NeoGAF Forum Industry Culture

Hardcore video game community NeoGAF imploded over the weekend after allegations against the site’s owner went viral. A Facebook post appearing to accuse Tyler ‘Evilore’ Malka of sexual misconduct emerged on Saturday, prompting a moderator exodus as threads on the subject were shutdown. A statement was apparently being prepared but failed to materialise, and after chaos ensued on the forums, the entire site was pulled offline early on Sunday morning and has yet to return.

While the message board certainly has its critics, it's widely regarded as being the “pulse” of hardcore gamers – and it has, historically, housed numerous industry professionals and insiders. At this point, it’s unclear if the forum will ever return, though it’s hard to imagine a community of its magnitude breaking up entirely. Apparently, some of the site’s more active members are moving to create alternatives, but only time will tell as to whether these materialise.

NeoGAF itself is over a decade old, and was born out of the Gaming Age Forums, which is where its moniker comes from. In addition to its cutting commentary, the message board is also infamous for its ruthless moderation policy and wealth of historical video game sales data – the latter of which all appears to be lost if the site doesn’t come back online.

[source neogaf.com]