Lets laugh at Jack Thompson.

[Guest]

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=12333

http://www.penny-arcade.com/

Its nice when someone you dont like goes out of their own way to make a fool out of themselves.

[Doc]

Been watching all of this and I find my self laughing uncontrolably.

That guy is a jerk.

And he's an idiot too.

Not the shiniest peanut in the turd.

[Occhidiangela]

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=12333

http://www.penny-arcade.com/

Its nice when someone you dont like goes out of their own way to make a fool out of themselves.
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Let us rather ignore him, as he is an attention whore.

OBTW, Tycho and Gabe PWNED him with the charity gambit. :D Bravo to the two lunatics of PA.

Occhi

[Mephista]

And now he's calling in the lawyers and sueing them for "harassment" by their donation?

Thhpt. =P

[DeeBye]

That guy is whacko. I don't know why he gets as much publicity as he does.

[Armin]

More Mad Jack Thompson fun:

http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/?t=arch...2005-08-08

http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/?t=arch...2005-10-12

[NiteFox]

The e-mail conversation he had with Scott of VG Cats was borderline insanity. ("You e-mailed me first," "No, I didn't." "Yes you did, I'm suing you."). I believe the link is (though I can't actually verify it right now) is this.

Blah, anyway, the correct link is somewhere in PA's news archive if I'm wrong.

[Mithrandir]

I wonder if he knows that he's a moron or if he's just a complete loony. The sad part is that this attention whore "crusader" mentality is very common in politics - if it's not "video games made him do it" it's "rap music made him do it" or "vanilla ice cream made him do it."

Let parents do parenting and get the #$%& out of our lives government.

[Jester]

"rap music made him do it" or "vanilla ice cream made him do it."

Vanilla Ice, or Vanilla Ice Cream?

-Jester

p.s.: Apologies to everyone for mentioning Vanilla Ice in any context whatsoever.

[roguebanshee]

That guy is whacko.  I don't know why he gets as much publicity as he does.
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Threads like this. News items like the linked ones.

[aaa]

Vanilla Ice, or Vanilla Ice Cream?

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Apologies or not,
You're fired :angry:

*pays the nice Mr. Trump person*

[Mithrandir]

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20051019-5458.html

It looks like he might be getting the smack he deserves.

Edit:

Vanilla Ice was awesome in TMNT II if I do say so myself.

[Occhidiangela]

Vanilla Ice, or Vanilla Ice Cream?

-Jester

p.s.: Apologies to everyone for mentioning Vanilla Ice in any context whatsoever.
[right][snapback]92725[/snapback][/right]

Forgiven, of course, but let's keep it down to a dull roar, shall we? :D

*wanders off to scrub brain with Crown laced caffeine due to Vanilla Ice having been mentioned.*

Irishman: "We drink to forget."

Literalist: "To forget what?"

Irishman: "To forget the things we do when we drink."

Literalist: "Nice self-licking ice cream cone you have crafted there, mate."

Irishman: "I may be a lush, but I am no fool." ;)

Occhi

[Occhidiangela]

Update: It ain't just Tycho and Gabe, apparently all of Pennyhood rose up in righteous indignation, and applied their considerable gray matter to this case.

Mr Thompson forgets that the gaming community is made up of more than GTA crazed teenagers, I think. There are some smart people in there, and if he thought taking on Tycho and Gabe was a matter of him vs two guys, he truly does not understand how the gaming community and internet communities function. I wonder if he understands how regular communities function. I'd offer that he, with his brand of tortious litigation, is part of the community dysfunction problem. (I think he got his start as an ambulance chaser, not sure.)

How Pennyhood Struck Back

Occhi

[Raelynn]

There's more to it. Gamespot got a reply from Jack claiming that they can't investigate him because of some civil rights violation (no idea what he means). It stems from something that apparently is used to keep a lawyer from a case and was supposedly used against him by lawyers from pornography groups or something.

Here's the link:Gamespot's Article?

If anything, I think that the thing that should get him in trouble is the correspondance with Scott from VGcats.com, because he was basically insulting and libeling (slandering?) someone who he initiated contact with. And then he claimed that Scott initiated the contact. Some of the other stuff I can see as him not being held accountable for but he also doesn't have the right to hold anything against Penny Arcade.

I do think that some of the penny arcade forum-goers are going overboard with the threats they've supposedly called him with. I don't agree that Penny Arcade is using "the Internet to orchestrate criminal harassment of me" as Jack put it. What people do is their own choice. No where did Gabe and Tycho say to threaten the guy.

[Occhidiangela]

If Thompson can show that either Jerry or Mike encouraged threats by registered members , he may have a case. His other recourse is to appeal to the ISP if any significantly illegal activity has been perpetrated via that site, but I think the PA lads are clever enough not to stumble like that.

I seriously doubt they endorsed a harassment campaign, indeed, their donation was the one thing they did to hoist him on his own petard, and there ain't much he can do about that. Since they are the owners of the site, any action he takes against them vis a vis the independent actions of their fanbase will die on the vine of freedom of speech, which his anti-fans are exercising just as he exersices his. Unless explicitly endorsed by Jerry Jones, for example, a Dallas Cowboys fan setting fire to the tree in my front yard does not open a door for me to charge Jerry Jones with arson.

Had Gabe and Tycho endorsed a campaign of threats, etc, that would be another story. Selling t-shirts that say "I Hate Jack Thompson" is free speech, though perhaps in this idiotic age, it would be called hate speech . . . if a t-shirt can talk.

Occhi

There's more to it.  Gamespot got a reply from Jack claiming that they can't investigate him because of some civil rights violation (no idea what he means).  It stems from something that apparently is used to keep a lawyer from a case and was supposedly used against him by lawyers from pornography groups or something.

Here's the link:Gamespot's Article?

If anything, I think that the thing that should get him in trouble is the correspondance with Scott from VGcats.com, because he was basically insulting and libeling (slandering?) someone who he initiated contact with.  And then he claimed that Scott initiated the contact.  Some of the other stuff I can see as him not being held accountable for but he also doesn't have the right to hold anything against Penny Arcade. 

I do think that some of the penny arcade forum-goers are going overboard with the threats they've supposedly called him with.  I don't agree that Penny Arcade is using "the Internet to orchestrate criminal harassment of me" as Jack put it.  What people do is their own choice.  No where did Gabe and Tycho say to threaten the guy.
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[Doc]

On a related note, here at the Lounge, we have our own considerable grey matter, which is what keeps me hanging out here. I have never in all my ventures online found such a weird collective of people as I have here and Realms Beyond.

I dunno. I like stuff like this when it happens. Some people really need to have their jaw jacked. This whole episode of real life has tickled me.

Now, I really should be getting back to work. I am beta testing a new game. Avernum IV.

[[wcip]Angel]

Sorry to ressurect this thread from the dead, but I felt this needed attention, despite Occhi's advice on ignoring this vile creature.

For those who didn't hear, a young gamer killed himself a few days ago.

In regards to this tragedy, Jack Thompson had this to say:

"Your "gamer friend" will find peace through the Lord, Jesus Christ, but sadly it's
too late for that.

There is a void in every heart. You can fill it up with the things of God, or the things
not of God. This unfortunate soul chose to fill it up with combat games. The playing
of these video games is masturbatory activity, meaning senseless self-stimulation.
If you gamers could use a dictionary you would know that that term is not
necessarily a sexual one.

The real tragedy here extends beyond the life and death of this one fellow. There
are literally millions of young people and young adults whose despair is deepend
by turning to the things of this world and then finding them meaningless.

All of you gamers need to put down the controllers and get a life. The utter inanity
of the vast majority of postings here shows how vapid "gaming" really is.

You are one of the cheerleaders for this wasting of time and the wasting of lives.
Do you feel any remorse for having contributed to this "culture of death?" Of
course not. Hey, let's all play MORE games, and ignore all the really productive
things to do with our lives.

Let's pretend to be shocked that a gamer might descend into deeper depression, as
his gamer "buds," knowing he was killing himself, couldn't figure out how to call
911 themselves for him. That would have involved leaving their computers I guess.

Sad. Sad for all of you."



----------
Ambitious to the point of evil; I cannot understand how a man who calls himself a Christian could abuse and sully the name of this poor young man along with his family to promote his own agenda. It's depressing to think about.


Metalgearsolid.org (where the victim was a member) had this to say:

"Once again, Mr. Thompson, you've proven that your ignorance knows no bounds.
We're not going to participate in this war you wish to wage against us -- we're
bigger than that. We're bigger than you.

This is a case where our tragedy is greater than the sum of our transgressions. The
fact that you want to exploit the loss that both we and his family have suffered to
forward your own selfish, religiously driven ambitions speaks volumes about the
integrity (or lack, thereof) of your character, and it only serves to strengthen our
resolve.

You can continue to try and discredit us and insult us, though no true man of God
would do such a thing. We pity you and your ignorance, and only hope that
someday you can come to terms with and mature away from your biggotry. As
Metal Gear Solid fans, we have learned to believe in the best of individuals. We've
learned to show charity. We've become better people, and through the loss of our
friend, we've become a closer-knit community.

We forgive you, Jack, and we hope that God will do the same for you."


---
While Occhi's advice may have appeared sound in the past, I can't defend this stance any longer. Thompson has now gone from being an annoying attention-whore to ... well, I can't seem to find a label for him that wouldn't break the rules of conduct here on the Lounge, so I'll refrain from trying to find one.

This person should be stopped.

[Doc]

I wish Jack would tell the world that he is hardcore.

Son of a bitch.

[Occhidiangela]

For those who didn't hear, a young gamer killed himself  a few days ago.

In regards to this tragedy, Jack Thompson had this to say:

[i]"Your "gamer friend" will find peace through the Lord, Jesus Christ, but sadly it's
too late for that.

There is a void in every heart. You can fill it up with the things of God, or the things
not of God. This unfortunate soul chose to fill it up with combat games. The playing
of these video games is masturbatory activity, meaning senseless self-stimulation.
If you gamers could use a dictionary you would know that that term is not
necessarily a sexual one.
==And So Forth And So On==

While Occhi's advice may have appeared sound in the past, I can't defend this stance any longer. Thompson has now gone from being an annoying attention-whore to ... well, I can't seem to find a label for him . . .[right][snapback]99916[/snapback][/right]

One way to look at it is that Thompson in trolling with a purpose, and is taking it well beyond internet or usegroup forums, discussion boards, fansites, etcetera. He strikes me as a less polished Bill O'Reilly (Farce News wag) with the kicker that he tries to make money on litigation.

He is like Michael Dukakis in that he strikes me as the man most likely to have worn black socks with his sneakers in gym class.

Occhi