Days into the uproar over feminist game creator Zoe Quinn, 4chan allegedly hacked the website of one of her staunchest supporters, prompting him to put the website and his in-development game up for sale, allegedly vowing to quit the industry for good.
The website's video board, /V/, also allegedly hacked into the Dropbox accounts of Fish, Quinn, and some of her supporters in the independent gaming community and subsequently sent them harassing phone calls.
Awwwww the babey pic.twitter.com/l16Wqgl7ef
— costco beef hunk (@alexlifschitz) August 22, 2014Following allegations made by an ex-boyfriend that Quinn cheated on him and may have had inappropriate relationships with other members of the industry, angry gamers lined up to criticize the gaming media and harass Quinn and her family. The main thrust of the anger over Quinn involved her perceived nepotism in having what many gamers believed were unethical relationships with other members of the gaming industry and the gaming media.
Sunday night after the allegations hit, Quinn's friend Phil Fish came to her aid, launching a strident defense of her character on social media:
Screengrabs via GeekParty
Fish has long had a love-hate relationship with social media and the gaming community. Last month he canceled development on his game Fez II, stating that he wanted to leave the abusive culture of the gaming community.
Screengrab via Google Cache
Fish's support of Quinn apparently ruffled 4chan's feathers. Last night, Fish's website was allegedly hacked by a 4chan group deeming themselves "Five Guys burgers and fries"—a reference to the five men Quinn allegedly slept with while dating her ex-boyfriend.
Screengrab via Google cache
The hacked version of the website announced, "HACKED BY 4CHAN.ORG V - ALL SJWS MUST DIE"—a reference to the derogatory monicker "Social Justice Warrior," often shorthanded SJW in reference to feminists and other progressive Internet denizens.
Hello everyone, I am the head mod over at /V/ and leader of 4chan.org and Anonymous.
This public execution of Polytron and Phil Fish is retaliation for his attempted coverup of five guys burger and fries.
Let this be a warning to all SJW game devs out there, we are coming for you.
The hack of Zoe Quinn has already taken place as of a few days ago and I have targeted more SJW indie devs today.
My next target is Phil Fish. Karma's a bitch ain't it Phil?
The hacked website revealed Fish's alleged personal information including his current and previous address, his bank balance, and bank account information, along with numerous alleged email accounts and passwords. The website was eventually restored with an 'under construction' sign.
Screengrab via Polytroncorporation
The motivation for the hack seems clearly connected to the Quinn controversy. "We will not let you destroy our gaming industry with your feminist SJW tendencies," read the Polytron website during the hack. The hack also linked to a downloadable zip file which appeared to contain account information, contracts, and other information allegedly related to Phil Fish and the Fez II game. The zip file may have come from a reported hack of Fish's Dropbox account, which coincided with Quinn's own claim that hackers broke into her Dropbox account last night:
URGENT, PLEASE RT. Zoe's dropbox has been hacked, as has Polytron. Stay alert and guard your stuff. We are working on this right now.
— costco beef hunk (@alexlifschitz) August 22, 2014
cool they got into my dropbox. clearly this is still about ethics and journalism and nepotism
— Zoë ʻGRANOSʼ Quinn (@TheQuinnspiracy) August 22, 2014The group, which claimed to originate from 4chan's video board, also allegedly hacked Fish's Twitter account, @polytron. That account is now suspended.
Screengrab via Google Cache
Before locking and finally deleting his own Twitter account, Fish allegedly tweeted that he was selling his Polytron website and the Fez IP:
RT @PHIL_FISH: POLYTRON and the FEZ IP are now for sale. no reasonable offer will be turned down. i am done. i want out.
— Miguel Barreiro (@Mitheor) August 22, 2014He also, according to Level Save, issued a defeated series of tweets about the gaming community:
this is videogames
this is your audience
to every aspiring game developer out there: don’t. give up. it’s not worth it.
nothing is worth this.
give up on your dreams. they are actually nightmares.
just don’t do it.
RUN AWAY
Though Fish seemed to have no intention of returning to the gaming community or to Twitter, there was one ray of hope:
So I managed to grab control of a few of the official Polytron accounts. Trying to do what I can to get them back in proper hands.
— (austin) (@austing909) August 22, 2014Meanwhile, On 4chan's /V/ board, however, many of the members remained skeptical that one of their own was behind the hacking. One thread investigated the possibility that Fish could have doxxed himself as a way of committing virtual seppuku in defense of Quinn:
Screengrab via 4chan
But other supporters of Quinn also claimed to have had their Dropbox accounts compromised and that they're being harassed, along with Quinn herself.
zoe@beesgo.biz has been compromised & hijacked. I am looking into it. Sorry if you received anything nasty. pic.twitter.com/lLVQB2Wqn2
— Zoë ʻGRANOSʼ Quinn (@TheQuinnspiracy) August 20, 2014
Randos are now blowing up the phones of anyone who has been doxxed. Use other means (preferably video) to record any mysterious calls.
— costco beef hunk (@alexlifschitz) August 22, 2014
yeah tell me this is fake http://t.co/Et1CNfShpx
— costco beef hunk (@alexlifschitz) August 22, 2014As for Quinn, she urged Twitter to report the hacked Polytron account. She also argued it was hard for her detractors to claim Fish's website hack was faked, because they'd made the same claim she was responsible for hacking her own Tumblr and doxxing herself earlier in the week:
how the fuck does anyone have the balls to claim all of this has been faked
— Zoë ʻGRANOSʼ Quinn (@TheQuinnspiracy) August 22, 2014
this isn't about me. this was never about me. this is about entitlement of people on the lives of the creators of the things they consume.
— Zoë ʻGRANOSʼ Quinn (@TheQuinnspiracy) August 22, 2014Quinn went on to apologize to anyone caught in the crossfire over the recent scandal, but vowed that the harassment wasn't going to drive her away.
um. if you're my friend or even a casual acquaintance and these fucks go after you too, I am horrified and so god damn sorry
— Zoë ʻGRANOSʼ Quinn (@TheQuinnspiracy) August 22, 2014
No matter how disgustingly wretched people are to me, I still love my craft and I'm not done exploring it yet.
— Zoë ʻGRANOSʼ Quinn (@TheQuinnspiracy) August 22, 2014But while Quinn may be sticking around, it may be all over for Fish. At press time, his Twitter account was still deleted.
Screengrab via Instagram