Do you ever get the feeling that news stories are extensions of high school spats? First Sarah Palin’s family was brawling at a party, now a boyfriend-gone-bitter sparked an online flamewar unlike any other. The Gamergate story would be very silly if it didn’t involve threats of violence against women, bomb threats, mass shooting threats and egregious invasions of privacy.

In case you haven’t noticed, the video game business is now gigantic, bigger than traditional Hollywood movies. At its most basic level, the Gamergate story is about a mob of guys fearful that new and different games (even those made by, gasp, girls!) will replace the macho shoot-‘em-ups the majority of gamers know and love. In order to defend the established world of video games, the Gamergate vigilantes have decided to mount an online attack on a handful of female video game creators and critics. (Some in the Gamergate crowd claim an egregious incident of unethical journalism occurred, a claim that has been discounted.)

The attacks have gone far beyond saying nasty things about these women online. Home addresses, phone numbers, family details and bank account information have been released. Rape and death threats have been issued. Three women have been forced to flee their homes and live on the run. Fatwa, anyone? It’s a sad day for a creative medium with huge potential, a potential that some are determined to keep in the stone age. (You can find out more about Gamergate in the additional links here.)