The classic version of “gamer support hotlines” revolved around a late ’80s and early ’90s period of titans like Nintendo and Sega. You’d either make a long-distance call or call a 1-900 line to get help from a live counselor on how to beat a tough videogame.
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Those kinds of hotlines are long gone, replaced by YouTube tutorials—which is fair enough, because it’s usually easy to spell out steps to fight a boss or solve a puzzle. This week, a completely different type of gamer-centric hotline has emerged to address an industrywide issue that isn’t as easily solved by walkthroughs: emotional support.
The Games and Online Harassment Hotline (GOHH) launches today as a free text-based hotline that anyone can use to begin talking about the emotional issues that emerge all over the gaming industry. Twitch streamers, game developers, Discord server members, even online trolls: All are invited to begin talking—anonymously and confidentially—about mental health with counselors who are equipped to understand gaming’s social systems and lingo.
Starting Tuesday, GOHH will allow owners of US phone numbers who are 13 or older to text the word “Support” to 23368 between 7 and 10 pm ET, Monday through Friday. A series of “established call centers” will process your query, ask a few basic questions, and then let users text stories and feelings through a back-and-forth text-conversation process. Participating counselors have been trained to understand gaming-specific concepts like griefing, streaming (à la Twitch), games-industry crunch, and more.
The free hotline is an outgrowth of Feminist Frequency’s years of nonprofit media advocacy and is run through its donation-powered funding model. For FF founder Anita Sarkeesian, that’s the beginning and the end of the hotline’s ties to her work.
“I don’t want the hotline to get caught up in my reputation,” Sarkeesian tells Ars Technica in a phone interview, alluding to violent reactions to her advocacy over the years. “I’m a visible person. People have a lot of opinions about me and Feminist Frequency. But I want the hotline to exist for anyone who needs it. I’m not answering any of the texts. You’re not going to reach me at any