These are a few forum posts (relatively standalone) where I tried to analyze and explain what the hell is going on. When I’m doing this sort of thing I step away from my own personal opinion and just try to figure out the motives behind all that I see. I try to understand and describe what I see from a neutral point of view.

Notice that I don’t mention Zoe Quinn, because that’s one aspect that I just find baffling and do not understand at all.

So this is my interpretation of what is going on:

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All these women (and some guys) are saying is ‘Can we have less violent video games please, with less violence towards (insert choice of concern)?’ and the reaction from the socially conditioned video game masses (that are mostly teenage boys and maladjusted guys) is ‘KILL THEM! BURN THE WITCHES! GAYS!’

You won’t reach your goal by ranting about someone else’s enjoyment because you don’t have yours.

Your actual problem isn’t about the next GTA, your problem is about the need for games that do not exist yet. A market space that you feel is empty. So the goal is: fill that space.

But if your strategy to fill that space is about going against someone else’s space, you simply won’t obtain much (if not reactive hostility).

I’m talking from a purely practical point of view: you will obtain very little by pushing the issue in that way.

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(context: game critics or players going against perceived rampant misogyny in games)

The problem is that those critics seek contrast. As I said above, instead of trying to find and develop a new space, they rile against current games.

It’s only natural that someone who enjoys CURRENT games feels like it’s an attack on the things they like. And so all the accuses about limiting expression, freedom and whatnot. It’s like: you’re stepping into my garden with your haughty judgmental stance. You judge things I like, and by extension you judge me as a human being because I like those things (rape culture, every white male guy gamer endorses rape by liking and playing these games). So now I’m going to kick you out. Very vehemently. You’re not anymore a welcome guest.

The core of all problems is this judgmental look from the outside. Someone looks at what you do and what you like, and judges you.

The problem is again that this strategy sucks. If you want new types of games, once again, you don’t get them by confronting what already exists and pretend change (like petitioning to add female avatars in Assassin’s Creed). You simply open that space. You focus on new games that do not exist yet, instead of ranting against games that exist and that you scorn.

But if instead your style is confrontational, then the contrast just escalates in the ways we’ve all seen. Legitimately or not.

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Finally, someone came along and said “Hey, whoa, these are some pretty offensive worlds you guys have created, I mean just look at these examples”

This is a judgmental stance.

It reads like “whoa, you are a lesser human being for liking and appreciating this stuff. Feel ashamed of your gaming habits, poor kid.”

It’s the implicit scorn that sets people off: “Haha, look at this kid.”

Are you surprised that then these guys respond with all the vitriol?

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Making sweeping generalization only stacks one faction against the other and builds up the hate. I’m simply saying that this “strategy” to address the very issue won’t solve a thing, and is instead likely exacerbating it.

Vile, hateful speech is to condemn regardless of its topic. If there’s more of it than usual, it’s because this war of factions was energized by the amount of attention it received.

The attention itself is good, but too often to defend a position people point to the worst cases in both parties.

I’m persuaded that a majority of the vocal minority is made of trolls who don’t even think what they are writing, they just bask in the mess and are having a laugh. Just because there are lots of people like that, who enjoy the vitriol. It’s like attending one giant rave party that lasts for weeks. They do it merely for fun, and not for the political heft of the issue.

And it’s *these trolls* in particular that create the revolving party. I’m writing about this because my twitter has become 80% clogged by this. And between a number of developers commenting the issue, 90% of their tweets is about POINTING AND LAUGHING at the worst examples.

These developers and players are TAKING THE BAIT, making everything worse.

These are the same people who created the #ResolutionGate because Xbox output 720p compared to 1080p PS4. It’s just another giant meme.

You know? Slow News Day.

Nothing exciting happens in gaming, waiting for the autumn releases, people are bored. This one topic is just the occasion for a number of people to enjoy the Internet in their own Special way. Everyone else just took the bait and eagerly jumped in the mud pit. Because it’s fun and makes you feel like you belong to a community. And as when kids go around in bigger groups of kids, the naughty becomes the style of choice, because you are anonymous in the group and being part of the group means you don’t feel any personal responsibility.

It’s exactly like city-wide looting, when people get completely batshit crazy just because they are in a group that legitimates all they do.