Gamergate/Memes

GG

 * "Actually, it's about ethics in video game journalism."
 * Explanation: A sort of Forced Meme in the community. 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.
 * Another opinion is that this meme was forced specifically to narrow the scope until it excludes all the real problems: namely, that talking about ethics "in" game journalism is like talking about "fidelity in a brothel" to begin with, and that it's but a small tentacle of much greater monstrosity, which became obvious from surprisingly frantic and heavy support (up to UN!) behind the "game journalists".
 * 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, the "regressive" Left and authoritarians in general. Comparisons have since been made between the phrase and Nineteen Eighty-Four or lynching/witch hunts due to its undertones.
 * 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. Related are variations of the phrase "Never go FullMcIntosh," which are usually uttered after encountering such instances.
 * #NotYourShield
 * Explanation: A hashtag that was taken up in 2014 by female and minority gamers as well as others to express their discontent and anger at journalists, activists, SJWs and their peers who feign to speak on their behalf. It's also used, despite accusations from anti-GG, to highlight how pro-GG isn't solely comprised of "straight, white men." Although the hashtag itself has since petered out, its impact can still be felt in GG.
 * Anything to do with the UN Cyberviolence Report.
 * Explanation: The Cyber Violence Against Women and Girls report released in 2015 by the United Nations is notorious for being unprofessionally inept at best and disingenuously false at worst, which soon became a source for memes. Among the most infamous examples being how the paper (the original version, at least) cited the researchers' hard drives and quoting without any shred of irony a polemic about how video games are turning kids into "killer zombies."
 * Soggy knees and freeze peaches.
 * Explanation: Detractors have a tendency to frame GG as a Straw Misogynist movement and mock free speech arguments, especially those favorable to GG. In response, pro-GG mock the accusations by calling it "muh soggy knees" (for misogyny) and "freeze peaches" (for free speech), though the latter tends to be a Forced Meme in discussions.
 * "Intimidation Game."
 * Explanation: A reference to an infamous So Bad It's Good episode from Law and Order Special Victims Unit that's inspired by GG that even includes an attempt to paint gamers as terrorists akin to ISIS. Seen by many on both sides as a modern successor of sorts to Reefer Madness, it's since become material for various parodies and mockeries. It's also the source of such lines like "Go home, gamer girl!" and "They leveled up!" All spoken without any shred of irony.
 * Megaphones.
 * Explanation: Attributed to Leigh Alexander, one of the writers involved in the initial stream of "Gamers are Dead" pieces in 2014 and directly responsible for the line "Gamers don't have to be your audience." The source of this particular meme comes from a series of tweets predating GG in which Leigh threatens another writer's career and reputation, including the phrase "I am a megaphone." The term has since come to describe not just her but SJWs in general and anyone abusing media to peddle ideological screeds.
 * "Meow."
 * Explanation: A reference to a peculiar trend of randomly and constantly posting cat sounds by users in the main pro-GG subreddit, KotakuInAction back in 2014 and early 2015. It was done as a way of mocking the tendency among anti-GG to hunt for recurring words and terms on the subreddit to "prove" that pro-GG are a Straw Misogynist mob. These days, it's considered a Discredited Meme of sorts by the subreddit's users in general.
 * "I just wanted to play games/vidya."
 * Explanation: A half-joking comment from pro-GG on how they didn't really expect GG to last so long, the corruption in games journalism (and media at large) to be so widespread, or otherwise find themselves dealing with a growing number of issues in gaming and elsewhere. Alternatively, they quote a meme from Deus Ex: Human Revolution: "I never asked for this."
 * "No bad tactics, just bad targets."
 * Explanation: A phrase originating from with known anti-GG Bob Chipman, aka Moviebob through a now infamous tweet. It's since come to be associated with not just anti-GG, but SJWs at large, ideologues and the "regressive" Left among others for how it reflects Knight Templar and "ends justify the means" mindsets.
 * Vivian James.
 * Explanation: A fictional female gamer who originated from 4chan's /v/ board in collaboration and The Fine Young Capitalists in 2014, in part as a response to the Quinnspiracy preceding GG. Although initially intended for an indie game project TFYC was involved in (later released as Afterlife Empire on Steam), Vivian has since taken a memetic life of her own and inspired a number of other mascots and personifications. In addition to her associations with both 4chan and 8chan as well as being an unofficial GG mascot, she's also affectionately seen as an Anthropomorphic Personification of sorts for modern gaming.
 * "Literally Who."
 * Explanation: A term usually associated with either figures implicated in the events leading up to GG or the more vocal anti-GG detractors, most notably Zoe Quinn, Anita Sarkeesian and Brianna Wu; "Literally Wu" in the latter's case sometimes. Dating back to 2014, it was both intended to highlight how such figures aren't the center of attention regarding the controversies surrounding GG and an attempt to deny such people of (even more) publicity; although it's been argued that at least Quinn wouldn't have had any publicity at all outside the industry if it wasn't for GG, it's also been brought up how her actions have been aimed at publicity regardless of GG. Although anti-GG are fond of using it as alleged proof of pro-GG dehumanizing opposition, the term itself has largely become a Forced Meme though still used mockingly in discussions.
 * "Not taking your games away."
 * Explanation: A phrase attributed to Jim "Jimquisition" Sterling back in 2013, it originally served as a defence of Feminist Frequency, pointing out how neither Anita nor her colleagues were purportedly calling for censorship in gaming. In light of GG, variations of the phrase came to be associated with anti-GG and certain elements in games media (including Sterling himself), particularly as mocking rebuke to accusations of unethical, censorious and slanderous practices. Which proved Harsher in Hindsight when games like Grand Theft Auto V were being pulled from shelves in countries like Australia, with more than a handful of anti-GG and game journalists endorsing such actions.
 * "The Right Side of History."
 * Explanation: While the term itself has been around for generations, it's used mockingly by pro-GG in reference to the tendency by anti-GG, authoritarians and the Regressive Left to invoke some variation of that phrase as a means to either stifle dialogue or prop up moral superiority.
 * "Games journalism is dead."
 * Explanation: A mocking sentiment ironically echoing the "Gamers are Dead" articles in 2014, which gained traction among pro-GG in 2016 in light of Gawker Media's bankruptcy and closure.
 * "Everything is X and you have to point it all out!"
 * Explanation: A reference to Anita Sarkeesian from a 2015 panel, wherein she said "Everything is sexist, everything is racist, everything is homophobic and you have to point it all out to everyone all the time [...]"
 * Since then, it's used by pro-GG to highlight how the opposition are either off-base from what's being discussed or Not So Different from the Moral Guardians of yesteryear.
 * "Who stole the time machine again?"
 * Explanation: A recurring gag, particularly in KotakuInAction subreddit, that had evolved from observing how some negative mentions of GG in the media tend to either get the origins wrong or pin historical events on pro-GG and anyone deemed problematic.
 * Gamedropping.
 * Explanation: A term given to a recurring tendency in the media to mention GG and anyone/anything associated with it, even when it's either uncalled for or otherwise irrelevant to what's actually being discussed.

Not directly related (echoes -- Here We Go Again)

 * [Unsolicited Opinions on Israel???]
 * Explanation: A reference to a now-infamous January 2016 issue of Angela, Queen of Hel published by Marvel Comics. Since then, it's become a Fountain of Memes in highlighting the more flagrant and blatant examples of Political Correctness Gone Mad across various forms of media, in addition to heavy-handed and unnecessary socio-political commentary. It's no surprise that it's caught on with pro-GG just as it has with comic fans similarly dumbfounded by the sheer lunacy on display with such lines.
 * The Triggering.
 * Explanation: A reference to an University of Massachusetts Amherst event on 25 April 2016, which featured a discussion criticizing politically correct movements on campus hosted by conservative vlogger Steven Crowder, Milo Yiannopoulos, and Christina Hoff Sommers. This quickly caught the ire of student protestors, who tried to shut down the event and accused the speakers of "hate speech" among other things. Said attempts backfired spectacularly. Also related to this is "Trigglypuff," a nickname ascribed to a particularly enraged protestor for her antics and appearance which could be charitably described as the stereotypical SJW made manifest.
 * #Metalgate
 * Explanation: A hashtag campaign that emerged in 2014. Paralleling GG, it blew up in the wake of perceived SJW incursions and slander in the heavy metal community through the press. Although the hashtag itself has largely petered out, similar instances have been known to emerge in other topics and genres.
 * MarvelGate (or #ComicsGate, #MakeMarvelGreatAgain, #MakeMineMeme)
 * Explanation: Storm in the Twitter teacup (the original hashtag is #MakeMineMilkshake) during July-August 2017, started as a faux controversy with the victim cards held by some SJW employees of Marvel Comics (see also: "[Unsolicited Opinions on Israel???]" above). It quickly turned into an obvious imitation of Gamergate, except more pathetic - a crusade against straw dolls of abstract "trolls", "haters", "bullies" and "misogynists", but no specific archenemies save for a glaring disdain against their erstwhile audiences. Though similarly to GG, it's sparked long-seething outrage among comic fans that continues to escalate.
 * "Comic nerds are DEAD!!"
 * Explanation: Copycat of the "Gamers are Dead" meme for the copycat of Gamergate (see above) happening in Western Comics.
 * Pigeon/Hatoful Takahashi.
 * Explanation: A mocking reference to journalist Dean Takahashi of Venture Beat, particularly in the wake of his infamously inept preview gameplay of Cuphead in September 2017. The pigeon and Hatoful Boyfriend nods in particular are due largely to footage comparing his efforts to finish the tutorial section with a pigeon intelligence test, with said pigeon solving the problem faster. Which further caught on when a video surfaced of a four-year old solving the same tutorial section far more quickly than the journalist in question.
 * #NotMyLuke/#NotMyStarWars/#StarWarsIsDead -- storm in twitter teacup over Disney Star Wars: The Last Jedi quality (comparable to stereotypical bad fanfic, minus porn).
 * "Gamers don't have to be your audience" -- tweaked reuse was observed in the wild . That one turned out to be a piece from one of GameJournoPros.
 * #StopGamerGate20XX reused /.
 * #ThundercatsNo ThunderCats-2019 aka "CalArt version".
 * "Gamers don't have to be your audience" was reused with variations.