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Jack Thompson Sues Microsoft

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Wed May 23, 2007 05:43 PM
from the try-not-to-get-laughed-out-of-court-again dept.
Microsoft Government It's funny. Laugh. The Courts Entertainment Games News
An anonymous reader writes to mention that Jack Thompson, in his latest bout of zealotry, has set his sights on Microsoft for their recent release of Halo 3. GameAlmighty has posted the letter to Bill Gates. "Here's the deal, Mr. Gates: Either Microsoft undertakes dramatic, real steps, through its marketing, wholesale, and retail operations to assure that Halo 3 is not sold, via the Internet and in stores, directly to anyone under 17, or I shall proceed to make sure that Microsoft is held to that standard by appropriate legal means. I have done that before successfully as to Best Buy, and I shall do so again as to Microsoft and all retailers of Halo 3."
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story

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[+] Your Rights Online: Jack Thompson Includes Gay Porn With Court Filing 333 comments
An anonymous reader writes "Jack Thompson has done it again, now by making available gay porn for unlimited viewing on public records. Judge Jordan wrote on an issued order: 'The attached exhibit, which includes several graphic images of oral and genital sex between adult males, was filed electronically in the docket in this case, without prior permission from the court... To the extent that the other attorney's alleged conduct is in any way relevant... there was no need for Mr. Thompson to file these graphic images in the public record. A simple reference to the website and its alleged links would have sufficed...'" I'm usually not a fan of giving Thompson continued free publicity, but some of the things he does are just too outlandish not to share.
[+] Thompson Sues ESRB, Best Buy 134 comments
Well known anti-gaming lawyer Jack Thompson is following up on his clever sting operations against Best Buy. He's filed suit against the consumer electronics retailer for allegedly selling M-rated games to underage gamers. He has also included the ESRB in that suit. GamePolitics reports: "As we reported, the claim against Best Buy suit looks as if it will be going nowhere. Thompson has also apparently named the ESRB in the suit. That looks like a non-starter as well. His explanation: 'The ESRB has been sued by Thompson because it is well known that it a) is owned and operated by the video game industry, b) does not even play the games it rates to conclusion, c) routinely mislabels games as to age appropriateness, per testimony before the U.S. Congress, and is engaged in representations to American parents that the age label are accurate and are keeping "Mature" games out of the hands of kids.'"
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Jack Thompson Sues Microsoft 50 Comments More /

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  • May fools? (Score:5, Funny)

    by EmperorKagato (689705) * <sakamura@gmail.com> on Wednesday May 23 2007, @05:45PM (#19245793) Homepage Journal
    April fools was last month.
  • ...because the low Earth orbit clutter problem just got a lot worse with all the pigs up there.

    I mean, they must be, since I'm going to be rooting for Microsoft to win a lawsuit.

  • Destroy Jack (Score:5, Funny)

    by jnguy (683993) on Wednesday May 23 2007, @05:46PM (#19245803) Homepage
    I never thought I would root for Microsoft, but I hope they destroy Jack Thompson.

      • Re:Destroy Jack (Score:5, Insightful)

        by 64nDh1 (872430) <my/.Username@gmail.com> on Wednesday May 23 2007, @06:14PM (#19246149)
        And don't stop at the lawyers - use all the leverage possible to keep him off air in any capacity whatsoever, discredit him, make him face his own past in a realm he can't run away from it - the courts. Underscore how frivolous his complaints are, but how much time and effort they detract by their process. Reveal how base his arguments are, how scientific studies and strived for impartiality have never entered his deranged mind as considerations. Exhalt in how loathed he is, how manipulative of genuine tragedy, how anachronistic in the basic tenets of his first arguments, how he's devolved from then.

        After all that, tell him it's not really Microsoft's responsiblity to police the fucking vendors, ridicule him for his lack of jurisprudence, move to have the twat disbarred, and let us be done with it.

  • Geez, who do you root for? (Score:5, Funny)

    by MS-06FZ (832329) on Wednesday May 23 2007, @05:46PM (#19245805) Homepage Journal
    Who do you root for in a case like this? I mean, I don't always approve of Microsoft. And Thompson, well... ...I take it back. Go Microsoft! Wipe the floor with this punk!

  • Too much self-importance.. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by MrPerfekt (414248) on Wednesday May 23 2007, @05:46PM (#19245807) Homepage Journal
    Why does this guy feel the need to force his "morality" on everyone? What makes him right and everyone else wrong? He's likely just the biggest douchebag in the world, but I was wondering if anyone, anywhere can defend him.

  • But what can they do (Score:5, Interesting)

    by gbulmash (688770) * <{semi_famous} {at} {yahoo.com}> on Wednesday May 23 2007, @05:46PM (#19245809) Homepage Journal
    First, the title of this article is a misnomer. He's threatening to sue. He hasn't sued yet.

    How is Microsoft supposed to take drastic measures to ensure retailers don't sell its games to people under 17? I wouldn't be upset if Microsoft started a "17 means 17" program, where if they received proof of a retaler selling "M for Mature" games to people under 17, they would cut off that retailer from all shipments of Microsoft products for 6 months. But is it practical?

    If it was Wal-mart, would Microsoft cut them off or give them a stern warning? When I was young and working temp gigs at Disney, I spent a few days calling video stores that had broken street date on video releases, getting a store manager on the line, then handing them over to a Disney manager to chew them out and threaten them with not getting future releases.

    But one thing that was interesting was one of my co-workers told me how Costco got away with it all the time. They were such a huge retail channel for Disney videos, Disney couldn't afford to threaten Costco, so they just had to take a "grin and bear it" posture in those cases, filing a protest but unable to make threats.

    I'm sure Microsoft doesn't want to see young kids getting their hands on violent games and they're not doing tobacco industry style strategy sessions on how to sell "Halo 3" to 10-year-olds. OTOH, how much can they actually do when they're not the ones actually controlling the point of sale?

    • Re:But what can they do (Score:5, Informative)

      by Angelwrath (125723) on Wednesday May 23 2007, @05:50PM (#19245865)
      Thanks for setting the record straight on the title. The more I read articles on the Internet, the more I see misleading, over-stated article titles meant to grab extra attention. Frankly I'm getting tired of it.

    • Re:But what can they do (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Timesprout (579035) on Wednesday May 23 2007, @06:06PM (#19246053)
      Thats what I was thinking initially. Their Lawyers can't just come out and rip him a new one because it looks bad. Forcing a 'solution' on all their distributors is just impractical. I imagine the first response will be a nice spokesman coming out and making all the right noises about how MS are concerned about kids being exposed to violence and all the measures they take to prevent this and that because they are concerned members of society their games are not really 'violent' its just a tiny part of the gameplay and while they respect and share Mr Thompson's concerns they are currently doing everything in their power to prevent improper sales etc.

      However after all the public bs I and considering that gaming and the XBox is going to make them quite a bit of money over the next few years I expect Thompson will find MS much more abrasive and confrontational should he do anything they feel is going to threaten their margins.

  • God has bad aim (Score:5, Funny)

    by mendax (114116) on Wednesday May 23 2007, @05:47PM (#19245819)
    I think that God was trying to blast Jack Thompson with his lightning bolts and got Jerry Fallwell instead. A pity.

    • Re:God has bad aim (Score:5, Informative)

      by cosinezero (833532) on Wednesday May 23 2007, @05:57PM (#19245951)
      No, no, Falwell has at least 20 more years of being a jackass than jack does. God doesn't always answer prayers on your timeframe.

    • Re:God has bad aim (Score:5, Funny)

      by zolaar (764683) on Wednesday May 23 2007, @08:27PM (#19247313)
      No, his aim is fine. It's his ping time that is the problem. Jerry Fallwell had just been ludicrously evil for longer than Jack Thompson has, and (due to the stupid hardcoded speed-of-light thing**) it currently takes a couple decades to establish a TCP (Thunderbolt-Chucking Protocol) socket over ether. Oh, and don't even get him started on packet collisions between other deities on the network, either...



      (** -- It was the night before the big presentation to the department heads, and it was between fixing that or the 'vaginas-might-grow-fangs' bug...)

  • I will not be happy (Score:5, Funny)

    by Jackass Thompson (932628) on Wednesday May 23 2007, @05:48PM (#19245831)
    I will not be happy until every last video game is banned. Video games are the cause of all of society's problems. Stop creating them, you godless hackers.

  • What, what? (Score:5, Informative)

    by grassy_knoll (412409) on Wednesday May 23 2007, @05:50PM (#19245867) Homepage
    So wait.. Thompson is essentially barred from suing Take Two over it's games ( see here [gamealmighty.com] ) so now he's after Bill Gates?

    And what's this nonsense?

    As you also know, Lee Boyd Malvo trained on Microsoft's Halo to further enable him to become the remarkably efficient "DC Beltway Sniper." That was reported by NBC News at the time and was noted in Malvo's criminal trial.


    Yeah... killer training... because pushing buttons on a controller is exactly like firing a rifle.

    Seems like more grandstanding. I'd say Thompson is off his meds... but frankly, I'm not sure he was ever on them.

  • OK, I'm confused (Score:5, Funny)

    by FlyByPC (841016) on Wednesday May 23 2007, @05:53PM (#19245899) Homepage
    The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?

    ...so who do I root for here?

    • Microsoft... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by afxgrin (208686) <[nboli] [at] [cogeco.ca]> on Wednesday May 23 2007, @06:07PM (#19246073) Homepage
      ... because really, they're just distributing a video game. This attack on gaming is stupid, just like many other laws trying to prevent social activities. It's a futuristic combat game, there is nothing REAL about any of it. The supposedly realistic world the game takes place in is a complete fictional fabrication. Unless Jack thinks Microsoft has a fucking time machine and knows that this is the true future. :-)

      Why doesn't he focus his effort on banning violence from news reports ... cause that's like real. Or how about violence in film? That is a depiction of real people, handling pseudo-weapons that are designed to look like real weapons, and through the use of special effects, depict the actual killing of people in as much graphic detail as possible (cause it looks cooler). He really needs to stop acting like a fucking crusader for the war on video games. I am under the impression that there is no "moral majority" backing any of his actions, and the generation of adults who grew up playing video games will just want Mr. Thompson to shut up.

      And if he brings up the recent VT shootings, from what I understand of Cho's background, that he didn't play video games.

      Can someone please throw a cream pie at Thompson, like ASAP? Someone already nailed BillyG with a pie, someone needs to get Jack.

  • Jack Thompson's goal isn't to prevent Halo 3 sales.

    It's quite clearly to get himself and Microsoft's lawyers in the same room at the same time. That much concentrated evil will surely create a gateway to hell and let through all the imps, pain elementals, and cyberdemons. Then his purpose for preventing people kids from playing Doom will become clear as his armies rampage unhindered and he begins his thousand year reign over all the nations of the earth!

  • Wait...what? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by amuro98 (461673) on Wednesday May 23 2007, @06:07PM (#19246069)
    I seriously hope that idiot goes through with this. It'll be amusing to watch Microsoft counter-sue idiot into oblivion.

    Isn't there a law about threatening a lawsuit? Could this finally be the last straw that causes idiot to be disbarred entirely? Not that he couldn't still hire another idiot to act as his attorney, but I suspect it'll become more expensive for idiot to continue threatening companies in this manner.

  • Oh my God. (Score:5, Funny)

    by adam.dorsey (957024) on Wednesday May 23 2007, @06:11PM (#19246109)
    He just kicked the 800-pound gorilla in the nuts.

    This is so wonderful. This story just made my day.

  • Go for it Jack Thomson... (Score:5, Funny)

    by NinjaTariq (1034260) on Wednesday May 23 2007, @06:18PM (#19246185)
    As a parent I wish to let someone have the responsibility of bringing up my kids right, I am tired or trying to stop them doing things that they shouldn't...

    I am going to buy Halo 3 for my own enjoyment, and I want Jack Thomson to personally come to my house here in PA and keep them out of the room so they don't see the graphic violence as I take the convenant and flood once more... You go Jack, I assume because your self righteous head is so far up your own self righteous ass, that you won't even need me to pay you...

    I love you Jack, you are my hero, I hereby grant you all of my parental responsibility, since you are so much better at it than me. I urge parents on slashdot to do the same.

    The man is an idiot, I bet the guy who reads Bill's mail got a good laugh. Jack Thomson should NOT breed.

  • What are PARENTS for? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by TheChromaticOrb (931032) on Wednesday May 23 2007, @06:20PM (#19246205)
    Can we please return parental control back to parents? I was under the impression that Thompson et al preach traditional values and the "reinstitution" of family. If you really want to feed the lawyers, please ask the courts to force families to be responsible for raising their kids, not to take the responsability away from it. Thank you.

  • Gentlemen, this is a hoax (Score:5, Interesting)

    by netcrusher88 (743318) <`moc.liamg' `ta' `88rehsurcten'> on Wednesday May 23 2007, @06:42PM (#19246413)
    How do I know?

    * The writing style is juvenile, and though Thompson may be a fool, he is a lawyer, which means he knows how to write official-looking documents, and that was too casual for even a professional memo.
    * Who the hell has ever heard of GameAlmighty? Attention whores like Thompson don't CC legal threats to unheard-of small gaming blogs with about a hundred readers. They CC it to NBC or something.
    * Who the hell has ever heard of GameAlmighty? Claiming to have received a letter from Jack Thompson is an extremely effective way to get hits.
    * Thompson already sent a letter to Bill Gates, about Counter-Strike. If he was going to send a letter about Halo 3, it would likely go to Steve Jobs.
    * Again with the writing style. It just feels very, very wrong. Can we get a literature/psychology professor/professional to analyze these?

    I know I'm going to get modded down for this, but I'll be the one laughing. Or maybe you will, and I'll be laughing at myself. I could be wrong.

  • You know... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Applekid (993327) on Wednesday May 23 2007, @06:58PM (#19246563)
    ... perhaps it's time Jack Thompson had his own icon.

    It could look like that Marge Squirrel from that episode of The Simpsons when Marge was all upity against Itch and Scratchy.

    Just a thought.

  • Self-regulation (Score:5, Informative)

    by Aeron65432 (805385) <agiamba.gmail@com> on Wednesday May 23 2007, @07:06PM (#19246629) Homepage
    Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the ESRB's rating system have no legal ground at all? Therefore it's not illegal for stores to sell to u-18s....depends on store policy.

  • Should Jack take Microsoft to court... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by wilgibson (933961) on Wednesday May 23 2007, @07:56PM (#19247077)
    it would be one case I would hope Microsoft wins. Seriously, Jack Thompson is a blithering idiot. I find it quite funny that there are many games out there far more violent than the ones he chooses to single out, yet it is like he is oblivious, Oh wait, that's right... he is!

    What really amazes me is the man hasn't gone after the Wii(at least to my knowledge). Come on, a game like Red Steel should be a big fat target for this guy. Not to mention Metroid Prime 3, which is a game that is making some buzz. You would think the controls used in these games would seriously disturb him, those Wiimotes are more like guns than any 360 or PS controller could ever be!

  • gl (Score:5, Funny)

    by Lehk228 (705449) on Wednesday May 23 2007, @08:15PM (#19247239) Journal
    good luck with that jack.

    and by 'good luck' I mean, 'I hope you die in a fire'

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