That is exactly what it means. If they were not trying to make a signal, then there is no need to fire a person doing a job.
The problem was that he wasn’t doing his job, Frosto. He was clearly banning someone for spurious reasons because the player upset a streamer he was a fan of. That almost certainly is against internal rules for the position, so suspension or firing for abuse of power is quite justified.
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no one is asking for the guy to be burned in the town square he did however abuse his position to give special preferential treatment to one player at the expense of another nd since it has some bearing to this topic lets look at the nonsense going on with the accusations of cross faction collusion occurring with the gong event in silithus in light of the recent shenanigans by this GM it casts a bad shadow on what else the company as a whole is allowing to happen
no one is saying rush Blizzards HQ with pitchforks and flaming torches in hand but the fact is too many things are falling through the cracks and the scarab lord title fiasco is something players should be concerned about and Blizzard needs to step it up and do something rather than pretend its meant to happen this way
Blizzard has enough blemishes on its reputation and staying silent while this topic and the collusion claims going on without a word from them arent helping them to look any better in the gaming community
Watcher said nearly 3 years ago they were working on ways to “improve communication” yet here we are and little has improved and to be honest its actually appeared to have gotten significantly worse
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I mean, in all fairness, you may well be right.
I don’t argue that in hindsight, dispelling world buffs is a find thing to do, and even targeting particular players is fine.
However, I don’t know that that was something that would have been clear to GMs, which as far as I know is a relatively low skill, low paid job. It would not necessarily fall on the GM to know all the rules, if they had not been properly trained, and if that particular point was not made explicit, then firing someone over a correctable mistake seems not only harsh, but like a waste of company resources.
No, it absolutely does not. If anything, it is a shining example of how good Blizzard is, since they decided to communicate with us on the forums and inform us of the decision to open an internal investigation and revoke the ban.
You’ve clearly never worked in a retail or food service position, have you?
Trust me, people get fired for much less, and ignorance of the rules is not an excuse.
Yes. I’ve been working since I was 15 years old. I’ve held many positions… started at the bottom, now I’m here.
Sure they do. But, a lot of organizations have bad management. I suspect Blizzard has dealt with forum trolls for long enough that they have their CM/GM backs more than you might expect.
It is, after all, an overwhelmingly successful company.
(p.s. I don’t know. Maybe the person was fired. But, if so, other than to make a public display, it seems like there would be no reason to go that far. And they didn’t make a public display. Maybe this incident doesn’t really matter as much as some people in this thread think it does.)
There’s ‘having their backs’ and then there’s ‘ignoring blatant abuses of power’.
Having their backs is ignoring blithering idiots who whine because they haven’t gotten a Thunderfury yet.
Ignoring blatant abuses of power is like police unions closing ranks after yet another black guy gets shot for being black in public.
And, frankly, you’re more likely to get quickly fired at the overwhelmingly successful companies. Why? Because they’re the ones that can afford to let people go the easiest, since there’s always someone willing to work there. It is the businesses that don’t have a dozen applications on file for each position at all times, or the ones that are family owned, that you are more likely to find people sticking around even after they cause problems.
no if anything the streamer himself caused the issue to be brought to light because he was running a live broadcast that the entire world was watching and they clearly saw a GM stick his foot in his mouth and it publically embarrassed the company there was no way for Blizzard to spin it
Blizzard had no choice but to publicly deal with it because any attempt to sweep it under the rug this time was not going to help too many people saw the entire ordeal
Blizzard saw only one option throw that GM under the bus to save themselves plain and simple it had nothing to do with setting a good example it was an attempt to save face if J Allen Brack thought firing Watcher himself would help the situation with that embarrassing display he would get a pink slip in heartbeat all to try and preserve the companies floundering reputation
It was a big deal, and Blizzard did the right thing and handled it swiftly.
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Not if it’s something that has public conversation, but then isn’t commented on by the company.
That’s not a bad point, to be sure. However, hiring and training costs would make that a bad decision, if there wasn’t a good reason.
This is nowhere near the realm of a decent comparison. An entry level position (GM) banned a player, the ban was overruled within less than 24 hours. A slap on the wrist, or rather a slap on the wrist of the manager or training lead may be warranted.
Perhaps some change to the onboarding/training process for GMs is warranted. What purpose does firing someone server? Does that benefit the company?
People who are incapable of managing others may make such a claim. Look at the processes, and help to nurture/grow those who join your organization, and you’ll be better for it, imo.
Nobody really cares. You’re making a mountain out of a molehill, and you’re alone in that.
That isn’t what they did. They at least had the integrity not to throw the GM under the bus.
They simply opened an investigation (as they do with any ban that is appealed), and decided to revoke the ban.
Big business don’t give second chances anymore. You mess up once, and you’re gone. They’ll just replace you with another underpaid guy.
I guess it depends on your position. That is definitely not my experience.
Actually, quite early on in my management career track, I had a director who told me something like, “Be hard on yourself, and easy on others.”
I really liked that director.
Sounds like a good guy. They probably fired him.
like Watcher i mean look at all the paying customers his “vision” drove away from any product with the Blizzard name on it and hes still in his cushy job
He was a director. Who would fire him?
Then your director is one in a million. Trust me, in most places, especially in ‘right to work’ states, that almost never happens.
Unless he’s the sole owner, there’s always someone who can fire him.
Because alot of us knew the priest deserved it
After he got unbanned he got rebanned for sperging out, obviously not a player you want around anyway
I’d very strongly question your perspective on “most places,” as I’ve worked in several countries, languages, and positions.
I’m not saying that I am definitively correct, but I suspect I have a much broader perspective. I would never trust someone who says, “trust me.”
Yeah, an executive chairman could maybe pull some strings, but it isn’t that easy.
I’m talking most places in the US, where Blizzard is based. Things are different in other countries, I’m aware.