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Flamer
Gallery:
A flood
of "interesting" and sometimes hilarious hate
mail and flames has come our way since VS launched
in June 2002,(especially from
some gamer sites and articles that misrepresented our views--let
me state here cleary, and only for myself, A.M.S. does
not
support censorship nor does she oppose violence inside
computer games). Also, it may help to know when you
are venting your
(woman-hating) misogyny that "Joan" is the spelling
for "John" in Catalan. This is not to say we
dont also appreciate the more seriously in-depth critical
and/or
fan mail. Anyway here are some of the flaming jewels:
----------------------------------
"BARBIE"
Hello,
What a stupid initiative!!! If you don't like the game just
don't buy it, and don't piss off other people with your
shit.
Just a woman could have think of making something like Velvet
Strike....
if you don't realize that videogame is just a VIDEOGAME,
an that its a fake world, well then, GO PLAY WITH YOUR BARBIE!
its the same kind of people as you that tell that violent
movie influence people and make them commit murders. The
facts is that most people are intelligent and can see THE
difference...
Anyway,
----------------------------------
"BUSH
IS JUST A GOOD GUY"
You DO
know this is just a game and not a tool of the military-industrial
complex, right?
Your "manifesto" reads like a paranoid conspiracy
theory. Very disturbing. I also find it amusing the way
you try to
de-humanize President Bush thereby making everything he
does the work of a crazed cowboy. Old trick, please move
along·
----------------------------------
"CS
IS MY WAY OUT AFTER 911"
I
would like to start off by saying that your "mod"
is one of the stupidest things I've ever seen. Your "About"
section makes you sound like a left-wing, anti-everything.
Your Intervention section borders on game breaking. Many
people (myself included) paid $50 for a copy of Half-Life,
Tribes 2, and Counter-Strike, and what you're telling people
to do will ruin the 'expericance' for all who play and pay
for the game. I am in a Counter-Strike clan, and if anyone
saw someone jumping off of a large object, they would get
banned almost instantly. Although we can all wish for a
utopian society where we can all live in peace and harmony,
that will never happen. And although Counter-Strike glorifies
war, it is the time that we live in, and it is also an extremely
enjoyable game.
I also take extreme umbrage about your section explaining
Velvet-Strike. I watched as the Twin Towers of the World
Trade Center burned and colapsed. I saw people jumping out
of those towers live, not on some TV. I smelt the smoke,
heard the rumble, felt the earth shake. Those are images
and feelings that are indescribable. I cannot get the image
of the first tower crashing down, destroying everything
below. I was in that Plaza, was on the Observation Deck,
had dinner at Windows on the World, knew people who worked
there, took the PATH trains inside of it! And when you say
that we should not be at war with Afgnastan, it makes me
stomach turn and my heart sink. I cannot begin to describe
the anguish I felt after 9/11.
Although I can understand why you feel this way, I do not
understand why you have to ruin the game for those who enjoy
it. CS was my way out after 9/11. I played alot of CS after
that, in order to take out my anger against those 19 bastards
who caused the destruction of the WTC. Please, do not ruin
my game.
-Mike Ditka is God!
---------------------------------
"SPAM
SAMPLES"
I dont
think any of us have ever hugged a tree before but now might
be a good time to pick up some new nasty habits. Loved the
post where someone copied Coutner-Strike Forever a zillion
times mispelled. In addition to the spam there were a number
of posts calling us gay faggots. Thanks for the compliments.
159||159||0||159||DONT
LISTEN TO WHAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE TO SAY SUPPORT THE TREE
HUGGING!||TREE HUGGER||21:52:30 06/09/2002
219||219||0||219||THIS
IS THE BESTEREST GAME EVER!!!!!!!||VELVETSTRIKE
----------------------------------
"ART
CRITIQUE"
4) U
spoke about the fact that the maps of CS were beautiful
etc...did you seriously watch the sprays you offer on your
website ? I mean half of them are as good as my first drawing
in paintbrush and the other half are just good to be used
on servers run by the gaypride.
----------------------------------
"DEATH
THREAT TO BRODY AND HIS 'BOSS'"
You and
your boss are dumb and you deserve to die. there is nothing
wrong with playing a fucking game for God's sake. Now if
you want to go pick flowers and drop acid. by all means
do it. but stay the fuck out of our buisness. It's a fucking
game. and if you have nothing better to do then try to fuck
it up. I pitty you and you are makeing your selfs just as
"low" as the people you alienating..
----------------------------------
"SMART
ONES"
For
starters your HTML skills suck hard core. When you
make a link so people can email you its: <a href='mailto:address@something.com'>hi2u</a>.
It appears you can't even use frontpage. #2 How do you propose
to stop cs players from killing people by joining the servers?
They'll just kill you. And the tactics you propose are very
similar to those proposed by <http://www.myg0t.com>www.myg0t.com.
Isn't it good to be associated with cheaters? And sprays
are just about the most worthless way of getting your point
across. What'd be more effective is crashing servers or
going to these people's homes and giving them bibles or
something. But since you openly support homosexuality you
probably aren't christian. You picked the worst way to go
about trying to stop cs...oh well I guess all the smart
ones are playing CS
----------------------------------
"THINK
TOO HARD"
Thinking
too hard to be a gamer. Hmm. Thanks for the "help".
Let me clarify one thing here for this poor misinformed
gamer whose email is sampled below: large or small relative
body proportions of characters are not determined by technical
sophistication of game engine rendering. These are choices
made by the game designers--and also it might help to know
Half-life, for which Counter-Strike is a mod, is built on
the old Quake2 Engine:
Velvet-Strike,
I just read your "about" page on your Velvet-Strike
website. I am to argue every single thing you argued against
Counter-Strike. I can‚t say I‚m offended by it,
more so stupefied. I hope everybody in the gaming world
sees your ignorance. With all due respect, you don‚t
know a thing about the gaming community, or Counter-Strike,
despite your ever-so "extensive" studies.
[...]
With
the oversize, funny male monsters you say, that‚s actually
a technical thing. Back in the early 90‚s, game development
wasn‚t advanced enough to create accurate physical
depictions of human figures. Again, you think too hard.
[...]
It‚s
just a game, it‚s not mean to have an outlook on the
world outside of the computer, it‚s just a game. Something
you clearly didn‚t understand. You thought there was
more when there was none. Ein spiel, und kein mehr. Gamers
know this, I know this, as I am a gamer. The gamers you
seem to make out as innocent beings without guidance being
sucked into a horrible world, know more than you.
In an attic at midnight, you are looking for a black cat
that isn‚t there.
I apologize for any negative feelings between us, but hey,
your essay was ruined because of your clear misunderstanding
of gamers, as well as your incorrect definition of "realism."
I know you have good intentions, but these intentions were
based on disinformation and misunderstandings. I hope all
the gaming community sees you and what you stand for, so
they can see the face of ignorance.
p.s. Your sprays, nobody would every take them seriously,
if I saw those in a server, everybody would think some little
punk is trying to be funnyŻ. I‚m trying to help you.
A response would be great.
Brennan S.
President & CEO, Ithaca Web Design LLC (and proud gamer)
Denver, CO, USA
Webmaster & HUD Sprite Guy
----------------------------------
"THE
TROUBLE WITH FEMINISM"
Whats
with all the feminist bullshit?
Drew Baye
www.baye.com
www.baye.org
www.baye.net
----------------------------------
"REAL
REVOLUTIONARIES"
From:
Susan Otto
Dear Anne Marie,
I know real revolutionaries and your video game is a joke.
No offence, but civil war and freedom fighting is not some
little game in your precious little suburban world. It's
a pity that people like you are so uninformed about politics,
agit prop art, propaganda, etc, that your project could
have been good. Instead it's just sensational and not very
good graphics/images/texts. I am telling you this beccause
I like your work, but you are showing how uninformed you
are with this project.
Keep trying!
----------------------------------
"A.M.S.'S
PERSONAL FANTASY WORLD"
I
can't tell you how much I love your Velvet-Strike ad. It
lets me laugh at least 10 minutes a day. You, and those
like you are the reason why the US is spiraling out of control.
People are too wrapped up in their feelings, worrying about
the inequality in video games, and if its too soon after
(said in a hushed, awed voice) 9/11 to be playing games.
I'd appreciate it if you'd write another article about things
you have no idea about. Its much cheaper to get a few laughs
from your articles than going to the movies or buying a
book about the "male dominated and white dominated
American system". Please, open your eyes sometime...you'll
find it might be a nice break for the fantasy world you
obviously live in.
----------------------------------
"GO
FUCK UP CANADA"
Hi,
I wanted to say I don't support YOUR stupid little brigade to create peace and
love and shit like that, face it its just POINTLESS BULLSHIT!
If you think that you can actually stop hate, then you're just a fucking moron,
it's like trying to say that the DEA will actually stop drug trafficking. Those
two things will never be stopped. Human nature is to hate the enemy. And another
thing don't flood are fucking games with this "LOVEY DOVEY BULLSHIT!" I
almost hate you people more than my enemies. So one last thing, If you and your
queer little hippy friends don't like America, then
FUCKING LEAVE! GO FUCK UP CANADA OR SOMETHING!!!
- Sincerely, your worst enemy
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"STOP
COUNTER-STRIKE"
Don't you see that if you people start protesting at a server with lots of player,
people will just want to SHOOT YOU?! Lame. Stop protesting, it doesnt work. LOL ----------------------------------
"IDEA
FOR VELVET-STRIKE"
Why don't
you go spray those spraymarks in middle
of some real battle situation for a starter. Or try convincing the terrorists
to stand in a shape of heart not shooting each other, thats a goodstart,
now leave us counter-strike players alone.
Petter Lillhonga/Finland
----------------------------------
"MISS
JOAN'S FEMINIST NONSENSE"
miss
Joan Leandre
what do you think this " anti voilence ting" in
CS i going to do?
it will have no affekt what so ever. These are people that
want to play this "killing game" becaouse the
think it's fun, and if some people try to sabotage it they
will just change sever, or make shure you get banned from
the one they are inn.
if you want world peace (witch i asume is what your goal
is) you should start a political carrier or join\start a
protest group that's conserned about realife, not what some
computergame people play to have fun.
I never play this game online so i'm not very concerned,
i just think you are wasting your own time, while you could
have acompliched somthink that would be way better for sosicety.
hope you understood everyting, English is my 2nd languange
so i'm not to good at it
Øystein dyrli - Norway
Ps: i have no read allmost everyting in the /about.html
and found that this seems like some feminist none sence,
first you are against the wiolence and then your complaining
that there are no female characters...make upp your mind..
---------------------------------- "AMERICAS
ARMY PLAYER WITH MARINE SKILLS" I think that the idea of Velvet Strike is somewhat humorous, but I think
that in terms of trying to promote anti-war or anti-violent sentiment,
it is totally
counter productive.
I'm thinking right now what it would feel like if I were playing in a really
close game with my friends in (I don't play Counterstrike) Urban Terror or
America's Army. If we were all working together with a cohesive strategy,
and giving the game our all in both tactical knowhow and game-playing skill.
I'm
sure I would feel very upset and disappointed if our efforts were undermined
by people spending the round spraying silly graffitti or jumping off of buildings.
In fact, I would probably consider it unfair to players on both sides. Groups
of people get together expecting a challenging game and intense teamwork.
But this challenge is undermined because a few people joined the server just
to
ruin the game for everyone.
As a result of that, people would feel angry at you, and become especially
un-receptive to any message you wanted to convey to them. People who otherwise
might be sympathetic would feel angry and not listen. I think the very idea
of Velvet Strike is supremely counter-productive, unless your real goal is
just to annoy people.
Also, I think that you might be mis-interpreting certain aspects of so
called "realistic" first
person shooters.
Firstly, they are usually not terribly realistic. America's Army (my favorite)
is the most realistic one, and all the rest tend to be far less realistic.
Specifically, people run too fast and are too accurate even after having
been shot multiple times and even when under the effects of suppressive
fire. Grenades,
especially launch grenades, tend to be especially weak and non-damaging.
(I understand that most normal grenades have a "kill radius" of
30 feet or so, and the radius for wounding extends far beyond that.) Usually
people
can aim accurately too fast, and in the vast majority of these games it
is possible to run around scoped in on a high powered rifle and pull of
perfect
shots while running. Of course, that is totally absurd. Finally, even the
way that trauma and damage to the human body are handled is rather ridiculous.
Most people who are shot and who subsequently die will die of blood loss
and
shock, not from the actual immediate effect of the wound. Even if you shoot
someone in the heart with a high powered round and the heart is totally
destroyed, an FBI study found that he or she will still be able to fight
for around
30 seconds before losing consciousness and dying. But, there are no FPS
games that even implement this except for Urban Terror and America's Army
which
has
a partial implementation. Then, there are numerous small mechanical issues
in most of these games, like the characters chambering rounds too often.
So, it is incorrect to say that these games are realistic in reality.
Secondly, I think that it is false to conclude that these games have anything
to do with real world violence. I know many people who play first person
shooters of all kinds, and most of them are very non-combative. Personally,
I have had
the good fortune in life to study unarmed combat and the use of firearms
under very well trained and experienced ex-marines. I enjoy combative sports
like
judo or kickboxing. And I really do love my first person shooters, and my
light gun games at the arcade on which I can use real world pistol-aiming
skills.
But, I am also one of the most left-wing, easy-going, and mellow people I
know. I have not struck anyone in anger since I was in middle school, which
was before
I had any combat training or played any violent video games. As my knowledge
of combat has increased, my desire to do violence to anyone has diminished
accordingly. I may enjoy a first person shooter game, but I know that they
are not realistic (discussing the realism becomes something of an academic
game sometimes) and it has nothing to do with my level of anger or desire
to do violence in the real world. I daresay that it may be a gross oversimplification
to say that a violent game suggests a desire to do violence.
Thirdly, you complain about lack of female representation in many first
person shooters. Well, you do have a point there, but I think that it needs
some
comments added to it. Firstly, there are some first person shooters that
let you play
as a female...in fact, in some, you have no choice but to be female. Examples
of these games would be "Rise of the Triad", "Perfect Dark", "No
One Lives Forever", "No One Lives Forever II", "Quake III" (oh
yes, there are female character models in Quake), and the Urban Terror mod
for quake. Secondly, if "realism" is a goal, there is a real-world
basis for not having female player models. I don't know what the deal is with
SWAT teams, but theoretically in the US military women are not supposed to
take combat roles. Sexist? Possibly...there are arguments for and against.
Personally, I think that women should be allowed to take combat roles. However,
that dosen't change the fact that as of now, they're not supposed to. Therefore,
there is a very realistic basis for not letting you play a female character
in "America's Army". Of course, in Counter-Strike, I guess there's
no technical reason why the terrorists couldn't have females.
And in any case, none of these issues are really being addressed or remedied
when you try to annoy the players of these games. As I said earlier, you're
just pre-disposing the players against you, making them upset, and not really
stating your goal or viewpoint very clearly.
----------------------------------
"POLITE MARINE"
Dear Anne-
Hello! My name is Paul Hirseman. I am a Lance Corporal in the Marine Corps,
and an avid fan of CS. I cannot remember how i found your site. However
I have decided
that it be prudent that i comment on some of the statements and articles contained
within. I am not going to rant or be nasty. Just make some obsevations from "the
other side of the fence" as it were.
First of all, i must disagree with your statement that there are no females in
Half-Life. There are indeed female characters. One type being the Government
Black Ops squad who is almost certainly composed of females. Unless men have
been known to grow mammary glands i believe they are female. Also- a considerable
way into the game the player encounters a fellow scientist -Female-
Who is wearing a HEV mk.7 suit identical to Gordon Freeman's. She is not "disproportionate" or
especially remarkable in any way except that she managed so fight and survive
at least as long as your character. Also, after reading your article in the "about" section-
i wish to clarify some misconceptions you (or someone) has drawn about CS. First-
opposite teams do not hate each other, or wish bodily harm in each other. Your
article seemed to imply that people on opposite teams instantly hate each other
personnally. This is almost always not true. This also brings me to another point-
I have made many personal friends from my time playing this game. Many of which
i have face to face contact with on a regular basis. I have never had any sort
of altercation arise from a game that went badly or well- it is merely a game.
There is also one final problem i must adress. Your statement that the strategies
for the T's or the CT's are almost identical is simply untrue. Your statement
(which i cannot find at the time i am writing this, doh!) that you had played
it breifly clearly mirrors the latter opinion. Oh, and finally there are a significant
number of females playing -and enjoying- CS that i know of: we have two in our
clan! (<http://www.kpclan.net>www.kpclan.net)
Neither of them are a hindrance to the way we play and contribute greatly to
our ability to strategize and succeed.
Yours Truly,
Paul William Hirseman III |
