NeoGAF
About
NeoGAF is an Internet discussion forum dedicated to video game-related topics. Forum members have participated in the creation and proliferation of Internet memes and are particularly active during the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). The forum is known for having strict moderation, with users waiting months to be approved as a "junior member" and even longer to become regular members. The NeoGAF logo is a green and orange colored circle and has been included in the Nintendo DS puzzle game Scribblenauts as an Easter egg. NeoGAF is now a controversial group for its common banning and social justice in the gaming community.
In June 2013, GameTrailers did an episode on NeoGAF.
History
The video game news website Gaming-Age[9] established the Gaming-Age Forums (GAF) with UBB forum software in 1999. After holding a fundraiser for the forums in the spring of 2004, GAF received new hosting and software. On April 4th, 2006, GAF was relaunched as "NeoGAF" and received the new domain NeoGAF.com.[10] The new site featured "Gaming"[1] and "Off-topic"[2] sub forums with the "Gaming Community" and "Off-topic Community" sections added later.
Highlights
Adam Orth's "Always On" Twitter Gaffe
A series of controversial tweets by Microsoft Studios creative director Adam Orth defendeding "always-online" video games were heavily derided on the NeoGAF Forums in April of 2013.
Controversy
The controversial actions of NeoGAF and Tyler Malka have been described as ‘toxic’ to the gaming community. Evidences of both NeoGAF and Tyler Malka’s hypocrisy, delusion, cyberbullying, social justice, and common banning have been posted on numerous occasions. A Voat group known as NeoFAG[26] is a anti-NeoGAF forum that focuses on the latest controversies from NeoGAF.
Common Banning
This controversy is very common in NeoGAF. The mods on NeoGAF are known for banning users who hold differing opinions. There are numerous other ban reasons that are commonly considered ridiculous as the list goes on.
Boogie2988
YouTuber Boogie2988 was once a member of NeoGAF until he describe he became a victim of NeoGAF's bullying. They spend days bullying Boogie2988 into submission for supporting GamerGate and saying nice things about American author and equity feminist Christina Hoff Sommers. Later Boogie2988 was banned permanently from NeoGAF for not defending NeoGAF's women in gaming such as Anita Sarkeesian and Zoe Quinn.
Revenge Pornography Leak
On September 21st, 2014, Reddit user exname submitted a thread containing evidence that NeoGAF owner and admin Tyler Malka leaked nude photographs of one of his rival’s girlfriends a few years ago.
Stolen User Content
On September 20th, 2014, The Ralph Report[18] submit a news article on NeoGAF selling Kotaku user content without using permission. A tweet on Twitter is posted containing screenshot evidence and details on NeoGAF user Nanashrew having high hopes on putting Breitbart.com journalist Milo Yiannopoulos in jail for uncovering NeoGAF's corruption details.
Nikki Moxxi Harassment
On September 23rd, 2016, a Gizmodo article by Bryan Menedus was submitted, discussing about Oculus Rift founder Palmer Luckey supporting Donald Trump and dating GamerGate supporter Nikki Moxxi. This cause Gizmodo supporters, including NeoGAF,[27] to start a blatant attack on her Twitter page. Nikki Moxxi later closed her Twitter account due to the violent harassment.
Tyler Malka Sexual Harassment Allegations
On October 17th, 2017, an Imgur user uploaded screenshots a Facebook post written by film director Ima Leupp accusing Evilore, the online handle of NeoGAF owner Tyler Malka, of undressing and entering the shower with her uninvited while the two were on a trip together in New Orleans, Louisiana (shown below). On October 19th, the images were submitted to /r/Drama[28] but Redditor FulfilledOxyuranus.
Following the circulation of the Facebook post, NeoGAF users and mods abandoned the site en masse, leading the site to be taken down with a message claiming "NeoGAF is currently down for scheduled maintenance" (shown below).
On October 21st, YouTuber Mister Metokur held a livestream titled "NeoGaf: How One Man's Boner Ruined a Website," which gathered upwards of 134,000 views and 1,600 comments within 48 hours (shown below).
On October 22nd, Redditor Aeptia submitted a post titled "The Demist of NeoGAF Megathread" to /r/KotakuInAction,[29] which collected various links and discussions regarding the controversy. That day, Kotaku[30] reported that Leupp revealed she "continued her friendship and even had a brief physical relationship with Malka" after the incident until the two "had a falling out at E3 2015." Meanwhile, ex-members of the site launched the hashtag #ResetEra for an upcoming replacement forum.
Related Memes
Translator San
The photoshop meme Translator San from the 2009 E3 video game event was embraced by many users on NeoGAF in the early stages of its creation.
Dudebro
Dudebro is a 2D action PC game being developed by NeoGAF members. The game is intended to be a parody of military shooter games, featuring the protagonist John Dudebro and his sidekick Habemus Chicken.
The project was initially inspired by forum member Cuyahoga's response to being called a pedophile for enjoying the game Imagine: Babyz Fashion on December 7th, 2009:
"So, I'm a pedophile because I don't want to play Dudebro, My Shit is Fucked Up So I Got to Shoot/Slice You II: It's Straight-Up Dawg Time?"[7]
All My Friends Are Dead
On May 19th, 2011, forum member spiderman123 submitted a link to an Amazon page for the book Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach. After one user noted that Mansbach's other book All My Friends are Dead was listed on the page, several members began photoshopping images based on the book's cover featuring a forlorn-looking dinosaur.
NeoGAF Asshole
On December 20th, 2011, NeoGAF[8] member 24FrameDaVinci submitted a link to a Quickmeme[6] page titled "NeoGAF Asshole," featuring a photograph of a young man wearing a pair of glasses. The captions feature references to video games and inside jokes within the NeoGAF communtiy. As of April 2013, the Quickmeme page has received upwards of 1,000 submissions.
GAF'D
The term GAF'D is a inside joke directed towards NeoGAF's free company[23] (guilds) Gather Against Fate (GAF)[22] for the irresponsible actions they done wrong during gameplay from the Ultros server in MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV. On July 7th, 2014, Final Fantasy XIV release Patch 2.3 Defenders of Eorzea. This patch introduce elite ranked enemies for players to party up and battle for a challenge and greater rewards. NeoGAF members of GAF would purposely pull for themselves without waiting for everyone else to get a chance, causing drama against the free company GAF by shouting "GAF'D!" and along other shouts such as "Dammit GAF!". This term quickly became a meme and commonly used in shout command for trolling and blaming GAF.
Traffic
As of April 2013, Neogaf.com is ranked 3,922 in the world according to Alexa[4] traffic rankings.
Search Interest
External References
[1] NeoGAF – Gaming section
[2] NeoGAF – Off-topic section
[3] NeoGAF – Mascot thread
[4] Alexa – Neogaf.com site info
[5] NeoGAF (via Wayback Machine) – Now visited from North Korea (!!), NeoGAF has become truly global
[6] Quickmeme – NeoGAF Asshole
[7] NeoGAF – original quote
[8] NeoGAF – Meet NeoGAF Guy
[9] GamingAge – Gaming-Age
[10] NeoGAF (via Wayback Machine) – NeoGAF goes live
[11] Encyclopedia Dramatica – NeoGAF
[12] Encyclopedia Dramatica – Tyler Malka
[13] Giant Bomb – Dellusional people on NeoGAF
[14] The Ralph Retort – NeoGAF Is A Joke And GamerGate Proved It
[15] The Ralph Retort – NeoGAF Has a Pedophile Problem
[16] The Ralph Retort – NeoGAF Owner Implicated in Revenge Porn Leak
[17] The Ralph Retort – Guilty? The Tyler Malka Pictures
[18] The Ralph Retort – NeoGAF Allegedly Sold Kotaku User Content Without Permission
[19] Tumblr – Boogie2988 – In reference to that ban on Neogaf…
[20] Reddit – NeoGAF's admin aka EviLore helped leak private nude photos of the girlfriend of a member of rival forum some years back
[21] The Ralph Retort – NeoGAF’s Malka: The Definition of a Sleazebag
[22] Final Fantasy XIV – Gather Against Fate FC Profile
[24] The Ralph Retort – NeoGAF’s Tyler Malka Accused of Sexist Abuse of Power aka The Spanish Groping Incident
[25] The Ralph Retort – NeoGAF Breaks Out in Another Pedo Pity Party, Threatens to Ban Abuse Survivor
[27] Archive – Oculus' Palmer Luckey funds white supremacy group
[28] Reddit – Admin of Neogaf sexually assaulted a woman in the shower
[29] Reddit – The Demise of NeoGAF Megathread
[30] Kotaku – NeoGAF Goes Dark After Sexual Misconduct Allegation Against Owner
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