#Gamergate: Ethics or Harassment? Part 1
Gamergate is a difficult topic for many to discuss. For many, Gamergate represented angry, misogynist gamers that just wanted to attack any woman who dared to work on games, such as Zoe Quinn or criticize video games, like Anita Sarkeesian. For others, Gamergate represented a belief that video game journalists be held to the same ethical standard as other journalists. It seems odd that one name could stand for two disturbingly different ideas. To understand where the difference comes from its important to look at the entire timeline of Gamergate. Some argue that Gamergate began with The Zoe Post released on August 8, 2014. However that isn't entirely correct. While it is true that the Zoe Post absolutely led to Gamergate's creation, it was merely the straw that broke the camels back.
Before #GamerGate and the Zoe Post
November 28, 2007: Jeff Gerstmann, former game reviewer and editorial director with Gamestop, is fired shortly after giving Kane and Lynch 2: Dead Men a bad review. Gamestop claims Jeff Gerstmann was fired for legal reasons, and "they stemmed from issues unrelated to any publisher or advertiser; his departure was due purely for internal reasons." However on March 15, 2012, Jeff Gersmann confirmed that he was in fact fired over his negative review, and that publishers would often threaten to remover advertisements over negative reviews.
February 20, 2012: Ben Kuchera posts an audio clip on SoundCloud of an argument between David Jaffe, video game designer (God of War, Twisted Metal, Drawn to Death, Calling All Cars!, Kinetica, and Mickey Mania The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse), and Stephen Totilo, Editor-in-Chief at Kotaku, about an article published on Kotaku claiming that David Jaffe was a misogynist.
May 30, 2012: Patricia Hernandez, writer with Kotaku, writes an article over an experience she had playing Gears of War 3 online where she told another player that she "raped' them. She then, in the same article, claims that the online gaming community had drawn her into being able to say that and had forced her to take part in a rape culture.
October 24, 2012: Rab Florence, former writer with Eurogamer, writes an article criticizing the state of the gaming journalism, specifically the inappropriate relationship between gaming journalists and games PR. This article kicked off what was known as Doritogate.
August 13, 2013: Gone Home is released and receives praise from GameSpot, Kotaku, Polygon, and Gamasutra despite it being denounced by the gaming community for the lack of gameplay, plot and length for the price. On December 26, 2013 Youtuber MundaneMatt criticized the game for being short, extremely linear, and for not being a game as much as it was an interactive novel. MundaneMatt and other Youtubers have also used Gone Home as an example of cronyism within the industry.
December 11, 2013: Internet Aristocrat posts a video on identity politics, nepotism, and censorship in indie development, specifically calling out Dina Abou Karam and her involvement with Mighty No. 9. (The linked video is a mirror of Internet Aristocrats original video, this is due to the original video no longer being on Youtube)
February 28, 2014: The Fine Young Capitalist, a game jam with the goal to help women become more involved in the game industry, are doxxed, banned from twitter, and their server is hit with a DDOS attack.
August 9, 2014: The Cheshire Cat Studios post a video discussing the history of controversies and moral panic surrounding video games and the rising controversy of sexism within gaming. In a video posted on June 20, 2014 covered the role of video game journalists promoting the controversy.
It wasn't until August 16, 2014 that the Zoe Post was even released. Even then, Gamergate wasn't coined until August 27, 2014 by Adam Baldwin. Part Two will be out soon, and will cover these nine days and the following aftermath. But so far I think it is possible to see where the ethics in journalism comes into play. That isn't to say it was the only reason in Gamergate or that some people weren't pushing for a misogynistic point of view. But that will have to wait for the next couple of posts. That said feel free to begin the debate below, and if you see anything that you feel is inaccurate feel free to send me an email with links so that I can fix any issues you find. Again, it has to be based on facts for anything to change. If you feel something is wrong, please do the research to prove that the information is actually wrong.