Gaymer Sub-Reddit Faces Legal Threat

[Nurb]

Vizzini said he sent the cease-and-desist letter after a request that the sub-reddit change its name went ignored.

They didn't listen to me when I said to stop using a common term? INCONCEIVABLE!

 

[Paradoxrifts]

And why, what have you tried calling out the gay community for? Shoving it down your throat? Waving it in your face?

I find highly objectionable when they make me choke it down.

But whenever I raise my voice in protest they get it up all in my face, like they want me to do something about it. They act like I should be glad they came or something.

I mean I don't mind playing with them, but is it too much to ask for them to reach around and show me the same courtesy I show them?

Man, I could do this for weeks.

 

[Slayer_2]

Can I just say this?

"Gaymer" Is an incredibly lame ass pun and I would be embarrassed to be known as one. I mean isn't the whole point of all this tolerance/no-stereotype crap and what not supposed to be that your sexual orientation isn't your sole defining feature? So then why do you have to go to such lengths to make sure everyone knows your a gay gamer? The fact that you're gay shouldn't really matter, right?

I would disagree. Tolerance is about groups being able to be open to what they are and not facing ill judgement. Furthermore while sexual orientation is not a "sole defining feature" it is a hot topic when it comes to civil rights at the moment therefor it would be best if they are very open and make their presence known. Just think of the African American civil rights movement, if they did what you are suggesting it would have been a complete failure.
Sexuality does matter, not in a right or wrong way but it is part of people and that is what makes it valuable and why it should be respected and welcomed to be openly expressed.

But do you really need to tell people on the internet (whom you're very unlikely to ever meet, nevermind bone IRL) your orientation. I don't go around telling people how straight I am online and how much pride I have over it, why should gay people do that? You could argue that it's because being straight is the norm, but why does it matter what your sexuality is online? Or your gender? Or your race? Most of the time, people won't know unless you tell them, and that is the beauty of the internet, some freedom from our physical forms.

 

[Woodsey]

And why, what have you tried calling out the gay community for? Shoving it down your throat? Waving it in your face?

I find highly objectionable when they make me choke it down.

But whenever I raise my voice in protest they get it up all in my face, like they want me to do something about it. They act like I should be glad they came or something.

I mean I don't mind playing with them, but is it too much to ask for them to reach around and show me the same courtesy I show them?

Man, I could do this for weeks.

It is a lot to swallow, I must admit. And it's not like you can just bum around with them playing without it inevitably coming up. If you don't grab it with both hands and throttle it to the ground straight away then you're just left with a subject that's near-enough impenetrable, yet ripe for a good seeing to.

 

[Elate]

Oh god can we please stop using that abomination of English language completely? It's horrible.

I'm a gamer that is gay not a.. a.. gaymer.. I FEEL DIRTY. Though honestly I do thing things like this are counter productive, as with the women centric events, all it suits to do is create isolation really. We don't need "alliances" or other bullshit, we just need people to be accepting.

 

[Something Amyss]

Wow i've heard the joke about gay divorce but who saw gay trademark trolling coming.

Errr...You don't seem to understand what "trademark trolling" is.

 

[Something Amyss]

Most of the time, people won't know unless you tell them, and that is the beauty of the internet, some freedom from our physical forms.

And that, brother, is exactly why so many gays and other minorities take to the internet.

 

[Olrod]

So you think you own a pun? Tell me more about how that's working out for you.

Is this like Old McDonald owning a farm, until he got sued by a fast-food burger franchise?

 

[WickedFire]

When I saw the title I thought it would be to do with Gaymers Cider, I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned it yet. Or is not a known brand in the US?

 

[Slayer_2]

At this time they have to be vocal as they are currently fighting for equality. Furthermore the topic of the article don't appear in anyway to even be openly vocal to those who don't want to hear it to begin with. They are their own little group on reddit and likely fully welcome people of any sexuality to get involved in the discussions. I'm sure they likely have interesting discussions that do and don't involve sexuality at all. How are you against this? Would it really be so terrible if homosexuals got together and talked and letting it be known that they are such?

I don't really care about them doing their thing on blogs or whatever, I'm more addressing the gamers, or "gaymers". It grates on my nerves almost as bad as "gurl gamerz", AKA people that openly brag about their sexuality/gender in game to get a reaction. It's attention whoring, and no one wants to care about that when fragging away in a game.

I'd actually like to suggest you watch Jim Sterling's video on boycotts vs tantrums. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/vid...Why-Boycotts-Fail-Where-Whining-Tantrums-Win

Seen it, I'm a big fan of Jim.

While I am not suggesting unruly behaviors are needed but rather if you change a few key words he would easily be explaining what people need to do to achieve equality. They have to grab attention and not sit in silence. They have to be loud, they have to be out.
You as a heterosexual do not receive any sort of oppression due to your sexuality.
If they are not out and open during this crucial time not only will it be devastating to the advancement on human rights but it will also make them appear to be shameful and those who oppose equality will point that out and use that as they are shameful thus "admit" to it being wrong. If they aren't loud and proud they will fail.

And I applaud them doing it in real life, or in online posts. But please leave sexuality out of my shooter gaming sessions. The last thing on my mind when I'm playing Red Orchestra 2 is gay rights while I'm virtually struggling to survive the most brutal war in history. Gay pride parades, sure, I've been to two before, and they don't bother me. Making your name "gaymer" or something is fine, go crazy, but one guy got on the mic and started blabbing about gay rights during an intense match. After getting killed due to barely being able to hear anything, I muted him. In RO2's community defense, he was NOT met with cries of "******" and such, but instead was told to just shut the fuck up for being so annoying. There is a time and place for things, please use discretion choosing when to bring up such topics.

Chances are you are not against it when women did it.

Yes, I was alive in the 20's and standing there holding a sign saying "women aren't real people"...

Chances are you weren't against it when African Americans did it.

Again, I wasn't alive 50 years ago. Nor am I against gay rights, why would I be and where did you get that idea? Did I ever say "I hate gays, they are sub-humans and don't deserve to be on the internet"? I don't recall so if I did.

There is no real difference between any of these except which group of people it represents. Homosexuals are doing it today and it would be foolish not to. This is just as honorable and worthy of a cause than those above.

And I'm not saying don't fight for gay rights. I'm saying be smart about when you're doing it. If you annoy other people by doing it in the wrong time and place, or in a bad way, you risk harming the cause.

As for the internet, those other groups back then would have made full use of it during if they could. In-fact they do so right now as their fights still are not completely over.

The internet is a big place, there is a place for everything, but make sure it's in the right area, like I've said way too many times now. Please stay out of my multiplayer shooter games.

There is no shame in using any tool necessary to reach the positive goal that any person or group are reaching for. This is something that should be encouraged and supported not ridiculed. I hope you evolve your ways of thinking and grow within time and change your view on this matter.

Best way to jade my views on a cause are to bring it up in the wrong way. Be respectful about when and how you do it.

And that, brother, is exactly why so many gays and other minorities take to the internet.

Exactly, here you can be whatever you want. Lie, or omit about whatever you like. Why is sexuality relevant in a war game? Or really any game. I have yet to play one where it matters.

 

[Rellik San]

More to the point...

When do you think the Gaymer Cider Company; http://www.gaymers.co.uk/ (Yes it is a real thing), is gonna start suing all of these people, given I think their copyright on the name preceeds this Vizzini fellows... INCONCEIVABLE I know, (and yes I know that jokes already been made).

 

[Eternal_Lament]

Relax buddy, let them use it. If its a community that brings like minded and tolerant people together, where's the harm? Aren't there bigger things to worry about?

Unfortunately even if it is a community thing he HAS to do this. If he doesn't, the next time someone uses the term gaymer when creating a website or something of the like that is clearly meant to be a copy of what his site is like, then he will be legally unable to do anything about it because the fact that he allowed this to happen and do nothing about it would suggest that he was done using the name. He essentially would lose the copyright/trademark.

OP: This issue has a few odd ends. The first is the whole "gaymer has been around since 2003", but I've never heard of it before. In fact, I've never heard the term gaymer before until earlier this year when we were talking about Gaymer Con (a word I assumed was coined for the con). Even then it's hard to say where I put myself side wise in this case. On the one hand it is simply a reddit community, so it's unlikely to be something bigger than the min site, but at the same time copyright laws are unfortunately strict about these things, not just in what constitutes as copyright infringement but also the action one must take if they wish to keep the copyright. The reddit group could make the argument that as a common phrase it shouldn't have been copyrighted at all, but again most people in the gaming community (and even the gay gaming community it seems) seemed to have never heard the word before, which sort of hampers the whole "common phrase" argument.

 

[Xersues]

It's very funny to watch people argue over these debates and they usually fall in this order:

1) One makes a broad claim
2) Someone else claims they're the exception to disprove the broad claim
3) Person redefines claim with potential attack
4) Argument shifts further away from any core competency using one or more logical fallacies


To make it short, any attribute/topic that makes individuals discomforted is met with resistance. By nature we (usually) learn not be around discomfort for long. Overall, it is a social faux pas to push certain attributes ad nauseum. Whether it is money, race, gender, hair color, what have you.

So when one asks: What is the big deal about this "Gaymer" group and I thought we shouldn't see you that way as a defining feature?

Because certain people are persecuted by their attributes: physically, mentally, or legally. Some attributes need to be persecuted, such as those that harm the peace or are harmful.

Peace and harmful are very subjective though. There are people that believe being gay is harmful. They are allowed to believe that, but unless the prevailing fact and opinion is turned positive, future generations will continue trying to persecute that attribute.

How many people were still alive during the women's rights movement or the separation of white/black? Not many anymore and many generations are growing up without a legal barrier suggesting they think a certain way. The environment has a huge impact on HOW we perceive the world.

Those groups exist to change opinion and to protect legal rights. Also to counteract groups of a dissenting opinion. Being loud or pushing an attribute by choice is some individuals choice to expose discomfort, mock it, and start a dialogue to attempt to change perception.

Having to hide is usually never a concern or understood by those that can happily stand out in the open. Having the empathy or capacity to understand, makes all the difference.

 

[Paradoxrifts]

And why, what have you tried calling out the gay community for? Shoving it down your throat? Waving it in your face?

I find highly objectionable when they make me choke it down.

But whenever I raise my voice in protest they get it up all in my face, like they want me to do something about it. They act like I should be glad they came or something.

I mean I don't mind playing with them, but is it too much to ask for them to reach around and show me the same courtesy I show them?

Man, I could do this for weeks.

It is a lot to swallow, I must admit. And it's not like you can just bum around with them playing without it inevitably coming up. If you don't grab it with both hands and throttle it to the ground straight away then you're just left with a subject that's near-enough impenetrable, yet ripe for a good seeing to.

I admit, there is a little resistance at first, but if you butter them up with pleasantries then you can push through deep into the meat of the matter. You just need to apply yourself vigorously, even if it takes hours upon hours of brow moistening effort. And really, if we all gather round in a circle, and give the issue the hard honest debate that needs to happen, even if it feels like we're flogging a dead horse, so long as we come to a conclusion we can all live with then it doesn't matter if we feel a little spent afterwards.

 

[ascorbius]

This is all I'm going to post. It's sooo appropriate.


What a great name.

Aw, I miss Apocalypse Lane.

 

[Paeson Thompson-Ferrell]

@ Slayer

Who exactly are you talking about, who "brags" about their orientation in games? I have played tons of games and I've never heard a single person mention their sexual orientation just out of the blue to "brag". I just cannot imagine any gamer on a realm chat saying "Hey everyone, I'm gay! That makes me cool right?" wtf are you talking about?

In fact, the only time I have ever heard a gamer mention their orientation was when other players were making disparaging remarks or calling other people gay slurs, at which point the gay person would say "hey dude, you know I'm gay right? so please don't call those people ks'ing us f@ggots >.>"

The next time you see someone just out of blue say they are gay for attention, screen shot it. So that I believe you.

 

[Something Amyss]

Exactly, here you can be whatever you want. Lie, or omit about whatever you like.

So then why hate on people who want to find similar people on the internet?

I have yet to play one where it matters.

Correction: You are yet to play one where it matters to you, someone with the privilege of being considered the "correct, default" sexuality.

It's really easy to say "it doesn't matter" when you're coming from a position of privilege.

But alas, I'm certain this falls on deaf ears.

However, I must ask: If it doesn't matter, then where's the problem displaying gay characters and gay gamers?

 

[Slayer_2]

So then why hate on people who want to find similar people on the internet?

As long as they keep it in appropriate places, it doesn't bother me. If I'm in a virtual world war 2, it's not what I'd consider the appropriate place to bring up gay rights.

Correction: You are yet to play one where it matters to you, someone with the privilege of being considered the "correct, default" sexuality.

Because sexuality is such a hot topic in games? Mass Effect had the audacity to have one PG-13 rated hetro sex scenes, and holy shit, the fallout was huge. Most games I play involve various methods of killing, wars for survival, and lots of guns. Not sex of any variety.

It's really easy to say "it doesn't matter" when you're coming from a position of privilege.

But alas, I'm certain this falls on deaf ears.

No, it's easy to say "it doesn't matter" in a game about world war 2. A game where I can't even understand the soldiers (they are either Russian or German), a game where it is completely multiplayer, and the only story is told in a quick blurb on the loading screen. It's war, you shoot at the enemies till they are all dead or you are killed. Red Orchestra 2 is the game I play the most, almost exclusively, with a break for Rainbow 6 Vegas 2 every so often. Now, if a single-player game with actual developed characters had a gay character, that's fine, I'd prefer they avoid the grating "flamer" stereotype, but otherwise, go crazy. But again I ask, in most games, what is the relevance of sexuality at all? Most games do NOT show sex or mention it. So the characters' orientations DO NOT MATTER.

However, I must ask: If it doesn't matter, then where's the problem displaying gay characters and gay gamers?

It matters if it's forced. If it's done just to say "look guys, we put a gay in this game!". In some games, there is just not place for sexuality, period. In other there are. Do it well, though, or at least with an ounce of common sense.

EDIT: By the way, three. That is the number of games I've played with any sex in them at all. I've played god knows how many games back in the day, most of them are SP.

 

[The White Hunter]

C'mon guys, even straight men talk about how rugged David Hayter is.
so fucking rugged

Damn David Hayter is ruggged. Extremely attractive man he is.
I think this thread now needs to be about David Hayter and how manly he is.

The things I'd do to David Hayter.

OT: Whole thing is stupid. The term is dumb. Law suit is dumb. Etc.