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Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.
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No, this isn't about how undomesticated snowmen are taking over the world, or how you are ostracized for expressing your god-given belief that negroes are sub-human apes that must be exterminated, this is about how lack of privacy ruins people's lives. If people say something stupid they deserve to be humilated by other people who think what they said was stupid. That's fine. What's not fine is the naive idea that "if you've got nothing to hide, just attach your real name to anything you say". I'm disappointed Matt Barton took that standpoint, because it's incredibly foolish.
You can be the world's greatest saint and still say something on the Internet that will get you fired, or impact you in a job interview. Ever said anything negative about the company you're applying to/being recruited by? Better hope they don't know how to google! Oh, wait. Everyone knows how to google.
There's no need to be a social pariah for lack of anonymity to come around and bite you in the ass.
There is the caveat that if people want to criticize you, it's fine, on the condition that there isn't a permanent, all-encompassing record of all you say out there for all to see. If this is a reality then it has very dangerous consequences when it comes to conformity, and how those who stray from it are punished.
And with the Internet even something extremely benign can be taken out of its context and look bad on its own, or an employer might not have the same sense of humor as you.
That's some mid-life crisis Matt is going through... in one month he went from lack of views, lack of support, how his rock band suffered, how "cool nerds" stole his culture and now how anonymous people are coward bullies... ffs, get a grip before spewing bullshit on some of your already small audience.
The nicknames only serve to give people their freespeak, so threatened nowadays. You could sit the Codex on a bar table and the debate would be just like it is online. But on a bar no one records your talk, on the internet it is all at googles reach, and we live in days when kids are being arrested or fined for swearing while playing Call of Duty online, so it's perfectly understandable that not everyone fells comfortable by displaying their names.
Even Mr. Barton doesn't openly say everything he thinks, because he knows that telling Bethesda that their new games suck will close many doors. But if we were sitting in a bar table, he would have no restrictions. The Codex is just a giant bar table, where we can talk about anything the way want, not a goddamn KKK...
I willingly entered a Politics sub-forum topic and saw something I didn’t like. When I demanded some type of authority figure shut everything down, both warring factions paused fighting each other to join in calling me a [derogatory slur against homosexuals]
Man, people are sure jumping to a lot of wacky conclusions here. All Matt is saying is if you act like an ass - your fellow man has a right to call you on your bullshit. He's not proposing censorship, a totalitarian state or equating the Codex with the KKK (though some here would probably wear that hood with pride...).
Basically he's reiterating this:
But I think anonymity has it's place - for example, I think keeping professional / personal life separate is important. People should have a venue to talk and act freely without worrying about future or current employers making judgments on them.
I disagree. Matt is clearly placing himself on a higher moral ground for not being anonymous, which is bullshit. He can't be brutally honest, he can't say exactly what he thinks about current games and developers, he has to be "civil". He may prefer it that way, no one offending anyone, but I just find it tiresome and false.
I'd rather have a couple of anonymous people saying exactly what they think than this masquerade of "respectful dialog". And he can come here and call us "asshats" or fucking retards, is a two-way conversation with fair rules. I'm not even anonymous myself, as thank god I live in a country that has actual free speak...
The one exception I have about free speech is that obscene material to me doesn't qualify as speech. You don't need to be lewd or sexually explicit to get a point across.
People arguing that Matts videos are too long really should work on their attention span. Seriously. What the fuck. You are unable to watch a video that goes on for about 30 minutes?
I am also annoyed that some of you seemingly are in all seriousness offended by Matt calling us 'asshats'. It should be obvious that the Codex' board culture is at least .. unique .. and that some of the usual behavior and humor here may seem at least strange to some people.
To be honest, considering some aspects of the board culture such as the common blatant anti-semitism - however humorous or serious it may be - we all should be surprised that the Codex has such a 'good' (if notorious) reputation.
Another example? If you think its weird that Matt compares the Codex to the KKK then at the same time you should be aware of that fact you acquire KKK by posting. But of course thats just Kodex Kool Kredits. ...LOL (?)
Also, no big news probably: some of us really are asshats and we do behave vile and abusive sometimes and the way I perceive it the majority seems to be proud of it and likes it that way. However, it should not be a surprise for anyone that some people might find shit like that a little off-putting. Matt apparently does and called us out on it. One should think that the way some of you insult each other here in much worse terms for minor shit on a daily basis would help you to ascent to a state of ZEN but apparently as soon as Matt states that he does not really appreciate the usual Codexian way (seriously, who can blame him?) suddenly people are butthurt? Because of 'asshats'? Really? "B-but...muh freedomZ of speach on teh interwebz!!!11!". Grow up and get your shit together, guys.
On the issue of money: he obviously puts a lot of work and effort into his videos. It is is entirely understandable that he might feel a little frustrated that they don't get the recognition that he feels they deserve. It is also absolutely okay to ask his fan-base for a little money for his effort. No one forces you guys to pay for it. He just suggests that you could if you wanted to. That some of you seem to be so offended just by this simple act strikes me as childish and close-minded.
Okay, so much for this silliness. Now, on the topic of the videos itself:
I like Matts videos and as there is not much comparable stuff out there for old RPGs, I am thankful for everything. However, there is one thing that really bothers me. His videos never seem to take a really thorough look at the game and offer his thoughts and interesting information or a true retrospective. Compare them for example to Spoony's Ultima videos. Of course Spoony his an over-the-top comical guy but his Ultima Retrospective really gives a unique look and offers a lot of information about the games while mostly being only ten minutes long. After watching them, you really feel like you know what may be great or bad about the games, even though you may have not even played them yourself. Provided that you like Spoony's whacky humor, they are also entertaining as fuck.
Matt is a more serious guy and I am okay with that, I actually like his calm personality, he seems like a bro and I usually enjoy his videos with a beer in my hand. But he often says in the beginning that the game he is going to show us is really good but then just shows some more or less well prepared footage from the beginning of the game with an occasional thought thrown in here and there when it comes to his mind. Baldurs Gate is a good example. It seems to be his favorite game, yet after watching the video I would feel entertained but have really not that much of an idea why he loves the game, what its historical relevance is, etc. . I am not saying that he should play fully through all the games to give us his impression but what he could do is give us some more meat, more of his feelings and his thoughts about the games and more actual information, instead of an Lets Play of the first 30 minutes. That 40min retrospective of that guy (I can't recall his name) about Arcanum & Bloodlines is another great example of what I would wish for. I am aware that such videos would cost much more effort but I would also be willing to wait longer for such a video. And I know that he can do it because he undeniably knows his shit. Hell, the guy writes books about that stuff!
I am not entirely sure I made myself clear here, but well.. gotta post anyway.
tl;dr: Matt Barton fights the good fight so cut him some slack and stop behaving like man-children already.
Also, no big news probably: some of us really are asshats and we do behave vile and abusive sometimes and the way I perceive it the majority seems to be proud of it and likes it that way. However, it should not be a surprise for anyone that some people might find shit like that a little off-putting. Matt apparently does and called us out on it. One should think that the way some of you insult each other here in much worse terms for minor shit on a daily basis would help you to ascent to a state of ZEN but apparently as soon as Matt states that he does not really appreciate the usual Codexian way (seriously, who can blame him?) suddenly people are butthurt? Because of 'asshats'? Really? "B-but...muh freedomZ of speach on teh interwebz!!!11!". Grow up and get your shit together, guys.
Don't bend the truth. Calling others "asshat" is child-like and ridiculous, not even a little girl would be offended by this, much less anyone on the Codex. The real issue here is the claim for higher moral ground, that simply does not exist, yet people like Matt keep using it as argument.
Let's look at this by facts:
- Some people on the Codex attack Matt for doing monetizations
- Matt attacks some people of the Codex via twitter, calling then asshats
In a decent world, this would be it. Both parties are saying what they think, calling each a douche, mercenary, asshat, cesspit, whatever. Their personal opinions, no hard feelings, true free speak.
But noooooo.... Matt then goes to is blog to talk about how he is being bullied, but has the higher moral ground because he isn't annonymous, and only bullies and assholes hides behind masks and all that... this is utterly retarded. Both parties are just saying what they think on the internet, but one side is claiming superiority because he uses his real name and more polite (aka childlike) words.
What difference does that even make? So if I went to his house and called him an asshole personally it would be more "correct" and morally justifiable than doing the same via a nick in the Codex? This is extremely dumb, is the mindset of one that expects life to be a Josh Sawyer game, crying that they MUST have some advantage for posting with their real name and using non-offensive worlds, for the sake of balance, fairness or whatever.
Going back to the bar analogy, is like going into a bar and saying that everyone talking shit about their job, boss, soccer team, politician, wife, girlfriend or whatever should talk it openly in their faces, otherwise they are assholes, hidding behind locked doors. That makes sense to you? That we cannot simply debate Matt's videos, Sony's console or Obama's politics among ourselves, because we might hurt their feelings, so we should stand in front of them, display our names and use only kind words? Fuck that.
The one exception I have about free speech is that obscene material to me doesn't qualify as speech. You don't need to be lewd or sexually explicit to get a point across.
Yeah, that blog post certainly did not blow my mind either, yet I find the amount of indignation over that weird piece a little exaggerated. I don't even share Matts opinion on anonymity, yet I couldn't care less about the blog post, particularly considering that it of course will have no effect on anything whatsoever. He was just pissed and wrote down a few thoughts about debates on the internet, big fucking deal.
That makes sense to you? That we cannot simply debate Matt's videos, Sony's console or Obama's politics among ourselves, because we might hurt their feelings, so we should stand in front of them, display our names and use only kind words? Fuck that.
No, it doesn't make sense to me, and yes, fuck that. I simply pointed toward the fact that the way we tend to discuss things is undeniably unconventional and that it is thus no surprise that someone may occasionally blow a fuse due to this. Since thats something to be expected, it is not something to be so upset about.
I have come to see how much of a bullshit scam this kickstarer,indiegogo,patreon crowdfunding garbage really is. Rememeber the good old days when you would actually pay for a finished product instead of the promise of one? I mean even when game developers had to make games before people payed for them most of the time they are shit, imagine now that they sucker you into paying for it before development really starts how godawful they will be. Take "Broken Age" for example. 3.3 million dollars for half of a game that last 3 hours that plays like it was designed for tablets, now you have people like Matt Barton begging for money to do something they would already do for free just because they can and they know there are suckers like you that would give them money.
Also lets not forget shadowruns returns, another 2 million bucks for a tablet game.... divnity original sin? hm they made divine divinity, beyond divinity, divinity 2 without kickstarter, and they would have made the new one without it as well. they just saw the opportunity to take advantage of suckers like you faggots and ran with it, and who can blame them. Id take your fucking money to if you offered it up to me so easily.
wasteland 2? don't even get me started.....
Its the same noob faggot sucker mentality that allowers developers to get away with releasing shit fucking dlc and microtransactions for games as well. 25 bucks for horse armor in oblivion??? it piece of shit suckrers like you that allow this shit to be profitable and empowers them to continue with this shit behavior.
fuck all you niggers
and btw im fucking wasted and I don't give a fuck about any grammatical errors or typos so fuck your mother faggot nigger cocksucker
Awww now that didn't make you feel any better did it? Lets' face it GrimoireFTW, my man, you've changed.
I don't see anything particularity wrong in asking the handful of followers to consider throwing quarters his way. And he seems like a decent degenerate freedom hating yet good-natured sort who (for what I've seen) has put out some well done interviews. Whatever the payments Youtube apparently provides to certain members that are able to draw in bigger hits is something to which I have no clue.
Is that my Avatar pizza guy "fix"? The head cut out of the person in front of him in the icon used here bothered me so I did a mspaint/gimp attempt to fix and put it on my photobucket page.
Also, no big news probably: some of us really are asshats and we do behave vile and abusive sometimes and the way I perceive it the majority seems to be proud of it and likes it that way. However, it should not be a surprise for anyone that some people might find shit like that a little off-putting. Matt apparently does and called us out on it. One should think that the way some of you insult each other here in much worse terms for minor shit on a daily basis would help you to ascent to a state of ZEN but apparently as soon as Matt states that he does not really appreciate the usual Codexian way (seriously, who can blame him?) suddenly people are butthurt? Because of 'asshats'? Really? "B-but...muh freedomZ of speach on teh interwebz!!!11!". Grow up and get your shit together, guys.
I agree with Felipe, I didn't see all this butthurt over being called an 'asshat', mostly just mocking reference to this RPGWatch-level childish insult. Especially after he posted the link to the codex in the first place but then agreed with the first critical reply which suggested steering clear of the the Codex. Lame. Looks like he's the one who needs to grow up to me.
Yeah, that blog post certainly did not blow my mind either, yet I find the amount of indignation over that weird piece a little exaggerated. I don't even share Matts opinion on anonymity, yet I couldn't care less about the blog post, particularly considering that it of course will have no effect on anything whatsoever. He was just pissed and wrote down a few thoughts about debates on the internet, big fucking deal.
You couldn't give a shit about Matt's bizarre blog on internet anonymity, but after repeatedly mentioning the critical culture around here you are really bothered when a few people here are 'just pissed and wrote down a few thoughts' about his blog? By Codex standards the response has been mild, most just don't care. At least be consistent in your whiteknighting.
You couldn't give a shit about Matt's bizarre blog on internet anonymity, but after repeatedly mentioning the critical culture around here you are really bothered when a few people here are 'just pissed and wrote down a few thoughts' about his blog?
The notion that this guy is supposed to be evil now, because he wants money for his videos, points out a fact about the forum and then takes our freedom of speech away, is just plain silly. Yeah, I guess it bothered me a little. Neither should people who like to offend so much be so easily offended by a harmless blog post nor is his attempt to earn some money in any way condemnable. The critical culture should not only involve calling other people faggots but may also be applied to ourselves on occasion. I thought this was as good an opportunity as any other to point that out, even though this..
By Codex standards the response has been mild, most just don't care.
