While I hate to see anyone lose their job, Bob has gone from opinionated, to holier than thou, to walking pile of fertilizer so much lately it's hard for me to care. I know enough about hiring to know that you have to really screw up to be canned without notice (even as a contractor) and how long these decisions can take, so while his recent twitter rant wasn't a factor, the last several months no doubt have been significant in the liability column for him. And rightly so. If the site is struggling, someone that only brings in a small fanbase while spending much of his off time, and a decent chunk of his on time, showing various levels of hoping everyone that doesn't think like him bursts into flame, probably is a net negative. For the longest time he's really only been good for recap, not analysis. Maybe he bought his own hype and thought that he'd have a long term career going "what's that internet celeb from Boston think" to whatever he wishes, but if this site wants to reclaim its identity as a game enthusiast's site, it needs to up its game to more intelegent commentary.
And if the Escapist wants suggestions as for some replacements, Liana Kerzner just wrote an excelent 5 part piece of her perspective on feminism in gaming for Metaleater, and would hardly scoff that more work. Plus, with the Canadian dollar, she might be a bargain.
