What are some little things people do that make you glad?

[KevinM1]

I've been a gamer since I was 3 years old.  My grandmother was an incredibly brilliant woman.  She graduated college when she was 16.  No joke.  She understood that computers were the future and that my brothers and I should get a leg up on them, so she bought us a Commodore VIC-20.  That was my first taste of gaming (Gorf, Radar Rat Race, Q-Bert, Pacman, Frogger, a ton of edutainment games, etc.), and it's been in my blood ever since.

Gamers have a mixed reputation, and rightfully so.  Just look at the refuse that infects online services like Xbox Live and the GamerGate crap that happened last year.

So, you can imagine my surprise when I learned about the biannual Games Done Quick telethons on Twitch.  Speed running is a pretty niche subset of gaming.  Outside of Twitch subscriptions, there's not a lot of money in it.  It's not an eSport like fighting game tournaments or the various MOBAs.  But these speed runners donate their time and money to gather at a hotel for a week twice a year to raise money for cancer research and Doctors Without Borders.

I just think that's awesome.  Turning a pretty narrow skill set into a means of literally saving lives is pretty incredible, and it just gets bigger every year.  More people, more games, more/bigger donations.  There's a definite pay it forward aspect to it that's nice to see.  As an old gamer nerd, it brings a smile on my face every time, and it's must-see.  Speed running something like Super Metroid (which is always the last game) is one thing.  Speed running Chrono Trigger is something else entirely.