Well I am against the whole thing all together. Its times like this where I dont give a shit about peoples rights or amendments. I geuss when you dont know anybody in the incident, its easier to say that things like this are ok. I on the other hand lost a good friend, and it hurt even more when the lies and rumors were spread about her, just because she was the first victim. Its times like these that I would refuse the pope himself his first amendment, and remind him of my second. Dont slander what you dont know!

Ross's own opinion is misinformed, and it makes him look like he's just trying to get his two cents in before Tom gets back to the office.

Things have been removed from Newgrounds in the past for far less significant offenses.

I applaud Newgrouds for sticking to their principles.

Well, if Newgrounds didn't host it you would still find it on several other sites. So I don't see the point of just attacking Newgrounds.

I have to agree with Newgrounds.

Just what I was thinking doggy. If the Newgrounds community had a problem, they would blam it into submission.

I find it sad that one of the last bastions of true free speech is on a website covered in Hentai ads and dating games. Shows how much we are slipping as a nation.

@notebook

Probably the same kinda public that loved the Jerry Springer show (Is that show still on ?).

what i hated about this fiasco, were all the people who said that they believed in freedom of speech, yet only if you had something to say,where is the sense on that?
i believe that, , like many others, that Vtech rampage is a fine example of bad taste, but by taking it down, we give up not just on principles that new grounds was founded on, but western society as well.

Gotta respect the Newgrounds crew for sticking to their principles. Many other people/groups would falter under similar circumstances.

@ John

I was under the impression that the guys at Newgrounds were attempting to get away from the Hentai ads, and that it would be a very slow process. Maybe I'm wrong, though.

@ Keroton

I don't think people meant freedom of speech only applied if you had something to say. Rather they meant don't abuse it. In the V-Tech Rampage case, he only made the game to make it. It had no real political value and is quite tasteless.

Yep. Free speech has to protect crass, vile, and tasteless speech as well. But that doesn't mean I have to listen to it. ;) I just won't play VTR.

NewGrounds is right in every sense of the word. It's a crap game, but it's already out there, so there is no reason to take it down now.

@meggie I could do it in a more dignified manner but you lose some impact and shock value when you do the above in a more socially accepted manner and as we all know shock factor is always needed when it comes to standing out from the crowd/defending your ideas.If it works for both political parties,advertisers and almost every other major event in history then why shouldnt it work for me?

ps:also i never sand bag if I met JT or random official X the first thing I would do is flip him the bird and im sure most would do the same.

To me the strange thing is that this is even in the news. Imagine if this young dumbass had written an insensitive short story about the shooting at Virginia Tech, or made a crude drawing. It would be a matter for his family and his psychiatrist to worry about, certainly it wouldn't be seen as news worthy. There's no reason to treat this differently merely because it's a 'game'. It's still just the asinine ramblings of some poorly socialized Australian kid.

@John and Doggyspew

That would not work. A submission can only be blammed due to low scores if it's still under judgement (i.e. when it has less than 200 votes). Once it hits past the holy 200 votes if it has less than a certain score it is automatically blammed. After it passes judgement it can't be removed unless the author or the site admins want it to be removed.

@Gameboy

Yes they are trying to get rid of hentai ads, in fact the only reason they had them in the first place was to keep themselves afloat when the internet's bubble burst. They have made progress though.

Anyway I am not surprised by this at all, they kept the suicide bobmber game online for the exact same reason.

Like I just said, that won't work, if it did work newgrounds would be a lot different then it was now. For proof it does not work, go to the page that lists EVERYTHING in the portal, have it sort by rating and go to the very last page. Notice the scores of these crap heaps and notice how they are still in the portal (that's because they passed judgement the first time).

if only Newgrounds had this attitude when that JT flash game was on...

The end fact of things is that this is America. If something offends or pisses you off, Gee whiz, too bad; but it was your choice to view it, not the creator's. You read what it was before you clicked, dont try and be coy that you didnt know what it was, ignorance is not becoming.

Now that you watched it, your angry with yourself at what was depicted and you claim you have the right to scream for its removal? No. You have the right to say "This is tasteless and I do not agree with it, thus I will not view it as it offends me."

If you view it anyway, knowing it will piss you off? Well your the idiot now. Its cries for censorship that make morons like Jack Thompson keep trying. Use your brains, learn to moderate yourself. The government wasnt set up to protect you from your own stupidity, it was set up to give everyone equal voice, and tasteless as this Flash Game maker's voice is, it was his right to show his work.

Your choice is whether or not to view. Choose wisely.

No, James. I don't think that's what vtstudent was saying. What I'm saying is everyone does not have to suffer with us, but I would expect people to suffer a bit that not only did something as horrible as 4.16 happen in our society, but that something as horrible as this game is the aftermath. I would expect others to suffer with us and show compassion.. There is absolutely no point for this game to exist. What thrill could anyone possibly get roleplaying a mass murderer knowing that it is based on real events. Knowing that 33 people were actually killed. 33 people that had parents, friends, a college, and a nation suffering and dealing with this tragic event. I am for freedom of speech as much as the next one, but I don't think the Constitution was created so this video game could be created and I think it's wrong to pull amendments in as a reason for this game to exist. Everyone has their own opinions and I know some can't be changed, but if this is what people are doing to occupy their time and fulfill their need for entertainment, that is seriously sick and sad and I pray for those people.

oh yes and I went to his site and clicked the all the ads

I dont like how the RIAA targets him just because they don't like the game. There are thousands of copyrighted songs used on Newgrounds. And I heard AOL users can't see it because it is marked as a "phishing" page on NG. I will continue to support him simply because free speech is being attacked by authorities only enforcing rules on stuff they dont like.

@ DarthThompson

I agree completely, this is America

one point I would like to make, though, is that because of all the media coverage of this game, it makes me WANT to check it out. if anything it is the politcians and the people making this game a big deal that makes it popular and provokes children and adults alike into playing. The same thing for the suicide bomber game, the reason i checked it out was because it made media coverage.

"don't do drugs, they'll give you a feeling of escape" o i've never even thougth about drugs before, now i'll try it! (similar concept)

To support what Darth Thompson said, I'll paraphrase a well known concept. Ignorance is no excuse. Even if you didn't know what was in the game/movie/book based on the title or synopsis, you have no right to demand its removal. Just because you didn't know it was wrong to kill people, doesn't mean we let you have a free pass.

@ vt student: So, basically what you are saying that something bad happened to you, so everyone else has to suffer? You realize this is the mindset that it eroding our entire civilization, don't you? And then you ended that with a veiled statement that you would threaten someone with a gun for talking bad about you. I hope your a troll.

Well, he's a jackass.

Hope he enjoys the great firewall of austrailia. He could have spent all that time doing useful political commentary on his own country's politics.

Too bad for him. I'd hate to have that brought up at a job resume.