I think a lot of this has to do with accountability online. It's a lot easier to make a comment you might not otherwise make when you feel that nobody that you deal with in your "real" life will ever know about. Ask yourself before making such a comment why it's okay to make it online, when you wouldn't do so in person?
It's why I now try to always post under my real name instead of a typical online handle. I want to be held accountable for things that I say, and I want to have to think about what I'm saying before I say it.
As far as GamerGate goes I think it's great that people are passionate about games, and that people want the games industry to hold itself to high ethical standards. The thing is GamerGate has become a reason for people to do some incredibly horrible things - for reasons that have nothing to do with journalistic ethics. When does giving a game a review that you feel is too good / too bad EVER warrant a death threat in return? In what situation is it EVER okay to send someone a death threat? If you're one of the people actively making threats like this carefully ask yourself what you have to gain by doing so, and what your cause stands for. If you've resorted to threatening people as a means to win an argument, then you've already lost.
Games are supposed to be fun. Let's remember how awesome it is that we live in time where we can enjoy them, and communicate with the people who make them.
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