Rutabaga Rising

Albino Boo

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Your patreon img has the wrong bbcode.

I would take the quite competence of Susan Arendt over that of the polemic, of how shall we say, a former editor with name in common with a Yugoslav dictator.
 
Jan 12, 2012
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I wonder if I could get away with stealing the punchline and using it in the "come up with the most flamewar-causing thread title" thread...

In terms of the post-comic blurb, I think what a lot of people are worried about is that for every Batman there's a bevy of Jokers teaching young writers how to follow the rules the corps lay down so the institution they are working for can get free stuff and access to private events (to say what the company wants you to say). I agree that it's easy for lone journalists to be corrupted, but it's a lot harder for, say, EA to find and pay off 150 different reviewers and bloggers to give a positive review to the new Battlefront than it would be for them to call up the top 10 gaming websites, talk to the editor that they've known for years, and subtly push for a better score.

It's definitely not impossible for those lone journalists to be corrupted, and there's other pitfalls specific to going it alone, but it diffuses the ability of a company to do something quickly and make it appear unanimous.
 

Bedinsis

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Is Furious Rutabaga a reference to something, other than to evoke the feel of a youtube personality's potential username?
 

The Wooster

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Bedinsis said:
Is Furious Rutabaga a reference to something, other than to evoke the feel of a youtube personality's potential username?
I was eating a rutabaga at the time.
 

Albino Boo

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Bedinsis said:
Is Furious Rutabaga a reference to something, other than to evoke the feel of a youtube personality's potential username?
Furious Rutabaga is a verity of what is know in the UK as the vegetable Swede.
 

Shalok

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The Wooster said:
Bedinsis said:
Is Furious Rutabaga a reference to something, other than to evoke the feel of a youtube personality's potential username?
I was eating a rutabaga at the time.
Grey you've gone native, you should know that a rutabaga is really a swede!
 

Teoes

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Jun 1, 2010
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Huh, rutabaga is what we'd commonly call the turnip. TIL.

Get out of here with that common sense jibba-jabba in the blurb. No room for that in these sorts of discussions. Although, I did like the way you slid that bit of Susanostalgia in there - well played.
 

The Wooster

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Thunderous Cacophony said:
In terms of the post-comic blurb, I think what a lot of people are worried about is that for every Batman there's a bevy of Jokers teaching young writers how to follow the rules the corps lay down so the institution they are working for can get free stuff and access to private events (to say what the company wants you to say). I agree that it's easy for lone journalists to be corrupted, but it's a lot harder for, say, EA to find and pay off 150 different reviewers and bloggers to give a positive review to the new Battlefront than it would be for them to call up the top 10 gaming websites, talk to the editor that they've known for years, and subtly push for a better score.
You're likely to take this with a grain of salt, but I'm pretty much certain that shit doesn't happen outside a few isolated cases. Very few sites actually have the raw readership to be worth that kind of pressure and for most journos working in the business, proof of a publisher pushing for a better score is BIGGER NEWS than the review itself. Based on my own experience and the reviewers in my social circle, I think pressure from readers is a far bigger factor when it comes to inflated scores. Look at the responses to even slightly negative reviews of big titles. Scary stuff.
 

Bedinsis

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albino boo said:
Furious Rutabaga is a verity of what is know in the UK as the vegetable Swede.
I'm aware of the fact that rutabaga is another word for the vegetable swede. Since Swede can also refer to someone from Sweden it stood to reason that the user name was a thin reference to a real channel ("The Angry Swede" or whatever).

I quote you since I'm uncertain if I've understood correctly: is there a species of rutabaga called the "furious rutabaga"?
 

Blazing Hero

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I love the blurb. Essentially, yes there is going to have to be an ethics shake up for many people who do youtube reviews. Fortunately people like TotalBiscuit seem to be leading the way by divulging conflicts of interests. I think that will become more common among the big youtubers in the days to come.

You mentioned that you worry about the new comers not having editors to guide them and help mold them. I actually view not having editors as a strength of this new media rather than a weakness. Those who provide content are able to put forth whatever thoughts they want without others managing their words or telling them what they can or can not write. I believe this will lead to more accountability since ones work is ultimately their own responsibility. Also without a filter I hope this leads to a whole range of new and diverse views that we might not have gotten with certain editors dictating what can and cannot be reported on.
 

Sigmund Av Volsung

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ALL HAIL GEOFF KEIGHLEY

ALL HAIL THE EMM ELL GEE

OT: Once games journos will stop being randoms from the street who played games that one time and people with relevant qualifications, maybe then we'd have less problems.

That, or some sort of internal policing.
 
Jan 12, 2012
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The Wooster said:
You're likely to take this with a grain of salt, but I'm pretty much certain that shit doesn't happen outside a few isolated cases. Very few sites actually have the raw readership to be worth that kind of pressure and for most journos working in the business, proof of a publisher pushing for a better score is BIGGER NEWS than the review itself. Based on my own experience and the reviewers in my social circle, I think pressure from readers is a far bigger factor when it comes to inflated scores. Look at the responses to even slightly negative reviews of big titles. Scary stuff.
Naturally you know more about the actual workings than I do.

When I wrote that I was thinking of Roosterteeth and how they've changed over their career. Some of the guys started as Drunk Gamers and wrote whatever they felt like because no one really noticed or cared about them. Flash forward 15 years, and they're hosting the Youtube coverage of E3 and have The Know, which sometimes feels like it exists to reprint stories from PR firms. There can be (and often is) dissenting opinion, and they openly talk about how they are fans rather than an objective source of news and reviews, but it still puts me on notice. Maybe it's just the Canadian in me talking, but I can see where people are being polite and toning down what they might want to say for the sake of what they should say.

Blazing Hero said:
You mentioned that you worry about the new comers not having editors to guide them and help mold them. I actually view not having editors as a strength of this new media rather than a weakness. Those who provide content are able to put forth whatever thoughts they want without others managing their words or telling them what they can or can not write. I believe this will lead to more accountability since ones work is ultimately their own responsibility. Also without a filter I hope this leads to a whole range of new and diverse views that we might not have gotten with certain editors dictating what can and cannot be reported on.
I don't think editors are inherently negative; for one, they are great for telling you when your opinion is trash and that you need to work it over again to actually find the worthwhile points to talk about. I've been on both sides of that equation, though not in a news/video game setting, and I know that a lot of times what seems like unfiltered opinion has gone through rigorous drafting. I do agree that poor editors can have an throttling influence on the writers, though.
 

The Wooster

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Sigmund Av Volsung said:
ALL HAIL GEOFF KEIGHLEY

ALL HAIL THE EMM ELL GEE

OT: Once games journos will stop being randoms from the street who played games that one time and people with relevant qualifications, maybe then we'd have less problems.

That, or some sort of internal policing.
For that to work the job would have to not pay like shit and have some degree of real-world prestige. I don't' see that happening any time soon.
 

Simonism451

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The Wooster said:
Thunderous Cacophony said:
In terms of the post-comic blurb, I think what a lot of people are worried about is that for every Batman there's a bevy of Jokers teaching young writers how to follow the rules the corps lay down so the institution they are working for can get free stuff and access to private events (to say what the company wants you to say). I agree that it's easy for lone journalists to be corrupted, but it's a lot harder for, say, EA to find and pay off 150 different reviewers and bloggers to give a positive review to the new Battlefront than it would be for them to call up the top 10 gaming websites, talk to the editor that they've known for years, and subtly push for a better score.
You're likely to take this with a grain of salt, but I'm pretty much certain that shit doesn't happen outside a few isolated cases. Very few sites actually have the raw readership to be worth that kind of pressure and for most journos working in the business, proof of a publisher pushing for a better score is BIGGER NEWS than the review itself. Based on my own experience and the reviewers in my social circle, I think pressure from readers is a far bigger factor when it comes to inflated scores. Look at the responses to even slightly negative reviews of big titles. Scary stuff.
Also, that's totally not what the Joker would do.
 

Albino Boo

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Bedinsis said:
I quote you since I'm uncertain if I've understood correctly: is there a species of rutabaga called the "furious rutabaga"?
There is a variety of Swede called furious. Its a heritage vertiy and not much grown these days, must Swedes that are grown are of the hunter vertiy.
 

Sigmund Av Volsung

Hella noided
Dec 11, 2009
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The Wooster said:
Sigmund Av Volsung said:
ALL HAIL GEOFF KEIGHLEY

ALL HAIL THE EMM ELL GEE

OT: Once games journos will stop being randoms from the street who played games that one time and people with relevant qualifications, maybe then we'd have less problems.

That, or some sort of internal policing.
For that to work the job would have to not pay like shit and have some degree of real-world prestige. I don't' see that happening any time soon.
Get humanities and arts students then.

Not like the majority of them will have many good job opportunities after they finish higher education :p

At least here they'd do something at least a bit relevant to their qualifications.
 

Something Amyss

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Dec 3, 2008
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Erin Stout has the best ethics.

The Wooster said:
Look at the responses to even slightly negative reviews of big titles. Scary stuff.
comparing 9s with the Holocaust and demanding firings over 8s? What could possibly be scary there, man?

Blazing Hero said:
Those who provide content are able to put forth whatever thoughts they want without others managing their words or telling them what they can or can not write. I believe this will lead to more accountability since ones work is ultimately their own responsibility.
Weirdly enough, neither of these things are happening. And that appears to be the joke. For all this concept of a new and different media, we're seeing the same old story, same old song and dance.

Sigmund Av Volsung said:
OT: Once games journos will stop being randoms from the street who played games that one time and people with relevant qualifications, maybe then we'd have less problems.
I'm curious as to what relevant qualifications are here.

That, or some sort of internal policing.
That would mean less click-bait and ad revenue. I'm not even sure you can expect that from modern journalism, let alone "games journalism."
 

Sigmund Av Volsung

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Dec 11, 2009
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Zachary Amaranth said:
Sigmund Av Volsung said:
OT: Once games journos will stop being randoms from the street who played games that one time and people with relevant qualifications, maybe then we'd have less problems.
I'm curious as to what relevant qualifications are here.

That, or some sort of internal policing.
That would mean less click-bait and ad revenue. I'm not even sure you can expect that from modern journalism, let alone "games journalism."
Anything that prepares people for criticism and cross-reference really. Journalism would be good for the law side of things, but even stuff like History can give a person perspective into objective evaluations, collaboration and scrutiny.

And a man can dream, can't he? ;_;