The Tao of Notch - Beyond Twitter

[brad_glasgow]

Welcome to The Escapist, Mr. Glasgow.

Strange to read an interview on a gaming site with someone who ISN'T promoting a current product. But strange in a good way, catching an obviously thoughtful person in a reflective mood for a non-confrontational chat. A few more of these instead of the usual "Game Journo" drive-by trash lobbing exercises, alleging various -isms of monstrous proportions, would hopefully offer a model of healthier conversation as an alternative to the pathological controversy-mongering we're currently afflicted with. Nice read, good job.

Thanks!

Much, much credit has to go to The Escapist for their willingness to publish this kind of content. Not only that, but I had a condition that the interview had to be left intact, without selective editing. There are some very minor grammar edits here and there, but other than that, this is the entire interview, verbatim. Not every publisher was willing to do that. The Escapist was a joy to work with and I hope to do more interviews like this for them.

 

[Leonardo Huizar]

Interview from 2013 if anyones curious
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMIDquNSXmA

 

[Thunderous Cacophony]

Typo on pg. 6

MP: No, the reason I to do it was because I saw Cortex Command doing it and they got it from someone else as well.

That was a really cool look into Notch as a real person, rather than how he's often portrayed (or has sometimes portrayed himself). He actually has some pretty balanced thoughts into the various strange conflicts plaguing modern western society, though I didn't agree with everything he said. He's also a good example of how people will try to hang you if you don't pick a side and agree with everything they say. Luckily, he seems in a better emotional state than maybe a few years ago, and no longer seems as affected by this kind of haranguing as he used to be.

If you asked around, though, I'm sure you'd find a majority opinion that Notch has picked a side- even if he doesn't speak up about every little thing, he is vocal enough and consistent enough that most people who pay attention to him on Twitter would feel comfortable drawing a line between Notch+his supporters vs. his opponents.


As a side note to the article, I'm glad that Glasgow and/or the editors went through the piece afterwards. Seeing a note about a quote being historically misattributed to Henry Ford pleases me, because it tells me that they didn't just feed the interview into a speech-to-text machine and publish it- they actually read what they had gathered and were writing down, edited and annotated it with care, then published it.

 

[Barbas]

Much, much credit has to go to The Escapist for their willingness to publish this kind of content. Not only that, but I had a condition that the interview had to be left intact, without selective editing. There are some very minor grammar edits here and there, but other than that, this is the entire interview, verbatim. Not every publisher was willing to do that. The Escapist was a joy to work with and I hope to do more interviews like this for them.

Oh. That might be why it seemed a bit...lengthy. It might have benefited from a few less "like"s, but on the other hand I think I can understand being hesitant to do an more heavily edited interview after the Destructoid...incident.

I think this was one article that might've done better in two pages, or broken up more on the page somehow. I lost track of where I was once or twice. Pretty good stuff overall, though, and I'd love to see more.

 

[Mazinger-Z]

Wow, what a natural, organic interview. Very candid. No messaging, no brevity due to rejecting pre-screened questions or editing out responses. No attempts to catch the person being interviewed in an uncomfortable moment to drum up drama. A real breath of fresh air. And Notch probably wouldn't have agreed to anything less.

 

[lacktheknack]

"I can buy them frozen and put them in a pan until they're no longer frozen."

This is how I'm going to describe my cooking to anyone who asks me now.

 

[darkrage6]

Can't take anyone seriously who uses stupid terms like SJW. He's dead fucking wrong about Kotaku, it seems like he's ignorant about a lot of things going on, just goes to show you being rich doesn't automatically mean you are smarter then everyone else.

 

[Czann]

What I took from this is that Notch is a no-nonsense guy and also very, very lazy.

 

[dreng3]

Can't take anyone seriously who uses stupid terms like SJW. He's dead fucking wrong about Kotaku, it seems like he's ignorant about a lot of things going on, just goes to show you being rich doesn't automatically mean you are smarter then everyone else.

It seems there might be a small misunderstanding, not once in the interview does Notch mention Kotaku, there is a quote from a tweet, but he actually goes on to explain his problems with the kind of journalism he believes kotaku practices. Additionally he explains his views on what SJW actually means, and he doesn't seem to hold the word, or those who use it seriously, in high esteem.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

I want to not give a fuck about other people the way Notch doesn't. He sounds so free doesn't he?

Can't take anyone seriously who uses stupid terms like SJW. He's dead fucking wrong about Kotaku, it seems like he's ignorant about a lot of things going on, just goes to show you being rich doesn't automatically mean you are smarter then everyone else.

Well this is news to me. I blindly assumed every man, woman, and child making more than $100,000 grand a year was fucking eienstein.

Give Kelly Clarkson a gun and 24 hours, she'll have the israel palestine conflict solved by morning..

 

[Fat Hippo]

SNIP

If you asked around, though, I'm sure you'd find a majority opinion that Notch has picked a side- even if he doesn't speak up about every little thing, he is vocal enough and consistent enough that most people who pay attention to him on Twitter would feel comfortable drawing a line between Notch+his supporters vs. his opponents.

Hmm, I don't pay enough attention to Twitter to be able to judge this. But I meant he hasn't really picked a side on the whole SJW/GamerGate thing, and refuses to take one. He will argue with feminists about certain things, and agree with them about others. Which seems very reasonable to me, but some people will of course get incredibly pissed off at him and accuse him of being sexist.

As a side note to the article, I'm glad that Glasgow and/or the editors went through the piece afterwards. Seeing a note about a quote being historically misattributed to Henry Ford pleases me, because it tells me that they didn't just feed the interview into a speech-to-text machine and publish it- they actually read what they had gathered and were writing down, edited and annotated it with care, then published it.

Agreed. For me, this was the best article on the Escapist, and frankly one the best gaming-related interviews on the internet, I've read in a long time. Kudos!

 

[lord synfel]

Can't take anyone seriously who uses stupid terms like SJW. He's dead fucking wrong about Kotaku, it seems like he's ignorant about a lot of things going on, just goes to show you being rich doesn't automatically mean you are smarter then everyone else.

when the hell did he mentioned kotaku?

 

[darkrage6]

I want to not give a fuck about other people the way Notch doesn't. He sounds so free doesn't he?

Can't take anyone seriously who uses stupid terms like SJW. He's dead fucking wrong about Kotaku, it seems like he's ignorant about a lot of things going on, just goes to show you being rich doesn't automatically mean you are smarter then everyone else.

Well this is news to me. I blindly assumed every man, woman, and child making more than $100,000 grand a year was fucking eienstein.

Give Kelly Clarkson a gun and 24 hours, she'll have the israel palestine conflict solved by morning..

I think Clarkson actually is pretty smart, Justin Bieber and Kanye West not so much.

 

[ScaredIndie]

Can't take anyone seriously who uses stupid terms like SJW. He's dead fucking wrong about Kotaku, it seems like he's ignorant about a lot of things going on, just goes to show you being rich doesn't automatically mean you are smarter then everyone else.

when the hell did he mentioned kotaku?

Page 4 of the interview. Mostly about Markus tweeting negatively about them after a bunch of "journalists" wrote hit pieces on him for not capitulating to their world views when they demanded he do so.

Luckily there are still sites like The Escapist (not perfect of definitely cleaning the bullies out of their house)

 

[lord synfel]

Can't take anyone seriously who uses stupid terms like SJW. He's dead fucking wrong about Kotaku, it seems like he's ignorant about a lot of things going on, just goes to show you being rich doesn't automatically mean you are smarter then everyone else.

when the hell did he mentioned kotaku?

Page 4 of the interview. Mostly about Markus tweeting negatively about them after a bunch of "journalists" wrote hit pieces on him for not capitulating to their world views when they demanded he do so.

Luckily there are still sites like The Escapist (not perfect of definitely cleaning the bullies out of their house)

but it wasnt notch who said it the article only referred to a tweet from his account than putting the answer to the question

 

[maninahat]

Good to see some juicy content coming out of the escapist, after what feels like a long time. That said, it perhaps is a little preoccupied with framing the interview in line with this site's now open hatred of "bad" "SJW" "Editorialisque" journalism.

 

[Mazinger-Z]

Good to see some juicy content coming out of the escapist, after what feels like a long time. That said, it perhaps is a little preoccupied with framing the interview in line with this site's now open hatred of "bad" "SJW" "Editorialisque" journalism.

This is largely a side-effect of other outlets refusing to give that type of opposing viewpoint any oxygen. You're going to see any capitalistic publication seeing a niche market and filling the void.

If one wants to avoid the construction of echo chambers from without or within, they have to be willing to let opposing ideas be discussed and give a platform to them.'

Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

You know what, this is good stuff, Escapist. More of this please.

It was a long and satisfying read. Much prefer to this to the top 8 lists.

 

[brad_glasgow]

That said, it perhaps is a little preoccupied with framing the interview in line with this site's now open hatred of "bad" "SJW" "Editorialisque" journalism.

Keep in mind that I'm a freelance writer. The interview was completed before The Escapist was involved. I talked about his views of journalism and editorializing because that's one of the main sources of his controversies on Twitter. When you have game journalists calling him a "massive arsehole" on Twitter and writing hit pieces like that Destructoid article, then yeah, that's going to be a big part of our conversation.

 

[maninahat]

Good to see some juicy content coming out of the escapist, after what feels like a long time. That said, it perhaps is a little preoccupied with framing the interview in line with this site's now open hatred of "bad" "SJW" "Editorialisque" journalism.

This is largely a side-effect of other outlets refusing to give that type of opposing viewpoint any oxygen. You're going to see any capitalistic publication seeing a niche market and filling the void.

If one wants to avoid the construction of echo chambers from without or within, they have to be willing to let opposing ideas be discussed and give a platform to them.'

Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

Yeah, my formal logic prof used to harangue us to expose ourselves to different points of view, especially politically. The left wingers were asked to listen to Rush Limbaugh occasionally(the memories of having to listen to that self-righteous pill popper talking crap about drug use) and the right wingers were asked to listen to certain NPR programs. Exposure to alien ideas allows you to see how the other side thinks and feels as well as expand and strengthen your viewpoint. Not tolerating people that don't think exactly the way you do was my issue with the right for years and has now become my issue with the left as they obtained more clout. Those "journalists" who merely pushed their views and agenda instead of their love for the medium on which they were paid to report didn't do their job properly. When called on it they demonized those who called them out. Perhaps if they had more exposure to other points of view they wouldn't have been so smug and superior about the idea of forcing those views down everyone else's throats. It is harder to demonize someone if you understand them. That applies to almost all points on the spectrum.

Would love to see more interviews like this.

I think the danger though is that by giving the opportunity, you potentially treat two opposing views as a level playing field, even when they shouldn't. It's why, say, people like Richard Dawkins refuse to publicly debate creationists; because by even presenting it as a two sided debate, they have given creationists a level of legitimacy their argument doesn't deserve.

Also, this website has lost a lot of its more outspoken - dare I say lefty - content producers; if it is ideal to open the doors and get more view points, the escapist is going in the opposite direction.