@truthtellah: That was a nice write up. Thanks for that.

TruthTellah bringing the truth!

@totalbiscuit It's cool and respectable that you come here and defend your position, but that post comes off as a pure appeal to patos, where you try to paint yourself as the victim. I don't doubt that you were harassed as well, but that doesn't change the fact that you (willing or unwilling) are seen as a champion of GG. If you don't agree with this assessment, you have to take a firm stand against it. As long as you don't, any appeal to sympathy on your part is going to ring pretty hollow.

@truthtellah: You have to understand that being against gamergate the way you are just leads to more anger. If you really are excited for a gaming community where everyone can share their opinions than you can't be so willingly close minded to even the moderate claims of the gamergate movement. If you're that opposed than you need to strive to be better. You put a lot of effort into your post, and that is inspiring, but most of it is just you speaking for a movement that you don't agree with. You listed their motives and interests as if you knew them better than they do and you dismissed the call for ethics because you think it's false. Live and let live. If you see someone, anyone, harassing someone else because of their beliefs or their gender or their race than you stand up against it. If you see anyone harassing someone else for any reason you stand up against it. It's unhealthy the way that you oppose gamergate. That doesn't promote progress. It is much better to be open to those that are within the movement. They're not all monsters and the more you paint with those kinds of broad strokes the more fuel you add to their fire. No one likes to feel ostracized.

I wish I could write further but I need to get ready for work.

What Spraynardtatum says is true. "truthtellahs" opinion is very one-sided and seems to lack sources and research on the subject. Everything I've done for the last 3+ months has been about journalistic ethics and inclusivity in our industry. I do not buy this guilt by association thing one bit. My actions speak for themselves, if you would care to find out what those actions are rather than what people who with a straight-face call me "hitler" have to say.

If you don't agree with this assessment, you have to take a firm stand against it.

Yeah I've done this over and over and over again. People have ignored it because it doesn't fit their narrative.

That said, I have no wish to come here and cause further conflict with people who have already made up their mind. Think what you like (and vote for Jeff). I'm sure you can understand I've got more pressing things on my mind at the moment than a potential forum argument.

@truthtellah: Preach.

heh, you're right, the way some people act towards a hashtag definitely reminds me of religious zealotry.

@truthtellah: That was a fantastic post TT, I look forward to reading some of your posts as much as I do a new article from Patrick or post from Jeff or someone, always very well thought out and I love the passion on the subject.

Guys. Let's keep this thread on topic please. It's about the Game Awards Trendy Gamer or whatever the fuck. It's not about GG.

Personally I think I will vote for Jeff Gerstmann for most #trendygamer. His striped shirt collection is totally in right now and the horizontal lines work fantastically with shorts. Although Jeff tends to wear graphical tees fairly often, while not in fashion, they tend to have synergy with his overall look and his color pairings are on point. On the other hand an argument could be made for TotalBiscuit winning this category. His trademark style of formal attire has a sophisticated air to it, which fits his persona well and is very on brand. However, the "suit and tie" look does suggests maturity and seriousness which perhaps goes against the trendy, carefree nature of this category. I don't know what PewDiePie wears, or what swedish people wear in general so I can't see him winning this category. Clogs? Are those from Switzerland? Who knows.

So regarding the other participants' photos, is everyone trying to do The Rock eyebrow? That's the in thing now?

Thank you. This is starting to become pretty ridiculous, you guys.

I want to remind everyone that

GERSTMANN KEEPS IT 100.

This is some text-book shitty posting. Hiding behind another user's post, calling somebody's opinion "one-sided" as if everything can be boiled down to being on one side or another except for you who is above it all, calling for "sources" and research and shit which is just a lazy way to discredit somebody by demanding they do a bunch of nonsense busy work to find links to things you know all about already, acting like everyone who has a bone to pick with your behavior is a shrill loon who equates everything to Nazism, saying your actions "speak for themselves" therefore you never have to defend yourself (unlike Stephen Totillo and Kotaku and everyone else in games media and everyone who criticizes you), then you take a parting shot with some big-shot bullshit about how you have better things to do even though you're the one who showed up in this thread-- to ego-trip a little or to quiet down people criticizing you, I don't know-- and then let everybody know that any further responses to you will be ignored. You haven't changed much since '07.

by the way, great post, @truthtellah. I'm sure it would be very persuasive if read by anyone who isn't an egomaniac with a chip on their shoulder about not being accepted by mainstream video games media while pretending to be smarter, soberer, more reasonable and open-minded than everybody else.

@chrissedoff: Think you may need to calm down duder, Im pretty sure the bigger things on his mind right now he mentions is referring to going through chemotherapy that he mentioned in the post before, dont think hes trying to be Mr bigshot.

Disagree with him or not no need to attack him.

We can all have a healthy debate, also vote Gerstmann!

Isn't this what caused this whole mess in the first place? I'm just sitting here reading this thread and watching people get angrier and angrier and with each ounce of anger everyone seems to be more and more convinced that they are right and everyone else is wrong.

Is this really the right way to go about solving this mess? At this point it's becoming pretty clear that it's not going to just go away, I mean look at this thread, it had nothing to do with GG at all except for some tangential connection through someone who doesnt even really want to be connected to it at all and suddenly we are in full shitstorm mode.

It's like people refuse to see this as anything other than black and white, on the one site the pro-GG folks who think everyone opposed to GG is an "SJW" puppet plotting to erode the very fundation of gaming journalism and on the other side anti-GG guys who think that everyone associated with GG is a women hating misogynist using the pretense of ethics to be allowed to shit on women. It's no wonder the two sides keep pilling up this nonsense, when they are both reduced to a single sentence even though they are not a single entity with a single will.

Both sides think they are fighting this righteous crusade for the oppressed. Both sides think they have done no wrong or that the wrong they have done is somehow justified through the "cause". And yes, there are people who take it way to far but is that really surprising? Any sufficiently large cause will eventually be hijacked by assholes and both sides keep making this whole thing purely about these assholes as opposed to the actual root issues. As if pointing fingers and yelling: "But look at what THEY are doing!" has ever produced any meaningful result.

So what can we actually do to put this to rest? Well, I have no idea but I'd suggest we start by dropping this hostile tone. How can there ever be a peaceful resolution to this when everyone involved feels like they are constantly being attacked?

When Geoff pours the traditional bucket of Doritos flavored Mountain Dew over the winner, the smart man will be wearing strips and shorts, the man down a few hundred dollars down the drain will be in his formal wear.
Vote right, Vote Gerstmann.

@noval: very well said.

Well this has gone fully off the rails and doesn't seem to be coming back anytime soon, and we really don't feel like having to sit here and micromanage a thread that people seem insistent on co-opting for their agenda, especially over the holidays.

I'd say we may open this topic back up later, but that probably isn't going to happen. We may be able to try this again once the winners have been announced, but we'll see how that goes at that time.