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Giant Bomb #8 | It's a Hit!
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njean777
Member
How does hiring somebody perpetuate the issue? Because it is white males? Because it is males? Because it is whites? What is the real issue here? The two people hired were the best people for Giantbomb according to Jeff. Asking them to go out of their way to hire somebody that you like (while you have no stake in the company at all btw) is just becoming tiring. We all have the right to complain about this issue, but when it becomes bullying (both sides are guilty of this btw), then it accomplishes nothing. Twitter has become a cesspool of people taking potshots at people instead of actually talking about issues.
And it isn't a blanket statement, the people who are rallying to the cause of more women are starting to become what they hate. I see it on Twitter every single day coming from journalists, and their followers. I am all for equality, but I would actually rather talk about the issue rather than be passive aggressive and take pot shots at people.
TharpDaddy
Member
Never saw that before. I revoke my statement, i think he's better without a beard.
stump sock
Member
yeah, ok, Drewbeard is pretty solid.
Fattony12000
Member
They should have just hired a dracolich and a demon lord instead.
Keyser Soze
Member
I wonder what is an approx of their budget is?
They talked about using some budget to give GBNY a actual computer to work with (that apple trash can thing seems likely). That's a few $1000 at least. I guess GB NY getting sofa and a table or two would not be too bad either.
I feel a good chunk of their Qs budget would have to go to NY to get them on their feet.
I'm still sad it wasn't a blue dog.
Aww, he looks like a tiny Viking.
Jimmyfenix
Member
What about Dave?
To play devil's advocate, we're not talking about Giantbomb "not having a lot of people of (x) descent." We're talking about Giantbomb having exactly zero. Past or present. When you consider this coupled with the extremely homogenous E3 shows this year that's what's spurring the Giantbomb + diversity conversation.
As for the Hip Hop Gamer example, no I wouldn't have felt good about it but that also happens to be an extreme example. There are tons of talented people out there.
Can't speak to the twitter shenanigans, if they're out of line thats wrong. Just going by whats on this thread.
And yeah, gaming is white/male centric. You see it in the press, the games themselves, and the teams that make the games. Thats it. There is no real controversy, the hire just illustrates the point, which is disappointing.
Petrae
Member
That's what I take from it. I have a stronger opinion on the matter, but I'm struggling to find appropriate words.
It's disappointing to see such melodramatics, especially in the public eye. Gaming press has become a social media soap opera-- bad theater. Even in what would ordinarily be a positive thing (new opportunities/roles for really talented and deserving people), personalities have to complain about it, be bitter about it, and publicly share their grievances. Freelancers complain about little pay, targeting full timers. There's complaining about "more white guys" instead of looking at what the new hires bring to the table.
There are ways to open dialogue about certain topics, and then there's what we've seen over these past few days.
Dave threw away Giant Bomb and the community like it was thrash when he left. Fuck him and his facial hair. He was never hardcore anyways. Pfft *mumble* *grumble* *shakes fist*
Jimmyfenix
Member
You are just jealous that he is the true Kickstarter success story! Plexcide.
I feel like you're just not open to having the discussion. The talk about the subject has been pretty civil in this thread.
I'm sure he's talking more about Twitter here, and I agree that some parts of that discussion hasn't been civil at all. But that's Twitter, it's a terrible place to discuss anything because of the character limit.
Ugh, was hoping Leigh Alexander wouldn't get involved. She's like a lightning rod for derailing all discourse.
I hope people appreciate the fact Maddy Myers, a rational, vocal GB critic, actually disagreed with some of Leigh's summation. There is nuance to these arguments guys, it's not just a line in the sand with GB on one side and all critique on the other.
Anyway, on a more positive note, and this is complete speculation on my part, but I think it's very telling that Cara Ellison, someone who is close to a lot of the critics mentioned in this thread, has kept completely silent on the issue (even as she's tweeting to the same critics about unrelated things). Again, complete speculation, but I think she knows (or maybe it's been privately implied?) she's a shoe-in for the next hire if a working visa can be granted (maybe GB East?). Giant Bomb is quite predictable, if someone is well liked by the community they appear more regularly, I see no reason why the community's fondness for Cara wouldn't also influence hiring decisions.
I hope people appreciate the fact Maddy Myers, a rational, vocal GB critic, actually disagreed with some of Leigh's summation. There is nuance to these arguments guys, it's not just a line in the sand with GB on one side and all critique on the other.
Anyway, on a more positive note, and this is complete speculation on my part, but I think it's very telling that Cara Ellison, someone who is close to a lot of the critics mentioned in this thread, has kept completely silent on the issue (even as she's tweeting to the same critics about unrelated things). Again, complete speculation, but I think she knows (or maybe it's been privately implied?) she's a shoe-in for the next hire if a working visa can be granted (maybe GB East?). Giant Bomb is quite predictable, if someone is well liked by the community they appear more regularly, I see no reason why the community's fondness for Cara wouldn't also influence hiring decisions.
WrenchNinja
Member
I would hope theyd have to be qualified to get to the point of that decision where it's one or the other. I mean people generally apply to things that they are qualified for, do they not? So I fail to see how it's irresponsible.
I don't know, Ive found him amusing occasionally and he'd probably play well off the crew. If he was qualified for the job, as in having significant writing, editing, and/or video production experience, then sure. Did he apply?
Fantastapotamus
Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
He really does. Like honestly really.
TheBaronOfNA
Banned
Alexis?
Petrae
Member
I am-- and I thank you for picking up on this since I did fail to clarify it. Twitter is where the theatrics regularly occur... including in this case. Obviously it is difficult to create/maintain any discussion in 140-character bursts, but this is yet another example of gaming press embarrassing itself through social media, as opposed to taking to longer forms of discussion/debate (blogs, articles, video, podcast) with civility.
Intheflorsh
Banned
Every time Jeff shit talks Reno I smile because fuck Reno.
It is just an equipment budget. GB SF will already have most of the equipment they need from previous quarters. e.g. they bought new computers, tricaster, cameras, apple bin, etc. They can likely get by this round with a few incremental upgrades.
njean777
Member
Exactly, why twitter is the place to try to have discussions is beyond me. It has proven time and time again not to be the place to have these sorts of discussions at all.
TheBaronOfNA
Banned
eh....
Oh man, that would be fantastic.
But we're also talking about a website which has hired one editor in the past six years.
Alexis worked for Whiskey and is now a CBSi employee, working on a multitude of sites (haven't they implied that he's lead designer for CBSi gaming group?). He shows up on streams similar to the way that Danny does, but he's not a Giant Bomb employee, and he actually never has been.
Keyser Soze
Member
Would building a set be classed under the equipment budget?
If so, sofa, chairs, and lighting for GB NY would eat up a lot of money
This feels sensible, and Cara does seem liked by the GB crew. I hadn't actually thought about working visas being a barrier.
ShockingAlberto
Member
Maybe she doesn't want to engage in criticism of her friends without it being a huge conspiracy.
Then again, not engaging in criticism of your friends would make her a shoo-in for Giant Bomb...
(This is the part where I denote I am joking)
Then again, not engaging in criticism of your friends would make her a shoo-in for Giant Bomb...
(This is the part where I denote I am joking)
A very large one. Danny's talked about how getting his was a nightmare.
The visa rules are why her getting this job was never realistic. Danny posted on his Tumblr about what he had to go through to get his visa, and he had even worked at the UK arm of an American company for quite a while!
TheBaronOfNA
Banned
True. Still, is clear that he has close relationship with the group.
What happens when the two guys hired were the best candidates for the job? I think the most dissapointing part of all of this is the reaction from some of the other candidates on Twitter. That seems super unprofessional.
Jimmyfenix
Member
I thought you americans liked us brits.
Let us in to your country with ease please.
Let us in to your country with ease please.
ShockingAlberto
Member
I imagine part of it is that they were probably going to hire Dan from day one and there was no actual search involved. Though I supposed we'll never know, it certainly does seem that way.
No one likes seeing their resume get thrown in the trash immediately.
bigwinnerx
Member
I work with Australians, the stuff they have to go through to work here is pretty crazy.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
Actually I had no idea why cara ellison was thought to be a shoo in because from what I've heard of her and heard her say she hasn't settled in the US at all, and I doubt that it would be that quick for her to get a visa.
RiccochetJ
Gold Member
I want to know what Alex and Vinny are buying today!
It's actually pretty neat what he did with Webhook. I recently watched the launch video (it's done now) and was impressed. Good on Dave for reals
But his continued affiliation with the baboons at Tested and his dismissal of GB and its community just really shows how he was never down with the clown :-(
Even if that's the case (which we can't ever really know), that's how hiring at bigger companies often works. Even if you have a candidate you have to make the process at least seem open, I'm sure that's a policy CBSi have too. So you can't say you're hiring and then say "LOL NO WE ALREADY HAVE OUR MAN!". People really shouldn't take that as something personal, and this is more a legal formality than anything else: When you're hiring for a position like that, chances are you already have a candidate or two in mind before you make it public. The way some people are taking this on Twitter makes it sound like they've never applied for a job before.
Yeah that's true
It's a bureaucratic barrier that dwarfs the US/Mexico fence.
It's even worse for this industry because video game journalists/writers/critics aren't on the 'desirable' professions list, neither do they qualify for the artists/entertainer visa.
Absolutely fair, but her name as been brought up a lot on twitter during all this (both her handle and subtweeting) and she's never once engaged.
I'm going to go ahead and take that as confirmation she's basically already hired.
I wouldn't read too much into the favouring of those tweets, people often use it to remember a tweet for later referencing (especially on mobile), not just as a complete endorsement. Yes, he's fully entrenched and engages in the issue, but he's also privy to the inner workings of Giant Bomb - where they're at and where they're going. I wouldn't be surprised if he's talking with Jeff to write something or address the issue formally.
Cara would be a fantastic addition to the Beast. Hope she lands at GB somewhere down the line.
To be honest, though, Patrick is the person I really want to comment on all this. Him favouriting those tweets/not mentioning the new hires, and the fact that he's basically the only person excluded from criticism in this cloud of noise, makes me worry about his position at GB moving forward. For the record, I think he fits in perfectly and I really think he's an integral part of the team - I'm just curious how he feels about his role in all of this.
To be honest, though, Patrick is the person I really want to comment on all this. Him favouriting those tweets/not mentioning the new hires, and the fact that he's basically the only person excluded from criticism in this cloud of noise, makes me worry about his position at GB moving forward. For the record, I think he fits in perfectly and I really think he's an integral part of the team - I'm just curious how he feels about his role in all of this.
Wouldn't say he's excluded from criticism, Simins fav'd a bunch of tweets from people saying he could talk the talk, but not walk the walk and similar shit. Like he had the final word here.
I wouldn't worry much about Patrick. He's gonna stick around I think.
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