The Player: SXSW axes talks on diversity in gaming because of threats of violence

The gaming industry continues to struggle when it comes to playing nice. “In the seven days since announcing these two sessions, SXSW has received numerous threats of on-site violence related to this programming,” read a statement attributed to SXSW Interactive director Hugh Forrest. “If people cannot agree, disagree and embrace new ways of thinking in a safe and secure place that is free of online and offline harassment, then this marketplace of ideas is inevitably compromised.” Level Up was described as a “panel from experts on online harassment in gaming and geek culture, how to combat it, how to design against it, and how to create online communities that are moving away from harassment.” Randi Harper, one of the speakers of the Level Up panel and a founder of the Online Abuse Prevention Initiative, posted SXSW’s cancellation notice. Harper stressed on Twitter that the panel was “not gamergate related.” The gaming industry’s long and unfortunate struggles with harassment came to the fore in 2014 thanks to an Internet-driven movement dubbed gamergate. SavePoint was organized by a group calling itself the Open Gaming Society, and it posted a response on its website Monday saying that SXSW did not “want to fuel a vicious online war between two sides.” Threats of violence are not exactly uncommon when it comes to discussing diversity in gaming.