Can I just say Zoe Quinn’s Crash / Override is my Geek Therapy?! This book so so good, I downloaded the audiobook which is read by Quinn herself and thats just one of the best features an audiobook can have. That aside, I bought it thinking it was just a retelling of her gamergate story and the Quinnspirace from her point of view, effectively reclaiming the narrative. But the book is soooooooo much more than that. It’s a survival guide to this modern technological era, It’s a guide for how to be an effective ally, It’s a guide on how to build better online communities and its just great. I bought it thinking I was gonna listen to bits of it while Im doing chores, but I couldnt bring myself to pause it. I heard the entire 7 hours in one sitting (while doing chores, it was super effective).
It really got me thinking of so many cases I’ve worked with in many psychiatric institutions, related to online harrassment, threats, revenge porn. How we’ve always focused on PTSD factors on the psychiatric part of things, but never focused on empowering these people to take better control of their online lives. I didn’t know orgs like Crash Override existed, partly because I didn’t even bother to look them up. This book is filled with so many nuggets of wisdom and Quinn is just an expert of explaining tech concepts in layman’s terms. I can’t believe how good this book is and how much it’ll keep me thinking on my online behavior and how I can be a better ally both online and offline. Imma have to listen to it again cause its just overwhelming. I will recommend this book 12 out of 10 times.