What is Gamergate?

I was asked this in a reddit post recently. This was my response.

What IS Gamergate? Not what was Gamergate.

It is part community based around a variety of races, genders, and sexualities who are sick of identity politics and being defined by them who love gaming and gaming culture.

It is part community watchdog on the goings on and backroom dealings of known corrupt newsites and journalists so that nothing like the "Gamers Are Dead" posts, or favouritised/unfavouritised reviews with major conflicts of interest happen again. We're also on the watch for outrage posts misrepresenting our culture as misogynistic or racist by mainly sex negative SJWs.

As with any movement that has reached its goals, which in my view it has (holding main players to account and getting major news outlets to have ethics guidelines and getting the FCC involved), there are parts that still hold onto old grudges that in my view if they were simply ignored certain antiGGs would  simply slip into obscurity. Some still hold onto Gamergate as an identity seeing as though it has been  such an ordeal. We see it as representing that we don't care what we're labelled as or remembered as, we care about the results which was to bring about ethics reform.

The reason it worked and lasted so long was that it evolved as culture evolves. Its amorphous ability to adapt to change while holding its core principles. In that way we created our own policing of harassment called the #GamergateHarrasmentPatrol while our opponents did not. We use it to police both ourselves and the opposition from doxxing and death threats in particular.

Gamergate also has no leader, no one representative to point at and go "that's Gamergate" which made it frustrating for our opponents who desperately want a figurehead to bring down.

It's also a celebration of the individual in that way. People have been dehumanised for being part of Gamergate, turned into a stereotype for identifying as a Gamer and not being ashamed. We don't have a representative because many believe in ourselves as autonomous from Gamergate, that our values and beliefs are varied as individuals. Therefore we can't be represented as that would defeat the purpose. We're against the articles that pigeonhole us. We created #NotYourShield to show the sheer variety of members and supporters. We debate each other freely and pride ourselves on our ability to gain perspective through our variety. This baffles ideological SJWs as they see debates and expansion of thoughts outside certain set parameters as harrassment.

There are some that will debate me on this. Who will disagree. I feel a true Gamergater would say please enlighten me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZvaYbnB2Bc

The Talisman short review

And you thought Harry Potter had it bad.

The Talisman is for people who love fiction and see the benefit of it. It also helps if you have a general knowledge of The Bible, Lord Of The Rings, Tom Sawyer, and I Am Legend as there are numerous allusions to these works and many more. It is a full on story about the saving power of stories and escapism (especially for children). There are many parts only suitable for a mature audience as the trials Jack Sawyer goes through get pretty dark. The antagonists are some of the meanest SOBs that i've ever read about. It seems the tale also touches on the collaborative nature of this particular book. "You don't really own a thing unless you can give it up". The Territories feel representative of the land of imagination which at first need alcohol to escape to but eventually you learn to get there without it. It's all beautifully magical and allegorical and I loved it. It also ties into the Dark Tower books and has a sequel that i can't wait to read. Enjoy your trip to the Territories.