@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.
Mo
Thank you, sweet Angel.
I am not sure how employees truly felt about all this, and it's best not to go there, but you guys have done the right thing, despite any controversy you may all have felt making the decision to end their contracts. I know freedom of expression on both sides is important, but if I made any backlash to my own customers, I'd sure be feeling it, whether I was right or wrong.
@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
I resubbed and bought Path of Fire because of the way you guys handled this.
It's nice to see a game company handle one of these situations correctly. Thank you.
I'm proud of Arenanet for being brave enough to take action against an employee that is insulting and attacking the company's customers.
All employees should be held to the same standard. And it's incredibly cowardly to hide behind real gender issues in an attempt to get a free pass for misconduct.
I have to say I do not agree with the firing of Peter Fries and I feel anet has caved TOO far to community demands, as what Peter did didn't warrant such a severe reaction. He has been a long-standing employee at your company who has been nothing but nice and may have made a singular foolish choice. Surely he may have needed to be reprimanded but to go so far as to fire him is extremely rash and giving in to the 'bandwagon' of anger, and in my eyes is shameful. I'm not going to touch the topic of Jessica Price-- for Peter alone, I feel this was too severe and I feel you did not make the right decision in his case. This whole incident is already such a disaster on BOTH sides of the topic and this just makes things worse. I suppose if this is anet's choice, it cannot be undone, but to any employees reading this who have had a say in this manner, I hope that in the future you consider these things way more carefully as whatever crowd was crying for Peter to be fired really did not actually represent your whole community and was merely the loudest, not the most rational. There were better and less extreme solutions for his behavior.
Thank you so much for your prompt response, and for being willing to defend your playerbase. You're a wonderful company, Anet, and I appreciate the work each and every one of you do. I look forward to my next paycheck so I can buy some goodies from the gem store! Your reaction is to be applauded, and I'm glad to continue my support of you in every way possible.
@michelada.2947 said:
i'm afraid that anet devs will be even more silent after this incident, communication need to be on both sides
I'm afraid of that too. I actually loved J. Price's detailed insight on reddit's AMA. It's sad that she reacted so poorly to criticism, because otherwise she would have been a very interesting dev to follow.
I hope other devs do not shy away from posting their thoughts on game/ story design because of this.
@michelada.2947 said:
i'm afraid that anet devs will be even more silent after this incident, communication need to be on both sides
There is absolutely no reason to believe this. Abrasive stance towards your customer base is the problem here, not freedom of speech or getting baited somehow.
I never thought to post into the forum but that post drawn my attention.
Not a real point, some may even hate that post.
I'm sorry but i do like to talk and sometime when i kind of see something there's a switch that flips on and i have to say all i have in my mind.
The only remark i have to do is to Mike, he done the hardest choice he could make like i said in the previous section of the post, and we as community are betraying the trust he put'd on us in taking that decision by "being happy" from it. We should be "Right". She did wrong and lost her job for this. There's nothing to be happy about a person losing her job. Rubbing salt in the wound will be exactly what gonna prevent her and us to "grow" since most of you stated, that we should grow. Being immature child that finds joys into others being penalized is literally by definition the contrary of growing up. She did gone to a level, very low one, to point out and attack the community. But then? She got penalized, end. But no, for some of you there's the need to go down to her level and attack her back. Yes sorry that's not how you grow up. That's actually being worst than her.
About Peter, if its true that he lost his job as well i would suggest a revision of this case. I'd have do the same, no matter how wrong the case is, in the surface i'd have pull out my co-worker but would've told her where she did wrong in private. Despite JP literally has been killing part of the trust the customer puts on anet since quite a bit, not her first tweet of that nature, i don't feel defending her without pointing out names or blocklisting people would be enough to lose the job. Especially for someone that has ben inside anet for ten years.
Sorry, english its my fourth language and i tried my best to make myself understandable.
I don't believe They needed to be fired. To be clear, I Believe what they said was horrendous and needed to be examined. Jessica was clearly out of touch with the community. I believe helping marginalized groups is important and I also believe overreacting and claiming sexism was irresponsible not just as an arena net dev but as an advocate for equality. It would have helped if they had been given an opportunity to correct themselves. That being said I'm sorry that Mo had to make this decision and I'm sorry that Deroir and Inks were met with confrontation when they are some of the biggest and helpful members of our community. At the end of the day Anet has the right to do what they believe is best for the company. I hope the 2 devs have success on their future pursuits.
I doubt she'll learn from this incident (and it's clear from the many posts in this thread that the blame is already shifting), but thank you nonetheless for standing up for your customers.
@Rezzet.3614 said:
man that sucks , i'd rather people learn from their mistakes and such , we all deserve second chances, but it is understood the situation was pretty ballistic and generated an over abundance of : https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Vial_of_Salt .
How many mistakes does she need to make before learning. This is not an isolated incident this is a just another example of her poor form.
Life is what YOU make it... NOT what others tell you!
@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
Thanks Mike.
While I understand everyone is entitled to their opinion, I was really shocked (and somewhat angered) when I saw how Deroir and INKS were attacked by JP.
It affected me because people like INKS and Dreoir (or Wooden Potatoes and the like) have had an immense impact in my enjoyment of the game, and in a way I felt like I was being attacked as well by her comments.
All things considered I'm glad that the matter was taken care of. A bad shade was thrown on you and women alike by the unrelated discussion (dare I say argument) that was opened up at such a large scale. Exchanging opinions should be possible to be done freely and you took a step into the right direction with this decision. Kudos.
Well done. Their behaviour was childish, unprofessional and incredibly toxic. I was worried this would be glossed over but I am very glad to see that swift, decisive action was taken.
If PF is indeed the other one fired (and I assume he is, since his description on Twitter now only says "Amateur husband & dad" and no longer has the "professional game developer" part mentioned, which was still there an hour or 2 ago), let me just say that the problem wasn't that he supported JP. He is perfectly entitled to support her position and ANet could not have fired him for that. He made a mistake, though, by entering the public discussion. If he had just told her in the office and left it at that, he probably still would've had his job right now. But the problem with these public incidents is that you can't measure by 2 standards. People have to be treated equally and while PF didn't come off nearly as strong or irrational as JP, he did "join her position" officially and for the world to see. Also, when the incident involves sexism towards a woman (even though only perceived and not intended) it is also bad PR to fire the woman and not the man when both put their faces to the incident. Even when there is no sexism involved in that decision, it is childishly easy to put that spin on it and create a whole new drama for ANet to deal with. I regret that he had to go too, but all choices have consequences, even when made with the best intentions.
Also, don't forget that this is not just a case of "Our community is angry. We need to do as they suggest". Ultimately this was a business decision. And while the public outcry will definitely have moved this to the top of the to-do list at ANet, I do firmly believe they themselves also do not condone such behavior. I would make a guess and say they maybe need to give another look at their vetting process when hiring new people, because JP's behavior certainly was nothing new. Or perhaps they took a chance with her (an admirable position, in my honest opinion) but see now that it just won't work. There might also be more in play, things we don't know about, like incidents at the office, things that don't go public. My impression of JP is that she's not someone to keep her mouth shut when she perceives something wrong. Even online she has quite the in-your-face, unapologetic persona. So I wouldn't be surprised if she has clashed with people at the office. This kind of personality often clashes with others.
@Rezzet.3614 said:
man that sucks , i'd rather people learn from their mistakes and such , we all deserve second chances, but it is understood the situation was pretty ballistic and generated an over abundance of : https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Vial_of_Salt .
How many mistakes does she need to make before learning. This is not an isolated incident this is a just another example of her poor form.
^this
If you believe in gender equality so hard, you should accept that it means you get punished for misbehaving equally too. Boom, dream bubble gone.
Oh did I hurt your precious feelings? My deepest apologies.
I'm sad that Price had to be let go, but firing Peter Fries is shocking. An employee should never be punished for sticking up for a coworker when facing a backlash on social media -- even if said coworker is in the wrong. This'll have a horrible affect on your work environment in the long run.
@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.
Whilst I understand your position with Jessica Price I think Peter fries being sacked is rather ridiculous. He didn't 'attack' anyone he merely supported Jessica Price and rather mildly at that.
Painful though it was, the right decision was made. Neither misandry nor misogyny should be tolerated, especially in full public view. I suspect that JP would not back down from her stance and that is wht got her fired. ANET are a compassionate company who i like to believe gave JP several options. This is of course just my opinion; JP is obviously talented or she wouldn't have been hired in the first place. Her reply to Deroir's post put ANET in a really awkward position; i'm glad to see that ANET didn't tolerate her very obvious and alienating sexism.
To the people who blindly jump to defend her/disagree with her firing:
I've been active all day, going as far as slacking at work, to follow and talk about this and I just want to let you know that I don't necessarily agree with the firing. Am I glad it happened? In a way yes. It sets a clear case that this behaviour is not good and will have consequences. Being a jerk happens in the heat of the moment, but that is not an excuse outside of first grade.
Am I in favor of witch hunt like campaigns? Nope. And there was none. The people who were actively going after her and attacking her were very few and far between compared to the people whom just hated the way she acted and treated respected members and voiced their disdain. No use just lumping both of those groups together as one and calling them entirely toxic. It's not a good look.
In the end those positions can be filled again. Is it going to be good? Time will tell. All we can say right now is that our voices as a community are heard and not ignored. We got together and voiced our opinions. There was no organized hate movement happening. This is humans judging another human based on their bad actions and lack of remorse.
Smugly chuckling forever.
My sentence doesn't make sense? Well, I probably forgot to write half of it before posting.
@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
That is the best news since the whole s-storm started. Congrats on this decision since I imagine it wasn't an easy one, nor was it something I believed you would do. You delivered and assured the majority of the community that their input matters.
Thanks a lot Mike, When I hear this news and looked at the post I was not sure what would happen to a game I really loved. The fact that racism and sexist is handled no matter what the source and based on facts not emotions. restored any temporal hope I had lost. I can not explain how relieved I am! Thanks a lot!
@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
Can we now have all related threads closed now please. Although I disagree with the discipline PLEASE close all the the aggravating threads on this subject and let it fade into obscurity.
Yeah, let's allow the fact that people like this exist fade into obscurity.
@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
In case they are reading, please understand that "personal" social media accounts are part of a public website, and these are not contradictory terms. These conversations were decidedly not private or discreet by any definition. This unfortunate incident and its fallout could have been avoided if they had understood that they are representatives of a company even if they don't intend to act in that capacity. The issue is not being on the clock, it's being on the record. If nothing else, civility exists to avoid giving detractors ammunition to use against you. I hold nothing against people having negative opinions about the community; I can barely stand half of it myself. I merely want to encourage them to exercise better judgment about where and how they share their personal thoughts in the future, wherever that may be. And I assume the remaining Anet staff has been given a refresher on how these things work, and hopefully forestall any more incidents of this nature.
Thank you for making the right decision. Been playing since GW1 (a bit over a decade or so now). I'm happy this behavior isn't tolerated at a company like arenanet & it made me feel gross knowing money I spent was being distributed to someone as mean spirited as this woman was.
@Blocki.4931 said:
To the people who blindly jump to defend her/disagree with her firing:
I've been active all day, going as far as slacking at work, to follow and talk about this and I just want to let you know that I don't necessarily agree with the firing. Am I glad it happened? In a way yes. It sets a clear case that this behaviour is not good and will have consequences. Being a jerk happens in the heat of the moment, but that is not an excuse outside of first grade.
Am I in favor of witch hunt like campaigns? Nope. And there was none. The people who were actively going after her and attacking her were very few and far between compared to the people whom just hated the way she acted and treated respected members and voiced their disdain. No use just lumping both of those groups together as one and calling them entirely toxic. It's not a good look.
In the end those positions can be filled again. Is it going to be good? Time will tell. All we can say right now is that our voices as a community are heard and not ignored. We got together and voiced our opinions. There was no organized hate movement happening. This is humans judging another human based on their bad actions and lack of remorse.
I can't applaude this statement enough. A very accurate description of all that has been going on today.
I think this is actually quite simple. Employees should not fear expressing their opinion but MUST do so in a tactful manner. If you uphold yourself in a spiteful and imposing demeanor for months if not years on end, you provide a negative impression upon your company and put your own employment at risk. Some people simply must realize that this delusional mindset of "I am innocent because of minority status" is in many cases a scapegoat for denying one's own wrongdoings. Be an adult and own up to your actions and mistakes rather than posing as a tyrant on the internet.
Thank you for this, I had no expectations of this from you. I am going to be honest I expected a milquetoast PR response and was pleasantly surprised and glad to be wrong. This is the kind of strong and decisive leadership arenanet needs to succeed.
@FearTheOyster.5138 said:
I'm sad that Price had to be let go, but firing Peter Fries is shocking. An employee should never be punished for sticking up for a coworker when facing a backlash on social media -- even if said coworker is in the wrong. This'll have a horrible affect on your work environment in the long run.
Sorta of agree, but fired for sticking up no. But should be held accountable and reprimanded yes. Then given a second chance.
@narcx.3570 said:
I'm kinda bummed she got fired... I mean, she was in the wrong here, but so was that guy.
She should have been more professional yes, but it's still ANOTHER day where I have to see the men's rights activist crowd get a win. I live in America and I have to see this type of stuff oozing out of the White House everyday--it sucks that it invaded my sweet sanctuary of videah games too.
MO did the right thing. Take gender and work experience out of the equation. Would you want to keep an employee who explodes at simple criticisms and questions? Imagine if she was a waitress and acted that way to you because you asked to have your steak medium-well.
I'm glad Arenanet is upholding a certain standard in community interaction.
I've been playing this game since the beta and never before have I seen such a unprofessional behaviour from a dev.
For the future I'm looking forward to the usual interaction with professional individuals.
@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.
@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
Maybe this was company policy before the event, but it still looks like you're pandering to a bunch of sad puppies.
I firmly disagree. If anything allowing for her to retain employment would be pandering to the sensitive crowd who assumes that she was "an abused woman." As an adult, one must understand that there are consequences for your actions and playing the victim does not make you invincible.
@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
Maybe this was company policy before the event, but it still looks like you're pandering to a bunch of sad puppies.
What pandering? Insulting people is ok? She INSULTED someone for NOTHING! Repeatedly! She was one one who started it to begin with.
If I did the same in my job I would be fired also.
@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.
Uh huh just someone stirring the pot...AGAIN. This was back in March anyway and it seems everyone has been happily playing the game since then. Has it affected your personal game play in any way since then? NO.........ignore the posting and move on.
3 months is hardly a long time ago. If it were 3 years ago I might be able to let it slide. But 3 months? no way.
Comments
I find it rather insulting to suggest Mo caved under some kind of pressure as opposed to him being genuine about his position.
Thank you, sweet Angel.
I am not sure how employees truly felt about all this, and it's best not to go there, but you guys have done the right thing, despite any controversy you may all have felt making the decision to end their contracts. I know freedom of expression on both sides is important, but if I made any backlash to my own customers, I'd sure be feeling it, whether I was right or wrong.
I resubbed and bought Path of Fire because of the way you guys handled this.
It's nice to see a game company handle one of these situations correctly. Thank you.
Theres nothing to be proud of here.
You're joking right?
The only precedent they created is that toxic and sexist behavior will not be accepted, and nor should it.
I'm proud of Arenanet for being brave enough to take action against an employee that is insulting and attacking the company's customers.
All employees should be held to the same standard. And it's incredibly cowardly to hide behind real gender issues in an attempt to get a free pass for misconduct.
People need to remember that she attacked and called sexist one of Guild War's largest affiliates. You do this at any company and you'll get fired.
We're talking about developers who started to insult their community out of nowhere.
i'm afraid that anet devs will be even more silent after this incident, communication need to be on both sides
I have to say I do not agree with the firing of Peter Fries and I feel anet has caved TOO far to community demands, as what Peter did didn't warrant such a severe reaction. He has been a long-standing employee at your company who has been nothing but nice and may have made a singular foolish choice. Surely he may have needed to be reprimanded but to go so far as to fire him is extremely rash and giving in to the 'bandwagon' of anger, and in my eyes is shameful. I'm not going to touch the topic of Jessica Price-- for Peter alone, I feel this was too severe and I feel you did not make the right decision in his case. This whole incident is already such a disaster on BOTH sides of the topic and this just makes things worse. I suppose if this is anet's choice, it cannot be undone, but to any employees reading this who have had a say in this manner, I hope that in the future you consider these things way more carefully as whatever crowd was crying for Peter to be fired really did not actually represent your whole community and was merely the loudest, not the most rational. There were better and less extreme solutions for his behavior.
Thank you so much for your prompt response, and for being willing to defend your playerbase. You're a wonderful company, Anet, and I appreciate the work each and every one of you do. I look forward to my next paycheck so I can buy some goodies from the gem store! Your reaction is to be applauded, and I'm glad to continue my support of you in every way possible.
The situation has been resolved in a timely and appropriate manner. I hope we can all return to enjoying the game.
I'm afraid of that too. I actually loved J. Price's detailed insight on reddit's AMA. It's sad that she reacted so poorly to criticism, because otherwise she would have been a very interesting dev to follow.
I hope other devs do not shy away from posting their thoughts on game/ story design because of this.
There is absolutely no reason to believe this. Abrasive stance towards your customer base is the problem here, not freedom of speech or getting baited somehow.
I never thought to post into the forum but that post drawn my attention.
Not a real point, some may even hate that post.
I'm sorry but i do like to talk and sometime when i kind of see something there's a switch that flips on and i have to say all i have in my mind.
The only remark i have to do is to Mike, he done the hardest choice he could make like i said in the previous section of the post, and we as community are betraying the trust he put'd on us in taking that decision by "being happy" from it. We should be "Right". She did wrong and lost her job for this. There's nothing to be happy about a person losing her job. Rubbing salt in the wound will be exactly what gonna prevent her and us to "grow" since most of you stated, that we should grow. Being immature child that finds joys into others being penalized is literally by definition the contrary of growing up. She did gone to a level, very low one, to point out and attack the community. But then? She got penalized, end. But no, for some of you there's the need to go down to her level and attack her back. Yes sorry that's not how you grow up. That's actually being worst than her.
About Peter, if its true that he lost his job as well i would suggest a revision of this case. I'd have do the same, no matter how wrong the case is, in the surface i'd have pull out my co-worker but would've told her where she did wrong in private. Despite JP literally has been killing part of the trust the customer puts on anet since quite a bit, not her first tweet of that nature, i don't feel defending her without pointing out names or blocklisting people would be enough to lose the job. Especially for someone that has ben inside anet for ten years.
Sorry, english its my fourth language and i tried my best to make myself understandable.
I don't believe They needed to be fired. To be clear, I Believe what they said was horrendous and needed to be examined. Jessica was clearly out of touch with the community. I believe helping marginalized groups is important and I also believe overreacting and claiming sexism was irresponsible not just as an arena net dev but as an advocate for equality. It would have helped if they had been given an opportunity to correct themselves. That being said I'm sorry that Mo had to make this decision and I'm sorry that Deroir and Inks were met with confrontation when they are some of the biggest and helpful members of our community. At the end of the day Anet has the right to do what they believe is best for the company. I hope the 2 devs have success on their future pursuits.
I doubt she'll learn from this incident (and it's clear from the many posts in this thread that the blame is already shifting), but thank you nonetheless for standing up for your customers.
How many mistakes does she need to make before learning. This is not an isolated incident this is a just another example of her poor form.
Life is what YOU make it... NOT what others tell you!
Thanks Mike.
While I understand everyone is entitled to their opinion, I was really shocked (and somewhat angered) when I saw how Deroir and INKS were attacked by JP.
It affected me because people like INKS and Dreoir (or Wooden Potatoes and the like) have had an immense impact in my enjoyment of the game, and in a way I felt like I was being attacked as well by her comments.
Glad you took swift action.
F
All things considered I'm glad that the matter was taken care of. A bad shade was thrown on you and women alike by the unrelated discussion (dare I say argument) that was opened up at such a large scale. Exchanging opinions should be possible to be done freely and you took a step into the right direction with this decision. Kudos.
Well done. Their behaviour was childish, unprofessional and incredibly toxic. I was worried this would be glossed over but I am very glad to see that swift, decisive action was taken.
If PF is indeed the other one fired (and I assume he is, since his description on Twitter now only says "Amateur husband & dad" and no longer has the "professional game developer" part mentioned, which was still there an hour or 2 ago), let me just say that the problem wasn't that he supported JP. He is perfectly entitled to support her position and ANet could not have fired him for that. He made a mistake, though, by entering the public discussion. If he had just told her in the office and left it at that, he probably still would've had his job right now. But the problem with these public incidents is that you can't measure by 2 standards. People have to be treated equally and while PF didn't come off nearly as strong or irrational as JP, he did "join her position" officially and for the world to see. Also, when the incident involves sexism towards a woman (even though only perceived and not intended) it is also bad PR to fire the woman and not the man when both put their faces to the incident. Even when there is no sexism involved in that decision, it is childishly easy to put that spin on it and create a whole new drama for ANet to deal with. I regret that he had to go too, but all choices have consequences, even when made with the best intentions.
Also, don't forget that this is not just a case of "Our community is angry. We need to do as they suggest". Ultimately this was a business decision. And while the public outcry will definitely have moved this to the top of the to-do list at ANet, I do firmly believe they themselves also do not condone such behavior. I would make a guess and say they maybe need to give another look at their vetting process when hiring new people, because JP's behavior certainly was nothing new. Or perhaps they took a chance with her (an admirable position, in my honest opinion) but see now that it just won't work. There might also be more in play, things we don't know about, like incidents at the office, things that don't go public. My impression of JP is that she's not someone to keep her mouth shut when she perceives something wrong. Even online she has quite the in-your-face, unapologetic persona. So I wouldn't be surprised if she has clashed with people at the office. This kind of personality often clashes with others.
^this
If you believe in gender equality so hard, you should accept that it means you get punished for misbehaving equally too. Boom, dream bubble gone.
Oh did I hurt your precious feelings? My deepest apologies.
Apology accepted.
"Self awareness is knowing when you're sitting at the throne of ignorance." --Leo G.
I'm sad that Price had to be let go, but firing Peter Fries is shocking. An employee should never be punished for sticking up for a coworker when facing a backlash on social media -- even if said coworker is in the wrong. This'll have a horrible affect on your work environment in the long run.
I just wanna chime in and say Kudos on this decision Mike. I really respect it and how promptly you responded.
Whilst I understand your position with Jessica Price I think Peter fries being sacked is rather ridiculous. He didn't 'attack' anyone he merely supported Jessica Price and rather mildly at that.
Painful though it was, the right decision was made. Neither misandry nor misogyny should be tolerated, especially in full public view. I suspect that JP would not back down from her stance and that is wht got her fired. ANET are a compassionate company who i like to believe gave JP several options. This is of course just my opinion; JP is obviously talented or she wouldn't have been hired in the first place. Her reply to Deroir's post put ANET in a really awkward position; i'm glad to see that ANET didn't tolerate her very obvious and alienating sexism.
To the people who blindly jump to defend her/disagree with her firing:
I've been active all day, going as far as slacking at work, to follow and talk about this and I just want to let you know that I don't necessarily agree with the firing. Am I glad it happened? In a way yes. It sets a clear case that this behaviour is not good and will have consequences. Being a jerk happens in the heat of the moment, but that is not an excuse outside of first grade.
Am I in favor of witch hunt like campaigns? Nope. And there was none. The people who were actively going after her and attacking her were very few and far between compared to the people whom just hated the way she acted and treated respected members and voiced their disdain. No use just lumping both of those groups together as one and calling them entirely toxic. It's not a good look.
In the end those positions can be filled again. Is it going to be good? Time will tell. All we can say right now is that our voices as a community are heard and not ignored. We got together and voiced our opinions. There was no organized hate movement happening. This is humans judging another human based on their bad actions and lack of remorse.
Smugly chuckling forever.
My sentence doesn't make sense? Well, I probably forgot to write half of it before posting.
Thank you Mo. Much respect for making a tough decision and doing the right thing. My confidence is restored.
That is the best news since the whole s-storm started. Congrats on this decision since I imagine it wasn't an easy one, nor was it something I believed you would do. You delivered and assured the majority of the community that their input matters.
Thanks a lot Mike, When I hear this news and looked at the post I was not sure what would happen to a game I really loved. The fact that racism and sexist is handled no matter what the source and based on facts not emotions. restored any temporal hope I had lost. I can not explain how relieved I am! Thanks a lot!
Yeah, let's allow the fact that people like this exist fade into obscurity.
In case they are reading, please understand that "personal" social media accounts are part of a public website, and these are not contradictory terms. These conversations were decidedly not private or discreet by any definition. This unfortunate incident and its fallout could have been avoided if they had understood that they are representatives of a company even if they don't intend to act in that capacity. The issue is not being on the clock, it's being on the record. If nothing else, civility exists to avoid giving detractors ammunition to use against you. I hold nothing against people having negative opinions about the community; I can barely stand half of it myself. I merely want to encourage them to exercise better judgment about where and how they share their personal thoughts in the future, wherever that may be. And I assume the remaining Anet staff has been given a refresher on how these things work, and hopefully forestall any more incidents of this nature.
@Mike O Brien.4613
Thank you for making the right decision. Been playing since GW1 (a bit over a decade or so now). I'm happy this behavior isn't tolerated at a company like arenanet & it made me feel gross knowing money I spent was being distributed to someone as mean spirited as this woman was.
I can't applaude this statement enough. A very accurate description of all that has been going on today.
I think this is actually quite simple. Employees should not fear expressing their opinion but MUST do so in a tactful manner. If you uphold yourself in a spiteful and imposing demeanor for months if not years on end, you provide a negative impression upon your company and put your own employment at risk. Some people simply must realize that this delusional mindset of "I am innocent because of minority status" is in many cases a scapegoat for denying one's own wrongdoings. Be an adult and own up to your actions and mistakes rather than posing as a tyrant on the internet.
Thank you for this, I had no expectations of this from you. I am going to be honest I expected a milquetoast PR response and was pleasantly surprised and glad to be wrong. This is the kind of strong and decisive leadership arenanet needs to succeed.
Sorta of agree, but fired for sticking up no. But should be held accountable and reprimanded yes. Then given a second chance.
How was that guy in the wrong?
MO did the right thing. Take gender and work experience out of the equation. Would you want to keep an employee who explodes at simple criticisms and questions? Imagine if she was a waitress and acted that way to you because you asked to have your steak medium-well.
I'm glad this was handled swiftly and decisively, I'm also glad the whole situation brought us as a community together, specially over Reddit.
I'm glad Arenanet is upholding a certain standard in community interaction.
I've been playing this game since the beta and never before have I seen such a unprofessional behaviour from a dev.
For the future I'm looking forward to the usual interaction with professional individuals.
Outstanding ANET
You are the best Mo!!!~ Thank you
I firmly disagree. If anything allowing for her to retain employment would be pandering to the sensitive crowd who assumes that she was "an abused woman." As an adult, one must understand that there are consequences for your actions and playing the victim does not make you invincible.
Communication sure.. but there's a big difference communication and abuse.. the latter is very easy to avoid tbh.. well for most people.
What pandering? Insulting people is ok? She INSULTED someone for NOTHING! Repeatedly! She was one one who started it to begin with.
If I did the same in my job I would be fired also.
People these days are unbelivable.
3 months is hardly a long time ago. If it were 3 years ago I might be able to let it slide. But 3 months? no way.