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whitreadslit's review against another edition
4.0
Crash Override was my book club’s pick for the month of July, and I was not really looking forward to it as it is not the kind of book I generally pick up. However, I was pleasantly surprised! Quinn was able to explain a lot of the technical jargon in layman’s terms, as well as insert some much needed humor to the more grim sections. All of this to say, I feel much more informed now, and it was a much easier read than anticipated!
kait_unicorn's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant book. I appreciate that Quinn is unflinching in naming GamerGate as a crowdsourced abuse campaign orchestrated by their abuser and that the Internet IS Real Life.
Something that stood out to me was the section about Terms and Agreements and safety protocols implemented by big tech companies: Tell me you have never experienced harassment or threats because of your identity without telling me.
I also really appreciate that Quinn names the American-centricness of defending free speech over and above deplatforming people for hate speech. As a Canadian and someone who lived in the UK, the wildly fast and loose US-centric ideas about data protection and what people are allowed to say boggled my mind. There IS a line, you can find it.
And the generational issue of a “justice” system run largely by Boomers who have zero clues that the Internet is Very Real and one cannot simply opt out of it without it radically changing their entire life.
Something that stood out to me was the section about Terms and Agreements and safety protocols implemented by big tech companies: Tell me you have never experienced harassment or threats because of your identity without telling me.
I also really appreciate that Quinn names the American-centricness of defending free speech over and above deplatforming people for hate speech. As a Canadian and someone who lived in the UK, the wildly fast and loose US-centric ideas about data protection and what people are allowed to say boggled my mind. There IS a line, you can find it.
And the generational issue of a “justice” system run largely by Boomers who have zero clues that the Internet is Very Real and one cannot simply opt out of it without it radically changing their entire life.
quietdomino's review against another edition
3.0
a personal account that is harrowing, intense, and upsetting; but also, sadly, not exactly well-written as a narrative, though it is important and useful as a document.
worldofjoel's review against another edition
4.0
I'm ashamed to say that before reading Crash Override by Zoe Quinn I didn't know much of anything about Gamergate. I never dived in. This is coming from someone who's written and talked about the video game industry for nearly fifteen years. Within the opening few pages of Crash Override, I realized how much I ignored over the last couple of years, and shouldn't have.
The first third of Crash Override is Zoe Quinn's story. She talks about her upbringing. Her family. Her first forays into video games. And then the story becomes this insane rollercoaster ride of emotions when you realize an ex-boyfriend set out to and for many months/years destroyed her life through an online movement that later became known as Gamergate. The stories of her huddled in a closet trying to fight off thousands of online trolls is so hard to read. Her life in an instant went from independent game developer to just trying to survive the barrage of attacks.
The book transitions from Zoe's story to that of a broader discussion on online hate and attacks. It gave me new perspectives on how small things can pile on. It also made abundantly clear (although this is probably a shock to no one) how ill-equipped the United States government and law enforcement are in handling online abuse. There's a moment in this book where Zoe was told by a judge to get a new career rather than find a solution to stop the abuse.
I don't think Crash Override is a perfect book but its one that I think anyone that has any passing interest in technology, social networks, or life in the 21st century should read. It's a tale of a woman who had to deal with the wrath of the internet in the most heinous and horrific ways and its something we need to fix and fix now.
The first third of Crash Override is Zoe Quinn's story. She talks about her upbringing. Her family. Her first forays into video games. And then the story becomes this insane rollercoaster ride of emotions when you realize an ex-boyfriend set out to and for many months/years destroyed her life through an online movement that later became known as Gamergate. The stories of her huddled in a closet trying to fight off thousands of online trolls is so hard to read. Her life in an instant went from independent game developer to just trying to survive the barrage of attacks.
The book transitions from Zoe's story to that of a broader discussion on online hate and attacks. It gave me new perspectives on how small things can pile on. It also made abundantly clear (although this is probably a shock to no one) how ill-equipped the United States government and law enforcement are in handling online abuse. There's a moment in this book where Zoe was told by a judge to get a new career rather than find a solution to stop the abuse.
I don't think Crash Override is a perfect book but its one that I think anyone that has any passing interest in technology, social networks, or life in the 21st century should read. It's a tale of a woman who had to deal with the wrath of the internet in the most heinous and horrific ways and its something we need to fix and fix now.
leftybrown's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a bit of a horror story as how bad the internet mob can be. Ms Quinn writes about her experiences warts and all and how she came through the other side of it. The books offers some very good advice and excellent tools to use should the trolls come after you. I’d love to see a companion book that is more along those lines as a possible follow up. A harrowing but good read.
deeparcher's review against another edition
4.0
I'm glad I bought this book. The chapters where she discusses how we can make the internet safer for ourselves and keep it a functional place for everyone were worth the price alone. And reading about her experience in the craziness of Gamergate was instructive and interesting.
laurelan's review against another edition
4.0
Well written. In the end it’s just not my genre of book and so I found it hard to get through. The concepts and the ideas are great and I hope they truly help someone who has been, will be or knows someone having dealt with online attacks.