Destructoid / IndieGoGo Scam Controversy

Well, hopefully he doesn't lose his job, because he seems like a nice guy. A bit naive, obviously, but not a bad person. Well, if worst comes to worst, he can always work with that other writer who got fired from Dtoid.

Seriously, does every ethical issue need to be looked from a simplistic and narrow "rights" viewpoint? Yes, I'm honestly very disappointed in her (not that I know her), and certainly she made a terrible choice. That doesn't mean people need to form a lynch mob and harass her to death.

I'm more surprised that we're all agreeing and having almost the same viewpoints as opposed to a split down the middle.

But yeah... it should have been moot, but a big deal was made and it escalated. And here we are. Had things not escalated as they did, had words been a bit different, had actions not have been taken, there wouldn't be this lynch mob mentality forming.

edited 17th May '13 8:25:22 PM by Psyga315

As much as I hold little sympathy for the person conducting the scam, I'm more angry at the destructoid for suspending Pinsof for doing his dang job and what a reporter is supposed to be doing and at the people who are upset with him for letting people know what the truth of the matter was.

The person who conducted the scam I'm more disappointed in for thinking it was a good idea in the first place. I'd probably have more anger pointed in their direction if they'd gotten away with it before it was shut down.

What a terrible and complicated situation. That's all I got.

yup

The only thing I can think would make sense, and I think this is the actual case, is that if she was honest, she would have been persecuted for her choice more than if she did the scam. After all, if she wanted to have the operation, why not say it was for that kind of operation instead of lying? It's way too easy to be a logical option, so there has to be some outside pressure that drove her to do this. As with the DEH, I can probably see some sort of gender identity crisis going on in her. If it wasn't for the outing, her attempted suicide could be seen as more of a "get it over with already" thing with the lie of her slowly dying with the shrapnel, though that's my interpretation.

I can see why this lynch-mob mentality is here. If Alistair didn't get suspended, we wouldn't have been shaming Chloe as much. Sure, we probably would have chastised her for scamming, but I doubt it would be as massive. However, because No Good Deed Goes Unpunished and Alistair got punished for doing his job, suddenly we get a little more upset. And reading the forums over at Destructoid, it seems that either the issue is being covered up 1984 style or we're aiming for the wrong side. Yes, this is a really difficult topic to get into. Yes, picking a side is difficult. Yes, there is such a thing as Gray-and-Gray Morality, but for most of us, we're given a bit of information, usually biased towards one side, and the question lingers subtly in the air: "Whose side do you pick?"

edited 17th May '13 9:00:36 PM by Psyga315

It was mentioned about the discrimination problem.

But isn't it possible to find other ways to make money? I don't know if a Loan would work, since you need to tell them what it is for... but maybe the right bank...

Yeah, I've read a lot about it and I still can't really pick a side.

Although, there is a particular argument that yes, he should have reported on it, but he could have handled it a lot better. And apparently he didn't clear this with his employers.

edited 17th May '13 9:05:25 PM by edvedd

^^This site seems to be good for things like that. Hell, I donated to one of the projects on it that was basically raising funds so that someone could transition.

Thanks. That shall be helpful when I eventually tell people offline that I'm transgendered.(that means I am not of the correct physical sex right now)

I don't think it's as gray and gray as some people would like to think.

A person manipulated people into donating money by lying about why they needed it/what they were going to use it for. They said they were dying, no less. Which is wrong - if people are being asked to donate money to help a cause or to help someone out with a problem, they deserve to know what their money is being used for.

The person they told the truth to then let people know what was really going on in an attempt to help the person who was lying in the first place, not even to expose the truth to those who were being lied to. And people then get mad at him for revealing something that people should have known about the pledge drive in the first place in spite of his efforts to help the person that these angry people are attempting to defend.

And then, to top it off, he get suspended for letting people know the full story. Which is what news organizations are supposed to do!

I'll agree that the situation is a terrible mess, but I for one think people are making it more complicated than it really is.

edited 17th May '13 9:25:10 PM by SpaceJawa

Yeah. A clear answer does present itself to those who seek it. But there are always two sides, and the answer is hazy to some who support both.

There is no two sides here. She should've told the truth or found a different way to get money while telling the truth.

She lied about something serious. You don't tell someone you're dying unless you really are. Now, if she said she was giving body surgery, but didn't specify what it was, that'd be a different story.

In fact, if people were to kill her for not turning female, that would be telling the truth(while leaving out bits, but this wasn't the case...)

"Just because there's more than one side doesn't make them all right."

I'm personally more concerned about her well-being than her deception. Not to say the journalist did the wrong thing in telling the truth or that what she did was okay. Though, I do think there are conflicting duties to consider and there's not one right way to resolve them. :S

edited 17th May '13 9:51:57 PM by CassidyTheDevil

We're not saying she isn't a bad position. But she did make herself a victim by doing something wrong.

I honestly hope they can find a better way to finish things without her going to jail or something. Because after that... it will not end well. I do fear for the poor woman. But I cannot condone those kind of actions. What she did was wrong, plain and simple.

I think the fact that it was brought out with a huge news story overall is punishment enough. Same with being fired. It's best to hopefully make sure she stays okay and let her get money the right away without persecution.

She lied to get money. That's wrong without question and I think most of us agree on that.

...but I still think her reasons are sympathetic. Being LBGT puts a lot of societal pressure on you to lie about yourself on a regular basis; at the extreme level it means the difference between being subjected to physical harm and not. Like I said, I think she seriously needs counselling and advice more than condemnation, because it appears she was desperate enough for relief to try and pull this off, then fall back on attempted suicide when it fell through. As mentioned a couple posts ago, there are other places she would have been better off looking for support but not everyone who needs them knows they exist.

Meanwhile, I think the best thing Destructoid could do would be to reinstate the writer's job, maybe with an apology to the offended parties but one that acknowledges that there was no choice here that was 100% right and (as far as I can tell) that he acted on good faith.

edited 17th May '13 10:38:25 PM by Elle

Agreed.

In fact, it would be even better if they attempted to help the poor woman find some appropriate cash, if not show that she was scared of people's reactions to a person becoming a transsexual.(well, if she was scared of that, anyway)

That might just help her along and the LGBT group in general.

Also, an apology to the writer and possibly Destructoid too might be helpful.

I think there's a lot of nastiness on both sides, and it's really just a damn shame. I mean, people from the LGBT community were calling this guy names and harassing him on Twitter. I mean, you figure a group of people who know what it's like to be picked on wouldn't do that kind of stuff, but I guess not.

Every oppressed relishes being the oppressor.

Then it is my hope that they get called out on it.

There was a second thread about the incident after the first one linked in the OP was locked. The founder of Destructoid, Niero, had this to say:

Interpret this what you will. The key thing here seems to be the part where this whole case concerns someone who was pretty damn close to suicide.

edited 18th May '13 2:36:06 AM by Nettacki

So first the money was to develop an indie game, but then it became a life threatening injury, which then morphed into sexual reassignment surgery? Why should anyone believe a word this person says at this point?