No, I don't think it's fear.
I think their probable reason is try to stay out of it for business reasons. Unlike other new sites GB does have to rely on subscriber support, so they do have to be mindful of potentially upsetting their customers. Which means it's probably in their best business interests to try to stay apolitical even in obvious circumstances. I don't like it, but for the site's own being it might be the safest decision, that is the reality of having a consumer facing business.
Honestly it's too late now for just words. Whatever window they had to make a substantive difference with a frontpage story or a stated position is probably past. There needs to be action, what action I don't know but something substantive but the kind of action that needs to come from somebody bigger with more influence than Giantbomb.
This nonsense has gone on long enough and escalated enough that I'd say the console gamer community's reputation is tarred for who knows how long, maybe forever kind of like what happened to comic books in the 1950's which lingers with them to this day. The difference this time is that it's all self inflicted. Not many outside of this fandom is going to believe this industry is friendly to women after this summer without very visible major concrete reform and frankly why should they? I'm not sure many on the inside even do anymore.
Gamergate may have won some battles as they perceive them but they've lost the war for all of us.
I just hope the fervor dies soon before anyone else gets attacked ( I mean after what just happened UGH) and maybe actually physically hurt. It's getting scary how this continues to escalate.
Going on two months now. Zoe Quinn and Anita Sarkeesian are still putting up with this shit, still working with the FBI to prosecute their abusers. Brianna Wu and her husband had to flee their home. And major gaming sites are terrifyingly silent.
You've got to be kidding me. I think I'm going to be sick.
Something to be mindful of though man, is that often people who suffer something like this don't want additional exposure for good reason. The press may be silent at her or the authorities' request. She did tweet it out, but it's hard to know who that tweet was intended for. It may have been really meant for her twitter followers not the general public. In a situation like that people don't always think 100% clearly and that just may have been the fastest, easiest way to let people she cares about know without thinking about who else would see it. And even then there's a big difference between tweeting to followers and having it published by a major outlet. The gaming news sites may want run it and not be able to get ahold of her to ask her permission to run the story. We just don't know right now and maybe never will.
I'm 100% sure this is not how she wants to be known either. I'm very sure she'd much rather be known for her craft and her game Revolution 60, than having attacks made on her signal boosted instead.
I wish I hadn't gone to look for myself about what was happening around this, already there's a conspiracy youtuber claiming she's faking it. That somehow makes this so much worse, as if the harassment itself wasn't bad enough...
I just hope she and her family are alright.
Log in to comment