I just want to mention a few examples of ethical gamesite reporting I noticed today. A few sites didn't handle it well at all... but a few notably did.

Gamespy didn't update today, save for a message at the beginning respectfully acknowledging the attack and linking to news sites.

Tech TV's Extended Play ran a special graphic and a link to professional news sites, donation - blood drive - information phone numbers and info about how to contact the companies located in the WTC.

Quarter to Three offered first an explanation and then a far more eloquent black screen.

The rest either respectfully didn't update and more importantly, didn't comment at all. (Gamespot has nothing listed as a 9/11/01 story and for that I commend them.)

This may just be my opinion but I don't think game journalists are equipped, experienced, or even should try to report on a story of this magnitude, so I wasn't happy to see so much bad reporting was posted today at sites I won't mention now.

We in the game press are better suited to talk it up at message boards, as in this case, step back and let the pros handle the real news.

Again, this is just my opinion.
-Andrew

Certainly, the black screen on the Q23 homepage is...well, moving. Kudos, boys.

Glad to hear that gaming news is minimal today. In light of all that's going on, games just seem...well, trivial. They seem like games, for once.

Putting the world on hold is what the terrorists would want.

It should be up to the individual if he wants to pay tribute by abstaining from whatever tasks he should be doing, or if he wants to continue with his job for any reasons - out of protest, to escape the horror, etc.

What we shouldn't be doing is judging how anyone is reacting...

GoneGold's Roll Call summed it up well for me:

"Good Morning. I almost didn't update today, I'm so sick to my stomach. What a sad day for our Nation and the innocent lives that were taken for no reason at all. I decided to go ahead with the site because after all, we turn to gaming to get away from the realities of horrors like what has happened in the United States today, New York, Washington and Pennsylvania as I write this, and it doesn't mean that news of gaming shouldn't go on.

"I would like to take this Roll Call and dedicate it to all the people that lost their lives today and to the extension of families it will reach out and touch..."

On a related note, I think taking down the Air Command 3.0 banners as suggested in another thread should only be done if Mark/Tom personally want to for their own reasons, and nothing less should be thought of them regardless of the decision.

If you don't feel obliged to shy away from violent games or games that mimic the sort of terrorist actions we've witnessed, you shouldn't be condemned. After being horrificly glued to the set for 10+ hours, I went to play Counter-Strike to find something else to think about and felt no guilt at the prospect of being a "terrorist" planting a bomb. It's a game, it's not real, it relieves stress. I did stray towards the CT side, though...

The mood on just about any server I was on was remarkably somber considering the types you usually associate with playing this game. Usually flooded with complaints about cheating, lag and unfair teams, people seemed content with just playing the game. Quite a few "Bin_Laden_is_Gay" names were showing up too, of course.

The banners are just sort of up due to my laziness. I don't want to go into details, but Shrapnel's a small company making interesting games and I've been lazy about trying to find new ads, so you can probably connect the dots.

I think Penny Arcade may have said it best:

http://www.penny-arcade.com

In case it's changed, it says:

"We don't feel much like talking about videogames right now.

Though we don't know what good it will do, we'd like to offer our condolences, peace, and hope to those whose lives are intersected with this absolute god damned nightmare."

"Putting the world on hold is what the terrorists would want."

We're not on hold. We're a free nation of people raised to respect life, and to think about the things that affect us.

A deep hurt was put on us yesterday. It might look like things are on hold, but they aren't. We're coping, or dealing, or re-evaluating now.

I don't think we'll be quiet for long, either. Americans first get hurt, then grow angry. And no one has ever hurt us like this before.

So don't be fooled. We haven't stopped moving. I think we've just had our conciousness forcibly expanded, and we're figuring out what to do with, and about it.

Absolutely Kazz.
Canceling sporting events, closing malls, grounding flights, etc., out of respect for the horrible event, safety of crowds, and an understanding that most people wanted to watch TV and be with their families yesterday is absolutely not putting the country on hold. Neither is respectfully ignoring the fact that NFL Blitz for the GBA went Gold.

The US will be back to "normal" soon enough. Think of what America has accomplished before, without strife, and hardly missing a beat:

Last year's Election crisis

Richard Nixon's resignation

Plus, we held a presidential election during our Civil War.

-Andrew