7. A public commentary...

    So a particularly touchy issue has arisen over the last 2 days and I have seen unending facebook posts about a series of pictures that appeared on imgur, facebook, twitter, and about every social media source imaginable. If the picture doesn't ring a bell, here is an article from TIME magazine of all places! It is a rare event that the Magic community makes such a splash as to warrant attention from such illustrious publication companies. I don't want to get into a discussion about what the author of the photographs intended because I don't know him and analyzing what he was really thinking is moot. Instead lets realistically look at what happened with this series of viral photographs. Simple enough a series of photos that were posted which all depict the same person and over his shoulder is a player who has his backside exposed. Those dozen or so photos go viral in less then 24 hours, millions of people view the images and that is no small exaggeration, even secondary sites such as buzzfeed are getting a million or more hits in a single day after reposting the pictures. Millions of people around the world don't see a post about the biggest constructed tournament ever, Millions around the world do not see a hobby which is bringing people together, rather they are seeing something funny and laughing. Whether or not they actually attach it to the community is not clear.

    The community has since been in an uproar both supporting this player and denouncing him, evidently he has been identified and he may receive a 6 month ban from the game as the by-rules of competitive play also discuss appropriate behavior in tournament environments. To put this in context though, a game that has been around for 20 years, is incredibly popular announces a movie is being made a month before has less public attention then these photographs. So why is this important? Some people have taken this as an excuse to drag out their political platforms about public policy. Many players point to the waiver that is signed at events to allow yourself to be photographed and/or recorded and said it was his right to do so. Some players say, its funny and that's all, they don't care. In a very real way this action is going to have repercussions at least for the individuals who took the photographs. Realistically the impact of the photographs will likely be very minor in the long run for the magic community but possibly gaming at large it helps to reinforce a negative connotation as well. The message sends a fairly clear message intended or not. The subtle message is: Gamers are (typically) fat, and care little for personal appearance. This is a terrible image to present on a public forum and to spread internationally because it is simply not true. I have been a long time gamer, known many that range in body size and appearance. The same is true though of any avenue of life, even when I served in the military or go to school. These pictures conveniently fit stereotypical non-gamer preconceptions of the gaming community and help reinforce that stereotype.

    Evidently from the fact that he has been banned, the person in the photograph was a player in the community as well as the fact he was attending the event. He probably thought it was funny and certainly did not know it would make as big of an impact as it has. But the unfortunate part is not about what happens to him or that this took place in the magic community but that a fellow gamer is helping to stigmatize (some) of the community. One post I read pointed out a very realistic fact, there was a dozen or so pictures taken across the span of a day, at an event that over 4,000 players attended. Is this actually representative of the community? We as players may know it is not, but those outside the community may not. Nobody saw pictures of a dozen or more players showing up in suits with ties, public opinion of gamers is damaged by negative publicity. Now this does not mean that only negativity can come from this event though. It isn't all about punishing a player who did not think beyond himself. My hope for the community is that players will take a good look at the way that they can compose themselves and chose to represent each other in the public view. Just recently a player in the local area had his entire magic collection stolen, a bunch of players all donated cards, money, unopened product to give him the ability to keep playing the game. That isn't news for most players, its not going viral but it should be the way we support one another because we all love to play games and enjoy having a community to play in and feel welcome and accepted in. Lets build each other up and keep the community a friendly, inviting place.