Can we take a step back here?

[CWestfall]

I have no idea why, but reading this possessed me to post

Spoiler: this

crappy accompanying image.

Maybe it will lighten the mood?

That's the spirit!

How strapped for cash is the escapist?



The end, GG.

According to The Escapist, James has also called in legal advisers. They both have equal claim on the truth since no actual concrete evidence has been provided. Some of the best science is hunches, (<-- Going for a B.Sc. in physics) but at the end of the day you need more than a hunch to publish.

 

[ArtemusClydeFrog]

I'm with you on this as well. It made me sad to see how quick people were to side in this conflict and to begin flinging poo in either direction.
It's way too soon for any of us who don't have any insider information on this subject (which is to say probably all of us) to run around yelling bloody murder.
It's very sad and unfortunate that this situation has got to the point were it doesn't seem it can be resolved without severe consequences, but at least I think those of us that don't know what's up and down in this should stay out of it for now.

 

[xPixelatedx]

I think the biggest problem here is the EC crew have proved themselves -more then anyone on the escapist- to be incredibly decent human beings. Having such a rep means people are going to take what they say at face value. I am sorry, but the idea that we can treat all parties equally works well on paper, but not in practice. EC have earned their creditability, and now you see exactly what that means. People; a LOT of people, are going to side with them even though it is a 'he said, she said' situation. Dose this mean there isn't even a 1% chance they are lying? No, it's still plausible, but people are in a situation where they feel they have to quickly decide if that 1% chance is enough to cast doubt.

 

[mysecondlife]

Its really disappointing how it came to this. Although people are willing to leave this site I'm willing to stay. People's leaving this site wont help anyone's case.. in fact people should stick around if it would help Escapist pay others that haven't been paid. and it certainly isn't fair for contributors that Escapist manages to pay on regular basis.

Also this site worked hard to build this good community so I'm willing to believe that Escapist isn't filled with money grubbing assholes

All in all I would like to thank ExtraCreditz people (again and again) for their passion in their work. Learning that they were operating at loss is both heartwarming and heartbreaking at same time.


...see you tomorrow Escapist

 

[Doclector]

I do feel I need more info before I can decide what's really going on here, but several other escapist content creators have come forward complaining of similar payment issues. Perhaps this is why we have seen many series simply stop in their tracks.

 

[Nouw]

A thread with some sense about this ordeal?

WHAT IS THIS?
[sub]I expected to see this thread with 17 pages, not the one where people shamelessly blame the Escapist.[/sub]

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I'm not impressed with either side for letting this happen. I'm still neutral seeing as I love both EC and the Escapist. It isn't the end of the world but it certainly isn't a good thing either.

[sub]I've already lost one friend here over this...[/sub]

 

[Vault101]

Wow this is a huge surprise (just logged on..)

given the curren shit-storm I dont see EC coming back....shame, however I'm not going anywhere over this

I'm not impressed with either side for letting this happen. I'm still neutral seeing as I love both EC and the Escapist. It isn't the end of the world but it certainly isn't a good thing either.

[sub]I've already lost one friend here over this...[/sub]

I guess its fair enough that people are leaving on principle....but it seems a shame to, hmm whats thr word? "disrupt" the comunity over this

 

[lumenadducere]

I'm not picking one side over the other - I definitely think both have screwed up and that there was a catastrophic failure in communication. The only real question in my mind is whether it was intentional or not. If it was, then we've got people to blame. If not, then we don't have anyone to blame; it was just a horrible situation arising from not dealing with the question of the donations before the excess money became an issue.

I do think it's a serious issue if it's true that other contributors have said that they haven't been paid yet either. Assuming it's just starting with Unforgotten Realms and wasn't an issue before that point, it's been going on for quite some time. These sorts of money problems need to be handled very quickly, or you begin to take advantage of those who do a labor of love - whether you do so intentionally or not.

 

[JackyG]

I think all of this can be blamed on a lack of proper communication, yes.
This is just both parties trying to keep their reputations intact because someone had the bright idea to post this online before anything was resolved...
Both sides seem a little fishy. This has potential to damage both parties considerably because of the way it's been delivered to us.

 

[CWestfall]

A thread with some sense about this ordeal?

WHAT IS THIS?
[sub]I expected to see this thread with 17 pages, not the one where people shamelessly blame the Escapist.[/sub]

It's a lot easier to point blame than to admit you don't know what is going on.

 

[GrymZero]

I'm perfectly happy with staying neutral. I've only ever watched EC with friends, but I enjoyed what I saw. I hope they manage to work things out, no matter who's at fault in the end.

 

[Mr Thin]

I'm not sure I deserve to be here, since I've been swinging pretty strongly for The Escapist since this whole thing started.

But I do believe that the evidence should come out before any firm judgements are made, and that wild declarations of hatred and fury in either direction won't help anybody.

So... count me in.

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

Im in. This money i dont think has had a good use either way. Going towards more EC is better than an indie company though. I thought it would all go to charity... escapist is more in the right. Starting your own company out of the blue with that money is no better than asking them to make episodes from it.

 

[KurtzGallahad]

How embarrassing for everyone involved

 

[thelonewolf266]

I agree people are so ready to just shout evil corporation whenever anything happens that they don't like its stupid plus it makes no sense why would the Escapist shoot themselves in the foot like that, Extra credits is very popular with most people on this site though I'm not that keen on it so why would they carry out actions that where sure to make them leave.

 

[Mr Companion]

I agree that being impartial is the best action here, on the other hand most other contributors to this site or at least a large portion of them are coming out and admitting they are not getting paid many months at a time.

As for the Alice fundraiser I did think at the time the money tripled the necessary amount and wondered what would happen to all that cash. I guess the answer is that either or both parties tried to use it for other things as to who got their way we shall find out.

 

[Ilyak1986]

Is there "more" to this story? Probably. Do I give a damn? Absolutely not. Why? Because I came *to* this site for EC, and so, I will leave with them.

When "the man" sics lawyers on the little guy, that's enough to say "we don't give a damn what your facts are. You whipped out the lawyers over a money-grab, you're fucking sleazeballs, and I hope everyone googles adblock and never buys your worthless pubclub membership to pay for something they can get for free. Sleazeballs."

So yeah. I have an intense hatred for lawyering. The Escapist played the lawyer card first. Therefore, they lose the game.

The end, GG.

I... ok, forget about who's right in the dispute. You're wrong on principle.

There's this assumption that if somebody is operating from a company, then they're "the man". I mean, I don't know how much money James makes, but I'm sure he *makes* money (clearly The Escapist doesn't), and when somebody starts a company out of charity money I have a ton of questions right off the bat, regardless of who's suing who. Damn right there will be lawyers involved in that. It doesn't need to get personal, it's just the sort of thing you expect to have to go through the legal system in one way or another.

Assumption? Take a fucking LOOK at the site. You think this is just some sort of little indie outfit? Are you joking?! Just because their business, analytics, and monetization end is absolutely and completely INEPT doesn't make them any less of "the man" in my eyes.

As for James running a company out of charity money, the entire purpose of that company is to help other indie game publishers, such as xdanondx, who published RPG Shooter: Starwish, try to make more and better games in the future, in the form of a non-profit, to create a virtuous cycle. I applaud this venture.

 

[Imp_Emissary]

Just wanted to say I'm liking that I'm not alone on this one. On at least some level I was expecting to be told to STFU in the first five posts.

It's given my optimism a healthy boost. Maybe Extra Credits and the Escapist will be able to come to some sort of agreement?

I was blind sided by this "event". At first confusion, then shock, then disbelief, then sadness, then Anger, and now pretty much depression.

I don't think this can end very well. Either I'll lose my Extra Credits, or my faith in the Escapist.
I originally was brought here by Yahtzee, and because I had a bit of a "falling out" with the last place I got my game news.
Now I just feel real down. The worst thing is that the whole fund-raising thing EC did just made me so happy to be a gamer, and on the Escapist.
Now.....I have nothing but sadness.

But....at least Alison got her arm fixed, and maybe we can all just hug it out. We can always hope.

 

[similar.squirrel]

I'm still of the opinion that commentary of the Extra Credits calibre is worth a thousand juvenile lolfests like Unskippable. And as much as I like Moviebob, The Big Picture is only getting more obscure and increasingly irrelevant.
I mean, of all the shows, they really chose the wrong one to let go.