Poll: So some people don't like the Escapist...

[jamail77]

It's been called elitist in the past which is interesting. That's a popular go-to word towards someone with power when you can't form a cohesive argument against why you don't like them without sounding a little strange. The people who write for it have been called unprofessional due to their origins of employment and lack of traditional schooling as well as their mannerisms and character persona. The Extra Credits departure led to criticism as well.

Now I know: This question has probably been rehashed on these forums over and over again or at least once or twice. But I'm genuinely curious to hear what supporters have to say. Is it like a straw feminist argument when people hate something without really understanding what the true movement is all about (actual feminist/equity feminist)? Does it involve Internet culture? Gaming culture? Culture culture?

I have my own opinions but I like to start insightful discussions and it helps me take an undeserved break from more important things like school. I am not criticizing the Escapist just to be clear, just questioning criticisms directed at it. So avast ye'...that was terrible. I'm sorry.

 

[Fappy]

People generally don't like having their preconceived notion challenged. This is a pretty diverse community with a lot of different viewpoints. In most similar internet communities you'd expect to say whatever the fuck you want in whatever manner you want and not be called on to back up your assertions. On this site you are. Some may call that elitist, but I call it thoughtful.

Also, this might be better served in Off-Topic

 

[Daystar Clarion]

People generally don't like having their preconceived notion challenged. This is a pretty diverse community with a lot of different viewpoints. In most similar internet communities you'd expect to say whatever the fuck you want in whatever manner you want and not be called on to back up your assertions. On this site you are. Some may call that elitist, but I call it thoughtful.

Also, this might be better served in Off-Topic

Fuck you and fuck all the things you like!

Indeed, not being to simply outright attack someone has led people to be more... careful, with the way they phrase their insults


Is that elitist? I don't think so, but it's still a pain in the arse.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

Honestly, only reason I still come where is because of the videos (would just watch them on youtube, but they don't upload them until they've been out a week). There was the whole deal with the site change where there were so many ads that it took forever to load and they didn't seem to care at all. Maybe that made sense because I think you don't see ads if you pay (publishers club) to come to this website (which paying to visit a website is pretty idiotic). I know you don't have to deal with the captchas if you pay, which is another bullshit move, since they said the captchas were added because of all the bots that nobody ever saw. Actually, I only saw bots after the forced captchas on everyone who didn't want to pay to come on here. Not to mention how the whole "warning" system around here works. Another guy and I (that I know of) both got warnings for talking about MLP in a way that wasn't praising it. I asked support about it and they said that it was because I "insulted an entire demographic" (bronies) and if I "replaced bronies with Christians or African Americans, you can see how it would be offensive". I found that hilarious since people constantly attack Christians here, and tons of other groups of people, and nothing is done about it (but apparently that one is our fault since we never report it). So, yeah, if it wasn't for LRR videos and a few others, I wouldn't bother coming here ever again.

 

[Fappy]

People generally don't like having their preconceived notion challenged. This is a pretty diverse community with a lot of different viewpoints. In most similar internet communities you'd expect to say whatever the fuck you want in whatever manner you want and not be called on to back up your assertions. On this site you are. Some may call that elitist, but I call it thoughtful.

Also, this might be better served in Off-Topic

Fuck you and fuck all the things you like!

Indeed, not being to simply outright attack someone has led people to be more... careful, with the way they phrase their insults


Is that elitist? I don't think so, but it's still a pain in the arse.

How many times have I told you not to talk dirty to me in public, DAYSTAR!?

 

[Tom_green_day]

That's a popular go-to word towards someone with power when you can't form a cohesive argument against why you don't like them without sounding a little strange.

I'd disagree with this, I think elitist is a word to describe something with a superiority complex surrounding it. If people over-use it, it doesn't mean it doesn't have a meaning. Saying that, I wouldn't agree that the Escapist is elitist, however I don't follow every single feature so I can't be sure.
The forum-goers however? I've seen more PC elitism here than anywhere else, but maybe that's just something to do with the site. I don't mind it most of the time, when people feel PC is better, but when they criticise console users for using consoles, it really bugs me.
Also, probably missed something here, what is the Extra Credits controversy? I watch their weekly videos and have caught onto the fact that they used to be part of the Escapist, and I assume something happened here? Cheers in advance.

 

[thiosk]

Heh.

Theres occasionally some trends in here related to social issues that some people may find annoying. However,

I've been through a couple other gaming related communities. Makes our worst vitriol look like honeysunshineloveingpie.

Also, I've said it before and I'll say it again: Extra Credits narrator talks like he has a kazoo jammed up his nose. No thanks.

 

[TehCookie]

It use to act pretty elitist as a joke. I use to imagine all the members owning top hats and monocles because no one would argue, they would debate. It also use to be full of grammar nazis who would correct those who broke their precious rules. You don't find many forums like that, and also many dislike our strict banhappy mods I mean peacekeeping overloards.

 

[shrekfan246]

Also, probably missed something here, what is the Extra Credits controversy? I watch their weekly videos and have caught onto the fact that they used to be part of the Escapist, and I assume something happened here? Cheers in advance.

There was a whole controversy when the artist for Extra Credits needed some surgery or something, and so they started some charity drives to get an inflow of money for it and a few other things, and The Escapist sold some merchandise I believe, and then a whole storm involving behind-the-scenes moneyflow came to light and blew up these forums for a month or two.

OT: I'd say the forums and moderation probably put a lot of people off, combined with the sheer number of 'controversies' that storm through here.

What I mean by that, is the forums are much more strictly moderated than something you'd find around 4chan, Youtube, Destructoid, possibly Reddit, etc. leading to many zero-tolerance policies concerning things like trolling or low-content posting (which covers a multitude of things that a lot of people seem to view in different terms). You'll never find a thread outside of Forum Games that is a stream of reaction GIFs in response to one person's post.

Because of the strict moderation, personal insults and insults against groups that generally occupy these forums are also under the zero-tolerance policy, which leads to what I'd classify as a higher-than-normal amount of passive-aggressive and... clever... responses when people feel the need to attack/defend something.

I could keep going, but that's my two cents for now.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

I don't know. This is the internet. People have weird reasons for liking and disliking things. I like The Escapist because it's one of the rare places where one can have a real discussion about important aspects of gaming and movies and other interesting and even more serious subjects like science, religion and politics. A lot of topics here have a real discussion value.

 

[jamail77]

People generally don't like having their preconceived notion challenged. This is a pretty diverse community with a lot of different viewpoints. In most similar internet communities you'd expect to say whatever the fuck you want in whatever manner you want and not be called on to back up your assertions. On this site you are. Some may call that elitist, but I call it thoughtful.

Also, this might be better served in Off-Topic

Despite being a CS student I'm pretty new to posting threads on forums. Can it get moved or something if enough people think this belongs there?

Honestly, only reason I still come where is because of the videos (would just watch them on youtube, but they don't upload them until they've been out a week). There was the whole deal with the site change where there were so many ads that it took forever to load and they didn't seem to care at all. Maybe that made sense because I think you don't see ads if you pay (publishers club) to come to this website (which paying to visit a website is pretty idiotic). I know you don't have to deal with the captchas if you pay, which is another bullshit move, since they said the captchas were added because of all the bots that nobody ever saw. Actually, I only saw bots after the forced captchas on everyone who didn't want to pay to come on here. Not to mention how the whole "warning" system around here works. Another guy and I (that I know of) both got warnings for talking about MLP in a way that wasn't praising it. I asked support about it and they said that it was because I "insulted an entire demographic" (bronies) and if I "replaced bronies with Christians or African Americans, you can see how it would be offensive". I found that hilarious since people constantly attack Christians here, and tons of other groups of people, and nothing is done about it (but apparently that one is our fault since we never report it). So, yeah, if it wasn't for LRR videos and a few others, I wouldn't bother coming here ever again.

I think there are a lot of factors you aren't considering. It works just fine for me and other people from what I've heard and read. It has problems but they're rare for me at least. As for paying, since it isn't forced on you and it since it doesn't have affect a majority of the content availability I see no problem really. Like I said the ads never significantly bother me and while a lot of them are typical a lot are more unique than other websites with lots of ads. Also, I think the "warning" system has gotten better. They've changed things. I wouldn't be surprised if you worded something in such a way that it come off bad in ways you aren't realizing. I've seen racist and religious comments get moderated. They take longer because of how common they are around the Internet in general and the misguided support they get but they do get taken down slowly. You also have to keep in mind that there are more MLP demographic like people here than extremist religious, race demographics. One will report you a lot while the other groups on here are un-extremist enough to let it slide or pass it off as trolling.

That's a popular go-to word towards someone with power when you can't form a cohesive argument against why you don't like them without sounding a little strange.

I'd disagree with this, I think elitist is a word to describe something with a superiority complex surrounding it. If people over-use it, it doesn't mean it doesn't have a meaning. Saying that, I wouldn't agree that the Escapist is elitist, however I don't follow every single feature so I can't be sure.
The forum-goers however? I've seen more PC elitism here than anywhere else, but maybe that's just something to do with the site. I don't mind it most of the time, when people feel PC is better, but when they criticise console users for using consoles, it really bugs me.
Also, probably missed something here, what is the Extra Credits controversy? I watch their weekly videos and have caught onto the fact that they used to be part of the Escapist, and I assume something happened here? Cheers in advance.

I know what the word elitist means; what I'm saying is if you look at politics or forums it becomes a popular word to rely on in an improper context with an improper definition. I have seen questions asking everybody to cut out with "PC-master race stuff" but they are less common. Then again, I don't go on here as often as other people. I'm sure if you looked hard enough you'd find worse forums. That goes back to my "culture surrounding these things" argument. These places attract people like that. This is the Internet after all, sad excuse though it be.

Let me just clarify what shrekfan226 said. The Extra Credits controversy involved the extra money left over from Allison Theus' surgery which supporters contributed. She had an arm problem as a result of participating in sports back in high school and her insurance wouldn't cover it because it was a pre-existing condition. James Portnow wanted to put all the left-over money raised into a game publishing label that would help fund future projects. The Escapist apparently thought the money should have been used to create more episodes of Extra Credits and to compensate Themis Media for donation incentives. So, Extra Credits broke ties and now airs primarily on Penny Arcade's PATV network.

 

[Fappy]

-Snip-

Just post a request to have it moved in here [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/Moderation-Team] and the mods'll take care of it

 

[jamail77]

It use to act pretty elitist as a joke. I use to imagine all the members owning top hats and monocles because no one would argue, they would debate. It also use to be full of grammar nazis who would correct those who broke their precious rules. You don't find many forums like that, and also many dislike our strict banhappy mods I mean peacekeeping overloards.

I agree. That's what I thought too though when I first came on I think they were in the middle of changing that. Hence the "False associations/perceptions" option. There's a name for this actually. Formed by Nathan Poe in August 2005:

Poe's law- "Without a winking smiley or other blatant display of humor, it is utterly impossible to parody a Creationist in such a way that someone won't mistake it for the genuine article. [It has since included parody of any form of extreme ideology]"

Although Nathan Poe's version is the canon term, there are two earlier sightings of the same idea.
Jerry Schwarz in 1983 said "If you submit a satiric item without this (smiley) symbol, no matter how obvious the satire is to you, do not be surprised if people take it seriously."
Alan Morgan in 2001 stated "Any sufficiently advanced troll is indistinguishable from a genuine kook."

 

[Assassin Xaero]

Honestly, only reason I still come where is because of the videos (would just watch them on youtube, but they don't upload them until they've been out a week). There was the whole deal with the site change where there were so many ads that it took forever to load and they didn't seem to care at all. Maybe that made sense because I think you don't see ads if you pay (publishers club) to come to this website (which paying to visit a website is pretty idiotic). I know you don't have to deal with the captchas if you pay, which is another bullshit move, since they said the captchas were added because of all the bots that nobody ever saw. Actually, I only saw bots after the forced captchas on everyone who didn't want to pay to come on here. Not to mention how the whole "warning" system around here works. Another guy and I (that I know of) both got warnings for talking about MLP in a way that wasn't praising it. I asked support about it and they said that it was because I "insulted an entire demographic" (bronies) and if I "replaced bronies with Christians or African Americans, you can see how it would be offensive". I found that hilarious since people constantly attack Christians here, and tons of other groups of people, and nothing is done about it (but apparently that one is our fault since we never report it). So, yeah, if it wasn't for LRR videos and a few others, I wouldn't bother coming here ever again.

I think there are a lot of factors you aren't considering. It works just fine for me and other people from what I've heard and read. It has problems but they're rare for me at least. As for paying, since it isn't forced on you and it since it doesn't have affect a majority of the content availability I see no problem really. Like I said the ads never significantly bother me and while a lot of them are typical a lot are more unique than other websites with lots of ads. Also, I think the "warning" system has gotten better. They've changed things. I wouldn't be surprised if you worded something in such a way that it come off bad in ways you aren't realizing. I've seen racist and religious comments get moderated. They take longer because of how common they are around the Internet in general and the misguided support they get but they do get taken down slowly. You also have to keep in mind that there are more MLP demographic like people here than extremist religious, race demographics. One will report you a lot while the other groups on here are un-extremist enough to let it slide or pass it off as trolling.

With the ads, it was just when they first switched over. There was another solution, but we can't say those words here. I've heard you even get warnings for saying the T word (aka - to start trouble) or the F word (aka elitist), and I have gotten the latter. Hell, I even got a warning once because someone was... starting trouble... with me. He even sent a message to me saying sorry that I also got a warning and that it was stupid.

 

[Corven]

People used to say quite frequently, and not ironically, that the escapist was the "last bastion of intelligence on the internet". I'd say that's a pretty elitist attitude to carry.

 

[Legion]

People used to say quite frequently, and not ironically, that the escapist was the "last bastion of intelligence on the internet". I'd say that's a pretty elitist attitude to carry.

I remember those days as well, it was slightly depressing, but also as funny as hell. Especially as "Am I the only one who hates Halo?!" was the hot topic of the week more often than not.

Admittedly that seems to have gone now though. People are a lot less likely to dismiss your entire post purely because you forgot an apostrophe too.

Overall I'd say that the "elitist" stereotype is more or less completely a thing of the past to be honest.

 

[jamail77]

-Snip-

-Snip-

-Snip-

Since this is my first time doing this I have no idea if Snips were called for all three of those or if I even used them properly. I just want to keep my posts at a reasonable length. Anyway, I'll tell you what I think. I think the real reason you have had issues with the Escapist is that they mention too much cake and not enough pie. It's as I once saw on a Youtube comment:

Cake is a lie, there is only pie.
Through pie I gain calories.
Through calories I gain weight.
Through weight my belt is broken.
No wonder I'm so damn fat.
-RageUnchained

I call it the Chell code. In all seriousness, you'll find that on a lot of other places on the Internet. Better to be safe than sorry from their point of view. I could go on and on but I think the discussion will naturally address your personal problems more concisely and more comprehensively than I could.

-Snip-

-Snip-

This I also agree with.

 

[Scarim Coral]

From what I have seen of the haters, the people who hate the Escapist hate it for many reasons-

Forum mods are too strict.

Apparently us being elite for some reason.

The people who work on the site are apparent douches in their view.

The person hating it were banned from the site for unfair reason (in their view).

You can look it up on the artical on it on Encyclopedia dramatica but I warn you, that site is fill of hatred!