firehose

Scotland has the cutest cows. Highland cattle are usually found in the Highlands, but this one was spotted on Islay when I visited Bowmore in April 2010. 

Jesus. Brianna Wu is someone I consider a friend. Fuck everyone who thinks GamerGate is anything other than haters shitting on women.

— John Scalzi (@scalzi) October 11, 2014

If you think threatening women is a legitimate tactic for anything, feel free to stop reading my work. I don't need you or your money.

— John Scalzi (@scalzi) October 11, 2014

Astounding the number of dudes who think a woman game developer being harassed has nothing to do with a movement founded to harass women.

— John Scalzi (@scalzi) October 11, 2014

And yes, GamerGate was founded to harass women. We've all seen the IRC logs. Part of the plan: recruit others to be their useful idiots.

— John Scalzi (@scalzi) October 11, 2014

And there sure have been a lot of useful idiots letting offering up their services to those who want to harass women! Well done, you.

— John Scalzi (@scalzi) October 11, 2014

Face it, dudes: "GamerGate" is a toxic thing. You can't say you support WITHOUT explicitly standing with those who hate and harass women.

— John Scalzi (@scalzi) October 11, 2014

Excellent post about GamerGate. "If you don’t step away… then you *are* part of a hate movement." http://t.co/IOB0nSiFJE

— N. K. Jemisin (@nkjemisin) October 11, 2014

So stop standing with people who WANT you to be their useful idiots while they threaten women. You can't pretend you don't know anymore.

— John Scalzi (@scalzi) October 11, 2014

You know. We know you know. EVERYONE knows you know. No one else buys into your denial. Just stop. AND repudiate. Stop being used. Simple.

— John Scalzi (@scalzi) October 11, 2014

And if you refuse to stop being a useful idiot for those who harass and hate women, we'll know that too. And remember.

— John Scalzi (@scalzi) October 11, 2014

Game developer Brianna Wu, head of development at Boston-based Giant Spacekat, fled her home after receiving a series of specific, violent threats directed at her and her family on Twitter last night, she told Polygon. Police confirmed they are actively investigating the threats.

The harassment of Wu is the third such high profile event in the past three months involving a woman in games being the target of death and rape threats. In August, Depression Quest developer Zoe Quinn was subjected to threats and harassment, as was Tropes vs Women in Games creator Anita Sarkeesian.

Wu believes she was targeted after tweeting a series of images critical of those who identify with the GamerGate campaign. After tweeting that members of the 8chan message board — a refuge for former 4chan posters — and GamerGate supporters had posted her personal information online, Wu republished a series of disturbing response tweets that contained violent threats and the developer's home address.

"And, here's the part of the night where I call the police," Wu tweeted alongside a disturbingly violent anti-feminist message directed at her. (A good timeline of the events on Twitter are collected at We Hunted The Mammoth.)

Capt. Richard Flynn, investigations commander with the Arlington Police Department, confirmed with Polygon that the incident is now under investigation with the department's Criminal Investigation Bureau. Polygon requested a copy of the police report, but our request was declined.

In an email to Polygon, Wu said she's also been in contact with the FBI and a detective in Boston regarding the harassment. Polygon has contacted the FBI for details on an investigation of the threats.

In the wake of last night's threats, Wu said she and her husband have left their home for "somewhere safe." Wu told Polygon she returned home today to "make sure nothing had been vandalized and to pick up some computer equipment," but said, "I'm not planning on being home for a while."

Plague of game dev harassment erodes industry, spurs support groups

The attack on Wu has continued through today, she said. "Giant Spacekat's financial accounts are currently being targeted by hackers," she tweeted on Saturday afternoon.

Wu also responded to accusations that harassment toward her was fabricated as part of publicity or self-promotion.

"I am a professional developer, and I'd like to think I'm well regarded in this field," she told Polygon. "I can think of no quicker way to destroy my career than making up a false allegation like this, getting the FBI involved and getting arrested over it. It's absurd."

Earlier this year, Polygon published an editorial from Wu in which she outlined the rampant harassment that women in games regularly endure.

"[P]eople think men and women receive the same harassment online," she wrote at the time. "They do not. I'm not writing this piece to evoke your sympathy. I'm writing to share with you what prominent, successful women in the industry experience, in their own words."

Now that Michael Che and Larry Wilmore have turned in their letters of resignation, The Daily Show is in need of funny people. And rather than place a Craigslist ad, Comedy Central has recruited two new correspondents from the ranks of stand-up.

First is Trevor Noah, already a pretty big deal, just in places Americans don’t pay much attention to because they’re not in America. Noah’s talk show, Tonight With Trevor Noah, debuted in 2010, and he was the first South African comedian to appear on The Tonight Show and The Late Show With David Letterman. He has performed four stand-up specials in South Africa, and his first American special, Trevor Noah: African American, premiered on Showtime last year.

Then there’s Hasan Minhaj, who, as his website prominently points out, is not related to Nicki. Minhaj is based in L.A. (for the moment, anyway), has ...