(If you're unfamiliar with #gamergate, just google search it because it's been all over the Internet. It's mainly spear-headed by 4chan and users of /r/kotakuinaction.)

So this subreddit, /r/kotakuinaction, was created as an official spin-off sub from /r/tumblrinaction (and boy, do the similarities show) when the #GamerGate and Zoey Quinn fiasco started gaining full steam.

This effort has created the biggest group of Internet "activists" with the biggest persecution complex I've seen since May-May June. I'm surprised nobody has written about them yet, but I think that has to do with #gamergate getting overshadowed by TheFappening.

I've collected a bunch of submissions from that sub to showcase just how monumentally euphoric they are (I stopped at 30 because fuck, I just couldn't be arsed to keep looking. There's just TOO much.) I'm not going to even bother inserting the usual CB smug comments after linking a post, because seriously this shit just writes itself.

---

So these manchildren have somehow deluded themselves into thinking that "gaming is a hobby ... [that] transcends our differences and unifies us."

>implying that every sub-gaming community doesn't shit on each other (welcome to the FGC)

>implying that there isn't a shit ton of elitism among different games (welcome to MOBAs and FPS)

Oh, and if you think they mean that gaming unites people of different backgrounds (which is true) - then you're wrong, because they actually think that there's a gaming community that's under attack. No, seriously. Let's begin with

The "War" on Gaming:

#NotYourShield.

The gaming community is diverse and strong. And we are #NotYourShield for the narrative you're creating. These are not 'troll' accounts or 'weaponized minorities'. These are REAL people. With real opinions. Don't just write someone off cause they don't agree with you. Everyone is different; men, women, LGBT, feminist, SJW, gamer. The generalizations NEED TO STOP. Harassment MUST BE CONDEMNED. Gamers, this is OUR COMMUNITY. Let's fight to keep it alive.

GamerGate is Actually a Culture War (+39)

Make no mistake, this is a culture war. In this case, though, it's not divided between conservatives and liberals, or between Christians and non-Christians, or any of the classic divisions... it's between EXTREMISTS and MODERATES. The proof of this is in the pudding. Us GamerGate folks all come from a diverse sociopolitical background, with people of all races, genders, sexual orientations, and political identities all supporting the cause of journalistic integrity and industry transparency. So why would our opposition be against THAT? Honestly, it's not because they're worried about losing their jobs, or because they're evil mustache-twirling villains -- it's because a moderate viewpoint that games (and gamers) are mostly open and accepting directly damages and contradicts their movement. So why don't they take it as evidence that perhaps their viewpoint is wrong? Well, because remember: IF gamers are actually misogynists and bigots, then they must be lying about their motivations. That's why they don't even bother addressing the issues of journalistic integrity and transparency... not because they don't feel they have a defense for it (indeed, they believe they're innocent), but because in their minds, it's all a smoke screen set up by bigots to stifle political progress. In the end, their logic is circular, so all their logic and reasoning is hopelessly poisoned by their initial assumption. THAT is the definition of an extremist, and that is what we are truly fighting against.

Something that has been bothering me for awhile now. I need to get it off my chest. (+69)

Thank you for letting me rant. I've just been so discouraged lately from more and more news, but I know no matter what, we're making a mark. We're not going to let people bully us, no matter who it is, or in some cases who they were. We're not going to let them rope us in as one giant group, WE'RE ALL DIFFERENT PEOPLE! Different cultures, and experiences and histories in our background, but gaming brings us together! We're not sockpuppets of this cause, we ARE THE CAUSE.

Keep fighting the good fight friends. Keep fighting, ALWAYS. At the end of the day, play some video games. Enjoy yourselves. We deserve legitimate discussions about games, we deserve to play games without being ridiculed or ostracized. We are not bigots and racists, nor rapists and murderers. We are gamers, and we are people too.

We're not a movement, but a consumer revolt. (+105)

Linked image: https://i.imgur.com/0C8rmUZ.png

So this little picture I've done is less jokey and more personal passion I guess. Notyourshield related picture. (+87)

Linked image: http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x211/rin345/Voicewithoutaface_zps9a18145e.png

Just found out I wasn't shadowbanned. I'd like to talk to you guys a minute if you're free! (+41)

We're a group that's somehow been controversial and misunderstood simply for coming out and saying people of all races, creeds, nationalities, sexualities or whatever should be able to come out and talk without being harassed, their life experiences diminished, insulted, have hate speech thrown at them and if you do choose to use your personal ideology to spread hate towards anyone for any reason we, the people of the world in every country around the world of all colors, shapes, and makes openly denounce you. I hope to put the "justice" back in "social justice warrior". And the social!

---

The War on Gaming Redux. Le SJW boogeyman xD:

The Great Excommunication of McCarthyist SJW Journalists (+63)

Fellow gamers we have reached a point in the history of gaming that is untenable for the majority of gamers, triggered by a very small clique of ideological extremists in the games industry. They number in the thousands, whereas we gamers number in the hundreds of thousands if not millions. A great schism has occurred in gaming, not because the culture is slipping towards a progressive demographic as they claim, but because an elitist attitude of condescension towards fellow human beings has been exposed, originating from a group of extremist SJW ideologues in positions of power in games journalism.

Okay I lied, I'm gonna say something here. READ THE REST OF THIS POST HAHAHAHAHAHA.

Commenter compares SJWs creeping into gaming to SJWs creeping into science fiction some years prior. (+120)

Linked Twitter image rehosted to imgur for convenience: http://i.imgur.com/5oA2ZG4.png

The realization I came to when thinking about #GamerGate (+97)

Sarkeesian and Quinn are kinda like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, both seeking to claim "leadership" and act as "the voice" of a community who don't believe they speak for them. Sarkeesian especially, seems to descend from on high only when it benefits her publicity and pockets, similar to how some black people see Sharpton and Jackson behave. Sarkeesian is seen by MSM as a "respected pop-culture critic," when a good portion of the female gaming community doesn't want her speaking on their behalf. Really, the only thing she hasn't done yet is smear herself in someone's blood to make a political statement.

SJWs insert themselves into popular hobbyist to press their ideology onto others. (+87)

They did it with Atheism, they did it to video games, and now they're doing it to Science Fiction. Going to the scifi subreddit, right now there is a few of the types of posts indicative of how they work their way in. There have been a few controversies in Scifi circles in the past year or so of claims of misogyny and how we should stop reading authors who do not conform to their purity test. Even historical figures, born in a time outside modern context are not safe from their vitriol. Historical context does not matter to them.

---

Next up, we see the "activism" that these proponents of #gamergate have been doing.

Slacktivism Part 1: WE DID IT REDDIT

For those saying protest isn't working.. Keep it up! (+150)

Twitter image rehosted on imgur for convenience: http://i.imgur.com/qSl7QbC.png

#GamerGate overshadowing #Destiny on Twitter, this is a victory. (+153)

Twitter image rehosted on imgur for convenience: http://i.imgur.com/4oDJi6E.jpg

Gamasutra - site ranking at all-time low in the last year - let's get it lower (+80)

Linked image: http://i.imgur.com/JScbNnU.png

A HUGE Opportunity... 12/12 Comments on Washington Post's article are pro #Gamergate. (+18)

Fellow members of #gamergate, if you're looking for some way to help or contribute, the time to act is RIGHT NOW.

There's only comments questioning Washington Post's stance on the piece. We can sway them. They know how their viewers feel. We need to write the editors and tell them that we deserve a voice to be heard, there's no way 12 subscribers all felt the same on an article we're super wrong about.

We might be able to get an apology statement or better yet their commentary on why the journalism was poor and what's affecting it. We might even get an interview with the intelligent people from our cause. WP consists of mostly intelligent open-minded people, the right people to listen to our side.

This is the push we need. Please, if you have the time, this is when we need your effort most.

A Plea for Skepticism: Give a story more than 15 minutes before jumping to conclusions. (+192)

... But please PLEASE be more skeptical of information. It's fine to report on new findings here and discuss it SKEPTICALLY, but I wouldn't post it to twitter screaming "we won we won" every time someone tiny new piece of information pops up. That's what her and anti-gamergate people do. That's what they did with their 4chan conspiracy. We can be better than that.

Why GamerGate and this sub in general has helped me not give up on gaming entirely (A rant) (+123)

BUT the gaming community of people like you guys are helping to counter that. The discussions, the exposure of lies and the general sense of "We are not okay with being treated this way" is what I needed to see. Keep posting, keep screen-capping, keep responding to accusations or threats with facts in a calm manner. Continue being the example for many of us who are normally too shy to speak up. Keep being the voice for those of us who do not want to see our beloved hobby die from corruption and lies.

TL;DR - I am glad I am not alone in being a female who thinks this whole corruption thing is fucked up, and feminism is not an excuse to be an asshole to men. This goes beyond SJW stuff. It is about being honest, decent people who should own up to what they have done wrong. Keep fighting the good fight!

---

Slactivism Part 2: Who Do We Target Next?

Hey, Guys, Let's Not Get Ahead Of Ourselves Here! Keep Focus! (+118)

Remember this is a movement. If we revel and get hung up on Zoe and Anita, we look like that was our cause all along. We should be celebrating TYFC far more than slamming Anita or Zoe, despite how long I know some of you have been waiting for hard proof.

Every time the group focuses on ZQ we give them a chance to play the harassment/mysoginy card and lose what we've worked so hard to gain. (+116)

You guys, I know it's hard to resist calling a certain someone out on their bullshit, but we've made our successes by not focusing on that one person and instead taking the organizations to task by contacting advertisers and stating our case in the GG hashtag. Even if the allegations are true, what do we gain by pressing this issue? We already know shes a person of poor character. But if this results in a flood of people contacting her to gloat then we're just going to get accused of harassment and mysoginy again!

A developer's open letter to #GamerGate, PLEASE don't stop at #GamerGate. (+190)

I am writing this message not only as a message of support, but also a plea. Please continue with your good work, but also don't fall into the trap of playing a large part in this controversy and then falling away into tiny fragments after the dust settles. Build and channel yourselves into a notable, active group that will continue to act on behalf of gamers in the future.

Former Game Journalist weighing in (Micah C of Blistered Thumbs) (+209)

The next logical step is a boycott. Boycott Gearbox, Boycott Dice, and boycott any company that has their developers or PR people saying awful things about their consumer base. If the company I work for now started to slander our consumers, we would lose business and we would deserve it. We need to hold game developers and game publishers to a high standard, because ultimately we pay them for their services, not the other way around. None of us would pay money to be insulted. With all of that said, let's keep the fight going. Let's fight with respect and truth, and when someone crosses the line on our side or theirs, call them on it. We're winning, so I say keep up the pressure.

Our only course of action at this point. (+30)

So the "gaming journalists" have gotten major publications on their side and will be able to rewrite this entire thing to make it look like a bunch of lunatic misogynists went after a female dev for no reason. Our only play at this point is to go after the sponsors. This should be the discussion we're having here. A boiler-plate email of protest, a list of sponsors and their phone numbers, emails, and other strategy along those lines. What do you all think? I think this is the only way to start moving the discussion back in our favor.

Refocus on the Journalists and the Sites (+131)

In the grand scheme of things, they're nobodies. We should treat them that way, instead of pumping them up to be some big bosses that we have to knock down. This single minded focus around Anita/ZQ makes it MUCH easier to paint us as misogynists, losing us the people who were on the fence about Gamergate. It's bad enough that the media has everyone thinking that we're misogynists. We definitely can't afford to begin acting like it, however justified.

The fight isn't over yet. We just lost focus for a while. Continue tweeting, continue emailing advertisers, continue talking with others about the above topics, continue being awesome. Not a bully. If we begin to harass like they have, we'll lose support.

Context for the next one: Zoey Quinn claimed she donated to iFred, a charity that does research on depression. Users on KiA claim she lied about donating to the charity, after asking the charity who then said they didn't receive any money under the name 'Zoey Quinn.'

It turns out she did, though under her real name. This is a link to the sub backpedaling on the issue. Muh activism!!!

Zoe gave some proof. (+87)

---

Now, for the conspiracies. None of this is surprising considering the whole thing began as "The Quinnspiracy."

Conspiracy Theories: The Paranoia Agency

Smear campaign against #GamerGate (+372)

GamerGate is currently the target of a smear campaign by ADVANCE PUBLICATIONS through Condé Nast, the owner or Ars Technica, The New Yorker, and Wired.

These were all published within a 24-hour period. Conde Naste is also Reddit's largest shareholder, which explains why there's a lot of censored discussion.

Can confirm, was directed by admins to remove ZQ content after she admitted to sleeping with executives in Conde Nast.

collusion between gaming devs, press, & academia to promote feminism. (+68)

Linked video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJyU7RSvs_s&feature=youtu.be&a

In the following submission, users try to find whatever tenuous link each author might have to Zoey Quinn and social justice.

SJ media is shitting out article after article declaring the death of the gamer identity. It's more than a little bit suspicious. (+149)

So, when inevitably the admins ban this subreddit for "Vote Manipulation" can we make sure this shit goes nuclear? (+56)

I know it's paranoid to say such a thing but I just read a conversation from an admin (I don't know what their position is, maybe just a dick mod. Point is seems weird to me.) saying that users from this subreddit as notorious for vote manipulation now and that they're watching us.

Questions for the mods: Did you remove the thread with the soundcloud of your own volition, or were you being pressured by admins? (+21)

This next one is the funniest, IMO. People called out this OP, but I'm including it just to show how paranoid these people have become. (And yes, this is a common occurrence whereby dissenters are told to GTFO back to Tumblr, as is usual with TiA users.)

/r/KotakuInAction is being infiltrated by SJW agents.

Over the past few days, a number of people have come in here, some with new accounts, some with aged but barely used accounts, and tried to sway communal thinking in completely unreasonable directions. These people are SJW agents. Be aware of this possibility. Read each OP with skepticism. Consider the comments in response to it before making up your mind. Basically, show the kind of mental fortitude that SJWs absolutely hate. That's all it takes to identify these attempts.

---

No category for this one, but I found this one really really funny.

I'm fairly certain my sister has disowned me over this debacle. Brother of an sjw, informal AMA. (+35)

This is how seriously these people take it. Socrates died for this shit.

---

And there we go. There is SO MUCH MORE I could pull. I've only scratched the surface of the goldmine that is /r/kotakuinaction. You can go through and look at the comments yourselves for a good laugh or to get a red forehead, though they don't differ very much from the content found in the self-posts that I've linked. Though unintentional, I have to thank the /r/tumblrinaction mods for sequestering #gamergate content into a different sub because of how concentrated the smug has been.