Gamergate

Gamergate is a controversy centered on journalistic ethics, censorship and accusations of sexism in the video gaming community among others. It came to a head in August 2014 due to personal attacks on game creators Zoe Quinn, Brianna Wu, and game culture critic Anita Sarkeesian.

This conflict has seen harassment, doxxing (revealing of private info), and death/rape threats on both sides of the debate. Various social media forums have likewise become heated battlegrounds regardless of which side they're supporting or not.

Two general camps have emerged:


 * Pro-Gamergaters - They view this as a war against questionable ethics in video game journalism, feeling it is imperative to expose favoritism and and corruption in the gaming press (often simplified to plain "paid reviews" - some of those were exposed not long before the scandal). Over time, this has extended to fighting against censorship and defending free expression in gaming and elsewhere.


 * Anti-Gamergaters - They see this as an attack on women (both transgender and birth gender women) in the gaming industry, prompted by misogyny in the gamer culture, and thus the accusations of corruption in gaming journalism are merely a shroud for this aforementioned goal of marginalizing women in the gaming culture. They also tend to view this as a reactionary backlash to what they see as an increasingly diverse and progressive gaming culture.


 * Depression Quest - An interactive browser game in Flash by Zoe Quinn centered around the issue of helping the clinically depressed protagonist overcome that depression.
 * Oppression Quest - A parody of the above, focusing instead more on the motives of the creator of Depression Quest (though she is never referred to by name)
 * Afterlife Empire - A strategy puzzle game published by The Fine Young Capitalists, who were involved in a previous controversy informally named the "Quinnspiracy".
 * Social Justice Warriors
 * Project SOCJUS - A work-in-progress game directly inspired by GG and featuring Vivian James as one of the main characters.


 * Anthropomorphic Personification: Vivian James, after a fashion. Aside from being associated with the /v/ boards in both 4chan and 8chan, though her origins are traced back to 4chan and a group called The Fine Young Capitalists, she's sometimes affectionately used to symbolize modern gaming.
 * And sometimes used as a Straw Character by anti-GG, corrupting her established carefree personality.
 * Over time, other personifications have emerged such as Gilda Mars (meant to embody Reddit) and the DeepFreeze siblings.
 * Author Tract: The infamous "Gamers are Dead" pieces that came out on August 2014 (which contributed to GG exploding in the first place) and subsequent variations later on.
 * Conspiracy Theory: Accusations relating to some events in Zoe Quinn and Brianna Wu's lives at the time can only reliably be classified as this.
 * Enemy Civil War: The slander and accusations certain SJWs and prominent anti-GG throw against each other can come across as this to pro-GG.
 * Flame War: Taking sides guarantees you will be one side or the other of this.
 * Go Mad From the Revelation: One explanation given by pro-GG as to why discussions and topics can at times come across as lighthearted and outright irreverent is because it's a good way to avoid this trope. According to the argument, it's better to sometimes keep one's fun, sanity and to laugh at the ludicrousness of the whole situation than to lose oneself in just how serious it all is.
 * He Who Fights Monsters: Certain "e-celebs," whether out of ego or a desire to thoroughly crush the opposition, have wound up becoming the very thing they're purportedly fighting against. At times, this can reach a point wherein both sides ostracise them in disgust.
 * History Repeats: In addition to GG being one of the latest manifestation of the culture wars, pro-GG supporters point out how the narratives and arguments being presented are more than a little reminiscent of those touted by the moral guardians and anti-video game violence crusaders of yesteryear.
 * Insult Backfire: Some of the slander and accusations thrown against GG backfired spectacularly. One particular example is how the term "shitlord" turned from insult into a badge of pride among pro-GG.
 * Ironic Echo: Among of the logos displayed on the pro-GG KotakuInAction subreddit is Vivian James done in the style of Kotaku's original, "problematic" logo, highlighting just how hypocritical that particular site is.
 * Memetic Mutation:
 * "Actually, it's about ethics in video game journalism."
 * Explanation: The detractors often paint GG as some sort of nebulous world-wide conspiracy; consequently, both sides like to repeat variations of this phrase - anti-GG sarcastically implying that the opponent tries to hide the nefarious nature of GG, and pro-GG sarcastically implying that the opponent is a Conspiracy Theorist. A sort of Forced Meme in the community.
 * Sockpuppets.
 * Explanation: Detractors are fond of painting GG supporters and pro-GG online sites as being comprised primarily of fake "sockpuppet" accounts controlled by a handful of shady individuals. While pro-GG mockingly point out both how ludicrous the accusation is and how hypocritical it is in practice.
 * "Current Year."
 * Explanation: A mocking reference to Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, in particular to the tendency to cite some variation of "It's 2015" or "The Right Side of History" as a catch-all to silence criticism, including GG.
 * "Gamers are Dead/Gamers don't have to be your audience."
 * Explanation: A reference to a torrent of articles released on late August 2014 which helped set GG into full steam, all of which containing some variation on the death/demonization of gaming and/or the notion of gamers. Among the most infamous coming from Leigh Alexander.
 * #StopGamerGate20XX
 * Explanation: In reference to the #StopGamerGate2014 hashtag, an anti-GG attempt on social media back in 2014 to denounce GG as a reactionary, misogynistic movement. Not only did it fail to last, but in time it became a mocking shorthand for how GG is supposed to collapse any day now.
 * "Listen and Believe"
 * Explanation: In the 2014 XOXO Festival held in Portland, Oregon, Anita Sarkeesian of Feminist Frequency invoked the phrase "Listen and Believe" in her speech on online harassment and sexism. Since then, it's come to be seen as a mocking reference to the sort of mindsets and narratives promoted by anti-GG, SJWs and the "regressive" Left in general.
 * FullMcIntosh
 * Explanation: A reference to the likes of Jonathan McIntosh of Feminist Frequency and his ideological musings, which could charitably be called loaded, if not outright extremist.
 * My God What Have I Done?: A noteworthy example coming from moderator and editor Ian Miles Cheong, who had previously endorsed anti-GG.
 * Not So Different: Subverted. While there has been much in the way of drama, slinging and tension on both sides, over time the differences had long since grown more pronounced. Reaching the point that any attempt to find equal footing for all parties involved risks sliding into accusations of false equivalency.
 * Political Correctness Gone Mad: Increasingly prominent in pro-GG discussions is how political correctness and similar trends had contributed to the current state of games journalism, the gaming industry and society in general. Some would argue still that this trope was what made something like GG almost inevitable.
 * Punny Name: Vivian James is named after "video games."
 * Rule of Cautious Editing Judgment: Enforced on most websites that wish to discuss this in anything resembling a relatively neutral (not fanning the Flame War) fashion.
 * Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Some posters of 4chan, following a growing trend of censorship (which include GG-related topics) ended up migrating to a newly established imageboard called 8chan.
 * Serious Business: Both sides regard this event in this fashion.
 * Small Name, Big Ego: Sometimes the drama on both sides can stem from certain "e-celebs" more interested in stirring up trouble or bolstering their own ego than anything else of note.
 * Strawman News Media: The response and reaction to GG from certain people not just in games journalism but media at large has brought this issue into the limelight. Particularly in relation to Types 3 and 4, due to the allegations of clickbait and ideological narrative-pushing.
 * Suspiciously Specific Denial: Early on, those implicated in the initial incident insisted that there was no collusion, let alone ethical breaches involved. Which proved hollow when some of those same people openly admitted it.
 * We ARE Struggling Together: Over time, there's been the occasional if at times fierce debate among pro-GG camps on whether to stick strictly on ethics in games journalism or incorporate other issues considered relevant, such as similar situations in other fandoms and political correctness to name a few. On the other hand, such discussions have allowed pro-GG to remain focused and intellectually diverse while also making compromises when necessary.
 * What Happened to the Mouse?: #notyourshield, a hashtag movement made to debunk anti-GG accusations, dropped off the face of the Earth since May 2015.