GW 2 Devs/Playerbase Twitter Discussion

[Tolmos.8395]

> @"DaShi.1368" said:

> > @"squallaus.8321" said:

> > > @"DaShi.1368" said:

> > > There's a few other articles and youtube videos.

> > >

> > > I guess my concern is that when John Smith made rude comments to posters on the old forums, he just disappeared from the forums for awhile and only a few people called him out on it (I was one of them). Yet, when a women does it, people call for her head. It's really the reaction that's concerning.

> >

> > I think it might have more to do with her playing the sexist victim card inappropriately more than her being a female. From her twitter banter with jebro she even thinks the new Avenger movie is sexist. Basically everything is sexist to her and she's always hurt by it.

>

> Maybe she is hurt by it. There's a lot of sexism in the world that women have to deal with everyday. Some days it might be one big sexist thing, another a million little ones. Regardless, it takes it toll. And it's not wrong to point out sexism or to ask people to be less sexist.

 

It is wrong, however, to accuse two innocent individuals of being sexist to hundreds of followers simply because they spoke to you, while representing the company that you work for. At least, most companies that I can think of don't really like being associated with that sort of behavior.

 

This is why Peter also faced similar consequences.

[DaShi.1368]

> @"mixxed.5862" said:

> I'm disgusted by this community's reaction to her tweet, calling for her to be fired and being genuinely happy about it afterwards. To me it's simply inconceivable how so many could overreact like that to blow this matter this massively out of proportion.

>

> She obviously perceived herself as being treated in a sexist way and called it out. It doesn't matter whether this indeed was the case or not, because it is very understandable how she could arrive at that conclusion:

> She posts a long, well thought out comment explaining why it's state of the art in the MMORPG genre to present the player character the way they do. A hardcore fan chimes in to "politely" tell her he disagrees and suggests to implement branching story lines as if she was a complete amateur and never heard of it. That fan implied she as a dev on the narrative team was incompetent at her job to then kindly tell her how to do it better. He probably didn't mean to but this is what you'll take from his comment when you read on the relationship and appeal layer from her perspective instead of taking it purely as factual (if you're not familiar with the four-sides model of communication you probably won't be able to make sense of this). Given the fact it was posted on her personal twitter account and the outlined context, she wasn't wrong in taking the comment as a personal slight. She then reacted accordingly.

> Women wrongfully being regarded as less competent than they really are is a VERY common symptom of sexism in our society. This happens even despite them having years of professional expertise and for no other reason than their gender. It unmistakably is sexism, although in a more subtle way and therefore in many cases hard to detect.

>

> Imo her reaction was perfectly understandable - although it was unprofessional. She shouldn't have replied to criticism on her own twitter account like a private person.

 

Thank you! A thousand times this! Many may not understand where she's coming from, but that doesn't make her wrong.

[Azrielvon.7836]

> @"DaShi.1368" said:

> > @"squallaus.8321" said:

> > > @"DaShi.1368" said:

> > > There's a few other articles and youtube videos.

> > >

> > > I guess my concern is that when John Smith made rude comments to posters on the old forums, he just disappeared from the forums for awhile and only a few people called him out on it (I was one of them). Yet, when a women does it, people call for her head. It's really the reaction that's concerning.

> >

> > I think it might have more to do with her playing the sexist victim card inappropriately more than her being a female. From her twitter banter with jebro she even thinks the new Avenger movie is sexist. Basically everything is sexist to her and she's always hurt by it.

>

> Maybe she is hurt by it. There's a lot of sexism in the world that women have to deal with everyday. Some days it might be one big sexist thing, another a million little ones. Regardless, it takes it toll. And it's not wrong to point out sexism or to ask people to be less sexist.

 

NOBODY denies that gender/ethnic etc discrimination exist in the workplace. Even in my country where tolerance is widely preached, crap still exist. HOWEVER, identifying true cases and calling it out is the important thing, not screeching at everything bad that happens is a result of patriarchy. Firstly, this brings down the credibility of such movements, it turns people off from the cause. Future true cases would be taken even more lightly, guess who is shooting themselves in the foot?

[DaShi.1368]

> @"Tolmos.8395" said:

> > @"DaShi.1368" said:

> > > @"squallaus.8321" said:

> > > > @"DaShi.1368" said:

> > > > There's a few other articles and youtube videos.

> > > >

> > > > I guess my concern is that when John Smith made rude comments to posters on the old forums, he just disappeared from the forums for awhile and only a few people called him out on it (I was one of them). Yet, when a women does it, people call for her head. It's really the reaction that's concerning.

> > >

> > > I think it might have more to do with her playing the sexist victim card inappropriately more than her being a female. From her twitter banter with jebro she even thinks the new Avenger movie is sexist. Basically everything is sexist to her and she's always hurt by it.

> >

> > Maybe she is hurt by it. There's a lot of sexism in the world that women have to deal with everyday. Some days it might be one big sexist thing, another a million little ones. Regardless, it takes it toll. And it's not wrong to point out sexism or to ask people to be less sexist.

>

> It is wrong, however, to accuse two innocent individuals of being sexist to hundreds of followers simply because they spoke to you, while representing the company that you work for. At least, most companies that I can think of don't really like being associated with that sort of behavior.

>

> This is why Peter also faced similar consequences.

 

Yes, those two "innocent" individuals were irreparably harmed by her. :rolleyes:

[Kajan.7410]

> @"Mike O Brien.4613" said:

> Recently two of our employees failed to uphold our standards of communicating with players. Their attacks on the community were unacceptable. As a result, they’re no longer with the company.

>

> I want to be clear that the statements they made do not reflect the views of ArenaNet at all. As a company we always strive to have a collaborative relationship with the Guild Wars community. We value your input. We make this game for you.

>

> Mo

 

Thank you. After looking into this situation, trying to understand what happened, and seeing the vitriol coming from these employee's to things that seemed cordial and respectful at the very least... i am relieved to see this to be the official stance. Its not a good thing someone had to loose their job over this, but if i have to choose between this out come and the outcome i've seen so often in the past, where companies seem to double down on this kind of behavior, i will always prefer the former to the later.

 

People should have the ability to disagree with people, and their opinions, without getting bitched at. Especially when someone talks about something that could actually benefit them in their work.

 

I mean, as i understand it the whole thing started because a youtuber disagreed with a statement made by the narrative team. It would behoove people to actually pay attention to this, and not fling vitriol at them, because how often do you actually get your customer to give you feedback about what they think is going wrong. Its fine if you disagree with what they think is wrong, but then you should either take the time to tell them why they are wrong, or just tell them that you will take their opinion under advisement. But the last thing you should do is actually develop an attitude about it.

 

 

Anyway, i just wanted to say Thank you for not doubling down, A-Net. I am glad to learn we get to disagree with you on things :)

[xarallei.4279]

SWTOR has a lot of issues as an MMO. But story was not one of them (at least back when I played, I have no idea about it now). The story and character development was really amazing. The ability to make simple choices really makes a difference. That game absolutely proves that it is possible to have some variation/branching in an MMO environment like Deroir mentioned. And the thing is...you don't even need major variations. Just little things can really give you that much more enjoyment with your character.

[Tolmos.8395]

> @"DaShi.1368" said:

> > @"Tolmos.8395" said:

> > > @"DaShi.1368" said:

> > > > @"squallaus.8321" said:

> > > > > @"DaShi.1368" said:

> > > > > There's a few other articles and youtube videos.

> > > > >

> > > > > I guess my concern is that when John Smith made rude comments to posters on the old forums, he just disappeared from the forums for awhile and only a few people called him out on it (I was one of them). Yet, when a women does it, people call for her head. It's really the reaction that's concerning.

> > > >

> > > > I think it might have more to do with her playing the sexist victim card inappropriately more than her being a female. From her twitter banter with jebro she even thinks the new Avenger movie is sexist. Basically everything is sexist to her and she's always hurt by it.

> > >

> > > Maybe she is hurt by it. There's a lot of sexism in the world that women have to deal with everyday. Some days it might be one big sexist thing, another a million little ones. Regardless, it takes it toll. And it's not wrong to point out sexism or to ask people to be less sexist.

> >

> > It is wrong, however, to accuse two innocent individuals of being sexist to hundreds of followers simply because they spoke to you, while representing the company that you work for. At least, most companies that I can think of don't really like being associated with that sort of behavior.

> >

> > This is why Peter also faced similar consequences.

>

> Yes, those two "innocent" individuals were irreparably harmed by her. :rolleyes:

 

It's fine if you want to dismiss any offense they may feel, but Arenanet was not as willing to do that, nor were most other people. It's 2018; you can't just make derogatory remarks about people based on race, gender, religion or nationality and expect to face no repercussions. ESPECIALLY if you do it while conducting yourself in any form of a professional capacity. No company wants to be associated with that kind of behavior, nor will they condone it.

[Hyper Legend.3421]

> @"Tolmos.8395" said:

> > @"Zaklex.6308" said:

> > > @"Teratus.2859" said:

> > > > @"Zaklex.6308" said:

> > > > > @"Ashen.2907" said:

> > > > > > @"Zaklex.6308" said:

> > > > > > > @"Ashen.2907" said:

> > > > > > > > @"Zaklex.6308" said:

> > > > > > > > Actually, I'm disappointed in ArenaNet...and the vast majority of the GW community as well...this is 2018, we all need to move into the now and start learning to separate a persons freedom of speech on PERSONAL social media from what they say on BUSINESS related social media. This actually extends beyond social media and includes sports personal conduct clauses...what you or anyone does on their own PERSONAL time does not reflect on how well they perform a job. I'm going to be quite unpopular with the following, but all of this really started with the Ray Rice thing(look it up if you don't know about that) and the NFL. Now, before you think I condone any type of abuse against another person you'd be so far from the truth it would make me laugh, but having said that, even though what he did to his girlfriend in an elevator during the off-season was atrocious, I do not think it was anyone's business but his and hers alone. If you're going to hold someone else up as a role model, society has a serious issue, the only role models should be your parents(if you have them of course).

> > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > The only way society is going to advance is this way: what you do at work or while representing your employer is directly related to that employer; what you do or say on your own PERSONAL time has nothing to do with your employer and until the rest of the world learns this we're all screwed(that even includes if you reference your employer on your own PERSONAL social media handles). I DO NOT CARE what someone does on their own time, nor should anyone else but that person, even the employer should not care what that person does on their own PERSONAL time, but we as a society have forgotten how to separate work from personal time...that is what work hours are for, so those people unable to tell the difference can.

> > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > Wake up world, this is 2018, not 1984 or 1950 or anyone other year...time to evolve or die out.

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > If the person, on their own time and personal social media accounts, is actively promoting themself as a company representative then they have decided to erase the line between personal and professional.

> > > > > >

> > > > > > Like I said, that's old school thinking, which almost everyone is still doing...either humankind evolves or it dies out, until humankind can learn to separate personal time from employee time...we as a society are screwed. I do not care if you mention in your private personal social media accounts who you work for, those are for your own private thoughts, I'm smart enough to realize they do not reflect the company you work for, but as we've all seen...there is another single person in America that is smart enough to be able to do that. I won't speak for the rest of the world...let me put my thinking into a simple example...I wear a uniform at work, while I'm wearing that uniform I am representing my employer, the minute I take off any part of the uniform that identifies my employer I am no on my PERSONAL time and I should be allowed to say anything I want that isn't illegal...even if completely contradicts my employers public image...that is the state the world needs to be in, separate the individual from the job, they are not the same thing.

> > > > >

> > > > > Right, but the person who chose to not separate the personal time from the professional was her. She chose to not evolve, as you put it, and suffered the, very unfortunate, consequences.

> > > >

> > > > Apparently you're unable to comprehend what I'm saying...it isn't only the poster that has to do that, it's also the reader...EVERYONE needs to separate personal time from professional time, even if you list your professional associations on your PERSONAL social media...that is what I am saying. Let me put it this way, say you work an 8 - 5 job, what you say during those 8 - 5 hours reflects on your employer...anything you say outside of those hours, unless you're at a function representing your employer are your PERSONAL opinions and have no reflection on your employer....that is how we as a society need to evolve.

> > >

> > > There's a very obvious fine line on this limitation though.

> > >

> > > I agree with the seperation of work and private life.. I've even said it myself in a previous comment.

> > > However the company/employee line can only be seperated by the individual not the company.

> > > If the individual chooses to affiliate their private social media with their place of employment then whether they like it or not their work and home lives are no longer seperate on their social media.

> > >

> > > I think I can speak for everyone here when I say that none of us think that what JP said on her personal social media in any way reflects Anet as a company.. that would just be crazy.

> > > However how can we expect Anet to maintain it's great reputation as an open an welcoming company that values and respects all its customers equally without prejudice when one of their employees is actively abusing the company's customers on a social media account that also happens to be directly affiliated to their company?

> > >

> > > There's just no way any company can tolerate that kind of behavior and disrespect from an employee.. on the clock or not, personal media account or not..

> > > Public affiliation demands similar responsibilities and an employee that choses to represent their employer in their personal time needs to be held accountable for any and all negative publicity they bring towards the company that employs them through their behavior.

> > >

> > > I do not agree with the things JP said but I do support her right to say those things and had she done so on a personal social media account that was not affiliated with Anet Almost none of us would even have known about it in the first place and chances are the original comments that started this mess probably wouldn't have even happened either since the vast majority of her followers are Anet customers and would not be following her in the first place.

> > >

> > > Seperation of work and private life is definitely the best way to go we're very much agreed there.

> > > However this is and should always be the responsibility of the individual.

> >

> > Here's were you an I disagree...it should not be the individuals responsibility, it should be the companies responsibility to know the difference...after all, why do so many companies put out notices saying that the comments of so and so do not reflect the beliefs of this company? That tells me that companies already realize people are entitled to their opinions, but I actually do find fault with the other person in this case...and I've read what caused the uproar, that post was not an invitation to open a dialogue...it was a list of the facts stating why ArenaNet is constrained in telling the story they way they do...no where in that post did I see an invitation to offer an alternative or even open up a dialogue about it. I'm not sure how this Derior person is or if they're a native English speaker, but if they aren't then that could've been the problem, not understanding the context of the post, it wasn't an open invitation for discussion...it was more like a dissertation...this is how it is and why.

>

> That's pretty difficult to accomplish when the first thing folks do when they get mad is go straight to a person's employer and try to get them fired. Look at any other person who is ousted over negative comments involving gender, race, religion or nationality. Every time, folks immediately reach out to that person's employer and ask them "Do you condone this?" If the person isn't fired, people start boycotting.

>

> It's become the American way.

 

It becomes an issue when you deviate from being a company ambassador of integrity to that of something personal, as if your customers are attacking you directly.

 

I'm not sure if you read the entire argument, but she should've seen it coming. She made a mistake by bringing up company business in a private Twitter. If you want to share your political beliefs and opinions of similar sort in a social media venue, that's cool; however, once you start bringing your work into it, your opinions are now becoming reflected on behalf of your company. Surely she didn't intend to be the voice of ArenaNet in her words, but she made it so by starting a topic related to her job, then proceeding to get nasty with people.

 

This is why you shouldn't talk about work on social media unless it's your job. Keep work at work, your outside life to yourself, and let the bitching go to the people in your life that care to lend an ear - NOT to your customers.

 

And look, they had two ways they could've handled this. They could've let her apologize and keep her around on watch of what she says, or they could've gotten rid of her. From what I've read, JP has been toxic to the community for years. Her Twitter banner is even an indicator of this. She has low-tolerance toward people and is quick to become hostile. Chances are she would've been forced to apologize just to save face, only to grow bitter at the playerbase for trying to get her terminated.

 

People were threatening to jump ship if ArenaNet didn't terminate her - myself included. I have to deal with enough political drama through the media and Hollywood; the last thing I want are salty developers hiding behind their irrelevant ideologies during simple conversation with honest, genuine players that want to have a conversation.

 

I say MO did the right thing. Either way, it wasn't an easy decision, but keeping toxicity out lets fresh air in.

[Talindra.4958]

all who worked for arena net I have total respect , disregard if one is weird, strange or one with an attitude..whatever you name that.. I do not think sacking her is the best solution. but it is what it is and decision is made we should also respect the company decision as they know their employee and they will manage the disputes.

as a players we aren't king or queen and yes we are costumer, but if we go to people private page and started conversation with them, don't get upset if the respond coming back isn't what you expect. good luck JP in your future endeavor. This is not the end of her career line :)

[Hell Nirvana.9045]

> @"mixxed.5862" said:

> I'm disgusted by this community's reaction to her tweet, calling for her to be fired and being genuinely happy about it afterwards. To me it's simply inconceivable how so many could overreact like that to blow this matter this massively out of proportion.

>

> She obviously perceived herself as being treated in a sexist way and called it out. It doesn't matter whether this indeed was the case or not, because it is very understandable how she could arrive at that conclusion:

> She posts a long, well thought out comment explaining why it's state of the art in the MMORPG genre to present the player character the way they do. A hardcore fan chimes in to "politely" tell her he disagrees and suggests to implement branching story lines as if she was a complete amateur and never heard of it. That fan implied she as a dev on the narrative team was incompetent at her job to then kindly tell her how to do it better. He probably didn't mean to but this is what you'll take from his comment when you read on the relationship and appeal layer from her perspective instead of taking it purely as factual (if you're not familiar with the four-sides model of communication you probably won't be able to make sense of this). Given the fact it was posted on her personal twitter account and the outlined context, she wasn't wrong in taking the comment as a personal slight. She then reacted accordingly.

> Women wrongfully being regarded as less competent than they really are is a VERY common symptom of sexism in our society. This happens even despite them having years of professional expertise and for no other reason than their gender. It unmistakably is sexism, although in a more subtle way and therefore in many cases hard to detect.

>

> Imo her reaction was perfectly understandable - although it was unprofessional. She shouldn't have replied to criticism on her own twitter account like a private person.

 

So what you're saying is she should be above critisism.

[Sarrs.4831]

> @"DaShi.1368" said:

> Yes, those two "innocent" individuals were irreparably harmed by her. :rolleyes:

 

Whether those individuals were harmed is irrelevant.

 

What is relevant is whether the business was harmed. Attacking two *customers*, on its own, in such a public space, can absolutely cause enough damage to the brand to warrant their removal.

 

But these aren't just customers, they're content creators who for all we know make a living off producing this content, and it's *their job* to try to create these kinds of conversations. She's attacking what are effectively advertising partners who create their content out of a love of the game at no cost to Arenanet. You would have to be *insane* to think that there was a winning play for ANet that didn't involve at least removing Price (or at least forbidding her any kind of social media).

[Crinn.7864]

 

 

> @"kimeekat.2548" said:

> > @"Sarrs.4831" said:

> > > @"kimeekat.2548" said:

> > > a dev doesn't owe you anything on their own time

> >

> > If you, as a twitter user, genuinely don't feel a post warrants a response?

> >

> > Don't respond.

>

> She obviously felt it was a backhanded comment that plays into a larger pattern of sexism that women deal with when they step into games, and as such did warrant a response so I'm not sure what good this advice does.

 

Then she made not one, but two very poor judgement calls.

 

The first mistake was to assume that Derior's comment was somehow gender related. Derior may be guilty of not fully reading her original comment, but that's a far cry from what she accused him of. From her comments it seems as if she had a chip on her shoulder and it's plausible that she would have attacked Derior regardless of what he said.

 

The second mistake was the manner in which she chose to respond. Even if her interpretation of Derior's comment was fair, she still should not have responded how she did. She escalated the situation massively with her comments and by doing so made herself (and the company she represents) the villain.

 

[DaShi.1368]

> @"Mike O Brien.4613" said:

> Recently two of our employees failed to uphold our standards of communicating with players. Their attacks on the community were unacceptable. As a result, they’re no longer with the company.

>

> I want to be clear that the statements they made do not reflect the views of ArenaNet at all. As a company we always strive to have a collaborative relationship with the Guild Wars community. We value your input. We make this game for you.

>

> Mo

 

Mo. Thank you for your response. I do hope you reconsider and look to this whole situation as learning opportunity. I agree that they weren't exactly respectful to certain fans. But this was done through their private accounts as private people. Perhaps a reminder that their social presence can impact the company would have been more appropriate. And an apology would probably help to smooth things over, if the fans involved were genuinely sincere in their interactions. On the fan side, they could use a reminder that GW2 staff are real people and aren't there for their pleasure. Private accounts are private, even if the user discusses topics related to their careers. Harassment of your staff by customers should be treated just as seriously, if not more so.

 

Anyway, I've really appreciated what both Jessica's and Peter's contributions to GW2 and will miss their presence.

[Azrielvon.7836]

> @"DaShi.1368" said:

> > @"Mike O Brien.4613" said:

> > Recently two of our employees failed to uphold our standards of communicating with players. Their attacks on the community were unacceptable. As a result, they’re no longer with the company.

> >

> > I want to be clear that the statements they made do not reflect the views of ArenaNet at all. As a company we always strive to have a collaborative relationship with the Guild Wars community. We value your input. We make this game for you.

> >

> > Mo

>

> Mo. Thank you for your response. I do hope you reconsider and look to this whole situation as learning opportunity. I agree that they weren't exactly respectful to certain fans. But this was done through their private accounts as private people. Perhaps a reminder that their social presence can impact the company would have been more appropriate. And an apology would probably help to smooth things over, if the fans involved were genuinely sincere in their interactions. On the fan side, they could use a reminder that GW2 staff are real people and aren't there for their pleasure. Private accounts are private, even if the user discusses topics related to their careers. Harassment of your staff by customers should be treated just as seriously, if not more so.

>

> Anyway, I've really appreciated what both Jessica's and Peter's contributions to GW2 and will miss their presence.

 

I agree, private accounts should remain private, however, once you attach your job title, discuss your job and not limiting it to your own selected audience, you're no longer private, people will perceive you as a professional.

[gateless gate.8406]

> @"Zaklex.6308" said:

> Actually I disagree, it's more because we as human beings don't know the difference between personal and professional, and businesses do not have the cajones to tell customers the difference between an employees personal and professional opinions...that's the problem. This also has nothing to do with biomedicine and biotechnology...but it does have a lot to do with psychology. It also made me look at how I see our current President, whom I don't like as a person and I don't like the job he's doing...but I do like how he speaks his mind and doesn't care what others think...however, I'd be worse than he is and I do not do political correctness and I do not care if I offend people, if I offend someone it's because they take things to personally. I can't be offended, by anything, because I don't care what anyone else says or thinks, they don't define me, I define me and who I am.

 

Bad Person works in company X. Bad Person uses social media to showcase divisive/controversial/offensive opinions. Customer sees said social media usage and makes the reasonable assumption that Bad Person, being a human being and having a human brain, is informed by their personal opinions and that their personal opinions shape their behavior, even in the workplace.

 

That's it. That's really all that's happening. And it's the reasonable, logical assumption to make. If you assume that people become robots that behave according to external rules once they enter the workplace, that's the wrong assumption to be making.

[DaShi.1368]

> @"Azrielvon.7836" said:

> > @"DaShi.1368" said:

> > > @"Mike O Brien.4613" said:

> > > Recently two of our employees failed to uphold our standards of communicating with players. Their attacks on the community were unacceptable. As a result, they’re no longer with the company.

> > >

> > > I want to be clear that the statements they made do not reflect the views of ArenaNet at all. As a company we always strive to have a collaborative relationship with the Guild Wars community. We value your input. We make this game for you.

> > >

> > > Mo

> >

> > Mo. Thank you for your response. I do hope you reconsider and look to this whole situation as learning opportunity. I agree that they weren't exactly respectful to certain fans. But this was done through their private accounts as private people. Perhaps a reminder that their social presence can impact the company would have been more appropriate. And an apology would probably help to smooth things over, if the fans involved were genuinely sincere in their interactions. On the fan side, they could use a reminder that GW2 staff are real people and aren't there for their pleasure. Private accounts are private, even if the user discusses topics related to their careers. Harassment of your staff by customers should be treated just as seriously, if not more so.

> >

> > Anyway, I've really appreciated what both Jessica's and Peter's contributions to GW2 and will miss their presence.

>

> I agree, private accounts should remain private, however, once you attach your job title, discuss your job and not limiting it to your own selected audience, you're no longer private, people will perceive you as a professional.

 

Actually, further reading Derior's full response, he was being extremely condescending. She kindly told him to fuck off and he demanded more of her time. He had crossed the line quickly from commenting to harassment.

[Scoops.8490]

> @"DaShi.1368" said:

> > @"Mike O Brien.4613" said:

> > Recently two of our employees failed to uphold our standards of communicating with players. Their attacks on the community were unacceptable. As a result, they’re no longer with the company.

> >

> > I want to be clear that the statements they made do not reflect the views of ArenaNet at all. As a company we always strive to have a collaborative relationship with the Guild Wars community. We value your input. We make this game for you.

> >

> > Mo

>

> Mo. Thank you for your response. I do hope you reconsider and look to this whole situation as learning opportunity. I agree that they weren't exactly respectful to certain fans. But this was done through their private accounts as private people. Perhaps a reminder that their social presence can impact the company would have been more appropriate. And an apology would probably help to smooth things over, if the fans involved were genuinely sincere in their interactions. On the fan side, they could use a reminder that GW2 staff are real people and aren't there for their pleasure. Private accounts are private, even if the user discusses topics related to their careers. Harassment of your staff by customers should be treated just as seriously, if not more so.

>

> Anyway, I've really appreciated what both Jessica's and Peter's contributions to GW2 and will miss their presence.

 

First of all she was utterly toxic on Twitter going as far as celebrating the death of TotalBiscuit... There's a reason why employers check your social media before hiring you and that is because they don't want to hire toxic people like those who celebrate the death of a young cancer victim who left behind a family... You feel more sorry for her losing her job than she did for him dying.

 

Second she was on twitter talking about her job and the company she works for... She wasn't exactly fired for unrelated things.

[Epiphany.7125]

I honestly feel like I've entered the Twilight Zone reading this thread. Wow.

[Azrielvon.7836]

> @"DaShi.1368" said:

> > @"Azrielvon.7836" said:

> > > @"DaShi.1368" said:

> > > > @"Mike O Brien.4613" said:

> > > > Recently two of our employees failed to uphold our standards of communicating with players. Their attacks on the community were unacceptable. As a result, they’re no longer with the company.

> > > >

> > > > I want to be clear that the statements they made do not reflect the views of ArenaNet at all. As a company we always strive to have a collaborative relationship with the Guild Wars community. We value your input. We make this game for you.

> > > >

> > > > Mo

> > >

> > > Mo. Thank you for your response. I do hope you reconsider and look to this whole situation as learning opportunity. I agree that they weren't exactly respectful to certain fans. But this was done through their private accounts as private people. Perhaps a reminder that their social presence can impact the company would have been more appropriate. And an apology would probably help to smooth things over, if the fans involved were genuinely sincere in their interactions. On the fan side, they could use a reminder that GW2 staff are real people and aren't there for their pleasure. Private accounts are private, even if the user discusses topics related to their careers. Harassment of your staff by customers should be treated just as seriously, if not more so.

> > >

> > > Anyway, I've really appreciated what both Jessica's and Peter's contributions to GW2 and will miss their presence.

> >

> > I agree, private accounts should remain private, however, once you attach your job title, discuss your job and not limiting it to your own selected audience, you're no longer private, people will perceive you as a professional.

>

> Actually, further reading Derior's full response, he was being extremely condescending. She kindly told him to kitten off and he demanded more of her time.

 

I'm sorry, I fail to see where Derior is condescending. May I request you to point that out for me?

[Sylv.5324]

> @"DaShi.1368" said:

 

>

> Actually, further reading Derior's full response, he was being extremely condescending. She kindly told him to kitten off and he demanded more of her time.

Her response should have been to ignore or block. As soon as the profanity came out, there wasn't much Anet could do other than drop her.

 

 

[kmdziak.1076]

> @"DaShi.1368" said:

> > @"Mike O Brien.4613" said:

> > Recently two of our employees failed to uphold our standards of communicating with players. Their attacks on the community were unacceptable. As a result, they’re no longer with the company.

> >

> > I want to be clear that the statements they made do not reflect the views of ArenaNet at all. As a company we always strive to have a collaborative relationship with the Guild Wars community. We value your input. We make this game for you.

> >

> > Mo

>

> Mo. Thank you for your response. I do hope you reconsider and look to this whole situation as learning opportunity. I agree that they weren't exactly respectful to certain fans. But this was done through their private accounts as private people. Perhaps a reminder that their social presence can impact the company would have been more appropriate. And an apology would probably help to smooth things over, if the fans involved were genuinely sincere in their interactions. On the fan side, they could use a reminder that GW2 staff are real people and aren't there for their pleasure. Private accounts are private, even if the user discusses topics related to their careers. Harassment of your staff by customers should be treated just as seriously, if not more so.

>

> Anyway, I've really appreciated what both Jessica's and Peter's contributions to GW2 and will miss their presence.

 

What harassment from customers ? a guy throwing in his 2 cents about the topic she started is a harassment ? while doing it in the most polite way u can possibly do ? It's her problem that she can't take constructive criticism and needs to lock herself in a bubble by blocking everyone who disagrees with her. She's a developer, her job is to take feedback from players, because players are the customers who buy the product she works on, with the way she reacted she showed that she doesn't care about anyone's feedback. If she didn't want to answer to his comment, because as u said it was her private time, then she shouldn't have responded at all, but what she did was disgusting, u don't treat a customer like that if u want to keep your job, especially when the customer did nothing wrong and just wanted to discuss the matter of the initial topic.

[Scoops.8490]

> @"Azrielvon.7836" said:

> I'm sorry, I fail to see where Derior is condescending. May I request you to point that out for me?

 

What you're looking at is massive cognitive dissonance form the one person in this thread who doesn't believe this woman deserved to be fired. He/she is just posting so many times it looks like there's actually real debate about who was in the wrong.

 

Deroir was as polite as polite can be.

[alceste.8712]

I want to make sure and voice my approval of ArenaNet actions. ArenaNet has shown that they value professionalism and common decency. If anybody under my supervision did these actions, I would have done the same. I look forward to seeing ArenaNet's work from this day forward.

[DaShi.1368]

> @"Azrielvon.7836" said:

> > @"DaShi.1368" said:

> > > @"Azrielvon.7836" said:

> > > > @"DaShi.1368" said:

> > > > > @"Mike O Brien.4613" said:

> > > > > Recently two of our employees failed to uphold our standards of communicating with players. Their attacks on the community were unacceptable. As a result, they’re no longer with the company.

> > > > >

> > > > > I want to be clear that the statements they made do not reflect the views of ArenaNet at all. As a company we always strive to have a collaborative relationship with the Guild Wars community. We value your input. We make this game for you.

> > > > >

> > > > > Mo

> > > >

> > > > Mo. Thank you for your response. I do hope you reconsider and look to this whole situation as learning opportunity. I agree that they weren't exactly respectful to certain fans. But this was done through their private accounts as private people. Perhaps a reminder that their social presence can impact the company would have been more appropriate. And an apology would probably help to smooth things over, if the fans involved were genuinely sincere in their interactions. On the fan side, they could use a reminder that GW2 staff are real people and aren't there for their pleasure. Private accounts are private, even if the user discusses topics related to their careers. Harassment of your staff by customers should be treated just as seriously, if not more so.

> > > >

> > > > Anyway, I've really appreciated what both Jessica's and Peter's contributions to GW2 and will miss their presence.

> > >

> > > I agree, private accounts should remain private, however, once you attach your job title, discuss your job and not limiting it to your own selected audience, you're no longer private, people will perceive you as a professional.

> >

> > Actually, further reading Derior's full response, he was being extremely condescending. She kindly told him to kitten off and he demanded more of her time.

>

> I'm sorry, I fail to see where Derior is condescending. May I request you to point that out for me?

 

Sure. He implied that players weren't invested in their characters because of her writing. Whether that's the case or not doesn't matter. You don't go to a writers private twitter account and tell them that they sucked and expect them to smile at you for it. Which is exactly what he did. Ugh, I get the creeps just thinking about what he did.

[xarallei.4279]

Thing is, you don't know what happened behind the scenes. Maybe they initially didn't want to fire them, but Legal recommended they do so and they decided to follow counsel's advice. Or if the company has a policy regarding social media use in place (most company's probably do these days). And Twitter is a public forum. You should not be shocked and surprised when people respond to your comments regarding the game. If you have no intention of engaging them then either ignore them or make your post truly private. Yes, players should absolutely refrain from harassing Anet employees. They need to be respectful and polite. But if they are, then the Anet employees in question should certainly return that respect and politeness.