Over the years, the online community has given gamers a bad image – for very good reasons. Sites like Fat, Ugly or Slutty and Public Shaming show the public how vile people can be under the veil of anonymity. Basically, everyone who isn’t a straight white male is a target.

It’s so bad that even a big player like Nintendo is hesitant about getting into online. They don’t want to expose their customers to the toxic environment.

(Xbox ,on the other hand, really doesn’t seem to care about alienating customers, and allows the culture to continue.)

We all know that it’s only a handful of these whiny, loud players and not the typical majority, so why are we allowing it to continue?

Well, there’s some good news! If you’re a gamer and want to clean up our online environment, let me introduce you to Gamers Against Bigotry. It’s a non-profit organization committed to changing the hostile gaming environment.

Founded by Sam Killermann (who gave an amazing TEDx Talk about the complexity of gender), Gamers Against Bigotry was created with one purpose in mind: to create a gaming community that is welcoming to gamers of all identities. Gaming is awesome. And online multiplayer gaming is more awesome. But it sucks that gamers have to choose to either not play online or deal with a relentless barrage of identity-based hate slung their way if they do log in.

GAB writes articles, goes to gaming conventions, and has partnered with several media and gaming companies to help spread their cause.

If you want to get involved, why not volunteer? GAB is looking for all kinds of volunteers, from writers to artists to street representatives. If you don’t have the time to commit, you can always donate to the cause. Every cent goes back into GAB to cover advertising, educational posts, server costs, and merchandising.

So let’s take back our gaming community and not let it be ruled a loud, obnoxious, and under-aged minority!

What do you think? Let us know in the comments!