GamerGate Questions - Anti-GG

Anti-GG Questions

Starter Questions
1. Tell me about your GamerGate experience?
2. Why did you consider yourself in opposition to GamerGate?
3. Can you define what GamerGate was?
4. Is there any evidence that would change your mind about GamerGate?

Gamers Are Dead
1. Do you consider yourself a gamer? What does that mean to you?
2. Do you think that is a gendered term?
3. Do you have any thoughts on what some people call the “Gamers Are Dead” articles?
4. Why do you think all of these gaming sites all wrote articles declaring an end to the gamer identity at the same time?
5. What do you think would have happened if these articles didn’t come out?
6. Do you think people had any legitimate reason to be critical of the Gamers Are Dead articles, either because of their content or the unusual way they all came out at one time?

Games Journalism
1. What do you think about games journalism?
2. Do you think that the games press was largely open and willing to listen to critics?
3. Are there any reforms you would have liked to see happen?
4. If you were the editor-in-chief of a gaming website and some of your employees, at least in this hypothetical, appeared to be credibly accused of ethical violations, what would you have done?
5. Do you think there is still a role for good text-based games journalism in the world? What would that look like to you?
6. Do you have any thoughts on GameJournoPros?
7. Do you have any thoughts on DeepFreeze?
8. Do you have any thoughts on SPJ Airplay?
9. Why do you think the media largely didn’t cover SPJ Airplay?
10. Do you have any thoughts on the #SavePoint panel at SXSW or the Arch Anime and Natsucon panels?
11. Do you have any thoughts on the Airplay Documentary?
12. Do you have any thoughts on the Kunkel Awards?
13. Do you think GamerGate supporters actually cared about games journalism?

Email Campaigns
1. Some GamerGate supporters believed that pressuring advertisers to pull out would be a good way to convince gaming publications to initiate ethical reforms. What did you think of this strategy?
2. Do you think that by going after the money of allegedly corrupt gaming websites, that GamerGate supporters made it more likely or less likely that the publications would be willing to work with them to initiate ethical reforms in the future?
3. Do you think that GamerGate supporters mostly supported email campaigns over ethical breaches (either real or perceived) or for other reasons?

Creative Freedom
1. Some GamerGate supporters claim that they cared about creative freedom, do you think that belief was genuine?
2. Do you have any thoughts on the idea that video games cause violence?
3. Do you have any thoughts on the idea that video games cause or reinforce sexism in real life?
4. What do you think of attempts to link games to violence and/or censor games in the past?
5. Some political activists believed that using social media campaigns to demand artists change artistic elements of their work was a good thing, such as #ChangeTheCover. What do you think of this tactic?
6. Did you support any such campaigns? Why or why not?
7. Where do you think the lines are between criticism and advocacy for “censorship”?
8. Do you have any thoughts on the removal of content from some foreign games when they are localized?
9. Do you think the GamerGate supporters who did care about creative freedom, were consistent in their application of that?

Games and Politics
1. Some critics argue that GamerGate was mostly or entirely right-wing, do you think that is accurate?
2. Do you want to talk about your political views or philosophy?
3. Have your politics changed since you opposed GamerGate? Because of GamerGate?
4. Some people say that GamerGate was the “first battle of the culture war,” do you have any thoughts on that framing?
5. What do you think of the framing of GamerGate as a battle between those who believe in small-L liberal values and those who don’t?

Interactions with the Other Side
1. Did you interact with any pro-GG people?
2. Did you ever change anyone’s mind on GamerGate?
3. Are you friends with anyone on the “other side”?
4. How could the GamerGate conversation have been more productive?
5. Do you have any thoughts on NotYourShield?
6. Some websites banned discussion of GamerGate. Why do you think that is?
7. Do you think there was an “anti-GamerGate” - that is to say, a sort of semi or fully coordinated effort by some people to oppose to GamerGate?
8. Did you consider yourself part of such a community? Why or why not?

Harassment-Sexism
1. Do you think GamerGate was about harassment and/or hating women?
2. Can you define what you think harassment is?
3. Do you think the GamerGate community put a high emphasis or low emphasis on condemning bad actors?
4. Do you have any thoughts on the studies done on GamerGate and harassment, such by the Women Action Media study or the Newsweek/BrandWatch study?
5. What do you think of the GamerGate Anti-Harassment Patrol?
6. Do you think most GamerGate people did a good job condemning harassment?
7. How do you think the average GamerGate supporter would respond if they saw someone dox or send death threats?
8. What do you think of the harassment pro-GamerGate people received?
9. Do you think GamerGhazi and those in anti-GamerGate communities largely condemned harassment against pro-GG people?
10. Do you have any thoughts on ZachAttack?
11. Do you have any thoughts on the CON Skype leak?
12. You don’t have to answer or talk about it, but did you experience any harassment during GG, from either side or from third party trolls?
13. Some individuals, like two individuals that I am interviewing for this book, admit to being “third party trolls” who just wanted to cause chaos, but didn’t support GamerGate. One of the two individuals says that he was 14 years old at the time and didn’t even know what GamerGate was, he just sent tons of harassing messages at so-called “social justice warriors,” as a form of entertainment with his friends. He also says that the GamerGate anti-harassment brigade stopped him at various points (but he kept making new accounts anyway). What do you think of this aspect of the controversy?
14. What do you think of the term sea-lioning and how some critics of GamerGate used the term?
15. Any thoughts on GGRevolt?
16. Was GGRevolt “the real GamerGate” in your eyes? If so, why?
17. Were the third party trolls like those I am interviewing in this book, “the real GamerGate?” If so, why?
18. What was the real GamerGate to you?
19. Do you think that even if it were the case that the vast majority of GamerGate supporters were actually against harassment, that society should probably still view it that with that lens, because what harassment did occur, whether by them or by third parties, is a more important aspect of the story than a bunch of people who don’t like games journalism, a handful of articles declaring gamers dead, and what they perceive as censorship of their games?

Media Coverage
1. What do you think about how the media covered GamerGate?
2. If you were going to cover GamerGate as an act of journalism, how would you have done it?
3. GamerGate supporters believe the media coverage of them didn’t include their side of the story, do you think there is any truth in that critique?
4. Did anyone in the media reach out to you for an interview to discuss GamerGate?
5. Are there any articles or videos you want to discuss in particular?
6. Did the media’s coverage of GamerGate increase or decrease your trust in the media?
7. How do you think the media should have covered GamerGate?
8. What do you think the media can learn from how they covered GamerGate?
9. What do you think of the GamerGate Wikipedia article?
10. Some GamerGate supporters believe that the negative narrative about GamerGate has decreased the quality of their conscious experience. Do you have any thoughts on that?

Light Items
1. What’s your favorite video game?
2. Do you want to talk about the friendships you made during GamerGate?
3. Do you have any thoughts on Vivian James or other GamerGate related art projects?

Reflections
1. Do you have any favorite or standout moments from GamerGate?
2. If you could have changed one thing about GamerGate, what would it be?
3. If you could have changed one thing about the way opponents of GamerGate responded to it, what would it be?
4. What would you personally have done differently during GamerGate?
5. Do you have any advice for any future online activist movements that might be looking to GamerGate for guidance?
6. What have you personally learned from GamerGate?
7. What do you think of the leaderless and decentralized nature of GamerGate?
8. Was GamerGate successful in your eyes?

Closing Questions
1. If you could do it all over again, would you?
2. What do you think of this interview project?
3. Some people reading this might hold a positive view of GamerGate, do you have anything you want to say to those people?
4. Can you explain GamerGate to any Cetaceans who might be reading or listening  to this?
5. Anything else you want to talk about regarding GamerGate?