Lies about harassment, bullying, and #gamergate / #notyourshield

On October 1, 2014, I made a single tweet to Kevin VanOrd (@fiddlecub) regarding his tweet regarding his use of a certain developer's suicide to smear GamerGate. The tweet can be found here:



https://twitter.com/Ash_Effect/status/517538095747461120



For anyone not in the know, this was a quote from Joseph Nye Welch against Joseph McCarthy when the latter resorted to increasingly morally dubious methods of eliminating political and ideological opponents. My hope was that Mr. VanOrd would realize his actions were harmful, self-interested, and in poor taste. Mr. VanOrd set his account to protected shortly after I sent this tweet.



On October 2, 2014, Mr. VanOrd accused me of harassing him, despite the fact that I made one single tweet at him, and no more. In his accusation (which can be read here: https://twitter.com/fiddlecub/status/517804882544189441), he tagged the RPGFan twitter account (@rpgfancom) and the Editor-in-Chief of the site, John McCarroll (@johngofett) in an attempt to defame the site and frame my colleagues as tacitly condoning harassment despite the fact that I had made only a single tweet at him.



Mr. VanOrd's actions only prove that GamerGate opponents cannot handle criticism, and seek to silence them by strong-arming those in positions above them. Perhaps Mr. VanOrd was offended by my choice of words. Perhaps he resented being compared to a politician whose use of ideological smear tactics had his name go down in infamy as a political villain. Perhaps he believed I was mocking him. However, a single tweet of criticism is NOT harassment in any way, shape, or form. Seeking to professionally silence anyone who criticizes you means only that you fear what they have to say.



Mr. VanOrd, seeking to silence me professionally will not work. RPGFan is a personal passion and a labor of love for me. The same goes for each and every editor on that site. If you are going to place my colleagues and friends in the crosshairs because you do not like what I say, that is a tactic that will not only not make me back down, but will have me criticize your character further. If you continue to involve my colleagues, I will step down from my position at RPGFan so that they will not be associated with my alleged "harassments." (Which are patently untrue accusations, by the way.) However, consider the fact that if I do so, I will not only not be silenced, I will become a martyr for #gamergate.



Choose your words, and your actions, more carefully next time, Mr. VanOrd. You can target me all you like. I can take it. I don't fear you; I've dealt with bullies like you all my life, and I know how you operate. If you target my friends and colleagues, however, the kid gloves come off.

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