s how we feel about it.

Secondly, Let’s discuss how Aris got onto CrossAssault and how the community is expected to answer for his words.

-As Justin Wong is to Street Fighter, Aris is to Tekken. He is a man who has spent an enormous amount of time dedicated to bettering the US Tekken scene. He is a proficient player; he has a personality that puts him beyond the identity of just “that guy that’s good at Tekken.” He became a mascot after he proposed marriage to the transgender Japanese girl Kayo Police. It was not at the whim of the FGC to put Aris in front of a Capcom sponsored stream, it was Capcom’s decision. If Capcom followed the Tekken scene with a slight bit of interest, they would understand that giving Aris a live microphone was like giving a child a handgun. People would get hurt. He is a person who represents a very archaic idea of how FGs work.-- You talk shit, you have fun, you leave – This was how old FGCs worked. In my opinion, Aris was just tongue tied with a microphone in his face and misspoke. He was defending the archaic ideology of shittalking, and it got mistaken as sexism. But I cannot speak for certain on what Aris meant, the only one that can speak for certain what Aris meant is Aris himself. Capcom can give an official explanation but that only goes so far. It is solely Aris is responsible for his words.

- The idea of Phoenix being a bitch is completely accurate, and it was a bad analogy by the questioner. Phoenix was a character in MVC3 that, after out playing her for 90 seconds, could destroy you in less than five seconds without an ounce of skill. She was a bitch. If Phoenix was a male character, she would be a bitch. There is no way around it. If you played Vanilla MVC3, you would understand how that this character could completely undermine your skill with pure luck.

Third- What has the FGC done in response?

Well SRK has posted two articles in response, and has given a both the Goodcop and Badcop touch on the issue. The first was more of a “c’mon everybody” motif. The second was more of a “put your foot down” motif.

Eventhubs has posted the apology from Aris, and the outlook on the situation from Mike Ross, Gooteks, and ReNic.

All of the comments have been in spite of Aris and supporting openness within the community. If you are expecting to change 20 year old ideologies within a week, you are sadly mistaken. We are working the best we can.

In Closing.

We are working as hard as we can to fix this problem. But before then please attempt to meet the FGC halfway, and we ask for a bit of understanding. We are a 20 year old community and attempting to understand us within a week is a fool’s errand. We cannot fix this problem while people are relentlessly attacking us for not fixing this problem fast enough. The only thing you are encouraging is further reclusion by the FGC. Even people that disagreed with Aris’ words will only find allies within the FGC. Resulting in an even further locked down FGC.

This reminds me of the shit people get for being Philadelphia fans on some parts of the east coast.

Just because a minority of fans act horrible, the rest of the community gets a bad rep.

What am I talking about?

The guy that vomited on the little girl at the phillys game

The 3 guys that beat the shit (killed?) an Afghanistan vet after a flyers game.

The Eagles fans who act retarded.

But I know hundreds of fans personally who are kind and certainly not capable of that violence/hatred.

Same goes for the FGC.

This is still a thing? Wow, talk about fucking first world problems. This shit is pathetic.

Credit where it's due, thanks go to Patrick.

I really don't care what your wall of text says, but the "Fighting Community" is worse then the CS community. Its compiled of wanna be gansta's, that are the equivalent 4chan of the video game world.

I've gone to fighting community tourneys before, and its been such a repulsive experience.