GayGamer.net offline following hate attack

by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 5th 2007 at 6:55PM }

After a series of hate speech incidents and forum postings to GayGamer.net, the site was taken offline by a set of denial of service attacks. Flynn DeMarco, the site's owner, said things started going wrong toward the end of last week until the site's host, GoDaddy.com, finally took the site offline until the attacks could be stopped. They are currently attempting to get back online and hope to be finished by Monday.

A couple minutes in an Xbox Live Halo multiplayer session should give anyone an idea of why safe havens like GayGamer.net exist (along with Gaymer.org and Gamers.Experimentations.org), but for someone to go out of their way to attack the site is extreme. In the year since its existence, the news site and forum has given voice to issues that were previously rarely discussed. We share in Kotaku's sentiment, where DeMarco is weekend editor, that "it's sad to see that even in the virtual worlds of gaming and game coverage people decide that the only way they can express themselves is by attacking others." GayGamer has sought to bring demographic inclusion into the industry and we hope to hear their voice back in the cacophony of these internets soon.

GayGamer.net's statement can be found after the break.

Update: The site is back online.

Hello, faithful readers:
As you might have noticed, we have had some connection issues in the last few days and now the site is completely down. I'm sad to say that we have been the target of homophobic hackers. Thankfully, they didn't get to our database so all of our stuff is still in tact. At this point we are jut waiting for our service provider to ensure everything is good before putting the server back online.
Hopefully, this will be resolved by the end of this weekend, so please keep checking back. You can't keep a good gay gamer down, so we'll be back before you know it, serving up all the sassy game content you can handle.
Cheers,
Fruit Brute

Tags: attack, dos, gaygamer, hatecrime, homophobia

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)

Hiroki @ Aug 5th 2007 9:59PM

Well, they may be able to live together but they need marriage papers to be married. You know marriage isn't just a pretty piece of paper and a surname change, right? There are tax benefits, insurance benefits, and other financial benefits that are bestowed upon married couples that homosexuals are denied because they are not allowed to marry.

And this one isn't controlled by any law, but the ability to live together and walk down the street without being looked at as some kind of sub-human might be nice too.

NeoteriX @ Aug 5th 2007 10:04PM

There's a certain irony to your comment...

Hiroki @ Aug 5th 2007 10:22PM

I'm confused. It appears to me as if you just shot a hole in your own argument. Yes, some married couples don't have children and thus provide no, "social benefit", as you put it, and yet they are still granted the rights I mentioned.

And how exactly are children a benefit? What about overpopulation and all of the children that live in poverty? Here's a fun fact, many of these "social benefits" grow up to be absolutely useless to society. Not much of a benefit huh?

Sidepocket @ Aug 6th 2007 2:19PM

Just wanna put something out there.

As a computer hacker we have two words for these people: Crackers and Script Kiddies.

Hackers are people that like to figure out problems, most likely electronically. We do it for the challenge and most of us report back the flaws we find to make sure crackers do not get in.

Crackers are people that break into systems for a reward. Weather it is defacing websites they hate or stealing information. They are scum.

And Script Kiddies are wannabe Crackers that have no idea what they are doing.

Trust me, it is not that hard to do a DDoS attack if you just know one or two things...or the right people.

In short, please look up the word Hacker next time on Wikipedia before you guys start discriminating against my culture.

Thank you for your time. :D

Joe P @ Aug 5th 2007 7:03PM

*sigh* even gamers stand divided. What a world.

The1 @ Aug 5th 2007 7:52PM

.....and this surprises anyone get real. How and why?

Blizz419 @ Aug 6th 2007 9:23AM

Some people have nothing better to do

Blizz4l9 @ Aug 5th 2007 9:03PM

some people have nothing better to do.

Brandon Neal Hatfield @ Aug 5th 2007 7:09PM

people are sick. I think Homophobia should be treated with such mind-numbing anti-psychotics as Haldol and Prolixin, and perhaps even Thorazine.

Grow up, people. Accept that gay people are real people, with real feelings and that they are here to stay. You can't bully them into hiding. Keep your hate and your insecurities to yourself and leave folks alone.

Stevo @ Aug 5th 2007 7:35PM

Yeah, this sucks. For some reason the game community often divides itself on many issues (console superiority, best games of all time, etc)...but homosexuality shouldn't be one of them.

EclipseCDN @ Aug 6th 2007 12:43AM

Even if your against homosexuality this isn't the way to go about things. Bottom line - someone else is always going to believe something different then you. It's fine to disagree with that, but to attack someone for believing something different is just wrong. Stop and think for a second what it would be like if people attacked you for what you believe. It's a rough life.

Backslash @ Aug 6th 2007 1:29AM

Agreed. It's sad how our own hobbies have to get into other people's arguments. :/ Can't we keep gaming fun, people?

Korova @ Aug 6th 2007 7:51AM

there may be a right to hate - no one should control emotions

but there is no right to act on hate - that is illegal, antisocial and psychopathic

the only right to violence citizens have against other people is limited self-defense or with consent. Homosexuality is not an assault on anyone, neither is it sadomazochism

Homophobes feel threatened, scared and weak when faced with a beautiful gay man (also with a beautiful hetero woman, I'm sure). They probably dont get any anyway

Lucky @ Aug 6th 2007 2:15PM

Very well said Brandon!
=)

quickshade @ Aug 5th 2007 7:10PM

sad,sad world,.; Nobody's forcing you to like them, But at the very least have some respect and leave them alone.

whymog @ Aug 5th 2007 7:10PM

I'm saddened to see that someone would go so far as to attack a site like GayGamer. While the majority of gamers are good people, a dedicated crowd of them are notoriously hateful and go out of their way to make others feel uncomfortable and marginalized.

Even though I've never been the target of hate speech on Xbox Live, just hearing it upsets me to the point that I just can't play games online with anyone but friends anymore.

In any case, I'm glad Flynn DeMarco and company aren't going to buckle under the attacks. They're doing a valuable service in forging new communities and important discussions in the gaming world, and their tenacity is admirable.

rivaldi22 @ Aug 5th 2007 7:11PM

These are the sorts of things make me sad all day.

Stevo @ Aug 5th 2007 7:36PM

Go play Halo-- that should cheer you up a little bit.

Naota @ Aug 5th 2007 7:13PM

As Rodney King put it "Can't we all just get along?"

WorfoSAUR @ Aug 5th 2007 7:14PM

While I'm surprised that someone would waste time attacking a website, I certainly don't see the reason that you need a specific site for gay people to go to.

whymog @ Aug 5th 2007 7:22PM

It's just another forum for specific discussion based on the general topic of gaming. Why shouldn't there be a community for queer discussion? Websites like Joystiq are focused on mainstream gaming news, not issues of gender or race or what-have-you. I think specific, smaller communities promote new ideas and discussion, and those sorts of communities help to develop and expand gaming culture as a whole.

People have been saying the same thing about The Iris Network, but it has a pretty strong community and there are some refreshingly intelligent ideas emerging from it - although it's quite obviously still finding its legs.

TK00 @ Aug 5th 2007 7:37PM

I agree. Sexual orientation has no relevance in a discussion about games.

sheppy @ Aug 5th 2007 7:54PM

Gaming and it's culture are tied behind two major themes. Sex and violence. So when Sex IS such a central theme for tons of games, obviously we have to talk of sexual orientation of the sex symbols. So as such, if there can be forums all about Lara Croft being fucking hot, why can't a community of gay people crush on same sex characters or talk about how their minority is represented in the gaming world?

To say sex isn't tied into gaming culture at all means you've been limited purely to puzzle games, and roughly only 1/3 of those.

decompiler @ Aug 6th 2007 9:17AM

WorfoSAUR and TK00,

Do you ever play on XBL with your headsets on? If there was a slang term describing something so personal as your sexual orientation being thrown around with the same reckless abandon as all the ugly synonyms for gay, you'd probably be singing a different tune.

I haven't played on XBL with my headset for years now because I can't stand the constant audible ignorance. Verbal strikes again girls, gays, minorities...

I used to think of the gamer community as open-minded and accepting. As one of the original XBL beta testers, I was stoked that'd we'd have our own place to congregate from all over. Come to find out that our community has just as many weak minded and shallow members as the rest of the world, and unfortunately XBL (like internet forums) gives them a level of anonymity at which they're comfortable enough to show they're true, ugly colors.

These DOS attacks just depress me more. In what kind of mind does hate for someone else -- who is *completely* unrelated and unconnected to you -- boil over into taking action against that person? There's a word for it: Sociopath.

"Sociopath: a person, as a psychopathic personality, whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience." - Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)

"Sociopaths are interested only in their personal needs and desires, without concern for the effects of their behavior on others." - American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition

Dale @ Aug 10th 2007 1:13PM

I think this is further evidence of why you *do* need such a place. There are too many bigotted numbskulls out there.

Truepatriot @ Aug 5th 2007 7:16PM

the most homophobic people are themselves gay.just saying, ive seen it and laughed.
/not gay
//not against them
///wrong site O_O

orAngeMicro @ Aug 5th 2007 7:19PM

This dude I grew up with is gay, we were friends since Pre-K. We always played NES together as kids. He came out in High School, video games are what kept us being friends throughout really. I remember I got my ass kicked by this dumbass freshman year, he was picking on him calling him a fag and shit. The idiot broke my nose after I stepped in to help. Anyway that shits fucked up, it's 2007 you'd think this kind of behavior would be past us by now.

Obie @ Aug 5th 2007 7:50PM

I agree. Thanks for sharing man.

EMaster @ Aug 5th 2007 7:27PM

This is not just sad but ridiculous. What people's personal life styles are is their choice. I do not understand how anyone would bring DOS attacks against Gay Gamer just for existing. I hope they trace the IP and that the Asshole who did this will get charged with hate crimes and locked up for a bit. This is so retarded.

John @ Aug 5th 2007 9:57PM

why should a hat ecrime get any special charges? Aren't there already laws against certain bahavior with applying the "hate crime" lable? That is the most ridiculous thing ever what is t he thought process? "well, we aren't going to enforce the laws strictly for killing a person, but killing someone cause they are different??? well, let the fry for that one!!!"

Chris @ Aug 5th 2007 7:30PM

And todays special word is TOLERANCE
T..O..L..E..R..A..N..C..E

Hobbes @ Aug 5th 2007 8:24PM

Sorry to disagree, but I don't think racism or discrimination will be solved with TOLERANCE. What we need is ACCEPTANCE. Tolerance doesn't mean acceptance and still implies discrimination. That's how I see it.

ACCEPTANCE!

Spiza @ Aug 5th 2007 9:34PM

But who's to say what everyone in the world should accept? Are you ready for someone to tell you what you should accept and what you should not?

intel @ Aug 5th 2007 10:09PM

My take:

All things can be tolerated safely; to accept all things can be hazardous. Regardless, nobody in the world should be forced to accept or tolerate anything.

While only the masterful will tolerate everything, the acceptance of all things is sublime.

PSN: ummfada @ Aug 5th 2007 7:31PM

Making a quip about said website is way too easy. I decline to comment, so don't read this!

horngreen @ Aug 5th 2007 7:31PM

I think I see you're trying to be "supportive" but maybe you should read your hate filled post before you actually click post. I'm not sure what else to say about it. I just think you need to choose words a little wiser.

ForceUnleashed @ Aug 5th 2007 7:34PM

Thats so sad...

Another sign of the apocalypse.

richard @ Aug 5th 2007 7:38PM

why is there a gaygamer.net anyway ?? a gamer is a gamer..gay or not....I doubt there is a blackgamer.net or mexicangamer.net site

Jon @ Aug 5th 2007 7:47PM

So in your opinion, sites that deals with people's interest should be not allowed? Like female gamer sites? Fact is 99% of all gaming sites are targeted at heterosexual males and plenty of homophobes roam these sites unfortunately.

There are plenty of sites like gay gamers. British Gaming, Eurogamer, Guardian gamesblog (for Guardian readers who happened to be gamers), (insert country) gamer.

Kazi @ Aug 5th 2007 8:08PM

You're brilliant, let's start making gamer sites based on race and likes. I'll start on pieeatinggamers.org for those people who love to eat pie.

CrazedCow @ Aug 6th 2007 9:35AM

i do enjoy a good pie! sign me up!

but seriously, why would it matter whether gay people want a website or not. if they want one, great! that's like saying people shouldn't have personal websites just because nobody outside of their family/friends care.

Poisoned Al @ Aug 5th 2007 7:39PM

I don't mean anything by it, I was just being "colourful". I pride myself that I hate everybody equally.

n_revolution9 @ Aug 5th 2007 7:45PM

All I have to say to those HOMOPHOBES is: "Video games are about the GAMES, NOT GAYS!!!!"

Obie @ Aug 5th 2007 7:49PM

Why can't we all just get along? It's almost the second decade of the new millennium, we should be past this crap and enjoy life and let others be.

CJC @ Aug 5th 2007 7:58PM

It's not the hate that surprises me, but rather all of the strong effort somebody had to put forth to commit said hate crime.

JanJan @ Aug 5th 2007 8:01PM

Why couldn't they just attack eBaums instead

BenjaminBreeg @ Aug 5th 2007 8:12PM

Because ebaumsworld is already glitchy, buggy, and shitty enough as it is. DOS attacking them wouldnt have done much noticeable damage.

asdf @ Aug 6th 2007 1:57AM

Because the attack is coming from someone at eBaums?

Mr Khan @ Aug 5th 2007 8:13PM

Yeah, we of teh internetz gamer community should stand united on issues of race, creed, religion, sexual orientation, et al

Lord knows we need SOME kind of unity, especially when flame wars develop over whether Itagaki is a rockstar or a douche, and whether DOA or Tekken (or both, in some Virtua Fighter fans' minds, and the minds of the 2D Fighter Purists) suck donkey balls, and whether Shiggy is a genius or insane

We're already sectarian enough within our own hobby...