Commentary on GB Hiring

@spaceinsomniac said:

So she wrote some stuff that offends you, what does that matter? Do you only want a site that promotes opinions that you agree with? You don't have to be here and if you are, you don't even need to read everything that people write. You are free to disagree.

And Patrick's stance on sexism and gender is unimpeachable. He is an all around good guy.

I don't know the whole story, and I don't think I want to, but this is just infuriating all around. So what if they are white men. They're just hiring people. If a better candidate had applied who happens to be black or a female, I'm sure they would've gotten the job. Every time I see a group of white men working somewhere, I don't think "They're Racist and Sexist!" It's just people.

I'm sorry to all the GB staff that this happened. Everyone in the industry has been so sensitive over the past year about every little thing, but it's never really cut so close to home for me before. It's scary to think that you CAN'T do what you think is best for your website without someone jumping down your throat cause you didn't make the more culturally-sensitive decision.

Oh geez. I'm just glad the World Cup has been distracting me a lot lately.

As a big fan of this community this has left a real sour taste in my mouth. I hope people that think acting like that is acceptable in anyway learn this is not the place for them.

Could you imagine being really good at what you do and getting hired for your dream job, and then having an internet poop fest explode around whether or not you were only hired because you're a white male?

All I take away from this is that the whole fucking internet is just awful. Video game forums are making me hate video games. No wonder people like Jeff rarely actually post in even their own forums.

I think doing it server side would put quite an additional load on GBs servers, as every user would get its own set of posts in a thread or even created threads. But you could do it client side with javascript - just like AdBlock works. Should not be too much work for an experienced JS developer. That way almost nothing needs to change on the server configuration - less work for admins.

@oldirtybearon: I think I have an idea of how Rorie gets through it.

Yeah, they all have diverse opinions on the games and genres they like. Off the top of my head: Brad is the only one that likes MOBA's. Vinny cares a lot about stories in games. Jeff cares about gameplay and mechanics the most. Patrick likes horror games and a few other genres the other guys don't like. Alex is the only one that will touch a sports game.

Not sure what kind of radical differing opinions people are expecting about video games. Dan is pretty much the perfect choice for what they do and has a ton of experience with long videos and is a pretty funny dude. The whole goal is to make great video content and cover the games they want to, and it seems like these hires are perfect for that.

@tom_scherschel said:

You pretty much hit it on the nose man! I think will hopefully see thing from a level head, it seems like a lot of the stuff earlier today was raw emotions be thrown about it a most uncivil matter...

The sad fact is that GB screwed up and this whole thing will still be screwed up going forward.

First of all, there is the big catch-22: Any future hires MUST be women or non-whites, and to not do so is a guaranteed shitstorm. However, this means that the new hires will be in the unfortunate position of being seen as "tokens" who were hired simply to check off a line-item on a list. It will be grossly unfair to these future GB staffers, who are tomorrows victims of the poor hiring decisions GB made today.

Second, this hiring fiasco has pretty much ended Giant Bomb's "innocence". The site, staff, and community has just been thrown into a culture war that continues to be particularly nasty on the internet. Both sides of this flavor of the culture war have assholes who are always ready to drive the rhetoric to the bottom of the barrel. Nobody wins in an online social justice battle, and the genie cannot be put back in the bottle.

The implication has been made that Giant Bomb is run by a bunch of racist women-hating white dudes, and the community response (however small it is alleged to be) has done nothing but confirm this to outsiders not familiar with the GB staff. I personally don't agree that the staff are racist misogynists, but social justice-minded people already have a distrust of straight white males. When they see a staff comprised of nothing but white men, how can you blame them for thinking Giant Bomb is hostile to women and minorities? I sure as hell wouldn't know what to say to that. And I definitely would be too embarrassed to make my love for Giant Bomb known (let alone that I pay for premium).

I just hope that the fallout from this isn't so harsh that any of the existing GB staff gets fired. Hopefully after that, things will calm down enough so that when GB does make new hires, the bullshit they will likely get (for being "tokens") will be minimized.

However, as I said before- this genie cannot be put back in the bottle.

Here's the way I see it.

We started with Jeff, Ryan, Vinny and Brad. That's a pretty firm base right there, and it was proven by years of incredible content aided by a wealth of experience to back it up. Ryan died. To say absolutely nothing of the unfathomable tragedy of the situation, we were one core member down. Vinny had a child and, more than understandably, moved back to New York to raise his child near his family. We go one more core member down.

We're left with Jeff and Brad as the only "core members" left in San Francisco. It's easy to see Jeff's priority as re-establishing a base of experience and knowledge, rather than taking a risk, especially with so few "veterans" that Jeff was as comfortable with.

In my mind, Dan is almost designed to take the place of a new Ryan (it felt horrible to type that). An experienced co-host that can bounce off Jeff and serve as a constant, known quantity. With a base of Jeff, Dan and Brad, they can build off of that in the future with "riskier" hires, they've done it before, I mean years ago when we had our "core group" of 4 and a growing site, they hired Patrick. He was pretty fresh-faced compared to what we were used to, but he added a new flavour that, while met with opposition, was far from a safe choice.

I realise I may have been very blunt/morbid here (obviously Ryan's death was much more than just "one man down", it broke all of our hearts) but I just think maybe people are reading into this decision the wrong way.

All that being said, the bigger conversation this has triggered is an important one. I fully admit, I'm not well-versed enough on that topic to contribute to it, but on the subject of the new GB hires, I do see more than 1 side to the story, I just kinda wish more people did too.

No one is using "unimpeachable" correctly and its kind of bugging me. Well the guy using it sarcastically i guess. Patrick's stance on sexism and gender is constantly being criticized and questioned. Regardless if you think those criticisms or doubts are right or wrong, that means he's NOT unimpeachable on his stance on sexism and gender.

Sorry, it was bugging me! I didnt want to be that asshole who posts the definition of the word, i came REAL close though.

There's no way in hell someone gets fired over this. That would be the most ridiculous reaction to this situation I could imagine. I don't even know why you would think that might happen.

@plan6 said:

Normally I'd agree with you, but don't pretend like if someone had written that exact same blog about misogyny that we, as a community, would tolerate it. In fact, it'd probably be labeled "hate speech" and the offending user would be ostracized (and rightly so).

Me? I'm not big on censorship. I think everyone should be allowed to say what's on their mind so long as they aren't assholes about it. I'm of the opinion that as social creatures we need conflict in order to even understand our own opinions. Challenging views and in turn having our views challenged is the only way to really understand why we have them in the first place.

That tweet looked like troll bait from the start and that's exactly who bit. Pretty sad on both sides IMO

I guess giant bomb hit the big time! The site literally has like less than 10 people even with the new hires, i doubt they have time or energy to discriminate.

Looking forward to see what's next for giant bomb west, east and chicago.

big props to @rorie tonight btw. cant be easy to mod tonight.

sleep time for me.

Actually everyone is getting fired but Brad.

Did the chat have moderators? And if it did, were the muted messages muted for everybody? I imagine that having the mods see all comments (kind of like the deleted messages here, only without fucking up longer threads) would mitigate the passive-aggression.

Dan and Jason had jobs in a respected games media outlet before Giant Bomb, so whether or not they are qualified (which they sure are) or that this is their dream job is not part of the discussion. And no one should harass them for decisions beyond their control. But people are allowed to discuss the gender and racial imbalance in games media (and the world in general)

Today (yesterday) was a good day

The internet needs to stop being on fire

You could display that a thread contains blocked content and also how many posts or if they contain your name, but I get your point. Its very likely not an optimal solution - if it is a solution at all. I just felt the sudden urge to mute some people and at that time in my head it sounded like a good idea ;)

@hailinel: You know, it's days like today I just want to give Rorie a hug. Just a big, manly, bear hug. Something tells me the guy needs one.

I think that this exact attitude is a serious part of the problem we're encountering right now. You're viewing things in an extremely narrow, black and white manner. There are people who are right and people who are wrong, and since you're obviously right other opinions are dismissed as irrelevant. Even if you aren't being directly hateful this comes across as very arrogant and condescending.

I am very happy to have Dan and Jason on the site, and I'm eagerly looking forward to see the work they do. I also think that sexism and racism are without a doubt factors in every hiring situation, and moreso than usual in this one because of the kind of site this is. I want to talk about it, and I don't see the slightest reason I should go anywhere but the Giant Bomb forums to talk about what I expect and hope for from Giant Bomb.

@Rorie I've got nothing but respect for you and the way you've had to deal with all of this, but this tweet from Patrick is a bit hand-wavy to me. Regardless, I've got more thoughts on this.

In a lot of ways this hiring process is extremely disappointing to me, why? Because it's boring. Games journalism is a ridiculous revolving door of the same few people in already high profile positions. I'm sure Dan made great content at Game Informer, but with all of Jeff's talk of "shaking things up" and making "changes" at the site, hiring Dan doesn't seem to do anything to accomplish that goal. Dan's a guy with an established audience and voice at another large publication and shifting him here (although I'm sure he'll be great, I don't have anything against the new hires or staff, to be clear) is the most boring thing that could've happened from this process.

Additionally, the oft-mentioned "rolodex" problem, and other systemic issues have made me seek out unique voices such as Leigh Alexander or Cara Ellison. Those two at least are doing things different, they're shaking things up in the games journalism industry and having them move to a higher profile site would've helped add something besides the same old rote voices that have been in this industry forever.

I want to stress that this is systemic, and that Jeff and everyone are not bad people for hiring who they did, but the choice of "high-profile guy from another publication" disappoints me because I want more from Giant Bomb. Samantha Allen's tweet summed it up for me pretty well.

I only quote it because I too was hoping against hope that the new hires would be a real change to the site. I believe/believed in Giant Bomb; that they would be able to bring new and interesting voices to a large audience, but I was disappointed that the homogeneity of the site, and of games journalism in general would be maintained. I am disappointed because of how much I love this site and the content that it generates. I'm disappointed because I know that I can't continue to support a site that will talk the talk about changes and new and interesting things, but then continually fail to walk the walk when the time comes.

@Rorie et al I just want to say that I love you guys, and I hope you keep doing what you do, but that you also do better, and I can come back a while from now and be happy about the state of the site.

I think this is a big part of it. All of the theatrics surrounding the 'big reveal'-however entertaining at the time-seems to have backfired in a big way. It was nice of them to give people the chance to apply, but it seems like it was an all too common situation where they (as a business) were required to advertise an open position even if they already had someone they wanted to offer it to.

I'm sure there are issues worth talking about regarding all of this, but it really is a shame that it's going down the way it has.

She clearly hasn't helped her case with that kind of discourse.

Death threats and over the top insults are completely wrong and in no way an acceptable part of any discussion.

And while not on the same level, I think some of the remarks by certain women in the industry were misguided and overly antagonistic as well. It didn't come off as trying to start a discussion, but looking for outrage for the sake of outrage and shaming folks for no good reason. When the site has several women and minorities on their E3 podcasts and certain folks respond to that by bashing a lack of diversity and trying to organize boycotts, it makes me wonder if their goal is actually more diversity or if it is to try to stir up a controversy that doesn't really exist to make a bigger name for themselves. The same crowd sort of continued their passive aggressive remarks during the hiring process and it just sort of snowballed from there.

A fair amount of gross behavior from people on both sides. Not equally gross, but gross nonetheless.

@pr1mus said:

Completely agree with this. It would be nice to have the staff address this on the podcast or a video. I feel like at best they might give it a passing mention on the podcast, and that would be a shame.

Also @rorie, thanks for all your hard work. You're a great CM and you make me glad to be a part of this community, even if I'm mostly a lurker.

Agreed, I disagree with Patrick's general views on things like Quiet's outfit in Metal Gear Solid V, and that doesn't make me an harasser.

Jason and Dan are two cool folks who have been doing Giant Bomb-style content for awhile now. I like their senses of humor. And whatever video footage is going to happen with Paul Ryckert will be great.They have the experience they need to hit the ground running. And that's absolutely great.

All of the hateful sexist/transphobic abuse from earlier today is terrible, and I feel like that goes without saying. But I know these conversations get super heated, misunderstandings happen, and I don't want anyone to think, because of my opinions, that I'm condoning or supporting that at all. We can all disagree and get mad while being at least somewhat respectful. I respect other peoples' right and desire to give criticism about the hiring. But sometimes I feel the need to criticize that criticism.

At my core, I think getting mad because some people got a job is fucking rude, on a personal level. Across the board. I understand that some female writers are having a hard time finding full-time work in games journalism, and I understand that that's super frustrating, but getting pissed and screaming "MORE WHITE MEN?!" is something I just can't get behind. It's rude and disrespectful to Jason and Dan. A writer I respect said some really lame, childish, passive-agressive stuff on Twitter aimed directly at Giant Bomb staff. And that wasn't cool. I don't think that's the right way to react to this, especially when almost EVERY newcomer or relative unknown to games journalism has a hard time getting a permanent gig, regardless of gender or race or orientation. That's the current climate, and that's the way it's going to be for forever, probably.

But don't have a public fit because somebody got employed. It makes you look like an asshole. 0% of the hate speech aimed at the people who criticized the hiring was justified. Hate speech is never justified. I'm black. The shit affects me whether it's aimed at women, transgender people, gay people, or anyone. It was the internet showing its ugly face, and all of the criticism I'm aiming at the ones who criticized the hiring I also aim at those abusive jerks tenfold. But I still disagree with the criticism. Let's not be dicks in the name of stopping dickery.

@cabbagesensei: I didn't see any discussion about racial or gender imbalance. I saw some lady losing her shit on Twitter, and a bunch of people being really mean in reply to that. And then I saw Leigh Alexander saying shit like "Everything I write is more interesting than what they do at GB." and then deleting a majority of it. I saw almost no discussion about anything, to be honest. It was a battle fought entirely with shit posting.

I originally wrote this as a PM but fuck it ill put it here aswell:

Ive been following Giant Bomb from the very beginning, i have been a premium member since that was an option and i have consumed probably thousands of hours of Giant Bomb content.

The reason i was a premium member was because Giant Bomb was supposed to be different, that money was supposed to enable risk-taking and avoid the site from just taking the easy road.

I feel disappointed, even a little betrayed. Hiring 2 white dudes to a site that was already 100% white dudes is taking the easy road. A couple of months ago i went back to one of the older GDC casts, where there was lamenting that there were no women that could talk about sexism, calling for more diverse voices. But when there was a chance to add such a voice, the easy road was just too comfortable.

I dont think i will be reupping my premium membership.

Im not a forum guy, i only use twitter to follow, i generally dont like communicating by text, so this was super hard for me to write. I hope you understand that i did write this because i really love Giant Bomb. Or what i thought it was supposed to be at least. I hope you that you can prove in the future that having diverse voices is something you really care about; That taking the easy road is really not the Giant Bomb way.

Ugh, this stuff gives me a headache and reminds me why I mostly stick to videos content and avoid the forums and the chat. Can't people just be nice?

"All sides need to calm down." Meanwhile only one side is making rape threats or death threats. It's not enough to just say to these goddamn idiots "on the side of Giant Bomb" (notice the quotes I know they don't represent the opinions of the actual GB staff so try not to trip yourself NOTALLMENing me) to settle down.

Here are the actual sides to this argument:

1. People saying that Giant Bomb is staffed exclusively by white men (true) and that this is indicative of a lack of diversity of opinion.
2. People saying that group 1 should shut up and die and get raped

Group two is horrible and their opinion is worthless. And guess what, they do represent a portion of this community whether you like it or not. I don't feel bad for the guys who just got hired. They got a really nice job, but I don't see a lot of criticism of them directly, just of the decision to hire a couple more white guys. That's a reasonable critique. Yes, they're people outside of their classification as white or guys but this isn't really about THEM at this point.

Seriously, dude? You don't know the story but you don't want to because hiring white dudes isn't racist or sexist, it's just hiring people, and you're sure if there was a qualified ~female~ or ~black~ they would have been hired, because...because you are? And the most sobering part of all of this is not the woman being deluged with death threats and rape threats and misogynistic bile and bullied into silence because she dared to criticise a thing on the internet but that "you can't do what you think is best for your website" without someone saying a thing about it?

Also l-o-l at "culturally sensitive" and the bit about people being SO SENSITIVE OVER EVERY LITTLE THING UGH. Do you whine about political correctness when people call out racism and homophobia and stuff, too?

I just read what you linked and I feel nothing but compassion for the author.

@rorie "We do what we can to ban and moderate people who are awful on this site but today we have reached this point:"

But you are now throwing us under the bus by saying that "we" collectively reached a new low. Is there real proof that these came from actual giantbomb members and not people masquerading as them? There now is this weird perception out there that we are a toxic community. Coming from several different communities before, I had always heard strange stuff about the Giantbomb community that I later found out it wasn't true, but this stuff unfortunately perpetuates it.

My BIGGEST problem with this site is that Jeff, Alex, Patrick or Brad do not reach out to the forums themselves but we have to read this stuff on twitter. Do you guys even communicate with us anymore? Why does brad post more on NeoGAF than his on own forum? Why does Patrick take off after reading and replying only the first page of his articles? When I tag any of the crew in the forums, I never get any response. You are neglecting your forums and only choose to participate in them when something like this happens. I'm talking about all-round neglect with little on the forums regarding anything.

I can see how GiantBomb hiring two 30 something white dudes could throw some people off and even seem not very GiantBomb based on how the always seem to want to keep things fresh and diversify if that makes sense. But hey it's their call.

The thing that perhaps rubs me the wrong way about it, that I haven't really seen mentioned, is that even though they did a long public hiring, opening everything up it feels as if they knew who they wanted. Using the word sham is way too strong, but I just can't help but feel that they knew it was going to be 2 out of 4 or 5 dudes they already knew and wanted. So to always be mentioning how they were looking for new blood when really they were just waiting for 2 people they already knew to be free is something that sits wrong with me. Maybe I am way off on this and I really hope I am.

@trafalgarlaw: I meant "we" as in us, collectively, everyone involved in this discussion, not just the GB community. I don't doubt that the bulk of the truly awful tweets are either from members of other sites (I've seen plenty of threads elsewhere that would imply this), but I've also seen some shit on GB that has been absolutely unacceptable in the past.

I can't speak to the posting habits of other staff members.

It's been at least a decade since any of this occurred, so the details are all fuzzy, but from what I recall there were moderators, in fact. And I actually need to correct myself. I believe that the mute was actually performed by the aggressor so that he couldn't read what his target had to say, but his target could read all of his passive aggressive comments and insults. He had specifically filtered out his target's comments, but everyone else knew full well what he was saying and what he was up to. But the person engaging in the passive aggression was an entrenched member of the community and the moderators and other community members never stepped in to do anything about it until they had left it to boil for too long.

So here's the thing about Sam and Leigh and their angry, angry responses to what were (I'm sure) totally legitimate points:

1. If you are Leigh or Sam (or any woman on the internet with an Opinion), any time you express such, you get inundated with dudes (it is almost always dudes) telling you UM ACTUALLY and trying to, in essence, dismiss their concerns/opinions/emotions as Not True. It's vexing enough when it happens once, but imagine this happens basically every fucking day, with varying degrees of condescension. Your voice--your own personal experiences are blasted away in a tidal wave of NOT ALL MEN. Just try to imagine that. Try to think about how for your entire professional career, you have had your credentials as a "real gamer" questioned, you've had people poorly explain concepts to you because they are Men and Oh This Silly Woman Just Doesn't Get It, or, you know, you've just been called a filthy word, threatened with rape, or otherwise disparaged as a person.

2. Now add in all that Giant Bomb has attempted to do, and vocally stated that they want to do (especially Patrick, but everyone is pretty progressive), with regards to diversity and representation in gaming culture. So yes, maybe, if you are interested in seeing the institutionalized and structural sexism and racism that is, let's be brutally honest, a fact of life (and remember, yesterday the Supreme Court said it was okay for businesses to deny women birth control on their insurance plans (but it's cool, men can still get vasectomies and buy their boner pills), so there is a straight up example of how fucked up society still is when it comes to equality of the sexes) challenged by someone, anyone with a voice, you wanted to see Giant Bomb hire someone who didn't look more or less like everyone else on Giant Bomb because that would be a clear move by this progressive-minded company that they really were committed to bringing on new voices and ideas, spontaneity, etc. etc. Being a progressively-minded person, you are aware of the horrible shit that happens in the comments sections of a lot of Patrick's articles, anything Leigh Alexander has ever written about, a shocking amount of Cara Ellison's articles, etc. that has been virulent enough to drive people (such as Porpentine over at RPS, and I guess we can add Sam to this now too) into having to quit, because the harassment was so constant, so continuous, their health started to suffer. Imagine this is your entire life, and it would be huge to see a hire that looked like you (or if you're like me, looked nothing like you) because finally this site that has been on the forefront of so many positive trends in the industry is taking another step.

A wrestling simile: This is like seeing Daniel Bryan get a shot at the title. You really want this to happen. You are fucking tired of John Cena. You want to see the type of wrestling Daniel Bryan brings to the table, instead of the same old Cena moves (the fact that Cena is a shitty wrestler is not relevant to this simile).

3. The new hire is finally announced, and it's...a white dude. The motivation for hiring a white dude is not really important--nobody's being sexist overtly, but if you put it in the context I've outlined in point two, this is a pretty crushing blow. It's disappointing, because you got your hopes up again, and were denied again, because even if you didn't apply to the spot (True Fact: Sam didn't even apply to the job), you hoped someone like you applied, and hires at GB happen so rarely, and... fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. This is disappointing. You voice this opinion on Twitter, because that is what you do in the 21st century when you are angry and depressed and just need to get this little thing off your chest--it's shouting into the empty void, but in a way that people who follow you can also commiserate, or offer support, or make some jokes to improve your mood.

Returning to our wrestling simile: Bryan has the title for like a day and then they just give it back to Cena, because he is their moneymaker, and that is HORRIBLE. You quit watching wrestling for good.

4. Ah, but you are a Woman with an Opinion on the Internet, so here come a million men to tell you calmly, patiently, rationally, why you are wrong and your feelings don't matter. Lurking under the surface of these comments runs an undercurrent of "women! So emotional!" or "These feminists! Always up in arms about something!" So yes, your immediate reaction is to tell them to fuck off.

"But it's the Internet, and people should be prepared to debate on the Internet at all times, for some reason" they cry, "also something about free speech," they probably want to add. To which I reply, that Twitter is a fucking terrible place to try to have that kind of a conversation. There are forums, like this one, which have threads, like this one, where we can feel free to debate--with @rorie's frankly herculean efforts, we can mostly debate civilly--but someone letting some steam off on Twitter is not an appropriate time or place. If you see someone angry or sad on the street, you do not walk up to them and explain why they are wrong to feel the way they feel. That is being a dick--like, the definition of being a dick. Remember these are people on the other side of the line, and they may be hurting, and maybe it is best to just leave them be. Later, they might want to talk more about it--and then it's cool to have a debate. But in the heat of the moment? Keep it to yourself. Please.

So now you've done it, because you were disappointed and sad and angry and some asshole tried to dismiss your opinion and point of view (which is what society has done to women and minorities for like 300 years over here), and you lashed out, and so now the rape threats come in from a bunch of dudes who claim to be defending the very site you once had such hopes for. And, unfortunately, you go into the forums, or the Bombcast comments, and you see that yes, there do seem to be a lot of hateful people lurking around, opening up old wounds, and dismissing you as a SOCIAL JUSTICE FEMINAZI who, while you may not deserve to have those rape threats, were basically asking for it "like a person shouting the N word in Harlem" (sidebar: Jesus Christ, really?).

Wrapping this up with a very simple ending: Giant Bomb community, we got problems. We need to accept that, and work to change that. A great way to start changing that is to educate yourselves. I'm being 100% serious. Read some books (if you want to read a book that opened my eyes, at least, to how fucked up racism is (for starters), read Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. Written in 1952 and still, depressingly, on point), read the work of these people who make you feel uncomfortable or you feel are overreacting to perceived slights. Try to put yourself in their shoes. Try to understand what it is like to deal with the sort of intense hate and abuse and dismissal they deal with every day. We have to improve ourselves, because nobody's gonna do it for us. We have to try to fix these problems. I believe it's doable. I have faith that the community can grow stronger from this, and come out better than ever before. I think Giant Bomb as a whole is great. I cannot wait to watch the new guy's first quick look tomorrow, maybe when I'm supposed to be working.

Be kind, people. Be kind and consider that your opinion might be wrong, and if you are a white dude, confront the uncomfortable fact that you've had it easier than most--I grew up poor, but I never had the cops harass me, never got pulled into the principal's office even though I dressed in pants as baggy as the black kids, had a family who never got harassed by the police and a father who wasn't thrown in jail for some bullshit charge, had all manner of opportunities to better myself, and even at age 28 was able to use family friends to get a new job instead of languishing in unemployment, because my parents happened to be friends with a rich white guy who needed a new hire. My abilities and intelligence did a lot, but I had help, and not the sort of help I'm necessarily proud of. It's an uncomfortable feeling to realize that for all your trials, you still had it easy, but that's why I at least get vocal about this sort of thing--I want people who aren't me to have the same advantages I did. That's fair. That's being kind.

You can write this off as being small potatoes--this is a small operation, other corporations are knowingly racist and sexist instead of just being caught up in a system that makes it easy to not think about that sort of thing--but even small potatoes can feed someone. Gotta start somewhere.

I like this place and I want to see it change and grow into something amazing. Something better than it is (and it's pretty great already). That's all I've got to say.

I would never suggest Dan or Jason don't deserve the position or aren't cool dudes. That's not even my assessment to really make. I believe a female presence, or other perspectives brought from people with different racial, religious or sexual orientations would be a very welcome and I could argue necessary addition to the site!

Eh, I think this whole thing is stupid, from the stupid comments made on Twitter that started it, to the stupid people who think its ok to send death threats to people over saying stupid things. I feel bad for the GB staff because in no way do I think they made the hiring decisions out of a desire to exclude any group. Its also not ok to be presumptuous and assume that the hires are a political statement by Giant Bomb or CBSi. The whole thing is a huge shame, but I think a lot of people are overreacting about how bad this community is getting or that there needs to be some kind of crackdown. As long as you let absolutely anyone join the site, there will always be some bad dudes who decide to use it as a platform for their vitriol. This community, and I mean the good people who strive to be outstanding members and not the random agents of discord who decide to use this place to spread hate, will overcome this terrible series of events.

Says who?

The fact that they registered accounts on the site?

So the internet has caught up to Giant Bomb again. I think we are making too big of a deal over this. Shitbags did this. They do not represent our community, and I'm fairly sure that it goes without saying that we do not condone their actions, and yes, even find them despicable. If it doesn't go without saying, we're in deep waters. If it doesn't go without saying after the entire internet has said it here and on twitter, I don't know what to tell you.

We all knew that something along these lines was coming. No matter who and what they'd have hired, some form of shitbag or another would have risen up out of the murky depths of 4-chan, or what-have-you, to come dumping on our buffet. What I can't wrap my head around is why everyone is making such a big deal out of this. Sure, horrible things were said, but horrible things are being said every day. The only thing we're accomplishing by talking about this to this extent is putting these shitbags in the lime-light. Does it really not go without saying that we don't approve of this? Does it really have to spiral into a discussion about every general problem we have with the site?

What has Patrick's standpoint on feminism got to do with this? What has the many discussions on sexism, we've had on this site, got to do with this? What the hell has Ryan's passing got to do with this?

Here we are, shitbags tearing the site's reputation asunder, and folks go at each other in this here thread, giving them an unwilling hand in just making the damn situation worse. It's good that people are outraged over this, but they'll only end up turning that outrage against each other, it's exactly what's happening. The situation was bad enough, but man-oh-man, this aftermath. Right now we ought to be sticking together, and instead of trying to figure out why humanity has sunk oh-so-low, we should be migrating over to the thread where we all wish the hires welcome to the site. It has about a third of the posts this one does.

There certainly are valid arguements in this thread, good questions and interesting opinions on this whole show, but talking about it isn't going to accomplish anything. I'd personally suggest we let Rorie relax, and try to keep cool heads.