In fact let’s just make this a game. I call it

I am going to officially declare myself completely neutral on GamerGate stuff, and each side has to try to convince me that they are not evil, and in fact have a positive impact on the gaming industry. The challenge, however, is you have to appeal to someone from my background, which I will outline below:

I am a game designer! I mostly make (or at least prototype) little one-shot experimental games and interactive fiction. My work has been positively regarded on both Kotaku and Rock Paper Shotgun, though the bulk of my audience comes from word-of-mouth.

I like diversity! My work tends to feature more female/minority characters than not, especially in playable positions. However, I think diversity in the creator sphere and marketplace is more important than diveristy in media itself.

I hold a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a second major in Economics! It’s nothing special, but it means am relatively well-versed in both behavior control mechanics and recognizing misleading statistics. I dislike when when these things are ignored as much as I dislike them being assumed present with no explanation given.

I am opposed to censorship/disincentives on speech! I believe that if everyone can speak safely, the best ideas will gain traction and prevalence on their own. Silencing and shaming people is only worthwhile if your ideas cannot withstand competition.

I am disappointed with the depth of feminist video game criticism! I see most of it as patronizingly shallow, and only controversial because it’s designed to incite argument rather than sway beliefs.

I think classism is under-represented in progressive dialogue! Its is way too common for someone’s lack of resources or inability to access education to be used as “proof” they are a bad person.

So, go on. I want to see your very best. Your job - both sides - is to convince me your side is the good guys. That doesn’t mean talk about all the bad things your opponent did, because it’s possible for you to both be bad - rather, you have to actually convince me you are doing something positive. If your opponent did something bad, it only matters insofar as you can show what you did in response.

Since I know a lot of my followers are GamerGate people, please take the opportunity to share this with some of your friends who oppose it - the game won’t be any fun if nobody plays. The winner - the side that isn’t evil, even if it’s both of them - will get my support. Spread the word! It’ll be fun, and fair.