MovieBob leaving The Escapist

[Victor IV]

Glad he's gone. Couldn't watch his stuff anymore after gamergate happened and he went off the deep end.

 

[The Philistine]

That's a pretty big chunk of content gone from The Escapist. While I rarely fully agreed with Bob, his content has been one of the main reasons for me to regularly check the site. Hope the news stories stay good, because there's less and less content to be padded by click-bait.

 

[James Nettum]

Well, this is what it took for me to make a forum post.

I don't like this choice. Bob was a polerizing figure, no doubt there. But he got people talking, frequently about subjects that needed to be discussed and no one else was willing to bring up. Even when I thought that he was way off the mark, his opinions were almost always presented with his logic behind them so I could see how he arrived at his conclusions. Unlike other "high" profile opinion people, Bob was willing to admit when he made mistakes, or acknowledge when his tastes had changed, or just not deny that we humans are ever-growing.

On top of that, Bob's firing is the latest in a recent trend that I'm not enjoying at the Escapist. When past Editors in Chiefs have left (Russ, Susan), they've been able to say their goodbyes. When Jim left, he was given a classy send off and a plug for his new project. But when Ross, Greg and company where terminated, they weren't acknowledged at all. It's now Tuesday, Movie Bob was fired on Friday, and there's no official notice from the Escapist. I think that's a piss poor way to treat people who have worked so publicly for your business for years. Even World Wrestling gives a "we wish so-and-so well" press release when a wrestler is released. (With a few exceptions of course.) When the WWE is acting classier than you are, it's time to reevaluate your practices!

I've cancled my Publishers Subscription. I like ZP and LRR, but they can't carry this site for me.

 

[faeshadow]

The worst part of this by far has to be the gloating by the "he insulted his audience" crowd. I certainly wasn't a fan of everything Bob did (maybe even most things), but I'm even less of a fan of people who pretend to be wounded by someone's twitter content. You don't like it, debate him on there, don't whine about it here, or worse, smugly imply now that the "writing was on the wall after he disrespected his fans." I despise this 'they should lose their job for disagreeing with me' culture.

And yes, he comes across as a total blowhard on twitter. So what?

There is a huge difference between disagreeing with your audience, and saying that most of your audience are rapists.

 

[erbkaiser]

I feel like the Gators are doing some sort of rain dance in celebration.

SJW tears do make for a fine rain to dance in, there's so much of them.

In all seriousness though, no need to use Ghazi terms like 'Gators'. Keep that to the trainwreck... err dedicated thread.

 

[Peterpan]

I've heard a lot of people say And it won't! At least not until Yahtzee gets the boot.

And I agree completely.

 

[magicpokey]

I'll say this one time. I respect the hell out of moviebob, I've been a fan since the early days of Game Overthinker and loved everything he did on this site. Here's the problem. The people who do the awful things are always the loudest voices in the room. It isn't glamorous to be the guy calling for moderation and civil discourse, because the crazy people are louder and usually more entertaining. But those of us on the side of progressive social issues need our voices heard as well. And it takes a lot of guts to be as vocal a mouthpiece as Bob was and still is.

I agree with 99% of everything Bob said here and on twitter. I think Swatting, Doxxing, and all the other -ing's that are used to harass and bully people you don't agree with are morally reprehensible and have no place in a civil society. When you take part in or encourage the type of behavior that the worst of #gamergate was associated with, you deserve to be called out. When you use an anonymous position of power to lash out at people like that just because you disagree with them (or, more often you are shocked that they had the nerve to be a woman in the games industry) then you deserve to be called subhuman.

Call me a Social Justice Warrior. Call me whatever you want, wrong is wrong and if the only way to defend this culture that we are a part of is to get a little dirty, then i'd rather get dirty on the side of RIGHT than Politically Correct any day.

I stand with Bob. I will follow him anywhere, because I respect the hell out of him, and I want him to continue fighting the good fight. Today is a sad day for The Escapist. And I, for one, won't be back any time soon.

-Brian "Magicpokey" Shoop

 

[McMarbles]

Well, Jim's gone, and now Bob's gone. Soon, the Escapist will be a perfect little echo chamber where no one will ever have to hear any opinions they're not comfortable with.

 

[AgDr_ODST]

I may very well opt not to renew my pub club membership now, with the site having two less video series that I watched regularly on the site. The only things videos series left that I enjoy are No Right Answer and ZP, and I long ago ceased to be a regular on the forums if I even ever was a regular to begin with. I will for sure will miss the high quality video option and no page breaks on articles but I'll get over that in short order I suspect. Which is not to say I'm abandoning the site completely over Bob's departure like some folks but I'll be checking in with far less frequency.

 

[baconmaster]

Sucks that he's out of a job but when you say the idiotic garbage that he did on twitter recently, it shouldn't come as a surprise. I hope he gets back on his feet soon... in a different industry

 

[KazeAizen]

Well, Jim's gone, and now Bob's gone. Soon, the Escapist will be a perfect little echo chamber where no one will ever have to hear any opinions they're not comfortable with.

Seriously. While politically I aligned with him most of the time when it came to movies it was always hit or miss. I love the first two Expendables movies and Man of Steel. He does not. So yeah when he took pot shots at Man of Steel I was a little angry but after a certain point I realized why and it was because of earlier videos he had done. He's totally pissed off about everything being dark, grim, and gritty and was hoping that the comic book films were finally getting away from that with Iron Man. When they didn't in Man of Steel it saddened/angered him and it doesn't help that it really wasn't the best written movie out there.

The utter lack of introspection and the want to do that is what is really killing the game industry. Jim was the one showing us consumer practices we would have to change if we wanted the AAA side to get better. More often than not Bob was the one telling us at the same time we should be introspective. Without the desire to be introspective or challenge audiences with a piece that requires them to be that we wouldn't have films like Selma or 12 Years a Slave. Gamers as a whole don't listen to understand yet. They listen to fight and because of that we will never have our 2001 or 1984.

 

[faeshadow]

Odd, recent twitter activity from him points out he feels legitimately regretful for using the terms

Its almost as if he is sorry to be fired. No wonder he regrets saying it - it cost him his job. There is still nothing to indicate he regrets the notion itself, merely getting caught using it. in fact the first tweet you quote flat out says he simply needs to find a "different insult".

It's like that line from Gone With the Wind.

"You're like the thief who isn't the least bit sorry he stole, but is terribly, terribly sorry he's going to jail."

Bob isn't sorry he said that nasty thing. He's just sorry that saying said nasty thing got him fired.

 

[Karadalis]

I'll say this one time. I respect the hell out of moviebob, I've been a fan since the early days of Game Overthinker and loved everything he did on this site. Here's the problem. The people who do the awful things are always the loudest voices in the room. It isn't glamorous to be the guy calling for moderation and civil discourse, because the crazy people are louder and usually more entertaining. But those of us on the side of progressive social issues need our voices heard as well. And it takes a lot of guts to be as vocal a mouthpiece as Bob was and still is.

I agree with 99% of everything Bob said here and on twitter. I think Swatting, Doxxing, and all the other -ing's that are used to harass and bully people you don't agree with are morally reprehensible and have no place in a civil society. When you take part in or encourage the type of behavior that the worst of #gamergate was associated with, you deserve to be called out. When you use an anonymous position of power to lash out at people like that just because you disagree with them (or, more often you are shocked that they had the nerve to be a woman in the games industry) then you deserve to be called subhuman.

Call me a Social Justice Warrior. Call me whatever you want, wrong is wrong and if the only way to defend this culture that we are a part of is to get a little dirty, then i'd rather get dirty on the side of RIGHT than Politically Correct any day.

I stand with Bob. I will follow him anywhere, because I respect the hell out of him, and I want him to continue fighting the good fight. Today is a sad day for The Escapist. And I, for one, won't be back any time soon.

-Brian "Magicpokey" Shoop

Clearly you havent really read or even understood what bob actually wrote in those twitters of his.

"There are no bad tactics, only bad targets"

And it wasnt people getting called out, it was people losing their jobs and getting threatened with murder to wich he replied

"if you lay with flea ridden dogs you shouldnt be surprised if you catch some"

So in short: Aslong as you disagree with bob, it is okay to receive death and rape threads, to lose your job and have your family threatened and be doxxed. Because that is stuff that happened to those who lay with those "flea ridden dogs"

Imagine he would have spouted out that vile garbage FOR gamergate instead of against it... yeah.. all of a sudden it doesnt sound that harmless anymore does it?

And you "respect" this man? Liberals nowadays look more and more like faschists... kinda ironic.

 

[Skatologist]

Odd, recent twitter activity from him points out he feels legitimately regretful for using the terms

Its almost as if he is sorry to be fired. No wonder he regrets saying it - it cost him his job. There is still nothing to indicate he regrets the notion itself, merely getting caught using it. in fact the first tweet you quote flat out says he simply needs to find a "different insult".

Odd, recent twitter activity from him points out he feels legitimately regretful for using the terms

Its almost as if he is sorry to be fired. No wonder he regrets saying it - it cost him his job. There is still nothing to indicate he regrets the notion itself, merely getting caught using it. in fact the first tweet you quote flat out says he simply needs to find a "different insult".

It's like that line from Gone With the Wind.

"You're like the thief who isn't the least bit sorry he stole, but is terribly, terribly sorry he's going to jail."

Bob isn't sorry he said that nasty thing. He's just sorry that saying said nasty thing got him fired.

Actually I believe those tweets were taken before he announced he was fired/laid off, the day before if I'm correct, so please go on about he was ever so sorry he was fired; I find it entertaining to have such a flawed spin on this. Oh, also mind to dig up the subhuman comments he's made too? Cause I can't quite find them, only the "lie down with dogs" and "no bad methods" ones, most of his other stuff in context considering I don't go through his reply tweets very often.

 

[Vigormortis]

Its almost as if these people have ethical standards for how they're willing to behave.

They do indeed. And some of them choose to base those 'ethical' standards around hypocrisy, bigotry, classism, sexism, and racism. Some even using the quite humane tactics of doxxing and harassment to spread these ideals.

For example, the truly fantastic human being known as Leigh Alexander.[footnote]I was tempted to post a few tweets from the VAST collective of spiteful, bigoted tweets from Devin Faraci, but then I realized this thread's already full of enough hateful nonsense, so I've refrained.[/footnote]

Spoiler

So, yes. All very, very ethical, indeed. True upstanding citizens who must be liberated from the stifling confines of a 'traditional' journalistic career so that they are free to spread their wonderful, constructive message of love, inclusiveness, and acceptance.

 

[MonsterCrit]

Wow... let's See, that removes my reason for visiting the Escapist on Tuesdays and Fridays...in addition to the loss of Jimquisition on Mondays ... and never having a reason to check on thursdays.... uhm... WoW I guess Wednesday is the only day I need to visit the Escapist.

 

[keniakittykat]

Another case of Thatguywiththeglasses-syndrome. A site with plenty of good content producers, who one by one gets axed by a management who seems to have no idea how to run a website of this format. And then they replace the scrapped guys with amateur idiots that Youtube didn't even want.

First Jim, now Bob, and I fear this won't be the end of it.

 

[templar1138a]

Top Five with Lisa Foiles. Jimquisition. Big Picture. Zero Punctuation. These video segments contributed to my wanting to visit this site. And now only one of them remains.

Escapist, there's a phrase about eggs and one basket.

 

[delroland]

I am not thrilled with this move, Escapist Magazine, and I will strongly be considering whether to not renew my Publisher's Club membership this year.

 

[Kavonde]

Welp, been a subscriber for four years, and there went my last reason to renew for 2015. Goodbye, shiny golden badge.