The whole point of this post is to get you to check out this other post by Andy Baio, in which he does detailed data analysis on a large sampling from GamerGate. Feel free to go read that now. Pay particular attention to this social network connection graphic, because it is freaking awesome:
They clustered Twitter users into groups based on their relationships, much like in an earlier analysis about polarization in the U.S. Senate.
While there are hundreds of small communities represented by this visualization, it’s clear they group into two major groups: on the left, pro-Gamergate. On the right, anti-Gamergate.
If you stare closely into the full-sized version for awhile, you’ll see a few fairly familiar freethinkers and skeptics. Just a bit southeast of the bright green (pro-GG) blob there are a handful of recognizable handles, including Mykeru and Justicar (formerly of the proverbial slimy pit), Sara Mayhew, and Thunderf00t, not to mention my favorite parody account. Deep in the pink blob you can find freethought bloggers Tauriq Moosa and PZ Myers, along with a handful of Block Bot admins, and that one guy who used to be an NFL punter.
This network visualization is as good a metaphor as any for #Gamergate. Two massive, impenetrable hairballs of people that want little to do with one another, only listening to their side and firing volleys across the chasm.
Well, now, that pretty much sums it all up. A chasm sort of like a deep rift, right?
