[ad_1]
"No one in Arenanet is safe from Reddit's hand, we're literally running the company, they're scared of the users they're looking for … When a developer comes out in line or trying to answer a player, guess what, they'll know we've got their hands on their throats and we can squeeze every time we like. "
This is part of a longer post on Reddit who became viral after Guild Wars 2 narrative designer Jessica Price was fired She sent a series of tweets in response to a YouTuber, Deroir, who worked closely with developer ArenaNet. A colleague of Price, writer Peter Fries, was also referred for tweets supporting it. ArenaNet president, Mike O. Brien, issued a statement on the Guild Wars 2 forums stating that "two of our employees did not meet our standards of communication with players. "
O & # 39; Brien states: actively dangerous; It takes literal bad faith arguments made by online wronged people who may or may not be players. "Their attacks on the community were unacceptable," wrote O & # 39; Brien about Fries and Price. "As a result, they are no longer with the company."
This is not an accurate statement, and the precedent that it sets is a bad one for the game. Fans and developers bristling each other on social media is a common fact of the game But what makes this situation so unique is the inability of O 'Brien to act as an adult.
It was fine until it happened to the management
It may be a controversial thing to say right away, but the original tweet of Deroir did not go anywhere. was not overtly offensive. Players who think they know more than what they actually do about development are common, and the belief is not always rooted in sexism. But Deroir's lack of empathy for what has happened throughout this controversy is remarkable, as is his claim that he is a feminist . For it to be more than a word in a tweet, he should have understood how his tweet stood out, and from where Price's anger came.
Price's response to his tweet was more aggressive than the situation required, but Deroir's tweet did not exist in a vacuum. Price's anger is the result of a long history of men in the game trying to explain women's jobs in development for them, and makes sense in this context. Although Deroir may not have been the worst example of this trend, his tweet does indeed exist in the proud tradition of male gamers who talk to the women who make their games. Price's answer makes perfect sense in this context, and it's the kind of social media event that's not considered outrageous in 2018.
So you have a deaf player and an exhausted developer who called a fan a "rando asshat". The problem was then seized by some of the toxic communities in the games that exist as GamerGate's remnants, because women who do not talk to players with a sufficient amount of loyalty make tempting targets. None of this is particularly new in the game, and none of this is unexpected.
Leaders would examine the situation, defuse rhetoric, and perhaps put in place a stronger social media policy. But O & # 39; Brien did not want to direct; he wanted to please the crowd, and he did it in the worst way by pulling Price. He went into a gaming situation and poured gasoline on a fire that was never as big to start.
Whether O & # 39; Brien wanted it or not, he helped perpetuate an ideology located at the center of an endless battle. In his opinion, Price, who spoke at length about dealing with people in his Twitter mentions telling him how to do his job, was indebted to the community of Guild Wars 2 and was at the mercy of itsanger. And so was he. Instead of using this kerfuffle as an opportunity to update ArenaNet's social media guidelines, he gave the keenest what they wanted, and reinforced the idea that the indignation of dishonest players not only has a place at the table, but before .
That is why so many developers, including Price, have expressed frustration and concern over a large company like ArenaNet that reacts to popular outrage rather than supporting their employees in the long run. Price says to Polygon:
In 2018, it is absurd to pretend to ignore what would happen to a woman dismissed for talking about sexism, because she feels that she has too much baseness. He painted a target on everyone's back. He did not just fail Peter and me, or even the employees he was responsible for. He has failed the entire industry.
He gave in to a handful of people and an army of bots and sock puppets, "she added." Now, he has almost every female developer I know – as well as some men – furious against him. I have recruiters who sting me by promising that they will divert the candidates from ArenaNet, and the game design teachers say that they will warn their students. I've also had a lot of ArenaNet colleagues and other industry colleagues who contacted me to express how scared they were.
ArenaNet actions against two employees – one who did not use vulgar language in a tweet to defend a colleague – creates a dangerous precedent. These tactics continue because they work . The race for OW Brien rewarded the worst behavior in the game, while doing nothing to help the situation that was actually placed before him. He did not just fail his employees; O & # 39; Brien has given the most toxic fans in the game a reason to feel good about their actions, and more motivation to continue targeted harassment against anyone who does not agree with them. The Star Wars director: The Last Jedi recently tweeted about how he finds these scenarios:
I'm still amazed that not many people know about Gamergate. This is not only the key to understanding so many violent harassment campaigns taking place today, it is the same people who get upset about the same things using the same game book.
– Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) July 9, 2018 [19659018] "I am always amazed that few people know Gamergate", Johnson tweeted . "This is not just the key to understanding so many violent harassment campaigns taking place today, it's the same people angry at the same stuff using the same booklet."
Adrienne Massanari, associate professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago with a focus on GamerGate, told Polygon that the right of fans is wrapped in a number of problems, and gave birth to the idea that fans are due developers time.
"The idea [is] that fans have somehow right to these relationships with developers," said Massanari. "They think they understand the complexity of this work and, depending on the people involved, they may or may not respect these limitations. It becomes an overwhelming snowball. "
Massanari said that there is a real problem that affects the relationship between fans and companies." The fact that people are celebrating the end of their careers, said Massanari, demonstrates once again to how much this relationship has become tense.Prix losing his job can soothe the crowd, and may let ArenaNet feel like he has taken appropriate action, but Massanari said that questions need to be asked about what it really does for the Game culture in general
"This means that now people will no longer want to engage with fans on Twitter," said Massanari. "Why would people want to talk to someone? But at some level, they must have these social media presences, and be contactable. But that proves that people can be punished if you are a woman and talk about an area of your expertise. It's so predictable in some way, and that's what makes me so angry.
In fact, Price told Polygon that she had never been reprimanded by the company for its use of social media.
"It was said during my interview and my subsequent job interviews that ArenaNet respected my willingness to talk about problems in the industry and had no desire to muzzle me, "said Price. "During my time there, I had no warning about my use of social media, all I said on Twitter was what I had been saying for years and how I was saying it. said. "
Price does not mention whether this included a controversial tweet about the death of a game reviewer and an apologist for GamerGate. "TotalBiscuit" Bath. Price however reiterated that none of his tweets were reported by ArenaNet management, and this specific tweet, raised by the crowd after his dismissal in order to paint Price in a negative light , seems to have nothing to do with the
ArenaNet's decision to fire two developers because of a few frustrated tweets is a harsh reminder that some companies may still be intimidated by organized gangs even four years after to have learned how disgruntled players offended women
. ] O & # 39; Brien is perfectly right as president of ArenaNet to disagree with Price's tweet. He could have used the incident to explore social media standards for employees, standards that Price said he did not know when he was fired. Price could have received an official warning, and the company could have excused himself. None of this has happened. The price and fries were just dropped. Here is the message that he sent to people on Reddit, according to one commentator:
"We can probably dismiss anybody in the development team GW2 as long as we make a stink big enough. "
I will keep trying, and it will not stop at ArenaNet. O & # 39; Brien sent his own message with this shot: Keep the indignation, it's more effective than compassion and leadership.
[ad_2]
Source link
