Jack Thompson Under Investigation

djflipstarx writes "Jack Thompson, famous anti-videogame lawyer, has found himself in the position of being investigated by the Florida Bar Association after trying to get Penny-Arcade writers Gabe and Tycho arrested. A bunch of people from the Penny-Arcade forums then went and sent letters to the FBA asking for them to check up on Thompson's current actions and review his license to practice law. The fact that even the National Institute on Media and the Family distance themselves from Thompson doesn't help his case either." The lesson here? There are many nerds in the world. Some of them have a posse. Be careful who you pick on.

Comments

Jack under new scrutiny . . .

[galonso]

I have to say I was shocked by the lack of professionalism Jack displayed in his communications, and even given the 'selective quote' syndrome, and suprised how poorly he represents himself.

I am thankful that /. has been brought to bear in a responsible way, as have the fans of PA, many of whom hang out here too. I was afraid there would be a bunch of childish hacking attempts that would hit the national media furthering his hyperbole, which may in fact have been his intent -- we'll never know.

I think this shows that PA and /.ers don't 'always get it wrong' and or over-compensate for our passion.

It's good to be a nerd today;)

PA Political Action Group?

[Agilus]

This is weird, but in a good way, I think.... Penny Arcade has, almost certainly by accident, formed a type of political action group, like all those concerned mothers groups, religious groups, etc. And it's a group that seems to be actually accomplishing things (maybe unlike Slashdot and some political communities). It's kind of funny to think that part of the reason this group is actually doing things is both because it is very passionate, and a larger percentage of it has lots of free time (i.e. no job, part time job, still living with parents, in college, etc.).

It's realy interesting, and I'm not trying to imply anything negative about the Penny Arcade audience, as I'm certainly one of them (although not a very active one, unfortunately). In fact, I think it could be a very positive thing if they can get the media, politicians (could they be considered a constituency?), and just plain other people to listen to them. Heck, now might be a good time to introduce some of these people to the EFF, or get them otherwise politically involved. *shrug*

Re:Beware the self-fulfilling prophecy

[the_maddman]

How would that fulfill anything? Mr. Thompson claims playing video games makes you violent, not that OTHER PEOPLE playing video games makes you violent. If he does go off the deep end like that, there's no excuse that will cover it. Anyways, I'm in a good mood today, I skipped the violent video games last night and went to the range instead. Some of us don't have a problem understanding the difference between Quake and a 8mm Mauser.

Re:Guess Jack is learning an important lesson...

[Profcrab]

Jack is just a desperate man who has seen all his attempts at political notice go away. He sees himself as far more important than he is and does not believe that he need political allies. He thinks that they will flock to him if he gets big enough.

In short, his actions are that of a frustrated individual. The attack against The Sims and Will Wright should be a dead giveaway. Any rational champion of the cause would have paraded the The Sims around as a decent entertainment and attempted to create catagories of "decent" and "indecent" developers. They also would have done extensive research. Thompson's lack of research, when his profession is built around research, shows that he is not actually interested in the subject itself, only the notice it brings him. He is getting old now, though, and he is seeing his chances at political advancement starting to slip away from him. His desperation shows in his mistakes.

good point + the nature of freedom

[Ender Ryan]

That battle got won, like, five years ago, with video game ratings.

That's a very good point. Video game ratings are highly visible on all new games, and they're quite accurate, according to independant polls of other peoples' opinions. Unfortuneately, there are still many groups that want to ban outright, violence or sexuality in games, whether they're meant for children or not.

With all the talk of "freedom" in this country, you'd think more people would have a grasp of what, exactly, it means for people to have it. Freedom means that people will do things that you do not approve of, but you will do nothing to curb said things, because they are adults, and it is their intrinsic right to pursue happiness in any way they please, assuming they don't step on your right to do the same.

So, I have this to say about Jack Thompson and his ilk: Jack Thompson, and those like him, *hate* freedom.

Cheers.

Re:Jack's response to the Florida Bar

[SuperJerms]

Those analyzing Jack's letter for logical and factual fallacies are missing the point. Those of us who know the truth immediately know that ThinkGeek is not based in Seattle and that it has a seller/vendor relationship to PA. We know that Mike could have gotten the e-mail from a number of PA's game community contacts, or even from the public posting at VGcats.com (which was even linked on PA's frontpage). We know that many gamers contacting the FBA do so because of alleged acts of unprofessionalism on Jack's behalf, not grinding axes. We know that Thompson's alleged behavior towards those he disagrees with is, at best, counter to his claim to be a Christian and, at worst, criminal harassment. We know that Jack often resorts to ad hominem attacks and other logical fallacies when arguing. And, we know that any moves Jack makes to deter the Bar from proceeding with an investigation are, themselves, violations of specific federal civil rights statutes. Truth and logic are not on Jack's side.

But communication is about effective rhetoric, not truth. While the tone of this letter may be lacking a certain level-headedness befittig of a lawyer addressing the Bar about an investigation, it is not simply spouting off madness, either. He is establishing his good name before the Bar with his professional history, claiming corruption in the industry and government, and making a colorable argument that the gaming community has been catalyzed to harass him into submission once again. Classic rhetorical strategy based on Aristotle's teachings on Ethos, Pathos and Logos.

Not foolishness, either. Every time a gamer contacts the Bar with a "me too!" instead of tangible examples of Jack's abuses, or a gamer calls him at home to "discuss his position on the issues" (as if we don't already know), or someone sends a threat via voicemail and e-mail, we are making Jacks point for him.

Re:Guess Jack is learning an important lesson...

[Mr. Slippery]

I've been wondering how, exactly, aiming and shooting a nonexistant gun with a little stick and some buttons could possibly teach me to aim and shoot a real gun with a trigger, weight, and recoil.

Dunno about joystick FPSs, but for light gun games, surprisingly well.

I'd never even picked up a real gun when I took an NRA gun safety class about 12 years ago. But I'd spend many a quarter playing "Mad Dog McCree" and "Beast Busters" in the campus arcade. When we got out to the range, after my first few shots from bench rest the instructor working with me said "Ok, I can see you've been shooting before, so we'll move along..."

Out of about 10 people in the class, I'd say I would have ranked about second, and the only guy shooting better had some previous experience.