A Formal Thread about Activision/Blizzard

Thaluikhain

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As if the fact that she hasn't experienced anything personally (as an exceptionally rich and powerful person within the company) is evidence that others (in much less powerful, much more precarious roles) didn't, either. That response was fucking despicable.
Huh, people still trying that defence? Guess it must still work.
 

BrawlMan

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"I never fucking saw anything" is about as good an answer as you can give.
When you're that far up top in the chain of command or in charge of making the rules, you've had to see something. They saw something, but chose to ignore it like the pussies they are.
 
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SilentPony

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When you're that far up top in the chain of command or in charge of making the rules, you've had to see something. They saw something, but chose to ignore it like the pussies they are.
Fair. Or they purposefully never were in a place to see anything, so that in the eventuality allegations come and people ask them what they say, the honest and legally protecting response is "I didn' see nuffin coppers!"
 

Specter Von Baren

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When you're that far up top in the chain of command or in charge of making the rules, you've had to see something. They saw something, but chose to ignore it like the pussies they are.
In a corporation that big, I actually expect them not seeing anything to be the most likely answer. Have we not talked about how people at the top don't interact with or know anything about those that work under them before?
 

CriticalGaming

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In a corporation that big, I actually expect them not seeing anything to be the most likely answer. Have we not talked about how people at the top don't interact with or know anything about those that work under them before?
Pretty much this. Executives expect HR departments and the individual department managers to handle this kind of shit. Even if a report ever got to Kotcik, he likely gave instructions for HR to handle the situation and fire people as nessecary and then expected it to be done. If nobody specifically brought it to his attention that the managers werent doing this then he would have no idea what was happening.
 

Buyetyen

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Pretty much this. Executives expect HR departments and the individual department managers to handle this kind of shit. Even if a report ever got to Kotcik, he likely gave instructions for HR to handle the situation and fire people as nessecary and then expected it to be done. If nobody specifically brought it to his attention that the managers werent doing this then he would have no idea what was happening.
In other words, it's a failure of leadership at all levels of management and HR.
 

BrawlMan

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In a corporation that big, I actually expect them not seeing anything to be the most likely answer. Have we not talked about how people at the top don't interact with or know anything about those that work under them before?
Well on all of the core levels yes. Executive levels, probably not.
And I already know most of that is bull crap and a rarity when they genuinely don't know.. Pat and Woolie pretty much debunked this in their video. They know what's going on, they just choose to be selectively oblivious or ignore it. Or make excuses or make the victim sign this type of fancy form, so they can get away with it or to people above/below can get away with it in their favor. And even if they truly didn't know, it's still a failure on their part. A huge failure. They're not getting my sympathy either way.
 
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Buyetyen

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Well on all of the core levels yes. Executive levels, probably not.
If you want to be a leader, then everything that happens under your watch is your responsibility. Including... no, especially the stuff you didn't know about until it blew up in your face. I have zero respect for the majority of corporate management. They're not leaders, they're just micro-managing petty tyrants.
 
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CriticalGaming

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. Pat and Woolie pretty much debunked this in their video
No disrespect, but who the fuck are Pat and Woolie and what credentials do they have in regards to what happens as the head of a billion dollar company or ANY company.

They know what's going on, they just choose to be selectively oblivious or ignore it.
Like i said, If Kotick was notified of this he likely issued orders to the people in the company that handle that sort of thing and expected it done. It is much more likely that Blizzard officials tried to keep this isolated to within Blizzard and kept a lot out of Activisions' notice. I'm not saying management isn't to blame but directing such ire towards the top of the ladder simply due to it being the highest rung is just not a realistic ideal of how a corporation works.

If you want to be a leader, then everything that happens under your watch is your responsibility. Including... no, especially the stuff you didn't know about until it blew up in your face. I have zero respect for the majority of corporate management. They're not leaders, they're just micro-managing petty tyrants.
Then you, like Jim Sterling, are just unreasonably angry at the wealth, and are misdirecting that anger from the people who are actually responsible and at fault. No one person can know or handle every situation in a company that big, there is a reason why corporations have HR departments and various layers of management.

Keep the rage towards the people who did the deed and covered it up. Not people several dozen levels of removed from the situation.
 
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BrawlMan

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Like i said, If Kotick was notified of this he likely issued orders to the people in the company that handle that sort of thing and expected it done. It is much more likely that Blizzard officials tried to keep this isolated to within Blizzard and kept a lot out of Activisions' notice. I'm not saying management isn't to blame but directing such ire towards the top of the ladder simply due to it being the highest rung is just not a realistic ideal of how a corporation works.
It didn't matter who did what, everybody was trying to hide something or make it go away. They're all assholes for doing it.



Then you, like Jim Sterling, are just unreasonably angry at the wealth, and are misdirecting that anger from the people who are actually responsible and at fault. No one person can know or handle every situation in a company that big, there is a reason why corporations have HR departments and various layers of management.

Keep the rage towards the people who did the deed and covered it up. Not people several dozen levels of removed from the situation.
And once again, that's the main problem: you getting mad at somebody for being justifiably angry. They're not unreasonably angry; especially if they've been trying to tell us this for nearly 10 years. Not my fault you or others refuse to listen or downplay the points they brought up. Jim's been telling us this for years, you just finally chose to listen in the last couple and take notice. And his anger is pretty much at those at the top. The structure too, but I don't blame them for that reasoning. Honestly, I would not mind the system getting a huge overall. Otherwise, if nothing changes, then what's the freaking point?
 
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CriticalGaming

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Here is an example of the things I'm talking about. Activision management found out about this, swept the building, cleansed the offenders and moved on. This is also likely what was expected to have happened on the Blizzard campus. Though it should be noted that the Santa Monica building is more of a corporate building, with game testing done the basement, but actual game development doesn't happen here. At least not when I worked there. This build is where all the accountants, marketing teams, budget departments, HR, and all the boring paperwork parts of business happen.

In fact i don't even think testing still happens there because i believe they moved their internal testing team to an office by the airport a number of years ago.
 

CriticalGaming

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Honestly, I would not mind the system getting a huge overall. Otherwise, if nothing changes, then what's the freaking point?
Well that is certainly a valid argument and should happen. it wont. but it should and i agree with that idea.

I just don't agree that yelling at Big Bobby has any purpose, nor does putting any blame on him.

It's like if you go to a store and shoplift, should the police go arrest your parents because they should know everything and anything you do? That doesn't make much sense does it?
 

SilentPony

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CriticalGaming

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I wonder if its a coincidence that Riot does League of Legends, and Blizzard does Overwatch, both of them huge in the E-sports scene, and from the sounds of it both companies act like their big sports companies.
It's a bigger coincidence that Greg Street, who was in the Cosby Suite, is now a lead dev at Riot. :D
 

CriticalGaming

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It is interesting now to hear stories about that mass firing of 800 employees that occured not to long ago.

People were pissed that Activision with record profits would turn around and dump 800 people. However there are rumblings internally that those 800 people were pursged to try and end this internal sexist pandemic. Which would also explain why they tried to rehire for those positions only a couple months later. It seems that there were attempts to deal with this internally.
 

Samtemdo8

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I wonder if its a coincidence that Riot does League of Legends, and Blizzard does Overwatch, both of them huge in the E-sports scene, and from the sounds of it both companies act like their big sports companies.
Valve Esport scene is also toxic.