Adam Orth Resigns Following Always-Online Twitter Comments

Steven Bogos

The Taco Man
Jan 17, 2013
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Adam Orth Resigns Following Always-Online Twitter Comments


After telling critics of always-online to "deal with it," it looks like Orth will have to "deal with" finding a new job.

Earlier this month, Microsoft executive Adam Orth faced some pretty heavy backlash for some Twitter comments [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123098-Microsoft-Exec-on-Always-Online-Consoles-Deal-With-it] regarding the rumored always-online component of Microsoft's upcoming console, code named "Durango." "I don't get the drama around having an 'always-online' console," Orth said, adding a "deal with it" hashtag. When called out on his opinion by critics presenting the argument that a considerable percentage of the population has zero or poor internet coverage, Orth said "Those people should definitely get with the times and get the internet. It's awesome," adding "Why on earth would I live [in a place with poor internet coverage]?"

You can see how these comments could have rubbed people the wrong way, and they also seem to strongly suggest that the next Xbox will be always-online, a fact that, if true, Microsoft is no doubt trying to conceal so they can reveal it in as positive light as possible. So it should come as no surprise that a "source close to the matter" has told Game Informer [https://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/04/10/following-twitter-tirade_2c00_-microsoft-designer-adam-orth-resigns.aspx] that Orth has tendered his resignation to Microsoft. A call to Microsoft's main switchboard confirmed this fact.

Orth or Microsoft have yet to comment on whether this was a forced or voluntarily resignation, but given the circumstances, it seems pretty obvious. Microsoft issued the following statement in response to Orth's Twitter comments.

"We apologize for the inappropriate comments made by an employee on Twitter yesterday. This person is not a spokesperson for Microsoft, and his personal views do not reflect the customer centric approach we take to our products or how we would communicate directly with our loyal consumers. We are very sorry if this offended anyone, however we have not made any announcements about our product roadmap, and have no further comment on this matter."

Orth is not the first person to be "fired" due to comments made on social media, and probably won't be the last. Take this as a cautionary tale, whatever you say on Twitter, you are essentially telling everyone in the whole world. Think about how others may interpret your comments before posting anything online.

Will Microsoft's damage control be enough to ease people's mind if always-online is actually a feature for the new console? Or perhaps the overwhelmingly negative response to any mention of such a feature will make Microsoft rethink implementing it at all? The console is rumored to be announced in May, and as Microsoft have been pretty tight-lipped about anything regarding it, I guess we'll just have to wait until then.

Source: Game Informer [https://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/04/10/following-twitter-tirade_2c00_-microsoft-designer-adam-orth-resigns.aspx]

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SSJBlastoise

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Dec 20, 2012
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I'm sure he "resigned". Anyway this really isn't that surprising, I mean you act like an arse to your employer's customers you can expect repercussions and I have a feeling it was a forced resignation.
 

Fayathon

Professional Lurker
Nov 18, 2009
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I'd feel bad for the guy if he wasn't being such a giant ass about the whole thing.
 

robert022614

meeeoooow
Dec 1, 2009
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If I had a job that pays the amount his probably did and I didnt HAVE to talk to the consumer I probably wouldnt
even have a twitter account. I dont know how in the world he thought this was acceptable like Microsoft was going
take his side #need a resume
 

TIMESWORDSMAN

Wishes he had fewer cap letters.
Mar 7, 2008
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Many people don't understand that Freedom of Speech does not separate one from the Shackles of Consequence. The term is relative.
 

Callex

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Oct 20, 2008
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A shame, really. The thing is, the 'critic' the man was addressing was actually a friend he had a history of tongue-in-cheek verbally sparring with. This fact was completely neglected of course from any reports of the matter and now another career is down the drain. The kind of comments he made really should have been exchanged a little more privately...
 

Proverbial Jon

Not evil, just mildly malevolent
Nov 10, 2009
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Good riddance to bad rubbish I say. What a stuck up and arrogant world view this man has.
 

ScruffyMcBalls

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Apr 16, 2012
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Seems a little extreme, firing a dude for acting out of context and being a bit of a cock. But on the other hand, fuck that guy, he should have had the foresight to realise how this was going to go down and understand the inevitable reaction.
Personally, if I had someone as cognitively bankrupt as this asshole working for me I'd be glad to be rid of him.
 

IronMit

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Jul 24, 2012
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Fired for telling a bad joke....that's really quite sad (I am assuming the always online DRM xbox is not really happening)

However, if what he said was true, he has been fired for confirming something he shouldn't have.
 

Bindal

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May 14, 2012
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I wonder if one of his ex-coworkers said "Deal with it" when he had to leave. :p
 

GAunderrated

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IronMit said:
Fired for telling a bad joke....that's really quite sad (I am assuming the always online DRM xbox is not really happening)

However, if what he said was true, he has been fired for confirming something he shouldn't have.
That is what we are going to find out in May. Did he get fired for revealing it before they tried to spin it like its something gamers wanted or did he get fired for getting microsoft all this negative press?

I personally think its because he hinted at the always-online before the PR department has finished their brainstorm on how to re-brand it. lol.
 

bliebblob

Plushy wrangler, die-curious
Sep 9, 2009
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Twitter, world's second greatest cause of unemployment. Right below the economic crisis.
 

Ken Sapp

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Apr 1, 2010
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I hope that if MS were planning on "always-online" as a feature that this episode has caused a quick about face.

Callex said:
A shame, really. The thing is, the 'critic' the man was addressing was actually a friend he had a history of tongue-in-cheek verbally sparring with. This fact was completely neglected of course from any reports of the matter and now another career is down the drain. The kind of comments he made really should have been exchanged a little more privately...
Doesn't matter if it was to a friend. Twitter comments are notorious for being a broadcast message. By the very nature of the service it is difficult to track a conversation and thus every executive should be conscious of how their posts or replies may be misconstrued by people other than the intended target. Also, it is hard enough to convey things like sarcasm using text alone and it is even harder to do so with only 140 chars. As such messages should be kept private or say only what you actually intend in clear language.
 

Bindal

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GAunderrated said:
That is what we are going to find out in May. Did he get fired for revealing it before they tried to spin it like its something gamers wanted or did he get fired for getting microsoft all this negative press?
Bad press, obviously. Regardless if it's true or not, the negative PR the whole thing caused happened in either way and that is something no company wants (usually)
 

Smooth Operator

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Oct 5, 2010
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ScruffyMcBalls said:
Seems a little extreme, firing a dude for acting out of context and being a bit of a cock.
But he wasn't fired he resigned, it's not like the company would force him into doing something he didn't want to do himself, he had complete creative freedom in the matter...
 

Epona

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Jun 24, 2011
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I guess he'll have to "Deal with it", poor guy.

Also, when are people going to learn that social networks should be self censored.
 

thiosk

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Sep 18, 2008
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This was pretty obviously coming.

I don't think this bad press will change things:
Xbawx will be always online
People will make a lot of noise
It will sell like hoe cakes.

I, on the other hand, won't buy it because I prefer my gaming steam flavored.
 

ScruffyMcBalls

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Apr 16, 2012
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Mr.K. said:
ScruffyMcBalls said:
Seems a little extreme, firing a dude for acting out of context and being a bit of a cock.
But he wasn't fired he resigned, it's not like the company would force him into doing something he didn't want to do himself, he had complete creative freedom in the matter...
Ah, my bad. Either way, I'd still be glad he was gone if he were under my employ. And the dude's still a moron.