Wikipedia Purged a Group of Feminist Editors Because of Gamergate

[Veilex]

Silencing Feminists is exactly the wrong answer.

There's been way too many attempts to silence the conversation as of late.
No progress can be made if no one is communicating.

For nearly as long as the antifeminist culture war known as Gamergate has raged across the internet, a microcosm of the battle has taken place on Wikipedia. Should Gamergate defined as a push for ethics in gaming journalism, or a paranoid campaign against women in gaming? This week, Wikipedia's highest court made a major decision in favor of the former.

http://internet.gawker.com/wikipedia-purged-a-group-of-feminist-editors-because-of-1681463331

[Major Nikon]

1. The wrongdoings of those who got banned is pretty lengthy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/GamerGate/Proposed_decision

[Veilex]

2. Interesting.

[Warren DeMontague]

3. It's not "silencing", as I understand it. Wikipedia has rules, it's not someone's personal tumblr.

Wikipedia is about objective unbiased information, not someone's opinion.

I realize, of course, that some people have deep profound difficulty distinguishing their own opinions about shit, from objective fact.

But if a few folks can't keep themselves from endlessly editing the page about gamergate to say "gamergate is evil misogyny troll MRA doody-heads because doody misogyny MRA MRA and did we mention MRAs?", it is small wonder that wikipedia has blocked them from editing.

[Major Nikon]

4. As we all know, if you were born with a penis, you can't possibly understand

Because evidently gender topics are beyond the scope of reason which kinda seems to make the male blogger's argument self-defeating. He makes a point of mentioning that men are the majority on the Arbitration Committee are men, as if men can't possibly be objective on such an issue. In other words, my reasoning for your unreasonableness is due to the plumbing you were born with. Kinda sounds like this well thought out and unemotional assessment.

[Warren DeMontague]

5. And just like DU

anyone who doesn't like wikipedia or its rules, not only doesn't have to participate in it, but is totally free to start their own website.





That's what the "Conservapedia" folks did- no, I'm not going to link to 'em- and now they have their "own" ---pedia...

blissfully free from pesky objective facts, instead relying on the sort of "truthiness" which says evolution must be false because Hitler, or something.

[Veilex]

6. "Kinda sounds like this well thought out and unemotional assessment"

I had to read the hidden post from the poster...and let me just say:

[Warren DeMontague]

7. I don't actually have a strong opinion on "gamergate".

(I don't think Gawker media is widely regarded as objective on the matter, though, LOL)

I think like most of these noisy tumblr social justice crusdaes or internet gender wars, it takes on a vastly inflated importance to the people who make their living off of/spend all their free time obsessing over this noise.

99.999% of the actual world doesn't give a shit, could care less whether Amanda Marcotte thinks Paul Elam is a poopy-brain or Paul Elam says Amanda Marcotte eats worms. Most of the world goes on about its daily business, blissfully oblivious to who these people are, including the videogame world.

I do find it interesting that the same logic which has been applied to the gamergate dynamic, or the 'shirtstorm' dynamic- i.e. someone said something nasty to a gamergate/sexy shirt critic on twitter therefore the entire other side's arguments are negated AND the critics are forever supposed to be rendered permanently immune from criticism- is NOT extended, say, to Charlie Hebdo, who by any yardstick have endured much worse shit than Anita Sarkeesian or Brianna Wu.

[Veilex]

8. True.

To be fair, I made this post without knowing just how limited my information was. Major Nikon was kind enough to point me to information I wasn't privy to.

Though in general I do tend to prefer conversation over the frequent act of silencing... such as what sometimes happens here on DU.
Especially as of late.

[chrisa]

11. Paul Elam is a nobody who tried to attach himself to Gamer Gate because nobody cares about him.

I find the whole Gamer Gate controversy ridiculous. The term was coined by Stephen Baldwin (it probably wasn't, but he just took credit for it) and started from hearsay by an angry ex-boyfriend. Part of the problem also lies with people on the other side (Tumblr, etc.) acting like Gamer Gate is actually relevant. Basically, both sides are 'social justice warriors' who act like they're fighting for something that actually matters.

Paul Elam is in the same group, and he's an annoying moron. I have no idea who Amanda Marcotte is.

[Warren DeMontague]

12. Looking at him, I suspect the last videogame he actually played was "pong"

But yes, the cottage industry of would-be gender warriors on all sides are basically talking to, and arguing with, themselves.

That includes goobers like Elam - which, I'm sorry, CANNOT be his real name - just as it includes the perpetually outraged tumblr brigades. Some actually make a living off it, but I suspect most are just sad, disaffected people who had their feet stepped on one too many times in the dance of the sexes, and as such have decided it is more a kickboxing match.

As I said, most of the actual world doesnt notice, and goes on about its merry way.

[lumberjack_jeff]

9. I go to DU for opinion. I go to Wikipedia for fact.

I fully expect that non-factual "conversation" should be silenced at Wikipedia.

[Veilex]

10. *nod*

And occasionally those opinions are cast without a full understanding of the situation.