WSGEXE

The objection is less about the discussion of social issues and more about the agenda that comes with that discussion. Two sides taking entrenched positions isn't a discussion. And the introduction of a men's rights activist is going to be met with the same suspicion of an entrenched position as a guest on the podcast who uses terms like "cis gendered male." Which is widely regarded as a slur.

Agendas aren't healthy and result only in extremist communities like tumblr and 4chan, who are more alike than different in their degree of polarization.

@rorie: This social focus on games is a recent development. Can we agree on that? There exists an old guard, surely we can agree on that. It's within the realm of reason for the old guard to prefer its established gameplay-focused coverage.

And it's within the realm of reason for the old guard to be unwelcoming of change. It is after all an enthusiast community, not a town hall. No one is justified to insist upon change or reform. That is all I was saying. Perhaps my analogy was overly complex.

@rorie: That's not what I meant in the least. I was just countering your statement that looking at post counts is some sort of indication of veterancy. Obviously everyone's voice is welcome.

@rorie: Not that it's relevant but comment counts don't amount to a whole lot. I've had a paid account since 2011 and haven't even made 200 comments. Some of the more active new members could top that in a day.

The argument that new voices are derailing an established community is evidenced even by the existence of this thread. There is a bit of a culture war going on in video games and acknowledging it is hardly controversial.

I was once a member of the AtariAge forums for a year or so. I went there primarily as a collector interested in networking with other game collectors.

The AtariAge community is (I discovered) focused primarily on hardware and not so much on games. The community plays games almost exclusively through what's called a Harmony Cart, a glorified USB stick which is usually loaded with the entire catalog of the Atari 2600.

I foolishly attempted to chastise veteran members of the community for what I saw as essentially emulation and implied I was a more genuine Atari fan for collecting the "real deal."

They shouted me out of their community and deservedly so. I came as an outsider with an agenda and demanded a place at the table, despite my contempt for everyone else present.

I eventually apologized and they accepted me, once I was willing to participate as a member instead of a reformer.

This is an analogy but I think it's applicable.

@ohnoaghost: Outrage of the Day is a very apt description. This was a community almost free of drama until very recently. For whatever reason the games press and "Twittersphere" have taken a very sudden political interest in what has traditionally been an insular and secular realm. If you want to call it a boy's club, that's totally fine. But objecting to the undermining of a community is entirely valid and will continue.

The fact of the matter is eventually Jeff and Brad are going to have to weigh in explicitly on this topic and the community will split along lines of agreement and disagreement. There will be an exodus of the dissatisfied and everyone will get on with their business.

In my opinion Giant Bomb is trying to put that moment off for as long as possible, while the most vocal zealots are trying to force it by inventing flash-points whenever possible.

Patrick's stance is widely known. Alex's is evident if you follow him on Twitter. Jeff, Brad and Dan seem to want to keep out of it entirely. Vinny expressed interest in seeing this week's guest return, so take that as you like.

It's just a waiting game at this point.

@codenamelenny: We have to talk in cryptic terms. Explicit discussion of this topic makes you subject to moderation.

@jazz: I think it's fairly obvious that statement was a half-measure at best. Everyone already agrees on those basic tenants. No one is lobbying for the right to exclude or the right to be offensive.

Until Jeff takes a side on this argument, it will continue. Right now no one knows what this site stands for, which allows loud blowhards on both sides to insert whatever they please in the void.

We don't need a discussion, we need a decision. And we need it from Jeff. What is Giant Bomb in 2014?