Last night, I was supposed to perform in the Thrilling Adventure Hour at Largo with a bunch of my friends, and a bunch of people who I really admire. Unfortunately, the sinus infection I was fighting all week had other plans, so I stayed home and rested on the couch with a screening of Repo Man.
I ended up sort of live-tweeting the thing, with silly pictures and quotes from the movie, which I did with Forbidden Zone awhile back. I'm not sure if it was as amusing to Twitter as it was to me, but it was still fun.
At that point, I could have gone to bed, but I thought I'd check Twitter to see if anyone had clever Repo Man references to toss back at me (they did) or if anyone was amused by it (some were). Then I caught this thing that made me explode into HULK SMASH for the first time in … I can't even remember the last time I was as angry. Here's an image that someone uploaded of the ensuing ragefest, which was captioned "Damn, Wil Wheaton is a jerk."
(click to embiggen at Imgur)
So reading that back today, I can totally see how I come off as a raging asshole. I make no excuse, but I wanted to offer a bit of context and perspective that 140 characters doesn't allow.
First, a little history: At PAX in 2007, I was approached by some folks from the ECA, who asked me if I'd endorse their organization. I'm very reluctant to do this sort of thing, because I feel like high-profile people tend to throw their support behind every cause in the world, and when I support an organization, I want it to actually mean something, instead of being just another entry on a list.
I looked at what ECA does, and I was impressed. I thought that it was a good idea for gamers to have a lobby in government, and I thought it would be great to educate non-gamers about who we are in a way that would dispel the hysteria spouted about us by politicians and other moralizers who demonize gamers and the games we play for their own political purposes.
I signed up, and I gave ECA a quote that I've since forgotten, but was signed, "Wil Wheaton – actor, author, gamerdad."
About a week after that went live on the ECA website, some guy who apparently trademarked the term gamerdad – oh, excuse me, gamerdad™ – e-mailed me with this long and rambling rant about how I was using his trademark without his permission, how he had some history with ECA that made this nefarious, and a bunch of other stuff I've also forgotten. I forget how ECA got involved, but the end result is the organization caved to this guy almost instantly, and took the "gamerdad" out of my endorsement.
You know, writing about this now, the whole thing seems really stupid and petty, but I was pissed. I remember saying to a friend of mine, "The ECA won't stand up to some crackpot who's basically being a patent troll, and I'm supposed to expect them to stand up to Congress? I can't be part of this organization."
I didn't want to make a big public scene (I waited until last night for that! Yeah! Go Wil! You're SMRT!) and the ECA people seemed nice and genuinely interested in making a positive difference in gamers' lives, so I kept my annoyance to myself, but I didn't renew my membership. I saw Hal Halpin at PAX the following year, and I told him how disappointed I was in ECA for not standing up to that guy and leaving me sort of out in the wind, and I couldn't vocally support the ECA because of it.
So last night, when I saw GamePolitics, which is part of ECA, Twittering what I interpreted as a passive/aggressive slam at me ("Ya, Wil is good, but what does he advocate for gamers/gaming?") something in my brain snapped, and I went HULK SMASH.
Maybe I misinterpreted it — I tell my kids that you can't get tone and nuance in text messages, so it's important to think carefully about how you engage people when you're only using text — but when GamePolitics replied to my "Really?" with "Other than Net Neutrality…" and "While I've really enjoyed your keynote speeches at PAX, it's not really representing" it seemed pretty clear to me that whoever writes GamePolitics was being deliberately obtuse, was genuinely ignorant, or was just being a jerk. Take my history of annoyance with ECA and stack this on top of it, and I was Godzilla in Tokyo. Hell, I was MechaGodzilla cranked up to 11 … ON FIRE.
If GamePolitics was just some random person, I probably would have just ignored it and gone to bed, but since it's part of ECA, I expected GamePolitics to know better. Since I expected GamePolitics to know better, I assumed that he/she/it was either deliberately insulting me, or making a conscious effort to minimize the things I've worked really hard to do.
See, I've worked really hard to advocate for gamers. I spent months writing my keynotes for PAX Prime in 2007 (message: We're not the bloodthirsty psychopaths some in the media say we are, and the best way we can prove them wrong is by example. Also, don't be a dick.) and my keynote to PAX East earlier this year (message: Playing game brings people together, and PAX is a time and place where we can celebrate the things we love.) I published a chapbook for GenCon this year called Games Matter, for frak's sake, about exactly that!
I've written dozens of columns for a number of diverse publications about games and gaming, and I've worked really, really hard to remove the media-created stigma associated with being a gamer.
When I got pissed at GamePolitics last night, I wasn't saying, "I'm Wil Fucking Wheaton, man. Don't you know who I am?" (Which, I was very sad to see, a lot of people seem to have thought I was saying) as much as I was saying, "I'm really hurt and offended that: a) you are supposed to represent gamers and don't know how I've tried to advocate for us; or b) you're minimizing the things I've done to advocate for us."
The responses I got on Twitter from GamePolitics last night just made me more and more angry. I felt like I was talking to a child who had broken my Death Star, and then sat next to it in mock innocence wondering why it was in so many pieces. Taken in context in the clear light of day, it doesn't seem to be quite like that, but that's how I interpreted it at the time, and I reacted accordingly.
I hope this gives some context to why I got so angry. I'm not offering excuses, just hoping to clarify. I should have just written a private e-mail, but I let my passions get the better of me. I'm human, and I do things I regret from time to time.
I'm sorry that so many people had to witness me explode in furious anger, and I am embarrassed that I lost my temper. I hope this doesn't get me voted off of Gamer Island, or invalidate the times I've tried to live my life's philosophy — Don't Be A Dick — by example.
Added: after much thought, and some discussions with trusted friends, I publicly apologized on Twitter to GamePolitics for losing my shit at him/her/it last night. I'm not saying that I'm sorry for getting upset, and I'm still not entirely sure what his/her/its motives were, but that's not really the issue: I regret the way I behaved, and I'm embarrassed that I did it in public. I don't view this as some Team Wheaton / Team The Other Guys thing, and I hope we can all learn something from this about how we communicate and treat each other. Well, I hope I can, anyway; what you do is up to you.
If I as a fan am disappointed in you at all, Wil, it’s because for me reading this after the fact it seems obvious to me that you were getting baited, and you totally took that bait and ran with it. But that’s me being objective and reasoning in the late afternoon with a hot cup of coffee at my side.
Some people have said “Jeez, Wil, this guy was just asking an honest question and you were a total dick to him, for shame.” Others have said “just because he doesn’t know your PAX keynote speeches doesn’t mean you had to go off on him like that.” (obviously I’m paraphrasing). But it’s clear to late afternoon coffee-sipping me that a) this person knows EXACTLY who you are and b) knows EXACTLY which of your buttons to push to get a heated reaction.
To they nay-sayers: mayhap Wil DOES preach to the choir. But as a public figure, simply admitting with pride that he is a gamer and supports gamer culture is in fact f*cking advocating. Just because he’s not a lobbyist doesn’t mean he doesn’t contribute. It’s my opinion that the onus of political responsibility lies within the industry anyway, not its fans. Wil is a great guy, but let’s face it, he’s not a multinational corporation with the funds to cram the courts with talking heads.
Okay, I’m off my soapbox. Thanks for being you, Wil.
Wow, so many responses! I didn’t have time to read them all, and I’m sure someone has highlighted this by now, but in case they haven’t…
I hate to break it to you Wil, but you ARE Wil Fucking Wheaton. Whether you say it outwardly, think it, write it, or whatever. It’s something you can’t escape, hide, or pretend otherwise. No matter the situation, when you speak, Wil Wheaton speaks. It’s the onerous curse of celebrity. Every time you add your commentary to something, your name and your celebrity precede your actual thoughts and statements.
Your voice carries a great deal of weight, whether you believe it or not. People look up to you, respect and listen to what you say, hell, they even idolize you. As sad as it is, this whole situation is being blown out of proportion simply because “Wil Wheaton” lost his temper.
You’re handling it all just fine, but don’t beat yourself up too much about it. After all, Wil Wheaton is just a geek. And geeks have feelings, too.
When I logged on this morning, this was the first items on my feed, I went straight to gamepolitics feed and even WITH the initial message, it still seemed like someone was out to say “Who the F. is Wil Wheaton and what’s he ever done to speak up for gamers?”
I always say the same thing that you say to your kids, that text can’t convey the tone of voice you’re using so your WORDS need to be clear on what you’re trying to get across, gamepolitics failed at that part on an epic scale.
Your replies DID come of as “I’m Wil Wheaton!” BUT not “Look how important I am, I’m an actor and a writer, bow before me!” but rather as “I’ve spoken up about this over and over, I’ve covered it in my books, in speeches, in podcasts, because I love gaming!”.
It was very easy to see why you were provoked, I too would’ve been hurt and offended by someone first questioning years of work followed by a request (that sounded like a demand) that others should do the homework for those that couldn’t be bothered to find out if the suggestion was valid.
All sides have two stories, gamepolitics might have had a kind voice in the tweets or an outright jerk voice, it’s impossible to know.
As a PC and console gamer, as someone who’s got D&D sessions running thanks to YOUR (+ the rest of Acquisitions Inc and Chris P.) inspiration of people to play, I’m proud to have you represent me.
You’re not a dick, you ask people to not be one either, one rage against someone who should’ve chosen their words more carefully does not diminish your past words of inspiration to us and this post just proves that you’re truly an example to follow.
Keep representing us gamers like you’ve done in the past, you make us proud of the fact that we are geeks, nerds, gamers, moms, dads, husbands and wifes (ourselves).
Yet again, I’ll end with the same Jim Darkmagic quote;
*JIM WINKS*
I would disagree that he was intent on trolling. After a few messages back and forth between GP and I he seemed honestly perplexed as to why @wilw was so offended. he even suggested at one point that he would like to know what it was that set @wilw off his HULK SMASH. I pointed out that he was careless with his wording and had shown him where I felt he messed up. I think he understands now that he royally screwed up.
I didn’t know game politics was part of ECA. Absurd that he didn’t know about your previous relationship with them or your previous efforts. He was probably trolling you
I think you just demonstrated a corollary to Wheaton’s Law: When you are a dick, own it & apologize.
IMO, you were totally right, but it really was a ranty way to convey the message. OTOH, I would have done the same in your shoes, if I could possibly ever fill them.
Sorry, Wil, apparently I’m not done. Saying “Wil Wheaton doesn’t advocate for gamers/gaming because he doesn’t try to get on CNN like Jack Thompson” is a bit like saying “Sure, Wil Wheaton ‘claims’ to like babies, but if that’s true why isn’t he out bombing abortion clinics?”
I know I’m grandstanding. I KNOW. I’m not sorry.
Ya know, Wil, not too terribly long ago there was a moment when I rediscovered you on teh intarwebs, and did a bunch of reading and whatnot, and was informed by a friend that we both share a love of the Tron arcade machine at Ground Kontrol — anyway, if anybody ever wants to know what you’ve done for the community, I have what could be considered a totally inconsequential thing to everyone but me…in combination with reconnecting with some old friends, reading your blog/twitter stuff really made me re-embrace my inner geek. I am *so* going to PAX Prime next year. So, hey, thank you for reminding me how much fun I haven’t really been participating in for years. 🙂
He’s a public figure to geeks and gamers but that doesn’t mean non-geeks and non-gamers know “he is a gamer and supports gamer culture”.
Look, if he’s going to rant about “how dare someone doesn’t know my advocacy work” then that advocacy work is open for discussion. You can’t have it both ways, support the opinion that he’s an advocate and then shield him with “it’s not his job to advocate.”
If Oprah, or Brad Pitt, or any of hundreds of others came out and said “I’m a gamer and support gamers’ rights to head shots” then that would made a difference. The smaller circle in which Wil is cherished is made up of the people he’s advocating for. I don’t think his advocacy makes a difference in the world, any more than the advocacy of John Romero/Carmack would. Stevie Case, though, that’s a different story. She was in Playboy (well, playboy.com). Wil…don’t get any ideas, keep your clothes on.
Paul
Like others have pointed out, you’re only human Wil. And after a busy weekend at PAX, then a dose of the PAX pox, it’s easy to see why your temper may have been shorter than usual. Everybody loses their shit at some point for no good reason. You’ve sucked it up and apologized and that’s all that anybody can and should reasonably expect from you. I personally don’t think you were completely unwarranted in being upset, but sometimes even a justified angry reaction is not the best thing to do.
Hey Wil.First thing:props to you for this blog entry and the apology to the guy on Twitter.Too many people don’t do the legwork to clarify themselves and then wonder why people think they’re jerks.Very classy of you to take these actions,out of respect for your fans and GamerPolitics.
I’ll also say that while I was sitting and watching everything go down last night,it did seem to me that you were overreacting to the guy’s cluelessness(and quite frankly,awkward social skills,but who am I of all people to complain about that?),but instead of writing you off,I kept in mind how hard you work to be a decent guy and encourage others to do the same.I thought of that and then decided,”Maybe there’s something going on I don’t know about.There’s gotta be some context I’m not aware of.”And lo and behold,you post this blog entry!I was right,you’re not a creepy big-headed celebrity,you’re human like the rest of us!(And quite frankly,that’s why your fans like you.Maybe you should blow up like this every once in a while so people can better say,”Hey,he’s like me!”.;-))I think your fans are the type of people who will assume context like that,so you shouldn’t have to worry about being voted off the island(and seriously,if you were,it would turn into Lord of the Flies pretty quick).
One more thing I’ll say:it takes two to have a fight.It looks to me like GamerPolitics just made a social misstep and didn’t realize it,but still,on the Internet,both parties have to work to make sure their intention is understood and to not assume offense.I can go on and on about socializing online and how it’s fraught with chaos,but that’s a whole other rant and I think I’ve had my piece now.:-)
Paul: point taken. I guess I just went off on my own little /wilsmash there.
Check out the handy-dandy left sidebar. Specifically, “Read My Other Work”, where there are links to LA Weekly, SuicideGirls, Amazon.
I’m with the other commenters who read it, thought “Wow, that’s not like him,” and wondered whether you’d explain it on your blog. (And wondered whether the blog post would read simply, “Wil Wheaton gets bitter sometimes, but Wil Wheaton’s not the only one who’s acting like a jerk”… oh, that was just me? OK.) Don’t beat yourself up – everyone overreacts sometimes, and most of us aren’t nearly as gracious about it afterwards as you have been!
Hi! First time commenter here, and I have nothing to say about the Twitter-fight last night because I don’t Twitter, nor am I a gamer, nor have I ever seen Stand By Me (not that it has to do with this at all, but just saying).
I thought maybe I could make your day just a little better: I have enjoyed following your blog for about a year and a half now (not sure why I started, but whatever.) A year and a half ago not only was I not a gamer, but I admit I looked at gamers with pity and a bit of suspicion. Seriously, couldn’t they get a real life? Even when my best friend and her husband became involved in WoW without any visible detriment to their lives or social standing, I was both scornful and superior.
I still don’t game, either online or with dice, but since reading your blogs and listening to some of your speeches, my attitude has done a 180. Instead of seeing a fat useless slob every time I read the word “gamer” I see you or Felicia Day or just anyone normal with a different hobby than me. (I’d even be okay with my kids getting into it. Within reason.) Your “preaching to the choir” has reached me and others I know in ways that even having gaming friends didn’t, and if that’s true there must be others this is true of as well. So what you’re doing is working, whatever anyone else may think. Little changes, sure…I’m not a politician or anyone who influences the world today. But you know, I am a mom. Who knows what my kids may grow up to be, but they are much less likely to enter adulthood scorning your adult kids, because of you, and as every parent knows that is unadulterated victory. Congratulations.
Um…if the above came across as arrogant and/or condescending, I’m so sorry. I certainly didn’t mean for it to. Just trying to say I think you are doing good.
I watched this whole thing play out last night — and you were completely in the right. The comment was passive aggressive and disrespectful, and the forum used was so petty. Although I had wished you didn’t give those punks the benefit of a reaction aka HULK SMASH…you were rather civil and addressed the situation the best way Twitter will allow. Good on yah for letting those idiots have it — The guy was immediately eating his words!
Thanks for the context Wil. Having sinusitis wouldn’t have made it easy to keep your head clear.I hope you are recovering from that.
I think it is wonderful illustration of how considerate and reflective you are that you can come back today and offer this clarification, even though you have done nothing wrong.
Even knowing that it may be lost among many thousands of messages you received, reading your distress yesterday I just wanted to tweet you some +HP and replied to the effect:
“of course you are an advocate for gamers! Critics and misunderstanding are inevitable. Don’t let them rile you!”
I must admit, until you mentioned them, I had not heard of gamerdad(TM), ECA or gamepolitics!
Kind Regards and Get Well Soon!
H
There’s something you should know about the ECA that might help you understand what they mean when they say “he doesn’t advocate for games.” In political parlance the ECA is an “astroturfing campaign” — that is, an organization set up to look like a grassroots organization, but in reality a shill for corporate interests. The ECA was set up by the publishers so it would look like an advocacy group for gamers, which could then be used to lobby governments supposedly with the voice of game consumers. In reality, the organization is funded by publishers, not gamers. So when they say you “don’t advocate for gamers”, they don’t really mean within the gamer community — what they’re really saying is that you don’t use your celebrity on behalf of the gamer’s interests in lobbying government. Bottom line: if they want you to be their mouthpiece, there are legitimate non-harmful ways to make that happen, but that needs to be negotiated with terms both of you can live with. I’m not dissing the ECA here — I do think it has a legitimate purpose, and I do think it’s legitimate for the game industry to serve as the catalyst for these kinds of consumer organizations (otherwise they would never exist). But their true purpose is to serve business interests primarily, with a tangential benefit to the interests of gamer consumers on issues such as protection of first amendment/free expression and video game intellectual property issues, both of which are constantly under assault by political leaders.
If you are called out and asked “so wait what do YOU advocate for?” from a lobby group that is supposed to representing the community in the way you were, I don’t understand how it is out of line to say “how can you even ask me that?”
Practically everything you do seems focused on representing the gaming community to the world and setting a positive example to other gamers.
And it’s not like you chose gaming to advocate for because it would bring you massive amounts of fame and money. You’ve found a way to turn your hobby/passion into a career. You advocate from a place of honesty; you promote from a place of genuineness that many other advocates try to capture but they miss.
I have great respect for the work you do – whether written, acted, gamed, signed, etc. In the work you do, and being who you are, you advocate gaming by just exhaling. To not know this about you shows the speaker doesn’t really know your current work. Perhaps they still focus on the Wil Wheaton from the 80’s who was just a child star.
The Wil of today, from my impression, is someone who embraces his hobby completely. Since your advocacy for gaming is so much a part of who you are — or so it seems to me as just a voyeur to your life — it is incredibly insulting to ask “what do YOU do to advocate for gaming?”
Monetary contribution or assigning your name to a foundation doesn’t necessarily increase the value of your advocacy. People can only be who they are, and who you are seems to be someone who believes in gaming and what gaming means.
No, you weren’t out of line. They should apologize as well. I appreciate that you did and I don’t think I would have if I were in your shoes. But it proves me right again that you are a class-act and someone well deserving of the respect you have in the community and from me personally.
Wil, your apology when none was necessary just shows what a gentleman you are. And I swear I’m not kissing your ass becuse you wrote something nice about my first book many years ago. (Thank you, though.)
Now in the clear light of day, I’m kind of excited by the idea that Paul and Storm might write a song about Twitternacht!
(Note, that is an idea that came from within within my own head, but now it is in the head of all who read this….)
I followed a link that simply said….”So I lost my shit on Twitter last night and went HULK SMASH. Here’s some context.”
on a link gathering site looking for funny/interesting news/pics.
I have no idea who wil wheaton is. No idea what pax is. Or whatever these issues are about.
I read the twitter exchange, and wil definitely came across as a butt hurt crybaby. Then I started reading the comments.
Wow, I bet any person in any field or profession can become delusional with such a huge amount of sucking up and cock stroking. lol
From an outside observer it’s the same shit I expect to see from Sarah Palin and her followers, only about a completely different culture.
Hey Wil. I hope you have people around you that will really tell you when you are acting like an egotistic prick.
I don’t know what these guys consider advocacy, but in the end, I think it’s about results. I can’t speak to what they are or aren’t doing, but I can say this: there’s an Xbox 360 in my house because of Wil Wheaton, not GamePolitics. I downloaded Magic: The Gathering on Xbox Live Arcade on your recommendation (and got subsequently hooked on it). I have more and more friends that I can nerd out with about Mass Effect 2, Bioshock, or Fallout 3. People like you, Felicia Day, and Chris Hardwick are bringing nerd culture (and gaming with it) into the mainstream in a really big way. Two years ago, I wouldn’t have referred to myself as a gamer, but now I don’t even have to. People who know me, know I’m a gamer.
You may not be testifying in front of congress, or confusing Larry King from the other side of his desk, but in terms of meaningful advocacy, as far as I can tell, progressing gamer culture is the undertone of almost everything you do — even if just by being a gamer and a cool guy at the same time.
So whether or not you were insulted, I was insulted on your behalf. Asking if the Secretary for Geek Affairs is an advocate for gaming culture is kinda like asking if Ben Folds plays the piano.
Wil, having just watched a ST:TNG episode starring you I find it a bit funny that I found this on reddit. I understand where you are coming from or at least I think I do. Hard to ever know what another person is thinking or feeling. Add in that text loses the nuances of person to person speech and things can get very hazy. I’ve learned this the hard way far too many times.
Now to me the person behind gamerpolitics twitter account was asking you what specifically you supported in the gaming world. He knew you supported net neutrality (Do you? I don’t know but I’ll assume yes) but he needed to see what else you were about. I’m not sure who handles the twitter account but they may not be anyone in higher management. There might have been a mid or low level person writing. Heck, it could have been an unpaid intern. But this person doesn’t represent the gamerpolitics (and thus the ECA) as a whole as a person but he probably forgot that he does so when posting on twitter. Likewise, the ECA and gamerpolitics doesn’t represent all gamers. I’d love it if a bureaucracy knew me by name and what I wanted from them but I’m one of many lost in a sea of voices.
Now I’m not here to endorse the ECA or gamerpolitics but much like you are doing now, it seems to me he was making an attempt at damage control. He saw he pissed off someone and tried to fix it. Unfortunately he (or she) hadn’t learned the life lesson that sometimes it is best to walk away. He probably didn’t know anything about your history with the ECA and seemed baffled by your reaction.
So, like most problems, this was a case of mis-communication. Unfortunately, that happens too often these days. Remember that organizations care about our culture, even if we don’t agree with them on all the semantics. It’s like Christianity, Baptist, Catholic, Latter Day Saints, and Jehovah’s witnesses all move in the same general direction but in different ways.
What’s the old saying? Don’t talk about money, politics or religion around friends and family?
Anyhow, let me be clear that I hold no ill will against you. I just work towards creating good will in all people, especially the very tight knit gaming industry.
I think a lot of the confusion stems from the fact that you are primarily known as a proponent of gamer culture, not gamer/tech politics/legislation. I believe that GamePolitics is aware of this, and that they were referring more towards legislative issues (Net Neutrality doesn’t really fall under the “culture” category). GP wasn’t questioning your credibility or anything of the sort. GP was asking for information on which political/legislative issues you support.
Essentially, you both have your own fields and you both assumed that the other person was talking about what you were familiar with.
(I hope this makes sense. I’m having a hard time figuring out the right way to explain what I’m trying to say.)
The most surreal thing about last night’s exchange was that @GamePolitics’ tweets were not showing up in the Twitter stream (at least for me). It was like you were getting angry at this great invisible foe only you could hear. I was worried that a bad combination of sinus pain, meds and too much Repo Man was causing hallucinatory Wil to hallucinate.
Glad to see that you are still sane 🙂
BTW, after finally reading through the entire exchange, the thing that is most striking is that someone with such poor communication skills as @GamePolitics is actually getting PAID to write the Twitters. Eek!
Don’t feel so bad. The guy was obviously being intentionally dense. I find that extremely irritating as well.
Eh, you’re human. It sucks, but it happens. Don’t beat yourself up.
My take was that they are pissed because you were pissed that they did not stand up for you or try to resolve the gamerdad issue. Instead of out right attacking you, they just minimize and belittle you advocacy in an passive aggressive obtuse way. Which is just a way for those who think they have the moral high ground to make their opponent look like a raging dick. When it is in fact them.
We all get bated by a troll at times. Sometime the troll eats us.
Sorry for the extra post, but by window for editing my previous comment expired.
From what I remember, GamePolitics was around before it became a part of the ECA. I also believe (based on memory of when this happened, it may have changed since then) that the relationship between GamePolitics and the ECA is more akin to a partnership than a direct publication. I don’t think the goings-on at the ECA automatically trickle down to GP.
In short, GP != ECA.
Only if it says “I’m THE Wil Wheaton, Beyotch!”
I’m a role player & strategy gamer, not a video gamer, so I asked, “What is the ECA? What is GamePolitics? What does it have to do with role playing? What does Net Neutrality have to do with role playing? What am I missing?”
Then I saw it had to do with video games, so I said, “Whatever. . .it’s not something I’m interested in. . ..”
As an amateur writer, though, I can see the room for misinterpretation in GamePolitics statement of “Yeah, but. . ..” We all dread hearing “Yeah, but. . ..” Perfectly human reaction that escalated into a perfectly human cycle of anger and misunderstanding.
It’d be cool to see this whole thing develop into something positive. Sometimes that happens with initial ignitions of conflict.
At the very least, I learned a teeny bit about video gaming and might find myself looking to learn more later. Can’t see myself getting big into video games, but I run with those circles every once in awhile.
That guy was way out of line. He was commenting on something which isn’t even his business. If this organization wants to represent gamers to congress they need to have some more backbone. Some people just won’t be reasoned with and it sounds like this guy is one of them.
Thanks for that, Jules. It slipped through my radar the first pass. Yes, he mentions games…makes me want to dust off my Atari 2600. I like that in 2007, “DRM is evil” but in 2009 he was singing the praises of Rhapsody. Welcome to the dark side 🙂
Paul
While I know you weren’t playing the “I’m Wil Fucking Wheaton, Bitch!” card, I also know for a fact you sell “Hi, my name is William Fucking Shatner” shirts. So, you have that going for you.
/wears mine proudly
//but not at my kids’ elementary school
///but at my day job on occasion
You’re welcome, Paul 🙂
Misunderstandings suck, but last night I completely thought you reacted properly. Hell, I was saying the same thing in my head that you were tweeting. Since I was without the complete context, I still wasn’t sure what you had a need to apologize for after only reading this post. You had every right to be angry at GamePolitics, and I doubt you’ll ever word anything remotely close to a “Do you know who I AM?!” ever again.
GamePolitics really could’ve used a few more characters. I took one look at his first tweets and thought “Who hired this guy?” I suppose in his defense he was pretty tired and didn’t see how he could be possibly misconstrued.
copyright info from gamepolitics.com
Copyright © 2010 ECA. All rights reserved.
Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Just for the record, I think they were being deliberately obtuse because I’m not a gamer, I haven’t attended your conferences and even I know what you have advocated for in gaming.
They were just taking the passive aggressive stance of “if you ain’t with us, you ain’t ‘with’ us.”
But I agree, just play nice and walk on by. This isn’t worth the energy.
Looking back at this, you do come across as a real dickwolf. Instead of attack, you should have bragged.
All you really had to say was, ‘I advocate for gamers by making out with Felicia Day.’ and the day would have been won.
Wil,
I saw your tweets last night and was kind of surprised at your attityde. I thought the other guy must be really laying in to you for something. I then read both sides of the twit battle and decided that he was just ignorant and you were taking it a little personaly. Sure, you might have over reacted a little, but he was an anonymous twit and everybody in gamming knows who you are. He seemed to think you were just a guy who played a few games and was coasting on your acting chops.
I’ve been gaming since I bought the White Box from Gygax and subscribed to S&T when the issue numbers were in the teens, so I know a gamer when I see one. I know you started out as an actor in ST:TNG and still do some acting (great job in The Guild and looking forward to you in Eureka), but for the last few years you’re really a gamer. You play games, you write about games, you blog about games, you speak at Gamer conventions, heck, you even play a gamer in The Big Bang Theory. I don’t know what more you could do to promote games and gamers except maybe stand on a soap box on the corner and preach to the unconverted.
Sure the guy was hiding behind an anonnomous twitter account, and sure he seemed pretty uneducated about your history, and sure you did seem to over react, but you had every right to do so. Maybe it was bad form, but you explained yourself very well above.
What makes you the better person is you realized you acted poorly and appoligized, something I’ve not seen from the anonnomous troll who started this.
If gamers have a high profile figurehead, it’s you. Keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing you testify at the next Congressional investigation into the evils of gamming.
Personally, I think you have every right to be angry. They completely trivialized your contributions.
Hell it made ME angry because after hearing your first PAX keynote, my first response was “Finally, someone who gets it.”
For me, this is like a Music advocacy group talking up Britney Spears contributions to the industry and then asking who the Beatles are.
Totally behind you on this, Wil. Based on what you were provided, your reaction was justified.
Sadly, this is not uncommon in the realm of two-dimensional text messages, and even worse when the message has to be limited to 140 characters. I’ve been around since BBSes on 300 baud modems, so this is nothing unusual.
In other words, “shit happens”.
(I’m a gamer dad as well, and it’s awesome!)
I watched it as it was happening last night–the abrupt change in tone from the Repo Men live tweeting (don’t think less of me but I haven’t ever seen it before) caught my attention. What I saw, for what its worth, was two things:
1) Someone, probably young and new to his (or her) job, asked a question on Twitter and then formed an opinion based on probably about ten seconds of Google searching. Not wanting to admit to his or her naivete, said person decided to get stubborn and dig in instead of just letting it go. It reeked of “well I haven’t heard a lot about you yet so you must not be important” youth.
2) Someone overworked, under rested, uber tired and struck with (yet another mother fucking) sinus infection who was suddenly faced with the very last thing that he wanted to be faced with after spending weeks working without a break: someone questioning something that he holds near and dear to his heart.
Nobody is absolutely right here and nobody is absolutely wrong. When everybody is tired, things tend to get blown out of proportion really fast and I think that’s what happened. For the record I don’t think you were a dick at all and I think that any one of us would have reacted the same way if put in the same situation. I also wonder if maybe, after so much hard work for so long, a HULK SMASH moment hadn’t been brewing for a WHILE (in spite of your best efforts to keep it at bay) and the Twitter thing was just the proverbial straw.
I hope that you get to take some time soon that is just for you. You should know by now that we won’t go anywhere, so please don’t worry about any of us being disappointed if you take a few days away from blogging and Twitter to just hang out with your family and recoup. You’ve more than earned it. 🙂
In the meantime, because it looks funny, here is another virtual vegan Voodoo Doughnut: O 🙂
I read gamepolitics comments the same way you did.
I am a gamer, and a New Zealander so many of the smaller game advocates in America (ECA? Gamepolitics?) don’t speak loudly enough for us to hear them here. I consider you to be a pillar of game advocacy and few organisations or people (with the possible exception of Penny Arcade who as we all accept are under an entirely different standard) does more for advocating gaming than you do. The only defense I can think of for not knowing your contributions is not knowing anything about gaming or game advocacy.
Perhaps gamepolitics thinks that keynotes at PAX are like preaching to the choir (and chooses to disregard all the rest of your work?). If so, gamepolitics clearly cannot work the internet, because the glory of sites like youtube is their acceptance by even the computer illiterate, meaning that even those who have never heard of Johnathan Coulton or PAX will eventually watch “Jonathan Coulton serenades Wil Wheaton at PAX 2009” and say to themselves, “this Wil Wheaton guy seems awesome, what else has he done?”
Summery: it’s ok Wil, just because one guy has been living in a cave, most of the rest of the gamers of the world appreciate you (barring the dicks and dickwolves who are a bit sullen) and your work, and you have influenced many non gamers towards if not gaming then game acceptance because of your dedicated and unstinting efforts in gamer advocacy. We continually honour you for a reason.
I have to admit to being a bit saddened by gamerdad insisting that you couldn’t use that term; while I totally understand that trademarks work that way, one of the things I love about gamer culture is how inclusive we are. If you had asked me, I would have thought the point was for other gamer dads to relate to what gamerdad is doing, not to alienate them. It’s probably jealousy.
I wanted to comment on Twitter last night, but 140 characters really isn’t enough.
@wilw, I completely see why you would lose your shit over this. In short, the ECA pissed you off, and then a representative publicly wondered why you were upset about his/her remarks. Effectively, they were being ignorant about their ignorance, and that’s something that would set me off as well.
At the same time, I wouldn’t have called it worthwhile. Before I expand on that, let me clarify two points: 1) I am a video gamer (though not nearly as hardcore as I used to be), and while I never really got into “pen/paper” RPGs and the like, I strongly respect them and their influence on the video games I love; 2) I don’t claim to know anything about the ECA other than their general purpose of “representing” gamers to the government.
I personally find organizations like the ECA to be a little insulting. While I’m glad that someone is representing our interests when it comes to stupid laws and court rulings and such, the group’s existence and attitude makes me feel like I’m part of a repressed minority, as though I’m a member of a culture that needs government assistance to continue to exist. I can’t decide if it makes me feel more like an illegal immigrant trying to gain citizenship, or like a hippie trying to get pot legalized. Not that I have a problem with either of those; just saying, playing video games is not something that should require that kind of action.
But basically, where I’m going with this is: I may not be a part of a group that publicly advocates gaming (the above rant being my personal reason), but that does not mean I don’t advocate gaming. For you, as a celebrity with some public influence, that group simply feels that you should do something publicly to support THEIR cause. They don’t care about the simple fact that your public statements and appearances already speak volumes. In my opinion, the very fact that your presence on the Internet (e.g., your Twitter feed) very heavily involves gaming is enough to set an example. (That goes for @feliciaday as well, and probably others that I don’t know of.) You already have enough influence to send a message; groups like the ECA just wish they could claim you represent them. And with good reason. I, for one, pay a lot more attention to people like you who express genuine interest in gaming than to some group that says, “Hi, we represent you in the government; give us money.” But that may have more to do with my political views; I don’t vote either, so take that for what it’s worth.
Hrm…I hope this makes at least a little sense; it’s mostly train-of-thought. Forgive me; I just woke up and haven’t had enough coffee yet.
In short, you had a right to be offended, but the ECA is just being a dick.
I can sympathize with your reaction. I mean, you *are* well known for gamer advocacy, so when someone who purports to be knowledgeable on gamer culture questions how you advocate for gamers, it comes off as either absurdly ignorant (you don’t know what he does? really?), or as a dismissal of what you do as somehow meaningless or not good enough (your pax speeches? pah! what ELSE have you done for me lately?). I would have been upset too if I were in your shoes.
It’s big of you to apologize for overreacting. We get to see a lot of your unfiltered self via Twitter, and it would be kind of nuts to expect you to NEVER make a faux pas. You are human, after all.
Thanks much for posting this. I was wondering what was up, and I appreciate the back story. I don’t take you for a guy that gets hot-headed over non-issues, so I was sure someone was doing something akin to what you’ve written here.
I know I’m not alone in giving you the benefit of the doubt.
Speaking from a psychology background, it looked like complete passive/aggressive behavior, that you called out…and unlike the ECA, you didn’t cave on who you are or what you stand for. Myself, and many of the people who really know what you do and the impact you have had for ‘gamers’ were just as insulted and I’d go as far as to say PROUD of how you stood up to this flat our attack on your beliefs…
It is nice of you to explain and apologize, but it really wasn’t warranted and from what I’ve read from Gamepolitics after your apology, accepted with the same ‘snarky’ attitude that started this whole mess. Take a lesson from Duke Nukem… Kick ass and chew bubblegum!!! 🙂