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[Antiwhippy]

Maybe a few years ago, but most of them (Polygon, Kotaku, Joystiq) have at least one woman and several people of color on their staff at this point. GB just keeps rolling on with the status quo.

Mostly because they haven't really expanded that much beyond the status quo, to be fair.

One can even argue that dan being hired was an attempt to fix the status quo destroyed by ryan's death and vinny leaving.

I'm not going to argue against having more diversity should be looked into when expanding because I agree with that. Dan is proving great but I think the next thing GB should look into is getting a perspective that isn't a straight white dude.

 

[AuthenticM]

I'm not sure I entirely agree. Certainly, if you identify a specific case of "this person did this horrible thing, so he is a horrible person" and I use the "Well, not all of us are like that"... that is an useless statement. However, if you say "this person did this horrible thing, so all of you are horrible" then you have forced me into a defensive position where I must defend myself with the "Not all of us" argument.

Yeah, totally.

 

[coughlanio]

It's broke, buddy.

Yeah, they should totally hire a woman for the sake of hiring a woman to meet some magical quota set on them by the internet.

Good job on progressing the feminist cause!

 

[chogidogs]

It's broke, buddy.

Doesn't feel broken for alot of people. I don't mind having more diversity, but I also don't mind things staying the same.

 

[Aaron]

We've been through this argument and it's not very good really. It's a video game website, what does 'best for the job' even mean?
At the moment I'm not bothered about the white dudes thing as much as I am regarding how much Dan apparently doesn't know about that wasn't already covered. He fits in well and I enjoy his content but I can't imagine a safer pick.

What? It's obvious what it means in this case. They needed (1) someone with experience talking about videogames in front of a camera, who has reviewed games and covered events, and (2) someone with experience editing said video material with relatively quick turnover. They made it clear from the start that was what they were looking for, and in the whole damned world there is no two people with more experience than Dan and Jason. There are some people who are close, such as Gametrailers staffers, but at Game Informer Dan's primary job was video content very much like quicklooks, and Jason's job was to edit them.

 

[Serra]

Maybe a few years ago, but most of them (Polygon, Kotaku, Joystiq) have at least one woman and several people of color on their staff at this point. GB just keeps rolling on with the status quo.

Each of those sites are much larger (in number of staff, atleast) than GB.

Also, most of the stuff those sites produce is garbage.

It's broke, buddy.

I don't feel that way.

For me, GB was its peak on 2011-2012. There has been a slump since then but I think the incline started again when Rorie was hired and it just got steeper with the new hires and GBeast. Hopefully they can reach peak torque soon.

Edit: there are still problems of course, im not saying its perfect. Lack of quality premium content is a big one. The moderation is pretty terrible and very inconsistent. I don't even bother watching most stuff that Rorie/Jeff/Vinny are not in.

 

[Jimmyfenix]

I recall the entire crew expressing their dislike for Extreme Pizza.

Well it looks like i am the only one who will be pouring one out for extreme pizza

 

[MaxiLive]

but I can't imagine a safer pick.

Which is exactly what Giantbomb wants. You really don't want to be messing up the fragile ecosystem of a "lets play" style way of presenting content. It needs to feel homely and friendly in which everyone needs to be very close to each other with very similar views/interests.

Edgy staff picks are for the faceless and written media as they can bring new and often deep content to a rather stale and growingly unpopular format.

 

[Into]

If you ever try to teach someone about a game or genre they are unfamiliar with, then watch Danny masterfully do it with Drew in regards to FIFA. He is a natural teacher who is able to put himself in a new beginners shoes.

Most people start off with "hold down R2, while pressing A and B, but press Y once in a while and hold left while flipping towards up, make sure to get all the materials in raidworld 2.9 with the Xanart portal, take two lefts and find the Squiz table of Illuvatar and craft them at the jdfoasjt cough place, thats how you play this game, gl its ez"

He just told him that X was pass, and had him pass the ball....WOW. Can you believe that? Making things simple and easy for newcomers and then them responding positively because they do not feel stupid or overburdened with bullshit?

Even some game developers can learn a thing or two

 

[daydream]

^Danny da god

Well it looks like i am the only one who will be pouring one out for extreme pizza

I don't know about weird US pizza chains, but Jeff should play No One Can Stop Mr. Domino on UPF to celebrate.

 

[Talon]

Man, F-Zero X does run at 60 frames. But dat draw distance

 

[Jimmyfenix]

Which is exactly what Giantbomb wants. You really don't want to be messing up the fragile ecosystem of a "lets play" style way of presenting content. It needs to feel homely and friendly in which everyone needs to be very close to each other with very similar views/interests.

Edgy staff picks are for the faceless and written media as they can bring new and often deep content to a rather stale and growingly unpopular format.

Kuchera going to Polygon will always be the perfect example of this.

^Danny da god



I don't know about weird US pizza chains, but Jeff should play No One Can Stop Mr. Domino on UPF to celebrate.

There's a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game for Xbox 360 Kinect
Pizza Hut and Activision team up.

I hope that is real.

 

[Zaph]

We've been through this argument and it's not very good really. It's a video game website, what does 'best for the job' even mean?
At the moment I'm not bothered about the white dudes thing as much as I am regarding how much Dan apparently doesn't know about that wasn't already covered. He fits in well and I enjoy his content but I can't imagine a safer pick.

It is actually quite meaningful and shouldn't be dismissed. The problem is there really aren't many women out there producing video content themselves, nor improving their on-camera skills. The majority of the women in the enthusiast press industry focus on the written word (even the ones who are self-employed and could do if they wanted to).

If you were Jeff, would you be comfortable hiring someone for a video position when most of their submitted experience is written? Not only might they not be comfortable with it, but what if they decide they miss writing and don't enjoy the job?

Jeff has said time and time again what he thinks people trying to break into the industry should do (tl;dr - get on Youtube and put yourself out there) and if you take Dan as an example (seeing as he was hired) - there is video content of him hosting, commentating, navigating show floors with quick wit, and interviewing famous people in the industry while being humorous and entertaining.

How can a CV of 3000 word articles compete with that for a job at Giant Bomb?

 

[Patryn]

Maybe a few years ago, but most of them (Polygon, Kotaku, Joystiq) have at least one woman and several people of color on their staff at this point. GB just keeps rolling on with the status quo.

There are a few differences between those sites, however. Polygon lists 22 people on staff. Joystiq has 14 and Kotaku has 20 listed contributors.

Giant Bomb has 8.

It would probably also be important to look at how often those sites have open positions and hiring drives. Given that Giant Bomb has had all of 2 hiring periods in the 6 years since the core of the site initially came together in Jeff/Ryan/Vinny/Brad, I'm not sure they're exact equivalents.

All that being said, let me say that your complaints are completely valid and I urge you to follow through on what you feel is best. If that's cancelling your subscription, more power to you. I'm just explaining why at least I don't feel the situation is as black and white as some portray it to be.

 

[BanGy.nz]

Even some game developers can learn a thing or two

I'm not so sure about that considering Danny forgot to tell Drew how to sprint till the end of the video, sprinting is kinda a big deal in FIFA.

 

[TharpDaddy]

Just remembered this again, the picture of Alexis when he drunk stole the forklift is one of the best things.

You can see the impish glee on his face.

 

[ThreePiMatt]

Massive disrespect towards Samantha for her views on Harvest Moon 64. That game is awesome.

 

[Into]

I'm not so sure about that considering Danny forgot to tell Drew how to sprint till the end of the video, sprinting is kinda a big deal in FIFA.

Dont think he should have told him about sprint at the start, then he would have to explain stamina and Drew's passes would be less accurate and he would have less control. The game is much easier to control with just average jogging

But he should have told him about it at least soon afterwords!

 

[Jintor]

It is actually quite meaningful and shouldn't be dismissed. The problem is there really aren't many women out there producing video content themselves, nor improving their on-camera skills. The majority of the women in the enthusiast press industry focus on the written word (even the ones who are self-employed and could do if they wanted to).

I'd be willing to bet the amount of bullshit you have to endure from internet comments and the like being a newbie on-camera personality youtuber is probably worse if you're a girl than if you're a guy... probably a good reason to stick to things where it's a bit more likely that your content will define you rather than your personality, at least at first glance

Sigh. All these micro-level decisions that make perfect sense but result in macro-level bullshit.

 

[aeolist]

I think Dan works because he's exactly like Jeff with a few different opinions.

But I don't find him very interesting because he's exactly like Jeff with a few different opinions.

this

 

[Jimmyfenix]

I'm not so sure about that considering Danny forgot to tell Drew how to sprint till the end of the video, sprinting is kinda a big deal in FIFA.

Danny could have hustled Drew.

Let Drew win a couple of matches.

Then BANG Danny uses the sprint mechanic and beats Drew at fifa for 775 million US dollars.

 

[sneaky77]

Jeez, I enjoyed Samantha on the show as a guest. I honestly didn't realize such a huge shitstorm exploded out of this.

Yeah me too.. I had no idea until I started reading this thread this morning that anything happened.

 

[Antiwhippy]

I'd be willing to bet the amount of bullshit you have to endure from internet comments and the like being a newbie on-camera personality youtuber is probably worse if you're a girl than if you're a guy... probably a good reason to stick to things where it's a bit more likely that your content will define you rather than your personality, at least at first glance

Sigh. All these micro-level decisions that make perfect sense but result in macro-level bullshit.

Eh, I'd argue that personality is what you want to foster if you want to work for a site like giantbomb. I would argue that creeps only focusing on the women's looks are probably what turns most people away.

I remember carrie guoskos talking once about how the first thing a woman would be insulted about is their look/weight when it comes to video content.

 

[popo]

Every time this happens, I always see the excuse of "It's not everyone!"

Which, sure? I would bet not everyone is like that. It is an uncomfortably large number of people, though, and the ratio to the totality of Giant Bomb users and viewers is pretty irrelevant.

What would you suggest the majority does about this minority then? If you correct their ignorance you are just joining in the argument and prolonging it.

Also, what defines this GB community? Do you have to post on their forums to be tainted or are all fans of the site the "GB community". 'cause here you are posting in a GB fan thread. So what are you doing about people in your community?

Yeah me too.. I had no idea until I started reading this thread this morning that anything happened.

Well from their POV this means Rories moderation is working. If you can't stamp out the unpleasantness then you can at least confine it to the forums and stop casual visitors from being exposed to it on the front page level of the site.

 

[Patryn]

I'd be willing to bet the amount of bullshit you have to endure from internet comments and the like being a newbie on-camera personality youtuber is probably worse if you're a girl than if you're a guy... probably a good reason to stick to things where it's a bit more likely that your content will define you rather than your personality, at least at first glance

Sigh. All these micro-level decisions that make perfect sense but result in macro-level bullshit.

I wonder what this thread looks like in the alternate dimension in which they hired a woman. I'm guessing we'd be discussing the exact same topics, with the only difference being the groups who threw the first stone.

 

[Keyser Soze]

I really disagree with your stance that both "sides" are at fault in these situations. It feels like justification for stuff that shouldn't be tolerated. People on Twitter were criticizing a public entity. They may have done with a harsh tone at points, but there's nothing wrong with that. Anyone should be allowed to say "yo, that's shit because reasons!" at any time. That is the beauty of the Internet. In a similar manner anyone of justified in answering those criticisms with arguments and comments.

What should not be tolerated in reasonable places is the answering of such complaints with slurs and threats or reacting with extreme hostility and grossness to the mere presence of a woman on a podcast. No, it isn't the whole Giant Bomb community doing this, but anyone that is doing this shit doesn't belong on the site.

I don't understand how you can admit that a small part of one community can be toxic in how they deal with things, but refuse to believe a small part of another community could wrongly portray (in this case over aggressively) their side of the argument. It is not logical to think that one community could have a few bad eggs when the other community could not possibly have the same flaw to deal with

It is clear people on both ends of the argument have divergent opinion here, and I think that is okay, as everyone;s personalities and beliefs are different, But there is also people on both sides of the argument with much stronger versions of those opinion that feel a need to fight too hard to get their voice heard. It is when these too sections of the separate communities butt heads that causes the flare ups.

 

[psylah]

I wonder what this thread looks like in the alternate dimension in which they hired a woman. I'm guessing we'd be discussing the exact same topics, with the only difference being the groups who threw the first stone.

I'd tell you but I can't read chinese.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

What would you suggest the majority does about this minority then? If you correct their ignorance you are just joining in the argument and prolonging it.

Also, what defines this GB community? Do you have to post on their forums to be tainted or are all fans of the site the "GB community". 'cause here you are posting in a GB fan thread. So what are you doing about people in your community?

I am unsure what this has to do with my point of stating "Not all of us are like that" being a totally pointless defense. Saying "Let's talk about the ratio" in response to me stating the ratio is irrelevant doesn't seem like you meant to quote me.

 

[Atomic Edge]

I'd tell you but I can't read chinese.

Well no-one would care either way. Y'know because China a caring.

 

[TheBaronOfNA]

Pretty much. Just seems like a BS false equivalence to me. This whole episode of the GB community completely flipping their shit over a 10 minute segment vaguely related to inclusion reflects poorly on the GB community and no one else, plain and simple. Trying to paint it as another skirmish in the eternal struggle between S Jay Dubyas and the GB community while doing the the whole infuriating southpark thing of "`~*maaaaayyyyyybbbe both sides are wrong*~" is stupid.

I think that both sides are wrong even when in this case was the GB community pissing their pants for a 10-15 segment. The fact that people are already reasoning this as a part of why would not renew their subscription, even when is pretty clear there is a genuine concern of the GB to address their issues makes me wary of taking the route of "moral high ground".

 

[Jimmyfenix]

Well no-one would care either way. Y'know because China a caring.

I heard China Don't mind.

 

[popo]

I am unsure what this has to do with my point of stating "Not all of us are like that" being a totally pointless defense. Saying "Let's talk about the ratio" in response to me stating the ratio is irrelevant doesn't seem like you meant to quote me.

Well, if I understand your point, you are saying that it being a "small minority" is no excuse. Fair enough. However, if the whole community (which you could argue everyone here is part of) is equally to blame - how would you suggest we as a group deal with the unpleasant segment. Not as if any of us can moderate it.

 

[daydream]

We're all GB friends here, of course, but everyone knows our threads are secretly dance.gif collections, so here's one I pointed to last year but forgot to gif:

 

[Renpatsu]

What would you suggest the majority does about this minority then? If you correct their ignorance you are just joining in the argument and prolonging it.

I don't think this holds up. There have been plenty of examples within this thread and even in the comments themselves of rational points being raised and people coming to understand the flaws in their contentions. Sure, not an overriding majority, but enough to make a case for being proactive in discussions even when they might seem ugly at first.

 

[K.Sabot]

Just remembered this again, the picture of Alexis when he drunk stole the forklift is one of the best things.

You can see the impish glee on his face.

You say impish, I say horrifying.

 

[Jintor]

I'd tell you but I can't read chinese.

wait, in this reality did china conquer america pre-colonisation or as a result of the california-beijing anarcho-communist war of '87

 

[Ban Puncher]

Giant Bomb continues to entertain me about video games, I'll keep giving my money to Giant Bomb in ways of my own yearly subscription, gift subs to other people and merchandise.

The fact that people get so passionate about issues concerning the website, no matter your personal stance or which side of the fence you're on regarding a particular topic, is a testament to how good GB's shit is. Both sides of the extreme knee-jerking to every situation that arises doesn't establish a report nor endear themselves to the majority everyday user, scaring them away and effectively kills off starting a dialogue for civilised discussion on a matter. But as hard as it may seem to herd cats at times, nobody talking or giving a fuck about Giant Bomb in any way and it just existing as this grey, bland, husk of a site just going through the expected motions like some of their other contemporaries would be the worst for all. It's good that people care so much for this dumb site about dumb video games.

Giant Bomb can always be better. But everything isn't on fire either.


Except for these fat stacks. They are totally on fire.

 

[avengers23]

I wonder what this thread looks like in the alternate dimension in which they hired a woman. I'm guessing we'd be discussing the exact same topics, with the only difference being the groups who threw the first stone.

I was checking out Gamebomb.ru to see how the alternate Giant Bomb was doing, and it seems there's only one guy contributing content. See, alternate Giant Bomb isn't doing any better?

 

[Jimmyfenix]

I was checking out Gamebomb.ru to see how the alternate Giant Bomb was doing, and it seems there's only one guy contributing content. See, alternate Giant Bomb isn't doing any better?

How the mightiest have fallen.

 

[TheBaronOfNA]

I don't think this holds up. There have been plenty of examples within this thread and even in the comments themselves of rational points being raised and people coming to understand the flaws in their contentions. Sure, not an overriding majority, but enough to make a case for being proactive in discussions even when they might seem ugly at first.

I like to be proactive in discussions but there has been examples of people (the same that wants "discussion" ) express being tired of the same stuff over and over again even if the counter argument was rational. No exactly in this thread, but there nasty examples if name calling or even "take the joke as a champ" by people that are usually the first ones to decry the stuff.

 

[Fantastapotamus]

I'm just going to repeat this again: Hire people because of their personalities. Not because of their genders, sexual orientation or skin color. As long as people place such an importance on those things there can never be equality. If you hire somebody you shouldn't think off them as "the black woman" or "the gay white guy".
Actually that doesn't only apply to hiring. It basically applies to everything.

How the mightiest have fallen.

Fallen like the Sovjet Union! BOOOOM!

 

[popo]

I don't think this holds up. There have been plenty of examples within this thread and even in the comments themselves of rational points being raised and people coming to understand the flaws in their contentions. Sure, not an overriding majority, but enough to make a case for being proactive in discussions even when they might seem ugly at first.

Not on this thread. On the GB forums and specifically the comments section. Heavy moderation of both "sides", for want of a better term, suggests they do not want you arguing the point. Not in that venue at least.

There are totally two sides who will not let it go either. The "GB should hire a woman or a minority. White straight male sausage fest is disgusting and shameful" and "How dare you SJW scum tell my beloved siIe what to do and I happen to be one of those white straight men and I can't get a job and I am so angry about everything". Basically the "we want an equal share" vs "we already have a share and you are not taking it from us". Plus so many less extreme variants of both.

I will admit that most of the nasty abuse and threats seem to be on one side of the argument though. That might be down to just pure ignorance.

 

[erawsd]

.

 

[Scizzy]

Yeah, they should totally hire a woman for the sake of hiring a woman to meet some magical quota set on them by the internet.

Good job on progressing the feminist cause!

That "quota" you refer to is anything >0%. And to most people who want the site to hire a woman, it's not to advance a cause but because it would make the site better.

 

[ab.aeterno]

I'm not sure I entirely agree. Certainly, if you identify a specific case of "this person did this horrible thing, so he is a horrible person" and I use the "Well, not all of us are like that"... that is an useless statement. However, if you say "this person did this horrible thing, so all of you are horrible" then you have forced me into a defensive position where I must defend myself with the "Not all of us" argument.

Instead of defensively reframing the criticism as being about you (you being the global you) and others who aren't the problem, you can instead acknowledge the problematic people and condemn their words or actions, right?

"The Giant Bomb community is acting awfully."
"Well not all of us are, that's completely unfair to paint us all with a broad brush, it upsets me."

Vs.

"The Giant Bomb community is acting awfully."
"Yeah, some people are being assholes. I hope the rest of the community calls them out, we don't welcome that, and wish they'd leave. They're not welcome here."

These both impart that the larger community is not like this, but one does it without reframing the discussion about you (globally), and doesn't derail the discussion. One of those also better acknowledges the underlying issue as being an issue.

What would you suggest the majority does about this minority then? If you correct their ignorance you are just joining in the argument and prolonging it.

Also, what defines this GB community? Do you have to post on their forums to be tainted or are all fans of the site the "GB community". 'cause here you are posting in a GB fan thread. So what are you doing about people in your community?

Are you arguing people shouldn't be called out or corrected when they say something awful, ignorant, or discriminatory? Because the majority absolutely should do that if they don't want to implicitly allow it or have people think it represents them.

Personally, I'd consider myself in the community, and what I do is call out or question people who say awful things.

 

[Fantastapotamus]

That "quota" you refer to is anything >0%. And to most people who want the site to hire a woman, it's not to advance a cause but because it would make the site better.

Hiring "a woman" doesn't make the site better. Hiring Cara Ellison would make the site better. Hiring my neighbor probably wouldn't make the site better. Hiring a fun, intelligent person makes the site better, not hiring a gender.

 

[Myomoto]

"Feeding Dan" is such a good idea.

A 30 year old man who hasn't ever had a baked potato, and didn't taste onions until he was 25. I'm starting to believe Dan is actually not from Planet Earth.

 

[stump sock]

Massive disrespect towards Samantha for her views on Harvest Moon 64. That game is awesome.

I was about to swerve my car off the road when she said that until she said it was because it's so crummy, ugly, and kind of broken. because... it kind of is. it's definitely up there with "ugliest in the series."

When you get down to the nuances of the HM series is where it starts to show its quality but go back and try that thing. it's hideous.

A 30 year old man who hasn't ever had a baked potato, and didn't taste onions until he was 25. I'm starting to believe Dan is actually not from Planet Earth.

I always suspected he was slightly off from the GI days, but I feel like the profile that's emerging since joining GB is so much weirder than I ever expected.

Not knowing Africa was a part of WWII kind of pales next to not eating mustard, even by accident, until your late 20s.

 

[Scizzy]

Hiring "a woman" doesn't make the site better. Hiring Cara Ellison would make the site better. Hiring my neighbor probably wouldn't make the site better. Hiring a fun, intelligent person makes the site better, not hiring a gender.

Come on, I'm not asking them to hire your neighbor. I'm asking them to hire a fun, intelligent woman who knows about games (they exist!) as opposed to a fun, intelligent man who knows about games in order to inject more diversity into the site. It's not a complicated argument.

 

[Jintor]

friends of mineral town is the GOAT anyway