Many people are saying that they did treat Jessica too harshly. We have no insight how often she got a second chance. Maybe there were already three warnings and four trainings and two salary-cuts. I am quite sure Arenanet was well informed about Jessica's "Genius and Madness". The woman has a longer history. Look at her era at Paizo. Jessica is a challenging employee who can cause alot of damage if you are not careful and watchful enough.
This is a fair point, we have no idea of what passed between both of them and ArenaNet prior to this point. The problem is that it looks like social media is claiming scalps, yet again. It is the knee jerk reaction that looks bad, but that is part of the inherent problem with social media, it does not give space or time for rational debate and is depriving those who should have that space and time (here the company) of doing so.
I am not excusing her here or him for that matter (first I have heard of it), but we live in a society where medieval style mobs are stoning people with tweets until they "die", when will we wake up to this?
... So some guy made a fairly innocuous comment to her little Shitter post and she turned into a raging dickhead and got herself fired. Wow, smart. I hope she enjoys being unemployed because after this ridiculous shitstorm I doubt another company will risk hiring her.
Social media may indeed be a quagmire of scum and villainy, but it isn't the technology that's at fault. Its the angry egotistical jackhole that resides behind our own eyes that's to blame.
She will be employed again soon. I'm sure Bioware will snatch her up.
I'm not an IT Specialist, Game Developer, or Clairvoyant in real life, but like others on here, I play one on the internet.
This is an incredibly one sided article. The author even went as far to link the initial comments and attempt at discussion of Deroir (ANet partner, streamer, with his own NPC in game), but never bothered to post the incrediblyinflammatory and derogatoryremarksmade back at him and INKS (another ANet partner and content creator). Also, they never even mentioned that Deroir immediatelyapologized if she took offense; even that she didn't respond well to, however.
This article specifically stated that she made no mention of GW2 anywhere in her initial post, as well:
" ... as far as I’ve been able to read, none of the developer comments make specific reference to Guild Wars 2 ..."
However, it is blatantly obvious that she is referencing GW2, specifically the Living Story, as she mentions it in her thread. Furthermore, the initial thread posted by Jessica Price was a continuation of her Reddit AMA. Additionally, she has ArenaNet Narrative Team listed in her bio.
Regardless of how one-sided this article is, I don't know many places of employment where you can take to social media with your corporations name and position listed, publicly insult the customers, tell them you're not interested in their feedback/discussion (Peter Fries comments, since deleted), and call people sexist for making *incredibly* polite comments trying to start discussion and NOT get fired over it.
There is no doubt that this will have the impact of game companies starting to cut all communication with their clients by all member's of staff.
It's sad really, as gamers often ask why there is not more open communication between the company and the staff, why they won't talk with the masses or be more open, and this my dudes, is why.
There is nothing gained by someone that works for a company to slog it in the trenches with the masses, if they are going to risk losing their jobs for just being a normal person on their social media, if they always need to put on the professional face, then it's a work account, nothing more and will be treated as such.
Ergo, they are going to turn that off, close the doors, and cut all communication unless they are paid for their time.
So when anyone asks why a game company is not more open with them.. this is why.
Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.
There is no doubt that this will have the impact of game companies starting to cut all communication with their clients by all member's of staff.
It's sad really, as gamers often ask why there is not more open communication between the company and the staff, why they won't talk with the masses or be more open, and this my dudes, is why.
There is nothing gained by someone that works for a company to slog it in the trenches with the masses, if they are going to risk losing their jobs for just being a normal person on their social media, if they always need to put on the professional face, then it's a work account, nothing more and will be treated as such.
Ergo, they are going to turn that off, close the doors, and cut all communication unless they are paid for their time.
So when anyone asks why a game company is not more open with them.. this is why.
If this is the kind of interaction we can expect from developers, they might as well cut all communication with the community.
Not to mention that she is very clearly projects her position of authority within Anet to silence any kind of disagreement, regardless of how mild it is.
Mike O Brien is stupid and greedy, he was too afraid that some players might leave which very small number by the way that he sacked 2 of very good writers over stupid twitter comment, i saw everything and it was not as bad as some people make it out to be,and anyone with twitter account has right to put people they do not like on block, it is very very personal, non of company business,she is not their slave and she has to do exactly as company says inside and outside of work place, if you ask your staff to change their personal life to suit company demands, then that company is corrupt, in this case anet, losing 2 good developers is more damaging because it will effect quality of the game, terrible decision by Mike O Brien.
One day communications with fans on social media will only be allowed through A.I. like Watson, Cortana, Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant. All will be politically correct and perfect white knights for the companies they represent. Mark my words, it's the future.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
Your stance is a bit of a dangerous mindset. Circumstances matter, reasons for outrage matter, you can't just look at the result and be like, nope that's wrong.
As for your opinion, I disagree, it is a good precedent. It shows you can't be a terrible human being and not face consequence. She is the person who harmed developer/community relations not the other way round.
We'll have to agree to disagree. I don't think the consequences fit the type of offense (without knowing things like if this writer had been warned previously, or other actions had been taken behind the scenes prior to this... stuff like that - it's being presented as community backlash = firing) but still, these weren't official company channels of communication we're talking about here. This is personal communication. I disagree with firing people over things like this.
To the "you can't be a terrible human being and not face consequence" thing... I think consequences should match the offense. I don't think there was a Fire-worthy offense here. Some people argued on social media on the internet! (this would be different if it was on their official forums and the person was acting in an official capacity as a community relations person, but no, this was on social media)... wow! nothing to see here, move along. Seriously.
The consequences for being a terrible human being should be reaping the results they expect to see done unfairly to others. People are rarely fair in their punishments (even in the legal system that is set up to do that), so I'd rather leave it up to a different source. This isn't the place for that discussion, though.
As to the harming of the developer/community: I don't hold the developer responsible for an individual's personal comments. If you do, there's a problem there, IMO. It might be different if it were the CEO or someone in a position where their opinion and mindset were carried through to the rest of the company and decisions made, so by supporting the company I was also supporting that mindset... but this doesn't fall anywhere near that line.
If I held everyone to this standard, I wouldn't be able to shop many places... few companies would have a good standing in my books. Oh, and everyone who voiced an opinion that offended someone would get them fired from whatever job they had... what a wonderful world being suggested here.
Can we go demand the local Supermarket fire a grocery bagger if they made an offensive post on social media? What is the line? Is it just the size of the backlash, the number of people involved or how offended people are (or which group is offended)? And why does this have to link back to their job at all? It makes NO SENSE to me.
My conclusion: this firing based on community backlash is unwarranted especially if it was only the result of mob mentality. (even if the person made stupid, offensive, and unpopular comments)
Edit: partially figued out partial quoting, I think...
There is no doubt that this will have the impact of game companies starting to cut all communication with their clients by all member's of staff.
It's sad really, as gamers often ask why there is not more open communication between the company and the staff, why they won't talk with the masses or be more open, and this my dudes, is why.
There is nothing gained by someone that works for a company to slog it in the trenches with the masses, if they are going to risk losing their jobs for just being a normal person on their social media, if they always need to put on the professional face, then it's a work account, nothing more and will be treated as such.
Ergo, they are going to turn that off, close the doors, and cut all communication unless they are paid for their time.
So when anyone asks why a game company is not more open with them.. this is why.
The problem with your logic is that she wasn't being a normal person on social media, she was being a strait up asshole. There's a distinct difference.
She wanted to be just a "normal person", with a dissenting opinion and a callous attitude towards fans, but when you're in the public eye, your public interactions reflect the company by extension, even when you aren't working there.
We've seen this a lot more recently, now that a great deal of people live and advertise what they do in their private lives online. One of the reasons I specifically don't do that.
More importantly content creators and streamers make their living or at least some extra money primarily through entertainment means, and pushing the envelope or creating, being the center of, or facilitating drama doesn't effect them in the same ways, and in many cases can be complementary.
I'm not saying thats what content creators were doing, I'm just saying that it's a losing battle for a "normal" person to give an amount of time to overly harsh critics or people that cause them personal anxiety or whatever it is. What is clear is that if you work for a company, and you're representing them, even in an unofficial capacity, and chatting about "the industry" or the game in general, you don't get to be the person you wish others would see, or the person who is "fed up" with being a target.
There is no doubt that this will have the impact of game companies starting to cut all communication with their clients by all member's of staff.
It's sad really, as gamers often ask why there is not more open communication between the company and the staff, why they won't talk with the masses or be more open, and this my dudes, is why.
There is nothing gained by someone that works for a company to slog it in the trenches with the masses, if they are going to risk losing their jobs for just being a normal person on their social media, if they always need to put on the professional face, then it's a work account, nothing more and will be treated as such.
Ergo, they are going to turn that off, close the doors, and cut all communication unless they are paid for their time.
So when anyone asks why a game company is not more open with them.. this is why.
If this is the kind of interaction we can expect from developers, they might as well cut all communication with the community.
Make no mistake, you will get what you ask for.
I mean, really no one wants to always have to put on their professional face, and no one wants to risk their job over a twitter line or face book post or anything like that.
Keep in mind, the people that have the restraint to be always polite or professional, they also have the common sense and restraint to turn off their social media, or, make it private and keep their circle small.
Now to be clear, I am not saying Anet did the wrong thing, I am not saying that Jessica Price wasn't rude, what I am saying is that no one else will want to risk their job over some social media outlet they don't get paid to use.
Also, lets get real, dealing with the game public is not easy, even for PR people, they go home and get away from their job of dealing with the masses, and no doubt the devs will do the same.
So, this will have a ripple effect, at the very least, in Arena Net, where it was personal and close to home that people got fired for what they said on Social Media, to have everyone really reconsider how much they want to risk their job.
Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.
I'm sure she was warned about that and was on a short leash. In that case her firing makes sense. she just has no self control and shouldn't use Twitter
There is no doubt that this will have the impact of game companies starting to cut all communication with their clients by all member's of staff.
It's sad really, as gamers often ask why there is not more open communication between the company and the staff, why they won't talk with the masses or be more open, and this my dudes, is why.
There is nothing gained by someone that works for a company to slog it in the trenches with the masses, if they are going to risk losing their jobs for just being a normal person on their social media, if they always need to put on the professional face, then it's a work account, nothing more and will be treated as such.
Ergo, they are going to turn that off, close the doors, and cut all communication unless they are paid for their time.
So when anyone asks why a game company is not more open with them.. this is why.
The problem with your logic is that she wasn't being a normal person on social media, she was being a strait up asshole. There's a distinct difference.
Everyone is an Opinionated Asshole and it's just a matter of what triggers them. Which just makes people want to hide their "real selves" if they are going to be fired for expressing their legit feels on a subject matter they may be very passionate about.
If you were expecting some sanitized professional response from someone on what should be their personal social outlet, then it's just an attempt to keep people stuck at work, all the time, forever, and, lets get real, no one wants that.
If that means, to put their hair down and be themselves, they will need to make alt-accounts that have no relation to their professional life, or simply shut off communication, and make their settings private and their circle small, and let the PR people deal with the masses, they will gladly do that.
Keep in mind, it's only getting worse for them to be open with the masses as it's too much a risk and no reward for them at this point.
And no one, no matter how.. "normal" .. they might be.. wants to take the risk losing their job over playing on twitter. And the few that would.. are going to be real characters..
Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.
One day communications with fans on social media will only be allowed through A.I. like Watson, Cortana, Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant. All will be politically correct and perfect white knights for the companies they represent. Mark my words, it's the future.
Maybe it will be, we will look back at a time when professionals treated social media like it was an anonymous forum site and wonder what on earth was going on?
One day communications with fans on social media will only be allowed through A.I. like Watson, Cortana, Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant. All will be politically correct and perfect white knights for the companies they represent. Mark my words, it's the future.
And the internet will find ways to make them all assholes too.
There is no doubt that this will have the impact of game companies starting to cut all communication with their clients by all member's of staff.
It's sad really, as gamers often ask why there is not more open communication between the company and the staff, why they won't talk with the masses or be more open, and this my dudes, is why.
There is nothing gained by someone that works for a company to slog it in the trenches with the masses, if they are going to risk losing their jobs for just being a normal person on their social media, if they always need to put on the professional face, then it's a work account, nothing more and will be treated as such.
Ergo, they are going to turn that off, close the doors, and cut all communication unless they are paid for their time.
So when anyone asks why a game company is not more open with them.. this is why.
The problem with your logic is that she wasn't being a normal person on social media, she was being a strait up asshole. There's a distinct difference.
Everyone is an Opinionated Asshole and it's just a matter of what triggers them. Which just makes people want to hide their "real selves" if they are going to be fired for expressing their legit feels on a subject matter they may be very passionate about.
If you were expecting some sanitized professional response from someone on what should be their personal social outlet, then it's just an attempt to keep people stuck at work, all the time, forever, and, lets get real, no one wants that.
If that means, to put their hair down and be themselves, they will need to make alt-accounts that have no relation to their professional life, or simply shut off communication, and make their settings private and their circle small, and let the PR people deal with the masses, they will gladly do that.
Keep in mind, it's only getting worse for them to be open with the masses as it's too much a risk and no reward for them at this point.
And no one, no matter how.. "normal" .. they might be.. wants to take the risk losing their job over playing on twitter. And the few that would.. are going to be real characters..
I totally understand what you're saying.
In my mind, when you're raging at fans of your own online game on a Twitter page that has your real name, job title, and employer's name on the bio, its the equivalent of going into work and yelling at customers with your name badge still on.
Actions have consequences.
It's HR/PR 101 at most jobs now that they tell you to remove your badge when leaving work, and to act in a responsible and civil manner befitting of the company when you *are* wearing your badge, no matter where you're at. Its even more common now to sign documents regarding social media interactions with customers; I fully expect this was the case with Arenanet.
I was not expecting Price and Fries to be fired over this incident, however, that leads me to believe that this may not have been a first-time incident (especially not in Price's case, given her history). I do think it is a shame that two people lost their jobs over this, and am quite disgusted at the ensuing celebration of their termination. Though, I do think MO/ANet made a good decision in regards to timing and swiftness of the resolution.
There is no doubt that this will have the impact of game companies starting to cut all communication with their clients by all member's of staff.
It's sad really, as gamers often ask why there is not more open communication between the company and the staff, why they won't talk with the masses or be more open, and this my dudes, is why.
There is nothing gained by someone that works for a company to slog it in the trenches with the masses, if they are going to risk losing their jobs for just being a normal person on their social media, if they always need to put on the professional face, then it's a work account, nothing more and will be treated as such.
Ergo, they are going to turn that off, close the doors, and cut all communication unless they are paid for their time.
So when anyone asks why a game company is not more open with them.. this is why.
The problem with your logic is that she wasn't being a normal person on social media, she was being a strait up asshole. There's a distinct difference.
Everyone is an Opinionated Asshole and it's just a matter of what triggers them. Which just makes people want to hide their "real selves" if they are going to be fired for expressing their legit feels on a subject matter they may be very passionate about.
If you were expecting some sanitized professional response from someone on what should be their personal social outlet, then it's just an attempt to keep people stuck at work, all the time, forever, and, lets get real, no one wants that.
If that means, to put their hair down and be themselves, they will need to make alt-accounts that have no relation to their professional life, or simply shut off communication, and make their settings private and their circle small, and let the PR people deal with the masses, they will gladly do that.
Keep in mind, it's only getting worse for them to be open with the masses as it's too much a risk and no reward for them at this point.
And no one, no matter how.. "normal" .. they might be.. wants to take the risk losing their job over playing on twitter. And the few that would.. are going to be real characters..
I totally understand what you're saying.
In my mind, when you're raging at fans of your own online game on a Twitter page that has your real name, job title, and employer's name on the bio, its the equivalent of going into work and yelling at customers with your name badge still on.
Actions have consequences.
It's HR/PR 101 at most jobs now that they tell you to remove your badge when leaving work, and to act in a responsible and civil manner befitting of the company when you *are* wearing your badge, no matter where you're at. Its even more common now to sign documents regarding social media interactions with customers; I fully expect this was the case with Arenanet.
I was not expecting Price and Fries to be fired over this incident, however, that leads me to believe that this may not have been a first-time incident (especially not in Price's case, given her history). I do think it is a shame that two people lost their jobs over this, and am quite disgusted at the ensuing celebration of their termination. Though, I do think MO/ANet made a good decision in regards to timing and swiftness of the resolution.
Yes.. you take a risk when you mention where you work on social media.
That is the whole point.. gamers will learn swiftly that more and more Industry professionals will not feel it is worth the risk, and no matter how they go about it, this will have the effect of curtailing communication.
No one wants to lose their job just to express an opinion or have feelings on a subject matter.
Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.
There is no doubt that this will have the impact of game companies starting to cut all communication with their clients by all member's of staff.
It's sad really, as gamers often ask why there is not more open communication between the company and the staff, why they won't talk with the masses or be more open, and this my dudes, is why.
There is nothing gained by someone that works for a company to slog it in the trenches with the masses, if they are going to risk losing their jobs for just being a normal person on their social media, if they always need to put on the professional face, then it's a work account, nothing more and will be treated as such.
Ergo, they are going to turn that off, close the doors, and cut all communication unless they are paid for their time.
So when anyone asks why a game company is not more open with them.. this is why.
The problem with your logic is that she wasn't being a normal person on social media, she was being a strait up asshole. There's a distinct difference.
Everyone is an Opinionated Asshole and it's just a matter of what triggers them. Which just makes people want to hide their "real selves" if they are going to be fired for expressing their legit feels on a subject matter they may be very passionate about.
If you were expecting some sanitized professional response from someone on what should be their personal social outlet, then it's just an attempt to keep people stuck at work, all the time, forever, and, lets get real, no one wants that.
If that means, to put their hair down and be themselves, they will need to make alt-accounts that have no relation to their professional life, or simply shut off communication, and make their settings private and their circle small, and let the PR people deal with the masses, they will gladly do that.
Keep in mind, it's only getting worse for them to be open with the masses as it's too much a risk and no reward for them at this point.
And no one, no matter how.. "normal" .. they might be.. wants to take the risk losing their job over playing on twitter. And the few that would.. are going to be real characters..
I totally understand what you're saying.
In my mind, when you're raging at fans of your own online game on a Twitter page that has your real name, job title, and employer's name on the bio, its the equivalent of going into work and yelling at customers with your name badge still on.
Actions have consequences.
It's HR/PR 101 at most jobs now that they tell you to remove your badge when leaving work, and to act in a responsible and civil manner befitting of the company when you *are* wearing your badge, no matter where you're at. Its even more common now to sign documents regarding social media interactions with customers; I fully expect this was the case with Arenanet.
I was not expecting Price and Fries to be fired over this incident, however, that leads me to believe that this may not have been a first-time incident (especially not in Price's case, given her history). I do think it is a shame that two people lost their jobs over this, and am quite disgusted at the ensuing celebration of their termination. Though, I do think MO/ANet made a good decision in regards to timing and swiftness of the resolution.
Yes.. you take a risk when you mention where you work on social media.
That is the whole point.. gamers will learn swiftly that more and more Industry professionals will not feel it is worth the risk, and no matter how they go about it, this will have the effect of curtailing communication.
No one wants to lose their job just to express an opinion or have feelings on a subject matter.
Also, to address your original point about developers no longer wanting to interact with their fans on their free time/social media ... This also concerned me. However, Matthew is a narrative designer at ANet and he says they have no intention of not interacting with their player base via social media.
Whether her actions deserved it or not...This is Mob mentality at it's finest. Aren't court systems the result of trying to limit this in real life? There is no innocent until proven guilty on the internet. It's just the court of public opinion. Wonder how long, or even if, some type of protection will ever happen on the Internet. I don't use social media, have no Facebook profile.
Absolutely this...anonymous trolls with no consequences, say what they like ..and nobody can come back at them, they are all over the 'Net and really DON'T need a good reason to flame or insult anyone..sometimes specifically because they know the target is female or perhaps of another race than themselves. The internet can be a fetid sewer sometimes.
There is no doubt that this will have the impact of game companies starting to cut all communication with their clients by all member's of staff.
It's sad really, as gamers often ask why there is not more open communication between the company and the staff, why they won't talk with the masses or be more open, and this my dudes, is why.
There is nothing gained by someone that works for a company to slog it in the trenches with the masses, if they are going to risk losing their jobs for just being a normal person on their social media, if they always need to put on the professional face, then it's a work account, nothing more and will be treated as such.
Ergo, they are going to turn that off, close the doors, and cut all communication unless they are paid for their time.
So when anyone asks why a game company is not more open with them.. this is why.
The problem with your logic is that she wasn't being a normal person on social media, she was being a strait up asshole. There's a distinct difference.
Everyone is an Opinionated Asshole and it's just a matter of what triggers them. Which just makes people want to hide their "real selves" if they are going to be fired for expressing their legit feels on a subject matter they may be very passionate about.
If you were expecting some sanitized professional response from someone on what should be their personal social outlet, then it's just an attempt to keep people stuck at work, all the time, forever, and, lets get real, no one wants that.
If that means, to put their hair down and be themselves, they will need to make alt-accounts that have no relation to their professional life, or simply shut off communication, and make their settings private and their circle small, and let the PR people deal with the masses, they will gladly do that.
Keep in mind, it's only getting worse for them to be open with the masses as it's too much a risk and no reward for them at this point.
And no one, no matter how.. "normal" .. they might be.. wants to take the risk losing their job over playing on twitter. And the few that would.. are going to be real characters..
I totally understand what you're saying.
In my mind, when you're raging at fans of your own online game on a Twitter page that has your real name, job title, and employer's name on the bio, its the equivalent of going into work and yelling at customers with your name badge still on.
Actions have consequences.
It's HR/PR 101 at most jobs now that they tell you to remove your badge when leaving work, and to act in a responsible and civil manner befitting of the company when you *are* wearing your badge, no matter where you're at. Its even more common now to sign documents regarding social media interactions with customers; I fully expect this was the case with Arenanet.
I was not expecting Price and Fries to be fired over this incident, however, that leads me to believe that this may not have been a first-time incident (especially not in Price's case, given her history). I do think it is a shame that two people lost their jobs over this, and am quite disgusted at the ensuing celebration of their termination. Though, I do think MO/ANet made a good decision in regards to timing and swiftness of the resolution.
Yes.. you take a risk when you mention where you work on social media.
That is the whole point.. gamers will learn swiftly that more and more Industry professionals will not feel it is worth the risk, and no matter how they go about it, this will have the effect of curtailing communication.
No one wants to lose their job just to express an opinion or have feelings on a subject matter.
Also, to address your original point about developers no longer wanting to interact with their fans on their free time/social media ... This also concerned me. However, Matthew is a narrative designer at ANet and he says they have no intention of not interacting with their player base via social media.
No.. he is only talking about himself, he does not speak for anyone but himself, nor does he address any of the insecurities that other staff may have.
Also, we have no idea if this is his personal account, or just a "work account" that he uses.
I mean, I am just a gamer, and I have a twitter account that I use for gaming, that uses my "Main Character" that I played back in EQ as my Personal Identity, and another Twitter that has my real name that I use to talk about my dog and shit.
Just like I do the same thing for Facebook.. and never will the two meet or mention each other.
Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.
I'm not sure how one posts their opinion on social media but expects no commentary on it from anyone. Whether you like it or not, posting on social media is akin to getting up on a podium and announcing your opinion to everyone that can view your profile. There were folks trying to tell others they shouldn't respond to her with their own opinions or reactions, but why? She clearly posted it for everyone to read.
If you want to post your opinion without anyone being able to respond to you where you post it, start your own blog website.
I must say I am disappointed by this article and the one sided misinformation contained within it. I will pick out this part from the article above "as far as I’ve been able to read, none of the developer comments make specific reference to Guild Wars 2, rather they make more general reference to general job roles, skills and experience."
I will then reference a quote from the long thread which Jessica originally posted to start the initial discussion "Specifically in GW2, in the Living World, we can write the Commander with a bit of wry exasperation, a hint of impatience, a touch of "okay, I'm done fooling around with this crap and I'm going to take charge," but most of their lines have to be pretty devoid of personality."
She then goes to specifically talk about the commander in GW2 more than once. I fail to see how you never noticed that she did infact mention/reference GW2 multiple times in her original post before defending her actions. If you are going to hold a public discussion as her profile is open to the public rather than private. Then go on to discuss things happening in the game your currently working on then you have zero reasons to complain on the outcome when you are literally telling people to f* off.
It's not as if Inks or Deroir said anything to warrant the responses given, she should have politely disagreed and/or blocked them if she was that offended. When dealing with Joe Public and working for a company you are still representing that company when discussing their matters in a public forum. For me I applaud the actions of Mike as it could not have been an easy decision to make as he could bury his head in the sand and let the situation fester or nip it in the bud and try and repair any damage done. For me I feel he made the right decision as ignoring the issue was not going to make it go away and only going to make matters worse for the company.
There is no doubt that this will have the impact of game companies starting to cut all communication with their clients by all member's of staff.
It's sad really, as gamers often ask why there is not more open communication between the company and the staff, why they won't talk with the masses or be more open, and this my dudes, is why.
There is nothing gained by someone that works for a company to slog it in the trenches with the masses, if they are going to risk losing their jobs for just being a normal person on their social media, if they always need to put on the professional face, then it's a work account, nothing more and will be treated as such.
Ergo, they are going to turn that off, close the doors, and cut all communication unless they are paid for their time.
So when anyone asks why a game company is not more open with them.. this is why.
The problem with your logic is that she wasn't being a normal person on social media, she was being a strait up asshole. There's a distinct difference.
Everyone is an Opinionated Asshole and it's just a matter of what triggers them. Which just makes people want to hide their "real selves" if they are going to be fired for expressing their legit feels on a subject matter they may be very passionate about.
If you were expecting some sanitized professional response from someone on what should be their personal social outlet, then it's just an attempt to keep people stuck at work, all the time, forever, and, lets get real, no one wants that.
If that means, to put their hair down and be themselves, they will need to make alt-accounts that have no relation to their professional life, or simply shut off communication, and make their settings private and their circle small, and let the PR people deal with the masses, they will gladly do that.
Keep in mind, it's only getting worse for them to be open with the masses as it's too much a risk and no reward for them at this point.
And no one, no matter how.. "normal" .. they might be.. wants to take the risk losing their job over playing on twitter. And the few that would.. are going to be real characters..
I totally understand what you're saying.
In my mind, when you're raging at fans of your own online game on a Twitter page that has your real name, job title, and employer's name on the bio, its the equivalent of going into work and yelling at customers with your name badge still on.
Actions have consequences.
It's HR/PR 101 at most jobs now that they tell you to remove your badge when leaving work, and to act in a responsible and civil manner befitting of the company when you *are* wearing your badge, no matter where you're at. Its even more common now to sign documents regarding social media interactions with customers; I fully expect this was the case with Arenanet.
I was not expecting Price and Fries to be fired over this incident, however, that leads me to believe that this may not have been a first-time incident (especially not in Price's case, given her history). I do think it is a shame that two people lost their jobs over this, and am quite disgusted at the ensuing celebration of their termination. Though, I do think MO/ANet made a good decision in regards to timing and swiftness of the resolution.
Yes.. you take a risk when you mention where you work on social media.
That is the whole point.. gamers will learn swiftly that more and more Industry professionals will not feel it is worth the risk, and no matter how they go about it, this will have the effect of curtailing communication.
No one wants to lose their job just to express an opinion or have feelings on a subject matter.
Also, to address your original point about developers no longer wanting to interact with their fans on their free time/social media ... This also concerned me. However, Matthew is a narrative designer at ANet and he says they have no intention of not interacting with their player base via social media.
No.. he is only talking about himself, he does not speak for anyone but himself, nor does he address any of the insecurities that other staff may have.
Also, we have no idea if this is his personal account, or just a "work account" that he uses.
I mean, I am just a gamer, and I have a twitter account that I use for gaming, that uses my "Main Character" that I played back in EQ as my Personal Identity, and another Twitter that has my real name that I use to talk about my dog and shit.
Just like I do the same thing for Facebook.. and never will the two meet or mention each other.
Please re read my post and the linked tweet. He does use the word "our fans" in his message, implying that he may be speaking for one or more developers who currently interact with the fanbase. While it isn't a direct response from ANet, assuming they won't interact with the playerbase anymore in the face of no evidence is less likely than assuming they will continue to interact with evidence.
It clearly lists his real name, his position at ANet, and says he will continue to interact as he has in the past. Who cares if it is his professional or personal account? He's entitled to interact with the fanbase however he chooses.
Comments
This is a fair point, we have no idea of what passed between both of them and ArenaNet prior to this point. The problem is that it looks like social media is claiming scalps, yet again. It is the knee jerk reaction that looks bad, but that is part of the inherent problem with social media, it does not give space or time for rational debate and is depriving those who should have that space and time (here the company) of doing so.
I am not excusing her here or him for that matter (first I have heard of it), but we live in a society where medieval style mobs are stoning people with tweets until they "die", when will we wake up to this?
Gut Out!
What, me worry?
She will be employed again soon. I'm sure Bioware will snatch her up.
I'm not an IT Specialist, Game Developer, or Clairvoyant in real life, but like others on here, I play one on the internet.
This article specifically stated that she made no mention of GW2 anywhere in her initial post, as well:
" ... as far as I’ve been able to read, none of the developer comments make specific reference to Guild Wars 2 ..."
However, it is blatantly obvious that she is referencing GW2, specifically the Living Story, as she mentions it in her thread. Furthermore, the initial thread posted by Jessica Price was a continuation of her Reddit AMA. Additionally, she has ArenaNet Narrative Team listed in her bio.
It's sad really, as gamers often ask why there is not more open communication between the company and the staff, why they won't talk with the masses or be more open, and this my dudes, is why.
There is nothing gained by someone that works for a company to slog it in the trenches with the masses, if they are going to risk losing their jobs for just being a normal person on their social media, if they always need to put on the professional face, then it's a work account, nothing more and will be treated as such.
Ergo, they are going to turn that off, close the doors, and cut all communication unless they are paid for their time.
So when anyone asks why a game company is not more open with them.. this is why.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
We'll have to agree to disagree. I don't think the consequences fit the type of offense (without knowing things like if this writer had been warned previously, or other actions had been taken behind the scenes prior to this... stuff like that - it's being presented as community backlash = firing) but still, these weren't official company channels of communication we're talking about here. This is personal communication. I disagree with firing people over things like this.
To the "you can't be a terrible human being and not face consequence" thing... I think consequences should match the offense. I don't think there was a Fire-worthy offense here. Some people argued on social media on the internet! (this would be different if it was on their official forums and the person was acting in an official capacity as a community relations person, but no, this was on social media)... wow! nothing to see here, move along. Seriously.
The consequences for being a terrible human being should be reaping the results they expect to see done unfairly to others. People are rarely fair in their punishments (even in the legal system that is set up to do that), so I'd rather leave it up to a different source. This isn't the place for that discussion, though.
As to the harming of the developer/community: I don't hold the developer responsible for an individual's personal comments. If you do, there's a problem there, IMO. It might be different if it were the CEO or someone in a position where their opinion and mindset were carried through to the rest of the company and decisions made, so by supporting the company I was also supporting that mindset... but this doesn't fall anywhere near that line.
If I held everyone to this standard, I wouldn't be able to shop many places... few companies would have a good standing in my books. Oh, and everyone who voiced an opinion that offended someone would get them fired from whatever job they had... what a wonderful world being suggested here.
Can we go demand the local Supermarket fire a grocery bagger if they made an offensive post on social media? What is the line? Is it just the size of the backlash, the number of people involved or how offended people are (or which group is offended)? And why does this have to link back to their job at all? It makes NO SENSE to me.
My conclusion: this firing based on community backlash is unwarranted especially if it was only the result of mob mentality. (even if the person made stupid, offensive, and unpopular comments)
Edit: partially figued out partial quoting, I think...
Mend and Defend
We've seen this a lot more recently, now that a great deal of people live and advertise what they do in their private lives online. One of the reasons I specifically don't do that.
More importantly content creators and streamers make their living or at least some extra money primarily through entertainment means, and pushing the envelope or creating, being the center of, or facilitating drama doesn't effect them in the same ways, and in many cases can be complementary.
I'm not saying thats what content creators were doing, I'm just saying that it's a losing battle for a "normal" person to give an amount of time to overly harsh critics or people that cause them personal anxiety or whatever it is. What is clear is that if you work for a company, and you're representing them, even in an unofficial capacity, and chatting about "the industry" or the game in general, you don't get to be the person you wish others would see, or the person who is "fed up" with being a target.
It sucks, but that's what it is these days.
I mean, really no one wants to always have to put on their professional face, and no one wants to risk their job over a twitter line or face book post or anything like that.
Keep in mind, the people that have the restraint to be always polite or professional, they also have the common sense and restraint to turn off their social media, or, make it private and keep their circle small.
Now to be clear, I am not saying Anet did the wrong thing, I am not saying that Jessica Price wasn't rude, what I am saying is that no one else will want to risk their job over some social media outlet they don't get paid to use.
Also, lets get real, dealing with the game public is not easy, even for PR people, they go home and get away from their job of dealing with the masses, and no doubt the devs will do the same.
So, this will have a ripple effect, at the very least, in Arena Net, where it was personal and close to home that people got fired for what they said on Social Media, to have everyone really reconsider how much they want to risk their job.
I'm sure she was warned about that and was on a short leash. In that case her firing makes sense. she just has no self control and shouldn't use Twitter
Everyone is an Opinionated Asshole and it's just a matter of what triggers them. Which just makes people want to hide their "real selves" if they are going to be fired for expressing their legit feels on a subject matter they may be very passionate about.
If you were expecting some sanitized professional response from someone on what should be their personal social outlet, then it's just an attempt to keep people stuck at work, all the time, forever, and, lets get real, no one wants that.
If that means, to put their hair down and be themselves, they will need to make alt-accounts that have no relation to their professional life, or simply shut off communication, and make their settings private and their circle small, and let the PR people deal with the masses, they will gladly do that.
Keep in mind, it's only getting worse for them to be open with the masses as it's too much a risk and no reward for them at this point.
And no one, no matter how.. "normal" .. they might be.. wants to take the risk losing their job over playing on twitter. And the few that would.. are going to be real characters..
That is the whole point.. gamers will learn swiftly that more and more Industry professionals will not feel it is worth the risk, and no matter how they go about it, this will have the effect of curtailing communication.
No one wants to lose their job just to express an opinion or have feelings on a subject matter.
Absolutely this...anonymous trolls with no consequences, say what they like ..and nobody can come back at them, they are all over the 'Net and really DON'T need a good reason to flame or insult anyone..sometimes specifically because they know the target is female or perhaps of another race than themselves. The internet can be a fetid sewer sometimes.
Also, we have no idea if this is his personal account, or just a "work account" that he uses.
I mean, I am just a gamer, and I have a twitter account that I use for gaming, that uses my "Main Character" that I played back in EQ as my Personal Identity, and another Twitter that has my real name that I use to talk about my dog and shit.
Just like I do the same thing for Facebook.. and never will the two meet or mention each other.
If you want to post your opinion without anyone being able to respond to you where you post it, start your own blog website.
I will then reference a quote from the long thread which Jessica originally posted to start the initial discussion "Specifically in GW2, in the Living World, we can write the Commander with a bit of wry exasperation, a hint of impatience, a touch of "okay, I'm done fooling around with this crap and I'm going to take charge," but most of their lines have to be pretty devoid of personality."
She then goes to specifically talk about the commander in GW2 more than once. I fail to see how you never noticed that she did infact mention/reference GW2 multiple times in her original post before defending her actions. If you are going to hold a public discussion as her profile is open to the public rather than private. Then go on to discuss things happening in the game your currently working on then you have zero reasons to complain on the outcome when you are literally telling people to f* off.
It's not as if Inks or Deroir said anything to warrant the responses given, she should have politely disagreed and/or blocked them if she was that offended. When dealing with Joe Public and working for a company you are still representing that company when discussing their matters in a public forum. For me I applaud the actions of Mike as it could not have been an easy decision to make as he could bury his head in the sand and let the situation fester or nip it in the bud and try and repair any damage done. For me I feel he made the right decision as ignoring the issue was not going to make it go away and only going to make matters worse for the company.