Ugh another thread on this... I'll update here with my thoughts from the other thread. (Again.)
1. This Christoforo is an idiot, who liked to pretend he was powerful, was given a tiny bit of power and it went to his head. He is no real criminal and does not deserve half the crap going his way, to believe otherwise is to greatly exaggerate the situation in a way to justify whatever beliefs you hold.
2.
The mob mentality is getting way out of control. (watch the derren brown episode if you get a chance, it's really really good). The post on penny arcade was enough to ruin his career. Exposing past convictions, or personal issues is purely vindictive and his use of piracy and copyright theft are matters of corporate law, not internet hate campaigns
3.
this nerd rage is fueled by the idea that having been bullied they cannot be the bully This is also evident in Gabe's response to the apology. As much as dealing with bullies is important, wishing to see them suffer is not the correct reaction, all it does is change who is the bully and who is being bullied.
4. Vigilante justice is
not smart and often acts without full knowledge of the situation. Look at the Amazon bombs. As much as people think they are being clever and productive, no one here knows the full story. The place where a full story would be examined is in a court, where all legal disputes should be settled.
5. Put aside your feelings towards this man and look at how vindictive the behaviour of everyone trying to destroy him is. It shows badly on our community, it shows badly on humanity itself.
Yes, it is nice that as a community we look after our own, but this is not what is going on here. This is a systemic and deliberate destruction of this man's life.
Know that should you bring him to the point where he ends his life, you, and everyone egging the mob on shall be responsible. (Go and watch the Derren Brown episode. Now.)
I hope that just a few people read this and have a serious think about what is going on here.
I hope they put aside the idea that because this man is "bad" doing anything "bad" to him is right. That may be how morality works in games, but it's not how morality works in real life.
(also)
The dangers of mob mentality are
well documenter and can be incredibly dangerous even when going against
people worth forming a mob to attack
How to create the mob mentality? Lets look
here. Apply the first paragraph to what Gabe's actions were - he consolidated flammable material, provided oxygen to burn and lit a spark - knowing full well what the consequences would be.
Or maybe you think this is justified because of some form of vigilantism? (if you have argued along the lines of "if we don't do this he wouldn't be stopped, then you are arguing for this) yet this is disproved thoroughly
here
Maybe you think internet abuse isn't really that bad? Well it's punishable by law
here (for dark reasons - internet defamation led to a young girls suicide)Or punishable universally in the US
here. (yes not strictly speaking in the direct vein but people are making outright character assumptions without full knowledge of situation - with the "roid rage comments" and anything related to the closed court case of the domestic violence charge)
Please people - I've gone to the trouble of laying out quite a lot of informative research, do at least look at it before replying to it. There is no adequate defence for this sort of action - it is this sort of righteous knee jerk reactionary crowd mindset that we must be wary of. To see a body of people coming together to applaud a mans suffering for what is, on the grand scale of things, very petty crimes scares me.
(His company behaviour is what has got him in hot water - the domestic violence and drug use charges are fairly unsubstantiated, and if the first one is in fact the man in question, then it has already been decided in the court, who are much better placed to mete out appropriate punishment)
Neither the ends nor means here are justified.
my feelings exactly