Jar Time w/ Jeff: Jars - 07/10/2014

Jars!

Is this a pun on Cars?

Jeff uses male Siri?!

Big Jeffrey in da house.

Siri, pick up the pepper grinder!

Does Jeff actually address the criticism he received from people like Jeff Cannata for hiring two more white guys, thereby missing an opportunity for Giant Bomb to "get better"?

An address from our dear leader.

That's either not a Jars pun or the best Jars pun.

OUR LIEGE HAS RETURNED!

Here in my Jar, I feel safest of all

So many Jars in so little time! This Jar comeback is something I can get behind.

Bars?

How would it help Giant Bomb get better? Was hiring two white guys a disgusting act or something? I don't understand why people care, could someone tell me?

Edit: Apparently I'm able to 'Moderate' my own comment, probably a bug...

Jars!?

I like how dark this video is. It is easy on the eyes.

While I agree with your rhetorical questions, having Jeff answer them publicly (how unnecessary or logical it might seem to some people) might help giving the critics a clear insight on how GiantBomb positions itself towards these 'issues'. Won't hurt and might help some see different angles towards the topic.

@hammondoftexas: Every time I see your profile image I wanna put a link down to the Yeehaw video!

@jonkrag: You're in luck, check my profile on here or on Steam for the link!

big jeffery's jar emporium!

JAR!?

@curufinwe: I can't imagine a world where Giant Bomb got better in which they didn't hire Dan Ryckert right now. He was the right person for the job, full stop.

@amyggen: Maybe Jaws.

As much as I would have liked to hear Jeff address last week's events, the Jar Time videos are really too informal a venue for that discussion.

I didn't get the pun before I read the description.

Wait, have we somehow reached a point where Jeff's run out of jar puns? That would be really jarring.

Also time to finally relax, people.

So that's what his "let's talk" article was all about? Wow.

Well a couple thoughts on this:

1.) Does CBS Interaction have an Affirmative Action Plan? Many companies do. Why? The government doesn't do business with you if you don't. Somehow I don't see CBS Interactive worried about shutting themselves out of government contracts. But still, they may have an AAP anyway. Why is this significant? Because all hiring manager receive training on AA and it's going to have an influence when they hire.

2.) You hire the right people for the job, AAP or not. When it comes right down to it you reach out into the hiring pool and to pluck out the person you need. You don't bias yourself for or against minorities or genders. It's that simple.

I believe AAP or not, Giantbomb likely hired who they thought were right for the job. That simple. If you feel they did not, how can you possibly know or prove that?

I suspect he believes either his Letter from the Editor covered it well enough & that's that, or that it's too soon to bring up without causing another firestorm. Would answering them do more good than harm if it just incites another 2 days of insults & death threats?

They've already said that they're working on some changes to how aspects of the site such as the forums are run. I suspect that when they have a solid plan in place that they'll talk about how the changes they make will impact the site.

that makes me sad to see people go oh i have a phone EO is better than any crap on the phone and many games on 3ds better than phone

Thanks @jeff - I'll be playing some Mat Mania tonight!

yea Dan is a terrific member of the group, seamless chemistry with the group.

The only way that GB could get better would be if they hired a carbon copy Vinny clone

@jeff I believe in that book Console Wars they explain that the created the sub brands (by buying other publishers) so that they could get past the maximum 2 games per year limit.

The more people say this, the more desperate and defensive it sounds.

That's a really weird opinion dude. This last couple of weeks have been, to me personally, the most fun I've had on the site in more than a year. I'm not being desperate or defensive, I'm expressing my joy at the flood of funny and enthusiastic content.

I guess people just see what they want to see. Oh well.

Now Jars 2, that was some bad shit.

@hailinel said:

This.

GB will/should talk about the things that GB can control, which revolves around how the site itself is run and what kind of talk it allows among the community on the site.

What we're at now is, essentially, people wanting Jeff to come out and justify hiring two clearly qualified candidates who are already successfully performing the jobs for which they were hired. The successful execution of those jobs is the only justification that was needed, and that's already been done.

There is nothing left to talk about except the hurt feelings of people who had no part in the hiring process, and what authority do any of the GB guys have on that?

Dan's enthusiasm for like everything he's been in so far has had an infectious effect on (IMO) the staff and me. Dude is a delight to listen to.

It's really funny watching now how quickly the new hires have fit in and how well they are doing in their roles.

Jeff's comment on interns is interesting. I work for a company that manufactures electronic components, and they would rather get 4 interns to do engineering work than hire one or two experienced employees because it's cheaper.

Step 1: Convince the average person that he is useless without an education.

Step 2: Tell recent graduates that what they learned in college is not applicable in the real world.

Step 3: Hire them as underpaid interns with no benefits instead of employees.

Step 4: Profit (for the business)!

Yeah, I'm going to have to agree. I don't really understand how it comes off desperate or defensive; just really excited like I am.

As far as Jeff addressing the criticism about hiring two white men, how can anything he say help without sounding trite or patronizing at best and downright insulting at worst, after everything that happened? GB can talk about the site and community moving forward, but I don't get the point of dishing out the hiring details unless we want to know the details for details sake. Frankly, it's not my business.

What happened was disappointing -- I would have loved to see Cara Ellison, honestly -- but no one technically did anything wrong. As far as I'm concerned, Jeff (or anyone else involved) doesn't have to explain the whys.

The real world is a shitty place to live.

But yeah, that's how it usually works. I fully understand Jeff's view though, with such a small team. It wouldn't be good for anyone if all the interns did was going out to get food etc. (or maybe it would look good on their resumes, but still).

@iamnotbatman: People tried to get Cannata to explain why he thought hiring females or non-white males instead of Dan and Jason necessarily meant GB would "get better" but his explanations didn't make much sense to me.

Jar time videos are one of my favourite things on GB. I hope they are more frequent!

@pudge: You're right about the first part. I was distracted watching a baseball game and wrote something down without paying attention. I edited out.

As far as the second point, it's an opinion. I was disappointed with the choice at first. Others were disappointed. But the rest of that post mentioned that none of that really mattered and the new hires have turned out fine.

Sorry I tried to agree with you in the first sentence and moved on to what others were saying in the comments?

@wjb: Yeah, sorry. I get a bit riled up when these things come up. My bad.