Another petition – this one telling advertisers that GamerGate doesn’t represent us and please don’t let it steamroll you.
Gamergate Does Not Represent Us – Support Media Outlets Against Coordinated Silencing Efforts
Petition by
Gamer Geeks for Diversity in Arts Through FeminismDear advertisers,
Recently, a group of people associated with “gamergate” have targeted news and media outlets by contacting advertisers en mass. Despite this group’s insistence that their focus is journalistic ethics, the outlets that have been named in their campaign have been named due to publishing articles discussing sexism and harassment within the gaming community.
We, as people who buy and play games, are not offended or afraid of having a discussion within our community concerning sexism and harassment. We are aware that there is a small portion of gaming enthusiasts who have become highly defensive in response to these discussions and have decided to lash out.
This picture is a screenshot from a larger tactics document associated with gamergate, in which a person contacting the advertisers of targeted media outlets is encouraged to be “an annoying little shit”.
We would like you, the advertisers, who have been “pestered” by this group to know, that this group does not represent us.
Gaming, as a pastime and an art form, is a significant cultural phenomena. Many of us are deeply invested in playing, discussing and developing games.
Despite gamergate rhetorically supporting free speech and freedom of expression, their movement has contributed significantly to a hostile and toxic environment.
We stand against these bully-tactics and lend advertisers and media outlets our support. We stand with journalists, reviewers, and editorial writers in hopes that they can continue to express their views and participate in much-needed conversations within our community free of coercion and intimidation.
To:
Microsoft
Samsung
Sprint
Russ Dyer, Kraft Foods, Public Relations
Brian Mast, eHealthInsurance, Director of Public Relations
Sande Drew, eHealthInsurance, Sr Media Consultant
Keith Dailey, Kroger, Director of Media Relations
Robert A Varettoni, Verizon, Exec. Director of Media Relations
Raymond McConville, Verizon, Media Relations Manager
Danielle McNally, Motorola, America Public Relations Specialist
Motorola Media Inquiries, Media Relations Dept
Holly Anderson, State Farm, Media Relations Specialist (Illinois-HQ)
Rachael Rislinger, State Farm, Media Relations Specialist (New York)
Edelman – Samsung PR, Public Relations
Danielle Meister, Samsung, US Media Relations and Corp. Communications
Scott Sloat, Sprint, Sr. Vice President – Corp. Communications
Jeff Hallock, Sprint, Chief Marketing Officer
Tristan Rosenfeldt, Electronic Arts, Communications Exec.
Kyle Ryley, Electronic Arts, Marketing & Communications Intern
Nancy Hubbel, Toyota Motor Co., Scion Product Communications Manager
Antoinette Arianna, Toyota Motor Co., Public Relations/Media Contact – New York
Jessica Johnston, Citizen Paine, Media Relations Contact, Old Spice
Kate DiCarlo, Procter & Gamble, Communications Manager
Sign that thang.
Signed!
I’m generally wary of petitions… I’ve been burned before… but… signed!
The gaters don’t represent this gamer.
Signed!
They definitely don’t represent this gamer, either!
(Signed and shared, natch.)
I do play games, but I’m not thereby a gamer.
(In passing, ‘phenomena’ is a plural, and the idiom should read en masse)
Signed and shared!
Speaking of games, here’s an educational game about the slave trade.
One of the gameplay mechanisms is a Tetris-style segment where you try to stack dropping slaves most efficiently in the hold of a slave ship.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gET9hbdJs4E
Just… wow.
(sorry for the off topic comment, but I was kind of stunned, so I posted it in the first game-related thread here I saw.)
Signed. Glad to see Kroger, my longtime former employer, on the list.
Jafafa,
That is disgusting. How can the developers be so blind? The cartoonish nature of the trailer is very disturbing.
Thanks so much John!! We’ll revise it.
*psst* I wrote it.
We started a small group in reaction to the whole GG thing. https://www.facebook.com/GamerDiversity
I started to sign it, but wasn’t happy that change.org insisted on having my street address.
I just give the street but no number.
M. A. Melby, I do think it’s an excellent petition.
Sorry to derail again, but speaking of gamergate – that “slave tetris” game I mentioned above? The Gamergate people are THRILLED with it, saying it’s going to give “the SJWs” fits… and are voting in droves for it to be added to services like Steam.
Today they have taken the cause of this game as a new mission.
It’s supposed to be educational, and apart from the “slave tetris” part, who knows how bad or good the rest is… but even if it IS reasonable overall despite appearances, the gamergaters are pushing it precisely because it’s “slave tetris” etc. Endless pages of comments about how great and hilarious they think it is.
(sorry for the derail. But geez.)
(the game started to get heavily promoted today, is why it suddenly sprang up. Sorry again)
Urrgh. Also I don’t consider that a derail.
@Jafafa Hots, 7, 14
Oookay… so that’s interesting… they seem to mean well? They also have one dealing with plague, and an upcoming one about Vikings, so, putting the absolute best spin on it, it seems like they’re honestly interested in educational history games and are just making it way too cutesy to get the actual messages across. Still… slave Tetris…
Truly, the cause of ethics in games journalism has been serviced on this day.
Signed!
Hmm… While I don’t feel that the cartoonish style of the advertisement or the human Tetris aspect are promising signs, I could see some ‘potential’ education if they could manage to make the player dehumanize the slaves and then make the player take a step back and realize how horrible that was. I seem to remember there being a board game about the Holocaust/concentration camps with a similar goal. ….not that I think they are going to do/be able to do this, but I am curious if that was somewhere in their plan.
(Also, apologies for not being able to find the game I was talking about at the moment, I’m pressed for time)
A nice bit from gawker about gamergate:
http://gawker.com/how-we-got-rolled-by-the-dishonest-fascists-of-gamergat-1649496579
Signed.
I think that I will contact intel and Adobe as well after checking to see if they have changed their tune over the last week or so.