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[blitzcloud]

Yeah well. You see, maybe if she was a he we'd say "ignore them". But she cannot do that. She had to go to the CEO (probably after clogging support section), until all these reports became an infraction by itself for essentially putting finger-in-eye for everything that happened to her. Because clearly when they said "I'll rape you" they weren't venting or anything (inexcusable behavior, but my point stands), they were all plotting to corner her in a dark alley and do it. Clearly.

They don't use the word rape for males (although i've seen it being used too) because it would contradict the second most used insult: "f*ggot".

I wonder if the story is genuine or fabricated. Maybe that CEO will see it and post the full history of support section. And that might make us side with the company.



The info part is clearly illegal though.


Long story short: she seemed to get the same treatment everyone else gets in online games from people who become highly frustrated when losing. Some communities treat girls as a rare gift of nature and cotton candy their experience. In this case, she was treated like a "gamer". Only that the hurtful threats and insults were gender dependent to... you know, hurt.

 

[DryvBy]

When Chivalry doesn't work, it becomes sexism.

Just patch it. You trying to run it on Windows XP or something?

 

[hydrophilic attack]

Wow, what the fuck. This sucks, if true.

Off topic, but I went through some of her posts on the Guardian website. She seems like a really cool and funny poster. Lots of spirit. I loved this post:

Can't Great Britain just re-institute slavery and eliminate all this mucking about? Come on, these half-measures are no good!

I'm not saying lots of slaves, just a million or so of good breeding stock. No one older than Kate Middleton for starters. They will produce more as time goes on, and just to show what sort of egalitarian country this is, people of all colours can and will be slaves: white, black, brown, what have you.

The great thing is that these slaves will have a drastically shortened life expectancy, which means you don't have to worry about pensioning them off. Work them hard until they are in their middle 50s to early 60s and by then they'll have dropped dead.

I'm sure New Labour and the Tories will agree upon this, after quibbling about whether it ought to be 1.1 million slaves as the Conservatives want or only 900,000 which New Labour will adopt just to show that they present a palpable alternative to the Other Party. Clegg is the one who will suggest the compromise figure of 1 million slaves, of course.

 

[alice]

You do realize that is still sexist right?

This.

I am kind of surprised this happen in a MMORPG, as they are generally more accepting in my experience... but there are bad apples everywhere. Does kind of sound like someone had a personal grudge against her... hard to say without all the facts.

 

[Slavik81]

They probably shouldn't have posted an anonymous comment as a news story.

Without any supporting evidence, I find it hard to believe, as it runs so contrary to my experience.

 

[redcrayon]

They don't want to risk slander? Even if the person telling the news is right, it's not legally advisable.

Slander is spoken, libel is written.

Libel law in the UK is harsh- it's a civil proceeding but the only one where the defendant has to prove they didn't libel the accuser. That burden of proof is tough. There are a few meagre considerations in defence that most UK hacks are taught by their legal departments-

A) If the guardian identified the company, they would have to offer a right of reply in print in the same story. The alleged offending company might well produce documentation that muddies the water and makes the story not quite so cut-and dry for a short blog piece, or might 'out' the original commenter, which could be undesirable if a condition of the piece was anonymity for the commenter.@

B) Value- this is a short blog piece in a backwater part of the guardian, the games sub-board of the tech blog. Ultimately it's preaching to the converted on the guardian, most of its readers are going to sympathise with the commenter and the Guardian's editorial line about sexism etc anyway, and probably understand why she would rather remain anonymous. The point of the article is more a general piece laying into the social cesspit of the Internet rather than a targeted campaign.

C) chance of victory- it's entirely possible, even after looking at the email and any surviving supporting evidence, that the Graun legal team might well have weighed it up and decided (seeing as the Graun is losing millions annually )its not worth a potentially costly legal scrap over a piece on the tech blog. The legal bods then ask the editor if its essential the game be named, and if he/she is happy to put their job on the line for it. Funnily enough, UK hack says no, not without something more concrete than email.

Personally Id like to see some naming and shaming but suspect all parties concerned have their own reasons to keep it quiet.

 

[Last Hearth]

Slander is spoken, libel is written.

Libel law in the UK is harsh- it's a civil proceeding but the only one where the defendant has to prove they didn't libel the accuser. That burden of proof is tough. There are a few meagre defences that most UK hacks are taught by their legal departments-

A) If the guardian identified the company, they would have to offer a right of reply in print in the same story. The alleged offending company might well produce documentation that muddies the water and makes the story not quite so cut-and dry for a short blog piece, or might 'out' the original commenter, which could be undesirable if a condition of the piece was anonymity for the commenter.@

B) Value- this is a short blog piece in a backwater part of the guardian, the tech blog. Ultimately it's preaching to the converted on the guardian, most of its readers are going to sympathise with the commenter and the Guardian's editorial line about sexism etc, and probably understand why she would rather remain anonymous. The point of the article is more a general piece laying into the social cesspit of the Internet rather than a targeted campaign.

C) chance of victory- it's entirely possible, even after looking at the email and any surviving supporting evidence, that the Graun legal team might well have weighed it up and decided (seeing as the Graun is losing millions annually )its not worth a potentially costly legal scrap over a piece on the tech blog. The legal bods then ask the editor if its essential the game be named, and if he/she is happy to put their job on the line for it. Funnily enough, UK hack says no, not without something more concrete than email.

Personally Id like to see one naming and shaming but suspect all parties concerned have their own reasons to keep it quiet.

Whether the article named names or not, the Guardian still has the journalistic obligation to verify her story before publishing it. The fact nowhere do they imply they have done this makes it seem they took the words of some internet comment and ran with the story assuming it is 100% factual.

 

[redcrayon]

Whether the article named names or not, the Guardian still has the journalistic obligation to verify her story before publishing it. The fact nowhere do they imply they have done this makes it seem they took the words of some internet comment and ran with the story assuming it is 100% factual.

On a second reading, I agree with you, it does read like the writer hasn't done much further investigation than parroting some interesting comments from another thread, even if the commenter does seem to have a reputation for good contributions below the line.

I agree that framing a story as just quoting paragraph after paragraph from another of your publication's comment threads is shit 'journalism' though, it would have been better if the writer had asked a couple of new questions for the commenter to expand on, even still anonymously. I can't believe a professional writer couldn't think of three questions they'd like to ask after reading that, it's not like they don't have her email address!

Bear in mind that the Guardian may also have edited her original posts for libel before republishing as news if they felt they were at risk, I can't investigate at this late hour but pages badged as news are more risky than the 'its clearly a comments page!' defence.

 

[Tankanko]

What the fuck? Might as well just say the name of the game in the case of something this extreme.

Edit: And being threatened with rape due to "user name" doesn't make sense. Plenty of dudes play female characters with female names on the character so that means she made it public that she was female, not that there is anything wrong with this threats of rape are low no mater the gender, also people make death threats all the time online as well that alone has nothing to do with gender. The whole situation sounds fucking stupid and ass backwards though. Must be a F2P game

This is a pretty big over reaction tbh. I mean, sure it's bad, but still, I play a girl character and people threaten to rape me all the time. Thing is, IT'S A GAME. IT'S NOT REAL LIFE. IF IT WAS REAL LIFE, ONLY THEN WOULD IT BE AN ISSUE.

It really depresses me hearing about "sexism" in games. I really agree with what you wrote and the thing about F2P might offend some people, lol.

 

[Bethany]

Or chivalry. But why stop the rage now?

Chivalry is sexist. It's frequently referred to as "benevolent sexism" -- bottom line, it's just a different form of sexism. You'll find that self-identifying equality-minded feminists have no more interest in chivalry than they do in gender-targeted threats of violence.

Have folks already forgotten about how people used to mock feminists who didn't like men opening doors for them? Traditional feminism has always regarded "chivalry" as suspect as far as gender relations go.

 

[KissVibes]

That all sounds really far-fetched but I don't victim blame and it could very well be real. Hopefully there's an update or another outlet picks up the story and finds out more detail.

This is a pretty big over reaction tbh. I mean, sure it's bad, but still, I play a girl character and people threaten to rape me all the time. Thing is, IT'S A GAME. IT'S NOT REAL LIFE. IF IT WAS REAL LIFE, ONLY THEN WOULD IT BE AN ISSUE.

No. It's an issue all the time and it isn't an over-reaction. How is that a hard concept to grasp? DON'T THREATEN TO RAPE PEOPLE. Jesus Fucking Christ.

 

[Tankanko]

No. It's an issue all the time and it isn't an over-reaction. How is that a hard concept to grasp? DON'T THREATEN TO RAPE PEOPLE. Jesus Fucking Christ.

I don't threaten people, lol. But all i'm saying is, it's a shallow threat. I can threaten to kill you right now and nothing will come of it.

The only problem in this whole situation is what that guy did by releasing all the details. Rape threats, Death threats and any other threat is just a joke. It's not like a lot of people will go 100% out of there way to go and "rape" an online gamer in real life. The only way they'd do this is if the girl posted shit like "Oh, i'm so hot I have ___ cup breasts" or whatever. Even then people still wouldn't be bothered. So basically, is is an over-reaction.

 

[Mr.Wreckless]

Is sexism going to be the new outrage that everyone rallies behind in gaming now?

I know its a very insensitive thing to tell someone to have thicker skin but ive been called everything you could even consider to be a racial slur against black people and ive learned thats just what you run into when random people can hide behind an Ethernet cord.

I dont even pick black characters in multiplayer games with randoms because its just asking for trouble.

 

[Tankanko]

Is sexism going to be the new outrage that everyone rallies behind in gaming now?

I know its a very insensitive thing to tell someone to have thicker skin but ive been called everything you could even consider to be a racial slur against black people and ive learned thats just what you run into when random people can hide behind an Ethernet cord.

I dont even pick black characters in multiplayer games with randoms because its just asking for trouble.

I've played a black girl in multiple mmos and have only found weird people a few times in each. It is insensitive to tell someone to have thicker skin, but it's also a harsh truth that people need to know. People are warned before playing games by the "Online interactions are not rated." Plus, age limits are set for a reason. This could be hassle in games like club penguin but seriously, most MMO's have age restrictions set up.

Despite everything that has been said, I've found more nice people than any rude, sexist people in games like MMO's and I've played a shit tonne. GW2, WoW, Tera, Runescape, etc. I've played them all.

 

[Senor Kami]

Her response: "How do you report someone you only know as VikingKiller0912, especially when that player is in a different country from you?"

This is why I take most of this stuff with a grain of salt. You seriously think dude is going to buy a multi-thousand dollar plane ticket to come rape you? No, of course she doesn't. It's just someone screaming shit when they're mad, which is why the authorities don't pay it much mind. Maybe it's a guy thing, but if I beat someone in a game and they talk about kicking my ass, that's a zero percent threat and I can't help but laugh at it and think of the end of the Jay and Silent Bob Movie.

If she does think that any and everything said on the internet is a legitimate threat and something that one should take to heart... I mean, I don't know what to say.It's fantasy vs reality and you're an adult that struggles to make that distinction. Maybe the internet isn't for you if you take anything anyone says to heart.

I know the response will be that you shouldn't just let this stuff slide and that just because it happens doesn't make it ok, but really, what's the end goal here? To make the internet rainbows, lollipops, and sunshine? Good luck. Humans have been around for a couple hundred thousand years and still haven't cracked that nut despite wars, international coalitions, world governments, etc.

There are good internet communities out there. There are bad ones. Knowing that nothing will turn the world to rainbows, lollipops, and sunshine, If you find yourself in a bad community, leave. That's one great thing about the net. There's no real investment. Your credit report won't be hit because you uprooted all of the sudden. You don't have to worry about finding a new house and how you'll make ends meet. You can just up and bounce and go somewhere else in a heartbeat. That is the great equalizer for all the shitty things about the web.

 

[redcrayon]

This is why I take most of this stuff with a grain of salt. You seriously think dude is going to buy a multi-thousand dollar plane ticket to come rape you? No, of course she doesn't. It's just someone screaming shit when they're mad, which is why the authorities don't pay it much mind. Maybe it's a guy thing, but if I beat someone in a game and they talk about kicking my ass, that's a zero percent threat and I can't help but laugh at it and think of the end of the Jay and Silent Bob Movie.

If she does think that any and everything said on the internet is a legitimate threat and something that one should take to heart... I mean, I don't know what to say.It's fantasy vs reality and you're an adult that struggles to make that distinction. Maybe the internet isn't for you if you take anything anyone says to heart.

I know the response will be that you shouldn't just let this stuff slide and that just because it happens doesn't make it ok, but really, what's the end goal here? To make the internet rainbows, lollipops, and sunshine? Good luck. Humans have been around for a couple hundred thousand years and still haven't cracked that nut despite wars, international coalitions, world governments, etc.

There are good internet communities out there. There are bad ones. Knowing that nothing will turn the world to rainbows, lollipops, and sunshine, If you find yourself in a bad community, leave. That's one great thing about the net. There's no real investment. Your credit report won't be hit because you uprooted all of the sudden. You don't have to worry about finding a new house and how you'll make ends meet. You can just up and bounce and go somewhere else in a heartbeat. That is the great equalizer for all the shitty things about the web.

Did you read the part about her personal details being made public? That's a step beyond general online aggression, I've got far more of a problem with a company's employees actively helping it's customers stalk each other than the general pervasive, potty-mouthed idiocy.

Here you go. It's not a 'guy thing', I'm a guy and would find this a step beyond the usual stuff I can just ignore. She also mentions considering moving house.

"Eventually, I complained to the CEO himself of the gaming company and his response was to ban me from the game because he was 'tired of hearing about this problem'. The players who threatened me with rape, mutilation and death are still active in the game and some of them have been given jobs as game operators (the referees of the game).

"Before I was banned, one of the game operators, an employee of the company, released my real-life details (full legal name, physical address, email, telephone number, link to my social media, such as Facebook, etc.) to thousands of other players (I had given this information when I registered for the game) and encouraged people to harass me outside the game, which several of them did. I had to change my mobile number, cancel my Facebook account, and even considered moving house at one point to escape the harassment.

 

[Giran]

Is sexism going to be the new outrage that everyone rallies behind in gaming now?

Not going to be. Has been for a while now.

 

[Byakuya769]

Women are just as bad. One told one of my female friends she hopes her and her kids die in a roadside bomb. Abuse is everywhere on both sides

Nope. Not even close to the same thing.

 

[Jac_Solar]

Did you read the part about her personal details being made public? That's a step beyond general online aggression, I've got far more of a problem with a company's employees actively helping it's customers stalk each other than the general pervasive, potty-mouthed idiocy.

Here you go. It's not a 'guy thing', I'm a guy and would find this a step beyond the usual stuff I can just ignore. She also mentions considering moving house.

I think he was referring to the stuff she reported and complained about. The mods made her info public after she reported someone.

For the mods to go to such an extreme (By releasing information.) and risk their jobs, getting sued (By the company, by her, by paying customers, etc.), I doubt she's telling the whole story if it's true.

Has anyone heard of this, though? A story where the GM's of a huge MMORPG released information about one of its players?