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Kotaku Games Blog Sued By Jack Thompson 126

Posted by Zonk from the he-done-stepped-in-it dept.
Reacting to Kotaku's coverage of comments Thompson made last week about the VA Tech incident, Thompson has sued Kotaku and their parent company Gawker media. He also tried to sic the FBI on them (getting as much success there as he did with the Penny Arcade gents). From GamePolitics' coverage: "Thompson's ire was apparently raised by Kotaku reader comments which the attorney maintains are threatening. He also alleges in the complaint that Kotaku and Gawker declined to remove the menacing posts. The messages in question stem from Kotaku's coverage of Thompson's claims that video games prompted last week's Virginia Tech massacre. The Gawker suit is actually an amendment to an action Thompson filed on March 13th against the Florida bar. On April 11th he amended it to include the members of the Florida Supreme Court. And now Gawker joins the list of defendants."
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Kotaku Games Blog Sued By Jack Thompson More

Kotaku Games Blog Sued By Jack Thompson

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  • Self Sacrifice? (Score:4, Funny)

    by Tofystedeth ( 1076755 ) on Thursday April 26, 2007 @12:20PM (#18887333)

    amendment to an action Thompson filed on March 13th against the Florida bar.
    Last I heard from JT's publicity was that he was still a member in good standing of the Florida bar. Maybe they should just let him win and then vote for him to pay all the fees....

  • Legal Precedent (Score:5, Funny)

    by Manos_Of_Fate ( 1092793 ) <link226@gmail.com> on Thursday April 26, 2007 @12:21PM (#18887351)
    I bet this is the first time someone has ever used the phrase, "the chances are slim to none, and Slim just left town." in a Legal filing before.

    • Re:Legal Precedent (Score:5, Interesting)

      by drinkypoo ( 153816 ) <drink@hyperlogos.org> on Thursday April 26, 2007 @12:41PM (#18887685) Homepage Journal
      I prefer the Army of Darkness bit, "You ain't leading but two things right now: Jack and shit, and Jack left town." It even uses the name Jack. He hasn't left town yet, but suing the bar that accredits you is a good way to get a swift ass-kicking. If he is disbarred there will be parties at gamers' houses across the world, let alone the country. For good or ill, and whether the rest of the world will admit it or not, the American media has a huge effect damned near everywhere, and JT has been huge in our media.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by nuzak ( 959558 )
        > but suing the bar that accredits you is a good way to get a swift ass-kicking.

        The Florida bar "kicked his ass" the last time he sued them by dropping 20 g's in his lap to shut him up.

        Problem is, he didn't stay shut up, so he's before the FL supreme court facing disciplinary charges. He's not facing any felonies (not since Take-Two settled) so they probably won't do much more than suspend him for a year or two, if that.

        It still doesn't affect his standing to file suits. Still, I see Kotaku collecting

        • The Florida bar "kicked his ass" the last time he sued them by dropping 20 g's in his lap to shut him up.

          He must therefore have actually had a case last time, if the fucking bar decided to settle - since settling sends a message to others with similar potential lawsuits that they should bring those suits as they are likely to win.

          But it's pretty clear that he doesn't this time, and that he's just batshit crazy and drunk on the attention of the media.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by acvh ( 120205 )
      could be. IBM recently quoted Lewis Carroll in a filing in the SCO case. of course, the rest of their filing actually reads like it was composed by intelligent life forms, in contrast to Thompson's, which is more or less the equivalent of a blogger in his parent's basement (no offense, slashdotters...)

    • Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Thursday April 26, 2007 @02:50PM (#18889955)
      Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • I give this douchebag 3 months before he is disbarred. He's already been trounced by Chris Matthews on his program, and made to look like an outright fool on numerous websites. This should thankfully be one of the last times we hear his name in the news.

  • Translation: (Score:4, Funny)

    by markbt73 ( 1032962 ) on Thursday April 26, 2007 @12:30PM (#18887517)

    "Waah! Your readers were mean to me!"

    If only all the nutjobs were as easily dismissable as Jack.

    • Re:Translation: (Score:5, Funny)

      by doubleofive ( 982704 ) on Thursday April 26, 2007 @12:33PM (#18887555) Homepage
      Watch your mouth, or Slashdot will be next on his agenda!

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Kynmore ( 861364 )
        That would be a laugh riot. If we could only get network news to cover Jack's insane suits, then he'd start barking up the only tree that gives him any respect. School Shootings Expert my ass.
    • WOW players have a term for what he does: "QQ" Fits him perfectly.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by Barny ( 103770 )
        Why is it people who play wow always consider any general mmog phrase must have originated with their game?

        I heard QQ used in daoc over 4 years ago, and in IRC further back than that, its just a slang term for text chat :)
        • Well, he's technically right - WoW players DO have a term for what he's doing. It's just that it didn't come from WoW.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Workaphobia ( 931620 )
      In a way, Jack is difficult to dismiss, because the tools we normally use to do so are sarcasm and parody. But how on Earth do you parody a man who is so unreal, so orthogonal to the plane of right/wrong and coherence/absurdity? Fortunately, we are spared the burden of trying to find a way; his comments do more damage to his own reputation than ANYTHING another human being could possibly say.

      • Fortunately, we are spared the burden of trying to find a way; his comments do more damage to his own reputation than ANYTHING another human being could possibly say.

        Methinks you're falling into a bit of a fallacy here. While I dislike Jack Thompson as much as anyone else on Slashdot, the fact of the matter is: there's a crowd out there with whom his statements resonate, and the more vehemenant he words them, the more appealing these people find it.

        Just like how us nerds would get a major giggle if some judge told the RIAA to "stuff it up their ass" (rather than the typical legalese), the "moral majority" will only see him as a strong voice of his twisted, neurot

  • Grandpa (Score:5, Funny)

    by Valacosa ( 863657 ) on Thursday April 26, 2007 @12:34PM (#18887579)
    Remember kids, when Grandpa goes senile, it's not a good idea to let him drive...or practice law.

  • read the lawsuit (Score:4, Funny)

    by Blob Pet ( 86206 ) on Thursday April 26, 2007 @12:34PM (#18887587) Homepage
    It's pretty funny if you read it. Thompson is so eloquent when you calls people "liberal intolerants" and "Stalinists."

    • Re:read the lawsuit (Score:5, Funny)

      by Emperor Zombie ( 1082033 ) on Thursday April 26, 2007 @01:02PM (#18888069)
      Personally, I like #29:

      Pictured among the self-styled "Guardians of Democracy" is the current President of The Florida Bar, Hank Coxe, who told Thompson and his lawyer, to their faces in a May 15, 2006, meeting in Tallahassee that Thompson "should be suspended from the practice of law for his vitriol." This may be the first time the head of a state bar has maintained that a lawyer should be suspended from the practice of law for an alleged attitudinal problem. Given The Bar's growing anti-Christian, anti-faith bias, Mr. Coxe undoubtedly would have found Jesus Christ's repeated upbraiding of the Pharisees to be unacceptably "vitriolic."
      That's right folks, JT is the new Jesus
    • Thompson is so eloquent when you calls people "liberal intolerants" and "Stalinists."

      S'ok. I've written to the headquarters of a few stores to complain about their lack of selection and referred to their buyers as "either incompetent or stupid". Granted, that didn't help my case to get them to change their selection but it felt good to let them know what I thought of the people who do their buying.

      Jack's probably the same way. It makes him feel good even if it doesn't get results.

    • Re:read the lawsuit (Score:5, Funny)

      by Damvan ( 824570 ) on Thursday April 26, 2007 @02:31PM (#18889627)
      My favorite:

      "The happy result was that Thompson is now the only officially Bar-certified sane lawyer in Florida."

      Wow. I can't believe this guy puts things like this into legal filings.

  • Rule him vexatious already! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by eddy ( 18759 ) on Thursday April 26, 2007 @12:44PM (#18887749) Homepage Journal

    "Vexatious litigation is legal action which is brought, regardless of its merits, solely to harass or subdue an adversary. It may take the form of a primary frivolous lawsuit or may be the repetitive, burdensome, and unwarranted filing of meritless motions in a matter which is otherwise a meritorious cause of action. It is considered an abuse of the judicial process and almost always brings down sanctions on the offender." -- wikipedia [wikipedia.org]

    • Well, I actually don't think he does this to "harass or subdue an adversary"... I think he honestly believes in what he's saying, but unfortunately even more so in his own ego... That, and I think he's gone insane actually... I'd bother with explaining why, if everybody didn't allready get it...

  • Dear Mr. Thompson, (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Caffeinate ( 1031648 ) on Thursday April 26, 2007 @12:52PM (#18887885)
    From the desk of the millions of normal people who play games:

    Much like you, we were deeply disturbed by the actions of the shooter at Virginia Tech and feel terribly for the families of the lost. However we deeply resent the fact that you have totally bypassed the issue at hand and chosen instead to scapegoat the electronic entertainment industry. Perhaps instead of blaming videogames (which are clearly not your area of expertise [teamxbox.com]) we should instead delve a little deeper in order to find what causes these depraved/deprived individuals to take such drastic measures. Your "proof" of a link to video game violence is tenuous at best - equivalent to such joke statistics as bread creating murderers [snopes.com]. Statistical correlation is not proof of cause and effect but beyond that, you have failed to even show a statistical correlation, instead bringing up the specific examples where the statistics say what you want to prove.

    Like naysayers for the past several centuries, you see the advent of a new form of entertainment as the downfall of society. Novels, the waltz, radio and television have all been targetted in the past and so far civilization has emerged unscathed (but not unchanged).

    Perhaps this is the issue; you (and millions of right-wing conservatives) are afraid of what the future may bring. Who knows what changes the liberalization of the West may bring?

    In short, we feel that you are doing nobody any good - you are attempting (and luckily failing) to take the attention away from the actual issues (which in the case of the VT shooting are as of yet indetermined).

    Signed,

    Gamers of the world.

    P.S. While we harbour you no malice, I wouldn't suggest you attempt any retribution - we have all been trained on "murder simulators" . . .

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by elrous0 ( 869638 ) *
      Don't bother. You can't reason with a madman, my friend.
      • JT is actually sane. But I don't know why the judge would order an evaluation of the attorney's sanity in a case.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by asninn ( 1071320 )
        That's certainly true, but you can reason with those who might be swayed by the madman's claims if nobody's there to counter them and tell them the truth. In fact, I'd say you pretty much have to - it's the only way to keep the madmen from getting too much power.

        Whether posting on Slashdot of all places is really going to reach anyone who's not a member of the choir already is another question, of course.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by bheer ( 633842 )
      You are about as kneejerk as the man you are trying to hector, and you don't even realize it.

      > (and millions of right-wing conservatives) are afraid of what the future may bring

      Yeah, because "millions of right-wing conservatives" don't play games. Because gamers are one vast hivemind and march in lockstep to the promised socialist future. What crap -- in a story about gaming! As if Democrats [breitbart.com] are immune from the knee-jerk "bash gamers" disease.

      And oh --

      > Who knows what changes the liberalization of the

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by Caffeinate ( 1031648 )

        You are about as kneejerk as the man you are trying to hector . . .
        If that knee connected with Mr. Thompson's chin, at least it would get him to shut up.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by asninn ( 1071320 )

        Yeah, because "millions of right-wing conservatives" don't play games. Because gamers are one vast hivemind and march in lockstep to the promised socialist future. What crap -- in a story about gaming! As if Democrats are immune from the knee-jerk "bash gamers" disease.

        I think it's interesting to note that it's YOU, rather than the GP, who equated "right-wingers" with "republicans" - in fact, he only talked about politics in the general conservative/progressive (right/left) sense, never in terms of rep

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Barny ( 103770 )
      "Never argue with an idiot. He will lower you to his level and beat you with experience." (Bob Smith, c. 1962)

      Just ignore him for now, he seems to be good at making nooses :)
    • step 1) start a Jack Thompson shrine
      step 2) write a Manifesto talking about how you were inspired by Mr. Thompson alone, and that you don't even own a video game system (i know, it disqualifies every slashdotter here, but i digress) for the actions that you are about to commit.
      step 3) go on a murderous rampage
      step 4) go to jail/die
      step 5) JT blames it on video games anyway, and the media still believes the bullcrap he feeds them.
      step 6) go back to step 1.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by enjerth ( 892959 )
      Just had to say "you (and millions of right-wing conservatives)", didn't ya?

      Last I time I checked, Hillary Clinton [jackthompson.org] (NOT a right-wing conservative, in case you didn't know) shared the most similarities with Jack Thompson when it comes to violence in video games.

      Thanks for the refreshing scent of partisan bullshit.
  • I don't understand how people get so diluted in their views on reality. Can't they just realize that they are sometimes (read: often) wrong? Another recent example that stuck with me throughout this story is that of Michael Crook [slashdot.org]. (And in this example of Crook, after his apology video he posted an "I'm not really sorry, but I had to say it." video to YouTube. I'm not linking it to spare you all.)

    I thought it was common sense that if you get proven wrong (or your lies dissected) that you get the fuck over
    • Damn it, I mistagged the end of the italics. Oh well, deal with it. And if you can't then here is how I meant it:

      I don't understand how people get so diluted in their views on reality. Can't they just realize that they are sometimes (read: often) wrong? Another recent example that stuck with me throughout this story is that of Michael Crook [slashdot.org]. (And in this example of Crook, after his apology video he posted an "I'm not really sorry, but I had to say it." video to YouTube. I'm not linking it to spare you all.)

      I thought it was common sense that if you get proven wrong (or your lies dissected) that you get the fuck over it and get on with your life, right? The only thing to gain is a more wide-spread reputation -- but mind you, it's the type of reputation you want.

      That said, what is it that spawns these people? They seem to infest society in both recent and dated history... Nobody ever likes them, so why do they do that to themselves?

    • Re:Seriously, what is it? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Chris Burke ( 6130 ) on Thursday April 26, 2007 @01:17PM (#18888313) Homepage
      It's not that hard to understand.

      Imagine that you have built a business around selling tiger-repelling rocks. Not crazy huge, but enough that you live quite comfortably and can even get on TV being interviewed about your success as a self-made entrepeneur.

      Would you ever admit that the idea of a tiger-repelling rock is nonsense? Would you accept any proof that was offered, no matter how robust and bulletproof, that your rocks did nothing? Of course not. You might know that your rock is useless, but you aren't going to say so, because as long as your insistence that your rock does its job perfectly convinces some people, then they will buy your rocks and you continue to make money. When nobody believes you any more, well, then you just come out with the wolverine-repelling friendship bracelet and you're back in business.

      "Video games (as opposed to complex social problems) cause violence" is all JT has. He isn't going to give that up so long as a single person is willing to point a microphone at him while he rants. When that day finally comes, then he'll find another boogey man to blame all of society's ills on, and suddenly people will start listening again. Just like he moved on from rap music to video games.

      I don't think for a second that JT really thinks games drive people crazy. I think he thinks it's his only meal ticket. He's a lawyer, and being a lawyer is all about arguing for something vehemently that you don't necessarily agree with at all. While JT may be crazy, and most of his statements do give that impression, his fundamental motivation is probably greed rather than a distorted view of reality.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by adona1 ( 1078711 )
        I think he thinks it's his only meal ticket

        A fair point, but I'm not sure exactly where he'd be getting money from now. He sure as hell wouldn't have time to actually represent clients, with all the frivolous lawsuits he keeps on submitting. I wouldn't think that too many media outlets would even need to offer him payment to get him to rant about gaming.
        • I'm not sure entirely. I know he has clients, usually he represents them when they go to sue the games industry for some tragedy. I don't know on what basis he was paid, but hopefully for him by the hour and not contigency since he loses most of these cases. All of his other antics could from that standpoint just be considered advertising for his ambulence-chasing have-you-been-hurt-by-videogames? practice.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by geekoid ( 135745 )
      becasue they have grabbed onto an irrational idea, so you can not prove them wrong at all...ever. Not with science, logic, or mountains of evidence.

    • The History of Titus Oates [wikipedia.org] is instructive here. He went through periods of amazing success followed by periods of abject failure, by telling outlandish lies about a politically unpopular scapegoat.

  • Actual quote from complaint (Score:4, Informative)

    by A_Primetime_Fool ( 961760 ) on Thursday April 26, 2007 @12:55PM (#18887947)
    This is an actual direct quote from Thompson's complaint, including all 72 periods.

    78. This was followed with other posts that Thompson should be struck with a baseball bat, shot in the face by an irate gamer, castrated and his testicles stuffed down his throat, and the exercise of other basic "constitutional" rights to advocate violence against an individual...[72 '.' in total]...Not!
    It seriously sounds like it was written by a 8 year old troll.

  • Cause and Effect (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Jack Thompson caused the Virginia Tech shootings. I have proof. I am a school shooting expert. I'll sue all of you bastards if you disagree with me.

  • You know the legal system is broken... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by AbsoluteXyro ( 1048620 ) on Thursday April 26, 2007 @01:04PM (#18888095)
    When a moron like Jack Thompson is allowed to toss frivolous lawsuits at every man woman and child that says or does something he doesn't like. I'd think all this horse-shit he keeps pulling would bite him in the ass, but it never does.
    • The legal system is not broken. This person is abusing it, and that is different. There is no way to stop this without castrating the rights, and ability of people to defend themselves from every other person.

      • it's b0rken. (Score:3, Interesting)

        by eddy ( 18759 )

        Sure it's broken. He's a vexatious litigant and a disgrace to the profession; he should be disallowed from filing lawsuits without explicit permission of the courts. That's it. Problem solved.

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by nomadic ( 141991 ) *
          Sure it's broken. He's a vexatious litigant and a disgrace to the profession; he should be disallowed from filing lawsuits without explicit permission of the courts. That's it. Problem solved.

          Courts do that sometimes, but it takes a LOT to push them to that point. Believe it or not Jackie probably hasn't reached that level yet.

          Those kinds of injunctions are aimed at people who will file dozens and dozens of lawsuits alleging insane conspiracies. Stuff that makes Thompsons rants look reasonable by co

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by asninn ( 1071320 )
          Being able to file lawsuits when you're being wronged is a very fundamental pillar of democracy, though. What should happen here is that Thompson would get slapped down hard for abusing the courts, to the extent that he'll think twice about ever doing it again, and he certainly should be kicked out of the bar, but his ability to file suits in general, as a private individual, should not be touched.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by VE3OGG ( 1034632 )
      Actually -- and it is rare that I comment on the American politics/legal sphere, but I'd have to say that the fact that such frivolous lawsuits are tossed around is indicative of nothing. Now what should worry you is if he wins said lawsuits. As I have mentioned to friends, I don't think the system is broken, I think it is the participants...

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by billcopc ( 196330 )
        The big problem with it, is like everything else in the world. When you throw tons of shit around, some of it is bound to stick.

        Even if they all got thrown out of court without complications, there is still a heavy cost incurred to society as everyone involved has to waste their time listening to this bitter man's empty threats. I don't know about you, but I have more important things to do in life than sit around in court every time some jackass disagrees with my opinions.

  • adding slashdot to the suit (Score:5, Funny)

    by anarchy_man3 ( 768249 ) on Thursday April 26, 2007 @01:10PM (#18888181) Homepage
    I am going to kill Jack Thompson with a chainsaw.
    • Trained with Gears of War, have we?
    • Here are some good "murder simulators" for you to "train" on:

      -Doom
      -Texas Chainsaw Massacre (The Video Game)
      -Resident Evil 4
      -Gears of War

      Each of these games have chainsaws in them, and according to JT, you can become quite skilled at using weapons in real life if you practice using them in the game. So after playing these games, you should be a great chainsaw murderer! Good luck!

    • Re: (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Oh yeah? Well, I am going to sneak up behind him, grab him by the throat and hold a knife to his neck. Then I am going to interrogate him and knock him out using a pressure point. I will hide his body in darkness, and while he is unconscious I will stand over him and repeatedly crouch slightly while shouting "FUCK YOU NOOB".

      When he awakes, he will think I have left. As he tries to drive off, I will carjack him and crush him under the wheels of his own car as I drive off. When he gets up I will pull up alon

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by nuzak ( 959558 )
      I am going to kill you before you can get to kill him before I do. I haven't decided on a weapon yet. Perhaps Jack can suggest one.

  • Um... (Score:1)

    by Vexor ( 947598 )
    Even if his disbarment goes through that won't stop him from randomly sueing anyone and proclaiming himself a "expert" in whatever strikes his fancy. Granted he won't be able to argue/represent his own case. The only mountain he will have to climb will be finding another crazy lawyer to represent him.
    • Not at all. He can certainly argue his case and represent himself. You don't have to be a lawyer to do that. However, there is that quote that goes something along the lines of "The man who represents himself has a fool for an attorney." Granted, anyone who has JT as an attorney also falls into that category.

    • Re:Um... (Score:5, Funny)

      by Psmylie ( 169236 ) * on Thursday April 26, 2007 @01:47PM (#18888853) Homepage
      Having spent a grand total of 30 minutes reading up on it, I hereby declare myself to be an expert on "Bat-Shit Crazy Lawyers". In my expert opinion, the subject is, indeed, Bat-Shit Crazy. I recommend he be commited to the nearest Looney Bin, Wacky Shack, or Nut house.

      Declaring yourself an expert is easy, I love it!

  • o.O (Score:4, Insightful)

    by MeanderingMind ( 884641 ) on Thursday April 26, 2007 @01:14PM (#18888261) Homepage Journal
    I should get a job in law, it obviously doesn't require the slightest bit of intelligence.

    If I were a lawyer I'd be deeply offended by that complaint. Lord help us if Jack ever writes a biblical commentary.

  • i'm glad... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Devir ( 671031 ) on Thursday April 26, 2007 @01:14PM (#18888265) Homepage
    that Jack Thompson is in fact suing all these companies. It means he's falling and knows it. He's going to try to take whoever he can with him. within a year no one will know he existed.

    THe best thing to ever happen in the favor of gamers was Jack's soap box jump within hours of Vtech. Blaming games, and saying Cho never would NEVER have "learned to enjoy killing withoutplaying violent video games". Only to later find out, that Cho, well never really played games. Maybe mine sweaper to pass some boring class time.

    He made the biggest fool of himself and lost all credibility he had. Jack's an empty shell and a nobody now. While someone else will eventually take his place in the crusade, gamers everywhere can comfortably play games without scrutiny.

    • THe best thing to ever happen in the favor of gamers was Jack's soap box jump within hours of Vtech. Blaming games, and saying Cho never would NEVER have "learned to enjoy killing withoutplaying violent video games". Only to later find out, that Cho, well never really played games. Maybe mine sweaper to pass some boring class time.

      You're absolutely right. I was sure that they would find Counterstrike or some similar game on his computer, simply because he was an engineering college student, and Jack would
      • Meh, he's Jack. Persistant as ever.

        He's still parroting the supposed Counter-Striking Cho did as a teen. I'm not sure that claim has really been validated anywhere, but the facts haven't ever proven much of a barrier to this man.
        • I love how everyone was so quick to look to counter-strike and other "murder simulators", while either glossing over or completely ignoring the fact that males in S Korea are required to serve 2 years in the armed forces. "*Gasp* The army couldn't be training people to kill, thats proposterous, its the video games."
    • Most gamers are not going to be satisfied until he is disbarred. Jack is either a glory seeker or he is fairly unstable. Either way, the best way to protect the general public would be to yank his license.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Frenchy_2001 ( 659163 )
      THe best thing to ever happen in the favor of gamers was Jack's soap box jump within hours of Vtech. Blaming games, and saying Cho never would NEVER have "learned to enjoy killing withoutplaying violent video games". Only to later find out, that Cho, well never really played games. Maybe mine sweaper to pass some boring class time.

      Jack took a chance and lost.
      Expecting male college student to play nowadays is about as likely as them drinking (ie: very high).
      He thought that such a loner would be a gamer and i

  • How Jack's mind works. (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Niltsiar ( 471 )
    To all of us rational minded people, we may look at the comment that the kotaku reader left and think this lawsuit is very silly, but we're talking about Jack Thompson here. In his mind, games like Grand Theft Auto aren't games, they're training tools to teach potential future killers.

    To us, we may see this user's comment that that Jack should be shot for attempting to exploit the tragedy as the hyperbole that it is. To Jack though, this is potentially a trained killer making a threat, which is ridiculous

  • Smoking Crack (Score:4, Funny)

    by Greyfox ( 87712 ) on Thursday April 26, 2007 @01:15PM (#18888285) Homepage Journal
    Leads to far more murders than video games do. I wonder if a motion to dismiss because the plaintiff is clearly smoking crack would hold up in court. If I were the judge presiding over a case where such a motion were filed I'd at the very least have to order a drug test for the plaintiff. If law were really that much fun I'd have gone into it instead of programming.

    Don't mind me, I'm just rambling...

  • Badge of Honor (Score:5, Funny)

    by rlp ( 11898 ) on Thursday April 26, 2007 @01:23PM (#18888419)
    Someone should create a 'Sued by Jack Thompson' logo for gaming sites.
  • I'm not sure what's scarier, the idea that he's just another money- and fame-hungry asshat, or the idea that he might really believe his own rhetoric.

  • Hilarious (Score:3)

    by mmmmbeer ( 107215 ) on Thursday April 26, 2007 @01:31PM (#18888529)
    Seriously, why isn't this filed under humor? The brief is hilarious! It starts out kind of slow, but pretty soon he gets going. Jack starts throwing around terms like "internet idiot," and accuses the Florida Bar of conspiring with opposing attorneys to "hector" him. The further he goes, the more emotional, paranoid, and downright loony he gets. It'd be a great joke if the lunatic weren't serious.

  • Hey, Jack, (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Tom ( 822 ) on Thursday April 26, 2007 @01:31PM (#18888533) Homepage Journal
    If you are really serious about your weird pseudo-statistical theory, shouldn't you thank the VT shooter? After all, chances are that, it being a tech U and all, there were quite a few other gamers among his victims. Surely, if you are right, they would all sooner or later have gone on a killing spree. Right?

  • If video games really (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    made people half as violent as he wished, wouldn't one of us gamers have shot him already?
  • It's only a matter of time until this guy sues himself. I can see it now: "Your honor, on the day in question after locking my keys in my car I called myself an idiot and slapped myself on the forehead. This is a clearcut case of slandering myself and, even worse, assaulting myself. It's obvious I present a clear and present danger to myself and I demand you grant a restraining order ordering me to stay at least 500 feet from me at all times. In addition I think it only right you award me $3 million in damages to be paid by me to me at once. Thank you." Yup, any day now.
  • If we just ignore him, he'll go away. The only reason Thompson is still somewhat relevant to the media is because gamers treat him like he is. DON'T FEED THE BEARS!!
    • Actually it's because misinformed soccer moms and their ilk treat him like he is relevant. He doesn't get on to CNN because they think it'll be a big draw from the gaming crowd.
    • This isn't an issue of feeding the troll. Jack's goal is not to enrage gamers and to get attention; it is to sway the public's opinions on game so he can enforce his own personal objectives on society.

      Public opinion is important. If we just ignore him then the people who are uninformed about games will get all their information from him alone and believe him. We need people speaking out for games just as much if not more then jack speaks against them and we need Jacks comments to be directly countered by ot

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by arth1 ( 260657 )
      He's entertainment. Every village needs an idiot to laugh at, and in the Internet village, that's Jack Thompson.

      Besides, he can serve a useful purpose too. I'd much rather have a rabiate dog like him oppose something I believe in than anyone else. That increases the chances of a legal verdict that whatever he opposes is, indeed, perfectly legal and should be protected.

  • Ban Phoenix Wright! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Tetsujin28 ( 156148 ) on Thursday April 26, 2007 @01:45PM (#18888809) Homepage
    The answer to this problem is clear, if we can only muster the will to follow through on it. We must ban those monstrous "Phoenix Wright - Ace Attorney" games, and protect our children from their insidious influence.

    It is clear to any right-thinking person that these so-called "games" are in fact Lawyer Simulations. Thanks to their brutal desensitization we are in danger of creating an entire generation of Jack Thompsons.

    Please, think of the children.

    -T.
  • Thompson just amended his action again yesterday to include the bagger at his supermarket who constantly places his bread at the bottom of the bag, causing it to be slightly crushed.
  • So if I'm reading this right, he's suing both the Florida Bar AND the FL Supreme Court? Wow.

    I'd be very interested in seeing if anyone could get comments from anyone at the Florida Bar regarding Mr. Thompson, let alone this suit. I'm pretty sure hilarity would ensue.
  • QQ PVP Server, jack.

  • Many people hate Mr. Thompson because they fail to realize the positive effect he's had on so many hopeless gamers in our society. His campaign to raise awareness of the fact that games are training simulations saved my life.

    Thank you Mr. Thompson, thank you so much. I grew up playing Sega Genesis in the early 1990's, and without you I would be fully trained by now. I can't imagine how empty, meaningless, and flat out bizarre my life would be if I were still rolling along grassy hills jumping into ginormou

  • Hey, i got an idea for the most offensive game ever. Let's make a game where you're an Islamic terrorist and the game consists of raping soccer moms, assassinating various political talking head such as Rush Limbaugh and Al Sharpton. Then you move onto going into killing sprees at various public places like shopping malls, public schools, and legislative meetings. the last level of course would end in necrophillac butt sex with Jack Thompson.
  • I never expected to read Sarcasm in anything like this see #78:

    "78. This was followed with other posts that Thompson should be struck with a baseball bat, shot in the face by an irate gamer, castrated and his testicles stuffed down his throat, and the exercise of other basic "constitutional" rights to advocate violence against an individual...Not!"

    And also:

    "71. Besides, science has now established the long-term effect of such violent entertainment consumption."

    Has it? I thought at the moment the mo

  • Maybe if we're lucky he'll start taking his cues from Jack Valenti? You know, these things come in threes...

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