The dark side of the game

[allers]

Neo-Nazi and White Power Groups Using Author's Website to Organize
author: no pasaran
Neo-Nazi and White Power groups in Canada, the US and elsewhere have been using Nationstates.net, an online gaming site based on Australian author Max Barry's novel, Jennifer Government, to recruit new members through free and apparently unmoderated message boards. Let him know what's up with supporting hate groups by letting them use his site!
PLEASE REPOST WIDELY!

Nationstates.net, an online gaming site registered in the name of and based on Kensington, Victoria author Max Barry's novel, Jennifer Government, is being used by Neo-Nazi and White Power groups in Canada, the US and elsewhere to organize and recruit new members online through message boards and forums hosted by the site.

Barry's second novel, Jennifer Government has received very good reviews and the movie rights have just been bought with a movie deal sure to follow. The book is a sardonic and witty dark comedy about corporations run amuck through unrestricted capitalism. Many have said the book contains a strong anti-globalist stance, although Barry denies that his views are in line with anti-globalists. He is a well-received and successful author perhaps set to follow in the footsteps of successful Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk.

Which makes this second part too important to ignore.

Barry created a game site where players create their own nations and play politics with each other, called www.nationstates.net. No wars, just build your nation and debate with each other on forums or through an online United Nations.

After visiting the site, it became obvious that the only editorial policy was about each nation's flag, which cannot contain "a swastika or nudity," although other common Nazi and White Power symbols are perfectly fine. Forums are even less moderated and frequent threads are being posted such as, "How Jews oppress the mentally ill."

It seems as though Neo-Nazis have flocked to the site to create nations of their own. Nations, in gameplay, are part of regions that function as small networks. Each region has its own forum, as well as other forums hosted by a linked site, free of charge. Nazis soon began creating their own regions, including links to external sites and racist bulletin boards such as Stormfront.

When asked about how they were going to respond to hate groups using the site for message boards, a moderator proceeded to lecture about game rules and terms of service. In other words, they blew it off.

One moderator even went so far as to make an in-game reference to "prominent Jewish bankers" opposing a Nazi rally in the daily gameplay announcements.

Searching the NationStates region list, I came across a number of mini-sites within the game controlled by white power activists and being used to promote hate. They include (just Search in the Region drop-box on the main page):

4th Reich SS,
Nazi Deutschland Axis,
The URAP,
NAZI EUROPE,
The NSIA,
Aryanised Europe,
Vichy France,
The United Axis,
Leftists here (a game region taken over by nazis where they threaten to hang "race traitors"),
Idaho,
Supreme Nazi Europe,
Axis Powers,
Norselandic Warriors Front,
the Prussian Reich,
the Fascist Powers,
White Aryan Resistance,
New Stormfront,
...and perhaps more I have simply not discovered yet, with nearly two-hundred user accounts with names such as The Holy Empire of Aryanville, The Nazi Empire of One Reich 1488, etc., including links to these bulletin boards:
s9.invisionfree.com/The_NSIA/index.php?
s12.invisionfree.com/The_Fascist_Powers
thearyanarmy.proboards61.com/index.cgi

Why is this important? The site is accessed by thousands of players. It is prime recruitment ground for White Power groups, and by allowing them free space for their message boards, Nationstates.net is practically handing them fresh members. As a prominent author whose second novel is soon to become a movie, Max Barry should know better. Let him know what's up with the website.

Freedom of speech doesn't mean tolerating hate or letting hate groups use his website's services.

Please contact Max Barry and ask him to take a stand against hate groups on the internet by revising the site's editorial policy to stop them from organizing on it. Each recruit they get equals another racist attack.

No more hate in online games!

email him:
[e-mail] or
[e-mail]

write him:
Max Barry
PO Box 1203
Kensington, Victoria 3031
Australia

or phone him:
from Australia:[phone]
international: +61.351456139

Nationstates.org and Nationstates.net are registered to Max Barry through Go Daddy Software, Inc. and are hosted by DNS1.JOLT.CO.UK and DNS2.JOLT.CO.UK.

Please. It's up to all of us to put racists where they belong

[righteousnesous]

Sorry, not sure I understand why it is a problem for the nazi fools to see that I was perusing their forum page??? Are you saying that my nation would become the target of Nazi propaganda, or... what???

[Anarchic Tribes]

Rumour has it

www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/08/321106.html

there is presently a pertracted war on NS between the left and the fash, if you really want to help, create a nation and join a fash bashing region...

I'm inclined to think that some people are seriously effected by role-playing games and they should all be banned!
Or we could try differentiating between which game it is we're playing.

[workerscommunes]

When did all this hype about NS fascists come about? Haven't there always been neo-nazi regions knocking about? Not that I don't think it's an important issue but it just seems like strange timing and I'm curious to know how this started and who's behind it.

[allers]

well i did put this one here just to be sure it will not parasite our ns hello forum and what not...
Anyway i find makhnovitch had a good point
The publicity one

[Anarchic Tribes]

What was the publicity point (although I have some idea), and what did Hydra say that I missed?

[allers]

anna said:

What was the publicity point (although I have some idea), and what did Hydra say that I missed?

he was pointing out that this site was advertising throught
alternative network using the same tool PR would use,only to boost his next book as the film to come..
The rest and the comment was a theory ,but since fascist are always been present here ,well why going to delete some here,while worse is going on in the jolt forum(this is why i agreed we him)

[Anarchic Tribes]

Ok, but I have to say, I think it's all bollox! and is just a distraction from what we really know, (see Ishmael for insights to how we are born, but what happens next).

[allers]

since this has nothing to do with the book(ishmael) i'm reading now.can you please clear your thoughts,i also think it is bullshit only i think the distraction like you said has all to do do with perception as well as provocation and deception...
We should stop i made this thread in order to not polute the NS region,we kan argue hours and so i will wednesday not be ready with the book

[Anarchic Tribes]

;D

[Hydrarchiaguest]

Is Blind Guradian a NSBM band? I did a (very) little research and while it seems obvious they're a Black Metal band (with songs about tolkien, stephen king books, and occasionaly norse mythology e.g.- valhalla) i'm not sure if they qualify as crossing the often thin line from BMness into NSBMness. I didn't get back to the board in time to see BGF's response to my question. If someone knows more definitively that they are NSBM or tour with known NSBM bands i'd be interested to know.

However I have little doubt that Rallf Macchio and BGF were neo-fascist/ third-positionist dolts and the region is better off w/o them.

On the links thing: I'd stress that Michelaccio is very right... even if they don't utilize or mess with your IP address, it would mean they could see that folks are linking to the site from here... and could thus decide to start posting their propaganda here and otherwise be real pains...
I'd recommend cut and paste to a new window or tab if you feel the need to browse the nazi sites.

Other forums such as IRC, friendster, and myspace have much harsher mod policies/ practice on booting obvious and suspected neo-nazis of late, and it seems the pressure on nationstates is more likely an expression of the ongoing campaign to have large public online forums be generally diificult places for neo-nazi expression/ recruitment rather than a 'bad coverage is better than no coverage' publicity stunt by max barry and associates (but who knows?).

Ultimately though NS is a role playing game and I'm ambivalent about how to correct the situation...
(heck, i myself, have even entertained the notion of starting a country to play as a 'psychotic dictatorship', 'iron-fist consumerist', whathaveyou... and i could see the attraction of naming such with some historical re-enactory turn of phrase, e.g.- 'Hitleria', or "Vichy France".) While the "14/88" name crowd is somewhat obvious in the players behind the character-nations' true sentiments, I'm not sure how mods would ferret out real neo-nazis based on nation-name alone. At the same time I suppose the rpg nature is the allure for the fascist recruiters allowing 'in-character' authoritarian comments and on-line fascist behaviors to normalize themselves as OoC thoughts and beliefs.