Jack Thompson calls for a truce
by Conrad Quilty-Harper 
{ Oct 21st 2005 at 7:10AM }
According to the Inquirer, Jacko has sent a letter to the
Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) and the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA), which
declares that His Royal Highness Thompson would like to meet up and settle differences.
Apparently he'd like to get the industry to start regulating itself, which would avoid any Government interference.
Naturally, Thompson would be a key moderator of any talks (c'mon, he has to get something for his tireless
efforts).
Frankly, it wouldn't be surprising if the VSDA and IEMA ignored this letter. Thompson is fast losing his credibility
and this last ditch effort shows it. Making empty threats isn't helping his cause, "if the industry allows the current
opportunity to slip by, there may be no turning back. "Trust me," he says, "I know what I know." What exactly does that
mean, and how should we feel about Thompson knowing what he knows?
The industry is constantly seeking to regulate the sale of violent games to minors. In fact we were talking about it
yesterday in our article about the ESRB's proposal to simplify
game ratings. Does the industry really need an abusive lawyer from Florida to tell it to regulate itself? This guy
has accused our readers of being retarded and has
even told us to "Go to Hell more quietly". How
does he think he has the right to tell any body to regulate itself?
[Via digg]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nico @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
While i support the restriction of selling violent games to minors, Jack Thompson can go to hell.
After listening to him calling Bully "a murder simulator in a school setting" i really started to wish for him to fall over and break his wrist.
Hahahahaha @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Nobody likes you Jack. You have been an arse for too long, to too many people. I hope you never work in law again.
010111 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
to me it looks as if he may have finally realized he screwed up with his endless threats and inane posturing. i'm guessing he is seeing that 'whoops! i done dig myself too deep this time!' as his letterhead is quickly in jeopardy of losing the "Attorney At Law" byline.
thinks if he kisses up every so slightly he can convince enough people to let the heat of him a bit long enough to dodge any disciplenary action by the FBA. then 6 months later he'll be right back to his same old shenanigans... and still a licensed attorney.
i don't buy it for a bit. adn his past actions alone dictate that something be done. don't let him fool you! this truce is just as self-centered self-beneficial as all his other actions.
Zack C. @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
So Jackie wants a truce eh? Nope. I don't want him to reach any type of agreement with anyone. Hearing of his exploits is one of the few things that bring joy to my sad life.
Gimbal @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Jack, are you haunted by your childhood? Were you unable to physically defend yourself from bullies so all you could do was make a bunch of empty threats and hope they were stupid enough to believe them and go away? Is that was spurned you to become a lawyer, to right the wrongs you experienced in your youth?
Jack, stop chasing the ghosts of a time long gone. You need to come to terms with these inner demons of yours, have a good cry or something. You'll feel better.
Also, I recommend Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney for the Nintendo DS as a recovery aid to help you out of your shell and bridge this gap you've created between us.
And if you don't, well ____[Insert empty threat here]____! Trust me.
CoffeeJedi @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Gimbal, you forget to add "or else!" to your empty threat :)
Shmargin @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
www.gamepolitics.com is reporting that the King of the Retards himself, Jack Thompson, sent a letter to some US Atorney guy, uh oh, hes trying to get the help of REAL lawyers...Nah, I'm still not scared, hes still just a little ass wipe with no case legally, i think this will fall into the same catagory as his stupid fax to chief of police in Seattle.
Shmargin @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Oh, and his email greytop@comcast.net is gone, he'll probably have to get another new one till gamers figure that one out.
Gimbal @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
...or else I'll send a hurricane after you!!
Better?
GlitchCog @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Yeah, he really does like that "or else" line. He never actually gets to the
"or else... [this is what I'll do]"
part.
Here's what I've gathered "or else" means based on his actions:
Stop making fun of me or else [I'll become so irritated I'll resort to arguing over the internet with individuals to accomplish my goals]!
Don't you dare argue my broken logic or else [I'll get myself in trouble with the Florida Bar Association]!
Quit supporting the side of the argument I don't agree with or else [I'll be force to bombard you with empty legal threats and make a further ass of myself]!
zero2dash @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
A loser of a crusade is trying to call a truce instead of saying "I lost?"
Gee what else is new.
Hey Jack@$$ Thompson, pick up another hobby. Try fishing, it's fun. Well, if you're drinking beer the whole time. And the way you act - YOU NEED SOME BEER so drink away.
Video games, video game ratings, stores that sell video games - none of these need monitoring.
THE PEOPLE WHO BUY VIDEO GAMES ARE EXPECTED TO MONITOR THEMSELVES. This means parents if they buy their kids games.
-Know what your child is playing
-Pay attention to the EASILY IDENTIFIABLE ratings system information on the front and back of the packaging
I don't see why people say ESRB ratings are so hard to find/understand. Umm...you ever notice how small and miniscule the print is on movies? I don't see parents suing the MPAA because their kid tried to pull some Neo $#!t after seeing the Matrix trilogy; why is this any different? (You'd think movies would be an easier target.)
I'm a 27 year old parent and I've played games for over 20 years. I've played violent games since I was a kid (before people equated "violent" with 'game'), before there was an ESRB and even farther before there was the ratings on Sega Genesis/SegaCD games...remember when Night Trap and Mortal Kombat were MA games? Back when kids played Contra and Commando and Ikari Warriors and Double Dragon and used weapons to kill hundreds of enemies...yeah...THOSE days. Well, playing those games has not given me any "evil thoughts" or "violent thoughts" or made me more likely or less likely to hate a facist gasbag like you, Jack@$$ Thompson.
I'll watch what my children play and monitor what they play and not let them play games they shouldn't. Just like I wouldn't let my kids play with throwing knives or shotguns or boric acid. JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER PARENT IS EXPECTED TO DO.
-----BE A PARENT.-----
MHolland @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
... As a college student who advises parents on what their teenaged children should play, I say this. I recommend a few mature titles, such as Halo, Halo 2, and a few other games, but nothing like Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas.
I will say this however. To Jack Thompson.
Lay off. All you're doing is alienating the adult community from your far-fetched crusade, and this whole fisaco with Penny Arcade just makes you look like a prisoner grasping for straws. They did what you didn't, they donated 10,000$ to a charity when your "Modest Proposal" was more then filled. Myself, and many people in my community, are shocked and horrified at your behaviour. You have to make a living, sure. But don't do it at my expense. And anyway. There are laws concerning the sale of cigarettes, beer, and even movies to minors. Games should have the same laws, but they shouldn't be banned. The same as movies shouldn't be banned.
Matthew Holland, Gamer, straight-A college student.
By the way, Jack. Just stop. Sure, release your little book. You won't get sales on it for anything. But in the meantime, after I'm done studying for my English test, I'm gonna go play some mature-rated games, then I'm gonna go see an R-Rated movie at my local theatre. I'm an adult. I have that right. A 14-year old kid, has that right as well, providing his parents know excactly what he is doing.
P.P.S.
I played Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas. I already knew from watching hundreds of action movies that guns kill people. Well, gosh. I didn't know you could do that in a game too! Enjoy the legal actions being taken against you, and expect to hear more scarcasm as the days go along.
Dave @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
You know, I too had a problem with the release of Grand Theft Auto San Andreas. I still don't think it should be on store shelves...
at least until those lazy bums update the freaking game engine and fix the controls. Come on Rockstar! I'm sick of new coats of paint!
Matt @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Don't meet with him. He never was reasonable in the past, so don't be reasonable with him now. Keep sending emails and calling the Florida Bar Association and make them disbar him.
Chris @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
What is fascinating about all of this is that Thompson's case is based on dubiou slegal grounds. Mr. Thompson, if you're out there, I'd enjoy having a discussion with you about the First Amendment. Perhaps you need to go back to law school, because you really don't have any justification for your position.
Jack, if you dont like the games, dont buy them. Try to convince others not to buy it. But you dont SUPRESS the actual game itself. You can't do that in a free society. You come on to these boards with the knowledge that some of the people on the boars simply dont know as much about the law as you. That isn't their fault. You take advantage of them because of this, and that's bullthit. I will call your bluff. I dare you to try to win the argument.
ShadowMask @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
I think if Jack wants to save himself, he needs to apologise to those he has made verbal etc attacks on first, such as Penny Arcade and VG-Cat's creators, whoever it was he compared to Hitler, the people of this site(if that was really him, which I find unbelievable myself), etc etc. The Truth may be that some of these people did try to get a rise out of him (Tycho even Explains this in detail) but since he is the one who is going to get hurt and has his arse on the line, he should "Be the Bigger Man". Not only that, but he claims to be a Christian. He claims to have God on his side, etc etc. Well Jack, I am a Christian too, and Christians Forgive. God is my Friend, and I would not be where I am without his help. Where am I? Well, I'm working at a Video Games Company. "God works in mysterious ways" does even come close...
Jack Thompson, if you read this, I ask that you take a few deep breaths and think about what you are doing. When someone tries to get a rise out of you, the last thing you should Ever do is Give them the rise they wanted. You Shrug it off and maybe joke about it. This way, you are (a) acting in a Christian manner, (b) less likely to make a fool of yourself, and (c) going to appear the better person.
I currently pray for God to help you Jack. God helps those who help themselves.
-Jonathan Luke Barrett.
bingle @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
BTW, the traffic light thing is NOT a proposal by the ESRB, it's something a private company thought up. They would like the ESRB to adopt the system and pay them for the privilege - so much so that they are pushing the government to make their ratings system mandatory.
XenoCorpse @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Well, I'm NOT a Christian, and I'll thank Jack to keep his gods and guilt away from my secular entertainment. If you are allowed to push your religiously-fueled beliefs on gaming on me, then I should be allowed to come to your church and preach about the good aspects of sex and violence in entertainment.
Therefore, I make it my mission to find as many good Christian girls as I can and corrupt them into sexy gamer grrls.
As for Jack. . . He can just f u c k o f f.
BlackYoshi @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Sexy gamer girls is pretty much an oxymoron with rare exceptions :D
mr.karmalicious @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Sex me, Xeno!
Chris K @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Conrad, do you actually KNOW that the person posting as "Jack Thompson" here is him? Have you verified this in any way?
Curious, because some of the things written under that name are absolutely moronic. I have to wonder if he could really be that....stupid.
Conrad @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Chris, yes we do. We can see the email address' used for verification of comments and they're all from Jack's comcast account. Crazy isn't it...
Chris K @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
But couldn't anybody do that? Given that everything supposedely written by him fits the same profile, I wouldn't be too surprised, but I still can't believe that he would be so stupid as to try to threaten people posting comments here...
Conrad @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
No, his email address matches the one on his site and the one he uses in all his press releases.
When he posts here, he always uses that address. That address is required to verify his user comments and make them appear on the site. Jack therefore needs to log into his email account and verify the comment. So anyone wanting to spoof him would have to know his email account password.
Besides, he's done this before to many other sites besides Joystiq.
Check out this email correspondence for more:
http://keepyourkillingclean.blogspot.com/2005/02/jack-thompson-is-douche-bag.html
ShadowMask @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Thank you for clearing that up Conrad. That also confirms that the Address someone gave me was in fact true, well, more likely to be true then.
I can see only a few explainations for his actions.
Maybe he knows exactly what he is doing, and is, in a shocking twist, working with Take 2 or Rockstar games, or someone, to give them extra advertising. Manhunt was a shocking average game, but I'm sure when people complained about it, sales increased. Same when Hot Coffee came up, the latest GTA must have sold like Hot Muffins, like the ones you get at Coffee stands. That would also explain the rather stupid acts of the company to deny the minigame existed. But I don't really believe this, no matter how well the evidence fits.
Maybe he is really just an idiot.
Maybe he has such an phobia of Video Games that they just send him into a panic or anger.
Maybe this is how he was brought up, to believe that God is unforgiving, and will destroy anything that steps even an inch out of line.
Either way, unless the first one is true, he is going the wrong way about things. He tried to get PA arrested for harassment, which is pretty much insulting and threatening, right? What does he do in the letter? He insults PA, calling them Geeks. His method for getting someone arrested for insulting someone, includes insulting them. Amazing.
An Example of what he should have done is shown in a recent T-Shirt.
http://www.straightloop.com/
The Pixalante T-Shirt.
He used it as a degrading term for gamers, or something, I believe? Gamers shrugged it off, turned it into a Joke AND a way of helping charity. Well done those people. Mr Thompson, you could learn a lot from these people.
The actual term is stupid though, since all the games he's attacked use Polygons more. And Pixal are used in anything on Computers. Well, anything with a Graphic display.
I look forward to the "Polyante" T-shirts...
Delta @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Considering I was one of the many kids introduced to the Nintendo Entertainment System in the late-80's by the generation of people Jack Thompson believes he is representing, I find it ironic he still believes he IS representing them. Frankly, what exactly is he representing? To me it sounds like all he is doing is attempting to find some hollow ground in order to make his cases tangable. The idea of a game causing your kid to go and kill is about as trite as McDonalds food making you fat. As most of us know, the McD cases have been thrown out, because they said "You did it, not them, your fault" Does that not apply to video games? I've been playing games of all genres and tastes for 15+ years. I do not smoke, I do not drink, I do not engage in criminal activity, I've had a steady job since I was 16 (now 22) frankly I don't see how Mr. Thompson here can deal this garbage as if he knows all of us are the same.
Point in case, you want to fight the crusade against video game violence and educate parents, fine by me, I will join that fight, I believe there is too much video game violence and I do believe that parents, media, and businesses need to be educated, if the movie raitings system works then why shouldn't game ratings work? That depends on awareness and effort. However I won't help a crazy unprofessional Florida lawyer who believes that sending insults and being a retard to a community of millions of people over the Internet of all mediums, will solve the problem of video game violence among youth. How about you put your money where your mouth is and fund an organization to raise awareness, oh wait, Penny Arcade beat you.
Phil Halliwell, UK @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
So then, Thompson. You finally realise that the gaming industry is far too big for you to take on, spanning as it does all continents and almost every developed country on the face of the planet, so you think waving your little white flag and saying No Hard Feelings is going to make everything alright. I take back what I've said previously about you. You're not an insignificant piece of DNA.
You're a waste of a sperm and an egg.
I have never seen or heard someone lose at life so totally, utterly and as spectacularly miserably as yourself. You think you're gaining respect with your eye-popped legal actions, your rabid, spittle-flecked rants and quite frankly hypocritical threats? All you're gaining is endless ridicule. Go visit New Orleans or Pakistan, scenes of recent humanitarian tragedies, and for pity's sake, realise how small your diatribes make you look.
If you had any common sense at all (which you've made perfectly clear you don't, hence the word 'if') you'd have quit while you were behind years ago. The words "2 Live Crew" mean anything?
I hope you get disbarred - you don't deserve to be a voice of authority on anything, let alone things you hate. You're a disgrace to law, and with the biting 'satire' you portrayed this past week, the human race.
PS: Rockstar should name their next GTA/Manhunt/whatever protagonist after him. I'd laugh myself hoarse if they did. Should be enough to tip him right over the edge. I mean, it's not as if he has a copyright on the name Jack Thompson, is it...
Phil Halliwell @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
..... @_@
Conrad, I've just checked back through this thread's previous comments...
So you're saying that JT (funny how those initials can mean something else, huh) himself REALLY DID post a comment saying he has the ability to make the law up as he goes earlier on this week?
Chris K @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
That's the one that baffled me the most, Phil. The man must be a raving lunatic if he believes the things he says, or even thinks anyone believes statements like that.
The most puzzling part is, I see how someone could be so delusional, yet still coherent.
Jack Thompson reminds me of Russel Crowe's character from A Beautiful Mind. Without the intelligence, of course.
ErbilT @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414304420/gamepoliticsc-20/103-3998106-7476636?creative=327641&camp=14573&link_code=as1
I know this may have been posted already, but look under " You may also be interested in these items..."