More women who were sexually harassed are coming out. One avenue where misogyny is perceived rampant is in the video game industry. One of the most notable gaming forums on the internet, NeoGAF, is in the midst of a turmoil after accusations of sexual misconduct surfaced against the owner of the longest-running forum site.
A few days ago, several moderators from NeoGAF left their posts. The mass exodus came on the heels of a Facebook post written by film director Ima Leupp.
Her social media post was part of the now trending #MeToo movement that created a safe space for women to speak up about their personal experiences of being sexually harassed.
Leupp's post detailed how she and NeoGAF site owner Tyler "EviLore" Malka went drinking in a New Orleans hotel in April 2015. After getting sick from drinking, Malka came up behind Leupp in the shower without the director's consent. Leupp then screamed at Malka to get out.
The gaming forum site has since been inactive following a string of threads where users requested bans, deluged the forums with fuming posts, and blatantly announced that they were leaving.
With the majority of its moderators leaving the site, NeoGAF's future remains to be seen.
A long-time moderator told Kotaku that a lot of them have been considering walking out long before Leupp's revelation but decided against it to keep the website intact and promote its goodness. However, with the sexual allegation hurled against the owner of the site himself, the moderators felt it was their "moral compunction" to side with the victim and cut ties with both the site and owner.
NeoGAF is frequented by a lot of video game developers, media and video game executives. The site has enjoyed a weighty clout in the video game industry ever since it was founded in 2004. NeoGAF has been a source of breaking news for video games and other related materials as well feedback from countless of video game fans and professional gamers.
Malka has responded that Leupp's allegation was wrong and that the incident at the shower was "totally harmonious and consensual." The NeoGAF owner also said the site should be up and running again and will move away from the sexual harassment discussion plaguing society today.
