Timeline/2015/April

1 April 2015

 * reports that the Federal Trade Commission is now enforcing their disclosure rules in the case of Sony Computer Entertainment and their PlayStation Vita advertising campaign.
 * The #GamerGate Megathread on The Escapist is locked and discussion is moved to a new Game Industry Discussion subforum.
 * LewdGamer responds to complaints about their writing staff in 'A Question of Etiquette'
 * After Feminist Frequency’s Anita Sarkeesian posts a video about "Positive Female Characters in Video Games" with Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP as an example,, developer of titles such as Doom, Quake, and Alice, strongly disagrees with her position in a Facebook post
 * writes 'Anita Sarkeesian’s New Video May Have Ulterior Motives'
 * David Guyll references GamerGate in 'God of Social Justice War'

2 April 2015

 * releases 'How Anita Sarkeesian (Indirectly) Gave Me New Hope for Video Games: Part 2' wherein she discusses her experiences with GamerGate
 * of StopGamerGate.com discusses female representation in Nintendo games
 * releases 'Perfect Hindsight - Episode 2 - #GamerGate Origins'
 * releases 'Answers for GamerGhazi.'

3 April 2015

 * writes '#GamerGate Succeeds with Ethics Reform, Fails as a Harassment Campaign.'
 * NicheGamer republishes Elysian Shadows Lead Artist blog post,'How Recent Outrages Made Me Question My Writing', as a guest editorial.
 * After 8chan's /gamergatehq/ Board Owner Acid Man posts a sticky thread about the effectiveness of Operation Disrespectful Nod, YellowBoxAdvertising Copywriter, who is "not a part of GamerGate," states "Don't expect any official validation from the people you e-mailed, mostly because people saw what happened to Adobe, Intel, Google (with the image), Dyson, and of course the Coca-Cola Mein Kampf incident."
 * The Firedorn Lightbringer limerick in Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity is changed in the game’s latest patch after the recent outrage at the backer’s request. The updated limerick makes fun of the outrage, and can be viewed here.
 * Cartoonist and YouTuber creates a "less problematic" version of Vivian James as a response to Feminist Frequency's choice of a positive female character in videogames: Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP's The Scythian.

4 April 2015

 * Elysian Shadows' Lead Artist writes 'Offence That Sparks Debate'
 * Firedorn explains the rationale behind the Firedorn Lightbringer limerick in the blog post 'Screw You, Firedorn Lightbringer!'
 * The Firedorn Controversy's resolution leads to articles from both TechRaptor and William Usher
 * TechRaptor's discusses the recent self-censorship controversies caused by Outrage Culture and how they are harming games in the article 'Games are Art… By Committee'
 * A voting campaign for the Hugo Awards known as the Sad Puppies success this year is blamed on GamerGate. You can read about the Sad Puppies campaign in article titled 'Hugo Awards Nominations Swept by Anti-SJW, Anti-Authoritarian Authors'

5 April 2015

 * releases a blog post titled 'Why Are People Opposing #GamerGate Evil? (9 SJWs Who Are Horrible People)'
 * TechRaptor's writes 'Self Appointed Gatekeepers Are Not Advancing the Medium'
 * releases a video about parallels between GamerGate and the Sad Puppies campaign titled 'Shooting Straight: Hugos, #Gamergate & #SadPuppies, O My!'

6 April 2015

 * posts another Indie Dev interview titled '#GamerGate and Progressive Game Development'
 * discusses reaction to criticism, competition, and the gaming media's future and relevance in 'Current Thoughts, Future Plans.'
 * TechRaptor's writes 'Regarding CON and Anti-Semitism' after Zoe Quinn accused TechRaptor of being Anti-Semitic for using a picture of 30 pieces of silver, which was taken for Jew gold.
 * writes a very slanted article about The Hugo Award nominations promoted by Sad Puppies and Rabid Puppies, connecting the voting drive with #GamerGate. Hours later, after significant backlash, Entertainment Weekly first changes the piece’s title and then corrects the story.

7 April 2015

 * A lack of disclosure is found in an article by Kotaku's Nathan Grayson and Editor-in-Chief quickly dismisses the claim.
 * In a study, Johannes Breuer, Rachel Kowert, Ruth Festl, and Thorsten Quandt find that "Controlling for age and education, [...] sexist attitudes - measured with a brief scale assessing beliefs about gender roles in society - were not related to the amount of daily video game use or preference for specific genres for both female and male players." TechRaptor, Niche Gamer, and Spiked Online all release articles on the subject.
 * The Fine Young Capitalists reveals that the Steam Greenlight page for Autobótika's Afterlife Empire is up.
 * NeoGAF reopens the gaming journalism thread and disallows GamerGate discussion. Kotaku's states that "it's nice to have someplace to read/discuss actual ethical issues in game journalism."
 * Less than seven months after launching their website, Goodgamers.us announce they have closed their doors.
 * of StopGamerGate.com discusses the apparent lack of bigotry in GamerGate and how to smear someone regardless

8 April 2015

 * When The Escapist forum goers perceive a change in moderation efforts, with increased bias against the gamers involved in #GamerGate, after moving from the #GamerGate megathread to the Game Industry Discussion forum, a thread on 8chan's /gamergatehq/ board asks anons "to sign up for The Escapist and go breathe life into the Game Industry forum talking about all sorts of industry-related topics [...]." Hours later, Defy Media's Senior Vice President states: "Yes, I’m alerted to it. Eye of Sauron is staring in that direction," followed by Editorial Director of Gaming, who addresses user concerns by saying they were "[...] actively monitoring this and looking into perceived issues and how best to address them." Later, a moderator is demoted on The Escapist forums.
 * New articles by : 'Kotaku Writer Paid $800 to Dev He Was Sleeping With, Without Disclosure' and 'GoodGamers.us Shuts Down'
 * The Telegraph removes the mention of GamerGate from their article about the Hugo Award nominations after receiving feedback
 * Running With Scissors' Postal is not allowed on the Google Play Store due to "gratuitous violence," even though games like Carmageddon and the Grand Theft Auto franchise are accepted
 * releases 'How Anita Sarkeesian (indirectly) Gave Me New Hope For Video Games: Part 3'
 * The National Review's writes about GamerGate and the Sad Puppies campaign in 'Social-Justice Warriors Aren't So Tough When Even "Sad Puppies" Can Beat Them'
 * uploads the eighth episode of ABC Australia's Good Game on female representation in gaming, where evolutionary biologist states "If men have a hard time accepting that women are outperforming them in something, they'll ensure that the women don't have the opportunity to compete in that venue, and that's what you essentially see happening in GamerGate, for example. By not allowing women to compete you won't end up losing to them."

9 April 2015

 * , Polygon's Deputy News Editor, grabs the http://legodimensions.com domain name one day before LEGO Dimensions is announced, makes it redirect to Polygon, claims he registered it based on "rumors on the internet!" and, after being harshly criticized over his actions, says he was "sorry for trying to do a funny thing" and "happy to get rid of it!" GameNosh's and GameZone's  both write articles on the subject.
 * All GamerGate-related discussion hubs launch Operation Earthquake and start tweeting #AreYouBlocked to raise awareness of The Block Bot and GGAutoBlocker
 * TechRaptor's writes 'Sexist Games = Sexist Gamers?'
 * writes 'Long-Term Study Finds No Link Between Videogames and Sexism'
 * writes 'A Broken Robot – The Witchfinder Reveals the Block Bot’s Apparent Ban Evasion… and How to Contact Twitter'

10 April 2015

 * writes 'Polygon Editor Buys Lego Dimensions Website to Link It Back to Polygon'
 * releases '"It's Actually About Ethics In…": A Look Into #GamerGate and #NotYourShield'
 * interviews in 'The Truth About #Gamergate with Syrian Girl'
 * Forbes writer publishes 'New Study Finds No Link Between Gaming and Sexist Attitudes'
 * GameSpot releases an episode of The Point in which discusses the role of the press during the topic of game censorship, stating that "there is something to be said for games press taking logical leaps in service of their own opinion, and ultimately I think that benefits nobody."
 * During a Kotaku Asks session, NeoGAF owner Tyler Malka gives his opinion about GamerGate: "Basement-dwelling virgin subculture needed some way to empower itself, and I guess that way was sending terrorist threats to women for talking about video games. It would be good for a laugh if not for the lives it’s ruined."
 * On Mixlr, Giant Bomb's Jeff Gertsmann talks to a caller, dismisses gaming-press-related issues as a conspiracy, and states: "no, you don't fucking understand, that it was never... that that stuff was never about ethics and the people that tried rile it up and make it about ethics were only trying to make things harder for the people that they perceived to be saying things that were damaging to them and their way of life."
 * In an interview with Polygon's Charlie Hall about the Firedorn Lightbringer limerick in Pillars of Eternity, Feargus Urquhart, Chief Executive Officer of Obsidian Entertainment, states "I know there’s a lot of conversations about censorship and about lots of stuff. Believe me, I’ve read all of it. If people think we’re sort of ignoring it, that’s just not the case. I think in the end it was just important to us, and myself in particular, that the backer was involved. And that’s what we did. We talked with them through email. It was a great person, who understood the predicament, and he made the decision to have that [text] changed."
 * After the success of the AreYouBlocked hashtag, Allum Bokhari, Elizabeth N. Brown, and Robert Stacy McCain all write articles

11 April 2015

 * confirms that his registration for an E3 media badge has been approved
 * publishes a guest article on One Angry Gamer titled 'Games Journalism and Ben Kuchera’s Lack Of Ethics'
 * In a self-reflective post about Operation Earthquake, 8chan's /gamergatehq/ board analyzes what went right and what went wrong and tries to find ways to improve future operations.
 * explains why he thinks ethics in journalism are important in 'Glenn Greenwald, Rape Hoaxes, and Gutless Journalism'
 * writes 'Why the Media REALLY Blames Video Games'

12 April 2015

 * writes 'Study Contradicts Media, Culture Critics’ Propaganda About Sexism in Gaming'
 * In an interview with Badass Digest's Devin Faraci, Joss Whedon talks about GamerGate: "...And with Twitter it’s boiling down to its most simple state. People who have a more nuanced view are just going “Black. White. Left. Right.” because that’s all people have the room to type. And other people read that and it creates this cycle of oversimplification, where, okay MAYBE somebody believes GamerGate actually has ANYTHING to do with ethics in gaming journalism - maybe they somehow believe that - but there’s not even really time to really express that."
 * finds that Cara Ellison failed to disclose her professional relationship with indie developer Porpentine, both Rock, Paper, Shotgun contributors, in articles from multiple outlets, including IGN, Giant Bomb, and PC Gamer

13 April 2015

 * writes 'Games Journalist Complains About #GamerGate While More Corruption Surfaces'
 * uploads 'BadgerPod GamerGate 11: Sad Pound Puppies'
 * Niche Gamer's posts 'In Defense of Game-Based Trash Talking'
 * writes about and mentions GamerGate in an article on The Telegraph: 'Meet the Feminist Who Is Sticking Up for Men'
 * and publish 'GaymerX, a Gay Gamer Support Group, Throws Conservatives Under the Bus'
 * of StopGamerGate.com releases 'Study Shows Video Games Don't Cause Sexism, But My Feelings Say Otherwise.'

14 April 2015

 * GameInformer employee discovered that VG247 had stolen a large portion of his recent article on The Witcher 3, in which he spent several weeks compiling information and getting quotes. VG247 has since updated the article, removing an image and adding a link back to GameInformer's article.
 * YouTube user undercoverdudes uploaded a video which showed evidence that GameSpot, through its GameSpot Gameplay YouTube channel, had stolen his gameplay footage of Combat Arms. Within a few hours of undercoverdude's video being shared, GameSpot made their copy of his video private. states in a comment on youtube that it was sent to GameSpot by the Devs/PR, and that the video team decided to pull it "as it seems like it was just random gameplay."
 * writes 'Report: A Whopping 97% of Gamers Totally Ignore Reviews'
 * releases a new video titled 'Who Is Harassing Anita Sarkeesian?'
 * writes a guest article on One Angry Gamer titled 'ADL and the Propaganda of Sexism in Video Games.'

15 April 2015

 * ShortFatOtaku releases a new video in the 'Indie-Fensible' series titled 'Oh Boy, Boyer! - Indie-Fensible (#GamerGate)', in which they focus on further corruption of Independent Games Festival, IndieFund, Brandon Boyer, and several other people involved.
 * posts an article on Shout Out UK titled 'Online Thugs or Victims: What Exactly Is Gamergate?'
 * Indie developer Zoe Quinn speaks at the Congressional Briefing on Cyberstalking, alongside Michelle Garcia, John Wilkinson, and Danielle Keats Citron. During the Congressional Briefing on Cyberstalking, the National Center for Victims of Crime starts a new hashtag, #StopWebH8, which is immediately hijacked by the gamers involved in #GamerGate and others to raise awareness of the hate spread by the detractors of #GamerGate
 * Polygon's writes an even-handed article on GamerGate when reporting that indie developer Zoe Quinn spoke at the Congressional Briefing on Cyberstalking. Alex Lifschitz, her boyfriend, then questions the language used in the article, to which Crecente replies: "[w]e’re actually discussing updating our boilerplate for GG right now." Later, Feminist Frequency’s Anita Sarkeesian condemns Polygon for not calling "GamerGate what it is, a misogynist hate group targeting women." This prompts Breitbart's Milo Yiannopoulos to challenge Sarkeesian to a debate at E3. A hashtag, #PolygonOnHateGroups, is also created to pressure Polygon into berating GamerGate;
 * writes '#StopWebH8 and How to Write Your Congressman'

16 April 2015

 * Eron Gjoni's appeal for his gag order is in the court system. Donations from Twitter users cover the $300 docket fee.