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GamerGate: First Battle of the Culture War
In late August 2014, the gaming industry became embroiled in one of the most heated and divisive controversies of the early 21st century. What began as a debate over the ethics and responsibilities of video games journalists, quickly turned into a battle over cultural identity and values. So what exactly happened during GamerGate and what can we learn from it? That's what this book sets out to explore. Not as a partisan diatribe, but as a case study in conversation and as a learning experience. If we are going to overcome the unique cultural challenges facing us today, then we must learn from our past.
236 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 13, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 18, 2019
Lacks depth, requires prior knowledge
As someone deep in the trenches of GG, I found myself constantly wondering why Netscape9 (the writer's online username) was glossing past so many of the important "battlegrounds" with only a paragraph or two to explain what was going on and why it was important. Often, names were dropped to illustrate a point, and I had to rely on my prior knowledge to understand who that person was and why they were mentioned. Why is the author assuming such a deep knowledge of the relevant people, instead of explaining who this person is, why this example is relevant, and what the wider cultural connotations and effects are?
A frustrating read in many places due to the lack of deeper explanations.
As someone deep in the trenches of GG, I found myself constantly wondering why Netscape9 (the writer's online username) was glossing past so many of the important "battlegrounds" with only a paragraph or two to explain what was going on and why it was important. Often, names were dropped to illustrate a point, and I had to rely on my prior knowledge to understand who that person was and why they were mentioned. Why is the author assuming such a deep knowledge of the relevant people, instead of explaining who this person is, why this example is relevant, and what the wider cultural connotations and effects are?
A frustrating read in many places due to the lack of deeper explanations.
July 19, 2022
Definitely *not* a good book to understand the controversy. It reads like a impressionistic account from a participant, and as such, I found it informative. I had to constantly refer to other sources to provide context and generally navigate the discussion in the book. I did not get the impression that this is a dispassionate, neutral accounting of the events, the positions, intentions and actions of the participants, or the larger implications of the GamerGate kerfuffle. It does serve (or it serves me, at least) to flesh out the "pro-GamerGate" side of the debate.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews