#GamerGate poll: Clarifying the change from “Uncovering corruption” to “Fighting corruption”

I wrote about #GamerGate again today for the Mirror, with predictable consequences.

There was something I wanted to clear up about the poll though. Not long after it opened, it was pointed out to me that you couldn’t tweet the result if you had voted that #GamerGate was about “Uncovering corruption”.

@Nero @MartinBelam Check it: can't tweet pro-GG vote until you edit manually! pic.twitter.com/5FIuTO7Dlp

— Scott Malcomson (@RoyCalbeck) October 3, 2014

The suggestion being hinted at there was that I had deliberately done that to stop #GamerGaters sharing their vote.

That wouldn’t be something I’d ever do.

So I was faced with a choice of either editing the poll after it had been up for a while, or leaving pro-#GamerGate votes unshareable.

Both of those options were sub-optimal.

I decided that the preferable one was editing the option to “Fighting corruption”, short enough to share, and similar enough in meaning.

Obviously some people noticed the change and called me out on it, which is why I wanted to set straight exactly what had happened. It didn’t change the numbers. Option 2 about corruption has been way out in front since the poll opened, whatever the wording.

The reaction to this joke, however, was a whole other story…

As expected, “Whiny Man-Babies” is ripping up my #GamerGate poll ;-) http://t.co/1oA8KjZgXJ pic.twitter.com/yWJPgLeVtD

— Martin Belam (@MartinBelam) October 3, 2014