We had a somewhat rough Thanksgiving weekend, and TheRalphRetort was right here at the center of it. First, we had the Steve Tom Sawyer revelations, which were big enough (updated yesterday). Then, an admittedly disgruntled Internet Aristocrat quit GamerGate. Afterwards, he was gracious enough to grant me an exit interview. It wasn’t adversarial, and that displeased some of you, but I thought it shed more light on his thinking after the audio message. I enjoyed the chat, even if I didn’t agree with every contention. The main one I guess I had, since we agree on a lot of that, was that GamerGate is over. I can’t sign on to letting the dream die. As I’ve always said, I will be the last one to leave. I might be a fucking idiot, but I guess we’ll see.

Gaming wasn’t always like it is today. In the 1990s, they didn’t ask why a dictator-sim (Tropico 5) was too mean. Writers didn’t cry when you killed too many fictional race Orcs. We weren’t bombarded with people from our own hobby, telling us we were shit. They defended us against the lunatics like Jack Thompson. The gamer didn’t feel disconnected from the writer (at least I didn’t), like is so often the case now. The games are much more advanced now, but the culture itself is poisonous when contrasted to the old one.

There were problems, yes. But the industry worked to evolve, and it did. Female characters started to take on more depth, but it wasn’t just them. As the storytelling improved, so did the depiction of all genders, races, and creeds. It was because the industry was in its infancy. They didn’t use professional writers as much. The technology restrained this advancement, because until the late 1990’s, you couldn’t really put a lot of voice acting, visuals, etc, in there. You were working with more rudimentary storytelling devices.

Despite all the advancement from the late 90’s to the late 2000’s, it wasn’t fast enough for the SJW terror squad. The began to impose themselves in ways they previously had not, making big stinks about minor issues, demanding changes to content, and just generally polluting the dialogue. It didn’t happen all at once, but within a few years, discourse had been clamped down on all major sites, outside of maybe IGN. The chilling effect was real, and I witnessed it firsthand. It’s one of the main motivators that spurred me to join this GamerGate family. Fighting censorship, SJWs, and for a more ethical gaming press. Those are what brought me to the dance.

We have come so far, and done so much, that nothing should get us down. The thing about causes is they don’t always stay at peak level. They’re long-term projects. I never go into this thinking we would be done within a couple months. I knew it would take years to defeat the SJWs. I didn’t think the sites could be beaten by Christmas. I wasn’t really interested in a peace deal. I wanted to set up an alternative to their garbage, and expose them wherever I could. These people have to be replaced. The gaming media used to be the defenders of video games. Now, they just rollover and accept Jack Thompson-like statements, simply because they’re coming from some rainbow-headed dunce. It’s sick, and they have to go.

It’s just going to take longer than some anticipated, and the group is now coming to that somewhat harsh realization. But don’t get disheartened. Drama from prominent members sometimes gets covered here, and will again, I’m sure. But take it for what it is, the sign of a vibrant group that is starting to settle in for the long haul. Look back on the successes we’ve had, and continue to have. Keep emailing, and even more importantly, keep spreading the word about what it is we’re doing here in GamerGate. Our awareness is still low, and we have a lot of room to grow. Thank you for reading the site. I’m humbled everyday by your support, even though I’m an asshole sometimes on Twitter lol.