Jack Thompson Calls The Feds On PA

Gamespot is reporting that Jack has taken his beef to the Feds regarding the dangerous pixelantes over at Penny Arcade. From the article: "In a letter addressed to John McKay, US Attorney for the Western District of Washington, and sent to media outlets, Thompson this morning said the site was using a variety of means 'to encourage and solicit criminal harassment' of him. Thomspon wrote to McKay, 'Please help me if you can,' but did not include specific actions he wished to have taken against the site. McKay's office prosecutes cases investigated by several law enforcement agencies in Western Washington, including the FBI." PvP is also running a parody indicating that Jack has appealed to the Justice League for assistance with Gabe and Tycho.

Just FYI

[dtfinch]

The "I Hate Jack Thompson" T-Shirts at ThinkGeek are out of stock, expected to be available again on Octover 26th. For a higher shipping price you should still be able to get one in time for Halloween though.

Re:Just FYI

[Suburbanpride]

I would be careful buying one. My local police department might get a fax accusing me of criminal harassment.

Seriously, has this guy ever heard of the first amendment? how about New York Times vs Sulivan? [northwestern.edu]. Mr. Thompson is a public figure and therefore a valid target of criticism. Penny arcade has done nothing except to post the messages the Jack has sent. people making death threats could be prosucted. but PA is protected under the law.

Re:Just FYI

[Sigma 7]

Seriously, has this guy ever heard of the first amendment?

He has - and he used it in response to the inquery from the Florida Bar Association.

But in any case, I took a look at how his reply was written - it contained no soild arguments. While there is circumstancial, indirect, and/or vague claims, they are things that can be countered by a layman.

He also seems to claim that anti-SLAPP lawsuits are unconstitutional from the same letter, but that could be the highly ambigious interpretation speaking. Overall, it's nothing to worry about but something that can't be ignored right now.

Re:Fed Prison Local City Lockup

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe they aren't juvenile enough to be making jokes about rape. Rape isn't funny.

(Unless you're raping a clown).

Re:Fed Prison Local City Lockup

[Schemat1c]

Rape isn't funny.

Lamarr: Qualifications?
Outlaw: Rape, murder, arson and rape.
Lamarr: You said rape twice.
Outlaw: I like rape.

Re:Fed Prison Local City Lockup

[SPY_jmr1]

<carlin> Imagine: Porky Pig, raping Elmer Fudd. Why do you think they call him "Porky", eh? </carlin>

Re:Fed Prison Local City Lockup

[aussie_a]

Maybe they aren't juvenile enough to be making jokes about rape.

You've never actually read a Penny-Arcade strip have you?

Re:Fed Prison Local City Lockup

[Aenema]

http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php?date=2005-10- 14&res=l [penny-arcade.com]

it was like 2 before the one you posted

Re:He is right...

[elmegil]

Out of the blue? What are you smoking? He's been painting a huge gamer-target on his head for quite a while now, and didn't need PA to point to the target either. I'm sure he was getting harassment from gamers for his idiocy well before PA started in on this round.

That doesn't mean that the harassment is "OK" it just means that 1) it isn't Gabe & Tycho's creation and 2) he has lowered protections against speech anyway given that he's made himself a public figure.

Re:He is right...

[bersl2]

He made himself into a public figure by starting his little crusade. If he can't handle the heat, maybe he should get out of the kitchen.

He had the option of speaking out anonymously, but he chose not to.

Re:He is right...

[Xeriar]

He's an attention whore. He's just pissed because Penny Arcade out-whored him on this one. And I doubt that Tycho and Gabe donated the $10,000 thinking they'd make it up in ad revenue. They might, but nearly everyone who follows this scandal already knows about PA. They may gain a few new readers out of it but not many.

At least Andy Kaufman had the sense to promote himself as an actor.

Seriously though, if someone acts like a jerk, they shouldn't be surprised when they receive their comuppance.

To make a federal case out of it?!

[the_skywise]

Penny Arcade is NOT in anyway shape or form harassing him.

It is LEGAL to make donations in another's name. (IE you can make a donation to the NAACP in David Duke's name...)

Is it LEGAL (at least in the USA) to correspond with another and say "ha ha you're a fool"

Is Penny Arcade directing attention to this guy? Yes. And it's LEGAL to do so (in the USA).

They're not threatening him. They're not telling people to threaten him. They are trying to get people's attention on him so that they'll realize that this campaign to sue video game companies is one man's personal vendetta and not necessarily a generalized public response.

He wasn't "hit out of the blue" He's been harassing video game websites for months now and has been publically bashing the entire video game industry. He publically made an offer of donating money to charity if they'd build a game to his specification which he renegged on. He's a public figure, waging a public vendetta.

That's NOT illegal (in the USA). That's called FREE SPEECH.

Re:To make a federal case out of it?!

[Celestial Avenger]

I found this particularly ironic:

"Please help me if you can... They claim the First Amendment, it seems, applies only to them." http://www.gamepolitics.com/

He wants to use his first amendment rights to take theirs away.

Re:He is right...

[cgenman]

Let's not forget that Thompson does this for profit, a hell of a lot more than the Penny Arcade guys get. Thompson has orchistrated multiple lawsuits and class-action suits against the industry over the years, and has profitedly handsomly from it. Thompson inhabits a space that attempts to restrict expression for personal profit. That's a lot more tenuous than the position of Penny Arcade where they express themselves and get paid for it.

Thompson is very relevant to Penny Arcade. They've sold "I hate Jack Thompson" t-shirts for years. He claims that Electronic Arts sells pornography via Sims2 to children and that videogames caused Columbine. Penny Arcade is a webcomic about videogame culture. Thompson is a part of that culture. There is a clear connection there, and a clear reason for Penny Arcade to e-mail this very public figure.

He then called them. On the phone. In meatspace. Of his own volition. Which of course they post about, as Penny Arcade is a blog that posts about videogame relevant experiences these two people have. That's what they do. And having tons of readers, some respond by making baseless threats. That's the nature of the modern instantaneous communication and not at all PA's fault. If you haven't had at least one nut job claim you're going to be staring down the end of a 357, you're not trying hard enough.

And Thompson did a lot to fan the flames. Like pretending to contact the police, when in fact he was faxing everyone but them. And now the feds. Oh, and the whole open challenge to the video game industry PR stunt followed by "my promise to donate to charity was a farce." And he happened to be in the news anyway, what with the National Institute on Media and the Family distancing [gamesindustry.biz] itself from him.

Not to put it too bluntly, but Penny Arcade has raised over 1/2 million dollars for toys for children's hospitals. Jack Thompson just copped out on making a promised 10,000 dollar donation to charity. That's basically what they said to him, and it's true.

Either way, he's a lawyer. He's supposed to be held to a higher moral standard. He's not supposed to make baseless threats, scream obscenities at media people, or mislead about legal actions he's pursuing.

On the other hand, the Penny Arcade blog, the modern equivalent of a morning radio show, has been posting inflammatory things like:

Jack is not special. He is not a unique snow flake as they say. He is just the latest vocal opponent of whatever is "corrupting" our youth at the moment. When my dad was growing up it was rock and roll devil music. Then it was comic books then movies and rap music. Today its videogames. If we were to succeed in getting Jack blacklisted from the major news outlets someone else would simply take his place. Imagine him as an actor playing a part in a play. The point is that Jack Thompson is not important. If he were to be fired a new actor would simply take up the role. The same lines would still be delivered in the same way and the same audience would pay to see it. We are actually fortunate that the current actor is so impotent in his role. Imagine what might happen if some charming, efficacious attorney took his place. The more I consider it the more I think we may be lucky to have Jack playing the part of the alarmist. The alternative might be someone who is actually capable.

That's major inducement to harass right there.

Convert Thompson

[iridium_ionizer]

Maybe instead of ignoring, dicrediting, or refuting Jack Thompson (or even just allowing him to exist in the media spotlight as a somewhat ineffective alarmist) the best thing to do would be to CONVERT him. Like by shipping him our old games that we think he would enjoy. If he can browse Penny Arcade on his computer, then certainly he could load Civ III on his machine. Or maybe CSI or Nancy Drew or something else. Anyone got an old console with Tetris or Mario or Katamari Damacy just lying around?

Maybe he's

Re:He is right...

[iCEBaLM]

Jack might be a right wing nut job but he does have a point about Penny Arcade. He was doing an independent campaign that had nothing to do with them, then they took it on themselves to e-mail him.

Yeah, I suppose a guy trying to shove his morality down the collective throats of gamers has absolutely nothing to do with gamers.

Thanks, you fail at life.

I'd argue that...

[the_skywise]

He's not even trying to shove morality down the throats of gamers... He's in it for the money and that's all the morality he needs.

Re:He is right...

[Anonymous Coward]

You also have people on the forum making baseless complaints and sending death threats!

Death threats, you say? Read this: http://gc.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=5883 [advancedmn.com]

If Thompson really believes that games create killers (and I want you to think about that), then that game proposal is basically Thompson putting a $10,000 bounty on Paul Eibeler's head (and his family, and Wal-mart cashiers, etc etc).

Because, by his theory, children and teens who play his game are impressionable enough that someone will i

Re:He is right...

[TychoCelchuuu]

They didn't say "haha you're a fool." They e-mailed him and said the $10,000 dollars that he pledged to give to charity (then later rescinded because it was "satire") was nothing compared to the $500,000 that gamers give to charity each year through Child's Play, the program they set up. Jack Thompson then called them (their phone number was in the e-mail) and screamed at them.

Re:He is right...

[Starsmore]

You also have people on the forum making baseless complaints and sending death threats!

No, you have one man claiming that he's getting all these death threats. When he ponies up the emails, with headers, from all these people putting out death threats on him, then he has a case. Right now, he's twisting the truth to get other people to do what he wants. But of course, that's what lawyers do.

I mean, go check out actual email conversation with the guy.. VG Cats & Jack! [vgcats.com].. even when he starts the conversation, he starts seeing death threats and attacks in the responses. He's got the shittiest pair of rose-colored-glasses I've ever seen. Anything said to him is either total support, or a death threat.

Rose-tint my world...?

[Crash Culligan]

He's got the shittiest pair of rose-colored-glasses I've ever seen.

Obviously, they must instead be manure-tinted glasses. They make everyone and everything look like fertile ground for lawsuits.

The brain drippings of insanity

[heinousjay]

"Penny Arcade, by means I choose not to specify because that would be really dumb to do right now, given what will be distribution of this information, have intentionally orchestrated death threats and other harassment toward me. I'll provide the proof, some of which these folks don't know I have, to the charging authorities. That's as specific as I want to be given to whom I am ulimately[sic] speaking. I'm not as dumb as I look."

Jack Thompson rules

Has to be said

[Guppy06]

"I'm not as dumb as I look."

You mean he's even dumber?

Best thing to do?

[Saeed al-Sahaf]

Desperate actions of a desperate man trying desperately to stay "relevant" and in the public eye. People, it's nothing more than self promotion, and the US Attorney probably gets a shitload of wacky letters like Jacks, and has better things to do than spend much time on them. It's a publicity stunt, folks. Best thing to do? Ignore both it and Jack-O.

Re:Best thing to do?

[Elrond, Duke of URL]

Ignoring him is definitely not the best thing to do here. As the PA guys mentioned recently, we can't afford to ignore Thompson because *other* people will still listen to him.

Just a few days ago Thompson was on CNN. He has name recognition and so he can easily get into the media's spotlight. Once there he can spout off about whatever he feels like. If nobody pushes back, he wins by default.

Disbar Jack Thompson

[schwal]

Disbar Jack Thompson [cafepress.com]

He's just being stupid now.

Realy, realy stupid. [penny-arcade.com]

Re:Disbar Jack Thompson

[VJ42]

I just read that letter you linked to, is he really saying that he'll sue his own bar association if they take action against him due to complaints from the public (which, surely is what a bar association is meant to do)? WTF?

Whenever I think our lawers are crazy here in the UK, you Americans always find one to go one better (or worse as the cae may be) As Shakespeare said in Henry VI "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers". I suppose Jack will now try and sue Shakespeare for incitement to vio

Re:Re:Disbar Jack Thompson

[schwal]

And it's not like sueing the group of lawers that can cast you out of the proffesion is a bad idea or anything ;)

Re:Disbar Jack Thompson

[elmegil]

An outfit in Seattle called "Think Geek" is marketing a t-shirt emblazoned across the front of which are the words "I Hate Jack Thompson." That kind of tells us where they are on the subject of me.

The parent company is an outfit called Penny Arcade.

No kidding. So PA owns Think Geek? Yeah, right.

Ethics.

[Kaenneth]

http://www.law.stetson.edu/excellence/litethics/fl bar.htm [stetson.edu]

The Florida Bar
Ideals and Goals of Professionalism
These aspirational guidelines for lawyers were
adopted by the Board of Governors of the Florida Bar on May 16, 1990.

"A lawyer's word should be his or her bond. The lawyer should not knowingly misstate, distort, or improperly exaggerate any fact or opinion and should not improperly permit the lawyer's silence or inaction to mislead anyone."

http://www.jud10.org/WillsonInn/Florida%20Bar%20an d%20Inn%20of%20Court%20Creeds.pdf [jud10.org]

Florida Bar Creed Of Professionalism

"I will not knowingly misstate, distort, or improperly exaggerate any fact or opinion and will not improperly permit my silence or inaction to mislead anyone."

He probably does not think he exaggerates much

[LordZardoz]

I suppose that in his eyes, FPS Videogames really are murder simulators, in that the player goes around, kills people, and gets rewarded for it. Obviously, his ethical and moral beleifs oppose such things.

His rabid anti-video game stance, however, prevents him from being a true expert. He simply does not know enough about what he is talking about to hold a meaningfully informed opinion. He does not need to actually play a video game to get the idea that he would not like it. But he probably should not b

Re:Ethics.

[geminidomino]

"Ethics" from a Bar association?

Dude, don't be stupid. It's SATIRE! [slashdot.org]

Re:Ethics.

[Surt]

I think Jack Thompson would agree that he has been behaving most ethically according to these guidelines. Note that he has never, to his knowledge, misstated distorted or exaggerated any facts, and I think we'd all have to agree that he has not been silent or inactive in this whole process.

The Parody

[gameboyhippo]

So why does he call himself "John Thompson" at the top of the parody email, but Jack Thompson at the bottom?

Re:The Parody

[schwal]

because he did on THe real letter [penny-arcade.com]

Re:The Parody

[Yorrike]

Because his real name is John Thompson. Jack is a nickname for anyone called John.

Re:The Parody

[Ryosen]

Jack is a nickname for anyone called John.

Much in the same way that "Dick" is a nickname for anyone named "Richard" or "Jack Thompson"

"I'm not as stupid as I look"

[dbhankins]

No, he's not. I think he's stupider.

Yes, it's a word. I looked it up.

Song time!

[T_ConX]

OH!!!!!
Who's dumb as a rock and crazy as fuck!
Jack-Ass-Thomp-son!
Mature as a chimp and out of luck!
Jack-Ass-Thomp-son!
When cartoonists donated to charity...
Jack-Ass-Thomp-Son!
He asked them arrested, by the Seattle PD!
Jack-Ass-Thomp-Son!
OH! Jack-Ass-Thomp-Son, Jack-Ass-Thomp-Son!
JACK-ASS-THOMP-SON!!!!

Are we...

[Aenema]

Are we talking about the Fruit Fucker?

They've got to print more of these

[zbuffered]

ThinkGeek :: I Hate Jack Thompson T-Shirts [thinkgeek.com]
Very trendy!

Re:They've got to print more of these

[HAKdragon]

Well, I wish I could take credit for these [cafepress.com], but they may make a good substitute. (Credit actually belongs to Penny-Arcade forum moderator and fellow /.-er mcc)

Thompson says: "Thompson looks dumb..."

[nmaster64]

"I'm not as dumb as I look." -Jack Thompson

Well, at least he admits that he looks dumb. Although, in the pictures I've seen, it looks more like he's stoned...

My Anti-Jack-Thompson Door [photobucket.com] ( Door Comic Closeup [photobucket.com] )
Thanks to Ctrl-Alt-Del for that excellent comic.

Re:Thompson says: "Thompson looks dumb..."

[Doctor Ian]

"I'm not as dumb as I look." -Jack Thompson

Well, at least he admits that he looks dumb.

Lol you're wrong. Correlation not statement.

Re:Thompson says: "Thompson looks dumb..."

[Xarius]

I like the way you censored the word "fuck", when attempting to defend some freedom...

Re:Thompson says: "Thompson looks dumb..."

[nmaster64]

Oh, that's just 'cause of on-campus housing. I just didn't feel like dealing with some idiot complaining and having the housing rep yell at me. It's not worth the fight...

But, yeah, you have a point...

Bully

[xTown]

I think it is very, very appropriate that as of this writing, Gamespot's featured game--which shows up to the right of the article--is Rockstar's upcoming "Bully." It's just so perfect.

Re:Bully

[ScaryFroMan]

I think you misunderstand. GS associates a game with each article, so Bully (JT's recent target) was connected with the article.

Re:Bully

[xTown]

Shucks :( I was hoping for excellent cosmic propinquity.

Ho ho ho.

[MarauderIIC]

He hadn't made me laugh at him yet. But he did now. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in this, either. I eagerly await to see how much more rediculous he can get.

I also hope this particular crusade manages to get him shot down.

Five Reasons Jack Thompson is Right

[Anonymous Coward]

Even the people who agree with Jack hate to admit it. [pointlesswasteoftime.com]

This kind of reinforces what the PA guys said about how we won't really be in trouble until an activist comes along who's not so crazy and shrill.

Then again, Jack seems to be finding his audience just fine.

Wait a second!

[gameboyhippo]

Okay, I know you guys don't want to believe this and thus I will get flamed, but is it possible that someone is sending emails on Jack Thompson's behalf? Think about it? He is often "writing" these unprofessional emails and letters and then forgetting about it. The top of his letter said John Thompson, not Jack Thompson. Is it possible that someone else is starting these arguments? If so then a lot of this crap makes senes. Thompson is then not the mindless idiot we all think he is. Why would an atto

Re:Wait a second!

[karnal]

*whoosh!*

John = Jack

[Doobian Coedifier]

"Jack" is a nickname for "John" or "Jonathan". I'm suprised so few people know this...

Re:John = Jack

[Turn-X Alphonse]

you're wrong.

Jack is not a nickname for John. Jack is it's own name and has been for a very long time. Jack is a nickname he got and it sounds better then "John Thompson".

Re:John = Jack

[Doobian Coedifier]

OK, I dunno, maybe it's not official, but I know 3 John/Jonathans that go by Jack.

Re:John = Jack

[chrisbtoo]

No, you're wrong. Jack is a nickname for John [wikipedia.org].

"Help" could mean a lot of things:

[Crash Culligan]

Thomspon wrote to McKay, 'Please help me if you can,' but did not include specific actions he wished to have taken against the site.

Yes! Absolutely, help him! Refill his meds and make sure he actually takes them and doesn't spit them down the sink again!

I love this thread

[Anonymous Coward]

Self-righteous web comics and their self-righteous video game playing readers are the best. I can't get enough of all the bullshit I see here, that wouldn't convince anybody who isn't also a nerdy self-righteous video-game player.

Re:I love this thread

[Dmala]

Hey Jack? Is that you, man?

Next on Slashdot

[SharpFang]

Past topics:
Thompson threatens PA with lawsuit.
Thompson complains to Police against PA.
Now:
Thompson Calls The Feds On PA
Next on Slashdot:
Thompson sends in the Navy against PA.
Thompson demands ONZ to take steps against PA.
Thompson wants the Pope to excomunicate PA.

I wonder when he decides to use the nukes.

Sykophant

[diseasesofseamen]

Jack is what the Greeks called a sykophant - someone who starts suits for profit - an activity regarded at the time on par with child molestation. I think they had it roughly right.

Re:Sykophant

[damiam]

Not that the Greeks had much of a problem with child molestation [glbtq.com].

Florida Bar

[Supurcell]

I wish that the Florida Bar would settle this. I mean, we get Thompson and Penny-Arcarde together, give Penny-Arcade the Florida Bar and let them beat the crap out of him with it.

us vs them

[H0D_G]

to paraphrase star wars episode three, you're either with him or against him. guess which one I am?

Jack is rl Vizzini

[Istan]

I remembered this scene from Princess Bride....

Vizzini: I can't compete with you physically, and you're no match for my brains.
Westley: You're that smart?
Vizzini: Let me put it this way. Have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates?
Westley: Yes.
Vizzini: Morons.