Tuesday, October 27, 2015
SXSW Interactive Cancels Gaming Harassment Panel Due to “Threats of Violence,” Fails to See Irony
The Mary Sue: Last night, two sets of panelists scheduled to take part in discussions at SXSW 2016 learned that both of their panels had been cancelled: “SavePoint – A Discussion on the Gaming Community” and “Level Up: Overcoming Harassment in Games.” In both cases, the panelists were informed that their panels had been removed from the schedule due to SXSW’s concerns about the public response to the panels and the resources that hosting them would require from SXSW’s staff.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
This entire situation is a perfect example for why these two panels need to happen! I know that harassment is a very important issue in the gaming community, and it never gets discussed and examined to the extent it should because of the cultural makeup of that community, and because of the dominant voices of those backing harassment in gaming.
Of course, I do understand from an organizational point of view why SXSW felt that hosting these panels would not be safe, and that the con would not have the resources needed to guard against the threats of violence. That being said, I think their approach is fundamentally wrong - and it seems like the organizers of SXSW realize that. An update to the article states that after two organizations have decided to withdraw their own panels if Safe Point and Level Up are not reinstated, the con is considering bringing the two panels back on as well as "perhaps even running an all-day anti-harassment forum". If this actually happens, it'll be a great opportunity for an organization as important as SXSW to stand with decency and safety in the online gaming community. Dialogue is always the answer, and I hope that this can foster a healthy and productive discussion on the issue!
Post a Comment