the Slayers Guide to an Internet Controversy
June 24, 2012 8:19 PM Subscribe
(WARNING: rape related trigger language) RPG writer James Desborough has caused a controversy that brings up issues of sexism, gaming culture, and censorship. Desborough, author of works such as The Slayers Guide to Female Gamers (review here), Nymphology (review here), and The Quintessential Temptress, posted a blog entry titled "In Defense of Rape" (NSFW edited blog here) where he contended that rape was an excellent plot device. In response, Malyn Cooper first asked game companies such as Mongoose and Steve Jackson games to stop publishing Desborough's work, then started a petition drive on Change.com (altered petition here).
Mongose Games initial response to the petition was less than serious; though the damage control included an apology and policy change, it was too late to stop the controversy. On one side, were people who contended that lobbying companies to not publish an author was simply an exercise of free speech and consumer power, and on the other, that trying to keep an author from being published was censorship.
Some links to the controversy include: the rpg.net threads and more threads. The rpg.site. Threat or Menace. The rpg.site. Mightygodking.
As the controversy intensified, counter-petitions were created and the author of the petition began receiving rape threats. Threats showed up on the counter-petitions as well.
For his part, as the rape threats continued, James Desborough considered them to be harmless:
For the desperately hard of understanding. I have not asked anyone to send her rape threats and I know trolling when I see it. People like this young lady don’t – apparently – know trolling when they see it and take it seriously, then use it to back up their claims of harassment, rape culture etc. I know that’s the emotional payoff for you trolls, but the don’t. Please don’t do it, it really doesn’t help. Not that you mean it to help, nor that you’ll listen to me, but some people think failing to condemn something means you support it.
Nobody is coming to rape or beat me. Nobody is coming to rape or beat you. They're just being dicks. Doesn't mean it's not hurtful
Some samples of James Desborough's work:
From The Designer's Notes in Quintessential Temptress
Writing this one has been a little bit on the tricky side. After all, what makes a Quintessential Temptress? Beautiful women have a certain special 'something' about them that makes men into fools, allows them to twist us around their little finger and do anything for them, but how do you define that something or even base a whole character class around it?
The answer is you do not. Instead the best approach was to treat the temptress as a sort of metaclass; as, on, reflection, the special 'something' is actually just a matter of having breasts and being passably attractive. Any female character can be a temptress then, all it is, is a matter of approach. What this book would do then would be to expand upon the options for this sort of play.
Summon Sex Partner
This spell summons a creature and binds them into your presence or that of a client long enough for a sexual act to take place. The creature summoned may not be entirely willing (some are) but is bound by the magic of the spell to do what is required and cannot return to their home save by fulfilling the demands of the spell. Beware of meeting a previously summoned creature outside the context of the spell or you may well be in trouble.
The art of conjuration is dipped into by mages seeking to taste the fruits of other realms and worlds. Summonings stock the rooms of mystical bordellos and provide ‘easily’ available bed partners for lonely magicians with magical reagents to spare. Summoners can make a tremendous amount of money pimping their stable of supernatural lovelies to jaded merchants, rich nobles and adventurous bon vivants but the demands of these individuals can rapidly outstrip the mage’s ability to provide.
Blue magi can be particularly vindictive when it comes to the use of the geas/quest spell, as the commands they lay down with these spells tend to be extremely demeaning. When all his conventional attempts to woo lady Velocipede, known for her meek chastity and refusal of advances, failed miserably, the master mage Bertram Rounde laid a geas on her to lay with every man in the town.
Some of the more unpleasant or domineering blue magi like to make use of the hold person spell, as the subject remains aware of their surroundings but is unable to do anything about it.
sending can be used to transmit perverse and stalker type messages directly to the poor victim’s mind, leaving them no way to escape them.
Mongose Games initial response to the petition was less than serious; though the damage control included an apology and policy change, it was too late to stop the controversy. On one side, were people who contended that lobbying companies to not publish an author was simply an exercise of free speech and consumer power, and on the other, that trying to keep an author from being published was censorship.
Some links to the controversy include: the rpg.net threads and more threads. The rpg.site. Threat or Menace. The rpg.site. Mightygodking.
As the controversy intensified, counter-petitions were created and the author of the petition began receiving rape threats. Threats showed up on the counter-petitions as well.
For his part, as the rape threats continued, James Desborough considered them to be harmless:
For the desperately hard of understanding. I have not asked anyone to send her rape threats and I know trolling when I see it. People like this young lady don’t – apparently – know trolling when they see it and take it seriously, then use it to back up their claims of harassment, rape culture etc. I know that’s the emotional payoff for you trolls, but the don’t. Please don’t do it, it really doesn’t help. Not that you mean it to help, nor that you’ll listen to me, but some people think failing to condemn something means you support it.
Nobody is coming to rape or beat me. Nobody is coming to rape or beat you. They're just being dicks. Doesn't mean it's not hurtful
Some samples of James Desborough's work:
From The Designer's Notes in Quintessential Temptress
Writing this one has been a little bit on the tricky side. After all, what makes a Quintessential Temptress? Beautiful women have a certain special 'something' about them that makes men into fools, allows them to twist us around their little finger and do anything for them, but how do you define that something or even base a whole character class around it?
The answer is you do not. Instead the best approach was to treat the temptress as a sort of metaclass; as, on, reflection, the special 'something' is actually just a matter of having breasts and being passably attractive. Any female character can be a temptress then, all it is, is a matter of approach. What this book would do then would be to expand upon the options for this sort of play.
Summon Sex Partner
This spell summons a creature and binds them into your presence or that of a client long enough for a sexual act to take place. The creature summoned may not be entirely willing (some are) but is bound by the magic of the spell to do what is required and cannot return to their home save by fulfilling the demands of the spell. Beware of meeting a previously summoned creature outside the context of the spell or you may well be in trouble.
The art of conjuration is dipped into by mages seeking to taste the fruits of other realms and worlds. Summonings stock the rooms of mystical bordellos and provide ‘easily’ available bed partners for lonely magicians with magical reagents to spare. Summoners can make a tremendous amount of money pimping their stable of supernatural lovelies to jaded merchants, rich nobles and adventurous bon vivants but the demands of these individuals can rapidly outstrip the mage’s ability to provide.
Blue magi can be particularly vindictive when it comes to the use of the geas/quest spell, as the commands they lay down with these spells tend to be extremely demeaning. When all his conventional attempts to woo lady Velocipede, known for her meek chastity and refusal of advances, failed miserably, the master mage Bertram Rounde laid a geas on her to lay with every man in the town.
Some of the more unpleasant or domineering blue magi like to make use of the hold person spell, as the subject remains aware of their surroundings but is unable to do anything about it.
sending can be used to transmit perverse and stalker type messages directly to the poor victim’s mind, leaving them no way to escape them.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Rape + internet outrage + a whole bunch of inflammatory material quoted in the post itself makes this a not-ideal post for Metafilter. -- restless_nomad
While I was prepared to grant the opening clarification, that rape may be a useful and interesting plot element, I then moved on to the first three original paragraphs, which were nothing more than setting up strawmen and pre-emptive claims of victimization for speaking truth to power, man.
PROTIP: If the start of your essay involves you strenuously pulling on the table to slant it in your favour, your point is probably not as good as you think it is.
posted by fatbird at 8:29 PM on June 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
PROTIP: If the start of your essay involves you strenuously pulling on the table to slant it in your favour, your point is probably not as good as you think it is.
posted by fatbird at 8:29 PM on June 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
It should be an OS level feature that if you type the characters "in defense of rape" in any context it just pops up a box that says "Really?" or something like that.
posted by feloniousmonk at 8:32 PM on June 24, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by feloniousmonk at 8:32 PM on June 24, 2012 [4 favorites]
I feel vaguely guilty for having given this turd far, far more attention than he deserves.
posted by mightygodking at 8:35 PM on June 24, 2012
posted by mightygodking at 8:35 PM on June 24, 2012
I've never read any of this guys work, but a reviewer I trust a lot had this to say about the Slayer's Guide: First I recognize that this is a book intended to be humorous. I also believe I have a sense of humor and some idea what is funny.[..] This book really isn't funny. It's not that some of the material isn't interesting, it's just that most of it is the same old tired crap we've all heard a million times.[..]All of it smacks of a pretty juvenile mindset and a side of misogyny. This was one of the hardest books to slog through so I could write a review.
Something tells me that following this controversy wouldn't inform me much more than that summary. It also sounds like the companies involved would be out much not using this author. Whether there is some sub-set of his point that may be valid, it is pretty obvious this is neither the means nor the messenger that is appropriate.
posted by meinvt at 8:37 PM on June 24, 2012
Something tells me that following this controversy wouldn't inform me much more than that summary. It also sounds like the companies involved would be out much not using this author. Whether there is some sub-set of his point that may be valid, it is pretty obvious this is neither the means nor the messenger that is appropriate.
posted by meinvt at 8:37 PM on June 24, 2012
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posted by TwelveTwo at 8:27 PM on June 24, 2012