back to article Did you know? The FBI investigated Gamergate. Now you can read the agents' thrilling dossier

The FBI has released documents detailing its inconclusive investigation into threats made by online gamers against several women that started in 2014, particularly media critic Anita Sarkeesian and game developer Brianna Wu. The incident, known as Gamergate – a reference to the Twitter hashtag used by some of the women's …

  1. FF22

    Lies

    "In August 2014, gamers targeted game developer Zoë Quinn, along with Wu and Sarkeesian, with threats and harassment through chat and social media channels."

    Indeed. They've "threatened" themselves with fake tweets: http://www.returnofkings.com/42602/did-anita-sarkeesian-fake-death-threats-against-herself

    1. Mephistro
      Holmes

      Re: Lies

      The evidence in that article -a screen capture that is trivially easy to fake- means that it could either be herself making the threats or any of the gazillion of hominines that populate the Internets. Which one is the most probable? ;-)

      If this 'evidence' was conclusive, then the FBI would have put A. Sarkeesian before a judge in a matter of a few weeks, at most. But this happened in 2014 and she's free, so...

      On a side note, I'm quite astonished that those messages -some of them related to bomb threats, ffs!- are not being thoroughly investigated and arrests been made, because, you know, terrists!

      1. Cari

        Re: Lies

        I always suspected closet mysoginist Jonathan McIntosh of being behind some of the threats to Sarkeesian. I reckon he was manning the account when it linked its 100k-odd followers to CP when some goon tweeted it at the FF account. "How do I report?" coming from someone who allegedly reports harrassing tweets all the time to twitter and the police.

    2. Steve Knox
      FAIL

      Re: Lies

      So your "evidence" is a link to an openly misogynist website. Well done.

      At least you had the honesty to label your post with the title, there.

    3. NewGuy

      Re: Lies

      Most of that article is an insane rant about whatever he thinks feminists think, using stuff like "they're angry at being rejected by men!" and "girls love twilight!" as evidence. The part actually "proving" she posted against herself brings up an almost valid question, but then, once again, goes on an insane rant about how damning their "evidence" is, mainly that 1) The twitter account was new and barely used! 2) An online troll would never use proper punctuation and perfectly within 140 characters! 3) She's not logged in and didn't search for the account, so she must have known where it was specifically!

      1) Someone posting an physical address would make a fake account, because that's something police would definitely follow up on.

      2) Wtf? How is that a point? "Online trolls, DO NOT PRE-MEDITATE. It's in the fables! Like that if you guess their names, you get gold!!! We KNOW these things."

      3) Maybe it's weird she's not logged in and the search history or whatever, but how would it help her to log out to go to this account? A little weird, but maybe paranoid she thought for a second she should log out before posting a screen cap and clicked on the account as soon as she saw her address, then you can make fun of her for not knowing how twitter works? I don't know. Whatever that one weird thing is it's not damning, and it's followed by really insecure ranting.

      I had to post this, because I never really knew much about Gamergate, went to that link, and saw that it was insane, and needed other people to know who didn't feel like reading it. I hope a mod removes this thread. I feel dirty for acknowledging it. Probably a troll.

    4. LewisRage

      Re: Lies

      Classic alt-right tactics, misdirection of the argument away from the core elements of the argument.

      Perhaps, they have generated some of this themselves, but lets be honest it's not the issue. Whatever they have done does not mitigate or cancel out the horrific tirade of abuse that they suffered from a well organised and co-ordinated horde of young men.

      There is no justification for the personal attacks that they suffered.

      Also I'd reject out of hand anyone that turns to return of kings as a reliable reference.

    5. Potemkine Silver badge

      Re: Lies

      returnofkings.com

      What a huge pile of shite! Articles authors should try a therapy, it might helps them to overcome their misogyny

  2. MNGrrrl

    Humanity fail.

    It hasn't even been 5 minutes live on the website and already someone has posted to the forum calling her a liar. I shouldn't have to say this to anyone, but harassment of women is a real thing. It happens in real life, it happens online, it happens at work, it happens at home. It is pervasive, cross-cultural, multi-national, and occasionally deadly.

    -

    I'm glad the FBI investigated, but hardly surprised at the results. Only about 1 in 3 rapes are ever investigated, and less than 1 in a hundred are prosecuted. Most jurisdictions in the United States report violent crime to the FBI's criminal statistics division. It is a voluntary program, and for obvious political reasons, most police departments want to downplay the instances of violent crime in their precincts. As a result, rape is severely under-reported. Most women don't even bother reporting it because they know -- from their friends and family -- that it is largely futile. If something as serious as that can be readily dismissed by authorities and the -- male -- public, it shouldn't be any surprise harassment gets almost no attention. The statistics are so depressing it makes me hate the very concept of numbers. Just look down and to the right of this post at the number of thumbs down, and you'll see another depressing example of how what you are matters a lot when it comes to criminal investigations, public sympathy, and credibility. Gamergate was an attempt to organize women into a cohesive political force, against a problem that is utterly intractable and simply accepted because fighting back just makes it that much worse.

    To all the trolls here and elsewhere that don't want to here this, I have a simple message: Most women have bigger balls than you'll ever have. It takes guts to walk out the door, every day, and endure this with a smile, to never let it show that it bothers you. It takes courage that most men cannot comprehend, and it is shameful that men have allowed themselves to become this weak and pathetic that they won't stand up for others. You're willing to run off and die for your country for honor, but you can't bring yourselves to step up and tell other men when they're abusing women. Call it feminism if you want. Label it, dismiss it, ignore it, laugh at it -- but the truth is it's no different than being upset with muslims because some of them are terrorists. Why won't you do more, you ask. It's a muslim problem, so it's okay to discriminate because they haven't done a good enough job policing their community.

    Well men... what are you doing to police yours?

    1. Mark 85
      Pint

      Re: Humanity fail.

      Well said. Have a cold one for stepping up and saying this. My wife sees this all the time also and it is appalling.

    2. inmypjs Silver badge

      Re: Humanity fail.

      Humanity fail or Feminist drivel hardly any women recognise?

    3. Truckle The Uncivil

      Re: Humanity fail.

      @MNGrrl

      It would have been a good post except for one thing. It has no equality in it. Do you know what it takes for a man to walk out of the door in the morning? Have you even considered it? Willing to run off and die for my country? Well. I think most men would be far more willing to live for their country. For men of my generation where I come from there was no choice, pick war or jail and we had it far easier than many. The grass is always greener, no?

      Like the majority of men in my culture I have an instinctive and angry distain for the abuse of anyone and given glandular balance even more so the abuse of women and children. Yes, that is discriminatory and sexist (and ageist) but what do you want? Care or contempt? If I move to protect I am a paternalistic white male - a sexist pig. If I don't ignore it and move to prevent it I am an arrogant white male - a sexist pig.

      You say that "it's no different than being upset with muslims because some of them are terrorists. Why won't you do more, you ask. It's a muslim problem, so it's okay to discriminate because they haven't done a good enough job policing their community.".

      Is that not what exactly you are doing to me in that very post? You are asking me to police "my community". My community does not include people who abuse other people. Sure, I can not know if someone is concealing such (male or female) but once outed, that is it. My community is adequately policed thank you.

      What you are asking me to do is "police" people I do not know. I only find out about them when I read it in the news (as do you unless you have organisational involvement).

      There are evils in this society. I do my best to challenge those I encounter (within the limits of survival) and so should all of us.

      "Men" as a whole are not sexist. Some men are. If you hear some one say "men are" or "women are" you know that whatever follows the "are" is false and sexist

      So, this "Well men... what are you doing to police yours?" is a prejudiced and highly bigoted statement (a challenge not a question) by someone who has given issues no consideration at all. You stand corrected - by a man - on sexist issues. That is, in my opinion, why your post fails. Your post in itself is abuse. Not violent abuse, not individual abuse but abuse of men as a class. The very definition of prejudice and bigotry.

      It is said that when you have an enemy you become like them. Be very careful because you becoming like an enemy that exists only in your imagination.

      Sorry for the mansplaining.

      1. charles paul

        Re: Humanity fail.

        Truckle The Uncivil - there are ways of joining a debate without coming across as a flinchingly defensive, closeted rapist.

        "Your post in itself is abuse. Not violent abuse, not individual abuse but abuse of men as a class. The very definition of prejudice and bigotry.", expressing attitudes like this is a great way for heterosexual males to limit their sexual horizons to "self-abuse".

        1. Michael Thibault
          Facepalm

          Re: Humanity fail.

          @charles paul

          Truckle isn't expressing attitudes. He's expressing opinions.

          What, if any, is the implicit threat/menace/risk to you for speaking your mind? Any at all? Odd, then, that horrors (including 'limited sexual horizons') await heterosexual males for being forthright, no? Underneath your words is a particular flavour of gynocentrism...

          In such a wide, diverse world as this, the prospects are vanishingly small of one's sexual prospects being absolutely limited for being forthright and outspoken--the behaviour you are (implicitly) calling out.

          Opinions differ, in any case.

        2. Truckle The Uncivil

          Re: Humanity fail.

          @charles paul

          So. I am now a flinchingly defensive closeted rapist who "self abuses". I point out bigotry and abuse and that makes me a closeted rapist. I wonder what my extremely successful daughters would say. Actually I don't wonder. I know and they would laugh their heads of at you. Well, maybe. I think one of them would be angry with you, despite the fact that I am not.

          Hey everybody! Do you see me flinching? Do you see me being defensive? Do you see me as a rapist? The post was bigoted and abusive and I pointed that out. Correctly so. Oh, I could have been "kinder" but I do not see why I should be. Is there some special privilege here? I am supposed to celebrate an offensive and bigoted post?

          By the way you have absolutely no authority to complain about my manners. Look at your own post. You have avoided legal slander but you have still slandered by implication. So some questions for you. How do you know I am male? Are you sure? How do you know I am a heterosexual? Are you sure? Why do you think that masturbation is "self abuse"? Psychologists seem to report that there are few people who do not masturbate and that those who do are happier and healthier. If you are one that does not be aware that you are a statistical outlier.

          I am an equalitarian and not frightened to be so. [so much for flinchingly defensive]. I am not a feminist (or a masculinist) as that is by very definition promoting other than equality. One of the few things my daughters and I have different opinions about.

          If you criticise a group or class as a group or a class and I am around I will likely defend it. Just as well I am not around that much, eh?

      2. Grifter

        Re: Humanity fail.

        >>what do you want? Care or contempt?

        How about treating people like humans instead of being a condescending prick? Somehow I think she'll survive another day of her life without your 'care'.

        1. Cari

          Re: Humanity fail.

          "How about treating people like humans instead of being a condescending prick? Somehow I think she'll survive another day of her life without your 'care'."

          >condescending

          Oh gosh, are we that delicate and fragile that men can't engage with us as equals in rational discourse? Male feminist allies are some of the worst sexists I've ever come across.

        2. Truckle The Uncivil

          Re: Humanity fail.

          @grifter

          Unlike you (or the poster) I do treat people like human beings. I am an equalitarian. If you cannot see the contradictions in that person's post I cannot help that. They are there to be seen.

          When some one asks me to "police my community" who is being the condescending prick?

          I am quite sure the person will survive many years without my help. But the post _asked_ for my 'help'. It asked me to police my community.

          You sure have a whole lot backwards.

          So do you have any valid points or are you just being angry white male?

      3. MNGrrrl

        Re: Humanity fail.

        > Do you know what it takes for a man to walk out of the door in the morning? Have you even considered it?

        Generally, the same thing a woman needs to do, only with a lot less work, prejudice, judging, and they get paid more doing it.

        > Willing to run off and die for my country?

        I didn't say it was a good idea. I'm saying a lot of men are willing to do that, or at least consider it an honorable choice. These same men don't consider standing up for abused women honorable, and purchase their abuse with silence.

        > The grass is always greener, no?

        Are you saying you'd like to be a woman instead? Obamacare covers that. I don't know of very many men who think they'd be better off as women. Not many at all.

        > Is that not what exactly you are doing to me in that very post? You are asking me to police "my community". My community does not include people who abuse other people.

        It does include those people; This is a problem in every community. Everywhere. Ever. You're trying to deny it because you don't want to take responsibility for your role in perpetuating it.

        > What you are asking me to do is "police" people I do not know.

        We do it all the time. When we see someone hitting their child, we call the police. When we see someone robbed, we call the police. When we see an accident, we call the police. When we see unethical or immoral behavior, we call others out on it.

        > "Men" as a whole are not sexist.

        Bullshit.

        > So, this "Well men... what are you doing to police yours?" is a prejudiced and highly bigoted statement (a challenge not a question) by someone who has given issues no consideration at all.

        I give it consideration every time I step outside the door. You, obviously, do not. This is just another case of blaming the victim. You try to turn it around, blame women. This is exactly what it looks like, people, so look closely. It's a charade of trying to look rational and logical. Well, here's the thing: We can and do rationalize our behavior all the time. And this is what it looks like.

        1. inmypjs Silver badge

          Re: Humanity fail.

          "Generally, the same thing a woman needs to do, only with a lot less work, prejudice, judging, and they get paid more doing it."

          Definitely deluded Feminist drivel.

        2. Truckle The Uncivil

          Re: Humanity fail.

          @MNGrrl

          "Generally, the same thing a woman needs to do, only with a lot less work, prejudice, judging, and they get paid more doing it."

          The only place that that might have been true for me was when raises were calculated by a formula set by overseas management that was purely based on customer feedback. The formula was not permitted to be changed and I eventually priced myself out of the job I loved because I got "perfect" ratings from my customer base (50/50 male/female) and was eventually fired because I earnt more than the (male) manager. Mostly I have been paid the same or less than the females around me. My first wife earned more than I did. I married my manager (different job). The mother of my children earned more than I did (specialty nurse paid more than some doctors). Both had more freedom and respect than I did. Mostly I was the "man that fixes things" when IT department have fucked up or don't have the skills. I have always been a worker. The glass ceiling is too tough for me to break. Only sociopaths get through that ceiling in my opinion.

          "I didn't say it was a good idea. I'm saying a lot of men are willing to do that, or at least consider it an honorable choice. These same men don't consider standing up for abused women honorable, and purchase their abuse with silence."

          And I call bullshit on that. No killing is honourable and most men know that. For a start, if you want to live you do not fight with honour, you fight with every bit of crafty, deceptive nastiness you can. Cowards live through wars, heroes do not. If you want to live, shoot them in the back before they know you are there. You come back and you don't talk about it except with others who were there. But then you have never been there so how would you know?

          I have never, ever, in my life personally observed a circumstances where a woman needed protection and men ignored it. Personal experience for me was three six foot wide and seven feet tall Maoris who could not understand why I was not a quivering blob on the floor (nor could I but I _had_ to stand up [as you requested]). They thought I might not be frightened enough and came back with shotguns. I had my ass saved by every other man in the pub standing up one after the other like a mexican wave. I and the whole pub (all unarmed) faced three men armed with shotguns over one of the Maoris demanding a girl who did not want to leave with them. That has been my experience. And you tell me to police my community. I have been proven to put my life on the line against impossible odds to preserve the dignity of a woman. Just how much of my blood do you want? But then, you were not there, so how would you know?

          "Are you saying you'd like to be a woman instead? Obamacare covers that. I don't know of very many men who think they'd be better off as women. Not many at all."

          I am sure you are smugly smiling inside thing "I got him now" but you are wrong. I am not a transsexual and have no desire to be. But I would not care if I was. There is "male privilege" and there is "female privilege". I see both. Most people only see one. Theoretically I am told that I cannot see male privilege because I am a man. In my case that turns out to be false. But if males cannot see male privilege because they are men, women cannot see female privilege because they are women. Except for the few exceptions for which it will be false. Interesting that you think being a woman is a lesser being. Maybe that is the source of your issues.

          That was what I meant by "the grass is always greener". I mean you seem to think the grass is greener for a male. Do you want to become one? I guess not. Yet you put that on me. Sorry, I am an equalitarian and in the society that I live in I don't think I care that much about being male or female. No pride would attach to either. Now I would hate to be a female in the Middle East and I truely would not live long. But that is situation. When the situation is equal or close to equal I really don't care.

          "I give it consideration every time I step outside the door. You, obviously, do not. This is just another case of blaming the victim. You try to turn it around, blame women. This is exactly what it looks like, people, so look closely. It's a charade of trying to look rational and logical. Well, here's the thing: We can and do rationalize our behavior all the time. And this is what it looks like."

          You don't think I have to be concerned about my safety when I walk out the door? What world do you live in? Not the one I inhabit. I may live in the one of the safer places in the world but no place is entirely safe. I am an _old_ man and mostly alone. I do not feel safe home alone and am very careful about locking up. What makes you think I am safe on the streets? And if you say I won't get raped, well I might if I still used the public toilets outside the central post office. (Never go there!).

          And no I am not blaming women. I am not blaming women for anything. It does not seem to me that you can say the same thing. You have insulted and abused, you have to be blaming me for something. I think it is you that is rationalising. When will _you_ respect men?

    4. Cari

      Re: Humanity fail.

      " I shouldn't have to say this to anyone, but harassment of women is a real thing. It happens in real life, it happens online, it happens at work, it happens at home. It is pervasive, cross-cultural, multi-national, and occasionally deadly."

      Being disagreed with online is not harassment. Being debated is not harassment. Being corrected when you're making baseless claims about media you are supposed to be knowledgeable about is not harassment. Mysoginists are actually very rare compared to the vast majority of men who are just like us, trying to get on in this world. I've met and been a victim of ONE in my life of living in geeky communities and working and learning in male dominated communities. And that one was not from any of those communities.

      SocJus and feminism needs to police its own before pointing fingers at the rest of us, harbouring and enabling abusers and child molesters and sexual abusers. Time after time we find some big name held up as a shining example of progressivism in the community has some really nasty skeletons in their closet, and when those are exposed, the rest close ranks and support that person instead of taking a long hard look at themselves and asking why someone like that felt safe in their community.

      Oh, and what you've posted is some of the most bigotted rubbish I've ever read here.

      1. Trilkhai

        Re: Humanity fail.

        >"Being disagreed with online [...] debated [...] corrected [...] is not harassment."

        She never said it was. Per the section you quoted, she accurately stated that harassment of women is a real thing that happens in all kinds of places, nations & cultures, and that sometimes it ends in the woman being killed.

        >"Mysoginists are actually very rare …"

        Overt misogynists who openly say they hate women in regular public forums are, sure. That said, if misogynists were "very rare" then women who calmly write about (or as in one case, record) harassment, sexism, or sexual assault would very rarely be sent harassing or threatening messages. Instead, every woman that does so is not only slammed with threats online, but IRL via calls & letters at home and work.

        For example: in 2013, when articles about Georgia Wiedman's blog post about fending off a fellow researcher (careful to avoid any details that could identify him) at a security conference who tried to rape her, punched her & stole her phone, the majority of the responses by far were threatening and/or viciously misogynistic.

        >"SocJus and feminism needs to police its own before pointing fingers at the rest of us, harbouring and enabling abusers and child molesters and sexual abusers."

        What "abusers and child molesters and sexual abusers" (the vast majority of which are male) are you claiming that the mindsets are "harbouring and enabling"? Who is "the rest of us" if you're female — unless you spent most of your life male, 'transitioned' to female, and are claiming knowledge based on /that/?

        >"some big name [...] shining example of progressivism [...] has some really nasty skeletons in their closet"

        Who on Earth are you talking about, here? Zoe Quinn, whose ex falsely claimed had screwed journalists behind his back (or whatever the exact details were)?

        >"when those are exposed, the rest […] support that person instead of taking a long hard look at themselves and asking why someone like that felt safe in their community"

        1) "Skeletons" are often baseless allegations, irrelevant (like private behavior that harms nobody else), or both.

        2) If the only thing they have in common is a political belief, there'd be no reason for someone to "look" at themselves based on someone else's alleged misdeeds.

        3) Feminists come in a wide enough variety of beliefs on every subject (drugs, abortion, transgender, femininity…) that there isn't really one cohesive community.

        4) If the misdeeds were "skeletons" then the "community" wouldn't be aware of them and thus wouldn't have made the individual uncomfortable.

        1. Vladimir Nicolici

          Re: Humanity fail.

          >>"Being disagreed with online [...] debated [...] corrected [...] is not harassment."

          > She never said it was.

          Actually, SJWs consider repeated criticism and questioning harassment. They even invented a term for it "sea lioning". And Anita even complained about that in front of the UN, saying that repeated comments by various users like "you suck" or "you are a liar" are a form of harassment.

          In any case, even if we agree that "you suck" and "you are a liar" is harassment and not criticism, I don't see what anything has to do with misogyny. I watch YouTube videos on controversial topics made by male content creators, and I see similar levels of "abuse". On some very controversial topics they even receive death threats.

          Controversial issues cause heated arguments. News at 11. So, nothing too see here. Move along. Unless you want to raise the "think of the women" rhetorical argument. In which case you are a bigot.

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Humanity fail.

      Balls, she is and remains a liar.

      What you are calling for is for malicious complainers like this to be free from ever being called on their bullshit....because vaginas or something. Bullshit is bullshit and should be called regardless of whatever fake victim group you are trying to become part of.

      Gamer gate never was "an attempt to organize women into a cohesive political force, against a problem that is utterly intractable and simply accepted"; it was a deliberate attempt to suppress and silence a proportion of the population because they "thought wrong" and were a challenge to the hegemony claimed by a group who wanted control. Stop being used by malicious psychologically damaged individuals who's sole goal appears to be to make everyone as miserable and anti-humanistic as they are themselves.

    6. Alan W. Rateliff, II

      Re: Humanity fail.

      I have more general issues to address here than the "Gamergate" situation.

      "Only about 1 in 3 rapes are ever investigated, and less than 1 in a hundred are prosecuted."

      This is misleading on a several points. First is the assumption that all rapes reported actually occured, and second due to the ever-changing and broadening definition of rape which in some surveys include feeling guilty afterward, while intoxicated, or other ambiguous or dubious terms, including the bureau of justice statistics were "attempted rape includes verbal threats of rape" and sexual assault "also includes verbal threats."

      Your "1 in 100" prosecuted should actually be your "1 in 3," but even so the number of prosecutions is misleading because, again, we have to take into account what constitutes rape as well as mistakes by investigators, retractions of false allegations, presence of exculpatory and necessary inculpatory evidence for prosecution, and the fact that majority of criminal cases get plead-out or settled before ever making it to prosecution.

      "...the FBI's criminal statistics division... is a voluntary program, and for obvious political reasons, most police departments want to downplay the instances of violent crime in their precincts. As a result, rape is severely under-reported."

      This is also misleading and calling upon the presumption of an "obvious political" slant on the part of law enforcement. The UCR is voluntary but strongly suggested, and law enforcement agencies which do not participate are generally smaller forces and most often covered by some sort of state open-records law. The under-reporting of crime happens /before/ law enforcement is contacted.

      "rape is severely under-reported. Most women don't even bother reporting it because they know -- from their friends and family -- that it is largely futile."

      What exactly do they know? They know how a woman's allegations alone are treated as fact? How the current approach of "the seriousness of the allegation is most important" has ruined careers and lives even after a claim has been proven false?

      "dismissed by authorities and the -- male -- public"

      Yet analysis of these instances show that women are more likely to be dismissive than men.

      "what you are matters a lot when it comes to criminal investigations, public sympathy, and credibility."

      In the public eye rape, harassment, and violence are taken very seriously and given great credibility even when not deserved due to being inaccurate or blatantly false. What you are matters when you are telling the truth, when you are fabricating, and when you are lying.

      "The statistics are so depressing it makes me hate the very concept of numbers. Just look down and to the right of this post at the number of thumbs down"

      I infer, then, the negative reaction to a post spewing anecdotal account of numbers or alluding to statistics which are proven to be misleading or inflated, is enough to prove the post in the first place.

      "Most women have bigger balls than you'll ever have. It takes guts to walk out the door, every day, and endure this with a smile, to never let it show that it bothers you. It takes courage that most men cannot comprehend, and it is shameful that men have allowed themselves to become this weak and pathetic that they won't stand up for others."

      Men have a higher likelihood of being assaulted and "bullied" than women do, including on-line where analysis shows that over half of the on-line harassment women experience are from other women.

      Even the FBI's uniform crime reports statistics historically dismisses male rape and sexual abuse. Sexual assaults on men are ridiculed and joked about as "you can't rape the willing" implying that men are just walking erections looking for a hole. Men who complain about assault and battery are derided as wimps, pussy, not man enough, etc. So do not for one second think that women own the market on rape, assault, and harassment in the dark figure of crime.

      "no different than being upset with muslims because some of them are terrorists. Why won't you do more, you ask. It's a muslim problem, so it's okay to discriminate because they haven't done a good enough job policing their community."

      Here we are given a false equivalency: the assumption that men are inherently indiscriminately violent and mysoginst, compared to a religion which within its scriptures and doctrine preaches the death of those who will not submit and the destruction of other cultures and has never, unlike others, undergone reformations called for by prominent figures.

      There is a problem in this world with a religion which teaches world domination as a tenant which outsiders have no power to correct; there is not a problem in this world in which men are taught from day one to hate and disrespect women. At the very least the "bad guys" in the religion are instructed to hide their true nature during their march toward domination, while the "bad guys" in both genders actually stick out like sore thumbs.

      Men are, as a whole, well-adjusted and taught to respect and love women, both by the very nature of their mothers and by a well-adjusted father. We are taught to be protective and defensive of women as we would of our own mothers and sisters, and most of us will take a beat-down or a bullet to do so.

      "Well men... what are you doing to police yours?"

      We police our community quite well, thank you, including putting a beat-down on those who are disrespectful and abusive to women. Otherwise there would be no stories of men coming out to take on another man abusing a women in public, or the long walks in the woods or behind the shed given to men who are secretly abusive, or the beat-downs put on other men for transgressions against women. For that matter, ask any pedophile or rapist how well they fare in prison.

      1. MNGrrrl

        Re: Humanity fail.

        Tl;dr - - this guy is rationalizing and making strawmen.

        > This is misleading on a several points. First is the assumption that all rapes reported actually occured,

        Strawman. What i said: the police don't investigate most reported rape. What he strawmanned: not all rapes are reported. He then goes on a tirade about the changing definition of rape. Er... Ok. Then some more about the problems of the legal system. Er..... . Okay.

        > Your "1 in 100" prosecuted should actually be your "1 in 3,"

        No. Every allegation should be taken seriously and investigated. The wall of text that follows is another strawman. People have lost faith in law enforcement which has led to fewer reports. They lost faith because most reports don't lead to an investigation. The 5 paragraph blob about the judiciary process is irrelevant.

        > . Sexual assaults on men are ridiculed and joked about as "you can't rape the willing" implying that men are just walking erections looking for a hole.

        HELP I'M ON FIRE!

        -- so? We're on fire too, you don't see us complaining.

        This is not a compelling counter point.

        > Here we are given a false equivalency: the assumption that men are inherently indiscriminately violent and mysoginst,

        My position is when one man sees another abusing a woman he should step up. Most don't. Is apathy misogynistic? No. But misogynistic behavior is prevalent because it is acceptable. Strawman.

        > We police our community quite well, thank you

        Yes... The epidemic of harassment and violent crime is a testament to the quality work being done.

        1. ParaHandy

          Re: Humanity fail.

          I came across a man fighting with a woman once. He was beating her. When I attempted to intervene the woman rounded on me and told me it was none of my business and I should "fuck off". She was much more aggressive towards me than the man. I'll never understand people. You're all weird.

    7. dvhamme

      Re: Humanity fail.

      Yes, bad things happen to women just because they are women. But what is worse, is that certain women misappropriate the sympathy that goes towards victims of these bad things for their own benefit, even if they are not actually victims. Zoe Quinn actively sought out bad reviews of her (universally accepted as bad) game which she then twisted into attacks on her person so she could stir up a media storm about her being "harassed". As a result her bad game got unwarranted coverage, and she became famous. I don't know how the other two fit into the story exactly, but it's not a stretch of the imagination that Wu running for congress is a direct result of this self-started vicious circle of hate.

      I mean, I don't consider myself a misogynist. I never had anything against this woman (Quinn). But I do now, I hate her with a passion for what she represents. If I were a juvenile idiot, I'd be ready to harass her, and that'd play right into her cards.

  3. toxicdragon

    "gamergate"

    Can I object to these nutjobs calling themselves gamers?

    Its about playing games and discussing the merits there of, like which ending of mass effect 3 was better, or which has better personality aiden peirce or a block of wood.

    This harrassment is just bad for everyone and there is no way it should have happened.

    1. Cari

      Re: "gamergate"

      Can I object to you not knowing anything about the people you're calling nutjobs? The friends I've made the last two and a half years taking a hammering from the MSM while goons and other 3rd parties trolled the crap out of both sides and pinned it in each side, spent yesterday discussing Mass Effect and other Bioware games and which characters were well written, which ones were fun to play, and whether ME3's ending was all that bad. The guys I've made friends with through GG have done more to help me recover from the real life abuse i suffered, than any so-called feminist or "inclusive" SJW. Considering it all kicked off because an abuse victim was pilloried for doing what we're encouraged to and outed his abuser, it's hardly surprising though.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "gamergate"

      At least one of them now calls himself the president.

  4. Dr Scrum Master

    A pox on both your houses

    I have no sympathy for the "ungentlemanly" so-called gamers just as I have no respect for Sarkeesian's tenuous arguments.

    (I also have no sympathy for universities on the one hand allowing firearms to be carried whilst on the other hand not creating safe spaces for free academic discourse - in complete contrast to the so-called "safe spaces" which muzzle thought.)

    1. tom dial Silver badge

      Re: A pox on both your houses

      Utah State University, which I suppose is the referent of the parenthetical comment, is a creature of the state government and subject to state law. In the case of Utah, that means those with appropriate permits may carry firearms.

      For what it's worth, despite Utah's quite relaxed gun control laws, firearm murders there occur at rates lower than in all contiguous states but one, and also lower than some states with much stricter laws such as New York and California.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Years later, El'Reg still doesn't know what GamerGate is! But I guess that is to be expected, after all, El'Reg is a media website.

    1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

      El'Reg is represented as a media website.?!

      Years later, El'Reg still doesn't know what GamerGate is! But I guess that is to be expected, after all, El'Reg is a media website. .... Anonymous Coward

      With that comment tied to you, are you surely new to El Reg and the Virtual Wiles of IT Whales and EMPowering Energetic Current Sharks, AC.

      Welcome to the Asylum. Take a Pew for a Phew View on what is Due and in Pipe Lines for Main Lining and Alternative Streaming ......... ESPecial Distribution

      1. Stuart Moore

        Re: El'Reg is represented as a media website.?!

        Rare that amanfrommars is one of the more sensible posts on a topic...

        ODFO to those denying harassment is a problem

    2. Uncle Slacky Silver badge
      Holmes

      Isn't it about ethics in game journalism?

      1. sabroni Silver badge

        re: Isn't it about ethics in game journalism?

        No, seems to be about trying to get women to shut up and stop making games.

  6. Adrian 4

    Who let the dogs out ?

    The comments on this post are the most incoherent, unreasoned, poorly explained twaddle I have read on the Reg for years. It's like YouTube.

    If you've got something to say, at least give it some context and explain your arguments. Don't assume everyone here has taken any significant interest in the subject. For most of us, this social media backbiting is completely off the radar : we've heard there's been an argument that shows up some men with excessively loud mouths and that's it.

    1. Version 1.0 Silver badge

      Re: Who let the dogs out ?

      The comments on this post are the most incoherent, unreasoned, poorly explained twaddle I have read on the Reg for years. It's like YouTube.

      Agreed - I would be nice to see El Reg take a stand sometimes on crap like this. I don't think it's likely anytime soon however.

  7. DoctorNine
    Alert

    Why, Reg, why?!?!!

    Why did you have to squeeze the tar baby? Don't you have enough demand on your servers? Is this a clickbait scheme of which I am (blissfully) unaware? Just tell me, please...

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    From the comments it's clear that nobody has actually read the report. I'm not sure the article's writer has given an honest portrayal of its contents either.

    The threats consisted of:

    * the Navy Seal copypasta

    * An email filled with nothing but memes, written by someone familiar with 4chan slang circa 2007, which came from a juevenile, who the FBI visited and warned to stop being a shit on the internet

    * an obvious attempt to frame a GG-supporting youtuber

    * a few other obviously non-serious emails

    * that's it

    The FBI investigated this case for a couple of years and found nothing actionable.

    They found no evidence of any sort of sustained harassment of any of the people claiming to be harassed. The only remotely gamergate-related content the found was the meme-filled email. The rest was not even worth their time looking into.

    Yet somehow, for some reason, the media reporting on this are trying to spin the report as proof of the exact opposite.

    The report smashes the entire "harassment" narrative, but The Register has picked out a few carefully chosen phrases to make it appear otherwise.

    And you people wonder why nobody trusts journalists any more.

    1. veti Silver badge

      OK. The report is 173 pages, and I'd be lying if I said I'd read it all, but I've glanced through the first 20 pages, and already I've seen more threats than you're describing.

      Have you read it? If not, where precisely are you getting your information from?

      In my experience, journalists are far from perfect, but they do a way better job than random and/or anonymous trolls on advocate sites and blogs.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        I read the report. Like I said, there were no actionable threats.

        In the first 70 pages:

        The montreal-style massacre email came from Brazil.

        The 9000 bombs e-mail was obviously bullshit.

        There were a few other unrealistic threats that the FBI didn't consider actionable after investigation.

        Most of the report is repetition of the same information or discussions about that same information, or correspondence between the FBI and the alleged targets of these threats.

        On page 163, there is a report of a visit by the FBI to one the one person identified as a possible source of the 9000 bombs email, but it is clear from the report that - as I said - he was framed.

        The FBI closed the investigation after it became clear that the "harassment" was essentially a few memes and non-serious threats. That is, threats that are not going to be carried out.

        1. d3vy

          "That is, threats that are not going to be carried out."

          Oh well, in that case its all fine.

          We can go round threatening who ever we like as long as we don't intend on carrying out that threat.

          You of course miss the fact that while there may not have been intent to carry out the threat the recipient of the threats could not have known that - the result is still the same, causing fear.

          Add to that the fact that BWs home address was published on 4Chan and you have quite a fear inducing cocktail.

          Regardless of the above your argument is invalid, Even without intent if you find yourself threatening someone online you are a cock.

          I find it quite telling that you post as anon. How many emails did YOU send?

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            First tell me when you stopped eating babies.

            Your assumption of guilt merely because I choose not to show my face tells me a great deal about your attitude.

            The simple facts of the matter is that the FBI found nothing actionable. That is, they found nothing threatening. The "threats" the report discusses were laughable, childish behaviour, not the sort of thing that anyone with any reasonable view of the world would be afraid of in any way. The FBI certainly thought so, otherwise they wouldn't have closed the investigation.

      2. This post has been deleted by its author

  9. Long John Baldrick

    Overall Tone of Debate/Comments

    Given the strength of feelings on this topic I am impressed(and somewhat surprised) by the lack of ad hominum attacks despite the passions of the commentards. Lately I have been searching for a site where discussion and analysis of sources(their limitations and strengths) are presented. There must be many who, like me, want to see the various positions that people hold on an issue, and the data/evidence(original and available sources) used to buttress the positions.

    Many issues have at the source of discord a dichotomy in the meaning of the words used in the arguments. Conservative/liberal/leftist/fundi/put your favorrite term here are insufficient to correctly describe the groups and individuals under discussion. For instance, I may e a fiscal conservative social moderate who believes in getting a higher ROI from the goivernmental agencies. What is the word that describes that position.

    If anyone kknows of such a forum/site please let me/us know.

  10. Potemkine Silver badge

    Thanks for social media...

    ... to constantly remind me how most of Humanity is pitiful.

  11. Tom Paine

    What's to say?

    Are women routinely subject to discrimination and sexual assault? yes

    Are women online subject to horrendous rape and death threats? yes

    Is that a Bad Thing? yes

    All the rest is just yammering.

  12. TheJokker

    How ironic: misandrist feminists counter-attacked by misogynist gamers. Birds of a feather flock together...

    1. Truckle The Uncivil

      @jokker

      lol. Well, I play one game and I play it quite a bit now I am retired. Does that make me a gamer?

      I am either both misandrist and a misogynist (sometimes humanity disgusts me) or neither. I don't prefer one over the other.

      So, what feathers am I wearing?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Not sure, but they do rather nicely offset the tar.

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