Unlicensed criticism should be silenced!

[Vault Dweller]

<a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com>The Escapist Magazine</a>, a once fine site that quickly evolved into the symbol of everything stupid, has posted this <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/op-ed/822-Everyone-s-a-Critic>idiotic opinion</a> for everyone to see.

<blockquote>In the age of the internet, as worldwide communication confirms that misery loves planetary company, online customer surveys, review sites, blogs and forums have become a self-sustaining orgy of endless criticism, commentary and review. ...

It's one thing to read a book, find yourself disappointed and turn to your friend to express some general complaint. But something changes when that casual complaint is posted on Amazon.com, even if it's no more irrational than the passing comment to a spouse, not because the sentiment is necessarily any stronger but because the context changes. Posting publicly endows authority, even when undeserved, and that the most absurd comments inevitably become the ones on which attention is focused only serves to worsen an already bad situation.

It leaves me to wonder if the very nature of criticism has changed. When the dysfunctional comments left in places like Aintitcool.com carry as much weight with purveyors of media as the LA Times' Kenneth Turan (God forbid - VD), it seems the nature of critical thought has changed for the worse. It seems, in giving everyone an equal voice, we've somewhat diminished the value of informed thought.
...
The thing is, the more I am flashed with everyone's usually hidden special-ness, the more I think there should be a way to put the genie back in the bottle. I'm not saying Greg Kasavin at Gamespot should have the last and only word on the quality of a game just because he's a "paid professional" and has "editorial standards." What I am saying is maybe we should all give him and his kin a little more attention than we give Quak3D00d when weighing criticism. </blockquote>Why? Why should we dismiss opinions of people who are passionate about the subject, expect quality, and don't care about offending delicate sensibilities of gaming companies?

Thanks, Lingwe

 

[stargelman]

Why? Why should we even care? Seriously, who cares?

 

[bozia2012]

Escapist teams up with nazi-fuckos from PC Welt?!

KONSPIRACY

 

[Kraszu]

He never through about trusting somebody who you agree before, who give good arguments? Just becouse everybody has rights to express opinion, it doesn't mean that you can't select people, that think alike about games. In democracy everybody has vote, and it has the same power, that is not true about debate on the internet at all.

 

[Zomg]

Jesus, they're lucky we even fucking tolerate them, much less elevate their bona fides derived from receiving paychecks and press events from the people they're criticizing.

 

[thesheeep]

I think RPGCodex should ban the Escapist and remove all links ;D

Lol, no, honestly... this is so plain stupid that it can't be taken for serious.

 

[Luhh]

God forbid that someone made an ubiased review!

Like ALL online gamemags review sites have ads from the companies game the review.. so how does that work? Can they diss the big game companies if the product suck?

Oh and most professionals aren't even close to professional when it comes to testing the products as well..

 

[Kingston]

Yet another case of self-professed "journalists" spouting out shit that they have no clue of. But hey, they are profeshunals, so obviously their opinions count more.

 

[thesheeep]

More important than being a "professional" seems to be the fact that they get money

 

[Dolar]

Exactly. Anymore it seems "Professional" gaming journalist means you get paid. Because frankly as of late their articles, and their attitudes are very far from what I would call professional.

Are people like this just freaked out that people are getting sick of the big publisher buying off of the gaming media? To be honest I really think gaming journalism needs to be redefined, they need to stop sucking up to these companies, or pretty soon no one will listen to them at all, and it will just make the seemingly unbiased opinion of the Internet nobody that much more powerful.

They are the ones fucking this up, not "us".

 

[Gwendo]

The Escapist has a point. The more people interfering with their blowjobs (by ass fucking certain lame games) to the gaming companies, the more chances of catching a STD.

 

[Araanor]

A new reality is being built with the Internet, one where information and information distribution is commoditized as never before. Communication is instantaneous, knowledge virtually free. Anyone can reach out, give their opinion, give their view, contribute. People collaborate. New structures are born. Message boards, blogs, even comment sections, linux, open source, youtube, wikipedia.

As with all change, some people will grumble. Especially those who have something to lose on the new ways.

 

[stargelman]

pro·fes·sion·al (prə-fĕsh'ə-nəl)
adj.

1.
a. Of, relating to, engaged in, or suitable for a profession: lawyers, doctors, and other professional people.
b. Conforming to the standards of a profession: professional behavior.
2. Engaging in a given activity as a source of livelihood or as a career: a professional writer.
3. Performed by persons receiving pay: professional football.
4. Having or showing great skill; expert: a professional repair job.

Duh.

 

[Grog]

I'm not saying Greg Kasavin at Gamespot should have the last and only word on the quality of a game...

Talk about opinions from an uninformed dumb-ass. Did he not notice when Kasavin resigned from Gamespot earlier this year?

 

[thesheeep]

pro·fes·sion·al (prə-fĕsh'ə-nəl)
adj.

1.
a. Of, relating to, engaged in, or suitable for a profession: lawyers, doctors, and other professional people.
b. Conforming to the standards of a profession: professional behavior.
2. Engaging in a given activity as a source of livelihood or as a career: a professional writer.
3. Performed by persons receiving pay: professional football.
4. Having or showing great skill; expert: a professional repair job.

Well, this guy seems to reduce it that point...

 

[NiM82]

Is this guy an alt of Matt Peckham?

 

[AnalogKid]

God forbid that someone made an ubiased review!

Actually, notice he's not bitching about reviews, he's bitching about complaints. So, presumably if "the masses" blogged away positively and didn't criticize anything, he'd be OK with it.

I'm a bit of an elitist (I suspect most codexers are), so I almost get what he's trying to say, even though I don't think he does. What he's missing is that intelligent people filter the criticism based on the source. If fAnB0YY365 writes something, I look at how it's written and (if available) his history of writing before blindly believing him, so all the blog criticisms in the world don't matter (I don't even read most of them).

So that brings us to the people that don't filter their info sources, which is coincidentally the same group that spam useless posts everywhere... young idiots. It's like the blind leading the blind, but in this case it's the dumb leading the dumb. Some are more young and just haven't learned better yet, some are more idiot and will never see the light. But they're 80+% of the market, and they ARE susceptible to propaganda. If it weren't for this group, people like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton and other "pop" icons wouldn't exist. And neither would Oblivion. (obligatory reference )

What he seems to be bitching about is that the gaming media isn't controlling the propaganda anymore. Boo hoo hoo.

Haven't we had this discussion about "professional" => "salescunt" already?

(Iit's also possible he's just bitching because he's losing readership because fewer people care about what the "experts" think. If that's the case, fuck him and his self-serving rant.)

 

[Walkin' Dude]

Professional journalists have ethics.

 

[Castanova]

I don't really care either way because I'm pretty sure that good taste cannot be taught. I do think that gaming journalists should not be bribed by developers through all expense paid trips to their offices and that kind of thing, though.

 

[MisterStone]

I think that only people who have to pay their own money to purchase a game should be allowed to review it. As it happens, this pretty much disqualifies all of the game mag whores/journalists out there.

I remember when Dungeon Siege came out... all the game mags were hyping the hell out of it. The reviews were mostly positive with maybe a little bit of lukewarmness mixed in. But a lot of people on Amazon.com were pretty pissed off with how boring the game was, how bad the NPC AI was, etc. etc. I was about to buy the game, but decided to hold out and wait for a demo to show up so I could decide for myself if I really wanted it or not.

As it turns out, the Amazon complainers were spot on, while the game mag whores were too busy wiping spooge off their lower jaws to write a balanced and critical review. I suppose that that is because the former ACTUALLY HAVE TO PAY HARD EARNED MONEY FOR SHIT GAMES, whereas the professional reviewers not only get this stuff for free, but have to trade in integrity to get access to early previews, interviews, and the like.

So in short, thank you, consumer reviewers.

 

[gc051360]

In matters of taste, like video games, I'll take the word of my fellow consumers. Now, if I need an expert medical opinion, I won't go to a forum. I'll go to the doctor.

But if it's about what game I'm gonna buy. I'll listen to people with similar tastes. I don't see how someone getting paid makes their opinion more valid. It's an opinion. Most of the time, mainstream reviews don't tell me a whole lot. And none of the main stream reviews share my opinion about games. Why would I listen to them?

If I am going to see a movie....do I care about what my best friend says about it, or what Roger Ebert says about it?

 

[SuAside]

wow, people taking amazon.com reviews ultra serious owe it to themselves to be fucked over, ye know. if you dont have the smarts to figure out that might not be the best place to read a critical opinion, you're lost already.
sure, such opinions might steer you a bit if they make valid and well debated points, but it shouldnt sway you too far either.

as for the escapist piece itself, i can only say "wtf". this is the age of user participation. it is nearly everywhere. and with it opinions are everywhere as well. if you dont learn to look at those critically, well fuck you really.

 

[4too]

The Escapist Empire Strikes Back

The Escapist Empire Strikes Back



First off, this appears to be the exceptional Escapist read that did not overtly try to sell an Xbox.
The Escapist, another predatory purveyor of better living through Microsoft XBoxes,
in this editorial, advocates dire dystopian dreams.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/article ... s-a-Critic
Sean Sands:

... If this is the democratization of criticism, maybe I'm all for some totalitarianism for a while. ...

Sean Sands is shaking down the web for emotional (pro and con) responses.
Talk Radio topics to pump up the hits!
Here is my screed.
Remember. No buzz is a bad buzz.

Sean Sands, Bad Boy in Black with aristocratic attitude as bait.
Threatening to take all the balls and go home.
Shaking his bull fighting verve at the motley herd.
Speculate.
Maybe a corporate monopoly of all means of communication is the answer to HIS problem.
Possibly HIS - final solution - is to profile who learns to read, and who ''eats cake''.

I did see a hint or two at *standards*, but no populist desire to educate the un washed and huddled masses.
No guiding light of Lady Liberty.
No flash and panache about rules for the road.
Not a fig leaf of robber baron patrimony in his oligarchic utopian dream.

No declaration of a boot strap self help initiative, so the budding critiques can all aspire to be ""Bozos"" on his special short bus.

Just a ''short sharp shock".

No fairness, only domination.
Absolute control of the medias.
Control of the present, control of the past, control of a Double Speak future.
Destiny's imperative, Sean Sands' comfort zone NEEDS Living-room!

For the facilitation of communication he might have preached standards, and fairness, and documentation, and etiquette, and of course, SPELL CHECK!
(Let's leave any grammar issues in it's apocalyptic black helicopters. Threat on the dramatic horizon.)

Inform me, I don't see Sean Sands' self focused ventilation as solving more issues then it denigrates.

Trust a pro? Who knows?
Some I might. Let me read first.

Perhaps: the Escapist editorial is fishing for an influx of bandwidth activity.
A.M. Talk Radio attention seeking. TV's alleged body count on sweep week.

Don't see his bottom line reason for the consumer to be less skeptical of the ''pro'' then the ''peer''.
No appeal to be his special pal and less contentious when in critique. Where's my free ride?

Tell me. Do I see, another hired scribbler bemoaning his threatened entitlement of information gate keeping,
haunted by the unpleasant foot steps of FAIR AND EQUAL competition. No free rides. No pay to play.

Maybe when more of the swarms of consumers exercise their atrophied verbal skills, walk a mile in Sean Sands' shoes,
we might appreciate his frustrations, feel his pain, trade in militant kaki's, and start honing our decision making skills in kinder, gentler shades of beige.
Maybe I pontificate better in blue? Too ruddy toned to wear red.

Anticipate a work stoppage by game entertainment critics, what Hitchhiker's Guide would notice that?

This concept of cooperation only for the literati and the intelligentsia,
this reluctance to share,
actually the Fear And Loathing of losing ad revenue and trade info
to competing independent web sites, and the web l33t persona?

Escapist editorial, just another virtual howling for the righteousness of social darwinism.
Haranguing, gesturing a Wagnerian orchestrated leadership principle.
Game plan, life boat situation, eat OR be eaten.

When a hard knocks reality might whisper, "all is fair ..., eat AND be eaten."





4too

 

[gc051360]

When a hard knocks reality might whisper, "all is fair ..., eat AND be eaten."

4too

Dude. I will fucking end you.

 

[4too]

Take A Number

Take A Number

gc051360:

Dude. I will fucking end you.

With soy or salsa?

Bang or whimper?

Cancer or cardiac?


4too