In all fairness, my previous post is spammy. Not that I have much to add, but I'll give it a shot.
My personal interest in awards being given out is that it helps me to find things that other people find interesting / awesome. It helps to make a shorter list of, "What should I be looking at?" Books in particular. I mean, you can't judge a book by its cover, but how else are you going to pick what to read unless you read it and then decide?
I don't want to waste my time on something. I don't have enough. Only an estimated 50 years or so left. So I look at awards / top 10 lists for ideas. Sometimes I'll grab something off the shelf, because the jacket looks cool, but then I'm back to hoping about a book based on its cover. I guess I know that awards are inherently insular, and that the potential for corruption is there, but I don't have much else to go on. No author is going to put a "bad" review on their jacket, right?
I always kind of liked the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's view of elections. Anyone capable of getting themselves elected to office is probably the worst person for the job. Better to have unknown, brilliant minds working behind the scenes for the betterment of the Galaxy than some shmuck that people happen to like.
As to GamerGate, it's a sad tale, but not representative of everyone that games. Not that I game, but really you're looking at the same thing most anywhere an opinion is formed. Some people get vocal. They get attention, they seem like a bigger deal than they are. Really, who hasn't issued a death threat on the internet? I know I've gotten plenty of cease and desist orders, myself.
Is it anything new? Disc Jockeys used to get swaged, now they can't. If gaming reviews ever want to become more legit, they'll have to do the same. And swear off the blackjack and hookers. Ah, just forget about the legitness and blackjack.
Is that a pop culture reference, or misogyny? I guess it depends on whether you think I'm a child of the early 80's or not.
PS: I thought that the Sad Puppies thing was satire? Maybe I'm just missing something.