A few years ago, when this whole feminist explosion happened in the gaming enthusiast press I started retweeting Leigh Alexander’s writings. I never directed a hostile word towards her on twitter. For some reason unbeknownst to me she blocked me. I was offended because I was only sharing her work but alas I thought, I can still read her work online and support her that way it’s not the end of the world. Now with the magic of Block Together, the entire enthusiast press can now block me wholesale.

Now I've said mean things on twitter, like contemplating if Chris Hardwick had a cocaine problem when I should have just said I didn't like his show Talking Dead. It was a stab at his personal character in a public way that I deeply regret and take back. I’ve since apologized to Chris and I've now opted to try to stay away from the ad hominems when judging a work on twitter. I feel like this is a process most people don’t come to until they realize that they've done something wrong, or they never realize it and they end up becoming the people currently harassing the Zoe Quinns of the world.

I typically interact with developers and press on twitter like this now. Looking back my tweets have become much more mature than I was when I first started tweeting(in high school) and I've noticed much the same out of many other twitter accounts. In the case of Block Together, I fear that Leigh Alexander has so many connections in the gaming press and with independent developers that I’m going to be missing out on these sorts of interactions going forward. I noticed today from a friend passing along a block list for Chris Grant via pastebin that I’d been added.

There’s no other way to say this than it bums me out. I've seen the vine of Jenn Frank’s feed when she’s being harassed and I can see how twitter harassment can just become unmanageable. This seems like a better solution, but I feel like the relationship between the enthusiasts press and the enthusiasts they then write to will change. It’s these people that have inspired me to pursue a career making games, and it makes me sad that it might be ending soon on twitter. For my own personal selfish reasons I ask enthusiast press/developers to think hard about making that plunge and if Block Together will solve the problem of being harassed by twenty follower twitter eggs with no skin in the game?

Thank you for your time and tell me in the comments if you were also blocked.