Just as important, however, the book shows how harassment can be fought through purposeful community-building. To stop the amorphous mob of anonymous harassers, Quinn argues, modern society needs institutions specifically designed to protect targeted and marginalized people.

In August 2014, Quinn was a rising indie game developer, most famous for “Depression Quest,” a no-frills text game about the disabling experience of living with depression. She had just broken up with a physically and emotionally abusive boyfriend, and was looking forward to healthier relationships and a future of video game development. (Quinn's ex-boyfriend denies her allegations of abuse.)

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Then, she says, her life was kicked apart. Quinn’s ex posted a long screed online, accusing her of sleeping with someone in exchange for a positive review. She has consistently maintained that none of this is true, and I believe her.

Nonetheless, that post became the impetus for Gamergate, an online crusade against “ethics in gaming journalism." In reality, though, the campaign became an excuse for internet trolls to flex their muscles as they worked to destroy the reputation and livelihood of Quinn and others, particularly women and minorities, who expressed feminist or leftist ideas.

Soon Quinn says she was receiving death threats across every social media platform. Her personal information was publicly posted, her accounts were hacked and her family members and friends harassed. What had begun as an effort by Quinn's ex to punish her for leaving him ballooned into a free-floating hate campaign with multiple targets. Three years later, the harassment continues.

Multiple times, Quinn says she has feared for her personal safety as well as the safety of friends and family. But one painful aspect of the online assault has been her transformation from a game developer into someone most famous for being victimized. Instead of being known for what she's done, she's is now known because of what's been done to her.

"I've been trying to reassert myself as a human and not just a current events story," Quinn told me. "I should not be the face of online harassment."