Thank you. That’s the one I was thinking of.
Yeah, I’m not a big fan of that name. Hope it finds success though.
I think taking a firm stance on GamerGate put the forum somewhere on the politicla/social spectrum by default.
It’s a shame that when all of that was going down, so many in the gaming community (journalists included) either dragged their feet on the matter or took up no position at all, thereby encouraging the awful hatred that we’re still feeling the effects of today.
For all the warranted criticism of any individual involved with the site, the fact is that these events are being seen as a victory by the very people Neogaf sought to oppose when it came to GG.
It’s a call back to the old days of having to reset systems and it’s also a play on resetting the NeoGAF community.
I think it’s fine, tbh.
1 Like
What a crazy weekend it has been. I didn’t had a NeoGaf account, but always lurked there and it was a great forum that will be missed, while I personally think the OT sometimes would go a bit too far, the gaming and community threads were pretty great. I hope ResetEra can fill the empty spot NeoGaf has left, and looking at the people onboard, I think it will be a good replacement.
Still, I wonder if Malka will truly try to revive NeoGaf, I don’t really think the old users are going back, looks like it is really over.
That kind of stuff was all over OT as well. There was still plenty to be embarrassed about. Juvenile chauvinism was all over GAF despite its reputation.
1 Like
It’s both weird and upsetting.
First Trump and all that has followed and now the end of GAF, sigh. Too many W’s for these people.
The sad thing is that GAF has been my rock for the entire Trump fiasco and now it’s gone.
2 Likes
Thanks so much for the thorough reporting, Patrick. This is by far the most in-depth piece I’ve read on the topic.
Malka proves himself to be the scum he always has been. His idea for relaunching NeoGAF is downright Trumpian – he doesn’t recognize, repent or apologize for his regressions, but instead blames the victim and offers a revised format that will essentially quell any voices that make him look bad. Anything good about NeoGAF was owed to its community and some of the moderators (who, according to this account, often had to fight against Malka rather than work with him). In contrast, this sounds like the Tyler Malka Forum, and I reckon it would (perhaps ironically) end up a refuge for GamerGaters and the alt-right.
I’ll be following efforts of the former community and mods to start anew, but I hope former Gaffers steer clear of anything Malka touches to send a clear signal. His response to his own actions is flaccid and delusional.
1 Like
From my experience all around the web in recent years the right tends to have a more inflammatory posting style than the left, which lends itself to more bannings under NeoGAF’s strict moderation rules. Plus, I’ve seen plenty of outright ignorant opinions stated and get quick bans.
NeoGAF leans to the left, and leaned even further in response to GameGate, but I wouldn’t call it an echo chamber. It was home to plenty of healthy debate on many political subjects, with the general consensus that outright bigotry, homophobia, and misogyny are forbidden.
1 Like
So I was never a NeoGAFfer. I knew of it only by [mostly bad] reputation when if would pop up in the general gaming news for this that or the other thing. I an conspicuously aware that I am now surrounded by a large number of NeoGAF veterans so I want to say that I realize this perspective is probably unfair and actually that is part of my takeaway here.
It is sad for the good people involved to see a community and a gathering place go away, and the events that led to it are obviously horrific and it’s a tragedy that things like this continue to happen, but I think it speaks to the NeoGAF members and moderators credit that NeoGAF does seem to be dissolving. I could easily see a community try to ride this out or let it fade away, It’s sad that it is only in death that I am seeing this side of NeoGAF but I have to say I respect the NeoGAF community for being willing to scuttle the ship.
I hope the good people find new homes for their communities, maybe even better ones free from some of the toxic influences from the top. RIP NeoGAF, I hardly knew ye.
1 Like
You’re right, but there was often sleazy almost drooling objectification of women when pictures were posted in OT threads, especially when actresses were involved.
It had improved over the last year or so. Maybe because so much of OT became an anti-Trump party.
1 Like
I kind of hope EvilLore(Malka) hands the site (or it’s pried from his hands) over to Bishoptl (former admin) so we can relive some of the classic threads like ‘green waves equal noise’ and ‘$30 italian meal’ before the site dies.
I think the moderation style of NeoGAF, which was largely left-leaning but fair, gets conflated with the interpersonal drama of the mods. NeoGAF had mods who were criminals, mods who took out personal vendettas against users, and mods who would keep controversial topics up as bait for people to get banned.
The most disconcerting reaction I’ve seen online after NeoGAF’s implosion has come from the GamerGate community, who seem to be relishing this as a sort of victory for their cause. I guess I can understand their hottake in the sense that NeoGAF was pretty strictly against GG as soon as it became clearly abusive towards women, but it seems more to be political celebration of an objectively shitty thing to happen. The one good to come from this is that we’re holding our content creators and public figures more accountable for their actions. Cults of personality generally seemed doomed to fail, because people are not idols.
Anyway, I’m just sad I didn’t have time to back up some of my posts from there. Like tears in rain.
1 Like
Ideally Bish would be leading a new site. I think the name is tarnished pretty bad now.
1 Like
I would agree with all of that.
I think if Neogaf comes back it will turn into a GG haven
1 Like
Yeah, how many times did I have to see gifs of sweaty men fanning themselves? Gross.
Looks like its coming back tonight. Though, perhaps that may make it a bit of a target and take pressure off Reset Era’s launch as the trolls seem to be out in full force. We’ll see.
1 Like
Who’s running reset era and why is that considered the defacto spin off over existing alternatives?
It’s most of the prior mod staff of GAF, if I understand correctly.
