Gamers Grapple With VA Tech Shooting

I imagine it's been a hard week for a lot of people; gamers in particular have been jumping to defend their hobby from the likes of Dr. Phil and Jack Thompson, both of whom were quick to link gaming and the tragedy in Virginia. Despite their vigor, it seems like game enthusiasts can breathe easily this week. As far as most people can tell, gaming was in no way involved. Even the mainstream media is coming to realize that gaming isn't always the right place to turn when youth violence grabs the headlines. Just the same, some activist gamers are still trying to make sure their hobby comes out of this unscathed, and at least some folks think they may be overdoing things: "While I'm all for activism for one's beliefs, I really think this may do more harm then good. As gamers, we feel a need to defend our passion, but we run the risk of ending up looking no better than those seeking to shift blame, while further disrupting the already-mourning. I say that the thing to focus on at this point is simply remembering those lost and cherishing what we still have. Now's not the time for political vendettas, and gamers need to step down and just humbly accept the fact that blame will always be shifted to the popular youth activities: be it a KISS concert, a video game, or something else."

Comments

Re:To the flamebait moderators:

[Red Flayer]

Not so.

It's called sarcasm - look it up.

Just because it's sarcasm doesn't mean it's not flamebait. Likely to incite a flamewar == flamebait; a post can be both funny and flamebait

Also, moderators shouldn't have to check your post history before moderating your comments -- first, it's too much to ask, and second, comments are contextural.

I wouldn't have modded your post flamebait, but I've no points today. Then again, it seems that your complaint is about someone 'flaming' you via moderation -- so the flamebait moderation would be valid. How's that for a tautology?

All that aside, bitching about being downmodded is pointless, even if you have a valid concern. It's a meta-comment, and thus should be modded OT pretty quickly (as should this one); if you're concerned about mod abuse, follow the procedures in the faq.

Re:To the flamebait moderators:

[Red Flayer]

Read a little deeper into the moderation section of the FAQ. There is discussion of "flamey" posts and downmodding; of posts that fall into multiple categories. I congratulate you on your inability to read more than one line in the FAQ; it shows that you didn't even bother to comprehend my post (since I refer to the FAQ, it's pretty obvious that there's something in the FAQ that supports what I was saying -- but in your race to spout off, you didn't bother to check more than the surface) before firing off your retarded reply. At any rate, even so, moderation is a matter of interpretation by the moderator, and the post you're referring to could be construed as FB.

It's not my post, buddy. But thank you for playing.

Sorry, I missed that, but no need to be a condescending jackass.

Re:Indifference

[MisaDaBinksX4evah]

The blame lies squarely on his own shoulders.

It's certainly easier to think that than to confront the culture of violence and racism that permeates every aspect of American life.