Crash Override Network

Last updated

Crash Override Network
FoundedJanuary 2015 (2015-01)
Founders Zoë Quinn, Alex Lifschitz
Dissolved2018
Website www.crashoverridenetwork.com

Crash Override Network was a support group for victims of large scale online abuse, including revenge porn and doxing. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Contents

History

Crash Override was founded by game developers Zoë Quinn and Alex Lifschitz, [6] and was staffed exclusively by victims of online abuse whose identities were kept anonymous outside the group. [7] Quinn and Lifschitz were subjected to online abuse during the Gamergate harassment campaign, with both receiving death threats and being doxxed. [8] [9] [10]

Crash Override formed a partnership with Feminist Frequency in March 2016, which served as its financial sponsor. [11]

From December 2016, Crash Override's hotline was closed. [12] Some time in 2018, Crash Override closed fully, and "passed the torch to other organisations". [13]

Mission

The founders of Crash Override consider it a conversation starter, a repository for addressing problems that others in and out of the gaming community "have long hoped would simply go away." [10] The organisation's services are divided into three categories: ongoing assistance for victims, crisis centre support, and community outreach. [2] [14] They provide post-crisis counseling services, [4] help seeking shelter, [14] and access to experts in information security, white hat hacking, law enforcement, public relations and threat monitoring. [2] [7] The network tailors a unique plan of action for each victim [14] and works with law enforcement, the media, and social media. [14] They promise to help victims regardless of previous affiliations and ideology, including Gamergate supporters. [4]

The group has been credited with defusing a swatting attack by advising the target to preemptively contact the police. [6] [15] Quinn said the launch of Crash Override Network led to a renewed and heightened campaign of abuse, and the website underwent daily hack attempts. [3] In May 2015, the organisation became an official Twitter trusted safety resource. [16]

References

  1. ↑ Alexander, Leigh (13 April 2016). "Online abuse: how women are fighting back". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Mlot, Stephanie (22 January 2015). "GamerGate Targets Launch Online Abuse Support Network". PC Magazine . Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  3. 1 2 Sanghani, Radhika (30 January 2015). "Zoe Quinn: '#Gamergate has ruined my life. But I won't quit'". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 Cosimano, Mike (27 January 2015). "Zoe Quinn founds anti-harassment network Crash Override". Destructoid . Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  5. ↑ Cohen, Claire (21 January 2015). "#Gamergate: Victim of video games trolling launches anti-harassment network". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  6. 1 2 Hudson, Laura (20 January 2015). "Gamergate Target Zoe Quinn Launches Anti-Harassment Support Network". Wired . Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  7. 1 2 Morphy, Erika (22 January 2015). "Organized Community of Support". Technewsworld. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  8. ↑ Mendoza, Jessica (20 January 2015). "Online harassment targets strike back against abusers. Will it work?". The Christian Science Monitor . Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  9. ↑ "Crash Override: a guide for handling a doxing". CBC.ca . 22 January 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  10. 1 2 Martens, Todd (4 February 2015). "Crash Override offers relief from harassment in the gaming world". LA Times. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  11. ↑ Sarkeesian, Anita (3 March 2016). "Feminist Frequency and Crash Override Partnership". Feminist Frequency. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  12. ↑ "Crash Override Network // Who We Are And What We Do". www.crashoverridenetwork.com. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  13. ↑ "Feminist Frequency Annual Report 2018" (PDF). p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 July 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2021. In 2018, the Crash Override team passed the torch to other groups devoted to supporting survivors of online abuse.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Guerrero, Agustin (21 January 2015). "Gamergate targets launch Crash Override Network to support online abuse victims". National Monitor. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  15. ↑ Hern, Alex (13 January 2015). "Gamergate hits new low with attempts to send SWAT teams to critics". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  16. ↑ Machkovech, Sam (20 May 2015). "GamerGate critic posts death threat voicemail after inaction by prosecutor". ArsTechnica . Retrieved 21 May 2015.
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