POLYGON: Inside former NeoGAF moderators’ mission to build a better alternative

[benjipwns]

https://www.polygon.com/2017/10/24/16536652/neogaf-resetera-forum-scandal-malka

Multiple former NeoGAF members, including moderators, told Polygon that as the implosion and exodus happened over the weekend, they felt stranded. The site went “down for maintenance,” and its members, many of whom had joined NeoGAF when it first launched 11 years ago, very quickly had nowhere to go. The platform they used to connect with friends was either ripped away from them, or they felt that the world they had once belonged to no longer existed, as Polygon learned to be the more common case.

By Sunday, many displaced NeoGAF members flocked to a new Discord server. The Discord, which Polygon was asked to keep anonymous, attracted good- and ill-intentioned individuals who began sharing screenshots on Twitter of conversations. Late Sunday night, the server went into lockdown mode.

One member of the Discord server told Polygon that there were concerns that trolls from popular GamerGate and alt-right forums — including the subreddit KotakuInAction, VOAT, certain 4chan boards and 8chan — were masquerading as legitimate NeoGAF members. The concern was that, once these people got into the Discord, they would leak member information and organize attacks.

Between battling trolls from some of the most nefarious online forums, including 4chan’s /pol/ section, and dealing with the fallout from NeoGAF’s drama, many of the former NeoGAF moderators announced they were working on a new website: ResetEra. Those who didn’t want to be associated with NeoGAF anymore could jump ship to continue chatting with many of the same names they recognized from the original site.

Many of the people we spoke to described ResetEra as an opportunity to redefine what moderation culture looks like from the ground up. Without worrying about Malka’s presence and reputation, they would be able to set their own rules and guidelines, operating under the internal rules they agreed upon in the earliest of planning stages. Big industry names and notorious ex-NeoGAF moderators, including Erren Van Duine, Emily Rogers, Nibellion and Shinobi602 all joined ResetEra with hopes of building a bigger and better forum for the community to thrive in — one that wouldn’t be associated with NeoGAF.

Shinobi602, a known member who stepped back from NeoGAF in March, told Polygon that, for the most part, ResetEra’s moderation and administrative sides will be full of new faces, alongside those notable to longtime followers.

“We see this as a fresh start and an opportunity to build our own moderation culture and aren't really looking for comparisons,” Shinobi602 said. “We hope to be genuinely fair minded, reasonable and transparent. We really want to shape a positive community for everyone. A few moderators may be familiar but for the most part the staff has no connection with other forum staff.”

Shinobi602 said the full staff will be announced “soon,” but he wouldn’t divulge the list at the time of this writing. Part of that is because one of the biggest concerns that many early ResetEra members have is personal security.

Shinobi602 told Polygon that ResetEra staff was prepared for the new wave of attacks on the site (once it goes live) and their community. Part of the way ResetEra’s team is looking to combat any serious harm is by sending out invites to the site in waves, vetting newcomers before opening it up to the public.

Although it’s not a permanent solution to the problem, which moderators are well aware will last for a longer period of time, Shinobi602 is hoping this strategy will at least let the site launch without too many problems.

“Obviously we knew there would be those who would want to harm our community in any way they can from the start, unfortunate as that is,” Shinobi602 said. “We've been working very hard to protect them and will have all hands on deck working to ensure that the launch proceeds as safely and smoothly as possible.”

It’s unclear just how strict the vetting process will be when ResetEra launches, but one member told Polygon that conversation with people on the outside is kept to a minimum, to stop other stories from getting out.

The effort to keep the conversation clean and members out of harm’s way requires an extraordinary amount of work, with one member of the locked ResetEra Discord telling Polygon that “those behind the new forum are putting in a ton of effort, the ‘not sleeping a lot’ type of effort.” Shinobi602 told Polygon that although it’s been a strenuous affair, they wanted to do it as a collective; to help house their homeless community.

“Thousands of members of the community were suddenly stranded without any place to go,” Shinobi602 said. “It's really a sight to see so many people gather to create something like this. That community has come together to make this happen.”

People were sad for the original NeoGAF community they lost, one anonymous member said, adding that “this was a community that, despite its issues, was a positive thing for a ton of people for over a decade.” That sense of loss didn’t stop people from coming together in the late hours of Saturday night and wee hours of Sunday morning to start working on something new.

“People are super excited for something new and a change of pace,” Shinobi602 said. “We've had so many people volunteer to help and roll up their sleeves and that response has just been overwhelming. It's clear that we're determined to stick together and make this happen.”

No one would tell Polygon when ResetEra is launching, as the site staff is still figuring it out. But early members noted that as of the time of this writing, the forum is gearing up to go live between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET — around the time of Nintendo’s latest Direct. The near-simultaneous occurrence of these events isn’t lost on the community, which told Polygon that the coincidence was almost poetic in nature. After suffering through the loss of a home, lost NeoGAF members getting a new Animal Crossing game to animatedly discuss with friends on a website built in the original forum’s image seemed just right.

[Joe Molotov]

You think I'm gonna read all that shit?

[Dennis]

one member told Polygon that conversation with people on the outside is kept to a minimum, to stop other stories from getting out.

That is the Jonestown spirit 

[Eel O'Brian]

'not sleeping a lot'

[benjipwns]

You think I'm gonna read all that shit?

This is a new era free from the burden of history. Embrace your new home, believe in its livelihood, and relish in this occasion. Do not fall victim to the false comforts of the past.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

no, doing this isn't the only reason i made the thread

[close]

[etiolate]

That article is literally GAAAAAAAAAAAMERRRRRRRRRRGAAAAAAAAATEEE

They're really pushing their press contacts hard to have nobody bring up they overlooked and purged this info for years.

[Assimilate]

Do any of these people work? have ambitions outside of posting on a fucking board? these people are fucking scary as fuck.

[demi]

Just want to point out that we are in fact not "alt-right" like some people suggest. Just putting that out there. It's facebook official now.

[Jarrod]

Do any of these people work? have ambitions outside of posting on a fucking board? these people are fucking scary as fuck.

Nope

[studyguy]

Just want to point out that we are in fact not "alt-right" like some people suggest. Just putting that out there. It's facebook official now.

Fuck white people.
 

[MMaRsu]

Just want to point out that we are in fact not "alt-right" like some people suggest. Just putting that out there. It's facebook official now.

Fuck white people.
 

 

[studyguy]

Just want to point out that we are in fact not "alt-right" like some people suggest. Just putting that out there. It's facebook official now.

Fuck white people.
 

 

[Mr. Gundam]

I've heard of like five of those people before.

[studyguy]

How does the reporting on this even happen when there's like 30 discords all trying to scrape together whoever is in ear shot to create a new gaf?

[etiolate]

I still think they should call the place GAFterbirth, but if not that then something fitting like The Foundation Pit.

[Madrun Badrun]

How come all these articles talking about gaf, all of which I have not read, don't mention the bore?

[benjipwns]

How does the reporting on this even happen when there's like 30 discords all trying to scrape together whoever is in ear shot to create a new gaf?

Step one: Gather a bunch of people.
Step two: Organize a status hierarchy.
Step three: Spam media contacts/users on twitter.
Step four: Keep everyone anonymous in the reporting except known twitter/forums shills.
Step five: Spam article link all over twitter.
...
Step ?????: Launch forum.

[Huff]

How do people have time to post on more than one forum. Barely have enough time for the bore

[benjipwns]

lol Lore just opened up the OT Community

Everyone here comes from somewhere else and we mustn’t cling to our nostalgia. Do not fall victim to the false comforts of the past. Remember why we are moving forward and do so with pride.

[BlueTsunami]

lol Lore just opened up the OT Community

Everyone here comes from somewhere else and we mustn’t cling to our nostalgia. Do not fall victim to the false comforts of the past. Remember why we are moving forward and do so with pride.

A siren song, a pulling back of the shower curtains so to speak

[I'm a Puppy!]

My god, the website they like to talk video games on went down. It's not like they'RE refugees

[benjipwns]

Wait, are the #YearZero discord members even allowed to know the OT Community section is back? NO OUTSIDE CONTACT!!!
 

[etiolate]

What would you even be aware of the return of OT if you weren't already looking at GAF, comrdade?

[Bebpo]

Just want to point out that we are in fact not "alt-right" like some people suggest. Just putting that out there. It's facebook official now.

Yeah, uh considering who we got posting here this place has been about the furthest from the right as you can get gaf/etoliate/jaydubya-notwithstanding.

Hope it stays that way.

[Eel O'Brian]

I for one welcome all political affiliations and religious inclinations, as should all my fellow Moonies.

[Oblivion]

So is this site launching tonight or what?

[etiolate]

I'm not even on the right, but thats how crazy the shift has been. Five years ago I'm a hippie and now I'm probably alt-right to these fuckwads.


I do so love that they're doing this YearZero thing when that's the title to a metal song about the end of the world where the chorus is basically hail satan.

[seagrams hotsauce]

I'm not even on the right

[CatsCatsCats]

Doin drugs ain’t make you a hippie

[etiolate]

Oh please line up to tell me which dumbasses think I'm on the right.  I'll keep notes.

ps: I don't do drugs, not even a widdle weed.

[Leadbelly]

A better alternative?

This is gonna be like Atheism+ isn't it?

[headwalk]

my favourite thing about the bore is that it captures that late 90s/early 2000s essence where anything you take seriously about yourself will be used as evidence against you.

[benjipwns]

I do so love that they're doing this YearZero thing when that's the title to a metal song about the end of the world where the chorus is basically hail satan.

Gonna have to stop you there breh, that's just my fake hashtag for it because of the language in their manifesto.

And it's a reference to the Khmer Rogue's philosophy that led to Cambodian Genocide. And I can't believe I'm explaining this to someone who posts as much about politics and the left as you do man.

[etiolate]

A better alternative?

This is gonna be like Atheism+ isn't it?

I think it will be uglier than that. GAF was atheism+. This is like "get rid of the atheism and focus on the plus".

[Eel O'Brian]

but oh man the screen shots, talk about no-effort memes

[Leadbelly]

A better alternative?

This is gonna be like Atheism+ isn't it?

I think it will be uglier than that. GAF was atheism+. This is like "get rid of the atheism and focus on the plus".

Yeah, I think you're right.

[studyguy]

Statistically kicking back oxys nonstop these days prob pins you as a depressed midwestern mom out in ohio instead of a fun hippie.
Everything fun goes the way of facebook eventually.
 

[etiolate]

I do so love that they're doing this YearZero thing when that's the title to a metal song about the end of the world where the chorus is basically hail satan.

Gonna have to stop you there breh, that's just my fake hashtag for it because of the language in their manifesto.

And it's a reference to the Khmer Rogue's philosophy that led to Cambodian Genocide. And I can't believe I'm explaining this to someone who posts as much about politics and the left as you do man.

aww =(

I just wanted to pimp Ghost BC.

And yeah I should have known that. My knowledge of Asian Communist stuff is way less than the eastern bloc shit. To pathetically try to excuse myself, when I was reading and learning about Khmer Rouge it was at college where communist flags waved around, so maybe some of the profs left things out.

[benjipwns]

It was basically the same idea as the Cultural Revolution and "Back to the Countryside" Movement that China did under Mao, only turned up past 11 to like 50.

Unlike China there wasn't anybody like Deng Xiaoping and others to go "maybe we shouldn't slaughter everyone who's attended or taught in schools; just half of them or so that won't get on board with us" and other such ideas to keep the bodycounts down.

It's both the "Reset" and "Era" parts of the name that led to me "YearZero" instead. Also the fact that it's a tiny little spin-off that's cutting itself off from the outside world just helps with the imagery.

[Diunx]

In one of my last gaf post I called EL "dear leader" I'm so passing the vetting process see you suckers never!

[headwalk]

didn't realise until recently that the cultural revolution really took off when universities and student bodies started attempting to one up each other in terms of revolutionary zeal.

[benjipwns]

People volunteered for struggle sessions to prove their bonafides.

[etiolate]

It was basically the same idea as the Cultural Revolution and "Back to the Countryside" Movement that China did under Mao, only turned up past 11 to like 50.

Unlike China there wasn't anybody like Deng Xiaoping and others to go "maybe we shouldn't slaughter everyone who's attended or taught in schools; just half of them or so that won't get on board with us" and other such ideas to keep the bodycounts down.

It's both the "Reset" and "Era" parts of the name that led to me "YearZero" instead. Also the fact that it's a tiny little spin-off that's cutting itself off from the outside world just helps with the imagery.

The bodycounts I know about. I kind of grew up around the families of Communist refugees. Cambodians, Romanians and Ukranians were the basis of my neighborhood friends. They wouldn't ever talk about it, but sometimes they'd have a strong reaction to certain things that I wouldn't understand until many years later.

[studyguy]

People volunteered for struggle sessions to prove their bonafides.

Those hats were nifty tbh

[injurai]

My god, the website they like to talk video games on went down. It's not like they'RE refugees

Acting the refugee, doesn't it perfectly fit their MO?

Came for the video games, stayed for the political games.

[Syph]

Just want to point out that we are in fact not "alt-right" like some people suggest. Just putting that out there. It's facebook official now.

are people actually saying this lol wtf

[BlackMage]

For a site that hasn't even opened yet, that is way too many mods and admins. That place is going to suck

[Tasty]

Those hats were nifty tbh
(Image removed from quote.)

[benjipwns]

For a site that hasn't even opened yet, that is way too many mods and admins. That place is going to suck

don't worry, they're making sure they won't be overwhelmed with users too:

[OpinionatedCyborg]

BronsonLee is a pretty cool guy.

I hate him because he has a great name that I want. Bronson Lee, Champion is one of my favorite films:

[agrajag]

Too many chiefs, not enough indians.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

problematic alt-right proverb 

[close]

[Momo]

Too many chiefs, not enough indians.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

problematic alt-right proverb 

[close]

Typical bubble people, they think everyone is actually going to jump over and they need 3000 staff lmao

[benjipwns]

Actually, that makes me wonder why they're using such problematic language and segregational behavior as naming certain users as admins or moderators and implying they're more equal than the others.

In a way, Evilore's new ANYONE COULD BE A MOD YOU CAN'T KNOW policy is far more progressive in its equality of all members.

[border]

I'm willing to give the place a chance, but I'm not going to beg and plead for a membership.  I'm not sure if I can even be bothered to find out what my Comcast email is, since they are so intent on excluding people using free web-based email.  That rule made sense in like 2003......but at this point everyone's going to have a half dozen burner addresses from their ISP anyway.  I'm not sure why they think that was keeping out the riff raff.

[benjipwns]

People have been sitting around in a Discord for like 4 hours, only to be told it's not happening tonight. 

This has been the best gaming-related site launch since Polygon.

[Tasty]

People have been sitting around in a Discord for like 4 hours, only to be told it's not happening tonight. 

This has been the best gaming-related site launch since Polygon.

Press Resetera

[Coax]

For a site that hasn't even opened yet, that is way too many mods and admins. That place is going to suck

don't worry, they're making sure they won't be overwhelmed with users too:
(Image removed from quote.)

With all the vetting of making sure only properly conditioned former GAF members make it in they barely need mods for the time being.

[injurai]

With all the vetting of making sure only properly conditioned former GAF members make it in they barely need mods for the time being.

they want that powah

[benjipwns]

With all the vetting of making sure only properly conditioned former GAF members make it in they barely need mods for the time being.

THERE'S ALREADY A GATOR RUSSIAN JONTRON WHO HAS INFILTRATED THE BOARD AND LINKED SCREENSHOTS

[Skullfuckers Anonymous]