Brianna Wu / John Walker Flynt - "Biggest Victim of Gamergate," Failed Game Developer, Failed Congressional Candidate

[ZKWNordman]

And that man’s name? Albert Walker Einstein.

Mike, if you’re googling Brianna and you see this, welcome. Also, she’s not going to respond to you. Odds are she’s already blocked you, thinking you’re a Russian GamerGate bot.

 

[Kroster]

Why'd you think during Rev 60's development he spent more time doing PR, interviews, baiting trolls, and then complaining about the trolls he baited than actually making a game? Cuz he's a narcissist who wants to use whatever's trendy at the moment as a springboard to get fame and donations, and to be honest he's fucking amazing at it. He manages to get on TV, go to conferences, write guest articles on big websites, get shilled on game blogs, etc. despite having no skills in the field, being mentally unstable, and being indescribably unattractive.

Even if he doesn't get a single vote, if he can get articles written, featured on TV, etc. and exposure from the campaign, he's satisfied.

This is all true, and I don't get it. I've met her, and she was perfectly nice, but she wasn't especially charismatic. I've met really charismatic politicians, and it doesn't even have to do with being attractive (even Bill Clinton's enemies have always admitted that he oozed charisma, despite not being conventionally attractive). Some people are just really good at making you feel special and you want to support them. Wu was not one of those people, although it was obvious to me that she was trying to fake it when talking to me and to others. I don't get why she's had the publicity success she's had. I don't buy the idea that it's Frank's connections: his connections are a couple science fiction writers. They don't get you on TV.

Oh, Wu definitely wants to win. Wu romanticizes the idea having political power and a public forum, and John desperately wants it to happen.

The issue isn't just incompetence - it's primarily laziness. Almost no effort is being taken to mount an effective run. Virtually no public appearances, no effort to recruit volunteers and collect signatures, no fundraising, etc. There's a playbook that an amateur can follow. With so much time after an early announcement, you can easily mount a color-by-the-numbers campaign, and, if it's well executed, win a respectable number of votes on election day. Hell, even an underfunded challenger running against a well-liked incumbent can win 20% of the vote on primary day if the fucking hustle.

Wu's just lazy, both physically and intellectually. Forget about going out and doing [real] fundraisers and collecting signatures - Wu will not even be bothered to even read a fucking book about running for office or seek out informed opinions from political pros on the basics of campaigning.

The gulf between the fantasy of getting elected to office and the amount of effort committed to achieve it is astounding to watch. I'm actually severely disappointed that Wu will never even make the ballot - I'm having a blast watching this, and I don't want the ride to end.

This is a description of the campaign in a nutshell. Maybe the best and most true post in all 1587 pages on this thread. The weird thing is that at the beginning, she was talking to the right people, who were telling her how to run a basic campaign, and offering to help. But then she didn't take anyone's advice. And now it's too late and she's half heartedly scrambling to do things she should have done a year ago.

She likes meeting with people, but I don't think she was even listening when they told her how to run a campaign. It was all about the validation for her, never about the effort. All she wants is validation.

 

[Ruin]

What career is Brianna Wu going to LARP as next?

I've said it before but I'm pretty sure his next step is to write a "memoir" about all the badass stuff he's done like run for congress and defeat gaymergate.

 

[ZKWNordman]

I don't get why she's had the publicity success she's had. I don't buy the idea that it's Frank's connections: his connections are a couple science fiction writers. They don't get you on TV.

Part shamelessness and a willingness to be in the public eye at any cost. Part an ability to lie endlessly and convincingly to just enough people. Part cold calling/emailing literally everyone to pitch her story, namedropping anyone she can. That and Frank’s Boing Boing connection got her in the door. Boing Boing and other sites led to local news which led to midrange media which led to national media.

She has this far avoided fact checkers because lazy and overworked journalists see other journalists’ work as factual.

So you lie to Boing Boing, and some kid making $30k a year needs to get a story out about you for a local paper. He will treat that as a primary source. Regional media believe local reporting. National media believe regional reporting.

No one who might fact check Brianna has any incentive to do so right now. Maybe if she gets on the ballot, but that won’t happen.

 

[Jack Awful]

This is all true, and I don't get it. I've met her, and she was perfectly nice, but she wasn't especially charismatic. I've met really charismatic politicians, and it doesn't even have to do with being attractive (even Bill Clinton's enemies have always admitted that he oozed charisma, despite not being conventionally attractive). Some people are just really good at making you feel special and you want to support them. Wu was not one of those people, although it was obvious to me that she was trying to fake it when talking to me and to others. I don't get why she's had the publicity success she's had. I don't buy the idea that it's Frank's connections: his connections are a couple science fiction writers. They don't get you on TV.

I think John really got a foothold during GamerGate when he made fun of gamers to intentionally piss them off so he could use the resulting fallout to play the victim. He was able to use it to get on game blogs, on the news, and eventually that Internet Ruined My Life show. After those appearances (and others I didn't mention) he was able to use the fact he was on those shows/websites as a springboard to meet people and can also use it as "proof" that he's famous and a notable game dev, because what modern liberal blogger doesn't love a """female""" tech-feminist being bullied by internet trolls?

This leads to why he continues to stay relevant:
some people will listen to any bullshit you say, even if it's nonsense and a lie, if you say it confidently and repeat it enough times, especially if your political beliefs line up with theirs, and John has no problem with lying (and maybe even believes his own bullshit) and acts like he's an expert in what he's talking about, even if he clearly isn't.

I also think he knows who to contact (TV producers, journalists, etc.) and how to write good emails to them (or gets Frank to do it).

 

[Norvic]

I also think he knows who to contact (TV producers, journalists, etc.) and how to write good emails to them (or gets Frank to do it).

Come on dude. She doesn't contact TV producers or journalists. That's not how any of this works. Do you really think you can just email MSNBC and say you want to come on the news tomorrow? Sure, maybe if you're the president or something. They're all reaching out to her, she's the rent-a-quote of the day.

Brianna's defining attribute in life is that she's colossally lucky, like serial lottery jackpot winner lucky. With gamergate she happened to be positioned absolutely perfectly to take advantage of the evolving zeitgeist. Of all the "victims" of gamergate, she's the only one who is a serious publicity hound. The one person that news people can guarantee will come on their shows to whinge about the plight of women in tech/in games/on the internet.

She lucked out in being at the right place at the right time for a narcissistic self-promoter, and she's continued to try to keep the pot boiling by involving herself in every passing twitter farrago. Most of the time she comes away looking like an idiot, but occasionally there's some issue that at least gets her tweets reprinted in third tier online tabloids so she keeps her public image up.

There's been a series of vaguely related events that have served Wu's publicity hunger. First gamergate, then the James Damore/Google thing and the recent #metoo thing and the related Bushnel/GDC situation, all of which Wu has been seen in the news commenting on. Wu isn't really making a name for herself outside this narrow field of pundity though, she isn't really recognised as having done anything. On the safe assumption that, come November, she will fail badly enough as in the election that she doesn't look remotely credible as a politician then Wu is basically stuck in a niche that's mostly used up as news stories go.

That's Wu's curse that goes along with the blessing of superhuman luck. She's never able to summon enough application to capitalise on the lucky breaks she's granted. She's had an incredibly high profile for someone with so little achievement these past couple of years, but she's done nothing to exploit the fact. I seriously think an alternate universe Wu who could form realistic plans and follow through with them might well be sitting on the board of major charitable organisation by now, or some similar post.

 

[Von Clausewitz]

And that man’s name? Albert Walker Einstein.

Better: "Those were the last words Stephen Hawking said before he died."
Also, Wu admits that she added a line some rando told her, and that it is one of the most successful thing in her speeches. Makes you really think why she hasn't such a standard line like "I'll fight for you." before.

 

[Pointless Pedant]

I've said it before but I'm pretty sure his next step is to write a "memoir" about all the badass stuff he's done like run for congress and defeat gaymergate.

Of course, Gamergate will be a bigger deal than Congress.

 

[Karellen]

Brianna’s Patreon has slipped to $789, only $2 more than CWC’s $787.

 

[Henry Bemis]

I've said it before but I'm pretty sure his next step is to write a "memoir" about all the badass stuff he's done like run for congress and defeat gaymergate.

Brianna's standard: sell one more copy than Zoe Quinn's book.

 

[stets]

Brianna’s Patreon has slipped to $789, only $2 more than CWC’s $787.

The downward slide has been happening at a fairly consistent pace for a while now -

Normally, I'd expect to see a high attrition rate in the beginning when people intentionally opt out, and then have it gradually slow down as people forget their donations and credit cards slowly expire. It's been a fairly consistent slide in whole dollars, and, to a lesser extent, patrons.

 

[AnOminous]

Normally, I'd expect to see a high attrition rate in the beginning when people intentionally opt out, and then have it gradually slow down as people forget their donations and credit cards slowly expire. It's been a fairly consistent slide in whole dollars, and, to a lesser extent, patrons.

It's probably a combo of apathy and that John constantly insults people and shrieks about mansplaining for no reason, some of whom are probably his patrons, and they just cancel it.

 

[Brain Problems]

The downward slide has been happening at a fairly consistent pace for a while now -

View attachment 403411

Normally, I'd expect to see a high attrition rate in the beginning when people intentionally opt out, and then have it gradually slow down as people forget their donations and credit cards slowly expire. It's been a fairly consistent slide in whole dollars, and, to a lesser extent, patrons.

Almost like constantly talking about taking your luxury german imports out of pleasure drives around town doesn't endear you to the hipster welfare crowd

 

[Norvic]

LOL, averaging less than 10 signatures a day.

At this rate, they'll have less than 1000 by the deadline. Wu even has several days when she's committed to going to the VentureBeat techfest next month, so those are days she can't be organising signature collection.

Warren doesn't quite seem to understand that they need more than 2000 to even submit their papers, and that many aren't going to be valid for a variety of reasons. They're so fucked.

 

[Ruin]

Taking into account how much Warren looks like a wide eyed raving lunatic I'm shocked he hasn't been maced yet in the line of duty.

 

[AnOminous]

Warren doesn't quite seem to understand that they need more than 2000 to even submit their papers, and that many aren't going to be valid for a variety of reasons. They're so fucked.

Even the places that do it professionally collect more than they need, often much more than they need. Often the people they hire to do this shit are utter fuckups, much like Warren himself, and therefore, any count just a little over the minimum is going to be challenged.

I also don't think Lynch would let it slide. Just the embarrassment of having to share a stage with a snarling, ticcing freak show like John would make it worth it just to prevent such a scene. Legitimate politicians don't generally want to be seen with freakish joke candidates if they can help it.

 

[Dr. Merkwurdichliebe]

LOL, averaging less than 10 signatures a day.

View attachment 403470

At this rate, they'll have less than 1000 by the deadline. Wu even has several days when she's committed to going to the VentureBeat techfest next month, so those are days she can't be organising signature collection.

Warren doesn't quite seem to understand that they need more than 2000 to even submit their papers, and that many aren't going to be valid for a variety of reasons. They're so fucked.

I expect all of the signatures they supposedly got at the mass transit stations to be invalidated because the people falling for the more-funding-for-the-MBTA scam probably live in different cities. And the chances are zero that Warren had them sign on separate forms depending on where they live. Not that Flynt/Wu is going to make it to 2,000 signatures anyway.

I can't wait to learn who gets the blame for Flynt/Wu failing to make the primary ballot. Warren? Gamergators? The alt right? A rigged political system? Misogyny? Russians? Martians?

Will we be treated to "I learned a lot and will be back," leaving the door open for more scam moola in 2020? Will the new scampaign start this summer, before the primary in which Flynt/Wu couldn't get on the ballot because of an almost incomprehensible combination of stupidity, laziness and incompetence?

I can't wait to learn the answers to these questions.

 

[Frosted Snowflakes]

Warren doesn't quite seem to understand that they need more than 2000 to even submit their papers, and that many aren't going to be valid for a variety of reasons. They're so fucked.

How much are we talking about?

 

[Von Clausewitz]

I expect all of the signatures they supposedly got at the mass transit stations to be invalidated because the people falling for the more-funding-for-the-MBTA scam probably live in different cities. And the chances are zero that Warren had them sign on separate forms depending on where they live. Not that Flynt/Wu is going to make it to 2,000 signatures anyway.

I can't wait to learn who gets the blame for Flynt/Wu failing to make the primary ballot. Warren? Gamergators? The alt right? A rigged political system? Misogyny? Russians? Martians?

Will we be treated to "I learned a lot and will be back," leaving the door open for more scam moola in 2020? Will the new scampaign start this summer, before the primary in which Flynt/Wu couldn't get on the ballot because of an almost incomprehensible combination of stupidity, laziness and incompetence?

I can't wait to learn the answers to these questions.

If being unable to get ten guys to volunteer for ten days, each one bringing in 20 signatures by walking from house to house, in a period of nearly two years doesn't make Wu a laughing stock to the press, nothing will.

 

[RandomNobody]

LOL, averaging less than 10 signatures a day.

View attachment 403470

At this rate, they'll have less than 1000 by the deadline. Wu even has several days when she's committed to going to the VentureBeat techfest next month, so those are days she can't be organising signature collection.

Warren doesn't quite seem to understand that they need more than 2000 to even submit their papers, and that many aren't going to be valid for a variety of reasons. They're so fucked.

When is the deadline? Apparently Wu is a speaker at GamesBeat Summit 2018 (according to their website) on April 9th and 10th. I'm curious as to when the last time Frank Wu's Husband did any sort of game development. I am guessing it was literally years ago.

http://vbevents.venturebeat.com/gbsummit2018