SXSW cancels two 2016 sessions after threats of violence

Organisers of the South By Southwest (SXSW) festival have cancelled two panels after allegations of “numerous threats of on-site violence”, Ars Technica reported.

While that message also stated that SXSW had received violent threats since the panels had been announced for its March 2016 tech festival, it also said that the festival would scuttle any sessions “that related to the GamerGate controversy”, a reference to the “protest movement” that has seen female game developers and critics been targeted for online harassment and physical threats.

SXSW Interactive director Hugh Forrest posted a statement explaining the decision soon after; it echoes an email that Harper provided The Verge.

The panels “SavePoint: A Discussion on the Gaming Community” and “Level Up: Overcoming Harassment in Games” were from opposing view points. I sure hope Harper can appreciate the irony of a panel about online harassment being cancelled due to… online harassment.

Forrest added that while the SXSW prides itself in serving as the big tent and a marketplace for diverse people with diverse ideas, it is looking to preserve the big tent’s sanctity through keeping the dialogue respectful and civil.

It’s unclear who was administering the threats to SXSW, but this kind of behavior shouldn’t surprise anyone who has followed Gamergate since its inception previous year, with both pro- and anti-Gamergate supporters regularly claiming that they’ve been harassed by those occupying the other side of the debate. “Maintaining civil and respectful dialogue within the big tent is more important than any particular session”, the statement reads.

“The fact that folks would call an online harassment solutions panel an “anti-Gamergate one” is hilariously telling”.

SXSW referred to the cancellations as “strong community management”.

In the week since both panels were confirmed for SXSW, they’ve been widely discussed in the context of GamerGate, as one was publicly supportive of it.

Ironically, the two canceled panel discussions were to have a focus on the harassment and diversity issues on the gaming community.

The two canceled panels are related to gaming communities and harassment specifically.

The background: Harassment problems, block lists, catalyzing subreddits and hate speech have divided GamerGate and its opponents further and further, and public events like panels and appearances are often met with threats.

“I’ve been receiving constant threats for a little over a year now”. The Open Gaming Society later tweeted that it would be sharing information “later this evening” with the #GamerGate hashtag attached, then posted an open letter addressing the cancellation. “Shame on @sxsw”, she said on Twitter.

As of the time of publishing, I’ve received no response from the Open Gaming Society or from SXSW Interactive.

It’s not clear what plans, if any, SXSW initially had for dealing with online threats.