Kotaku
Apparently we've unhinged Jack.
After Kotaku dissected Jack Thompson's latest appearance on national television trying to connect the tragedy at Virginia Tech with video games, the attorney started emailing us... again.
First Jack tried to tie us to allegations that a 14-year-old made a threat against the University of California Berkley campus by emailing one of the sergeants of the campus police. After speaking with the sergeant actually handling the investigation (not the one Jack emailed) I was told that there was nothing to worry about.
Next Jack asked us to remove our analysis of his misstatements on national television and when we politely declined he faxed the FBI in Colorado:
Dear FBI:This web site at the below url is targeting me:
http://kotaku.com/gaming/virginia-tech/breaking-idiot-thompson-blames-va-shooting-on-games-252702.php
I ask that something be done by the FBI to stop this or prosecute it:
Kyle81 says: Actually the VT shootings are now the biggest mass shooting in US history with 31 dead, not just school shooting. Jack should be shot for taking the opportunity to leech off a tragedy to push his own agenda 04/16/07 03:25 PMRegards, Jack Thompson
I quickly got on the phone with my friends at the agency (they were among the agencies I covered for five years as a police reporter in Denver) and found out that they hadn't yet processed the fax. I was also told that it was unlikely they would handle such an investigation, if one was even needed, but that the local police might look into it.
Finally, I asked about the fed's policy on pursuing charges for filing a false report... but I'll get to that later.
Update To be clear, while we fully support freedom of speech we're not such big fans of pointless threats. So stop making them. If nothing else that make gamers look like a bunch of immature hot heads.
Comments
this is awesome.
It gets better and better, you should allow Jack to comment.
El Oh El.
Looks like Jack may turn Kotaku into a more famous and repectable-like media outlet if he continues this.
Jack Thompson, thou art pwned
lol, what a nutsack.
Does Jack really have nothing better to do with his time?
JT should stop wasting the FBI's time for his personal needs, and let them take care of actual crime.
People still pay attention to Jack Thompson?
To coin a phrase:
"...batshit fucking loco insane".
Jesus Christ...
So saying that somebody should shoot him is that same as saying someone will shoot him?
I double-dog-dare you.
so Jacky boy can't be made fun of......it's a federal offense...such a little girly man crybaby
You should get a restraining order against him. This is ridiculous.
This has to be the most hilarious thing I've heard all month. I'm going to definitely keep up with this one.
Saying somebody should be shot is completely different then saying that you will shoot somebody.
LOL
"Dear FBI:"?
Is that really the appropriate salutation? Does anyone else find that funny?
hopefully everything turns out ok, I don't know how someone's post could be the sites fault. I think this is pretty retarded.
If Kotaku takes down Jack Thompson for good... I will laugh for about 2 days straight!!
free publicity for Kotaku!
I'm not entirely sure if it's worth the bundles of lies, accusations and...well, lies it comes with though.
Wow, J. T. reads Kotaku! Congratulations on having a high-profile reader. I really really hope he comments on this thread.
p.s. Hi Jack!
p.p.s. By the way, Kotaku ownz J.T.
Well, Thompson's certainly more than slightly out of touch with reality, and clearly none of these charges will stick. But it's also worth noting that the commenter's post above is wholly unnecessary. Kotaku (obviously) has nothing to do with the opinions of its posters--and Thompson is ridiculous for trying to assert some connection--but the wording on the above comment is a little ridiculous and puerile, if ironic and counter-productive as well. I hope we can at least learn a lesson from this and hold our chatter at some level of heightened awareness and maturity, maybe?
What a tool. Seriously, politicians are now the lowest form of scum. I would rather be represented by "real" people than politicians.
hahahaha so he really reads all this? what an insecure little bitch.
kyle: you are my hero.
Jacky T.: Suck my balls u faggot
Man, I bet Kyle81 is sweating bullets right now.
congratz!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH....(deepbreath)HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
what a JACK ass
"Does Jack really have nothing better to do with his time?"
Yes, he does not. (double negative!)
ROFLMAO!!!!!
@ctoa23: Clearly asking for maturity might be a bit much, hmm? Can we at least keep the hate speech to a minimum?
@Jabbertrack:
It would have been funnier had he closed that letter with:
Love and kisses,
Jack Thompson
Hehe. Hope he gets in trouble for wasting FBI time.
Well... Jacks feeble attempts at attacking Kotaku do have the possibility of succeeding. All he needs is for more people to threaten him and favor could start swinging in his direction. I say let him continue flinging his hollow threats and meaningless insults at us, but don't let him get any more ammunition, ie, death threats and such.
To sum up, Jackie Boy's kinda like the puppy in Of Mice and Men, and we're the Lenny. We can play with him, but if we get to rough with him, he could die. Then who would me mock relentlessly?
And the award for "Best Use of Snarky Photography" goes to...
Dosnt he have anything better to do that harass gaming websites? You guys should have the FBI investigate him.
Waouw, you can do that? Everytime someone is gonna threaten me, Im gonna email the FBI for them to handle everything? LMAO
THE FBI DONT CARE ABOUT YOU JACK!
Why isn't this guy in a jail yet?
It's probably a good time for people to stop saying anything that could be perceived as a threat. Not only to keep Thompson from strong-arming sites that aren't as savvy; but also to stop making gamers look like we have a collective anger management problem.
@noire: Exactly.
Prosecute me Jack.....
Come get me.... I live in Canada...come on Jack I dare ya...
In fact I can say fuck you Jack
Screw you Jack, your a wing nut wannabe, who is unhinged from reality with your own personal hate mongering agenda....
Come on Jack take me on...
See.....its called freedom of expression, freedom of speech, freedom of non censor... you may in your own unhinged mind thing that everything bad in the world is to blame on Video Games...but thats only in Jack Thomson World...the rest of us live in the real world Jack... We know better.
So lay off Crecente and the boys here at Kotaku and let them do their job... namely sticking up for our Gaming rights......
Its not the gun that kills the person...its the person holding the gun that kills the person...
Take away the guns and ill use a sword...take away my sword and ill use a knife...take away my knife and ill use a rock.....WHERE DOES IT END JACK WHERE?!?!?!!?!
Grow up retard....And That North America...IS MY OPINION....
No death threats or slander were uttered during this statement...
Statement is soley the opinion of Poster Raine204.
Oh...and if we cant have our Violent Video Games (IM 34 JACK I CAN PLAY WHAT I DAMN WELL cuz thats the Bottom Line..cuz both the US & Canadian law says adults can be the judge of thier own entertainment. - [damn I wish I was stone cold so I could use his line]
Grow up and leave kotaku alone...dont like the forum .... don't read it!!
Does anyone have the fax number for the "FBI"? Some people on the Internet don't like me and I think there needs to be an investigation.
IANAL, but something similar to this happened on Slashdot a few years ago. Somebody in the comments section threatened the President's life (which is a felony) and Slashdot was hit with a subpoena to provide all information about the poster and was fighting against prosecution of their own. Now on Slashdot they have the following on all comments pages:
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Now, JT's not the President, but I suspect that by the time this is all over Kotaku may have to place a similar disclaimer on the comments page, and Kyle81 may receive a phone call from a police officer telling him not to say stuff like that because it is technically a death threat.
NOTE: This does not mean I agree with the legal system, JT, or any of the policies of law enforcement. So don't flame me.
"Teacher, teacher! That site just called me a bad word!"
It looks like Jack is finally done with digging his own grave and has started to fill it back in. Too bad he forgot to get out of it first.
And who's the one that made the comment in the quote, I'm guessing he's famous now.
Oh NO YOU DIDN'T!!!
Take his power Kotaku, and use it for good.
His letter reads like the sort of thing a three year old would write to his favourite cartoon character ("Dear Dexter, How did you get so smart? You are my favouritest cartoon character and I watch all your shows everyday and you are really funny. Regards, Timmy McThompson") Nice exposition, Jack!
@TomSkylark:
haha, I assume I cut you in the comment line? :P
He actually wrote "Dear FBI"? This is an...educated man? Seriously though, for a man who is trying to lead a campaign against videogames, he spends an awful lot of his time reading gaming related sites. It would appear that Jack has some kind of love/hate/obsessive relationship with our favorite entertainment medium.
wow, sorry jack, you are working on digging a hole that no one, not even china, would come out on top of.
someone tell this man that to win a battle, whether physical or arbitrary, he needs to have a bigger following [in the case of this "FAN BASE"] than those that he is attacking.
but i guess as commenters on this fine website, we should lay off the "obviously just for venting purposes" death-like threats. actually what kyle81 typed didn't involve death. he just wants jack to feel a little pain like what all the victims felt. the same victims who's bodies he is using to hold up his slightly ridiculous claims on video game violence.
i need to stop now...
Did he seriously start a formal letter "Dear FBI"?
@raine204: You're not helping the gamer culture in any way with that shit. In fact, you make us look bad.
Take a hint from Crecente and treat people with respect - especially when you disagree with them.
What the hell does he think the FBI are? Its preposterous that he thinks that it will do anything unless he simply wishes to intimidate (which he will probably fail to do as well). He's just a dinosaur at this point and as one person called him, and I love this quote since it seems to hold true every time there is a shooting, a massacre chaser.
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