While I was watching G4TV this afternoon, with my infant son in the room, an ad for G4's coverage of the Adult Video Awards came on. It was fairly impressive how many things had to be blacked out and cencored in just 30 seconds of TV commercial.

   I have no problem with the fact that a porn industry exists. I don't mind that 14-19 year old boys are fascinated with adult content. I'm not even surprised that someone somewhere might be able to name more than 1 porn star or care who wins these awards. However, I don't think it has any place on a network that is supposedly about video games.

   It would be stupid for me to rail against porn. As a straight American male with an internet connection, I have to admit that at some point I have been exposed to this content. I don't think there shouldn't be any porn, but I strongly believe that it should only be seen by those people who intentionally seek it out.

   I don't care what you or anyone else chooses to view on the internet. I respect the First Ammendment to the U.S. Constitution. I do care what my infant child might be unwittingly exposed to while I am flipping through the channels.

   I use G4 as a background when I'm watching my son. I like to watch X-Play, Icons, and even AOTS, and leave the network playing while I am doing other things (an 8-month old keeps you pretty busy). As a responsible parent, I can no longer do this if I never know when an add full of "censored" spots, lesbian foreplay, and women grinding on stage will show up on the screen.

   When Nintendo introduced the Wii, it showed that the gaming industry is trying to target more people. I support video games becoming a mainstream form of entertainment. G4 is now dedicating themselves full-time to ruining all these efforts.

  I fit some gamer stereotypes. I grew up reading comic books, and enjoyed them through college. I like the Star Wars movies, and have bought many action figures for my son to play with when he gets older. I never got enjoyed cosplay, Star Trek, or Dungeons and Dragons, but I never had anything against people who did. 

   I am now a fit 30 year old man with a professional job, a happy marriage, a young family. My hobbies and professional fighting career have kept me in good physical shape. I do not work in IT, and I groom myself daily.

   From reading your blogs, I see that most of my friends on GS are articulate people with enriching interests. Many of you have a great appreciation for music, film, literature, and art. A lot of you are dedicated to your families and homes. We are all gamers.

   This makes me wonder why G4 wants to fill up their programming schedule with Star Trek: The Next Generation and shows dedicated to the adult film industry. By doing this they are potraying all gamers as pudgy, porn-addicted geeks with no social skills. While we all know that there are many different types of gamers, we also know there a few who meet the stereotype we all want to avoid. 

   G4 is setting the industry back by choosing to air this trash, and I can no longer support them. Maybe I'm getting old, but until the network decides to show gamers as successful, intelligent people, and stops airing these adult-oriented promos in the middle of the afternoon, I can no longer dedicate any more of my time to them.