The problem with the left isn’t that anarchists and tankies get into internet arguments sometimes. That shit doesn’t matter, none of this matters.

The lack of organization that matters is at the top. The root of the problem is that the far right likes the GOP, but the far left does not like the DNC. And first-past-the-post elections ensure that the far left can’t hope to organize any kind of competition to challenge the DNC.

Could they? Sure, they hold the keys to the kingdom and can block the release of any title for any reason. And eventually Sony is going to say that PS4 is done, no more PS4 games, and eventually they will also do so for PS5, 6, 7…

But I don’t think it makes any sense for them to do so prematurely. Cross-gen releases are good for them because the side-by-side comparison helps demonstrate the power of the new hardware. Upgrade paths help keep consumers locked into the ecosystem, even if they buy the last-gen version now they’ll have an incentive to buy better hardware to play it on later. And probably most importantly, it’s just not a good idea to burn bridges with their business partners by being too controlling.

The fact that we’re still seeing PS4 games released today tells me that long cross-generation transition periods will remain the norm.

Huh? What are you talking about?

“Separate art from artist” is one of those vague phrases that can mean very different things depending on context.

From a media analysis perspective, it can mean to simply evaluate the work on its own without considering who made it or authorial intent. Another way of saying Death of the Author. This is a valid lens of media analysis, but it should not be the only lens.

More often though it gets used as a way of saying “I’m just going to pretend any controversies surrounding the author don’t exist and enjoy it anyway.” Now I’m not going to tell anyone they can’t enjoy anything by problematic creators, because I certainly have my share of such works I still enjoy. I’m not pure and I think anyone who claims to be is lying.

But I still think it is necessary to acknowledge and engage with those controversies - especially when it comes to financially supporting such creators or boosting their platform. You have to decide for yourself where to draw the line, but you should make that decision without plugging your ears and sticking your head in the sand.

The worst way of using this phrase though, is when people use it to mean “You should pretend any controversies surrounding the author don’t exist, stop bringing it up, don’t even talk about it. I don’t want to do any introspection about it, so it makes me feel insecure when anyone else does.” When people try to use it as a conversation stopper in response to controversy, that’s complete bullshit.

Consider H.P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft was a hugely influential writer who spawned an entire subgenre of horror. He was also a horrible racist, and that puts his body of work in a different light when you recognize how much of it is ultimately about fear of Other.

As far as media analysis goes, it’s not like his work is inherently racist. Just because he was a bigot doesn’t mean his writing is. But his bigotry certainly did influence his writing, and it’s necessary to understand this to truly understand Lovecraft. Lovecraft is tied to his work in a way that can’t fully be separated.

From a financial perspective, Lovecraft is long dead, and all of his work has passed into the public domain. Reading his work won’t fuel further bigotry, and so I don’t think it’s something anyone has to feel bad about.

Huh? I asked you a question.

About what? I still have absolutely no clue what you’re talking about.

What exactly do you even think I’m lying about?

I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. I haven’t lied.

What the hell are you even talking about?

You keep putting words in my mouth that I never said.

Huh? I said no such thing.

No, not at all.

What part of this is equivalent to boiling puppies?

What part of enjoying a Kirby game is equivalent to boiling puppies?

Do you think that playing a video game is even remotely equivalent to that? Do you think that’s a valid analogy?

No, not at all. You’re the one actively trying to antagonize anyone who dares enjoy something.

Alright, since you can apparently only communicate in memes, I’ll try speaking your language.

Is spamming that in response to every single comment your idea of ‘legitimate criticism’? Use your words instead of just your ctrl-v.

Is spamming these strawmen to every community after you got banned from [email protected] your idea of ‘legitimate criticism’?

Labels are an approximation. There will always be people who don’t neatly fall into those labels. We can invent more labels to improve coverage, but no matter how fine-grained we try to get there will always be outliers.

But just because they’re an approximation doesn’t mean they can’t be useful. Many people take comfort in labels, even discover themselves through labels. No reason to take them away from the people they’re helpful to.

As long as we accept that labels aren’t perfect and don’t force them on people who don’t want them, it’s okay for labels to be imperfect.