I got a contract once where the contract said I would agree to not be a Computer Technician at any other company for a year after I left their employ... I think that place was run by a giant dumbass though, so I guess it isn't common.
I know this is a few pages back, but I don't believe that non-compete is actually enforceable. Generally, courts side with the employee if the non-compete prevents you from doing what you know how to do, and thus earn a living. In this case, I seriously doubt that Jeff couldn't take a job elsewhere.
Honestly, to get the best out of 1up, you've got to start listening to their podcasts/watch their show. They're at their best when in a group. I think they're great because they're willing to call bullshit on each other.
I trust 1up the most out of the vg websites (although I don't agree with everything they say) but it's mostly because of 1up Yours.
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ViscountalphaThe pen is mightier than the swordhttp://youtu.be/G_sBOsh-vyIRegistered Userregular
I got a contract once where the contract said I would agree to not be a Computer Technician at any other company for a year after I left their employ... I think that place was run by a giant dumbass though, so I guess it isn't common.
How could they enforce that? Its not like you go out of your way to say "oh hi! I'm working at a competitor now"
I got a contract once where the contract said I would agree to not be a Computer Technician at any other company for a year after I left their employ... I think that place was run by a giant dumbass though, so I guess it isn't common.
How could they enforce that? Its not like you go out of your way to say "oh hi! I'm working at a competitor now"
It's a pretty common clause in contracts... and it's mainly to prevent you from moving to a direct competitor, and taking your clients with you.
I got a contract once where the contract said I would agree to not be a Computer Technician at any other company for a year after I left their employ... I think that place was run by a giant dumbass though, so I guess it isn't common.
How could they enforce that? Its not like you go out of your way to say "oh hi! I'm working at a competitor now"
It's a pretty common clause in contracts... and it's mainly to prevent you from moving to a direct competitor, and taking your clients with you.
That doesn't answer the question. How could they enforce that?
I got a contract once where the contract said I would agree to not be a Computer Technician at any other company for a year after I left their employ... I think that place was run by a giant dumbass though, so I guess it isn't common.
How could they enforce that? Its not like you go out of your way to say "oh hi! I'm working at a competitor now"
It's a pretty common clause in contracts... and it's mainly to prevent you from moving to a direct competitor, and taking your clients with you.
That doesn't answer the question. How could they enforce that?
I mentioned it on page 30 or so, but in California they can't. A California court even went so far as to say that a non-compete agreement that said it was to be governed by the laws of Maryland was invalid.
There are three exceptions to this, and the summary from Wikipedia of those are:
If an owner is selling the goodwill in their business. (Business & Professions Code Section 16601).
When there is a dissolution or disassociation of a partnership. (Business & Professions Code Section 16602).
Where there is a dissolution of a limited liability company. (Business & Professions Code Section 16602.5).
The law itself can be found here, and starts with:
Except as provided in this chapter, every contract by which
anyone is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or
business of any kind is to that extent void.
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I got a contract once where the contract said I would agree to not be a Computer Technician at any other company for a year after I left their employ... I think that place was run by a giant dumbass though, so I guess it isn't common.
How could they enforce that? Its not like you go out of your way to say "oh hi! I'm working at a competitor now"
It's a pretty common clause in contracts... and it's mainly to prevent you from moving to a direct competitor, and taking your clients with you.
That doesn't answer the question. How could they enforce that?
If you move to a competitor and steal their clients, they sue you for breach of contract.
If you move to a company with a different client-base, then they don't care (so there's no problem).
I got a contract once where the contract said I would agree to not be a Computer Technician at any other company for a year after I left their employ... I think that place was run by a giant dumbass though, so I guess it isn't common.
How could they enforce that? Its not like you go out of your way to say "oh hi! I'm working at a competitor now"
It's a pretty common clause in contracts... and it's mainly to prevent you from moving to a direct competitor, and taking your clients with you.
That doesn't answer the question. How could they enforce that?
If you move to a competitor and steal their clients, they sue you for breach of contract.
If you move to a company with a different client-base, then they don't care (so there's no problem).
Exactly.
Plus, these things are usually limited to a specific area, and of course for a certain time.
But yeah, they won't hunt you down to figure out if you've taken a job at another company. But if they found out, usually by noticing that all of the clients that you dealt with have now left, they might look into it and find out that you've taken another job, at another company in the same field, and perhaps those clients are now bringing business to that other company (to the detriment of the previous company).
Having found out, they sue for breach of contract.
Plus I don't think the law was written for guys like Gerstmann. My first guess would be people breaking off of companies and starting their own company using the client list of their former company. Generally this would speak of people who probably make 10 times the amount of money that Gerstmann makes in industries far more lucrative than internet review websites. Or at the very least, doctors, lawyers, marketing types...
In addition to the fact that non-compete clauses are illegal in California as previously mentioned, I've seen reports of sturdier contracts miserably FAIL when taken to court.
I'd bet we'll see Gerstmann doing stuff somewhere after the new year.
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HenroidMexican kicked from Immigration ThreadCentrism is Racism :3Registered Userregular
I got a contract once where the contract said I would agree to not be a Computer Technician at any other company for a year after I left their employ... I think that place was run by a giant dumbass though, so I guess it isn't common.
How could they enforce that? Its not like you go out of your way to say "oh hi! I'm working at a competitor now"
It's a pretty common clause in contracts... and it's mainly to prevent you from moving to a direct competitor, and taking your clients with you.
That doesn't answer the question. How could they enforce that?
I mentioned it on page 30 or so, but in California they can't. A California court even went so far as to say that a non-compete agreement that said it was to be governed by the laws of Maryland was invalid.
There are three exceptions to this, and the summary from Wikipedia of those are:
If an owner is selling the goodwill in their business. (Business & Professions Code Section 16601).
When there is a dissolution or disassociation of a partnership. (Business & Professions Code Section 16602).
Where there is a dissolution of a limited liability company. (Business & Professions Code Section 16602.5).
The law itself can be found here, and starts with:
Except as provided in this chapter, every contract by which
anyone is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or
business of any kind is to that extent void.
I've said it before and I'll say it again - California rules. The idea of such a contract agreement is retarded. "You're skilled in this and its how you make bread, but if you're terminated you're not allowed to continue to make the best living you can for a while." That's how I read it, at least.
Are there any other states that have the same laws voiding that contract agreement? (gonna click the link to the law now, I bet it's in there)
I think most states wouldn't uphold a dickish contract like that, actually. Cali is nice about being proactive about such things, though. For instance, it's already illegal to discrimate against genetic makeup, in cali. Just in case your company has your genome sequenced and finds you're likely to get cancer before they make their money back on your employment.
How did this get started, anyway? Is there some reason to believe that Gerstmann had a contract with a noncompete clause?
Is that typical for 'journalists' or whatever?
I was a reviewer for one of the bigger sites some six or seven years ago, and yes, noncompete clauses are pretty standard for industry writers/journalists/whatever.
I haven't seen that many places are real anal about making it stick, though.
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HenroidMexican kicked from Immigration ThreadCentrism is Racism :3Registered Userregular
How did this get started, anyway? Is there some reason to believe that Gerstmann had a contract with a noncompete clause?
Is that typical for 'journalists' or whatever?
I think it came up as a "what if he was under this agreement" sort of thing. But Gamespot's office is based in San Francisco, if I read this thread right. Right?
So what we're saying is that since Cashwho- I mean gamespot's office is based in San Fran, then it's likely that due to Cali's not allowing non-compete clauses in contracts by law, then it's likely that Gerstmann probably won't have to worry about such a thing, eh?
So what we're saying is that since Cashwho- I mean gamespot's office is based in San Fran, then it's likely that due to Cali's not allowing non-compete clauses in contracts by law, then it's likely that Gerstmann probably won't have to worry about such a thing, eh?
Next week's news: Gerstmann signs on with 1up.com.
That doesn't answer the question. How could they enforce that?
If they're serious enough, they'll sue your ass.
Aye, that was touched on. If I was ever caught in that position, I'd file a counter-suit. The mindset being "I may as well."
I don't imagine it ever being for much. It'd probably be based on how much the client has spent on the company you go to. Hopefully they don't stall to have said client work up a bigger bill.
He gave especially low reviews to games, especially any game with high visibility, whose reviews are most read, causing a new benchmark, causing score deflation. It takes no knowledge to dislike a game for being famous. Would you read someone who gave every famous game a good review? He shouldn't have been fired over this, but he should have been fired for scores correlating more to fame than quality.
He gave especially low reviews to games, especially any game with high visibility, whose reviews are most read, causing a new benchmark, causing score deflation. It takes no knowledge to dislike a game for being famous. Would you read someone who gave every famous game a good review? He shouldn't have been fired over this, but he should have been fired for scores correlating more to fame than quality.
Low reviews? What games are we talking about here?
Oh, and if you say Twilight Princess I will ignore every other post you make.
He gave especially low reviews to games, especially any game with high visibility, whose reviews are most read, causing a new benchmark, causing score deflation. It takes no knowledge to dislike a game for being famous. Would you read someone who gave every famous game a good review? He shouldn't have been fired over this, but he should have been fired for scores correlating more to fame than quality.
I assume you're referring to Zelda's 8.8. Please tell me exactly how 8.8 equates to "especially low"?
I think this creates a vaccum for a website equivalent of Edge magazine. I think Gertsmann can secure the investment easily, and it would attract game journalists that don't want to eat shit- and keep the best of them.
Basically a site as good as gamespot used to be, but with personality and less ads and "synergy"
Tycho's testimony. When one of the insiders of gaming reports that a critic consistently gives anticipated games low scores, as if he was trying to prevent hype, and I gain certainty that he at least is incredibly turned off by anticipation, if not trying to market himself as the rebel critic.
I was using especially to mean "departing from the norm." It's not actually that he's lower than most by a certain amount, it's that he's lower on certain games, creating a disbalance.
I was using especially to mean "departing from the norm." It's not actually that he's lower than most by a certain amount, it's that he's lower on certain games, creating a disbalance.
Are you suggesting different people have different tastes?
You know that's not what I meant. Should I switch "certain games" to "certain titles?"
Ideally, the reviewer should play and review the game w/o knowing what he's reviewing in a double blind design, but that's not feasible.
Thanks to this incident, I have actually logged into 1up of my own volition.
Damn you all, I will be going there often now.
Make sure you check out 1UP Yours and the 1UP Show - it does wonders for you when the byline on a review isn't just a name, but a face and voice where you understand how the person approaches games and what their tastes are. Not only that, but the form of a discussion often really helps you understand what they're talking about, as often more then one person will have played it and they really get in-depth on what they like and dislike.
Also, even if you're not a PC gamer, you need to listen to GFW Radio (aka The Brodeo), especially this coming week - it's by far the most off-topic and rambly of all their podcasts, but they often wind up spinning off into either a) hilarity from Shawn Elliot or b) discussions of integrity and journalism as applied to gaming.
GameSpot's podcast was also fairly decent, if a little more slickly produced then 1UP Yours - they tended to spend about 40 minutes covering news stories at a decent clip with a small amount of commentary and then spend about 20 minutes answering phone-calls and e-mails. Of course it's just as suspect as the rest of GameSpot now, but I'll probably listen to next weeks show (if there is one) just to see what it sounds like.
Tycho's testimony. When one of the insiders of gaming reports that a critic consistently gives anticipated games low scores, as if he was trying to prevent hype, and I gain certainty that he at least is incredibly turned off by anticipation, if not trying to market himself as the rebel critic.
I was using especially to mean "departing from the norm." It's not actually that he's lower than most by a certain amount, it's that he's lower on certain games, creating a disbalance.
It's also possible that some games are grossly overrated because they are overhyped, new and shiny and there hasn't been anything decent out for awhile.
Yeah, the membership gives you no ads, access to HD video content, and fast downloads for all files. I was a member from the first day it was announced and got a lot of use out of it.
That said, I just canceled my subscription as well. They have jacked up the price recently and with this fiasco there isn't enough credibility there for me to justify paying them.
Yeah, I really love the 1up Show. It just seems really... friendly, you know? Like, it has soul.
Seriously. I think 1UP is much better than a lot of people gives it credit for. The 1UP Show is great, 1UP Yours is easily the best video game podcast, and their reviews are pretty good. Much better than GameSpot or IGN at least.
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I know this is a few pages back, but I don't believe that non-compete is actually enforceable. Generally, courts side with the employee if the non-compete prevents you from doing what you know how to do, and thus earn a living. In this case, I seriously doubt that Jeff couldn't take a job elsewhere.
How could they enforce that? Its not like you go out of your way to say "oh hi! I'm working at a competitor now"
Generation IDSPISPOPD?
It's a pretty common clause in contracts... and it's mainly to prevent you from moving to a direct competitor, and taking your clients with you.
Why do people actually pay for game spot accounts anyway? Most of the information is available free somewhere else.
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That doesn't answer the question. How could they enforce that?
Damn you all, I will be going there often now.
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I mentioned it on page 30 or so, but in California they can't. A California court even went so far as to say that a non-compete agreement that said it was to be governed by the laws of Maryland was invalid.
There are three exceptions to this, and the summary from Wikipedia of those are:
The law itself can be found here, and starts with:
If you move to a competitor and steal their clients, they sue you for breach of contract.
If you move to a company with a different client-base, then they don't care (so there's no problem).
Exactly.
Plus, these things are usually limited to a specific area, and of course for a certain time.
But yeah, they won't hunt you down to figure out if you've taken a job at another company. But if they found out, usually by noticing that all of the clients that you dealt with have now left, they might look into it and find out that you've taken another job, at another company in the same field, and perhaps those clients are now bringing business to that other company (to the detriment of the previous company).
Having found out, they sue for breach of contract.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
In addition to the fact that non-compete clauses are illegal in California as previously mentioned, I've seen reports of sturdier contracts miserably FAIL when taken to court.
I'd bet we'll see Gerstmann doing stuff somewhere after the new year.
I've said it before and I'll say it again - California rules. The idea of such a contract agreement is retarded. "You're skilled in this and its how you make bread, but if you're terminated you're not allowed to continue to make the best living you can for a while." That's how I read it, at least.
Are there any other states that have the same laws voiding that contract agreement? (gonna click the link to the law now, I bet it's in there)
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Is that typical for 'journalists' or whatever?
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
I was a reviewer for one of the bigger sites some six or seven years ago, and yes, noncompete clauses are pretty standard for industry writers/journalists/whatever.
I haven't seen that many places are real anal about making it stick, though.
I think it came up as a "what if he was under this agreement" sort of thing. But Gamespot's office is based in San Francisco, if I read this thread right. Right?
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
Next week's news: Gerstmann signs on with 1up.com.
If they're serious enough, they'll sue your ass.
Aye, that was touched on. If I was ever caught in that position, I'd file a counter-suit. The mindset being "I may as well."
I don't imagine it ever being for much. It'd probably be based on how much the client has spent on the company you go to. Hopefully they don't stall to have said client work up a bigger bill.
Low reviews? What games are we talking about here?
Oh, and if you say Twilight Princess I will ignore every other post you make.
I assume you're referring to Zelda's 8.8. Please tell me exactly how 8.8 equates to "especially low"?
Basically a site as good as gamespot used to be, but with personality and less ads and "synergy"
I was using especially to mean "departing from the norm." It's not actually that he's lower than most by a certain amount, it's that he's lower on certain games, creating a disbalance.
Are you suggesting different people have different tastes?
Ideally, the reviewer should play and review the game w/o knowing what he's reviewing in a double blind design, but that's not feasible.
Make sure you check out 1UP Yours and the 1UP Show - it does wonders for you when the byline on a review isn't just a name, but a face and voice where you understand how the person approaches games and what their tastes are. Not only that, but the form of a discussion often really helps you understand what they're talking about, as often more then one person will have played it and they really get in-depth on what they like and dislike.
Also, even if you're not a PC gamer, you need to listen to GFW Radio (aka The Brodeo), especially this coming week - it's by far the most off-topic and rambly of all their podcasts, but they often wind up spinning off into either a) hilarity from Shawn Elliot or b) discussions of integrity and journalism as applied to gaming.
GameSpot's podcast was also fairly decent, if a little more slickly produced then 1UP Yours - they tended to spend about 40 minutes covering news stories at a decent clip with a small amount of commentary and then spend about 20 minutes answering phone-calls and e-mails. Of course it's just as suspect as the rest of GameSpot now, but I'll probably listen to next weeks show (if there is one) just to see what it sounds like.
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If GameSpot comments about that at all they will play it down as hard as they possibly can. Right now I don't think there are any hard numbers.
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Generation Burnination.
It gives you access to a lot of HD content (Video reviews, gameplay movies etc) with fast download speeds.
Isn't there also a "no annoying ads" feature with that?
That said, I just canceled my subscription as well. They have jacked up the price recently and with this fiasco there isn't enough credibility there for me to justify paying them.
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Seriously. I think 1UP is much better than a lot of people gives it credit for. The 1UP Show is great, 1UP Yours is easily the best video game podcast, and their reviews are pretty good. Much better than GameSpot or IGN at least.