Poll: Susan Arendt is gone...do you wonder if the Escapist is hurting?

[Something Amyss]

Well, we do lose editors at an alarmingly rapid rate.

The turnover here is nothing compared to my experience with editors while freelancing. I'm not a games writer (though maybe I should be, my blog is overrun by gaming stuff), but I don't imagine it being much different in the gaming world.

OT: not unless her leaving is a sign of something more sinister, but I don't see this as another "Extra Credits" scandal so much as the natural progression of the site.

Though I'm sad to see Susan go.

 

[Knight Templar]

I was sad to see her go, but I don't think it's some sign of danger or I'll omen that she left. I was sad when Russell Pits left as well but the site endures.

 

[Jazoni89]

I'm sad, because she's the only person (other than me) who didn't think the 3DO was a piece of utter shite, from the bowels of Trip Hawkins.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_292/8618-My-Favorite-Mistake

Everytime i switch my 3DO on, i shall always remember you Susan.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Yeah, I'm sad to see her go, as I was sad to see another certain Escapist member go. (But we got [user]Nasrin[/user] later!) But Arendt wasn't holding the site together. I honestly never read any of her articles or listened to her content, I simply appreciated that she posted the most often of the other Escapist staff.

Well, bye, Arendt, even if you're not reading this :V

 

[Scars Unseen]

The site's less for her departure, but no well kept company falls apart with the departure of one person, no matter how great.

If a company falls apart, is that not proof that it was not well kept?

 

[crazy_coug99]

while I can see the argument made based on Susan's departure, I don't think it will bring down the entire site. She was definitely one of the larger personalities on the site, including Jim, Yahtzee and Bob. The site is lesser for that because she was the most energetic and dynamic of the Escapist staff, the entire site did not rely on her solely. Her forum title said 'Nerd Queen' and the members treated her and respected her as such. The website is based on content and the people that make it.

If you do want to support her and her work, support Joystiq for that. Not saying to jump from the Escapist to a different website but support our Queen Nerd to show that if she does want to come back, she will have a community that will continue to support her no matter where she goes.

 

[soren7550]

Slightly off topic, but would Susan still be allowed to come by and post on the forums? Or is she banished for leaving the circle?

 

[RaNDM G]

Who's Susan Arendt? If I never heard of her, probably not.

 

[KeyMaster45]

This is just wild speculation, but I'm guessing it has something to do with their new corporate overlords.

Oh crap, we got sold again? 0_o

 

[KeyMaster45]

This is just wild speculation, but I'm guessing it has something to do with their new corporate overlords.

Oh crap, we got sold again? 0_o

wait, when did we get sold the first time?


where have I been?

Where am I?

Who are you?

I have no knowledge of this place.



its like you wake up and suddenly you are a regular poster of Kotaku!


that was a joke, no one regularly posts on Kotaku.

I was certain we'd been bought by someone a few years ago; right around that kerfuffle with the Extra Credits team. I was also certain Susan had been Ed in Chief for at least the past two or three years. Then again, I stopped reading articles after they stopped doing the weekly issues so I've sort of lost track of time and any sense of how the site is doing outside of the declining quality of news posts.

 

[Lionsfan]

Alright, before I go anywhere, let me just say that I love you Escapist. You know that, right?

With that said...it's harsh truth time (Note: this is just my theory, I have no clue if I'm actually right)!

The Escapist is not in trouble financially or anything like that. The Escapist has ALWAYS been a second tier gaming site (remember, I still love you). With a second tier game site, that means you are receiving second tier pay and this place is a stepping stone for many.

It's just like college basketball (stay with me, I'll explain and it'll make sense!). Every coach wants to get one of the BIG jobs (Louisville for example). However, there are only so many of these big jobs and you need to prove yourself before a big school will look your way. You then join up a smaller school with aspirations (University of Minnesota type place) and try to win with what you have.

Again, I love this place. They have to work much harder at the "User happiness" side of things (like a great Mod staff for example) because of their short comings. I don't think it's some grand conspiracy or management treating editors like dirt; it's as simple as The Escapist is a smaller site so you get a smaller paycheck. Once you demonstrate you can handle yourself at a smaller site, that's when bigger sites (like Joystick) will look your way.

I agree with almost everything here, except to say that I don't think Minnesota is a smaller-tier school basketball wise. If they can get an upgrade in facilities, and a semi-decent coach, they could be one of the destination jobs out there.

But yeah, as much as some people might not want to admit, The Escapist is a second tier site. The site doesn't "break news" or anything like it, it's more of a reactionary website.

OT: As someone who hasn't listened to podcasts, I didn't really even notice Susan was gone (ok that's a lie, I read her farewell thread). Not to mention that The Escapist would be a very horrible website if losing one editor in chief caused the whole site to collapse

 

[TomPreston]

I will say this, after listening to the latest couple of podcats, I really REALLY miss Susan's ability to keep everyone on topic.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

well... I made a video review in the reviews section of the site. She saw it, tweeted it that it was the worst thing she ever saw... and that's not what angered me or hurt my feelings so.

what annoyed me was that she spouted that criticism to her followers and didn't have the common courtesy to send out the link so at very least I could get hits. I mean look the video was shit, I'll admit that, but for christ sake if I'm going to make shit and it influences you enough to tweet about it, at least throw me a fucking bone and give me some free advertising. Fuck.

same way I feel about everyone that leaves the site: more opportunity for someone new to come in and make there name.

 

[IllumInaTIma]

Escapist definitely lost a lot with Susan's departure, but then again, it's not a sign that Escapist is dying or anything! For all we know, there could be hundreds of different reasons for her departure. Maybe she has a baby on a way, but Escapist has some weird policies concerning maternity leave. Maybe she's just tired and wants to work from home. Hell, maybe she just wanted a raise. We don't know.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Susan brought a lot to the site but, you know, the other guys rock too. We've been blessed with awesome staff from the start. Susan was just our Queen.

LONG LIVE!

 

[Gearhead mk2]

We still got Yahtzee, we still got Jim, we still got Moviebob, we still got fairly good coverage of games, oddities and geek culture in general, we still got a fairly good community (save perhaps for an unhealthy level of attachment to Valve) so when these doomsday threads pop up, all I can do is roll my eyes and wait for it to blow over.

 

[-Dragmire-]

Alright, before I go anywhere, let me just say that I love you Escapist. You know that, right?

With that said...it's harsh truth time (Note: this is just my theory, I have no clue if I'm actually right)!

The Escapist is not in trouble financially or anything like that. The Escapist has ALWAYS been a second tier gaming site (remember, I still love you). With a second tier game site, that means you are receiving second tier pay and this place is a stepping stone for many.

It's just like college basketball (stay with me, I'll explain and it'll make sense!). Every coach wants to get one of the BIG jobs (Louisville for example). However, there are only so many of these big jobs and you need to prove yourself before a big school will look your way. You then join up a smaller school with aspirations (University of Minnesota type place) and try to win with what you have.

Again, I love this place. They have to work much harder at the "User happiness" side of things (like a great Mod staff for example) because of their short comings. I don't think it's some grand conspiracy or management treating editors like dirt; it's as simple as The Escapist is a smaller site so you get a smaller paycheck. Once you demonstrate you can handle yourself at a smaller site, that's when bigger sites (like Joystick) will look your way.

Makes sense.(I love this site too)

OT: Susan leaving isn't a bad sign, just a change. As noted above, once people establish themselves here they can look for more prosperous positions elsewhere and it keeps this place alive with fresh blood eager to prove themselves.

Editor in Chief seems to be the launching point of late based on the quick turnaround.

 

[Basement Cat]

Alright, before I go anywhere, let me just say that I love you Escapist. You know that, right?

The Escapist is not in trouble financially or anything like that.

The Escapist has ALWAYS been a second tier gaming site--

(remember, I still love you).

So much for Tippy, folks...

But his last words did make me reconsider something that had occurred to me earlier--what if the Escapist is doing a lot better than many of us had thought?

I don't think the escapist is bleeding, more ads haven't gone up, more good series have meanwhile popped up--

Good points. I wonder if the new series represent an improvement in the site's overall fortunes--not just money wise. Is it possible that the Escapist is evolving before our eyes more than we recognize?

OT: Susan leaving isn't a bad sign, just a change.

...we fear change...

As noted above, once people establish themselves here they can look for more prosperous positions elsewhere and it keeps this place alive with fresh blood eager to prove themselves.

It's all about them--the staff?!? Th-th-then when they write criticisms of companies like EA or Microsoft screwing customers over for their own interests...they're being hypocritical because they're doing the same thing!!!

Editor in Chief seems to be the launching point of late based on the quick turnaround.

Then...if you're right...we cannot trust our next Editor in Chief to labor for our interests...nor for the site's...but only towards their own goals of doing sufficiently well to get a good addition to their own resume!

The fiends! D:

So we're going to keep losing editors until we defeat Voldemort?

Looks like that's right...

*sighs*

It could be dangerous...you wanna go first?

Slightly off topic, but would Susan still be allowed to come by and post on the forums? Or is she banished for leaving the circle?

Absolutely! She hasn't been banned or anything. The only question is...will she?

Perhaps she's moved on for good? Our little Nerd Queen must suffer for abandoning us is all grown up!

*sniffles*

 

[lacktheknack]

This is just wild speculation, but I'm guessing it has something to do with their new corporate overlords.

Oh crap, we got sold again? 0_o

wait, when did we get sold the first time?


where have I been?

Where am I?

Who are you?

I have no knowledge of this place.



its like you wake up and suddenly you are a regular poster of Kotaku!


that was a joke, no one regularly posts on Kotaku.

A while back (last year?) the Escapist was sold from Themis Media to Alloy Digital.

We didn't notice much difference, which is a good thing.

OT: Susan stepped into a bizarre catfight I was in on the Dance Central review and called the other guy's sexual security into question. It was glorious, and I will never forget.