What inspired you to start Fat, Ugly or Slutty?
gtz: Jaspir! We were chatting and she said that she was always getting messages in Gears of War and that she should screencap them to show us. So she did, and she recorded some of her audio messages, a bunch of us thought it was pretty funny. I don’t usually play with random people online, and even though I knew that there were idiots out there, it was somehow completely different to actually see real messages that a real friend of mine was receiving. It’s like I finally “got it”. Anyway, I jokingly said that she should start a website to laugh at the messages and show that this stuff still happens... and then I realized that actually sounded like a good idea, and everybody else agreed. So our friend Marcus came up with the perfect domain name, and a short time later I had the basic site all set up. Jon helped me secure and stabilize it, and likeOMGitsFEDAY came up with the amazing design.
I really admire what the site stands for, it's so difficult to be the bigger person in these situations and just laugh at them. What do you hope to accomplish with regards to online bullying, if anything?
likeOMGitsFEDAY: We have a couples goals; first, to raise awareness of the issue and ultimately to make it stop. On the way though, we want to call out those doing the harassing and take away their anonymity and let them know they are accountable for their actions.
Jaspir: I have always been an advocate for laughing ridiculous things off that you are told online, so it’s great to hear that the site is bringing that idea forward. As far as what I want to accomplish, I first got into this because I thought the whole idea was funny. I never really had any intention of raising awareness, but we definitely have and that’s cool. One of the things I wanted to make sure we did when we started doing this, was that we didn’t hide the gamertags of the people in the submissions. I wanted them to be seen, because like Feday said, it takes away their anonymity and lets them know they are accountable for whatever they say and do online.
gtz: It started as a fun hobby project just for us and a few friends to laugh at, and I’m happy that this one aspect remains. However, it’s been fascinating to see so many people finally “getting it”, just like I did that first day. Somehow the reality of the online gaming situation has been lost in translation when people speak up about the harassment they receive, so I’m proud of FUoS for showing others what really goes on. Once they finally understand, they can start thinking about ways to change our community instead of just accepting it as part of the game -- an argument which kind of falls apart when we’re talking about Avatar Paintball http://fatuglyorslutty.com/2011/04/05/your-gamertag-speaks-volumes/ and Words With Friends. http://fatuglyorslutty.com/2011/05/02/fewest-dropped-insults/
You must have a pretty tough skin to read through the submissions, but do you ever get submissions that are too offensive/disgusting to put up?
likeOMGitsFEDAY: We’ve decided against posting dick pictures, and there have been some submissions too violent to even make funny.
gtz: We had several lengthy (hurr) discussions about whether we should post dick pictures. I really wish we could post them, honestly, because it’s just another aspect of showing people exactly what is happening in online gaming. If text and audio from Jaspir is what it took for me to understand, I can only imagine the reaction if we showed dick pictures that our readers have actually received. But alas, it’s a risk we don’t have the balls to take. Other than that, most of what we receive gets posted, but the criteria is more about how easy it is to try and make a joke about it.
Have you ever had someone contact you that was the harasser in a submission? If so, what happened?
likeOMGitsFEDAY: Once or twice has a guy posted and been like “that bitch was totally out of line!” or something along those lines of trying to explain their behavior.
gtz: One guy posted a few comments on his post, but he was weeks late and no one took his troll bait. There was also an argument between one of the guys and the submitter in the blog comments. I think there’s one guy who’s still mad on Youtube, judging by his recent comments from a post that was months ago. Dude, you recorded death threats and sent them to an XBL Spotlight member -- I’m surprised that your account still shows activity.
Most online gaming mediums and forums have administrators to enforce rules regarding bullying and harassment. What are your thoughts on their level of engagement with the bullied? Do you think that it's enough? What do you think needs to happen to have a bully free gaming zone? Is that even possible in today's gaming culture?
likeOMGitsFEDAY: I think developers have made VAST improvements on providing ways to deal with harassment, from the reporting systems to the ease one has to mute and block other players. I don’t think gaming will ever be bully-free, due to both the anonymity of the internet and the competitive nature of some titles.
Jaspir: Fortunately, I think all platforms are equipped with ways for you to avoid a lot of the harassing that goes on online. Nobody HAS to put up with it. If someone is bothering you, the best thing you can do is block, mute, and report. Simple. Also, we’ve had people comment before on how the enforcement teams “don’t really do anything” and that’s absolutely not true. They ARE there, and they ARE cracking down. As far as if gaming will ever be bully-free, I don’t think so. It’s sad to say it, but people don’t change and the internet isn’t going anywhere.
gtz: We strongly advocate reporting harassment, and it’s very frustrating to hear the sentiment Jaspir mentioned. If you receive harassment, and don’t report it because you think that nothing will happen, then guess what? YOU’RE RIGHT!! Check out Why Was I Banned? http://whywasibanned.com for hilarious XBL Enforcement team smackdowns of people who broke the rules. As for the community, I think the change honestly has to come from all of us, first. Strong moderation is something I’ve seen work very well in certain online areas, but everybody has to be on-board with the rules and reporting rule-breakers instead of just sitting idly by and expecting someone else to do it.
Do you have any tips for women (and even men) to avoid sexual harassment and online bullying while gaming?
likeOMGitsFEDAY: If trash talk bothers you, definitely stick to party chat and playing only with people you know. There are so many great communities that are more than supportive of female gamers to join. If you can brave the trash talk, though, report the players, or call them out and let them know their behavior isn’t appropriate. Or just headshot the motherf***er, and tell him he can talk s**t when he’s on top of the leaderboard. (works for me EVERY TIME)
I'd definitely recommend everyone go and favorite Fat, Ugly or Slutty right now because it's hilarious (and sad, all at the same time). I really hope that they can continue to encourage more men and women to speak out about online bullying and create something positive from it.
As Always,
LadySnip3r
1 comment:
They aren't particularly present in the book really, save to add some conflict. I recommend it anywho :)
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