So Jack Thompson Walks Into a Bar...

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You may not be dying to hear more about good old Jack Thompson, attorney at law, but news is a bit slow right at the end of the year, and this story should provide a bit of holiday cheer. Game Politics, which has been the gaming community's main link for accurate up to the minute Jack Thompson coverage, has just confirmed that Thompson is having a bit of a tiff with the Florida Bar Association. While Thompson has had his license to practice law in Alabama revoked, that had no bearing on his standing in his state of Florida. Now it seems that he might be getting in a bit of legal trouble back home as well.
GamePolitics has confirmed with an official of the Florida Bar Association that they have initiated a disciplinary investigation of the Miami attorney and self-described "anti-game crusader." The investigation was referred to the Florida Bar by judicial officials in Alabama, where a Circuit Court judge revoked Thompson's pro hac vice (visiting) admission to practice in November.

Thompson previously won a lawsuit he launched against the Florida Bar Association, and it's safe to assume that if the FBA does in fact take discinplinary action he will attempt to do so again.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    December 27, 2005 3:04 PM

    JT is only as big as everybody makes him.

    Ya know, the shack seems to be getting more involved in gaming politics instead of gaming as of late.

    I am moving more away from games anyways, but things just seem different.

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      December 27, 2005 3:23 PM

      well you are... uh... dead. lol :)

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      December 27, 2005 3:31 PM

      Popularizing Jack Thompson in the gaming community is a double-edged sword. On one end, it hinders his efforts, but on the other end it further proves his point (because gamers, generally, are immature douchebags).

      Jack Thompson does need at least some publicity. What he does affects the entire video game industry, not just the under-18's.

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        December 27, 2005 3:57 PM

        What.

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          December 27, 2005 5:16 PM

          Main screen turn on.

          Seriously, though, did my post not make any sense?

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        December 27, 2005 4:21 PM

        ...what?

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        December 27, 2005 5:39 PM

        They're saying that we need to see this whole "ZOMG crusade against games" so that we know it's going on, and can launch a formal and structured opposition to any move to increase the censorship around games.

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      December 27, 2005 3:33 PM

      The bigger gaming gets the more politics there will be about it, as gaming has a bigger effect on more people and as more non-gamers begin to see our world and try to shape parts of it.

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      December 27, 2005 3:37 PM

      Eh, it doesn't really come at the expense of other content though. I mean I cover developments in the legal restriction of game sales as well as the occasional Jack Thompson story. It's not like all the regular stuff isn't covered as a result. It's important stuff for gamers to know, I think.

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      December 27, 2005 3:42 PM

      well actually, no. nothing's different. kthxggb

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      December 27, 2005 6:27 PM

      Chris pointed out right off the bat that this story is posted because other news is slow right now.

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      December 28, 2005 6:36 AM

      I think places like the Shack have a duty to report on these issues because ultimately they have a direct -- and sometimes profound -- impact upon games. A 'head-in-the-sand' or 'hope-it-goes-away' approach is not a good solution because, as Chris said in a post a little bit lower, JT has proven very good at generating noise and press by himself.

      Thus the gaming community needs to be able to respond with logical and well reasoned arguments. If we, as a community, just ignore people like JT or respond with 'he is teh sux0r' type comments, its more likely the crap he spews will go unchallenged in the mass media and gain some traction with the general public and the always-to-keen-to-pander-to-public-opinion politicians.

      Therefore I hope Chris (and other Shackers contributors) will continue to report on this things. Sure, if it was just "JT sneezed today" (or to use a Slashdot analogy, the endless 'Someone at Google farted today' stories) that would be a different story, but so far all the coverage has been relevant.

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      December 28, 2005 5:04 PM

      "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." - Machiavelli

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