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[#MeToo] Comes To Gaming

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    OmnomnomPancakeOmnomnomPancake Registered User regular
    l
    Nuke the company from orbit. No video game is worth the cost in human wreckage paid for by such a horrible corporate culture! Fuck Ubisoft!

    Ubisoft has 18,000 employees around the world during a pandemic that is destroying jobs left and right. Could you clarify the term 'nuke', please?

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    PolaritiePolaritie Sleepy Registered User regular
    edited August 2020
    l
    Nuke the company from orbit. No video game is worth the cost in human wreckage paid for by such a horrible corporate culture! Fuck Ubisoft!

    Ubisoft has 18,000 employees around the world during a pandemic that is destroying jobs left and right. Could you clarify the term 'nuke', please?

    Yeah, generally speaking I feel the correct solution would be firing all the upper management (basically, take the people doing this, and purge the org chart from them up to the top). Collective punishment isn't appropriate.

    Polaritie on
    Steam: Polaritie
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    Johnny ChopsockyJohnny Chopsocky Scootaloo! We have to cook! Grillin' HaysenburgersRegistered User regular
    So, is For Honor currently the only Ubisoft game from the last 5 years not led by a raging gropey abusive shit-person?

    In any case, jesus christ what a shitshow Ubisoft management is.

    ygPIJ.gif
    Steam ID XBL: JohnnyChopsocky PSN:Stud_Beefpile WiiU:JohnnyChopsocky
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    yossarian_livesyossarian_lives Registered User regular
    l
    Nuke the company from orbit. No video game is worth the cost in human wreckage paid for by such a horrible corporate culture! Fuck Ubisoft!

    Ubisoft has 18,000 employees around the world during a pandemic that is destroying jobs left and right. Could you clarify the term 'nuke', please?
    I was being hyperbolic, but if you insist on being a goose I’ll humor you. Destroy the company, sell off the IP. Build new studios from the worthwhile personnel and blacklist everyone who works at a managment level. It’s painfully obvious that Ubisoft is utterly rotten and changing corporate culture is super fucking hard. So scorched earth is the most logical way of fixing things.

    "I see everything twice!"


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    FencingsaxFencingsax It is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understanding GNU Terry PratchettRegistered User regular
    So, is For Honor currently the only Ubisoft game from the last 5 years not led by a raging gropey abusive shit-person?

    In any case, jesus christ what a shitshow Ubisoft management is.

    I mean, I would hold on making that declarative statement just yet.

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    Johnny ChopsockyJohnny Chopsocky Scootaloo! We have to cook! Grillin' HaysenburgersRegistered User regular
    Fencingsax wrote: »
    So, is For Honor currently the only Ubisoft game from the last 5 years not led by a raging gropey abusive shit-person?

    In any case, jesus christ what a shitshow Ubisoft management is.

    I mean, I would hold on making that declarative statement just yet.

    That's why the question mark is there. I'm fully expecting for the curtain to be pulled back yet further to reveal yet another raging gropey abusive shit-person hurting people.

    ygPIJ.gif
    Steam ID XBL: JohnnyChopsocky PSN:Stud_Beefpile WiiU:JohnnyChopsocky
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    cloudeaglecloudeagle Registered User regular
    Fencingsax wrote: »
    So, is For Honor currently the only Ubisoft game from the last 5 years not led by a raging gropey abusive shit-person?

    In any case, jesus christ what a shitshow Ubisoft management is.

    I mean, I would hold on making that declarative statement just yet.

    That's why the question mark is there. I'm fully expecting for the curtain to be pulled back yet further to reveal yet another raging gropey abusive shit-person hurting people.

    So far there's nothing against Michel Ancel (the Rayman/Beyond Good and Evil Guy) or Davide Soliani (the guy who weeped with joy when his game, Mario + Rabbids, was revealed), or the XCOM guys.

    Switch: 3947-4890-9293
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    OmnomnomPancakeOmnomnomPancake Registered User regular
    edited August 2020
    l
    Nuke the company from orbit. No video game is worth the cost in human wreckage paid for by such a horrible corporate culture! Fuck Ubisoft!

    Ubisoft has 18,000 employees around the world during a pandemic that is destroying jobs left and right. Could you clarify the term 'nuke', please?
    I was being hyperbolic, but if you insist on being a goose I’ll humor you. Destroy the company, sell off the IP. Build new studios from the worthwhile personnel and blacklist everyone who works at a managment level. It’s painfully obvious that Ubisoft is utterly rotten and changing corporate culture is super fucking hard. So scorched earth is the most logical way of fixing things.

    I'm glad that asking for clarification on complex issues involving many factors leads to being called a 'goose'. When it comes to topics as fraught as this, I really don't appreciate that kind of hostility.

    Your clarification of the hyperbolic 'nuke', is replaced with 'scorched earth', with the idea of dismantling a billion dollar, publicly-traded company,just like that. That is next to impossible.

    Oh, and all these 18, 000 people across FORTY countries during the worst economic downturn in human history and a global pandemic? Oh, well all of you will go and make new studios! Sorry you lost your healthcare, maybe your significant other still has a job?

    Calling for vast amounts of jobs to be destroyed is knee-jerk, heartless and immensely cruel.

    OmnomnomPancake on
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    AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    How many companies have successfully survived a complete management purge and restructuring?

    I mean, I get you. It would be a hell of a thing for a AAA to die. And maybe this is a better argument for universal health care or other things that can free employees to leave a toxic work environment. Because "Think about the health insurance" doesn't outweigh "80 hour workweek crunch while your boss punches holes through the wall for fun."

    He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
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    Stabbity StyleStabbity Style He/Him | Warning: Mothership Reporting Kennewick, WARegistered User regular
    cloudeagle wrote: »
    Fencingsax wrote: »
    So, is For Honor currently the only Ubisoft game from the last 5 years not led by a raging gropey abusive shit-person?

    In any case, jesus christ what a shitshow Ubisoft management is.

    I mean, I would hold on making that declarative statement just yet.

    That's why the question mark is there. I'm fully expecting for the curtain to be pulled back yet further to reveal yet another raging gropey abusive shit-person hurting people.

    So far there's nothing against Michel Ancel (the Rayman/Beyond Good and Evil Guy) or Davide Soliani (the guy who weeped with joy when his game, Mario + Rabbids, was revealed), or the XCOM guys.

    XCOM is Firaxis/2K Games

    Stabbity_Style.png
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    yossarian_livesyossarian_lives Registered User regular
    l
    Nuke the company from orbit. No video game is worth the cost in human wreckage paid for by such a horrible corporate culture! Fuck Ubisoft!

    Ubisoft has 18,000 employees around the world during a pandemic that is destroying jobs left and right. Could you clarify the term 'nuke', please?
    I was being hyperbolic, but if you insist on being a goose I’ll humor you. Destroy the company, sell off the IP. Build new studios from the worthwhile personnel and blacklist everyone who works at a managment level. It’s painfully obvious that Ubisoft is utterly rotten and changing corporate culture is super fucking hard. So scorched earth is the most logical way of fixing things.

    I'm glad that asking for clarification on complex issues involving many factors leads to being called a 'goose'. When it comes to topics as fraught as this, I really don't appreciate that kind of hostility.

    Your clarification of the hyperbolic 'nuke', is replaced with 'scorched earth', with the idea of dismantling a billion dollar, publicly-traded company,just like that. That is next to impossible.

    Oh, and all these 18, 000 people across FORTY countries during the worst economic downturn in human history and a global pandemic? Oh, well all of you will go and make new studios! Sorry you lost your healthcare, maybe your significant other still has a job?

    Calling for vast amounts of jobs to be destroyed is knee-jerk, heartless and immensely cruel.
    Right, so you’re taking my posts way too seriously my dude. This is the internet and I’m expressing anger and disgust at a situation over which I have zero sway. I’m done with this conversation.

    "I see everything twice!"


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    durandal4532durandal4532 Registered User regular
    I'm for the dismantling of the games industry. It's like a horrible shadow of the rest of tech where you get way less pay and a ton more abuse because the product you're working on might wind up being neat. If it gets released.


    Not that it's actually possible, obviously. But I wish that people would stop trying to break into the games industry because it's a bad place to work and people deserve better.

    I guess the positive alternate of this is that I hope that unionization becomes a much stronger force and people get jobs that are okay. That Lovestruck union was a big surprise honestly, I hope it's the start of something larger. Also now I kind of want to buy those silly romance VNs.

    Take a moment to donate what you can to Critical Resistance and Black Lives Matter.
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    ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning And the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator mod
    None of this is on topic. Unless your post is about #MeToo or directly related, you should make it somewhere else.

    And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
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    CouscousCouscous Registered User regular
    edited August 2020
    Rocksteady has been accused of inaction on harassment.
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/18/games-firm-rocksteady-accused-of-lack-of-action-on-harassment
    More than half of the women employed at the London-based video game developer Rocksteady two years ago signed a letter to bosses accusing the studio of failing to prevent sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour in the office, the Guardian can reveal.

    The letter, dated November 2018 and signed by 10 of the company’s 16 female staff at the time, raised complaints about behaviour including “slurs regarding the transgendered community” and “discussing a woman in a derogatory or sexual manner with other colleagues”, and sexual harassment “in the form of unwanted advances, leering at parts of a woman’s body, and inappropriate comments in the office”.

    Since then it is claimed that the response has amounted to one training seminar, and that multiple signatories have left the company owing to the lack of action.

    One of the letter’s signatories, who asked to remain anonymous, said she had decided to share the letter with the Guardian because she felt people were still suffering from sexism, harassment and inappropriate behaviour at Rocksteady.

    They have now responded by a totally unsolicited letter that is not just a press release.



    If you believe Rocksteady, I have a bridge to sell you.

    Couscous on
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    CouscousCouscous Registered User regular
    The sole owner of Lab Zero Hames (Skull Girls and Indivisible) was accused of misconduct about a month ago.
    https://kotaku.com/multiple-people-accuse-skullgirls-developer-of-making-i-1844211683

    The situation at the developer got a lot worse since then.

    He fired all the members of the board and assumed full control over the company instead of leaving.

    Former developer:

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    PolaritiePolaritie Sleepy Registered User regular
    Well shit.

    Steam: Polaritie
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    PSN: AbEntropy
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    kimekime Queen of Blades Registered User regular
    Awwww. Indivisible was good

    Battle.net ID: kime#1822
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    ArcTangentArcTangent Registered User regular
    Apparently that guy gave his employees the ultimatum to quit by August 31st if they have any problems with him, and so... a bunch of them quit all at once, announcing it all on their own Twittter accounts with personal messages.

    a sampling

    ztrEPtD.gif
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    TicaldfjamTicaldfjam Snoqualmie, WARegistered User regular
    edited August 2020
    You know, I'm not one to judge. But it seems as a side effect, of Games, Comics now being accepted, a lot of these idiots don't know how to read the room and are like entitled Rock Stars.

    Not everybody In Tech and Gaming have the chops like Larry Ellison, to pull the "Suaveness" off. It's bad enough they they think they are entitled to women, because they look down and are intimated by Women who know their shit , just as much as they do, if not, a helluva lot better.

    Just , I just shake my head at the obliviousness of those jackassess running our hobbies and being abusive and downright disgusting to women In this profession.

    Ticaldfjam on
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    IncenjucarIncenjucar VChatter Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    Ticaldfjam wrote: »
    You know, I'm not one to judge. But it seems as a side effect, of Games, Comics now being accepted, a lot of these idiots don't know how to read the room and are like entitled Rock Stars.

    Not everybody In Tech and Gaming have the chops like Larry Ellison, to pull the "Suaveness" off. It's bad enough they they think they are entitled to women, because they look down and are intimated by Women who know their shit , just as much as they do, if not, a helluva lot better.

    Just , I just shake my head at the obliviousness of those jackassess running our hobbies and being abusive and downright disgusting to women In this profession.

    Zero of this is new. It's just harder to ignore because of the internet and because video games are bigger than movies now.

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    CouscousCouscous Registered User regular
    Ubisoft is still full of it.


    We hear you, due to timing constraints, we chose to release the video as a standalone message before our #UbiForward event, but we are working to ensure it will be available in full in the VOD versions of the show.
    Pretty sure that is a lie

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    shrykeshryke Member of the Beast Registered User regular
    What's UbiForward?

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    DrezDrez Registered User regular
    More like you be backward, Ubisoft.

    Switch: SW-7690-2320-9238Steam/PSN/Xbox: Drezdar
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    SteevLSteevL What can I do for you? Registered User regular
    shryke wrote: »
    What's UbiForward?

    Ubisoft's equivalent to a Nintendo Direct.

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    Hahnsoo1Hahnsoo1 Make Ready. We Hunt.Registered User regular
    shryke wrote: »
    What's UbiForward?
    Weren't they that British reggae pop band known for "Red Red Wine" and the cover of "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You" back in the 90s? :D

    8i1dt37buh2m.png
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    Linespider5Linespider5 ALL HAIL KING KILLMONGER Registered User regular
    Incenjucar wrote: »
    Ticaldfjam wrote: »
    You know, I'm not one to judge. But it seems as a side effect, of Games, Comics now being accepted, a lot of these idiots don't know how to read the room and are like entitled Rock Stars.

    Not everybody In Tech and Gaming have the chops like Larry Ellison, to pull the "Suaveness" off. It's bad enough they they think they are entitled to women, because they look down and are intimated by Women who know their shit , just as much as they do, if not, a helluva lot better.

    Just , I just shake my head at the obliviousness of those jackassess running our hobbies and being abusive and downright disgusting to women In this profession.

    Zero of this is new. It's just harder to ignore because of the internet and because video games are bigger than movies now.

    Yeah, there were certainly rockstar pretensions getting thrown around in the early 2000’s, usually involving certain visible figures from the PC gaming scene getting overly lauded in what was probably a premature attempt at legitimizing videogames as a mainstream art form by burnishing unique developers as auteurs on equal footing with the best in Hollywood. Had there been a robust social media element in play at the time, I am almost positive there would be tons of examples of this same shit going down with patterns of behavior established. It was such a perfect storm for it, it had to be happening.

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    cloudeaglecloudeagle Registered User regular
    More Ubisoft fun!

    Michel Ancel, the creator of Rayman and Beyond Good and Evil and an Ubisoft employee for 30 years, suddenly announced on Instagram he was leaving the video game industry to work at a wildlife sanctuary. Last week, French publication Liberation found out why. From Kotaku:
    The Libération report, which details the development hell the game has been in for seven years, shares accounts by Ubisoft employees who accuse Ancel of being so difficult to work with that other managers were eventually brought in to limit the number of people who had to interact with him. They also blame Ancel’s management of the project, which reportedly included constant changes in scope and re-works, for an unusual amount of exhaustion, depression, and burnout experienced by members of his team.

    ...

    One employee told Libération that they thought this broader reckoning within Ubisoft would force the issues with Ancel to finally be resolved. Instead, the paper reports that (CEO Yves) Guillemont reaffirmed by late August that Ancel’s presence was “non-negotiable.”

    Fun fact: his announcement he's quitting went live on the same day he had taken part in a multi-hour session to answer questions in the investigation into his behavior.

    So yeah, that company was all kinds of fucked up.

    Switch: 3947-4890-9293
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    ThegreatcowThegreatcow Lord of All Bacons Washington State - It's Wet up here innit? Registered User regular
    Christ they really aren't going to change are they? That is some total systemic rot infesting the company.

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    ForarForar #432 Toronto, Ontario, CanadaRegistered User regular
    Well that was an experience in expectations.

    In that the news being shared in this thread meant that finding out he was "merely" horrific to work with, but hadn't (yet been alleged to) sexually assault anyone kind of had me waiting for another shoe to drop.

    Not to minimize whatever awfulness was involved there, of course.

    First they came for the Muslims, and we said NOT TODAY, MOTHERFUCKER!
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    AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    Yeah. I thought I heard he was retiring. Good to know why, company still effin' sucks, but... I'm hoping no one got abused.

    He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
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    cloudeaglecloudeagle Registered User regular
    Christ they really aren't going to change are they? That is some total systemic rot infesting the company.

    Apparently he and the CEO are (were?) friends, so that explains it.

    Switch: 3947-4890-9293
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    FencingsaxFencingsax It is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understanding GNU Terry PratchettRegistered User regular
    Forar wrote: »
    Well that was an experience in expectations.

    In that the news being shared in this thread meant that finding out he was "merely" horrific to work with, but hadn't (yet been alleged to) sexually assault anyone kind of had me waiting for another shoe to drop.

    Not to minimize whatever awfulness was involved there, of course.

    I am not sure that the psychological damage of being that much of a piece of shit supervisor is all that much less.

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    ForarForar #432 Toronto, Ontario, CanadaRegistered User regular
    edited September 2020
    Fencingsax wrote: »
    Forar wrote: »
    Well that was an experience in expectations.

    In that the news being shared in this thread meant that finding out he was "merely" horrific to work with, but hadn't (yet been alleged to) sexually assault anyone kind of had me waiting for another shoe to drop.

    Not to minimize whatever awfulness was involved there, of course.

    I am not sure that the psychological damage of being that much of a piece of shit supervisor is all that much less.

    I can't imagine it'll at all be productive to walk a path figuring out how close or not to equal the trauma is, and I get that it's shared in the sense of 'woah, this company is fuuuuucked from top to bottom', but... it's the #MeToo thread.

    Hence expecting #MeToo content to show up.

    I'm not disappointed he hasn't (yet) been accused of a series of grotesque and violent assaults. Just noting how news in this thread kind of comes with an expectation.

    Forar on
    First they came for the Muslims, and we said NOT TODAY, MOTHERFUCKER!
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    Atlas in ChainsAtlas in Chains Registered User regular
    Everybody has had an asshole boss. It's not good, but at least there is some comfort in commiseration.

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    CouscousCouscous Registered User regular
    cloudeagle wrote: »
    More Ubisoft fun!

    Michel Ancel, the creator of Rayman and Beyond Good and Evil and an Ubisoft employee for 30 years, suddenly announced on Instagram he was leaving the video game industry to work at a wildlife sanctuary. Last week, French publication Liberation found out why. From Kotaku:
    The Libération report, which details the development hell the game has been in for seven years, shares accounts by Ubisoft employees who accuse Ancel of being so difficult to work with that other managers were eventually brought in to limit the number of people who had to interact with him. They also blame Ancel’s management of the project, which reportedly included constant changes in scope and re-works, for an unusual amount of exhaustion, depression, and burnout experienced by members of his team.

    ...

    One employee told Libération that they thought this broader reckoning within Ubisoft would force the issues with Ancel to finally be resolved. Instead, the paper reports that (CEO Yves) Guillemont reaffirmed by late August that Ancel’s presence was “non-negotiable.”

    Fun fact: his announcement he's quitting went live on the same day he had taken part in a multi-hour session to answer questions in the investigation into his behavior.

    So yeah, that company was all kinds of fucked up.

    Fake News
    Take few people with rage and jealousy and let them speak in the name of hundreds. Publish the news fast so that it combines with sexual harassment from other news at Ubi soft. I this serious? Is this what you expect from a national newspaper. I will fight for the truth because such accusations are a shame . I worked hard on every of my projects and always had respect for the teams. The accusations are wrong . 1- Toxic management : I am not managing the team. I bring a vision and producers and managers decide what to do , when and how. They are powerful people in the making of such a big projects. Why don’t the journalist speaks about them?
    Really sounds like "yeah, I did it."

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    RingoRingo He/Him a distinct lack of substanceRegistered User regular
    He declared Fake News so that means he wins

    Sterica wrote: »
    I know my last visit to my grandpa on his deathbed was to find out how the whole Nazi werewolf thing turned out.
    Edcrab's Exigency RPG
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    Linespider5Linespider5 ALL HAIL KING KILLMONGER Registered User regular
    Ancel’s track record has been rather dire for a while now. Much as I love most of Rayman, well...I think jusy about post Beyond Good and Evil I’m not sure he’s actually had a successful release of a major project.

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    knitdanknitdan In ur base Killin ur guysRegistered User regular
    It blows my mind how much companies buy into this myth that any one person is indispensable.

    Protip: If you are reorganizing things so multiple people don’t have to deal with a person directly, that is not a person who belongs on the payroll.

    “I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
    -Indiana Solo, runner of blades
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    AngelHedgieAngelHedgie Registered User regular
    knitdan wrote: »
    It blows my mind how much companies buy into this myth that any one person is indispensable.

    Protip: If you are reorganizing things so multiple people don’t have to deal with a person directly, that is not a person who belongs on the payroll.

    The "rockstar" mentality is massive in the tech world, and it brings with it so many poisonous things.

    XBL: Nox Aeternum / PSN: NoxAeternum / NN:NoxAeternum / Steam: noxaeternum
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    Martini_PhilosopherMartini_Philosopher Registered User regular
    knitdan wrote: »
    It blows my mind how much companies buy into this myth that any one person is indispensable.

    Protip: If you are reorganizing things so multiple people don’t have to deal with a person directly, that is not a person who belongs on the payroll.

    The "rockstar" mentality is massive in the tech world, and it brings with it so many poisonous things.

    Slashdot today had an article where the CEO of Netflix says his rockstars are worth ten times the normal employee.

    This is in direct opposition to multiple studies which have shown that a team with good communication and execution gets more done, are far more flexible, and stay with a company longer. So if you want to burn through money, get a diva programmer. If you want long term stable output and costs, make strong teams.

    All opinions are my own and in no way reflect that of my employer.
This discussion has been closed.