Alec Holowka (Night in the Woods, TowerFall) accused of sexual assault [Update: Alec Holowka has reportedly passed away] [See staff posts/threadmarks]

[LuisGarcia]

This thread should just be locked. It's a fucking horrible situation where someone has ended up dead.

People arguing their political opinions on both sides just need to stop.

 

[mbpm]

I hate how dozens of indie developers started dogpiling when it absolutely wasn't needed. Two Celeste devs, Iconoclasts dev, "I'm not surprised, I talked to him 10 years ago" and other shit. We have the accuser, we have Alec, let them deal with it.

Click to shrink...

I believe this was frankly a show of support.

With a lot of abusers they get the "he was such a nice person, perfect in every way. he helped me get through something, he could never do this"

This was to counteract that and I don't think i disagree with it.

 

[Nitpicker_Red]

Jesus, don't go read the twitter replies.

Click to shrink...

Zoe Quinn did the right thing by taking a break from social media at that time, even if incidental due to the previous pressure.
The ones starting a hate mob again haven't learned anything from this incident.

 

[BDS]

Feel sorry for Zoe Quinn once again being the subject of a horrific internet mob. This is a nightmare scenario for people trying to come forward against their abusers.

 

[Kalor]

I have a bad bad feeling that the alt-right will use this to harass Zoe again in new even more dangerous heights

Click to shrink...

It's already happening.

 

[The Spoony Hou]

Jeez... May he find peace now.

I don't want to sound insensitive, but this will cause an enormous backlash against the #metoo in video games. Especially targeted towards Quinn.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I really worry for her.

 

[Serenity Lotus]

This is all around completely and utterly disgusting from both sides. I don't care if you don't like that phrase or not. This shit is beyond out of hand and neither side are doing any damn bit of good.

 

[manchego obfuscator]

I believe this was frankly a show of support.

With a lot of abusers they get the "he was such a nice person, perfect in every way. he helped me get through something, he could never do this"

This was to counteract that and I don't think i disagree with it.

Click to shrink...

exactly, and "we have the accuser, we have the accused, let them work it out" clearly doesn't work when victims have explained time and time again that they're afraid to come forward because no one in the industry will support them

 

[Deleted member 8861]

This is just going to muddle even more discussions around mental illness and abuse, especially in this industry.

Tragic, though not primarily for that reason.

 

[Gundam]

This thread should just be locked. It's a fucking horrible situation where someone has ended up dead.

People arguing their political opinions on both sides just need to stop.

Click to shrink...

What's political?

 

[Oligarchenemy]

What a tragedy all around. I hope everyone involved is able to heal.

 

[Skot]

Reading what people are sending to Zoe following this is alarming. People are scary AF

 

[Hikari]

It's already happening.

Click to shrink...

I just read those twitter replies and it is just gross. This is a deeply unfortunate situation.

 

[Deleted member 2474]

at this point i genuinely believe it would be best if we banned all discussion of game devs' personal affairs from this forum because it is clear too many people on era cannot handle this shit in a reasonable way. it's a tragedy that alec's victims had to make this a public issue to get anything done about it because the internet at large lacks the humanity to not just harass and ridicule and insult everyone involved, right up until shit like this happens.

zoe, alec, and everyone else's lives are not a fucking soap opera for us to watch with popcorn in hand, rooting for our favorite teams and hooting and hollering at every new twist and turn. they are human beings dealing with complex personal issues that we know very little about other than what is presented to us (which is very little). era culture has reached the point where, in an attempt to project "wokeness", too many of us are treating other people's lives with all the delicacy of an internet console war argument. even now, in this very thread, after everything that's happened.

most of you didn't know alec. most of you don't know zoe. we're all just random people on the internet engaging in voyeurism over some shit that frankly was not and is not our fucking business. stop ripping each other's throats out about it and leave everyone involved alone.

 

[Deleted member 2426]

What an overall heartbreaking situation.

 

[mbpm]

This is just going to muddle even more discussions around mental illness and abuse, especially in this industry.

Tragic, though not primarily for that reason.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, in terms I'm sure that abusers will take to employing the threats of self-harm part of gaslighting in a more public defense manner instead of just towards their victims in the future.

It's going to get messier before it gets cleaner.

But mental health is still important.

 

[Danteyke223]

Wellp Jim aka Mister Metokur or aka Internet Aristrocrat will have a stream in a couple of hours so this is about to go viral

Also Quartering just dropped the video ...... sigh

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Just shut Twitter down already. As a society and as a species we clearly are not prepared to use that platform's power in a beneficial way, and Jack isn't doing shit to moderate it.

 

[Damn Silly]

Tragic situation all round.

Condolences to his family, friends and those who came forward, the latter of which are sure to get swathes of abuse from people who don't actually care but just want to give it out.

 

[Avitus]

at this point i genuinely believe it would be best if we banned all discussion of game devs' personal affairs from this forum because it is clear too many people on era cannot handle this shit in a reasonable way.

Click to shrink...

Absolutely.

 

[nanhacott]

Alec was a friend of mine and this is just the fucking worst. I'm still mostly numb. It's coming in waves.

Take care of yourselves. Talk to people. Get help, even if you just have an inkling you might need it. And believe victims.

And jesus christ leave his friends and family alone.

 

[Swiggins]

at this point i genuinely believe it would be best if we banned all discussion of game devs' personal affairs from this forum because it is clear too many people on era cannot handle this shit in a reasonable way. it's a tragedy that alec's victims had to make this a public issue to get anything done about it because the internet at large lacks the humanity to not just harass and ridicule and insult everyone involved, right up until shit like this happens.

zoe, alec, and everyone else's lives are not a fucking soap opera for us to watch with popcorn in hand, rooting for our favorite teams and hooting and hollering at every new twist and turn. they are human beings dealing with complex personal issues that we know very little about other than what is presented to us (which is very little). era culture has reached the point where, in an attempt to project "wokeness", too many of us are treating other people's lives with all the delicacy of an internet console war argument. even now, in this very thread, after everything that's happened.

most of you didn't know alec. most of you don't know zoe. we're all just random people on the internet engaging in voyeurism over some shit that frankly was not and is not our fucking business. stop ripping each other's throats out about it and leave everyone involved alone.

Click to shrink...

Seconded. This whole situation is fucking gross.

 

[Serenity Lotus]

at this point i genuinely believe it would be best if we banned all discussion of game devs' personal affairs from this forum because it is clear too many people on era cannot handle this shit in a reasonable way. it's a tragedy that alec's victims had to make this a public issue to get anything done about it because the internet at large lacks the humanity to not just harass and ridicule and insult everyone involved, right up until shit like this happens.

zoe, alec, and everyone else's lives are not a fucking soap opera for us to watch with popcorn in hand, rooting for our favorite teams and hooting and hollering at every new twist and turn. they are human beings dealing with complex personal issues that we know very little about other than what is presented to us (which is very little). era culture has reached the point where, in an attempt to project "wokeness", too many of us are treating other people's lives with all the delicacy of an internet console war argument. even now, in this very thread, after everything that's happened.

most of you didn't know alec. most of you don't know zoe. we're all just random people on the internet engaging in voyeurism over some shit that frankly was not and is not our fucking business. stop ripping each other's throats out about it and leave everyone involved alone.

Click to shrink...

100%

 

[ElephantShell]

This is the worst way this could have possibly ended for everyone involved. Zoe, Alec, Alec's family, other victims who now might be more hesitant to speak out, victims who already have spoken out and could be subject to even more harassment. Everybody loses here. Terrible.

 

[Boy Wander]

Feel sorry for Zoe Quinn once again being the subject of a horrific internet mob. This is a nightmare scenario for people trying to come forward against their abusers.

Click to shrink...

Situations like this are failings of the companies that people work for and of the authorities. There shouldn't be the need for people to air this stuff on social media. Companies should have processes in place such that employees can come forward in confidence. The authorities should have a setup in place so that victims can come forward. Playing this type of thing out on social media is never going to work out well for either party. People who know nothing about the situation pick a side and pile in making the situation more volatile.

 

[DoubleTake]

What a sad situation all around. This is why I hesitate to post in threads like this. You never know how deep in the hole someone is, past transgressions or not. It's right for the victims to come forward about any abuse they experienced, but I gain nothing calling a person I know nothing about a shithead.

Hope his family anyone he affected can move on and heal.

 

[BDS]

at this point i genuinely believe it would be best if we banned all discussion of game devs' personal affairs from this forum because it is clear too many people on era cannot handle this shit in a reasonable way. it's a tragedy that alec's victims had to make this a public issue to get anything done about it because the internet at large lacks the humanity to not just harass and ridicule and insult everyone involved, right up until shit like this happens.

zoe, alec, and everyone else's lives are not a fucking soap opera for us to watch with popcorn in hand, rooting for our favorite teams and hooting and hollering at every new twist and turn. they are human beings dealing with complex personal issues that we know very little about other than what is presented to us (which is very little). era culture has reached the point where, in an attempt to project "wokeness", too many of us are treating other people's lives with all the delicacy of an internet console war argument. even now, in this very thread, after everything that's happened.

most of you didn't know alec. most of you don't know zoe. we're all just random people on the internet engaging in voyeurism over some shit that frankly was not and is not our fucking business. stop ripping each other's throats out about it and leave everyone involved alone.

Click to shrink...

What you're advocating for is the type of "whisper network" abuse victims have traditionally had to use to try and warn others instead of being able to publicly warn people about abusive behavior. Alec Holowka was a public figure with power in the industry and people deserved to be made aware that he was dangerous.

 

[manchego obfuscator]

at this point i genuinely believe it would be best if we banned all discussion of game devs' personal affairs from this forum because it is clear too many people on era cannot handle this shit in a reasonable way. it's a tragedy that alec's victims had to make this a public issue to get anything done about it because the internet at large lacks the humanity to not just harass and ridicule and insult everyone involved, right up until shit like this happens.

zoe, alec, and everyone else's lives are not a fucking soap opera for us to watch with popcorn in hand, rooting for our favorite teams and hooting and hollering at every new twist and turn. they are human beings dealing with complex personal issues that we know very little about other than what is presented to us (which is very little). era culture has reached the point where, in an attempt to project "wokeness", too many of us are treating other people's lives with all the delicacy of an internet console war argument. even now, in this very thread, after everything that's happened.

most of you didn't know alec. most of you don't know zoe. we're all just random people on the internet engaging in voyeurism over some shit that frankly was not and is not our fucking business. stop ripping each other's throats out about it and leave everyone involved alone.

Click to shrink...

I think I agree with the broader problem you're trying to diagnose here, but not that the Holowka situation or other MeToo allegations are particularly good examples of it. i.e. the Etika reactions here are a much better example IMO

What you're advocating for is the type of "whisper network" abuse victims have traditionally had to use to try and warn others instead of being able to publicly warn people about abusive behavior. Alec Holowka was a public figure with power in the industry and people deserved to be made aware that he was dangerous.

Click to shrink...

I'm not sure whether advocating for that is his conscious intent, but I agree that's probably where it would lead if followed through in cases of alleged abuse.

 

[Mekanos]

I just saw this thread title for the first time and hit me like a fucking freight train.

Guess I should read to see what the hell is going on.

 

[mbpm]

It's not just Era and i think it's not just Twitter.

The internet has shrunk the world, made it smaller. You can access people much more readily.

But it hasn't brought the feelings, the empathy, the understanding that meeting people IRL has. You can talk to people instantly, but there's no necessary connection involved.

We can't shut the door on it. We have to work through it.

 

[Phatzo]

at this point i genuinely believe it would be best if we banned all discussion of game devs' personal affairs from this forum because it is clear too many people on era cannot handle this shit in a reasonable way. it's a tragedy that alec's victims had to make this a public issue to get anything done about it because the internet at large lacks the humanity to not just harass and ridicule and insult everyone involved, right up until shit like this happens.

zoe, alec, and everyone else's lives are not a fucking soap opera for us to watch with popcorn in hand, rooting for our favorite teams and hooting and hollering at every new twist and turn. they are human beings dealing with complex personal issues that we know very little about other than what is presented to us (which is very little). era culture has reached the point where, in an attempt to project "wokeness", too many of us are treating other people's lives with all the delicacy of an internet console war argument. even now, in this very thread, after everything that's happened.

most of you didn't know alec. most of you don't know zoe. we're all just random people on the internet engaging in voyeurism over some shit that frankly was not and is not our fucking business. stop ripping each other's throats out about it and leave everyone involved alone.

Click to shrink...

Very well said!!

 

[Dreams-Visions]

tough story, all around.

hope the victims and families left behind manage.

 

[stone616]

It's a problem with cancel culture all the way around. People read a public accusation and practically trip over themselves with excitement to bring down the accused. These are statements made on social media, they're not sworn statements in a court of law. I'm not saying Quinn or anyone specific is lying, that's not the point. The point is people hear one side of a story and go into a feeding frenzy to ruin a career. We seem to worry less about showing empathy and support for the accuser and more about lashing out with sanctimonious wrath against the accused.

Click to shrink...

Can people ever rise above their worst actions? On the internet the answer to that question is no. If you did something bad but you turned your life around you'll likely never amount to more than who you were at your worst online.

I can't say what Quinn's objective was in her actions but I can say what the result was. That lead to a chain of events that ended a person's life. That's a hell of a thing to go to sleep at night knowing you contributed to in any way at all. People need to reflect on this the next time someone decides to go on Twitter and make a post to expose someone. You have to know that when you do something like that you will ruin someone else possibly for the rest of their life because online people will always be held to their worst.

 

[Deleted member 835]

Zoe has deleted her twitter. Sadly she is getting shit loads of messed up abuse.

 

[rras1994]

What you're advocating for is the type of "whisper network" abuse victims have traditionally had to use to try and warn others instead of being able to publicly warn people about abusive behavior. Alec Holowka was a public figure with power in the industry and people deserved to be made aware that he was dangerous.

Click to shrink...

This. We need people to realise there's a reason stuff like this needs to be made public, often it's the only way people have a chance of hearing about it and protecting themselves, as well as pushing the abuser out of places of power were they can hurt more people.

 

[Deleted member 835]

Can people ever rise above their worst actions? On the internet the answer to that question is no. If you did something bad but you turned your life around you'll likely never amount to more than who you were at your worst online.

I can't say what Quinn's objective was in her actions but I can say what the result was. That lead to a chain of events that ended a person's life. That's a hell of a thing to go to sleep at night knowing you contributed to in any way at all. People need to reflect on this the next time someone decides to go on Twitter and make a post to expose someone. You have to know that when you do something like that you will ruin someone else possibly for the rest of their life because online people will always be held to their worst.

Click to shrink...

Fuck of with the victim blaming

 

[Gotdatmoney]

at this point i genuinely believe it would be best if we banned all discussion of game devs' personal affairs from this forum because it is clear too many people on era cannot handle this shit in a reasonable way. it's a tragedy that alec's victims had to make this a public issue to get anything done about it because the internet at large lacks the humanity to not just harass and ridicule and insult everyone involved, right up until shit like this happens.

zoe, alec, and everyone else's lives are not a fucking soap opera for us to watch with popcorn in hand, rooting for our favorite teams and hooting and hollering at every new twist and turn. they are human beings dealing with complex personal issues that we know very little about other than what is presented to us (which is very little). era culture has reached the point where, in an attempt to project "wokeness", too many of us are treating other people's lives with all the delicacy of an internet console war argument. even now, in this very thread, after everything that's happened.

most of you didn't know alec. most of you don't know zoe. we're all just random people on the internet engaging in voyeurism over some shit that frankly was not and is not our fucking business. stop ripping each other's throats out about it and leave everyone involved alone.

Click to shrink...

These things only reach the venue of public discourse because the victims feel like there is no other way to be heard. This is seemingly not an uncommon thing in the games industry. Banning discussion of these things does not make them go away. Problems don't disappear just because we refuse to address them. Banning discussion of things in the gaming industry is counter productive. If the system didn't fail these people so often we wouldn't have to discuss it.

 

[BDS]

Can people ever rise above their worst actions? On the internet the answer to that question is no. If you did something bad but you turned your life around you'll likely never amount to more than who you were at your worst online.

I can't say what Quinn's objective was in her actions but I can say what the result was. That lead to a chain of events that ended a person's life. That's a hell of a thing to go to sleep at night knowing you contributed to in any way at all. People need to reflect on this the next time someone decides to go on Twitter and make a post to expose someone. You have to know that when you do something like that you will ruin someone else possibly for the rest of their life because online people will always be held to their worst.

Click to shrink...

Take a step away from the computer for a moment and consider why you feel more sympathy for an abuser than their victim; why you feel the victim should "think about what they're saying" and "how they might affect someone's life" while saying nothing about the abuser and the complete control over their own actions that they chose to follow through on.

 

[jakoo]

Alec was a friend of mine and this is just the fucking worst. I'm still mostly numb. It's coming in waves.

Take care of yourselves. Talk to people. Get help, even if you just have an inkling you might need it. And believe victims.

And jesus christ leave his friends and family alone.

Click to shrink...

Condolences for your loss. It might be a good idea to log off for awhile because i am sure the commentary around this situation will be very difficult to read with while mourning.

 

[SonicThrust]

This is all around completely and utterly disgusting from both sides. I don't care if you don't like that phrase or not. This shit is beyond out of hand and neither side are doing any damn bit of good.

Click to shrink...

I disagree with that no side is doing any good here. When the 'cancel culture' started acting up and demanding Alec's removal and extradition from the industry it was coming from a morally justified place of making abusers answer for their evil acts. Despite the tragedy that this ended up with it's still currently the right thing to do among difficult decisions when a victim comes forward to not let abusers keep get away with it when sometimes the only sliver of a chance at justice is the mob's justice driving change

It's definitely messy and like we see here sometimes the abusers can have tragic and intensely difficult struggles of their own but standing with the victims and demanding the abusers be held accountable is the most moral imperative outcome to change the culture at large to take away from this whole tragedy.

 

[Oligarchenemy]

I can't say what Quinn's objective was in her actions but I can say what the result was.

Click to shrink...

Oh boy.

 

[DryCreek]

This really is sad all round

ultimately people shouldn't feel like they have to come forward with the experiences public to get justice. But the justice system is imperfect and it heavily favours men which has forced women into a situation where they need to vocalise their experiences in public. but this has these kind of knock on effects.

really we all need better workers rights and protections at work so that victims can get the justice they deserve through the correct channels.

 

[TravoltaWatchesYou]

I hate the internet and I hate this world.

I hope his victims and his family can push through this nightmare.

 

[Deleted member 32018]

People need to reflect on this the next time someone decides to go on Twitter and make a post to expose someone. You have to know that when you do something like that you will ruin someone else possibly for the rest of their life because online people will always be held to their worst.

Click to shrink...

What is this nonsense?

 

[germuso]

This is what happens when you acusse people without proofs/Mental disorders knowledge in forums, twiiter etc,.

 

[Captain Melody]

What you're advocating for is the type of "whisper network" abuse victims have traditionally had to use to try and warn others instead of being able to publicly warn people about abusive behavior. Alec Holowka was a public figure with power in the industry and people deserved to be made aware that he was dangerous.

Click to shrink...

This. Awareness wasn't the issue here.

 

[mbpm]

People need to reflect on this the next time someone decides to go on Twitter and make a post to expose someone.

Click to shrink...

You have some points in here, but I want to say It's not just exposing someone. It's not like Zoe went on there to try and tell the world that Alec is a deadbeat dad playing border control.

This is bringing to light an abuser's tendencies and misdeeds. Telling the world about what an abuser is capable of could save a life too. Maybe many lives.

This isn't a one way street.

 

[SpacyJa]

It's very sad if groundless accusations led to something like this

 

[Wireframe]

at this point i genuinely believe it would be best if we banned all discussion of game devs' personal affairs from this forum because it is clear too many people on era cannot handle this shit in a reasonable way. it's a tragedy that alec's victims had to make this a public issue to get anything done about it because the internet at large lacks the humanity to not just harass and ridicule and insult everyone involved, right up until shit like this happens.

zoe, alec, and everyone else's lives are not a fucking soap opera for us to watch with popcorn in hand, rooting for our favorite teams and hooting and hollering at every new twist and turn. they are human beings dealing with complex personal issues that we know very little about other than what is presented to us (which is very little). era culture has reached the point where, in an attempt to project "wokeness", too many of us are treating other people's lives with all the delicacy of an internet console war argument. even now, in this very thread, after everything that's happened.

most of you didn't know alec. most of you don't know zoe. we're all just random people on the internet engaging in voyeurism over some shit that frankly was not and is not our fucking business. stop ripping each other's throats out about it and leave everyone involved alone.

Click to shrink...

Can't agree more.

 

[Deleted member 925]

Can people ever rise above their worst actions? On the internet the answer to that question is no. If you did something bad but you turned your life around you'll likely never amount to more than who you were at your worst online.

I can't say what Quinn's objective was in her actions but I can say what the result was. That lead to a chain of events that ended a person's life. That's a hell of a thing to go to sleep at night knowing you contributed to in any way at all. People need to reflect on this the next time someone decides to go on Twitter and make a post to expose someone. You have to know that when you do something like that you will ruin someone else possibly for the rest of their life because online people will always be held to their worst.

Click to shrink...

This is some bullshit right here and basically aligned with the stuff people are saying on Twitter.