The result is that Wikipedia and Gamergate have apparently worked together to create a system in which argument is simultaneously advanced in two places: anonymously but “civilly” on-wiki, and off-wiki, also anonymously, with the greatest venom and bile that can be achieved. The Wikimedia Foundation appears disinterested unless the Foundation is vulnerable in court or actively derided in the press. This standard can, in the nature of things, almost never be met because it typically requires an anonymous Wikipedian to confess a crime for which they could be prosecuted. Yes, I know what you're thinking: who would fall for that? It actually works, sometimes.Īrbcom is determined to ignore off-wiki harassment – especially sexual harassment – unless the outside harasser can be tied to a specific, anonymous Wikipedia account beyond a shadow of a doubt. If nothing else works, Gamergate can point to the editor's persistence in the face of all this hounding and argue that they must have ulterior motives - that no one who merely wanted to build an encyclopedia would put up with this. If that doesn't work, some sign of impatience or bad temper can be trumpeted as a terrible violation of Civility, or some grumpy insistence on an issue can be proclaimed to be Battleground Behavior. The outside threats are often sufficient to drive volunteers away. The favored tactic has been to threaten and harass the target off-wiki, trying to find a sensitive area, while hounding and baiting them on-wiki. But hope springs eternal and there’s a bitter rump that still hopes they can succeed right away if they can simply get rid of one or two more editors whom they think are standing athwart their road. That’s a tall order, but it might be realistic, and given a few years of hard work, observers think it they might pull it off. Gamergate’s Wikipedia tactics have soured and hardened as Gamergate slowly accepts that, to take over the Gamergate page, they’re going to need to take over Wikipedia.
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