PAX East 2014: Why Internet Jerks Aren’t Going to Win, And You Can Help

@orange_pork:

Absolutely nothing.

Aaaawwww I totally want a badge!

Now we only need Vbombs Panel!

@fallen189:

I reckon the lesson has to be something relatively simple. Learn from what one's mistakes, realize what one's power (the ability to call a cavalry of fans, inadvertently or intentionally, due to one's notoriety) can be used for exactly what you're intending to stop, so on an so forth. I personally like what Patrick tries to do, but it's obvious at times that his openness to respond to the most vile commenters brings out some unnecessary snark and calls to battle from his supporters. You can't control what other people do, but the callout of the 2048 dev was the sort of thing that should have never happened because of what he did. That said, Patrick pulled back and realized what he did was wrong.

It's always gonna wind up being a 'learn from your mistakes' situation, and at least Patrick is doing that.

@patrickklepek:

That's cool, I respect that. I agree that Twitter is making us say a lot of things we really regret. I naturally can't understand what it's like to have a proportionate amount of people slinging yang your way, so it's difficult to empathise in an objective manner, but I appreciate the fact you replied with a thoughtful response. It's a shame that a panel like this has to be made really, because it shows that they've already "won" in a sense, but yeah.

I think that while twitter is a useful tool, it's also very detrimental. It's a shame that the video game industry as a whole is mired by these incredible toxic communities, and that a lot of children nowadays are growing up where this instant gratification and access to people is so predominant. I teach in a school where I have 8 year old students who play a lot of video games online and I shudder to think about some of then things they must hear on a day to day basis.

Why are they "booing" at Patrick in the beginning? I missed something.

can't wait to watch this one after I get back from work.

Only watched Patrick's part so maybe it comes up later but I was hoping for a larger focus on what exactly do to against these kinds of things. The point kinda seemed to be, show your appreciation more but I don't really get how that is going to counteract the assholes out there. There was a whole lot showing people being awful and I don't feel that is very constructive. I guess its good that someone does talk about it though.

Of course I believe the apology is important! It shows remorse, empathy, and change. The technology we have at our fingertips--Twitter especially--plays to our worst impulses. When we respond to things emotionally with a knee-jerk reaction, it's often our worst face showing. That was an example of that, in addition to the joke-y "die in a fire" comment that's mentioned during the talk and during my TEDx presentation last year. I don't ignore my mistakes because mistakes make us human. Personally, I'm trying to tweet less and place what I say in a drafts folder more often. I don't make these kinds of mistakes with the stories I write, but every once in a while, I put my foot in my mouth when it comes to Twitter. Saying things impulsively is a huge part of that, I suspect.

Patrick sure has become a very good public speaker. I really enjoyed his presentation.

I think the ugliest thing I've seen the Patrick-detractors say is that they wish it was Patrick and not Ryan that died. Those "duders" should be ashamed of themselves. Even if you dislike Patrick, do you have any idea how furious Ryan would be that you'd use him to attack one of his friends? It's really gross.

@fallen189: Yeah he wrote a post on his tumblr about how he was being kind of a dick and how he was trying to not do that. http://patrickklepek.tumblr.com/post/81715518097/the-line

EDIT: Patrick already said this, NVM

@patrickklepek:

I appreciate the fact that you apologised to the guy, but does that excuse it? If I was to tell someone online to throw themselves off a bridge, but then later on said "oh I didn't mean it sorry I guess", does that make it any better?

Please understand that I'm not trying to attack you personally, I understand that the language I have to use to convey a point seems aggressive, I'd just like to try to understand your thought process on the thing. I get that you apologised to the man, but as someone who has such a big influence on people online, the "army" you mentioned is much more impactful than some random child's comments on twitter

Subjugation. Annihilation.

@patrickklepek: General consensus seemed to be that the whole "Diversity Lounge" thing that PAX put together this year was a dud. Did you get a chance to stop by?

Patrick and Zoe. Respect.

Someone asked about this during the Q&A, and I previously wrote a blog post about it.

I loved this talk Patrick! Keep working on this stuff and you might win this Internet fight yet!

Then what is it good for?

oh god dont ban me again plz

Good to see this went up on Giant Bomb.

No one wins any war.

Didn't Patrick recently lash out at that poor bastard for his clone article? It seems a bit pick and choosy around here

Challenge accepted.

No one can stop the internet jerks victory

Yeah, I remember asking Patrick on Twitter, sincerely, who the audience for this panel would be. Immediately I was attacked by someone who didn't seem to care very much for Patrick, Zoe, or myself, I guess.

I'm not a public figure, but Patrick is. I blocked the dude immediately, but PATRICK is the one who chooses not to block his "haters" because you can't engage in a fruitful conversation with someone if you just ignore them. For that, he gets my utmost respect.

@wolfgame: Isn't "not being an asshole to people" sort of the founding principle here? I'd like to think there can be some sort of progress, however it can be measured.

Huh, wasn't expecting this to be put up on the site. Cool.

I will definitely watch this, I can't let those internet jerks win

This was pretty great live, glad to see it's up for everyone to see.

Unfortunately no one "Wins" an undefined war .

Yes! (:

Awesome!