jakkblades

So, I find conversation about the state of the industry and the role of games press really depressing. I want to know what to think about it all, but thinking about it hurts my brain. On the one hand, I want to stand up and be a social justice warrior. Down with the oppressive video games industry! On the other, following games online is something I do for fun, to relieve stress, and feel comfortable.

I am a feminist. I have zero problem saying that here or anywhere. But I find recent comments on both sides of the debate to be inflammatory and rushed to hasty conclusions. Case in point, Brianna Wu's recent comments on Twitter:

"The mission of games journalism isn't oversight. It primarily acts as a PR mechanism for the people that buy their ads. Everyone knows this."

"IGN, Giant Bomb and Game Informer took an afternoon to write a lukewarm statement on Gamergate, then went back to sleep."

"That it troubles you, seems like deranged lack of empathy. I hope you treat your daughters, sisters and wives with more compassion than us."

I honestly don't know what to make of these claims. I do NOT see them as the ravings of an "extremist", but they do seem, well, hasty and dismissive. On the other hand, if the games industry is a new frontier for social justice, I can't sit here on my hands and let the battle slip away. If I do, I'm in some sense an enabler of misogyny and mistreatment.

Wu's comments gutted me, specifically because they targeted Giantbomb. I'm not sure whether they're right or wrong, but they are provocative, and we might need to be provoked.

I'm looking for thoughts of people who are likewise interested in being progressive, but also love this site and what it stands for (to me at least, community, continuity, entertainment, and a sense of the history of our shared hobby.) We might take for granted that women deserve a place here, but how are we making that place for our female members? The Giant Bombcast is the most popular element of the site, and an all white-male crew. This isn't bad--I'm not saying that. But it is something worth thinking about.

I'm an Alabamian. Gay marriage just came to Alabama, and there are those who strongly resist it, making national news in the process and presenting a piss-poor example to the nation. Fifty years ago we resisted segregation. Governor George Wallace and his supporters soon found quite a bit to regret in their decision. I'm all for Giantbomb, and games in general, being a place for fun and friendliness. I'm okay with it being a mostly male community, run by male staff. But my question is this: if we think this is the way it has to be, or even the way it should be...

Are we on the right side of history?

I appreciate the gesture and hope it helps people, but what we need is regulation.

Thanks for the considered advice. I think I'm going to take it. The price is hard to beat, and I certainly trust my friend to be playing me square.

@humanity: That's about where the price is at ($220). I have the same reservations, however.

He ALSO bought it used, so I'd be buying it third-hand.

Is it a bad idea to buy an Xbox One used?

Let's say the price is very right, because it's from a friend. What are the drawbacks to not having the receipt of purchase, registered serial number, etc? Does anyone on the boards have a used Xbone?

Thanks

I'd like to see a sequel that revises the ending of Mass Effect 3 so we can all move on from it. I don't mean that changes it, but that gives us a new way to understand it in which the universe can continue in an acceptable way.

I don't know man. I think you're confusing the state of grief you're at with the crew's state. Probably not there yet.

What?

HELL YEAH