History Main / InternetCounterattack

** Later, Quinn's ex-boyfriend [[http://thezoepost.wordpress.com/ wrote a lengthy article]] on Wordpress claiming that she had slept with five guys involved in game journalism (one of whom was married) in order to get positive press for her game ''VideoGame/DepressionQuest''. A Redditor then [[http://www.reddit.com/r/TumblrInAction/comments/2dt5hu/depression_quest_dev_claims_harassment_and/ claimed]] that she faked being harassed and doxxed by Wizardchan users, while a Tumblr blogger accused Quinn of exploiting the death of Creator/RobinWilliams, all for extra publicity. Many responding Redditors and the Tumblr blogger saw their posts being pulled by means of DMCA takedowns, allegedly to prevent further harassment and doxxing, while several game news sites and Youtube personalities including [[Creator/TheCynicalBrit TotalBiscuit]] (the poor guy can't seem to get a break, can he?) saw their articles and videos discussing the controversy being taken down. This lead to numerous users on Reddit, 4Chan, Tumblr, and KnowYourMeme constantly discussing the topic, demanding more information on what really happened, flooding critical comments onto articles [[EverythingIsRacist accusing the protesters of misogyny]], and organizing a protest outside of PAX 2014.

* A group called the Fine Young Capitalists claimed on [[https://soundcloud.com/super-admin/tfyc-confession soundcloud]] that Zoe Quinn was using her influence to keep the internet media silent about their [[https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-fine-young-capitalists--2#home Indiegogo campaign]] to help women get into game design on the grounds that making women work for free was demeaning (never mind it was for charity). In response 4chan launched #4chan4women and started funding the campaign, leading to the funding shooting up $5,000 in a single day. The group even agreed to let 4chan's logo be displayed on the credits of the game and for a 4chan created character, Vivian "Level" James to appear in the game.

* A group called the Fine Young Capitalists claimed on [[https://soundcloud.com/super-admin/tfyc-confession soundcloud]] that Zoe Quinn was using her influence to keep the internet media silent about their [[https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-fine-young-capitalists--2#home Indiegogo campaign]] to help women get into game design on the grounds that making women work for free was demeaning (never mind it was for charity). In response 4chan launched #4chan4women and started funding the campaign, leading to the funding shooting up $5,000 in a single day. The group even agreed to let 4chan's logo be displayed on the credits of the game.

* A group called the Fine Young Capitalists claimed that Zoe Quinn was using her influence to keep the internet media silent about their [[https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-fine-young-capitalists--2#home Indiegogo campaign]] to help women get into game design on the grounds that making women work for free was demeaning (never mind it was for charity). In response 4chan launched #4chan4women and started funding the campaign, leading to the funding shooting up $5,000 in a single day. The group even agreed to let 4chan's logo be displayed on the credits of the game.

** Nintendo of America once commented that [[NoExportForYou they had no plans to release]] ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'', ''VideoGame/TheLastStory'' or ''PandorasTower'' in North America due to localization costs and non-interest from the gaming community. This led to [[http://oprainfall.blogspot.com/ Operation Rainfall]], a fan petition to get them to reverse their stance. Among other things, the group drove ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'' to number one on the Amazon game pre-orders list (under its working title "Monado: Beginning of the World"), spammed the company's Twitter and Facebook pages into oblivion and sent off hundreds of angry letters to the Nintendo of America offices. All three games ended up being localized.

[[quoteright:326:[[GoshHornet http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/swarmcropped_2439.jpg]]]]

* A group called the Fine Young Capitalists claimed that Zoe Quinn was using her influence to keep the internet media silent about their [[Indiegogo campaign https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-fine-young-capitalists--2#home]] to help women get into game design on the grounds that making women work for free was demeaning (never mind it was for charity). In response 4chan launched #4chan4women and started funding the campaign, leading to the funding shooting up $5,000 in a single day. The group even agreed to let 4chan's logo be displayed on the credits of the game.

** On the 4th of July 2014, members of Tumblr's userbase, after months of planning, tried to shut down [=4chan=]. This largely amounted to spamming /b/ with posts and threads relevant to Tumblr's feminist and activist communities, among which [=4chan=] had a reputation as a WretchedHive. While that could be described as a modest failure at best, /b/'s response was prompt and vehement--lurkers proceeded to set up accounts to set up image after image straight out of {{shock site}}s on several very popular tags on Tumblr. Rumors scapegoating 4chan for everything from trying to dupe users into making mustard gas to sabotaging Dashcon (see below) from the inside circulated online for weeks.

* Attempted and most likely subverted in ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline''. The head dev, Al "[=CaptainGeko=]" Rivera, was talking to [=STOked=] Radio about the recent changes to its Duty Officer UI and mentioned that he can't actively use subjective feedback (re: "It sucks. I don't like it.") to improve it for the player base and that it was actually hard to sift through the complaints and ranting to find the actual, genuine feedback in the feedback threads. This lead to the assumption that Rivera was absolutely refusing to listen to ''any negative'' feedback and that he wouldn't change his "baby", leading to some "high-profile" players to walk away. Some of the posters on the official forums cheered over finding out that Rivera cancelled his appearance at the upcoming Star Trek Las Vegas convention, believing that Rivera was punished for his actions. When this was brought up to the Reddit forums, however, they called "bullshit", wanted names of the "high-profile" players and proof that Rivera's cancellation was connected to the walkings, which never materialized.

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** Feminist Frequency has frequently been attacked by people who are wondering where the other one hundred and fifty thousand dollars Sarkessian made has gone- Kickstarter rules prevent her from using it on anything other than what she got the money for (To fund the show, improve production and pay for the games she'd need), yet some have noted that her show has ''barely'' improved in quality.

** Sarkessian got a lot of flack from a video people found from 2010 where she said that she didn't like video games and didn't play them frequently. This goes against many of her interviews, where she says she's been playing games since she was a young child. Combined with the stealing of Let's Play footage, some have accused Anita of simply trying to further her personal agenda with no care towards whether or not the industry actually improves.

** Sarkessian got a lot of flack from a video people found from 2010 where she said that she didn't like video games and didn't play them frequently. This goes against many of her interviews, where she says she's been playing games since she was a young child. Combined with the stealing of Let's Play footage, some have accused Anita of simply trying to further her feminist agenda and doesn't actually care if the gaming industry improves or not.

** On the 4th of July 2014, members of Tumblr's userbase, after months of planning, tried to shut down [=4chan=]. This largely amounted to spamming /b/ with posts and threads relevant to Tumblr's feminist and activist communities, among which [=4chan=] had a reputation as a WretchedHive. While that could be described as a modest failure at best, /b/'s response was prompt and vehement--members of the board got Tumblr accounts and posted image after image straight out of {{shock site}}s on several very popular tags on Tumblr. Rumors scapegoating 4chan for everything from trying to dupe users into making mustard gas to sabotaging Dashcon (see below) from the inside circulated online for weeks.

* After the berserk nature of Amy's Baking Company was exposed by ''Series/KitchenNightmares''[[note]]Incidentally, the episode in question first began when Amy's Baking Company claimed to be the target of Internet bullies making them look bad...[[/note]], the Internet continued where GordonRamsay ended by criticizing the restaurant's rude behavior on their Facebook page. [[http://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/this-is-the-most-epic-brand-meltdown-on-facebook-ever What ensued was an even more psychotic breakdown than what what was displayed on the show.]]

* FireBall20XL, as well as most sites that shared the same domain, was in 2014 undone by one of these. Ever since [[http://shappo.co.vu/post/79334071366/hey-im-going-to-repost-this-because-i-want-it-on this post]] along with a few others was leaked onto Tumblr, it led to dozens of people sharing stories regarding rather horrible experiences at the hands of Bryon Beaubien (aka Psyguy), ranging form abusive relationships (both sexual and non-sexual), pedophilia, manipulation, murder threats, physical and verbal abuse etc. This has only become worse through a case of The StreisandEffect when it was later revealed that Bryon had threatened legal action towards some of the people who shared their stories about him and tried to hide as much of it as possible through copyright claims against Youtube and deletion of evidence of the claims made against him, leading to ''hundreds'' of people reblogging and sharing the posts to as many websites as possible wile pretty much doing whatever they could do get back at Bryon for his actions. It has given him and Fireball 20 XL a bad reputation in many circles [[{{Understatement}} to say the least]].

* ''[[WebVideo/FeministFrequency Tropes Vs. Women In Video Games]]'':

*** The above counterattack got a counterattack of its own, fueled in part by the negative press it received. Supporters of the project began promoting it themselves, openly encouraging as many people as they could to help fund it. Less than a week in, the whole thing, plus stretch goals, was funded. In the end, Sarkeesian was more than 2150% over budget.

* A Global Emoticon was added to Twitch of the Fursona of an Admin's partner. This was seen as an abuse of power but when people complained about it they found themselves banned. More complaints followed and they were banned and threatened in turn. This included popular streams and people who used Twitch as their sole income source. Eventually the offending Admin was taken off the team and the offending emoticon was confirmed to be against the rules and removed. This happened durning the release of the PS4 and Xbox ONE with their much touted Twitch streaming, only drawing more attention.

* Wild Games Studio, the makers of ''VideoGame/DayOneGarrysIncident'' were lit aflame across the internet after they took down [[Creator/TheCynicalBrit TotalBiscuit]]'s review of the game for "monetizing someone else's property." when it reality it seemed like nothing else but censorship. Aside from the video being protected by fair use as a review; the devs actually gave TB a free copy with the implication they knew who he was and what he did. TB himself made a point of mentioning that no less than four monetized videos -- each as popular as his with at least one ''bluntly calling it crap'' -- were left up. Only a few hours later it was revealed that the president of the company helped push his game over the kickstarter limit by paying at least 1,000 dollars out of his own pocket, and also the possibility he bribed Valve employees to approve the game on Greenlight. Petitions to have it removed from Steam similar to ''The War Z'' quickly followed, as well as a massive drop in the quality of reviews and nothing but hate from reviewers and their fanbases. (Ironically, TB himself was content to let them burn as-is, and thinks the petition to have it taken down is unneeded.)

** On the 4th of July 2014, members of Tumblr's userbase, after months of planning, tried to shut down [=4chan=]. This largely amounted to spamming /b/ with posts and threads relevant to Tumblr's feminist and activist communities, among which [=4chan=] had a reputation as a WretchedHive. While that could be described as a modest failure at best, /b/'s response was prompt and vehement--members of the board got Tumblr accounts and posted image after image straight out of {{shock site}}s on several very popular tags on Tumblr.

*** And things got worse from there, especially when someone found the twitter feed of Jennifer Hepler, one of the writers, and things crossed the line into personal attacks on her physique based around comments she had made ''years prior'' wishing for an option to skip combat in favor of story. [[http://www.gamespot.com/features/the-dangers-of-gamer-entitlement-6350732/?cpage=2 Things got out of control fast]] to the point that people sent death threats ''[[MoralEventHorizon targeting her family]]''.

This is the {{inver|ted trope}}sion of ViralMarketing. If someone, anyone, both knows of the offense you are committing and has internet access, they will spread it on the 'Net in any form possible, probably blown out of proportion. The Internet's anonymity allowing for poor taste, libel, and harassment, and its instantaneous communication allowing the hysteria to spread quickly, makes any situation a PR disaster waiting to happen, if not already happening. Before you know it, a stream of viral videos, parodies of your advertisements, and maybe photoshopped pictures of your spouse naked will be ''all over'' the Internet for the world to see. All of this will emphasize the simple (to them) fact that you ''seriously'' screwed up. They will not cease and desist until the "problem" is fixed. In the worst case, they won't cease and desist then, either. (Ask Music/{{Metallica}}.) Depending on the context, there can also be MotiveDecay at play; when something blows up enough, the chance of it being derailed by psychopathic people who just want an excuse to make threats of violence or spew hateful vitriol increases. These people ruin it for everyone, as it's very easy to look at something that started as a totally legitimate grievance but turned into an InternetToughGuy circus and dismiss it as the ramblings of stupid, ignorant boors looking for something to get angry over.

* Dashcon. An ambiguous attempt by Tumblr to have their own convention on July 13th, 2014, has gone down in history as either one of the most elaborate [[IncrediblyLamePun cons]] in internet history, or an example of budget and time mismanagement for the textbooks, and has become the subject of ridicule on the internet. To elaborate, after reaching a successful fundraising goal in 2013, convention goers in Illinois arrived to find an empty room, except for one bounce castle and a children's ball pit. HilarityEnsued:
** First was the now-infamous cancellation of the Q&A session with the ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale'' cast. The event was suddenly dropped by the convention organizers, citing funding problems. The response went [[InternetBacklash exactly as could have been predicted]], leading to rumors that convention goers would be rewarded with an extra hour in the aforementioned ball pit. That ball pit has since become a [[AscendedMeme symbol]] of Dashcon, spawning ''hundreds'' of internet meme images.
** By far the most suspicious part of the entire fiasco, as well as what led to allegations of Dashcon being the work of a [[IncrediblyLamePun con artist]], was the revelation that Dashcon had raised a grand total of more than $17,000 in emergency funding to keep the convention going at the intended location. With how little they had to show for it, some have even begun to suspect that the entire ordeal was an elaborate revenge scheme by [=4chan=], following the InternetBackdraft Tumblr brought on its head just a week earlier, also cited on this page.

** On July 9, 2013, word had gotten out that Nintendo had - for whatever reason - denied EVO the right to stream their ''SuperSmashBros Melee'' tournament. The retribution was swift and immediate, and several protests, petitions, and not more than three hours later, Nintendo had reversed their decision.

** On the 4th of July 2014, Tumblr (reputedly; there are rumors claiming it was some other troll from /pol/ pretending to be them) enacted Project Shutdown4chan, in which they raided /b/ with posts and threads related to the social justice and feminist blogospherein an attempt to shut the site down due to its reputation as a "racist, misogynistic and pure evil” place. While that raid itself can at best be described as a modest failure, /b/'s counter-raid was...swift and brutal to say the very least: flooding dozens of Tumblr tags related to feminism, social justice, and various other fandoms with gross-out pics of violence, sex, and other explicit shock photos.

** On the 4th of July 2014, Tumblr (reputedly; there are other rumors claiming it was some other troll from /b/ pretending to be them) enacted Project Shutdown4chan, in which they raided /b/ with posts and threads related to the social justice and feminist blogospherein an attempt to shut the site down due to its reputation as a "racist, misogynistic and pure evil” place. While that raid itself can at best be described as a modest failure, /b/'s counter-raid was...swift and brutal to say the very least: flooding dozens of Tumblr tags related to feminism, social justice, and various other fandoms with gross-out pics of violence, sex, and other explicit shock photos.