Brotopia

by Emily Chang

  CHAPTER 8: ESCAPE FROM TROLLTOPIA: WOMEN’S FIGHT TO SAVE THE INTERNET

  Brianna Wu has been tormented: David Whitford, “Brianna Wu vs. the Gamergate Troll Army,” Inc., April 2015, https://www.inc.com/magazine/201504/david-whitford/gamergate-why-would-anyone-want-to-kill-brianna-wu.html.

  Gaming is a billion-dollar business: “Market Brief: Global Games 2017: The Year to Date,” Superdata, 2017, https://www.superdataresearch.com/market-data/market-brief-year-in-review.

  One of the earliest rape-simulation: Marcel Klum, “Top Ten Shameful Games,” Neowin, Dec. 29, 2002, https://www.neowin.net/news/top-ten-shameful-games.

  In Take-Two Interactive’s monster hit: Paul Tassi, “Here Are the Five Best-Selling Video Games of All Time,” Forbes, July 8, 2016, https://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2016/07/08/here-are-the-five-best-selling-video-games-of-all-time/#28654775926c.

  “It is art”: Strauss Zelnick, “‘Grand Theft Auto’ Hits Next Gen Platforms,” interview by Stephanie Ruhle, Bloomberg, Nov. 18, 2014, video, 9:47, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2014-11-18/grand-theft-auto-hits-next-gen-platforms.

  In 2016, the International Game Developers Association: Joanna Weststar et al., “Developer Satisfaction Survey 2014 & 2015,” International Game Developers Association, June 12, 2016, https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.igda.org/resource/collection/CB31CE86-F8EE-4AE3-B46A-148490336605/IGDA_DSS14-15_DiversityReport_Aug2016_Final.pdf.

  “This is written almost entirely”: Eron Gjoni, “Why Does This Exist?,” Zoe Post, Aug. 16, 2014, https://thezoepost.wordpress.com.

  They derided Quinn’s game: “What Is Gamergate?,” Reddit, 2014, https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/2f7g5l/what_is_gamergate/.

  “There’s been a disgusting large imbalance”: Bendilin Spurr, “Beat Up Anita Sarkeesian,” New Grounds, July 5, 2012, https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/598591.

  “emotional outbursts” in “electronic mail”: Erik Eckholm, “Emotional Outbursts Punctuate Conversations by Computer,” New York Times, Oct. 2, 1984, http://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/02/science/emotional-outbursts-punctuate-conversations-by-computer.html.

  “low I.Q. Crazy Mika”: Donald Trump (@realDonaldTrump), “I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don’t watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came,” Twitter post, June 29, 2017, https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/880408582310776832.

  “bleeding badly from a face-lift”: Donald Trump (@realDonaldTrump), “. . . to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year’s Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!” Twitter post, June 29, 2017, https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/880410114456465411.

  Studies show that men: Nadia Kovacs, “Online Harassment: Halting a Disturbing ‘New Normal,’” W. W. Norton, Oct. 10, 2016, https://community.norton.com/en/blogs/norton-protection-blog/online-harassment-halting-disturbing-new-normal.

  Girls are also disproportionately: Eric Rice et al., “Cyberbullying Perpetration and Victimization Among Middle-School Students,” PMC, March 2015, https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302393.

  Young women, particularly those aged: Maeve Duggan, “Online Harassment,” Pew Research Center, Oct. 22, 2014, http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/10/22/online-harassment.

  “Rape threats have become”: Gillian McNally, “All Feminists Should Be Gang-Raped: Inside the Disturbing World of Online Misogyny,” Daily Telegraph, July 30, 2015, http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/why-do-men-threaten-women-with-rape-to-shut-them-up-on-the-web/news-story/0abd8403e59747a51717f54b81a21b46.

  38 percent of women: Asibo, “Gender, Trolls, and Cyber-harassment,” Storify, 2014, https://storify.com/asibo/gender-trolls-and-cyber-harassment.

  “I feel like I’m in a personal hell”: Leslie Jones (@lesdoggg), Twitter post, July 18, 2016, https://twitter.com/lesdoggg/status/755261962674696192.

  “Twitter I understand”: Anna Silman, “A Timeline of Leslie Jones’s Horrific Online Abuse,” Cut, Aug. 24, 2016, https://www.thecut.com/2016/08/a-timeline-of-leslie-joness-horrific-online-abuse.html.

  “you may not incite”: “The Twitter Rules,” Twitter, 2017, https://support.twitter.com/articles/18311.

  When big-name companies: Mark Bergen, “Google Updates Ads Policies Again, Ramps Up AI to Curtail YouTube Crisis,” Bloomberg, April 3, 2017, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-03/google-updates-ads-polices-again-ramps-up-ai-to-curtail-youtube-crisis.

  “machine learning tools”: “Introducing Expanded YouTube Partner Program Safeguards to Protect Creators,” YouTube Creator Blog, April 6, 2017, https://youtube-creators.googleblog.com/2017/04/introducing-expanded-youtube-partner.html.

  says it works harder: Deepa Seetharaman, “Twitter Takes More Proactive Approach to Finding Trolls,” Wall Street Journal, March 1, 2017, https://www.wsj.com/articles/twitter-takes-more-proactive-approach-to-finding-trolls-1488394514.

  66 million users: Brad Stone and Miguel Helft, “Facebook Hires Google Executive as No. 2,” New York Times, March 4, 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/technology/04cnd-facebook.html.

  In 2017, it added: Olivia Solon, “Facebook Is Hiring Moderators. But Is the Job Too Gruesome to Handle?,” Guardian, May 4, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/04/facebook-content-moderators-ptsd-psychological-dangers.

  In an interview with Axios: Mike Allen, “Exclusive Interview with Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg,” Axios, Oct. 12, 2017, https://www.axios.com/exclusive-interview-facebook-sheryl-sandberg-2495538841.html.

  “a better place for everyone”: Pao, Reset, 166.

  When one of the site’s: Mike Isaac, “Details Emerge About Victoria Taylor’s Dismissal at Reddit,” New York Times, July 13, 2015, https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/13/details-emerge-about-victoria-taylors-dismissal-at-reddit.

  “The trolls are winning”: Ellen Pao, “Former Reddit CEO Ellen Pao: The Trolls Are Winning the Battle for the Internet,” Washington Post, July 16, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/we-cannot-let-the-internet-trolls-win/2015/07/16/91b1a2d2-2b17-11e5-bd33-395c05608059_story.html?utm_term=.9c3c31e3f4ca.

  “I have said many times”: Spez, “With So Much Going On in the World, I Thought I’d Share Some Reddit Updates to Distract You All,” Reddit, Aug. 2017, https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/6qptzw/with_so_much_going_on_in_the_world_i_thought_id.

  In a new study, researchers: Eshwar Chandrasekharan et al., “You Can’t Stay Here: The Efficacy of Reddit’s 2015 Ban Examined Through Hate Speech,” Proceedings of the ACM on Human Computer Interaction 1, no. 2 (Nov. 2017), http://comp.social.gatech.edu/papers/cscw18-chand-hate.pdf.

  In League of Legends: Phil Kollar, “The Past, Present, and Future League of Legends Studio Riot Games,” Polygon, Sept. 13, 2016, https://www.polygon.com/2016/9/13/12891656/the-past-present-and-future-of-league-of-legends-studio-riot-games.

  In fact, research shows: Jeffrey H. Kuznekoff and Lindsey M. Rose, “Communication in Multiplayer Gaming: Examining Player Responses to Gender Cues,” New Media & Society 15, no. 4 (2013), https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444812458271.

  “Shut that fucking bitch up”: Jenny Haniver, “Quiet Time,” Not in the Kitchen Anymore, Sept. 13, 2017, http://www.notinthekitchenanymore.com.

  “If you think most online abuse”: Laura Hudson, “Curbing Online Abuse Isn’t Impossible. Here’s Where We Start,” Wired, May 15, 2014, https://www.wired.com/2014/05/fighting-online-harassment.

  It saw not only a 30 percent: Ibid.

  “It took Riot’s interjection”: Ibid.

  there were 100 million: Kollar, “Past, Present, and Future League of Legends Studio Riot Games.”

  They can’t control everything: John Suler, “The Online Disinhibition Effect,” CyberPsychology & Behavior 7, no. 3 (July 2004): 321–26, http://truecenterpublishing.com/psycyber/disinhibit.html.

&nb
sp; “You’re not physically being”: Jordan Belamire, “My First Reality Groping,” Medium, Oct. 20, 2016, https://mic.com/articles/157415/my-first-virtual-reality-groping-sexual-assault-in-vr-harassment-in-tech-jordan-belamire#.SBtg4xhEG.

  QuiVr developers: Julia Carrie Wong, “Sexual Harassment in Virtual Reality Feels All Too Real—‘It’s Creepy Beyond Creepy,’” Guardian, Oct. 26, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/oct/26/virtual-reality-sexual-harassment-online-groping-quivr.

  Running for Congress: Brianna Wu, “Bold Leadership for Massachusetts,” Brianna Wu for Congress, 2017, https://briannawu2018.com/platform.

  CHAPTER 9: SILICON VALLEY’S SECOND CHANCE

  “I’ve never seen anything quite”: Meg Whitman, “Meg Whitman Says Sexual Harassment Cases May Change Workplace,” interview by author, Bloomberg, Nov. 28, 2017, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-28/hpe-s-whitman-says-sexual-harassment-cases-may-change-workplace.

  Research shows that companies: Susan Sorenson, “How Employee Engagement Drives Growth,” Gallup, June 20, 2013, http://news.gallup.com/businessjournal/163130/employee-engagement-drives-growth.aspx.

  Higher morale and a more: Eric G. Lambert, Nancy Lynne Hogan, and Shannon M. Barton, “The Impact of Job Satisfaction on Turnover Intent: A Test of a Structural Measurement Model Using a National Sample of Workers,” Social Science Journal 38, no. 2 (Summer 2001): 233–50, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0362-3319(01)00110-0.

  Another way to look at this: Michael Kimmel, “Why Gender Equality Is Good for Everyone—Men Included,” TED talk, May 2015, https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_kimmel_why_gender_equality_is_good_for_everyone_men_included.

  In a wide-ranging study: Lone Christiansen et al., “Gender Diversity in Senior Positions and Firm Performance: Evidence from Europe,” IMF, March 2016, https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2016/wp1650.pdf.

  Women not only represent: “Statistics About Women,” Female Factor, 2016, http://www.thefemalefactor.com/statistics/statistics_about_women.html.

  It’s not just creating”: Jack Dorsey, “Square’s Dorsey on Earnings, New Growth, Outlook,” interview by author, Bloomberg, Aug. 2, 2017, video, 14:00, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po9XQcAyvTE.

  “We are simultaneously proud”: “Diversity at Slack,” Slack, April 26, 2017, https://slackhq.com/diversity-at-slack-d44aba51d4b6.

  Butterfield tweeted at her: Stewart Butterfield (@stewart), “@EricaJoy Be safe,” Twitter post, Nov. 25, 2014, https://twitter.com/stewart/status/537433607174770689.

  “He is woke”: Melody Hahm, “How a Single Tweet Landed Erica Baker a Top Engineering Job at Slack,” Yahoo, May 11, 2016, https://finance.yahoo.com/news/slack-senior-engineer-erica-baker-stewart-butterfield-diversity-in-tech-silicon-valley-154010403.html.

  she joined the Slack team: Erica Joy Baker, “Seeking Happy,” Medium, May 11, 2015, https://medium.com/this-is-hard/seeking-happy-58a2a375340a.

  These included diligence: Nolan Caudill, “Building the Workplace We Want,” Slack, Jan. 12, 2015, https://slackhq.com/building-the-workplace-we-want-31fff8d6ffe0.

  The research shows that the effects: Iris Bohnet, What Works (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 2016).

  Emerson says that’s reason: Joelle Emerson, “Don’t Give Up on Unconscious Bias Training—Make It Better,” Harvard Business Review, April 28, 2017, https://hbr.org/2017/04/dont-give-up-on-unconscious-bias-training-make-it-better.

  “When the candidate is asked”: Julia Grace, “A Walkthrough Guide to Finding an Engineering Job at Slack,” Slack, May 4, 2016, https://slack.engineering/a-walkthrough-guide-to-finding-an-engineering-job-at-slack-dc07dd7b0144.

  Pinterest, another client: Abby Maldonado, “Diversifying Engineering Referrals at Pinterest,” Medium, Jan. 15, 2016, https://medium.com/pinclusion-posts/diversifying-engineering-referrals-at-pinterest-de3978556990.

  Research shows that job: Emily Peck, “Here Are the Words That May Keep Women from Applying for Jobs,” Huffington Post, June 2, 2015, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/02/textio-unitive-bias-software_n_7493624.html.

  “We believe everyone deserves”: “Career Opportunities,” Slack, accessed Nov. 20, 2017, https://slack.com/careers#openings.

  Glassdoor, a company: Andrew Chamberlain, “Demystifying the Gender Pay Gap,” Glassdoor, March 23, 2016, https://www.glassdoor.com/research/studies/gender-pay-gap/.

  For computer programming: Andrew Chamberlain, “The Widest Gender Pay Gaps in Tech,” Glassdoor, Nov. 15, 2016, https://www.glassdoor.com/research/studies/gender-pay-gap/.

  In 2015, Slack performed: “Inclusion and Diversity at Slack,” Slack, Sept. 9, 2015, https://slackhq.com/inclusion-and-diversity-at-slack-e42f93845732.

  The company is also contributing: “Diversity at Slack,” Slack, April 26, 2017, https://slackhq.com/diversity-at-slack-d44aba51d4b6.

  Halfway through 2017: Erica Joy Baker, “Tech Diversity and Inclusion Post-mortem,” GitHub, June 22, 2017, https://gist.github.com/EricaJoy/f13441a2ec9a014ae00e5e9c1704ea4a.

  She took the microphone: Niniane Wang, “Brainstorm Tech: Fixing Inequality in Silicon Valley,” interview by author, Fortune Brainstorm Tech Town Hall, July 18, 2017, video, 39:08, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWXw_bclArI.

  VCs, stop asking women entrepreneurs: Nicole Farb, at “Brainstorm Tech: Fixing Inequality in Silicon Valley.”

  “In Silicon Valley today”: Christa Quarles, at “Brainstorm Tech: Fixing Inequality in Silicon Valley.”

  “Without a doubt”: Adam Miller, at “Brainstorm Tech: Fixing Inequality in Silicon Valley.”

  Apple’s diversity numbers: “Inclusion and Diversity,” Apple, accessed Nov. 20, 2017, https://www.apple.com/diversity.

  According to Code.org: Code.org, “Girls Set AP Computer Science Record . . . Skyrocketing Growth Outpaces Boys,” Medium, July 18, 2017, https://medium.com/@codeorg/girls-set-ap-computer-science-record-skyrocketing-growth-outpaces-boys-41b7c01373a5.

  Still, girls’ peers in computer science: Ibid.

  their teachers are still mostly men: Samuel F. Way et al., “Gender, Productivity, and Prestige in Computer Science Faculty Hiring Networks,” Proceedings 2016 World Wide Web Conference (2016): 1169–79, https://doi.org/10.1145/2872427.2883073.

  “We Love Code”: “We Love Code: Meet the Awesome Girls Who Own It,” Seventeen, Dec./Jan. 2016.

  But the 1960s also marked: Roberts, “A History of Capacity Challenges in Computer Science.”

  that once again schools will be: Ibid.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Emily Chang is the anchor and executive producer of Bloomberg Technology, a daily TV show, and Bloomberg Studio 1.0, where she regularly speaks to top tech and media executives, investors, and entrepreneurs. She was previously a CNN correspondent based in Beijing and London, and has won five regional Emmy awards for her reporting. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and three children.

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