Polygon: harassment, death threats are routine in game development

Yep,The gaming world is full of snot nosed spoilt brats.

Long rant about how gamers are stupidGalvatronType_R

People are stupid. Gamers are stupid because they're people, not because they're gamers.

Making a long rant declaring yourself a better person than a group of people is probably not very mature.

Edit: However, I don't understand how one could be passionate about weapon balacing in COD. I mean, COD is a "random" game that is anything but balanced. If you're playing it "competitively", you're doing it wrong. If you want balance, play Quake 3 or something.

Shitty journalism is also a routine.

[QUOTE="GalvatronType_R"]Long rant about how gamers are stupidReddestSkies

People are stupid. Gamers are stupid because they're people, not because they're gamers.

Making a long rant declaring yourself a better person than a group of people is probably not very mature.

Edit: However, I don't understand how one could be passionate about weapon balacing in COD. I mean, COD is a "random" game that is anything but balanced. If you're playing it "competitively", you're doing it wrong. If you want balance, play Quake 3 or something.

There are established people with careers who are equally closed-off venemous, abrasive and rude in public about petty stuff, and anyone who's worked in customer service or merged out of these douche's way in highway traffic knows what I'm talking about.

Those who are more self-assured IMO have silent pride. They pick their battles and don't start s**t over meaningless issues, or pursue folks who never had beef with em.

But hey our world is full of whiny subjective-minded, belittling assholes who are always looking for emotional prey, and the next leg up in the food chain. internet or real life, and it's so institutionalized ( gaming, home, workplace, public discussion, commerce, politics etc ) a lot of us don't even realize when we cross the line.

Yep,The gaming world is full of snot nosed spoilt brats.

CUDGEdave

The world is filled with terrible people, some of whom are gamers. 

[QUOTE="CUDGEdave"]

Yep,The gaming world is full of snot nosed spoilt brats.

Alpha_S_

The world is filled with terrible people, most of whom are gamers. 

No.  Typical overreaction. :roll:

[QUOTE="Masculus"]

Shitty journalism is also a routine.

dvader654

The funny thing is that gaming seems to be the only enthusiast hobby industry that has people like this..GalvatronType_R

This isn't even a little bit true.

[QUOTE="GalvatronType_R"]The funny thing is that gaming seems to be the only enthusiast hobby industry that has people like this..IndianaPwns39

This isn't even a little bit true.

Yep. This stuff happens everywhere. To say that games are the only industry to suffer from this is a gross misrepresentation of the facts.

Yeah it's pretty messed up. What I find truly dismal is the general difference regarding how reactive people are to devs/pubs and the vocal minority.

People seem to be pretty quick to judge devs/pubs regarding their attitudes, being that they have to walk on eggshells or else everyone vows to never support them again.

Meanwhile, those same devs/pubs are told to suck it up and just deal with the Internet. 

they have become attention whores and this is what happens. "Duh?" I may add.Black_Knight_00

Sounds like victim blaming.

This is why you should never, ever go on the internet using your real name. Game developers think they are superstars now, they have become attention whores and this is what happens. "Duh?" I may add.Black_Knight_00

Pushing the blame onto the victims is hardly fair. It's disgusting.

Their names are going to get out on the Web one way or another. Whether it be through a simple article from the press or some deranged troll digging into their personal info, their real names are going to be made public. Hell, social media alone -- an increasingly important tool for business -- makes using your real name required, essentially, because people like to connect with the folks responsible for making the games they love playing. An actual name and face to associate with is always more appreciated than some monolithic, corporate entity. Some companies make it mandatory to use social networks, even! So there's no escape from it.

My name's been out on the Internet for years. I'm always a bit afraid of that coming to bite me in the ass one of these days, but that's the occupational hazard of being a writer -- or, hell, any creative medium. You're going to be known, whether you want to or not. Unless you avoid the Internet entirely -- which is just plain unreasonable in today's society -- there's no way to avoid recognition.

Meanwhile, those same devs/pubs are told to suck it up and just deal with the Internet. whiskeystrike

Which is just bullshit. No one should have to deal with this stuff. Receving abuse shouldn't be an everyday part of the job. That's wrong. I don't know what could be done to prevent or eliminate it, but just accepting it shouldn't be the go-to answer.

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"]they have become attention whores and this is what happens. "Duh?" I may add.whiskeystrike

Sounds like victim blaming.

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"]This is why you should never, ever go on the internet using your real name. Game developers think they are superstars now, they have become attention whores and this is what happens. "Duh?" I may add.c_rake

Pushing the blame onto the victims is hardly fair. It's disgusting.

Their names are going to get out on the Web one way or another. Whether it be through a simple article from the press or some deranged troll digging into their personal info, their real names are going to be made public. Hell, social media alone -- an increasingly important tool for business -- makes using your real name required, essentially, because people like to connect with the folks responsible for making the games they love playing. An actual name and face to associate with is always more appreciated than some monolithic, corporate entity. Some companies make it mandatory to use social networks, even! So there's no escape from it.

My name's been out on the Internet for years. I'm always a bit afraid of that coming to bite me in the ass one of these days, but that's the occupational hazard of being a writer -- or, hell, any creative medium. You're going to known, whether you want to or not. Unless you avoid the Internet entirely -- which is just plain unreasonable in today's society -- there's no way to avoid recognition.

It wasn't this week that we discovered that the internet is full of demented psychos, and if one decides to go out and make himself available then it's a conscious gamble.

The people involved in Star Wars would probably get a good laugh out of that article.

[QUOTE="whiskeystrike"]

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"]they have become attention whores and this is what happens. "Duh?" I may add.Black_Knight_00

Sounds like victim blaming.

[QUOTE="whiskeystrike"]

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"]they have become attention whores and this is what happens. "Duh?" I may add.Black_Knight_00

Sounds like victim blaming.

Might as well never leave the house.

So what you're basically saying is that they're asking for it, right?

Teufelhuhn

Might as well never leave the house.whiskeystrike

That largely depends on your neighborhood, and the internet is a bad neighborhood. Especially considering that everyone is wearing a mask keeping them anonymous.

Call me paranoid, but I know people who publish their real name, family members, workplace, work schedule and even home address on facebook and I don't see that as a sound move.

[QUOTE="Teufelhuhn"]

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"] If I do something I should understand and be prepared for the potential consequences it may entail. Going online using one's real name is careless and people should stop doing so. Out of 1000 people you meet online there's at least 1 psychotic wacko with his priorities backwards.Black_Knight_00

When people choose to work for the entertainment industry I don't think personal phone calls and emails w/threats to your family should be considered part of the job.

When people choose to work for the entertainment industry I don't think personal phone calls and emails w/threats to your family should be considered part of the job. whiskeystrike

Avoid unnecessary risks=avoid receiving hatemail

[QUOTE="whiskeystrike"]When people choose to work for the entertainment industry I don't think personal phone calls and emails w/threats to your family should be considered part of the job. Black_Knight_00

Avoid unnecessary risks=avoid receiving hatemail

I don't think you understand how empowering your attitude is to the crazies and their ilk.

It's a pretty big gap between opening a Twitter to communicate with fans and having your kids threatened. Or being told you were going to be murdered at a PAX event.

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"]

[QUOTE="whiskeystrike"]When people choose to work for the entertainment industry I don't think personal phone calls and emails w/threats to your family should be considered part of the job. whiskeystrike

Avoid unnecessary risks=avoid receiving hatemail

I don't think you understand how empowering your attitude is to the crazies and their ilk.

It's a pretty big gap between opening a Twitter to communicate with fans and having your kids threatened. Or being told you were going to be murdered at a PAX event.

[QUOTE="whiskeystrike"]

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"] "Should" goes nowhere. Life is a cheating b*tch, she doesn't play by the rules. Very few things in life work the way they "should"

Avoid unnecessary risks=avoid receiving hatemail

Black_Knight_00

I don't think you understand how empowering your attitude is to the crazies and their ilk.

It's a pretty big gap between opening a Twitter to communicate with fans and having your kids threatened. Or being told you were going to be murdered at a PAX event.

Where exactly did I infer that?

Where exactly did I infer that?whiskeystrike

explain your previous post

[QUOTE="whiskeystrike"]Where exactly did I infer that?Black_Knight_00

explain your previous post

Your "it comes with the territory" attitude is what is empowering to crazies.

Someone getting hurt as say a stunt double would be accepted because danger is inherent to his/her job responsibilities.

Someone having a Twitter/Facebook should not have to worry about threats to their loved ones safety or their own. When you shift any bit of responsibility to the victim, any at all, you've given the psychos just a bit of a leverage. When you say "it's to the Internet" or "it's to be expected" you've shown that you accepted it.

These people are entertainers. All they wanted to do was create some fun gameplay or write a story. Now they're wondering if there really is a psycho crazy enough to snatch their kids off the school bus. Meanwhile, they're being told by some people that they should have expected it all. It's part of the industry. Being told you'll be killed at PAX happens all the time. No one actually means it on the Internet! Nowhere did these entertainers did anything wrong but now they've been told that they're partly to blame.

It's the same kind of mindset that says a woman shouldn't dress sexy and go out to drink if she didn't want to get raped. Or if you don't want to risk your kids getting shot, don't let them go to a public school. Shifting any kind of responsibility to the victim is a very sketchy moral ground even if in the rare circumstance it is actually partially their fault.

I know that you're not condoning such behavior. That much is obvious. But simply accepting or expecting it is what gives people power. There should be 0% tolerance for such threats.

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"]

[QUOTE="whiskeystrike"]Where exactly did I infer that?whiskeystrike

explain your previous post

Your "it comes with the territory" attitude is what is empowering to crazies.

Someone getting hurt as say a stunt double would be accepted because danger is inherent to his/her job responsibilities.

Someone having a Twitter/Facebook should not have to worry about threats to their loved ones safety or their own. When you shift any bit of responsibility to the victim, any at all, you've given the psychos just a bit of a leverage. When you say "it's to the Internet" or "it's to be expected" you've shown that you accepted it.

These people are entertainers. All they wanted to do was create some fun gameplay or write a story. Now they're wondering if there really is a psycho crazy enough to snatch their kids off the school bus. Meanwhile, they're being told by some people that they should have expected it all. It's part of the industry. Being told you'll be killed at PAX happens all the time. No one actually means it on the Internet! Nowhere did these entertainers did anything wrong but now they've been told that they're partly to blame.

It's the same kind of mindset that says a woman shouldn't dress sexy and go out to drink if she didn't want to get raped. Or if you don't want to risk your kids getting shot, don't let them go to a public school. Shifting any kind of responsibility to the victim is a very sketchy moral ground even if in the rare circumstance it is actually partially their fault.

I know that you're not condoning such behavior. That much is obvious. But simply accepting or expecting it is what gives people power. There should be 0% tolerance for such threats.

People are far too entitled these days. Nobody has the right to call someone's home and threaten their family and FURTHERMORE nobody should ever have to walk into a white collar desk job and fear for their lives or the lives of their loved ones. I understand that "it happens", but that doesn't make it any more or less excuseable. I mean seriously. Who the hell buys a game and thinks, "I like this game!" then buys the sequel and says, "this game sucks compared to the first! I'm gonna kill the family of whoever made this!"? 

Have you seen youtube comments on anything? There are internet idiots everywhere for everything. This is not a gaming only thing.dvader654

the fact that people would send death threats over video games (or anything really) is quite despicable. I just wonder if harassment, death threats, and other such abuse are as much of an issue in other industries as it is in the gaming industry. And this isn't really a rhetorical question, I am genuinly curious, because while I'm sure every medium has its bad people, I have a hard time believing movie directors, or authors of books get as much sh*t as game devs sometimes do. The only person I can really see getting a bunch of flack like that is George Lucas. 

More people should be arrested and charged with terroristic threats such as that guy in Texas that is facing 8 years for threats over League of Legends on Facebook. No matter where you go on the internet, you leave a trail that leads back to you as the aforementioned young man found out.

More people should be arrested and charged with terroristic threats such as that guy in Texas that is facing 8 years for threats over League of Legends on Facebook. No matter where you go on the internet, you leave a trail that leads back to you as the aforementioned young man found out.

WhiteKnight77

You may want to rething your position.

[QUOTE="WhiteKnight77"]

More people should be arrested and charged with terroristic threats such as that guy in Texas that is facing 8 years for threats over League of Legends on Facebook. No matter where you go on the internet, you leave a trail that leads back to you as the aforementioned young man found out.

Black_Knight_00

You may want to rething your position.

Que?

There was a time when threats to one life were not made so they could be seen around the world. Today, people seem to think that they are anonymous entities when they make such threats towards someone they do not know where anyone, anywhere can read such threats. To put an end to such threats by not so anonymous people (everyone leaves a trail on the internet, even when using a proxy server), that it has gotten out of hand.

Arrest them, charge them, make them an example and let everyone know that they got caught doing something illegal (death threats are illegal after all). If they cannot handle the fact that they are stupid for doing so and want to try suicide, good. Hopefully they succeed in their endeavor over their own stupidity. It might sound crass, but when you make stupid decisions, you should have to pay, period. 

Anybody who legitimately advocates sacrificing privacy and freedom of speech because their feelings were hurt by a child over the internet needs to hurry up and wash out of society. You're clearly not strong enough to be here.

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"]

[QUOTE="WhiteKnight77"]

More people should be arrested and charged with terroristic threats such as that guy in Texas that is facing 8 years for threats over League of Legends on Facebook. No matter where you go on the internet, you leave a trail that leads back to you as the aforementioned young man found out.

WhiteKnight77

You may want to rething your position.

Que?

There was a time when threats to one life were not made so they could be seen around the world. Today, people seem to think that they are anonymous entities when they make such threats towards someone they do not know where anyone, anywhere can read such threats. To put an end to such threats by not so anonymous people (everyone leaves a trail on the internet, even when using a proxy server), that it has gotten out of hand.

Arrest them, charge them, make them an example and let everyone know that they got caught doing something illegal (death threats are illegal after all). If they cannot handle the fact that they are stupid for doing so and want to try suicide, good. Hopefully they succeed in their endeavor over their own stupidity. It might sound crass, but when you make stupid decisions, you should have to pay, period. 

Do you realize how oblivious you sound when you talk about anonymity and Facebook together in the same breath?

Anybody who legitimately advocates sacrificing privacy and freedom of speech because their feelings were hurt by a child over the internet needs to hurry up and wash out of society. You're clearly not strong enough to be here.

syztem

Death threats aren't exactly freedom of speech...

[QUOTE="syztem"]

Anybody who legitimately advocates sacrificing privacy and freedom of speech because their feelings were hurt by a child over the internet needs to hurry up and wash out of society. You're clearly not strong enough to be here.

whiskeystrike

Death threats aren't exactly freedom of speech...

Failed humor like the Facebook kid sure is, otherwise I know some comedians we'd have thrown in jail by now.

[QUOTE="WhiteKnight77"]

Que?

There was a time when threats to one life were not made so they could be seen around the world. Today, people seem to think that they are anonymous entities when they make such threats towards someone they do not know where anyone, anywhere can read such threats. To put an end to such threats by not so anonymous people (everyone leaves a trail on the internet, even when using a proxy server), that it has gotten out of hand.

Arrest them, charge them, make them an example and let everyone know that they got caught doing something illegal (death threats are illegal after all). If they cannot handle the fact that they are stupid for doing so and want to try suicide, good. Hopefully they succeed in their endeavor over their own stupidity. It might sound crass, but when you make stupid decisions, you should have to pay, period. 

syztem

Do you realize how oblivious you sound when you talk about anonymity and Facebook together in the same breath?

I am fully aware that people are not anonymous on Facebook, or anywhere else for that matter while on the internet. 

[QUOTE="syztem"]

Anybody who legitimately advocates sacrificing privacy and freedom of speech because their feelings were hurt by a child over the internet needs to hurry up and wash out of society. You're clearly not strong enough to be here.

whiskeystrike

Death threats aren't exactly freedom of speech...

Exactly. I've heard some horrible stories of people on the Internet taking it way too far. Bomb threats, posting people's home addresses and phone numbers and encouraging people to harass the person in question, rape threats, slander, harassing family members, etc. None of these are protected by the freedom of speech and would not be condoned in everday life. These are prosectuable offenses.

[QUOTE="whiskeystrike"]

[QUOTE="syztem"]

Anybody who legitimately advocates sacrificing privacy and freedom of speech because their feelings were hurt by a child over the internet needs to hurry up and wash out of society. You're clearly not strong enough to be here.

syztem

Death threats aren't exactly freedom of speech...

Failed humor like the Facebook kid sure is, otherwise I know some comedians we'd have thrown in jail by now.

No. In real life if you joke about shooting up a school you can be prosecuted. It's not about freedom, it's about treating a possible threat. It's why you can't joke about having a bomb on a plane or that there's a fire in a building.

In the odd chance someone does make good on their threats people wonder why no one reports such things...

Que?

There was a time when threats to one life were not made so they could be seen around the world. Today, people seem to think that they are anonymous entities when they make such threats towards someone they do not know where anyone, anywhere can read such threats. To put an end to such threats by not so anonymous people (everyone leaves a trail on the internet, even when using a proxy server), that it has gotten out of hand.

Arrest them, charge them, make them an example and let everyone know that they got caught doing something illegal (death threats are illegal after all). If they cannot handle the fact that they are stupid for doing so and want to try suicide, good. Hopefully they succeed in their endeavor over their own stupidity. It might sound crass, but when you make stupid decisions, you should have to pay, period. 

WhiteKnight77

Though I agree that we, as a society, should be harsher on dealing with such threats, in the case of the guy in Texas, outright arresting him was a bit too rash an action. The joke was definitely out of line (there are just some things you never joke about, especially in a public space), but a simple stern warning to watch what he says would have gotten the point across. Sentencing him to eight years is overkill.

Unless they're a repeat offender, just knowing that law enforcement could take action on such threats would probably be enough to scare most perpatrators into backing off. People tend to start being more aware of their actions once they know they can be held accountable for them, especially when jail-time is a potential consequence.