A few things I realized after reading this thread (to this point, anyway).
As a society, we are far too interested in monitoring each other's opinion. A discussion *should* offer the opportunity for both sides to learn something, or at least think about another person's viewpoint.
I'm glad that I have avoided the popular social media applications to date. It is a sad state that our society cannot exchange ideas without insults and cursing, and every opinion is subject to vetting by political correctness, the newest weapon of mass destruction. At least, it's used as one.
I thought the issue was fostered by the anonymous nature of the internet. Now, I'm convinced that people cannot check themselves when staring at words on a display. Ideas on a display aren't respected without the physical threat of violence, and manners are too easily disposed.
I suspect this aspect of human nature is part of the reason we were voted out of the trees by the cool apes.
I will never get the 45 minutes it took to read this thread back.
Is it even possible to put enough *sighs* on the end of a thread?
You have raised something that fascinated me, back in the day before Social Media ((yes young reader there was a time before SM, keep calm and have a cup of tea )) we were all certain that the reason that forums and the likes of IRC could get so heated was anonymity.
But social media shows we can't help ourselves, or at least some of us can't. It does make you wonder what people who go of the deep end there are like when anonymous?
I believe it's less to do with anonymity and more to do with not being face to face with someone. You can have your identity known, but you will feel emboldened due to the fact you're not face to face. It's just like when you get into an altercation with someone, and you split up and say some nasty insult under your breath as you walk away.
You never would have said it to their face, but the second you're not in front of them, you feel emboldened enough to say it, albeit quietly.
Another example, dating. I find it much easier to converse with strangers in a dating scene via text or phone call than it is face to face. It really is like a confidence booster when you're not dealing with someone in person and you can remove yourself from the situation at the click of a button, you can't do that as easily irl.
And now with some very unsurprising news Jessica Price is completely unrepentant and is instead blaming everyone else under the sun for getting herself, and Peter Fries as collateral damage, canned. This kind of delusional narcissism is becoming a sick regularity in modern online society.
The guy literally complimented her thread before offering a dissenting view, to which she replied like a troll then retweeted to put him on blast for supposed sexism. Wow. I didn't realize she tried to use him as a punching bag for the public. She really needs to let it die at this point. She definitely extrapolated this well beyond what it actually was and did it in an inflammatory way. There was no need for her to respond the way she did. She was ultra-condescending of someone who approached her with respect and simply offered his own perspective.
EDIT- if she didn't want commentary from those with less experience, maybe she should've saved the commentary for a professional conference. You can't share something with the public then get mad because they merely responded in a way you didn't want. That's a far cry from, say, folks making blatantly hateful comments based on sex, race, religion, etc..
And now with some very unsurprising news Jessica Price is completely unrepentant and is instead blaming everyone else under the sun for getting herself, and Peter Fries as collateral damage, canned. This kind of delusional narcissism is becoming a sick regularity in modern online society.
Wow. That article... just... wow.
"ArenaNet’s swift action to fire both Price and Fries sends a disturbing message to its fans, and especially its most toxic ones: that their power is directly correlated to how loud they yell. It’s a worrying precedent for anyone interested in working for ArenaNet, but especially those in marginalized communities that are more likely to face blowback and harassment from the worst parts of its fanbase."
That one paragraph says all that needs to be said for the credibility and journalistic integrity of The Verge. The only misstep by Anet here is the undeserved firing of Mr. Fries. The only message sent by Anet to its fans is that they are willing to listen and respect feedback, and that those employees who betray that trust will no longer represent them.
And now with some very unsurprising news Jessica Price is completely unrepentant and is instead blaming everyone else under the sun for getting herself, and Peter Fries as collateral damage, canned. This kind of delusional narcissism is becoming a sick regularity in modern online society.
Wow. That article... just... wow.
"ArenaNet’s swift action to fire both Price and Fries sends a disturbing message to its fans, and especially its most toxic ones: that their power is directly correlated to how loud they yell. It’s a worrying precedent for anyone interested in working for ArenaNet, but especially those in marginalized communities that are more likely to face blowback and harassment from the worst parts of its fanbase."
That one paragraph says all that needs to be said for the credibility and journalistic integrity of The Verge. The only misstep by Anet here is the undeserved firing of Mr. Fries. The only message sent by Anet to its fans is that they are willing to listen and respect feedback, and that those employees who betray that trust will no longer represent them.
They are willing to listen and respect feedback is exactly the reason why Fries was fired too. In a deleted tweet he explicitly stated she didn't want his feedback and then doubled down on it further by condescendingly explaining why they don't want to hear feedback from "laymen." The moment you tell the players to their face "We don't want to hear your feedback," in any variation or form in the gaming industry, you stopped working with the players in mind for your game.
some of you need to actually lookup and read the reddit threads this isn't even the full story on this. This isn't the first time she's been let go for doing similar go look at the screenshots from blocked users on reddit. This article does this woman way to much sympathy seriously. She was glad a guy died of cancer has been spreading hate filled feminist speech about white men for many months and spewing her nonsense with other parties well before arenanet. Some people who feel sorry for her or think arenanet crossed the line need to go actually read through the thread and look at all the evidence. One can hope this woman doesn't get a job in this field again.
And now with some very unsurprising news Jessica Price is completely unrepentant and is instead blaming everyone else under the sun for getting herself, and Peter Fries as collateral damage, canned. This kind of delusional narcissism is becoming a sick regularity in modern online society.
The guy literally complimented her thread before offering a dissenting view, to which she replied like a troll then retweeted to put him on blast for supposed sexism. Wow. I didn't realize she tried to use him as a punching bag for the public. She really needs to let it die at this point. She definitely extrapolated this well beyond what it actually was and did it in an inflammatory way. There was no need for her to respond the way she did. She was ultra-condescending of someone who approached her with respect and simply offered his own perspective.
EDIT- if she didn't want commentary from those with less experience, maybe she should've saved the commentary for a professional conference. You can't share something with the public then get mad because they merely responded in a way you didn't want. That's a far cry from, say, folks making blatantly hateful comments based on sex, race, religion, etc..
That's why I really wish MMORPG.com would revise the initial article about this topic, because they mention none of Price's incendiary comments and instead focus solely on what happened to her (and Fries), as if they were fired because someone simply asked her a question.
(EDIT: Also, Price's response regarding how to act on social media was laughable, at best. "I don't remember them telling me not to actively berate and degrade fans during orientation, so I shouldn't be held liable for my actions.")
And now with some very unsurprising news Jessica Price is completely unrepentant and is instead blaming everyone else under the sun for getting herself, and Peter Fries as collateral damage, canned. This kind of delusional narcissism is becoming a sick regularity in modern online society.
The guy literally complimented her thread before offering a dissenting view, to which she replied like a troll then retweeted to put him on blast for supposed sexism. Wow. I didn't realize she tried to use him as a punching bag for the public. She really needs to let it die at this point. She definitely extrapolated this well beyond what it actually was and did it in an inflammatory way. There was no need for her to respond the way she did. She was ultra-condescending of someone who approached her with respect and simply offered his own perspective.
EDIT- if she didn't want commentary from those with less experience, maybe she should've saved the commentary for a professional conference. You can't share something with the public then get mad because they merely responded in a way you didn't want. That's a far cry from, say, folks making blatantly hateful comments based on sex, race, religion, etc..
That's why I really wish MMORPG.com would revise the initial article about this topic, because they mention none of Price's incendiary comments and instead focus solely on what happened to her (and Fries), as if they were fired because someone simply asked her a question.
its not just this article and site doing so. There is other articles on pcgamer and polygon doing exactly the same thing. I find it funny how all these articles almost sound like they feel sorry for some hateful woman who started all the drama herself. I guess they think if they write something bad directly about these companies they won't get exclusive access to new information in the future..
And now with some very unsurprising news Jessica Price is completely unrepentant and is instead blaming everyone else under the sun for getting herself, and Peter Fries as collateral damage, canned. This kind of delusional narcissism is becoming a sick regularity in modern online society.
The guy literally complimented her thread before offering a dissenting view, to which she replied like a troll then retweeted to put him on blast for supposed sexism. Wow. I didn't realize she tried to use him as a punching bag for the public. She really needs to let it die at this point. She definitely extrapolated this well beyond what it actually was and did it in an inflammatory way. There was no need for her to respond the way she did. She was ultra-condescending of someone who approached her with respect and simply offered his own perspective.
EDIT- if she didn't want commentary from those with less experience, maybe she should've saved the commentary for a professional conference. You can't share something with the public then get mad because they merely responded in a way you didn't want. That's a far cry from, say, folks making blatantly hateful comments based on sex, race, religion, etc..
That's why I really wish MMORPG.com would revise the initial article about this topic, because they mention none of Price's incendiary comments and instead focus solely on what happened to her (and Fries), as if they were fired because someone simply asked her a question.
its not just this article and site doing so. There is other articles on pcgamer and polygon doing exactly the same thing. I find it funny how all these articles almost sound like they feel sorry for some hateful woman who started all the drama herself. I guess they think if they write something bad directly about these companies they won't get exclusive access to new information in the future..
Yea, anyone who's been around here for a substantial length of time know that I have zero tolerance for bigotry or prejudice in the form of sexism, racism, etc.. But that goes both ways. This wasn't sexism by the guy who responded. I believe this bigotry here cut the opposite direction (specifically I'm referring to Price's response).
And now with some very unsurprising news Jessica Price is completely unrepentant and is instead blaming everyone else under the sun for getting herself, and Peter Fries as collateral damage, canned. This kind of delusional narcissism is becoming a sick regularity in modern online society.
The guy literally complimented her thread before offering a dissenting view, to which she replied like a troll then retweeted to put him on blast for supposed sexism. Wow. I didn't realize she tried to use him as a punching bag for the public. She really needs to let it die at this point. She definitely extrapolated this well beyond what it actually was and did it in an inflammatory way. There was no need for her to respond the way she did. She was ultra-condescending of someone who approached her with respect and simply offered his own perspective.
EDIT- if she didn't want commentary from those with less experience, maybe she should've saved the commentary for a professional conference. You can't share something with the public then get mad because they merely responded in a way you didn't want. That's a far cry from, say, folks making blatantly hateful comments based on sex, race, religion, etc..
That's why I really wish MMORPG.com would revise the initial article about this topic, because they mention none of Price's incendiary comments and instead focus solely on what happened to her (and Fries), as if they were fired because someone simply asked her a question.
its not just this article and site doing so. There is other articles on pcgamer and polygon doing exactly the same thing. I find it funny how all these articles almost sound like they feel sorry for some hateful woman who started all the drama herself. I guess they think if they write something bad directly about these companies they won't get exclusive access to new information in the future..
Yea, anyone who's been around here for a substantial length of time know that I have zero tolerance for bigotry or prejudice in the form of sexism, racism, etc.. But that goes both ways. This wasn't sexism by the guy who responded. I believe this bigotry here cut the opposite direction (specifically I'm referring to Price's response).
It is one thing to present the entire story and then to say "I agree with X side"; even if the original author agreed with Price's/Anet's response, I could still respect them (and their opinion) as a journalist/writer/whatever since they presented the whole story.
It is an entirely different thing to present half the story and say "Obviously X was wrong". I have no respect for journalists/writers/websites when the present things in such a manner. Which is exactly what the writer of this article did.
Of course websites like Kotaku and Polygon are going to slant this story in a completely different direction by obfuscating facts and leaving out important details. However, that's why I generally don't visit those websites for gaming-related news.
Usually MMORPG.com is fairly consistent in getting the whole story together, and then presenting an opinion/asking for opinions. This is why I return to this website for my gaming-related news. I understand this was not penned by MMORPG.com themselves, but they should take more pride in vetting articles/columns they choose to publish.
The Verge article is basically her alternating between excuses, feigning ignorance, and playing the sexism victim card. Recalcitrance overload. No remorse or even a hint of introspection. As in, no sign that this recurring event with her won't happen again.
Even made the firing sound like O'Brien was just venting on her and couldn't handle what she "has" to handle. That he was the overemotional one.
The Verge article is basically her alternating between excuses, feigning ignorance, and playing the sexism victim card. Recalcitrance overload. No remorse or even a hint of introspection. As in, no sign that this recurring event with her won't happen again.
Even made the firing sound like O'Brien was just venting on her and couldn't handle what she "has" to handle. That he was the overemotional one.
Pretty sure it wasn't a knee jerk firing
the sad thing about all this is she will get a new job in the industry and do it all over again. There is always going to be smaller dev studios willing to overlook her bigotry and activism because she has experience in a large triple A studio/company. So in the end like you are saying she learns absolutely nothing from the ordeal.
SIDE NOTE: I want to thank everyone in this thread for keeping a civil tone and keeping to the topic at hand. It's refreshing to engage in perhaps spirited debate without rancor. We appreciate it deeply.
We would love to continue to cover topics that can border on the political or on the controversial subjects of the day as they affect gaming. If the discussions stay on course, are polite and step away from bombastic rhetoric, we can do so.
Let's hold this thread up as an example.
Again, thanks everyone.
BACK TO THE TOPIC!
The discussions are actually pretty good for internet discussions. Now if I might make a suggestion, if you are going to continue to report on these kind of things, can we please have articles that focus on the facts, and by that I mean both sides. The article started some healthy debate but part of that was because the article its self was heavily biased.
I applaud a willingness to host a platform for open and sensible debate though, such things have been missing recently from the internet and I hope you will continue to encourage these types of discussions as they are important topics. Especially in a moderated environment where people can be dissuaded from personal attacks and vendetta pursuits.
But please, try and have your writers be a touch more impartial in their reporting, pretty please!.
Well, that's a poorly written article. Clearly you did not do your homework.
She was posting an opinion about MMORPGs as a whole, but of course referencing GW2 at the end (Btw, it was an excellent post, agreed with her points 100%). Her profile stated GW2 dev and she was posting on public platform.
Then 2 GW2 content creators started discussion about her post in a respectful manner, but she somehow was offended by their opinions. It did not end at this, she insulted them, and even called them "rando asshat"s. (Hence the Mo's wording: "We value your input. We make this game for you.") Talking like that about 2 highly regarded content creators within the community sends an awful message to other players.
I did not expect that she would loose her job, but for sure something had to be done.
SIDE NOTE: I want to thank everyone in this thread for keeping a civil tone and keeping to the topic at hand. It's refreshing to engage in perhaps spirited debate without rancor. We appreciate it deeply.
We would love to continue to cover topics that can border on the political or on the controversial subjects of the day as they affect gaming. If the discussions stay on course, are polite and step away from bombastic rhetoric, we can do so.
Let's hold this thread up as an example.
Again, thanks everyone.
BACK TO THE TOPIC!
The discussions are actually pretty good for internet discussions. Now if I might make a suggestion, if you are going to continue to report on these kind of things, can we please have articles that focus on the facts, and by that I mean both sides. The article started some healthy debate but part of that was because the article its self was heavily biased.
I applaud a willingness to host a platform for open and sensible debate though, such things have been missing recently from the internet and I hope you will continue to encourage these types of discussions as they are important topics. Especially in a moderated environment where people can be dissuaded from personal attacks and vendetta pursuits.
But please, try and have your writers be a touch more impartial in their reporting, pretty please!.
If you're done mansplaining, my dude, I would like to point out that the article was written by Ed Orr and only posted by Suzie.
Would Bill Murphy ever have to put up with all this telling him how to do his job from uneducated readers?
After reading one of Price's older interviews, it really does surprise me that she responded the way she did.
In a previous interview, an interviewer asked:
"What do you hate or wish you could change in the nerd community or gaming industry?"
To which Price responded:
"I hate gatekeeping. I hate the idea that newcomers should have to prove
some sort of level of knowledge or dedication before being welcomed to
participate."
Further, the interviewer asked:
"Do you have any advice for young women hoping to pursue a career in table top games?"
Price's response:
"Don’t be afraid to contact the people who make your favorite games. Many
of them love talking to fans, and they’re a great source of knowledge
and advice."
So, while the second question is specific to "young women", it seems surprising that she reacted the way she did given the overall tone of the response (although, perhaps she would have reacted differently if Deroir had been a young woman). First, saying that the fan shouldn't be questioning her as they are not as experienced as her (gatekeeping), and then further shutting down the fan who was genuinely curious about gaining insight into their process.
She definitely doesn't seem like a happy person. Probably more miserable now. I think the article would be more accurate if they mentioned some of her past, which probably left her with no wiggle room. I'm not entirely sure what the guy did to get fired though.
I have seen a few people saying that twitter and other open social media is akin to talking with friends... It is not... Twitter would be more like standing in a busy bar and shouting things to your friends and random people who look like they might be interested. And if you do that while sporting a company badge... Yeah... Things might go south.
Now i fully understand what might have triggerd her response, we all have those days when shit just do not gel and we blow our top. But most people do not work for a company whos main source of income is online products and the community that use said product. Now had she exploded on a regular customer, things would probably gone down very different.
But no... She had to take the head off on a major content producer/influencer that i am sure ANet has invested a lot of time in building a good relationship with. One that could take a sizable chunk out of Anet´s social capital.
Now anyone "white knighting" the content producer and trying to get revenge on his behalf... Are worse scum than her, much worse.
But if i ran a biz that live and die by a community, you can be your last dollar on that i would have a draconian contract regulating how and what my employees can do online. Especially if they do not have the word community in their work description.
Open social media accounts are a public platform, and just as the racist tools getting caught on video calling the cops on people for living-while-black are all unemployed by the time the mob is done, so too can pretty much anyone be fired from pretty much any company for being an aggressive dick in public, even if the subject of one's ire kinda had it coming. Personally, I think ANet should've disciplined them in-house, made sure their employees have clear-cut rules on community engagement, issued a statement to the reddit and moved on with their talent in tact, but that doesn't change the fact that it was stupid of her to mix her personal profile and career.
I drive a company vehicle home every day with a logo and a number on it. A dispute with a neighbor could easily lead to my firing if their version would make me--and by extension, the company--look bad enough. It sucks, but that's the age we live in...we represent a brand in everything we do. If you aren't independently rich and/or want to stay gainfully employed, be vocal about your convictions at your own risk.
First of all a bold but honorable move by Arena.net hierarchy.
However...
1 Arena.net employed these two to represent the business and allowed them to interact with the community.Once employed they most certainly DO reflect your business with everything they say.
Arena.net is a COLLECTIVE of people,a large voice represents the business.
So the proper thing to say would have been to say those two employees comments are not shared by the majority of Arena.net ,however that again would ONLY be speaking for the others and again is not correct to put words into your other employees mouths.
None the less a WISE decision but was it in faith or simply to keep the business in good standing within the media?My hunch,well if nobody reacted to those two employees then nothing would have been done,so yeah more about the business than good faith.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
#1 There's always been contempt for the players by the entire team. #2 "We are committed to fostering open, constructive dialogue with our community around our games" This is a lie. This hasn't been true since they deleted the entire suggestions forum in a single swoop without even considering or organizing as an archive what was suggested. #3 The third example that they weren't serious about open constructive critique was when they decided to quiet anyone with a dissenting voice in the forums and delete posts in reddit that they don't like. This happened just after the deletion of the original suggestions folder.
This to me is just more of the same from a company that left open dialogue with their original promises for the game.
After reading one of Price's older interviews, it really does surprise me that she responded the way she did.
In a previous interview, an interviewer asked:
"What do you hate or wish you could change in the nerd community or gaming industry?"
To which Price responded:
"I hate gatekeeping. I hate the idea that newcomers should have to prove
some sort of level of knowledge or dedication before being welcomed to
participate."
Further, the interviewer asked:
"Do you have any advice for young women hoping to pursue a career in table top games?"
Price's response:
"Don’t be afraid to contact the people who make your favorite games. Many
of them love talking to fans, and they’re a great source of knowledge
and advice."
So, while the second question is specific to "young women", it seems surprising that she reacted the way she did given the overall tone of the response (although, perhaps she would have reacted differently if Deroir had been a young woman). First, saying that the fan shouldn't be questioning her as they are not as experienced as her (gatekeeping), and then further shutting down the fan who was genuinely curious about gaining insight into their process.
True, that interview does seem to paint a hypocritical picture. As I look into it, her response to the poster keeps getting weirder. If this is a case of something else going on in her life or career and it spilling over into this exchange, that'd be a shame.
After reading one of Price's older interviews, it really does surprise me that she responded the way she did.
In a previous interview, an interviewer asked:
"What do you hate or wish you could change in the nerd community or gaming industry?"
To which Price responded:
"I hate gatekeeping. I hate the idea that newcomers should have to prove
some sort of level of knowledge or dedication before being welcomed to
participate."
Further, the interviewer asked:
"Do you have any advice for young women hoping to pursue a career in table top games?"
Price's response:
"Don’t be afraid to contact the people who make your favorite games. Many
of them love talking to fans, and they’re a great source of knowledge
and advice."
So, while the second question is specific to "young women", it seems surprising that she reacted the way she did given the overall tone of the response (although, perhaps she would have reacted differently if Deroir had been a young woman). First, saying that the fan shouldn't be questioning her as they are not as experienced as her (gatekeeping), and then further shutting down the fan who was genuinely curious about gaining insight into their process.
True, that interview does seem to paint a hypocritical picture. As I look into it, her response to the poster keeps getting weirder. If this is a case of something else going on in her life or career and it spilling over into this exchange, that'd be a shame.
It was also done on a site that is for, by, and about women in gaming. Given the whole picture and that target audience, I'd lean towards the interview being the outlier.
I think the end result, based on the original interaction and the comments in the Verge article, was probably justified. I highly doubt the discussion with O'Brien was anything close to constructive. I still think the whole social media mob mentality thing is pretty disturbing. The fact there are people who are bragging that they could get anyone fired by raising enough of a stink is not a good thing.
Meanwhile, we're over here debating why people poo poo and wish failure on MMOs they don't like. I guess we're not as edgy and raucous as we thought. Rabble rabble rabble
After reading one of Price's older interviews, it really does surprise me that she responded the way she did.
In a previous interview, an interviewer asked:
"What do you hate or wish you could change in the nerd community or gaming industry?"
To which Price responded:
"I hate gatekeeping. I hate the idea that newcomers should have to prove
some sort of level of knowledge or dedication before being welcomed to
participate."
Further, the interviewer asked:
"Do you have any advice for young women hoping to pursue a career in table top games?"
Price's response:
"Don’t be afraid to contact the people who make your favorite games. Many
of them love talking to fans, and they’re a great source of knowledge
and advice."
So, while the second question is specific to "young women", it seems surprising that she reacted the way she did given the overall tone of the response (although, perhaps she would have reacted differently if Deroir had been a young woman). First, saying that the fan shouldn't be questioning her as they are not as experienced as her (gatekeeping), and then further shutting down the fan who was genuinely curious about gaining insight into their process.
True, that interview does seem to paint a hypocritical picture. As I look into it, her response to the poster keeps getting weirder. If this is a case of something else going on in her life or career and it spilling over into this exchange, that'd be a shame.
It was also done on a site that is for, by, and about women in gaming. Given the whole picture and that target audience, I'd lean towards the interview being the outlier.
I think the end result, based on the original interaction and the comments in the Verge article, was probably justified. I highly doubt the discussion with O'Brien was anything close to constructive. I still think the whole social media mob mentality thing is pretty disturbing. The fact there are people who are bragging that they could get anyone fired by raising enough of a stink is not a good thing.
Meanwhile, we're over here debating why people poo poo and wish failure on MMOs they don't like. I guess we're not as edgy and raucous as we thought. Rabble rabble rabble
Hahaha, those last two sentences made me chuckle. Yea, I don't like the idea that a mob mentality can hold a lot of power, but I think in this instance she could've easily avoided this. I would feel differently had the guy approached her with a "I know more than you do" attitude, but that's not what I got from his response. Merely stating one's opinion (especially after complimenting Price on her insight) is pretty amicable.
Comments
Be the Ultimate Ninja! Play Billy Vs. SNAKEMAN today!
EDIT- if she didn't want commentary from those with less experience, maybe she should've saved the commentary for a professional conference. You can't share something with the public then get mad because they merely responded in a way you didn't want. That's a far cry from, say, folks making blatantly hateful comments based on sex, race, religion, etc..
"ArenaNet’s swift action to fire both Price and Fries sends a disturbing message to its fans, and especially its most toxic ones: that their power is directly correlated to how loud they yell. It’s a worrying precedent for anyone interested in working for ArenaNet, but especially those in marginalized communities that are more likely to face blowback and harassment from the worst parts of its fanbase."
That one paragraph says all that needs to be said for the credibility and journalistic integrity of The Verge. The only misstep by Anet here is the undeserved firing of Mr. Fries. The only message sent by Anet to its fans is that they are willing to listen and respect feedback, and that those employees who betray that trust will no longer represent them.
Even made the firing sound like O'Brien was just venting on her and couldn't handle what she "has" to handle. That he was the overemotional one.
Pretty sure it wasn't a knee jerk firing
The discussions are actually pretty good for internet discussions. Now if I might make a suggestion, if you are going to continue to report on these kind of things, can we please have articles that focus on the facts, and by that I mean both sides. The article started some healthy debate but part of that was because the article its self was heavily biased.
I applaud a willingness to host a platform for open and sensible debate though, such things have been missing recently from the internet and I hope you will continue to encourage these types of discussions as they are important topics. Especially in a moderated environment where people can be dissuaded from personal attacks and vendetta pursuits.
But please, try and have your writers be a touch more impartial in their reporting, pretty please!.
She was posting an opinion about MMORPGs as a whole, but of course referencing GW2 at the end (Btw, it was an excellent post, agreed with her points 100%). Her profile stated GW2 dev and she was posting on public platform.
Then 2 GW2 content creators started discussion about her post in a respectful manner, but she somehow was offended by their opinions. It did not end at this, she insulted them, and even called them "rando asshat"s. (Hence the Mo's wording: "We value your input. We make this game for you.") Talking like that about 2 highly regarded content creators within the community sends an awful message to other players.
I did not expect that she would loose her job, but for sure something had to be done.
Would Bill Murphy ever have to put up with all this telling him how to do his job from uneducated readers?
Now i fully understand what might have triggerd her response, we all have those days when shit just do not gel and we blow our top. But most people do not work for a company whos main source of income is online products and the community that use said product. Now had she exploded on a regular customer, things would probably gone down very different.
But no... She had to take the head off on a major content producer/influencer that i am sure ANet has invested a lot of time in building a good relationship with. One that could take a sizable chunk out of Anet´s social capital.
Now anyone "white knighting" the content producer and trying to get revenge on his behalf... Are worse scum than her, much worse.
But if i ran a biz that live and die by a community, you can be your last dollar on that i would have a draconian contract regulating how and what my employees can do online. Especially if they do not have the word community in their work description.
This have been a good conversation
Put your page on private or know your boss is somewhere watching.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I drive a company vehicle home every day with a logo and a number on it. A dispute with a neighbor could easily lead to my firing if their version would make me--and by extension, the company--look bad enough. It sucks, but that's the age we live in...we represent a brand in everything we do. If you aren't independently rich and/or want to stay gainfully employed, be vocal about your convictions at your own risk.
However...
1 Arena.net employed these two to represent the business and allowed them to interact with the community.Once employed they most certainly DO reflect your business with everything they say.
Arena.net is a COLLECTIVE of people,a large voice represents the business.
So the proper thing to say would have been to say those two employees comments are not shared by the majority of Arena.net ,however that again would ONLY be speaking for the others and again is not correct to put words into your other employees mouths.
None the less a WISE decision but was it in faith or simply to keep the business in good standing within the media?My hunch,well if nobody reacted to those two employees then nothing would have been done,so yeah more about the business than good faith.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
#2 "We are committed to fostering open, constructive dialogue with our community around our games" This is a lie. This hasn't been true since they deleted the entire suggestions forum in a single swoop without even considering or organizing as an archive what was suggested.
#3 The third example that they weren't serious about open constructive critique was when they decided to quiet anyone with a dissenting voice in the forums and delete posts in reddit that they don't like. This happened just after the deletion of the original suggestions folder.
This to me is just more of the same from a company that left open dialogue with their original promises for the game.
I think the end result, based on the original interaction and the comments in the Verge article, was probably justified. I highly doubt the discussion with O'Brien was anything close to constructive. I still think the whole social media mob mentality thing is pretty disturbing. The fact there are people who are bragging that they could get anyone fired by raising enough of a stink is not a good thing.
Meanwhile, we're over here debating why people poo poo and wish failure on MMOs they don't like. I guess we're not as edgy and raucous as we thought. Rabble rabble rabble