Gaming Forum NeoGAF Imploding as Owner Faces Accusations of Sexual Harrassment (Again)
Recently, the popular gaming forum site NeoGAF imploded in on itself when the owner Tyler Malka "Evilore" was once again accused of sexual assault; and this time moderators are fleeing the site. The result allegations even caused the site to be temporarily shut down for a time.
Tyler Malka has been accused several times in the past of sexual misconduct, even himself allegedly boasting about grabbing women without their consent. It seems like the latest allegation was enough to make Malka take matters in his own hands and his fellow moderators are not having it. The most recent meltdown, and the reason for Malka deleting massive amounts of threads on the site, and the temporary shut down, revolves around a recent Facebook post calling him out for a specific instance of sexual assault.
Just like with everything on the internet, a little digging is necessary to see the authenticity of certain claims; especially those in dealing with dire topics such as sexual assault. When the topic of NeoGAF and how they handle situations like this came up, one user took to a forum to explain that the post above is in fact real, and this is why we should care:
“Guess I should chime in since I'm being named.
In a private group convo, one of my fellow participants brought up the fact that EL got #MeToo'd on FB. I saw someone on my feed telling a story an hour prior that could've fit but I didn't read it too closely, was skeptical and posted a shot in our convo.. I was then directed toward the comments and lo and behold, there was the name. Was a holy shit moment for me, and something of a letdown too, having met both the accuser and the accused IRL. Posted that shot in our convo as well. Came to the realization that this should only really go public if the accuser wants it to because it's her story to tell, and the rest of the participants in the convo reached the same consensus, or so it seemed. I deleted the shots from our group chat. Turned out one of the people in there saved the shots, and gave them to another person who then posted it on Voat, and did a godawful job at concealing the identity of the accuser and myself before doing so. She doesn't deserve to get doxxed and harassed by the internet mob if she's not ready for it, and it's solely for that reason that I didn't want this getting out there, which is why I regret sharing that shot in that group convo.
But yes, it's real.”
Immediately after the above statement took place, that user was banned. A lot of speculation ensued afterwards when the original Facebook post was taken down, prompting many to wonder if it was real, which led to the above statement validating potential authenticity. More and more moderators for the popular site seem to be "jumping ship" including Besada, Xander Cage, Cyan, and Kabouter.
NeoGAF's Evilore accused of sexual assault.
— Nick Monroe (@nickmon1112) October 21, 2017
A NeoGAF thread and Facebook post revealed this. https://t.co/5sh9efQ9KL
Site on lockdown. pic.twitter.com/YjDLkXXV4r
The site promptly went into lockdown mode and the moderators started stepping forward:
Moderators like Besada are fleeing the sinking ship pic.twitter.com/4b7DfjqT8z
— Nick Monroe (@nickmon1112) October 21, 2017
NeoGAF Admin down. Charlequin reportedly banned from site pic.twitter.com/O50AZp1YPd
— Nick Monroe (@nickmon1112) October 21, 2017
Malka continues to police the site, shutting it down, and monitoring social media statements bringing up the latest allegation. Many continue to bring up his past association with a previous moderator that was later arrested for child pornography. Malka distanced himself from the offender, though donations to him from Malka himself continued to come to light. Whenever anyone brought it up, from either side, the users were allegedly banned immediately.
At this time, the story is still developing.