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[Skyn3t]

Just don't be oversensitive about unknown people online and enjoy the games with or without a little bit of trash talk. I heard countless times who had my mother last night and other rather hilarious rants, yet I'm still all good. In a way it's kind of a part of multiplayer gaming culture, especially on Xbox Live. More than that, many of the insults made my laugh my ass off or surprised me with their creativity.

Someone harasses you in a very direct and distastefull manner? Report the idiot, simple as that.

https://www.polygon.com/2018/7/25/17593516/video-game-culture-toxic-men-explained

mod edit: removed the OP opinion/prejudice on the source so as to not shape the discussion around that.

 

[Kreydo]

You shouldn't link their stuff at all, you play their game... or maybe you are a double agent?! :O

 

[FranXico]

Polygon and other outlets of their ilk are toxic.

 

[iconmaster]

Crap, they've found us out.

 

[The Skull]

Jesus christ. Few sentences in and I had to bail. The irony of that article.

 

[Cosmogony]

One can only wonder how on earth Polygon knows the authors are male.

Regardless, would you be so kind to summarize it?
Polygon gets no clicks from me.

 

[Skyn3t]

I thought we could all use some laugh, so I shared it. Where did I found it? On ResetEra of course

@Cosmogony, I wish my friend, but I just skim read through the article, for the sake of my sanity.

 

[Lightsbane]

I tend to avoid that place like the plague.

Can I be brutally honest? It scares me.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Sounds like they're gendersplaining the topic of how male gamers "should" act. As a strong, independent man who don't need no University professor to tell me what a "man" is, I'm super triggered. I see the usual suspects like Saarkesian and Petit are here so it's no surprise.

This is an excellent source of all the double-speak, half-baked research, presumptions, false equivalencies, exaggerations, and accusations made by so-called "SJW"s. I feel like I'm reading a detailed dairy of their mental illness. You have it all here, even "patriarchy" and "internalized misogyny". This is actually a really, really great read. I'd encourage anyone to read through as much of it as you can stomach.

 

[iconmaster]

Video games

 

[Schrödinger's cat]

I've got as far as reading the chapter titles and box-outs.
The circular-logic apparent even at that level told me enough.

But the beauty is at the end:

If you’d like to comment on this article, you can contact us via our email form, or on Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets. We will publish the best comments in a follow-up article.

"You may not sully our narrative with your words. We will decide how the narrative will continue."

You want to run a narrative about how a group of people feel their absurd sense of territorial ownership is threatened?
You just did, Polygon, you just did.

 

[DryvBy]

I love how Polygon and types typically just "find" these types of people and report on it. First off, with tools at your tip to report and mute crappy people, you should be doing this. Second, how is this still a pushed story? Do they have a yearly quota to talk about how crappy gamers are?

 

[Skyn3t]

So the GamerGate narrative lives on. Hurray.

 

[Xaero Gravity]

The only thing Polygon has exposed is their severe lack of journalistic integrity.

 

[iconmaster]

Second, how is this still a pushed story? Do they have a yearly quota to talk about how crappy gamers are?

I think they just delight in it. It's their meat and bread.

It's probably good for ad impressions too.

 

[Bl@de]

What do they expose? They just show quotes of one side. Definetly unbiased.

 

[off duty ninja]

An article about the psychology of toxic male gamers? Obviously they must have a quality panel of gender studies experts to trot out and show their expertise in this area...

 

[Skyn3t]

Well, they did review Mad Max from Avalanche Studios and gave it only 5,5/10, so I wouldn't trust them in any matter.

 

[NappyXIII]

What follows are interviews — under a variety of rubrics — with 11 writers and academics who have studied and published useful work on the problem of misogyny and racism in gaming and in popular entertainment.

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

Do people forget you can mute people and block PM's ? It's really simple.

 

[CatCouch]

I'm not going to read that. I've made a personal decision to leave places like that to wallow in their own hate. I don't need it dragging me down anymore.

Isn't it pretty insulting to write articles attacking a gender, though? I thought these kind of generalizations were part of the problem to begin with.

Are they really not allowing comments so they can just cherry pick the people they agree with? How is that a debate? Do they want to push people they don't like out of a medium for everyone so they can make it their space?

Since I didn't read it feel free to correct me if I'm way off. I'm basing my opinion off of the last six years I've read Polygon and the snippets being posted here (there's a reason I won't read them anymore). I'd love to be wrong!

 

[TannerDemoz]

I think it’s laughable that people in here, in 2018, think this ISNT an issue. BUT this piece is unbalanced - spoke to the wrong people IMO. It’s not balanced in terms of journalism. They should have spoken to behavioural psychologists mainly

 

[Thiagosc777]

I haven't clicked on a Polygon link in years. I am not going to ruin my streak of not reading them.

 

[NappyXIII]

What follows are interviews — under a variety of rubrics — with 11 writers and academics who have studied and published useful work on the problem of misogyny and racism in gaming and in popular entertainment.

Yeah, gonna be the odd one out and say "A near-dozen subject experts is not improperly cited nor unfounded." Have what opinions you will, but it's a joke to scoff at something so obviously researched and backed as "unjournalistic." Glad to see people want more unresearched and unfounded articles on the internet than something that actually looks for subject experts.

 

[LukeSkywater]

Ironic since toxic male Polygon employees like to expose themselves to the m'ladies, and sucicde girls, and in Twitter dms etc etc etc

 

[ExpandKong]

I think it’s laughable that people in here, in 2018, think this ISNT an issue. BUT this piece is unbalanced - spoke to the wrong people IMO. It’s not balanced in terms of journalism. They should have spoken to behavioural psychologists mainly

“It’s Current Year for crying out loud.”

 

[Thiagosc777]

I think it’s laughable that people in here, in 2018, think this ISNT an issue. BUT this piece is unbalanced - spoke to the wrong people IMO. It’s not balanced in terms of journalism. They should have spoken to behavioural psychologists mainly

It was never a problem. If someone insults you, you can mute or block them and then report them.

Besides, some genres of games have a trash talk culture and some others do not.

The only "toxicity" we see is from the biased media antagonizing fans for clicks.

 

[Montblanc]

Women and people of color are beginning to appear in games as powerful characters with their own agency. Slowly, women and minorities are starting to hold senior positions in game development and game criticism. Why is representation — within and outside the art — so offensive to gaming’s toxic men?

Just UGH at this part (though the whole article is like this).

I'm pretty sure the vast majority of gamers love diversity in their games... well, I know that I do. I do not question or even care about the journalist's or the game critic's gender or race - the only thing that matters is what they present and how they do it. Furthermore, as long as the character in question is utilized well and is relatable in some way and is NOT just shoehorned in, I'm fine with him/her/it/whatever being straight, gay, woman, alien, a talking animal - anything really.

The whole article reeks of stereotypes, exaggeration and bias.

 

[Rodolfo Brito]

That fact that they keep using Anita Sarkeesian as a "specialist" on this kind of article just baffles me.

This woman is just bias and just wants to push her narrative down other people's thorath.

 

[Catphish]

Some people act like douchebags on the internet.

More news at 11.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

These articles just get a ton of clicks.

I won't bother reading but seeing the title, I'd bet you the author of the article is well aware how absurd the whole thing is. They are just doing their job.

 

[Snoopycat]

Another quality thread full of zero effort hot takes, deperately trying to downplay very real problems that affect people who just want to do something as simple as play a video game. I'm lucky, I have a strong Scottish accent so nobody ever realizes I'm a black guy, but I can't count the number of times I've been playing online with friends who have taken storms of abuse the moment they've opened their mouths because they have Jamaican, or African or Middle Eastern accents.

 

[Rodolfo Brito]

Another quality thread full of zero effort hot takes, deperately trying to downplay very real problems that affect people who just want to do something as simple as play a video game. I'm lucky, I have a strong Scottish accent so nobody ever realizes I'm a black guy, but I can't count the number of times I've been playing online with friends who have taken storms of abuse the moment they've opened their mouths because they have Jamaican, or African or Middle Eastern accents.

Why not just report/block these peaple who abuses them?

I mean... the tools are available.

 

[TannerDemoz]

It was never a problem. If someone insults you, you can mute or block them and then report them.

Besides, some genres of games have a trash talk culture and some others do not.

The only "toxicity" we see is from the biased media antagonizing fans for clicks.

Yeah man, guys slinging rape threats at female gamers and instantly becoming misogynist in voice chat when they realise a player is female isn’t a problem. There’s no use arguing with the majority of people on here as they live in ignorance but when you’ve got girls who are literally refusing to use voice chat in games out of threat of being attacked then yeah, it is a problem. I’m not blanketing all ‘white male gamers’ as the issue because that’s fucking stupid but you can’t argue that women don’t have a hard time in the industry at the hands of some arseholes

 

[ExpandKong]

Another quality thread full of zero effort hot takes, deperately trying to downplay very real problems that affect people who just want to do something as simple as play a video game. I'm lucky, I have a strong Scottish accent so nobody ever realizes I'm a black guy, but I can't count the number of times I've been playing online with friends who have taken storms of abuse the moment they've opened their mouths because they have Jamaican, or African or Middle Eastern accents.

The thread is full of “zero effort hot takes” because this is all that ever needs to be said about this subject:

Why not just report/block these peaple who abuses them?

I mean... the tools are available.

 

[balgajo]

Another quality thread full of zero effort hot takes, deperately trying to downplay very real problems that affect people who just want to do something as simple as play a video game. I'm lucky, I have a strong Scottish accent so nobody ever realizes I'm a black guy, but I can't count the number of times I've been playing online with friends who have taken storms of abuse the moment they've opened their mouths because they have Jamaican, or African or Middle Eastern accents.

How can we have a decent discussion if the first line of the thread is "another SJW bullshit piece"?

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Another quality thread full of zero effort hot takes, deperately trying to downplay very real problems that affect people who just want to do something as simple as play a video game. I'm lucky, I have a strong Scottish accent so nobody ever realizes I'm a black guy, but I can't count the number of times I've been playing online with friends who have taken storms of abuse the moment they've opened their mouths because they have Jamaican, or African or Middle Eastern accents.

Another drive-by, desperately waving the broadest brush available to shut down differing opinions...

The article spends very little time on online treatment and talks much more about the supposed historical examples of "toxicity".

If you take a moment to read, you'll find that the folks in this thread appear to take issue with the unfounded opinions and extreme hyperbole in the article itself.

But yeah, it's just toxic males denying that any female abuse every happens... or something... fuck Trump???

 

[Skyn3t]

balgajo

Oh, sorry for speaking my mind on the cancerous movement of hate spilling under the flag of tolerance.

 

[Gander]

Let's be honest with each other. The beginnings of the internet was gamers who barely left their rooms and thought they were badass using the N word online and not getting trouble. They owned the internet because no one else was really using it yet. Fast forward to today and this sect still exists but the internet belongs to everybody now. The old guard as it were doesn't like that fact they have to share with the likes of Kim Kardashian or things they are not interested in.

 

[Skyn3t]

Duh, everybody knows that internet is for porn. And in that industry there's always something regardless of your colour skin, gender or sexual orientation.

 

[TannerDemoz]

W

How can we have a decent discussion if the first line of the thread is "another SJW bullshit piece"?

We can’t. There’s no balance - and I’ll be honest and say I think the mods are failing dramatically trying to moderate rational, constructive threads. But hey, if it gets GAF the clicks they need by letting juniors post pointless articles about ‘OMG check out this SJW bullshit’ then fair play. Starting to notice a lot of the toxicity in GAF is all from members circa 2018 - think that says a lot about what this forum has become.

 

[Thiagosc777]

There’s no use arguing with the majority of people on here as they live in ignorance

The very first time I used a headset, like 2 minutes in, I heard someone calling me names. Solution: I stopped using headsets with strangers.

Nobody is forced to listen to insults if they don't want to, and any modern system offer multiple choices in how to deal with it (like private parties, blocking, etc).

There is no problem.

 

[Thiagosc777]

deperately trying to downplay very real problems that affect people who just want to do something as simple as play a video game.

Will the game stop working if you unplug your headset or join a party with your friends?

If not, then there's no problem.

 

[TannerDemoz]

The very first time I used a headset, like 2 minutes in, I heard someone calling me names. Solution: I stopped using headsets with strangers.

Nobody is forced to listen to insults if they don't want to, and any modern system offer multiple choices in how to deal with it (like private parties, blocking, etc).

There is no problem.

That's such a mature take! Thank you so much for sharing such a reasonable response with me.

I guess it's not a problem if you can just ignore it. I guess if someone is being racist in the street, if we just put our hands over our ears, it's not a problem any more?

I guess we, like, just totally have to deal with this stuff, man.

Because despite the fact you've basically admitted this is going on – it's not a problem if you can ignore it, right?

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Let's be honest with each other. The beginnings of the internet was gamers who barely left their rooms and thought they were badass using the N word online and not getting trouble. They owned the internet because no one else was really using it yet. Fast forward to today and this sect still exists but the internet belongs to everybody now. The old guard as it were doesn't like that fact they have to share with the likes of Kim Kardashian or things they are not interested in.

Nah, let's be historical with each other: the beginnings of the internet was nerds who used it to post ascii art, discuss their favorite nerdy topics, play MUDs, and fiddle around. It wasn't until these nerds tricked DOOM's LAN multiplayer to operate over a landline connection (which became Kali) that online gaming became popular in the mid-90s. Heck, prior to the NES gaming wasn't even considered a "kid's toy". It was just... a thing that both kids and adults enjoyed. Arcades sprung up in bars first, not Chuck E Cheese.

This false narrative that gaming has "always been a boy's club" needs to end. Gaming existed for 20 years before the North American "console wars" between SEGA and Nintendo, which is where the edgy, boy-focused advertisement became prevalent. Girls have always played and developed games from the beginning.

 

[mckmas8808]

NeoGaf has gotten weird and very different I see.

 

[Skyn3t]

People are people, have their own opinions, prejudice etc and there's nothing you can do about that. In fact it's what makes the world such a dynamic and interesting place. Not everybody will get along, never. Even playing online video games.

 

[Rodolfo Brito]

People are people, have their own opinions, prejudice etc and there's nothing you can do about that. In fact it's what makes the world such a dynamic and interesting thing. Not everybody will get along, never.

This.

And this should never be the case, in my shitty opinion.

 

[iconmaster]

Acknowledging that in-game voice chat is frequently terrible is not the same as admitting gamers are predominantly "toxic" males.

There are other possible explanations, and thus other possible solutions. (Polygon's solution being... male reeducation? Sterilization? I'm honestly not sure.)

 

[Thiagosc777]

I guess if someone is being racist in the street

Freedom still exists, right? Censorship and attacking people is not the way of changing minds.

Because despite the fact you've basically admitted this is going on – it's not a problem if you can ignore it, right?

What is the problem? That there are bigots in the world or that women are being insulted online? If it is the latter, like the OP is referring to, then it is not a problem. If it is the former, then it's something outside of videogames.