I've written a few articles for [a][s] on the topic of sexism in furry. My most recent one was really just a collection of links to writing on [a][s] on the topic, using Gamergate as an excuse to bring up the topic. That was six months ago.

Now I'm aware that there is a reasonable crossover between furry and Gamergate, and that many other male furries either think that sexism doesn't exist, or that men are the real victims of overly-prescriptive feminism. They are wrong, but I understand how that line of thinking comes about: we all exist inside our own heads and experience the world in our own way.

This was at the forefront of my mind when I wrote an article titled Hate, which carefully avoids mention of those topics, but is intended to make people think about their own behaviour towards groups they disagree with. The meat of the article talks about how disagreement leads to entrenchment of opinion, and how we're all better off doing positive things ("I like computer games") than negative things ("I hate feminism").

Anyway, a Gamergater chimed in on my six-month-old sexism article with the usual, and I engaged him by firstly pointing towards the Hate article, and secondly by avoiding confrontational language. He responded, and... wow. I've seen Noah Berlatsky (Hooded Utilitarian) unmask crazy commenters simply by giving them enough rope to say something foolish/sexist/racist, usually successfuly. And so that proved to be the case here.

There are a few terrific opinions offered. I'd say that it's worth reading the whole comment thread, but that would be a lie, so here are a few highlights.

• Turns out that Gamergate is actually about ethics in game journalism. Who knew?
• Gamergate is also a home for "sex-positive feminists", something which closely ties into the need for ethics in game journalism somehow.
• Gamergaters are known for their creativity and good humour.
• Also our Gamergater strongly implies that he is sexually attracted to GLaDOS.

Anyway, I'm writing this partly because I won't be responding on [a][s]. My getting it out of my system. Any/everyone else: please follow my example and don't respond to him, just leave his comment hanging in the fresh air. (Feel free to read around the site and comment positively elsewhere though.)