In its announcement, the organization said this was done in response to “numerous threats of on-site violence related to this programming”.
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The organizers of South by Southwest, the annual festival where technology and entertainment converge, are responding to backlash after cancelling two panels on gaming culture due to threats of violence.
Those on the other side of Gamergate say it is a movement that is pushing for better ethical practices and transparency by video game journalists.
While SXSW may have been an ideal venue to bring the Gamergate conflict to a peaceful resolution – despite any threats – there are a few “promising solutions” for combating the complex problem of online harassment, said Brody. The SXSW organizers canceled both panels this week.
“Maintaining civil and respectful dialogue within the big tent is more important than any particular session”, Forrest wrote.
Vox Media, the company behind popular sites including food-focused Eater, video game blog Polygon, and other news and tech sites, released a statement saying it would not participate in the festival “unless its organizers take this issue seriously and take appropriate steps to correct it. We will work to find an alternative forum for this conversation and invite others who feel the same to join us”.
When BuzzFeed threatened to withdraw from the conference, it asked SXSW to reinstate both panels; Vox Media, by contrast, asked the festival to ask “host a safe and open discussion of these issues”. Neither organisation has yet confirmed whether they will attend if the all-day event goes ahead, or if only one of the two panels is reinstated.
SXSW has been vague about the online threats received by the company, though such reactions have been a staple of the debates surrounding Gamergate, with open discussions repeatedly being stifled from those who wish to see their respective political agendas remain unopposed by those with different opinions. Everyone is talking about online harassment.
I don’t envy the organizers for the quandary they face between speech and safety, but I assume that pulling off such a large event involves discussions about attendance, messaging, inclusion – and security.
They decided they wouldn’t participate in another round of “well, it is too bad that the online trolls harass people who can’t come to this event but the world moves on”.
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Essentially, last summer, a controversy over ethics in gaming journalism erupted into a social media war on online harassment, especially that of women in the gaming community. “Canceled plane tickets. A disappointed sigh”, Harper tweeted. We trended. The media listened. Online harassment takes place “semipublicly”, though there could be hundreds and even thousands of witnesses, Brody noted.
