GamerGate is an organized online (and offline) harassment campaign that started in August 2014. It was initiated by Eron Gjoni, the ex-boyfriend of Zoe Quinn. Zoe Quinn is a game developer. Mr. Gjoni was very abusive toward her. In reaction to her breaking up with him, he started a mass online campaign to slutshame and defame Ms. Quinn.

It snowballed into a movement that targets women in gaming, women in journalism, the men who defend them, and LGBTQ people. This phenomenon has been extensively covered in English language media around the world for about a year and eight months now. Ms. Quinn currently has a book deal with a Simon & Schuster imprint, and a Hollywood film deal based on the yet to be published book.

My name is Kim Crawley, and I was a GamerGate target. Many people have been a lot more harmed by GamerGate than I was. Nonetheless, I suffered from a loss of paid work in a situation similar to what happened to your Nintendo of America former localization department employee Alison Rapp. I write about information security. I'm also an avid video game consumer, and have been since 1989, when I got a Nintendo Entertainment System for Christmas.

As GamerGate causes harm to real people via information technology, GamerGate is an information security problem.  Feeling angry about what GamerGate has done to many women (and some men), I wrote an information security article on the matter for the InfoSec Institute back in February 2015. GamerGaters got together, overwhelmed InfoSec Institute decision makers with nasty emails, and InfoSec Institute did a cowardly thing. They dropped my contracted writing gig. I had written for the InfoSec Institute since 2011.

I haven't received anywhere near as much media attention as Ms. Rapp. I'm glad, because that sort of attention attracts more and more harassment and other such harm from GamerGate. Nonetheless, I understand Ms. Rapp's situation firsthand.

So when your public relations department tells the media that you didn't fire Ms. Rapp due to GamerGate's harassment, I don't believe your company. Not one little bit. When corporations and institutions fire GamerGate targets due to the harassment they've received, they make GamerGate feel like they're winning. It only encourages them to target more marginalized tech and media people in the future. What your company did has made the internet less safe for women, LGBTQ people, and the men who defend them. It makes the internet less safe for progressive people and people with empathetic values.

NINTENDO OF AMERICA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ENCOURAGING A TARGETED ONLINE HARASSMENT CAMPAIGN.

If you were to offer to rehire Ms. Rapp, I wouldn't blame her if she said no. Why should she trust NoA to take a stand against online harassment in the future?

You must do the honorable thing. Formally apologize to Ms. Rapp, in writing and to the media, and change NoA's corporate policy so that what you did to her never happens in the future. So, Nintendo of America is a company that acts in the ways online harassers want them to. By firing Ms. Rapp, you have and will continue to attract a lot more negative PR than if you ignored GamerGate and defended her.

I and all of the people signing this petition have been harmed by GamerGate or care about someone who's been harmed by GamerGate.