I've seen the images floating around the internet right now, showing how spambots have been used to inflate the signatures on the Allout.org anti-boycott petition we discussed yesterday, which defends EA against right-wing boycott artists. 
 
 (Examples of the screenshots can be seen here and here, though the comments themselves are no longer visible at the petition website.) 
 
 AllOut.org has shut down the campaign page temporarily, stating: 
 
 "AllOut.org has temporarily disabled the campaign page of its website due to a cyber attack by hackers. In the attack, hackers added roughly 3000-5000 comments and signatures onto the petition. AllOut.org is currently in the process of removing those signatures, but can verify that over 60,000 members have sign onto the petition and continue to urge Electronic Arts to stay away from the dark side." 
 
 The Sith are getting a bum wrap here, as always. But I digress. 
 
 More to the point, basically everyone I've seen comment on this has immediately rushed to the conclusion that EA has set up a spambot campaign to inflate signatures and create the veneer of support. EA has been caught with their hands in this cookie jar before, after all, when the game publisher staged a fake protest at E3 over the game Dante's Inferno: 
 
 "Electronic Arts has admitted that the Dante's Inferno protest during E3 was staged by a guerrilla marketing agency," Joystiq reported at the time. "The publisher confirmed to the AP that the firm hired 20 people to hold signs like "Just say Infer-NO" and "Trade in your PlayStation for a PrayStation." There's got to be a better way to promote the game." 
 
 The only problem is, right now everyone is leaping to conclusions and there's absolutely no way to confirm any of it. I tend to hew to the whole "trust but verify" policy when it comes to, well, just about anybody (whether that's other bloggers, industry reps, commenters, or friends and family members.) 
 
 It's possible that EA is behind the spambots, or has hired someone to use spam to inflate the signatures (if this is the case, they should fire whoever it is for such a clumsy job). It's also possible that somebody else is hitting the petition with spam precisely because it could be used against EA. Never underestimate anyone's ability or capacity for deceit. When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. 
 
 The internet is full of tech-savvy people, fully capable of a game or two of three-dimensional chess - something that business and political leaders of all stripes forget at their peril. 
 
 Indeed, it would be a very clever move on the part of anti-EA players to organize something like this - far more clever than EA doing it themselves (though after the Dante's Inferno debacle, one can't set the bar too high.) Again, there is no way to confirm anything at this point. We have our imagination and a bunch of screen caps and that's about it. 
 
 I did reach out to AllOut.org and spoke with their Community Manager, Tile Wolfe, about the matter. 
 
 "Over 60,000 (All Out members) have indeed signed the petition," Wolfe told me, "but you're right -- seeing those spam comments is a bummer. We've temporarily disabled the campaign page after our mini-cyber-attack this morning, but the hackers only left 3000 to 5000 rogue comments in the first place. We want to assure you that we've never worked or been in contact with EA. 
 
 "This campaign was launched in the face of right-wing attacks by the Family Research Council. They targeted EA for the visibility and inclusion that comes with LGBT characters and romances in games like Mass Effect 3 and The Old Republic. 
 
 "We are not arguing that Electronic Arts is a perfect company, but we know that today, on this issue, they are taking an important stand that should be celebrated and supported. Anti-gay groups are the dark-side here, and we're glad to see so many consumers and citizens joining forces to pressure companies like EA and beyond to promote fair and balanced portrayals of gay, lesbian, bi and trans characters wherever they pop up. (More info here.)" 
 
 I will be discussing this matter in more depth with the campaign organizers at AllOut, so expect a follow-up post later today. As it stands, we'll have to content ourselves with idle speculation until more info comes out. Fortunately, idle speculation is one of the major food groups on the internet, so we should all be plenty content. 
 
 Follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Read my Forbes blog here. ||||| [updated below] 
 
 Yesterday AllOut.org took down a petition aimed at shooting back against anti-gay boycott groups placing pressure on EA due to gay characters included in the game publisher's titles. The petition had been hit with what looked like spambots, as well as by obvious spammers who took their disdain of EA to the comments section of the AllOut petition. 
 
 In other words, alongside obvious individual spammers, something was adding duplicate comments to the petition (see, for example) - most of which voiced some sort of support for EA. The names of these spambot comments included such gems as "Fred from Pakistan." In some instances, duplicate comments were repeated three or four times from as many different countries. 
 
 AllOut.org Community Manager, Tile Wolfe, told me yesterday that the site has had no contact with EA whatsoever during the course of the petition. 
 
 "We are not arguing that Electronic Arts is a perfect company," Wolfe added, "but we know that today, on this issue, they are taking an important stand that should be celebrated and supported. Anti-gay groups are the dark-side here, and we’re glad to see so many consumers and citizens joining forces to pressure companies like EA and beyond to promote fair and balanced portrayals of gay, lesbian, bi and trans characters wherever they pop up." 
 
 I also spoke briefly with AllOut.org co-founder and director Andre Banks about the petition and the spam attacks. 
 
 Forbes: Could you speak to the goals of this campaign, its origins and how the idea came up, and maybe similar campaigns you've worked on? 
 
 Also, when did you notice spam attacks on the Yoda petition? I was receiving emails yesterday evening showing images of exact duplicate comments, with absolutely no difference from one to the next save for the name and location of the commenters. These names included ones like "Fred from Pakistan" and so forth. When did red flags start going up? 
 
 Banks: AllOut.org is about one year old, and we are an independent organization that has a fairly straightforward goal - to ensure that everyone, everywhere can live freely and love who they choose without sacrificing their safety or dignity. One way that we do that is by working to change policy. Our most recent campaign has been pushing against an anti-gay "propaganda" law in Russia that would make it illegal to talk about anything gay in the city of St. Petersburg - even creating a gay fictional character in a book or movie would be subject to a crime. The other part of our work is about changing culture and a big piece of that is pushing back against groups like the Family Research Council who bully companies and organizations that take a positive stance on gay rights or present positive, affirming images of LGBT people. We wanted to counter the anti-gay boycott of Star Wars by giving our nearly 900,000 members a chance to show that a lot of people support the decision of BioWare and EA to include LGBT options in the game. 
 
 We have had no contact with EA. Our small team of campaigners developed and launched this idea late last week because we believed - and continue to believe - that we should support EA's decision to distribute the games with gay relationships in the face of opposition. Our focus is purely on LGBT issues and our campaign is only meant to show EA, and other corporations, that there is a large constituency of people all over the world who care about and support LGBT equality. 
 
 We've received many comments, tweets, and emails from gamers all over the world who support the campaign and stand against homophobia. 
 
 Unfortunately, our campaign page was hit with obvious spam bot attacks. Our campaigner in Paris identified the spam and when our tech team came online in New York this morning we took the necessary steps to disable the page. We've been communicating through our twitter (@allout) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/alloutorg) accounts during the process and answering comments about the issue. 
 
 The attacks came from anonymous IP addresses so we are unable to determine the source. We are continuing to investigate but right now it looks like only a few thousand of the signatures came from these spam bots, and the majority were from legitimate All Out members. We're now working to remove the spam signatures and will be updating the campaign page soon with the correct signature count. 
 
 I hope this helps clarify things a bit. We certainly launched this effort as a good natured attempt to stand up for what's right. Thanks for your coverage of this story and please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly for more information. 
 
 Were you aware of the other controversies surrounding EA prior to launching the petition? A lot of people saw this as something of a smokescreen or PR move on the part of EA, and were certainly not aware that no communication between AllOut.org and EA had taken place. What sort of feedback have you gotten so far about this? 
 
 As we researched the campaign, we understood that some people in the gaming community were critical of EA. We believe that whether or not a gamer or All Out member supports EA, they can agree that the company should not be bullied into making gay people invisible. After the launch, we learned about the allegations of EA faking other support campaigns and obviously reject that sort of cynical, self-serving deception. With that said, a lot of people are missing the real story here - the Family Research Council, a notorious anti-gay group, is telling this company, and many others, that gay people have no place in our games, in our media and in our lives. For All Out, and many thousands who have supported the campaign, that is just unacceptable. 
 
 Have you gotten any response from the boycott groups themselves? 
 
 No response from the boycott groups just yet. I'll let you know if we hear anything... 
 
 Regarding the 3000 - 5000 spam comments, do these include earlier duplicate comments (such as identical comments left by two or three separate people from two or three different countries) or are you counting only the flood of obvious spam comments received toward the end of the fund-raising drive? 
 
 Based on the IP addresses, we believe the 5,000 figure includes all spam received in the course of the campaign. 
 
 AllOut has since launched another campaign to fight for gay rights in Russia. You can read about that here. 
 
 At this point, no word from EA on any of this, but it does appear that AllOut.org worked independently of the game publisher and that no coordination took place. There's also no evidence suggesting that any of the spam was orchestrated by anybody, as I noted in my piece yesterday. If anything new comes to light, I will be sure to update. 
 
 One final note. I think people all across this debate are rushing too quickly to judgment. As I noted yesterday, there's no evidence that EA is behind the spambots, or that anyone else is for that matter. In that sense, I think gamers rightfully irked with the company are letting their emotions get the better of them. 
 
 On the other hand, certain members of the gaming press are awfully quick to rush to judgments of their own. 
 
 P.S. I want to qualify two things here. 
 
 One, I'm as quick to rushing to judgment as anyone. When I first heard about this whole petition, and saw the flood of articles about the hatemail, I thought immediately that this was just EA PR - and I bet some of it undoubtedly is EA PR. Furthermore, my entire foray into BioWare-blogging was sparked by my own stupid rush to judgment over homophobia and Mass Effect 3. So my hands are anything but clean in this department. 
 
 Second thing is, no matter who was behind the spambots here, there's no reason people shouldn't suspect EA. They've pulled plenty of tricks in the past that have all been well-documented. The point is, suspicion needs to be grounded in fact before we can definitively say anything. 
 
 Follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Read my Forbes blog here. ||||| The Florida Family Association, best known for badgering companies into pulling advertising from TLC reality show All-American Muslim last year, is hard at work ranting about a new target: BioWare/EA game Star Wars: The Old Republic. This isn't the first temper tantrum that supposedly pro-family groups have thrown over The Old Republic, just the most recent. 
 
 The headline of the alarmist new missive asks: "Will the makers of Star Wars video games create Darth VaPaula, a (mock) transgender version of Darth Vader - RuPaul, for kids to choose as their action player?" The mock-up image at the top of this post comes from their website. 
 
 
 
 Everything is wrong the FFA's claims. Their insistence that BioWare is going to start gender-bending Darth Vader and warping vulnerable minds indicates a bigoted point of view and a complete misunderstanding of how video games work. Their complaint appears to have nothing to do with reality, either in the physical world or in the game they're panicking over. They insist that, "[I]f BioWare ... adds LGBT characters for kids to select as their action figure it could be something like Darth RuPaula, a combination of Darth Vader, one of the most popular Star Wars characters, and RuPaul, the renown transgender cross dresser." That has no relation to the game or to future changes proposed for it. 
 
 For those unfamiliar with the title, Star Wars: The Old Republic is a massively multiplayer online game, where players log into a virtual Star Wars-themed world and play characters they customize heavily from a number of species, appearance, class, and alignment options. All players must choose a gender — either male or female, no third options, nothing non-binary — for each character at the moment of its creation. 
 
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 Romances in SW:TOR, as in other BioWare games, are initiated by the player at his or her choosing, from a limited selection of companion characters. At the moment, only heterosexual relationships are available, but BioWare has promised since before the game's December launch to add same-sex options in the future, which is the source of the uproar. 
 
 The FFA's argument rests on the back of the old workhorse, "Won't somebody think of the children?!" Their alert claims, in among all of the language begging readers to send e-mail to EA: 
 
 An overwhelming percentage of the 1.7 million games sold are being used by children who do not need to be introduced to this propaganda. 
 
 LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) activists are demanding that the makers of Star Wars video games add LGBT characters for kids to select as their action figure when playing the games. 
 
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 Studies observing MMORPGs throughout the past decade have found that overall, the player's average age is in the mid-20s, and that roughly 75% are 18 or older. The game is not designed for or marketed to children, though undoubtedly a number do play; it's designed for people with credit cards, who can pay the monthly fee. 
 
 Children and teens, who never thought anyway but heterosexual, are now given a choice to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender in their game player. 
 
 Children and teens, who choose non-social agenda characters, would be forced to deal with lesbian, gay, bi-sexual or transgender characters chosen by other players. 
 
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 I am shocked to find that when I step out of the front door of my apartment into the world, or when I take my avatar and step into a shared virtual world, that I can't control the people I meet. Other people are going to have the audacity to live the lives and take on the identities that they choose, rather than the ones that I choose for them? And here I thought that by sheer force of will, I could make the rest of the world conform to my tastes and expectations alone. 
 
 It's also quite impressive that the Florida Family Association knows that only 100% heterosexual minors have ever picked up this video game! That's statistically amazing. You would think that in 1.7 million active subscribers the odds are somewhere between 50,000 and 170,000 (3-10%) are likely to identify as gay or bisexual, or even mildly curious, but no! This box apparently comes with a built-in filter meaning only straight players touch it. It's the game — not burgeoning hormones, brain chemistry, inherent identity, curiosity, attraction, or even choice, but this one game — that's going to make all the kids suddenly gay! 
 
 Just trying to reach the reality of the game-that-is, instead of the game-that-is-argued-against, is challenging enough. Under that mask, Darth Vader could have spent three films wearing the pinkest, most sparkly lipstick Imperial credits can buy, and no one would ever have known — nor would it have mattered. In the world the FFA lives in, the existence of a same-sex partnership option for the small percentage of players who choose to pursue it magically invalidates all other available choices or paths, and somehow even starts overwriting gender identities. 
 
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 Whether or not any particular group accepts it, queer folk and their allies are gamers too. Sometimes, people choose romances in games just to see what happens, what with games being an essentially consequence-free virtual world. And I refuse to believe that a significant portion of players who choose f/f pairings in games aren't straight men. 
 
 In short, the FFA's values certainly are drawn from a long time ago, but the reality they inhabit doesn't seem to be in this galaxy, or even in one far, far away. Realistically speaking, the Florida Family Association is one very determined man, David Caton, who has an opinion he's determined to bully the world into hearing. And that opinion is about a very strange game in his head alone, not one that actually exists. 
 
 Will the makers of Star Wars video games create Darth VaPaula, a (mock) transgender version of Darth Vader - RuPaul, for kids to choose as their action player? [Florida Family Association, via Kill Screen] ||||| Tony Perkins: Star Wars ‘surrenders to gay empire’ 
 
 By David Edwards 
 
 Friday, January 27, 2012 16:40 EDT 
 
 An evangelical leader is calling on his army of followers to take action against a software company for allowing same sex relationships to be represented in a new Star Wars video game. 
 
 Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council — a hate group, according the the Southern Poverty Law Center — took to the radio to denounce Bioware’s Star Wars: The Old Republic, a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game. 
 
 “In a new Star Wars game, the biggest threat to the empire may be homosexual activists!” Perkins announced during his daily radio commentary. “In a galaxy not so far far away, Star Wars gamers have already gone to the dark side. The new video game, Star Wars: The Old Republic, has added a special feature: gay relationships.” 
 
 “That surprised a lot of gamers, since Bioware had made it clear in 2009 that ‘gay’ and ‘lesbian’ don’t exist in the Star Wars universe. Since the announcement, homosexuals have been celebrating the news, but parents sure aren’t.” 
 
 He continued: “On the game’s website, there are more than 300 pages of comments–a lot of them expressing anger that their kids will be exposed to this Star Warped way of thinking. You can join them by logging on and speaking up. It’s time to show companies who the Force is really with!” 
 
 In a statement on their website, Bioware explained that same sex relationships were not yet possible in the game. 
 
 “Same gender romances with companion characters in Star Wars: The Old Republic will be a post-launch feature,” the company wrote. “Because The Old Republic is an MMO, the game will live on through content expansions which allow us to include content and features that could not be included at launch, including the addition of more companion characters who will have additional romance options.” 
 
 A quick search of Bioware’s forum shows that there are probably not “300 pages of comments” on the topic — and very few if any of the commenters were “angry” about the idea. In fact, most players were more concerned that the featured had not already been released. 
 
 “[I]t does feel a bit like bioware neglected the same sex community,” a player named Romanticyde wrote. “I hope this will be fixed, in any way.” 
 
 Watch this video from Family Research Council, broadcast Jan. 27, 2012. 
 
 (H/T: Right Wing Watch) ||||| Why I'm Boycotting Russian Vodka 
 
 Buzzfeed has a photo essay—"36 Photos from Russia That Everyone Needs to See"—that will bring anyone who hasn't been paying attention to the situation in Russia up to speed. And Harvey Fierstein's opinion piece in Monday's NYT offers a great summary of Putin's escalating anti-gay pogrom: 
 
 Just six months before Russia hosts the 2014 Winter Games, Mr. Putin signed a law allowing police officers to arrest tourists and foreign nationals they suspect of being homosexual, lesbian or “pro-gay” and detain them for up to 14 days.... Earlier in June, Mr. Putin signed yet another antigay bill, classifying “homosexual propaganda” as pornography. The law is broad and vague, so that any teacher who tells students that homosexuality is not evil, any parents who tell their child that homosexuality is normal, or anyone who makes pro-gay statements deemed accessible to someone underage is now subject to arrest and fines. Even a judge, lawyer or lawmaker cannot publicly argue for tolerance without the threat of punishment. 
 
 These anti-gay laws come after years of escalating attacks on gay pride events and LGBT people in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Moscow's city government has banned pride parades for 100 years; in St. Petersburg a small group of LGBT-rights demonstrators was attacked by a violent mob earlier this summer. These attacks are not new and they're getting worse. 
 
 Gay and lesbian Russians living in the United States are calling for a boycott of the 2014 Winter Games, which are taking place in the Russian city of Sochi: 
 
 The group is calling for a boycott of the games, saying the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community is not safe in Russia—and they hope even those who are not gay will support the ban. “LGBT people in Russia are scared, they live in fear, and we want people to be aware of the issue. If they feel strongly about human rights they should boycott the Olympics in Sochi,” said Nina Long, co-president of RUSA LGBT, a Russian-speaking LGBT organization based in New York. “We really want the LGBT community to know it’s unsafe to travel there." 
 
 It is unsafe for gay people to travel in Russia: this week four gay Dutch tourists were arrested for spreading "gay propaganda" in Russia. 
 
 Most of us weren't planning to go to the Olympic games in Russia this winter, of course, so we wouldn't be able to participate in a boycott if one got off the ground. And there are good arguments to be made against boycotting the Olympics in Sochi. Outsports opposes a boycott. And Patrick Burke, co-founder of the You Can Play Project, an organization for gay athletes and their straight allies, makes a solid argument against a boycott: 
 
 In 1968, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar refused to play in the Olympics as a protest against the treatment of blacks in America. The same year, Tommie Smith and John Carlos stood on a medal stand, gloved fists in the air, as a protest against the treatment of blacks in America. History remembers the athletes who showed up.... To send the strongest possible message of support to the LGBT community, we must send our athletes—those who are LGBT, those who are LGBT-supportive, those with LGBT family members or friends. Let them show that champions stand strong with their teammates and training partners. Send our openly LGBT and “publicly pro-gay” athletes and let them compete. Let them win. Show the world that there are elite LGBT athletes who are not afraid to be themselves, on and off the playing field. That the majority of the world’s finest athletes support their LGBT teammates, coaches, and opponents by treating them as equals in competition. 
 
 If there isn't a boycott—if gay and pro-gay athletes compete at the Olympics in Sochi this winter—there must be a protest during the Sochi Olympics that is as powerful and indelible as Tommie Smith and John Carlos's protest during the Mexico City Olympics. It should happen on the medal stand while the world watches. 
 
 But boycott or no boycott there is something we can do right here, right now, in Seattle and other US cities to show our solidarity with Russian queers and their allies and to help to draw international attention to the persecution of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, trans people, and straight allies in Putin's increasingly fascistic Russia: DUMP RUSSIAN VODKA. 
 
 Here is a list of Russian vodkas currently available in the US: Dovgan, Gold Symphony, Standart, Hrenovuha, Kauffman , Kubanskaya, Moskovskaya, Narodnaya, Pyatizvyozdnaya, Putinka, Rodnik, Ruskova, Russian Standard, Shustov, Starka, Stolnaya, Youri Dolgoruki. The two best known Russian vodkas? Russian Standard and Stolichnaya. 
 
 Matt Fikse-Verkerk, a strategic communications consultant here in Seattle, has been calling queer bars in Seattle to find out if they serve Stoli, the most iconic brand of Russian vodka. (Matt also created the image above. The image is currently my Twitter avatar—why not make it yours?) Every single gay bar whose manager Matt got on the phone told him that they were serving Stoli. Purr, The Cuff, The Lobby Bar, Madison Pub, Bottleneck Lounge, C. C. Attle's, Changes, the Crescent Lounge, Diesel, and R-Place—they're all serving Stoli. It's a good bet that the Seattle Eagle, Neighbours, the Wildrose, Pony, and the rest of Seattle's gay bars are serving Stoli too. 
 
 Seattle's bars, gay and straight, must dump Stoli. Seattle's drinkers, gay and straight, must dump Stoli. 
 
 Some are arguing—based on Stoli's outdated Wiki page and the claims being made by Stoli itself—that Stoli isn't a Russian vodka. "Presently the internationally distributed version of Stolichnaya is not a Russian vodka but is distilled and bottled in Latvia," Stoli's Wiki page currently (and erroneously) reads. "In 2009, William Grant & Sons signed an agreement to distribute Stolichnaya in the USA, taking over from PepsiCo." That's old news. On January 1, 2014, Stoli becomes a Russian vodka again. William Grant & Sons will no longer be distributing Stoli in the United States at the start of the new year: 
 
 William Grant & Sons and SPI Group announce that their current contract for the importation, distribution and marketing of Stolichnaya Vodka in the United States will not be renewed when it expires on December 31, 2013. The decision is a result of SPI Group’s desire to manage its portfolio of brands directly; SPI Group will therefore be establishing its own importing company in the United States during 2013, commencing operations on 1st January 2014. 
 
 The SPI Group—which will be distributing Stoli in the USA before the Olympic games begin this winter—is owned by Yuri Scheffler, one of the 100 richest men in Russia. Stoli is a Russian vodka. 
 
 DUMP RUSSIAN VODKA. 
 
 If you drink a Russian Vodka like Stoli, Russian Standard, or any of the other brands listed above, switch to another brand from another country, or even a local brand from a local distillery. Stoli is the iconic Russian Vodka and it's returning to Russian ownership in 2014. Other brands like Russian Standard should also be boycotted. Do not drink Russian vodka. Do not buy Russian vodka. Ask your bartender at your favorite bar—gay or otherwise—to DUMP STOLI and DUMP RUSSIAN VODKA. 
 
 Own a gay bar in Seattle? Stop serving Russian vodkas. 
 
 Tweet your support using the hashtags #DUMPSTOLI and #DUMPRUSSIANVODKA. And tell you friends about what is happening in Russia and ask them to DUMP STOLI and DUMP RUSSIAN VODKA. 
 
 Here is a PDF of a terrific two-sided flyer, created by Matt, that you can print out and distribute. Here's a PDF of another DUMP RUSSIAN VODKA graphic created by Matt. 
 
 More soon. 
 
 UPDATE: Chicago's biggest gay bar announced tonight that they are no longer selling Stoli or any other Russian products. Windy City Times: 
 
 Sidetrack today said that it would be removing Stolichnaya Vodka and other Russian products from their shelves. The decision comes in the wake of Russia's implementation of oppressive anti-gay laws last month. "I had been following the various news reports about what was going on in Russia," said co-owner Art Johnston. "It's hard to believe that they could carry out and enforce that kind of a law, but they did." He added that there was no way he could in good conscience continue to serve Stolichnaya or any other Russian products at the nightclub. Businesses that imported and distributed Stolichnaya for Sidetrack have been huge supporters of the LGBT community, Johnston said. "They've always been quite responsive to us, so it's not a move that we take lightly." The ownership of the Stolichnaya name was the subject of international litigation for many years. In 2012, it was returned to the Russian government. A statement Sidetrack posted on its Facebook page noted the irony: "Very soon the Russian government itself, which bans positive portrayals of LGBT people, may be the beneficiary of the goodwill earned by Stoli's distributors and bars over the years." 
 
 The Call, another gay bar in Chicago, posted this sign tonight that reads, "Proudly serving non-Russian vodkas." Seattle's gay bars should follow Sidetrack and The Call's lead and stop serving Stoli or other Russian products.
– Electronic Arts is launching a brave new world of gay relationships in online role-playing games, and that's sparking an Internet armageddon. EA has been lambasted by religious right-wingers who fear the dangerous influences of an imagined transgendered "Darth VaPaula" in a Star Wars game, and have begun a boycott against the company. They're being slammed in turn by gay rights activists. Now AllOut.org has yanked its anti-boycott petition off the Web because the petition itself had become a target of an army of spambots apparently launched by anti-gay forces. Complicating matters are suspected PR stunts by EA itself to apparently inflate the war. But that's not the case now, an AllOut spokesman tells Forbes. “We are not arguing that Electronic Arts is a perfect company,” he explained. "But we know that today, on this issue, they are taking an important stand that should be supported. Anti-gay groups are the dark-side here. The Family Research Council is telling this company, and many others, that gay people have no place in our games, in our media and in our lives. That is unacceptable." Star Wars: The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3 will allow role-playing participants to not only choose what kind of character they'll play, but for the first time they'll also have an option to engage in a same sex romance.