VOAT Containment Megathread of Trash People for Trash People

[etiolate]

The good stuff is all in the older irc chat logs. Shit that would get all of them perma'd today.

[benjipwns]

NeoGAF’s shadows are the moderators that cull the userbase and push it in different directions. They’ve subtly guided and twisted the games industry for the past decade now, and the media gets the occasional tug on their puppet strings to do a dance for the site. Boogie2988 will have scars from his war with NeoGAF, and JonTron too even if he doesn’t fully realize it.

Tyler, you’ve got two problems. The first one is you’ve lost control of your website. The passage of time has eroded the innocence of NeoGAF, and you’ve left with the byproduct of your moderator’s actions. The second problem is now everybody knows how your moderators operate.

The website that became famous for their insider leaks, just got a few leaks of their own.

*cue something from The Who*

 

[etiolate]

Enthusiast niches are the only areas where Youtube channels can compete with dedicated publications or 'old media'. I'm sure Youtube wants top replace TV, but user generated content can only carry you so far.

Anyway, these people seem to know what they're talking about. Looks like this "brand safety" thing has been brewing for a while:
https://mbertozzi.com/2017/04/03/the-re-birth-of-digital-advertising/
https://digiday.com/uk/youtube-ad-boycott-concisely-explained/
https://digiday.com/marketing/youtube-pullout-impact/

I don't really see much in those articles. I don't know where you get that this has been brewing for awhile. If I give a fuck, I'll peruse old advertiser boycotts, where I may find companies stating they don't control things like google ads and really don't care. Since there is no real culpability on either side and deniability both ways, I am not sure there was a large concern over it in the past.

[nudemacusers]

Someone should alert the WSJ

Edit: this was for the gaf Wordpress but it works for everything in the last page

[nudemacusers]

Ok this site is lame/sad but this made me legit laugh

[benjipwns]

To put advertiser boycotts or removals in context, let's look at how Bill O'Reilly just lost 70+ advertisers or something for his "legacy media" TV show.

O'Reilly's had sexual harassment complaints and settlements for over a decade plus. And this was all public knowledge before the new stuff that came out this month and led these advertisers to pull the plug.

The primary difference for people on YouTube is what the share of their income is that's directly coming from the advertising pile of cash rather than being laundered through a multi-billion dollar a year media conglomerate.

[nudemacusers]

too much doxxing can't support it.

Also drinking too much brandy

[benjipwns]

can you imagine being obsessed that much about an internet forum that you write pages and pages about it and its moderators and how they're biased

[benjipwns]

but it is curious how little I'm seeing in this about Steve Youngblood, the Vladimir Putin of NeoGAF.com

[nudemacusers]

What if I told you  nick Monroe was Steve Youngblood

[benjipwns]

no no, his profile says "Freelance Journalist (seen @theescapistmag /@gameranx) " not "NeoGAF.com moderator, vicious bloodthirsty tyrant and Blood God"

[benjipwns]

https://twitter.com/nickmon1112/status/852351690468675584

 

[Rufus]

Enthusiast niches are the only areas where Youtube channels can compete with dedicated publications or 'old media'. I'm sure Youtube wants top replace TV, but user generated content can only carry you so far.

Anyway, these people seem to know what they're talking about. Looks like this "brand safety" thing has been brewing for a while:
https://mbertozzi.com/2017/04/03/the-re-birth-of-digital-advertising/
https://digiday.com/uk/youtube-ad-boycott-concisely-explained/
https://digiday.com/marketing/youtube-pullout-impact/

I don't really see much in those articles. I don't know where you get that this has been brewing for awhile. If I give a fuck, I'll peruse old advertiser boycotts, where I may find companies stating they don't control things like google ads and really don't care. Since there is no real culpability on either side and deniability both ways, I am not sure there was a large concern over it in the past.

The first link states as much, yes. Obviously that's changing.

These also shed some light on why this blew up (relatively speaking). Competitors who've long been unhappy with Google's (and apparently Facebook's) power, now seeing a chance to cut into their business. As well as buyers smelling a discount. And some stuff about firms offering solutions (or threateningly waving their patents to such) for this placement problem, but I didn't pursue that.

Also, I had the distinct impression that this was going on before WSJ's PDP story, but I was too lazy to check dates and such. Either way, this seems bigger than "video game press bitter about Youtube and Twitch taking their lunch money".

[nudemacusers]

https://twitter.com/nickmon1112/status/852351690468675584

 

Someone should contact the WSJ about this

[Rufus]

Someone forward the tweet to Shawn Elliott so he can read in his Ralphie voice.

[benjipwns]

Nick Monroe‏ @nickmon1112  Apr 10
 The reason this piece is taking a bit longer is because I want to properly flesh out the human elements of these NeoGAF moderators.

Nick Monroe‏ @nickmon1112  Apr 10
I could paint them all as just big stupid monsters.
But that would be a cop-out.
No way.

Nick Monroe‏ @nickmon1112  Apr 10
By taking the time to explain the human elements, people will have a better understanding of the why.

Nick Monroe‏ @nickmon1112  Apr 10
I'm proud to say it seems to be meeting my own set of impossible standards, when it comes to these sorts of things.

Nick Monroe‏ @nickmon1112  Apr 10
This one is a piece I probably would have never gotten the chance to do at a formal publication. Too much risk of blowback.

Nick Monroe‏ @nickmon1112  Apr 12
 If NeoGAF comes after me for my articles

I swear to god I'll go over every last moderator. Twice if I have to.

[benjipwns]

https://twitter.com/nickmon1112/status/851458003949813760

https://twitter.com/nickmon1112/status/851458408574222337

https://twitter.com/nickmon1112/status/851484921759772672

sometimes i use the word hero too lightly but not this time

[etiolate]

too much doxxing can't support it.

Also drinking too much brandy

That brandy better be from a tiny shiny glass with a pinky out or else that's gaaaaaaaaaaay.

[nudemacusers]

It's neat in a proper snifter, I'm no monster

[nudemacusers]

I know I'm doing it right because it feels like I put a chunk of my soul in it

[FatalT]

I know I'm doing it right because it feels like I put a chunk of my soul in it

This is my horcrux.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Also my Asperger's.

[close]

[benjipwns]

This OP was Cerium. To understand how a NeoGAF pile-on works, all one needs to do is see the amount of effort Cerium put into ousting JonTron. They essentially rallied that Yooka-Laylee general thread in an effort to get the studio to respond, giving “you’re either with us or against us” sort of reasoning. It wasn’t long after they got a few others joined in. It’s here we learn Jontron was in the game’s credits, according to a passerby poster. “This is not diet racism, this is full on Stormfront quality white nationalism,”

“This is not diet racism, this is full on Stormfront quality white nationalism,” Cerium remarked about Jon’s statements.

Some posters said Cerium was taking this too far and Jontron had no bearing on the rest of the game outside of his cameo. Cerium deflected these responses and encouraged NeoGAF to put more pressure on the studio. Another user suggested the idea get posted in Jontron related threads to help it gain traction.

Playtonic Games was put into a “damned if they do, damned if they don’t,” situation with Jontron. Cerium said they needed a statement from Playtonic about Jontron because the game was so close to release.  To get that answer, NeoGAF put on pressure via social media. They started to dig into the developer’s Twitter accounts and mock their tweets. Users were escalating their inquiries to them directly on top of the official @PlaytonicGames account. If they weren’t going to get the response they wanted, NeoGAF already had someone to pin the blame on.

“Seems they’re also douches,” wrote a user named Jett.

But what kind of outside influence and pressure could’ve been involved here?

There were tweets by small-time websites like David Jones, founder of a fan club called Rare & Friends.  The morning after Jontron’s March 12th/13th debate, they tweeted at @PlaytonicGames. Expressing shock, they asked the studio if JonTron was still going to be in Yooka-Laylee. There was no explanation by Jones as to what brought this up, save for a link to NeoGAF discussion threads.  After Jafari’s removal was announced, Jones made sure to praise Playtonic for their decision. In a separate conversation, David Jones fantasized about Jon being personally disturbed by the removal.  Taunting him, he wrote “and I find that thought pleasing. 🙂 You reap what you sow, Jon,” in a tweet.

On a higher level of magnitude, Playtonic Games faced pressure from a games journalist named Lewie Procter. Based out of the UK, he’s built up his website savygamer.co.uk for nearly a decade. Between March 2009 and November 2013, Lewie was a Section Editor at Rock Paper Shotgun and had a Freelance stint with VG247 somewhere in that time-frame. Lewie tried to get onto NeoGAF for a while, being rejected as far back as 2009 for an account. He still browsed and had others post things on the site on his behalf. Procter was actively aware of game journalism’s bad habit of writing articles based purely on things they saw on GAF.

Lewie hated Jontron for ages and used the same attacks on other YouTube figures.  When Cerium posed the question of Jontron’s involvement to NeoGAF, Procter was one of the first to rally behind it. He reframed the argument in terms of the perception of Yooka-Laylee as a game, and openly embraced the notion that cutting Jafari out would cost Playtonic money.  Procter fell to the cliché of using children as an example claiming Jontron’s words had an influence on them.

When it comes to understanding his intentions, all we need to see is a post made by Lewie in the Yooka-Laylee general thread. “Were it me, I’d be willing to go to extreme lengths to remove a white supremacist from a creative work I was planning on releasing,” he admitted.

Lewie implied that the online discourse would not be over with the NeoGAF thread. Not only was he keenly aware of the Twitter bombardment aspect to it, Procter was one of the first to cause a stir on that platform. Tweets mirrored his NeoGAF comments, essentially.

His response to someone bringing the race of Playtonic’s team members into question was disturbing, as he appears willing to explore the idea of the company being white supremacists themselves.

this is amazing

too bad cerium doesn't have his hillary avatar anymore for the guy to really tie this all together

[benjipwns]

It makes sense, as Robinson had marketed the game toward NeoGAF personally from the outset. When JonTron’s controversy brewed in one of their threads, it surely turned his head. But it did for everyone in Playtonic Games at the end of the day.

But as a controversy, it’s interesting to dissect the pieces and parts. Especially how NeoGAF fits into the equation.

How’d it get from there to a website? With a NeoGAF moderator like Mike Williams working at gamesindustry.biz, the process of A to B seems pretty straightforward. Some people think what happened was justified. Others think it was unnecessary.

To me, it raises the question of how much sway NeoGAF can have over someone’s mind in the first place.

yes...that is a very good question...

...

...

[benjipwns]

The first night had Boogie expressing optimism about NeoGAF before he went to bed. But it would become clear later on that he might’ve spoken too soon. By that evening, he was reiterating on his aims to fight back against blanket statements the media was making about gamers. He saw the conversation about women in gaming and the need for transparency in journalism as ideas that complimented one another. But Boogie’s weaknesses would begin to show, as he made it clear to the thread lurkers that he was trying to please everyone. Boogie tried to protect his self-image, and as a result, he couldn’t help but argue with NeoGAF posters accusing him of various forms of “attacks” online. These scuffles would normally end up with a confession by Boogie saying he was running on little sleep. Whenever he did dose off, he expressed hopes that the internet would calm down by the time he woke up.

It was naive. But Boogie gave it his all, making long posts fully explaining his experiences and points of view whenever he felt necessary. In return, NeoGAF threw more assertions and claims at him for him to have to explain.

September 8th, 2014. Boogie admits to having his first breakdown.

He was aware of his flaws as a person. Regardless, Boogie continued his NeoGAF discussions as he felt it would help making people have empathy toward the situation. The vicious cycle continued. Boogie stood firm to his ideals and desires to help, NeoGAF posters would twist his words, and the end result of that would be a personal admission by him of being tired and worn out. It was fueled by NeoGAF’s tenacity to keep pushing the envelope. He felt obligated to respond to anyone online who defamed his character.

Boogie was having a journey of identity and introspection. He said he was “grateful” to NeoGAF despite the stress and trouble it caused him. Listening intently to the responses from the thread, Boogie slipped into a state of hyperawareness of his word choice at their behest. The impact of NeoGAF’s replies to Boogie are clear, when you see his reiteration of discussion goals now includes what NeoGAF wanted from Boogie. Rather than what Boogie wanted for himself.

emphasis his

[I'm a Puppy!]

I have no idea what's going on. Who's this Moxxi person? Why does anyone care?

[benjipwns]

A transformation from love and admiration, to fear and regret, and finally a deep sense of bitterness and disgust. A ban from their website is something that tends to be remembered for a long time.

put it on the back of the box, print and ship

[FatalT]

I have no idea what's going on. Who's this Moxxi person? Why does anyone care?

I think. Not sure why everyone is butt hurt about Borderlands though.

[FStop7]

http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1360175

Melt down over Pewdiepie, jerk off in adoration for Tupac

[Rufus]

I have no idea what's going on. Who's this Moxxi person? Why does anyone care?

Palmer Luckey's girlfriend.

[FatalT]

A transformation from love and admiration, to fear and regret, and finally a deep sense of bitterness and disgust. A ban from their website is something that tends to be remembered for a long time.

put it on the back of the box, print and ship

EE EEE

http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1360175

Melt down over Pewdiepie, jerk off in adoration for Tupac

Bobby Roberts' lives matter.

[I'm a Puppy!]

I have no idea what's going on. Who's this Moxxi person? Why does anyone care?

Palmer Luckey's girlfriend.

OK, what did she do?

[FatalT]

I have no idea what's going on. Who's this Moxxi person? Why does anyone care?

Palmer Luckey's girlfriend.

OK, what did she do?

http://gizmodo.com/palmer-luckey-millionaire-founder-of-oculus-rift-love-1786994094

Dated Palmer Luckey. Supported Trump.

[Steve Youngblood]

Who is the leaker?

My money is on Steve Youngblood

I have been accused of being verbose before.

[Averon]

Dedicating that much energy into "exposing" NeoGAF. Guy needs to step back and re-evaluate things. 

And it is not like he's "exposing" anything people have not already known about GAF for years: mods are biased, the community is toxic, and GAF is just a miserable place nowadays. What a revelation!!!

[benjipwns]

EEE EEE

i'm amazed that video is still up

GET BACK MOTHERFUCKERS YOU DON'T KNOW ME LIKE THAT

[benjipwns]

blue dragon = gay, what do we live in japan don't think so why is it so great

all of neogaf wishes dat dey could live in japan az all dey care about are japanese gamez and anime

if dey had da choice betweenn jessica alba or some random japanese bitch dey'd take da japanese bitch in a heartbeat

[nudemacusers]

Who is the leaker?

My money is on Steve Youngblood

I have been accused of being verbose before.

Wow, if you record and play backwards i sounds like "you're all souls sent for Ansuz' hand". For those unaware, ansuz is a pagan god of power. Chilling. Will dig further into other mod messages for hidden rites and invocations.

[clothedmacuser]

https://twitter.com/nickmon1112/status/852351690468675584

 

[FatalT]

Who is the leaker?

My money is on Steve Youngblood

I have been accused of being verbose before.

Wow, if you record and play backwards i sounds like "you're all souls sent for Ansuz' hand". For those unaware, ansuz is a pagan god of power. Chilling. Will dig further into other mod messages for hidden rites and invocations.

Not only that but googling the first result for "Anzus Youngblood" on Google brings up a page about historical dates of September 1951. But where's the connection? On Sep. 3 the US signs the Anzus "Pact". It's on the 26th of the month that "Prof Youngblood demonstrates an artificial heart".

 Expose Youngblood's ties to the occult next pls

[benjipwns]

steve,

what are you afraid of him exposing about you?

get it out there first, control the news cycle

don't let him hold it over your head

[bluemax]

What do you gain by "exposing" NeoGAF? It is a joke forum that isn't taken seriously by anyone in the games industry. If you're an unemployed games enthusiast writer, this isn't the sort of thing your employed peers don't already know.

[benjipwns]

What do you gain by "exposing" NeoGAF? It is a joke forum that isn't taken seriously by anyone in the games industry. If you're an unemployed games enthusiast writer, this isn't the sort of thing your employed peers don't already know.

Is this post serious?

You can't just go around letting moderators ban people from your forums for any reason they see fit and get away with it. Not now that we're living in a post-irony society.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

*user was banned for this post*

[close]

[thisismyusername]

steve,

what are you afraid of him exposing about you?

get it out there first, control the news cycle

don't let him hold it over your head

BenjiPwns: Controlling the Message.

[FStop7]

steve,

what are you afraid of him exposing about you?

get it out there first, control the news cycle

don't let him hold it over your head

Neo Gaff's language has no place on or off TV.  And thats my two cents.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

That oughta hold those SOBs.

[close]

[counterhit]

I can appreciate that IRC snapshot this guy opens up with, but it's the only thing of value here and the rest of is filled with unnecessary crap with a tone is that is way too serious for a message board expose. Basically, I don't share voat's fascination with besada's weight (amir0x's insane life-style I'm iffy on, because it may be used as evidence in the future), but I would like to see leaked PMs of shameless fuckery, even if it's just so I don't have to casually speculate on it.

[thisismyusername]

David Jaffe got banned in January 2014 after responding to a thread that NeoGAF moderators baited him into in the first place.

This dude thinking Jaffe (who was temp banned but so butthurt about being banned he never came back) being banned wasn't justified despite Devo doing her best to "No, Doug, No. What he did was rape, he raped Patty. *honk honk!*" him into realization. But he continued to dig his own hole into a justified ban.

 

[Momo]

Dedicating that much energy into "exposing" NeoGAF. Guy needs to step back and re-evaluate things. 

And it is not like he's "exposing" anything people have not already known about GAF for years: mods are biased, the community is toxic, and GAF is just a miserable place nowadays. What a revelation!!!

This is where i'm at. A sane person would just say 'fuck that' and move on instead of diving head first into one's own insanity.

[bluemax]

What do you gain by "exposing" NeoGAF? It is a joke forum that isn't taken seriously by anyone in the games industry. If you're an unemployed games enthusiast writer, this isn't the sort of thing your employed peers don't already know.

Is this post serious?

You can't just go around letting moderators ban people from your forums for any reason they see fit and get away with it. Not now that we're living in a post-irony society.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

*user was banned for this post*

[close]

I'm just trying to understand this guys thesis. Is it that NeoGAF is a web forum with bad moderation? Because that's probably like 99% of all web forums. Is it that neogaf is a webforum with BAD moderation that is somehow shaping the games industry? Because that one is even sillier.

[benjipwns]

It's simple.

Evilore has been hoodwinked by a cabal of moderators and their lackies who are using the NeoGAF.com forums to secretly push their social studies warrior agenda onto the gaming industry (by co-opting games journalism) against the will of the gaming public and the public writ large. As proven by their publicly organized secret pogrom against JonTron and Boogie (the youtube guy, not Superior Boogie) destroying both of their careers.

Either that, or he's complicit in the crimes.

But no matter what, the mask has been torn off completely, and if NeoGAF.com thinks they can stop him or us from further exposing their crimes they are hiding behind other masks then we will release even. more. twice. over.

[benjipwns]

[stufte]

NeoGATE!

[benjipwns]

This has been the worst couple pages in Bore history. Ban benj, leper username, icon deco.

Fine, jeez, me and Vom will go back to mining PoliGAF. You don't have to get crabby about it.

[Raist]

Who is the leaker?

My money is on Steve Youngblood

I have been accused of being verbose before.

Wow, if you record and play backwards i sounds like "you're all souls sent for Ansuz' hand". For those unaware, ansuz is a pagan god of power. Chilling. Will dig further into other mod messages for hidden rites and invocations.

syug ,efas eB. won thgir gnikahs yllaretil tigel ,woW

[etiolate]

This is where I point out y'all trying to clown someone for writing up a neogaf dossier




while posting for the umpteenth time in this very thread

[benjipwns]

Already did the pathetic self-aware disclaimer that makes one immune to any and all criticism no matter how legitimate bud.

[Kara]

It's a fungible component of the joke

Newsfeed pls.
I can't think of a more Kara sentence.

I SWEAR I'M A REAL BOY

[FatalT]

Well hell, I'm enjoying benji's commentary on it all.

The fact that Amir0x can't even vote makes me laugh even harder at his impotent "radicalization."

http://m.imgur.com/gallery/F0iQYcK

[Boogie]

Well hell, I'm enjoying benji's commentary on it all.

The fact that Amir0x can't even vote makes me laugh even harder at his impotent "radicalization."

http://m.imgur.com/gallery/F0iQYcK

I don't think you've got that right, big chief.

[thisismyusername]

There's nothing there that says he can't vote? 

Though, DUI is such an Amirox thing.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

Didn't Amir0x get into some angry rant(s) about how driving while drunk is okay?  Totally makes sense in hindsight.