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[Lupin the Third]

Also unprofessional, immature, desperate, and at many points, incoherent.

Let's at least give credit where it's due: OpenCritic guy here isn't criticizing the article-writer with this but Paul Ryan of Brash. So he's at least trying to be semi-objective.

That said, not even looking at the reviews before publishing them and not paying his staff, Paul Ryan and his supporters(??) lose a lot of room to finger-wag at the author.

 

[Pepboy]

To the open critic guy... As an investigator, you don't say (paraphrasing) "Hey my report isn't done so I urge caution. The guy I'm investigating is going through a tough time so don't be mad at him. Oh, And the whistle-blower is a jack ass."

What were you thinking? You weren't a part of the original story in any meaningful way until you made these posts.

Yeah, exactly! The weirdest part is he could have urged caution without throwing the journalist under the bus. It makes it sound very personal and honestly I would question the results of Monday's report.

Plus then he goes on to backtrack and claims the other guy (the one he is investigating) is is also unprofessional?

 

[Quadraphonic]

That's a hell of a twist in this thread.

Coming in hate on a game review site.
See that there's some 'investigation' by a meta-review site I've never heard of and now I hate them, too.

 

[davepoobond]

Investigators and covert operations are what I look for in a game review site lol

 

[OrbitalBeard]

Let's give the scumbag who steals credit for peoples' hard work some compassion and forgiveness.

Let's publicly shame the whistleblower.

Makes sense.

Jesus Christ, OC.

 

[Orca]

I still think it's hilarious this is exactly the kind of circle jerk bashing the OpenCritic guy wanted to avoid for Brash - at least until the report came out - but it's directed at him instead. People misreading and/or misconstruing what he said, diving into his twitter account and background, accusing him of being friends with the guy behind Brash, etc...

All he really said was to was not to overreact and get all 'blood in the water' about it until the report came out, and that the writer doing this - knowing full well that there was an investigation underway - was stupid and immature. And he's right...this won't help his chances to get hired somewhere that actually pays their writers, and it isn't going to make it any easier to get Brash to pull their heads out of their asses.

Brash Games isn't a major site. It's some amateur site run - albeit poorly - by amateurs who do amateurish things like not paying writers, cutting credits out when people realize 'exposure' doesn't pay bills, and shit like that. The only thing it has going for it is that it's somehow convinced MetaCritic that it's legit. GAF going full GAF on the place, especially not knowing the full story, wouldn't end with them suddenly realizing 'shit, this is wrong and we need to change' so if all this really is about 'ethics in games journalism' then maybe wait for Monday before putting heads on pikes.

 

[firenskill2000]

Let's at least give credit where it's due: OpenCritic guy here isn't criticizing the article-writer with this but Paul Ryan of Brash. So he's at least trying to be semi-objective.

That said, not even looking at the reviews before publishing them and not paying his staff, Paul Ryan and his supporters(??) lose a lot of room to finger-wag at the author.

He criticized the writer first which is what prompted someone to ask what he though of Ryan's actions.

 

[RoninChaos]

I think Paul Ryan is in a really emotionally tough spot and is trying to manage. This is a 6+ year project for him and his team, and I bet he feels like his world is crashing down.

I've seen Brash re-attribute multiple reviews. One author had her full content rights restored as a gesture of goodwill.

This whole thing could quickly turn into a witch hunt, doxing, or other bad places.

The framing here is that Brash Games was some significant player, which I think is a bad frame. I believe this is a group of hobbyists on a small website that scaled up a small operation without fully preparing, resulting in some major lapses in integrity.

Sorry, but giving credit back to the people who wrote the review shouldn't be viewed as a gesture of goodwill. The fact that you think so is fucking astounding.

 

[OverturePT]

Entertaining thread. Cheers for making my day at work a little bit more interesting, guys.

I've been using OC lately, but yea, maybe I'll just give up on these aggregate websites.

 

[Pepboy]

All he really said was to was not to overreact and get all 'blood in the water' about it until the report came out, and that the writer doing this - knowing full well that there was an investigation underway - was stupid and immature. And he's right...this won't help his chances to get hired somewhere that actually pays their writers, and it isn't going to make it any easier to get Brash to pull their heads out of their asses.

Brash Games isn't a major site. It's some amateur site run - albeit poorly - by amateurs who do amateurish things like not paying writers, cutting credits out when people realize 'exposure' doesn't pay bills, and shit like that. The only thing it has going for it is that it's somehow convinced MetaCritic that it's legit. GAF going full GAF on the place, especially not knowing the full story, wouldn't end with them suddenly realizing 'shit, this is wrong and we need to change' so if all this really is about 'ethics in games journalism' then maybe wait for Monday before putting heads on pikes.

That's not all he said. He basically called the author unprofessional, a digital vandilizer, and cast aspersions about whether he should be hired by someone else. That's why OC comes out looking like scum.

And how would the author know to wait till Monday? And why do you have any belief that OC is any sort of arbiter of truth that everyone should bow down to? They don't have a monopoly on information or sit on some golden throne of ethics. If nothing else, this thread should convince you of that much.

If the OC poster had any reason to believe the author was mistaken here's how he could have stated it:

"Hey all, I'm an investigator from OC looking into this issue. We have a report planned for release on Monday, but I wanted to give you a heads up -- don't take this stuff as the gospel truth. I have reasons to believe this isn't the full story. More on Monday!"

Instead, he comes off as trying to start a mob against the author (who knows why?) then trying to cover his butt by saying he was trying to keep everyone level headed... Okay sure.

 

[DocSeuss]

I think Paul Ryan is in a really emotionally tough spot and is trying to manage. This is a 6+ year project for him and his team, and I bet he feels like his world is crashing down.

I've seen Brash re-attribute multiple reviews. One author had her full content rights restored as a gesture of goodwill.

This whole thing could quickly turn into a witch hunt, doxing, or other bad places.

The framing here is that Brash Games was some significant player, which I think is a bad frame. I believe this is a group of hobbyists on a small website that scaled up a small operation without fully preparing, resulting in some major lapses in integrity.

They don't pay. They remove credit. These are two gigantic fucking no-nos. You never fail to attribute, and you'd best have a good reason for not paying.

What do you know about writing professionally that qualifies you to determine how good or bad this is? Are you a professional journalist? Have you worked in the industry? I've been working in it for half a decade and I know how awful this is. I don't know why you are being so defensive of Brash. This is reaaaaaally unprofessional of you.

Sorry, but giving credit back to the people who wrote the review shouldn't be viewed as a gesture of goodwill. The fact that you think so is fucking astounding.

This is un-fucking a fuckup. A gesture of goodwill would be a huge, gigantic apology, outlining how things will be in the future, having the EIC step down, and, like, actual pay.

 

[Clear]

Sorry, but giving credit back to the people who wrote the review shouldn't be viewed as a gesture of goodwill. The fact that you think so is fucking astounding.

Giving full content rights back is more than re-attribution, its why its stated AFTER the opencritic guy specifically mentions multiple instances of re-attribution.

Either way it suggests remedial action was being taken before this blew up, which has to be reasonably considered as being a mitigating factor.

I don't have a dog in this fight either-way, just saying.

 

[firenskill2000]

Sorry, but giving credit back to the people who wrote the review shouldn't be viewed as a gesture of goodwill. The fact that you think so is fucking astounding.

Yea, I don't think this is getting enough notice. Astounding is being nice.

 

[firenskill2000]

Seems as if the OC guy is keeping quiet which might be for the best because he was last on 20 mins ago.

 

[Cyanity]

What an entertaining thread. Better than a Shymalan movie, at least.

 

[Orca]

That's not all he said. He basically called the author unprofessional, a digital vandilizer, and cast aspersions about whether he should be hired by someone else. That's why OC comes out looking like scum.

And how would the author know to wait till Monday? And why do you have any belief that OC is any sort of arbiter of truth that everyone should bow down to? They don't have a monopoly on information or sit on some golden throne of ethics. If nothing else, this thread should convince you of that much.

If the OC poster had any reason to believe the author was mistaken here's how he could have stated it:

"Hey all, I'm an investigator from OC looking into this issue. We have a report planned for release on Monday, but I wanted to give you a heads up -- don't take this stuff as the gospel truth. I have reasons to believe this isn't the full story. More on Monday!"

Instead, he comes off as trying to start a mob against the author (who knows why?) then trying to cover his butt by saying he was trying to keep everyone level headed... Okay sure.

In one of his tangents in the review he states the investigation comes out on Monday.

The OC guy never said the writer is mistaken, he's actually backed up several of his claims and been banned from viewing Brash - he said he was mistaken to do it the way he did, especially as he clearly knew that there was an investigation underway. This is exactly what I mean by people reading into things way more than they should.

 

[ZeoVGM]

Edited my OP again but I'll repost here...

It was a mistake for me to post this so late at night. To be honest, running with this investigation has been personally taxing; in finalizing the report, I've been worried about the dark portions of the gaming community and what they might do as a result (DOXing, harassment, etc.). It might sound silly and possibly arrogant, but it's been something that's been keeping me up at night. I've heard so many stories from colleagues in the industry about death threats, harassment, etc.

When I saw the blurb about the OpenCritic report, I felt partially responsible for what I perceive as vandalism.

My intent in posting here was to dissuade mob justice. My comments were improper and for that I apologize. It was an amateur gut reaction.

Maybe OpenCritic should open an investigation into OpenCritic.

 

[Pepboy]

Sorry, but giving credit back to the people who wrote the review shouldn't be viewed as a gesture of goodwill. The fact that you think so is fucking astounding.

I have no idea why OC guy thinks "Paul and his team" are the victims here. Like "they are making significant strides!" = As a gesture of goodwill, he re-attributed one author?

It almost makes me believe this was written not by OC but by one of the family members or "team" of Brash Games. I'd really like OC to confirm or deny because it is kind of hard to believe.

 

[legacyzero]

He's the founder of OpenCritic, according to his Twitter. Which makes his comments even more dubious.

If he speaks for OpenCritic in here, I think it's fair to judge those comments as such.

Oh, he's the FOUNDER? Oh.. Bruh... Ouch...

 

[Thebeardofknowledge]

I'm the investigator at OpenCritic, and our report is indeed out Monday. Brash Games requested to be removed after learning about our investigation, which launched in March. We made a promise when we launched that we would conduct and publish investigations when we get evidence of wrongdoing, so that's what we're going to do.

Ahead of that, I just want to say that I strongly urge the gaming community to use this opportunity to practice compassion, understanding, and forgiveness. This seems to be a case of a hobbyist who got in a bit over his head.

This article is immature and ultimately self-defeating. It's simply unprofessional and goes against civility. Does the author think that moves like this help his odds of getting hired? Does this really help make serious amends? Does it help motivate Brash Games to restore content rights or fix their issues? In general, I simply want to dissuade mob justice here, which articles like this can sometimes spark. OpenCritic was explicitly mentioned in Ben's article, and I don't want anyone to read that as an endorsement.



Last edit:

It was a mistake for me to post this so late at night. To be honest, running with this investigation has been personally taxing; in finalizing the report, I've been worried about the dark portions of the gaming community and what they might do as a result (DOXing, harassment, etc.). It might sound silly and possibly arrogant, but it's been something that's been keeping me up at night. I've heard so many stories from colleagues in the industry about death threats, harassment, etc.

When I saw the blurb about the OpenCritic report, I felt partially responsible for what I perceive as vandalism. The thought of "what if I just sparked something terrible?" is personally unnerving.

My intent in posting here was to dissuade mob justice. My comments were improper and for that I apologize. It was an amateur gut reaction.

I just lost any respect I had for OC

Fake edit: the founder ?? Fucking gross

 

[Pepboy]

In one of his tangents in the review he states the investigation comes out on Monday.

The OC guy never said the writer is mistaken, he's actually backed up several of his claims and been banned from viewing Brash - he said he was mistaken to do it the way he did, especially as he clearly knew that there was an investigation underway. This is exactly what I mean by people reading into things way more than they should.

Ah okay I missed the bit that the author knew report coming out Monday. But I still think its very poor form to start calling it digital vandalism or to claim the author is less hireable now.

If anything this should help bring more awareness to the issue than some OC article that would get buried. That alone convinces me this was a not-too-shabby way of approaching the issue.

 

[firenskill2000]

In one of his tangents in the review he states the investigation comes out on Monday.

The OC guy never said the writer is mistaken, he's actually backed up several of his claims and been banned from viewing Brash - he said he was mistaken to do it the way he did, especially as he clearly knew that there was an investigation underway. This is exactly what I mean by people reading into things way more than they should.

Uh...what??

...

This article is immature and ultimately self-defeating. It's simply unprofessional and goes against civility. Does the author think that moves like this help his odds of getting hired? Does this really help make serious amends? Does it help motivate Brash Games to restore content rights or fix their issues? In general, I simply want to dissuade mob justice here, which articles like this can sometimes spark. OpenCritic was explicitly mentioned in Ben's article, and I don't want anyone to read that as an endorsement.
...
.

 

[Quixzlizx]

In one of his tangents in the review he states the investigation comes out on Monday.

The OC guy never said the writer is mistaken, he's actually backed up several of his claims and been banned from viewing Brash - he said he was mistaken to do it the way he did, especially as he clearly knew that there was an investigation underway. This is exactly what I mean by people reading into things way more than they should.

Maybe he should've just kept his mouth shut and released his report on Monday instead of tut-tutting the whistleblower and bizarrely trying to damage-control a situation he shouldn't be inserting himself (as an auditor) into. Especially since he was so eager to start a discussion on professionalism.

 

[ElyrionX]

Wow. Didn't see that twist coming LMAO. What a thread.

 

[legacyzero]

I'm having a hard time believing you. Are you sure you're not Paul Ryan? Old records of Brash Games state that he has over 20 years of experience of the industry and is the founder of several sites. So this one passion project got so out of hand that he decided he's no longer going to credit people who leave? With all that experience he has, wouldn't he have known this is wrong? Yeah, your posts aren't fishy at all.

 

[Orca]

Uh...what??

You're really not helping the idea that people are just reading what they want...

"The OC guy never said the writer is mistaken... he said he was mistaken to do it the way he did"

 

[Lupin the Third]

He criticized the writer first which is what prompted someone to ask what he though of Ryan's actions.

I'm not blind. And the OpenCritic guy is certainly not getting off scot-free in my mind either, since he is being weirdly sympathetic to someone who treats his staff like free workhorses. I just get sick of everyone focusing on one thing and ignoring everything else in a discussion even if evidence seems damning.

Also notable: unless the staff have explicit written contracts with Brash Games (and odds are good this operation is not that professional or thorough), they probably legally all own their writing anyway, regardless of any goodwill agreements by email. So they could republish their own content elsewhere at their will, in all likelihood.

 

[NateDrake]

I'm not blind. And the OpenCritic guy is certainly not getting off scot-free in my mind either, since he is being weirdly sympathetic to someone who treats his staff like free workhorses. I just get sick of everyone focusing on one thing and ignoring everything else in a discussion even if evidence seems damning.

Also notable: unless the staff have explicit written contracts with Brash Games (and odds are good this operation is not that professional or thorough), they probably legally all own their writing anyway, regardless of any goodwill agreements by email. So they could republish their own content elsewhere at their will, in all likelihood.

Given this is a few years old, but this was how I was welcomed to the site. There is no legal holding of the content you write, but they do try to make you think that way.

If your happy to continue please sign up here http://www.brashgames.co.uk/register/ using your real name (email me your username) and I'll upgrade your account so you can start posting.

All articles written for Brash Games must not be duplicated on a personal blog, you can of course publish the first paragraph and then link to the review at Brash Games for your portfolio.

You can of course post reviews for titles you have already played at any time and many of our reviewers like to post news, opinion pieces and previews for upcoming games they are interested in.

I basically send out a list and let you know what titles I have available, you choose one and then log in and post your review on Brash Games. Once a satisfactory review go lives the game/s are yours to keep.

I have attached details of how to post, review and score a game.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Paul Ryan
Brash Games

 

[DocSeuss]

As someone who's written for some of the biggest websites in the industry for half a decade now, who's had people try to get me fired, send me gore and porn, attempt to hack my accounts to fuck with me, and all sorts of other heinous shit, I feel like I have a pretty good handle on what it's like to be harassed on the internet.

It's waaaay more important to protect people from predators than to defend the predators.

 

[firenskill2000]

You're really not helping the idea that people are just reading what they want...

"The OC guy never said the writer is mistaken... he said he was mistaken to do it the way he did"

Fair enough. Can't argue with that.

 

[weekev]

He was literally trying to help out brash tho

The fact that hes the founder and an 'investigator' and also posting on the behalf of brash during the investigation is not only unprofessional, it reeks of damage control. People saying they cant trust open critic isnt an overreaction, its justified because of the response by the founder.

He's trying to help him out by stopping him being doxxed. I think that's a reasonable and nice response. Maybe I'm being naive but I don't get the impression that OC supports Brash games or the actions he has taken, he's just been incredibly naive with his own comments and try's my to defend a guy that didn't deserve to be defended. He at no point agreed with the actions taken by the site hence why I feel the hatred aimed towards him and his site being unjustified.

One criticism would be that he could perhaps do with a bit more perspective and understanding before trying to prevent something that wasn't going to happen i.e. an actual witch hunt against a dude that has shown he deserves zero respect.

 

[Zakalwe]

Having writers work "for exposure" is BS already.

You have to do this when you're starting out as a writer unless you get lucky with a position. The field is saturated.

I worked as a gaming journalist for a large news site that was trying to build its games/tech sections. My friend was the editor and he asked me to help out, so I did. I thought I'd give it a shot as a writer so I went all in.

Attended some press release events, got a bunch of early review copies, made some good contacts, and tried to find other opportunities for work. Every time it was for exposure or to be paid later if possible.

I would have kept going, but they quit funding the gaming section of the site even though we were doing well by their own admission (we'd been on track to get our own offices!) so we lost our base. From there I couldn't justify working for nothing, but I think most writers will have to do this at some point.

 

[MC Safety]

What do you propose then?

I propose you do not work for free.

If you wish to gain exposure, personal writing samples can be used to solicit paid work. Internships can be helpful as long as they are supervised and for high school or college credit.

Devaluing your labor by giving it away doesn't just hurt you. Because of all the ham-and-eggers, professional writers such as myself have to fight -- literally fight -- to be paid a nominal wage for our work.

 

[Zakalwe]

I propose you do not work for free.

If you wish to gain exposure, personal writing samples can be used to solicit paid work. Internships can be helpful as long as they are supervised and for high school or college credit.

Devaluing your labor by giving it away doesn't just hurt you. Because of all the ham-and-eggers, professional writers such as myself have to fight -- literally fight -- to be paid a nominal wage for our work.

Someone in this very thread mentioned his improved payment rates for his published work. It was, and you can do the math yourself, less than one cent per word.

See above.

It's not always possible when starting out. It's catch 22 for the paid positions: you often need experience with published writing/working as part of a publication team, so if you can't find a paid position what do you do?

Working for exposure is sometimes the only option.

 

[BigEmil]

I'm the investigator at OpenCritic, and our report is indeed out Monday. Brash Games requested to be removed after learning about our investigation, which launched in March.

I just want to say that I strongly urge the gaming community to use this opportunity to practice compassion, understanding, and forgiveness.

This seems to be a case of a hobbyist who got in a bit over his head.

This article is immature and ultimately self-defeating. Brash has shown significant steps towards making amends, which will be detailed in the report.

The original unedited comment was much more unprofessional

 

[GeoNeo]

Won't be going to OpenCritic again. What the fuck...

The original unedited comment was much more unprofessional

Yup, simply disgusting.

 

[maxiell]

But he's an "investigator," whatever that means. It probably should have been obvious how transparent the guy is after he was temporarily banned for spamming OpenCritic links in review threads.

Stating facts in an article posted on Brash Games' own website is not only completely civil, it's way more open than OpenCritic will ever be.

 

[MC Safety]

Working for exposure is sometimes the only option.

The shady folk who exploit you for your labor are no doubt pleased you believe this.

 

[Petrae]

See above.

It's not always possible when starting out. It's catch 22 for the paid positions: you often need experience with published writing/working as part of a publication team, so if you can't find a paid position what do you do?

Working for exposure is sometimes the only option.

Write your stuff. Shoot your vids. Post the content. Promote it properly. Make your contacts. Buy/rent your own review copies. Buy a domain and post your content on a Wordpress website.

If you're gonna work for free, why not put that effort into working for yourself towards a better end-- instead of obeying all of the rules and deadlines put forth by your "bosses"?

Besides-- in an era where video is king, the need for writers and written content is declining. It's more worthwhile to build up exposure through steaming and/or scripted and well-produced video content. You don't need a volunteer position at some low-level gaming press site to do that. Moreover, even if you're a decent writer, you're still going to require a decent on-camera presence. The big gaming press websites that remain produce both written and video content.

Even the necessity of being a member of gaming press to go to E3 is a thing of the past. Pay the money, invest in yourself, forge a network of contacts.

This isn't 2005 anymore. New era, new rules, new objectives, new expectations.

 

[jschreier]

See above.

It's not always possible when starting out. It's catch 22 for the paid positions: you often need experience with published writing/working as part of a publication team, so if you can't find a paid position what do you do?

Working for exposure is sometimes the only option.

I know it's super tough to get your foot in the door these days, but I will say, the best way to get published is to keep pitching ideas to editors at publications that will pay you. When I'm looking at a freelance pitch, I really don't care whether their clips are on their personal website or some random gaming site I've never heard of - I care whether their clips are good. If you believe that your writing is worth a damn, then people should pay you for it.

Also, writing for exposure on a site like Brash Games that nobody has ever heard of and that clearly has fake social media followers (12k likes on their Facebook, but 0 comments or likes on any of their posts) offers no benefit whatsoever.

 

[Off-Kilter]

Oh god that twist ITT is delicious.

Won't someone please think of Brash Games?

OpenCritic is dead to me.

 

[kimifan141]

Read through the whole thing , my investigation revealed the following points

1) The investigator post is immature and ultimately self-defeating It's simply unprofessional and goes against civility. Does the investigator think that moves like this help his odds of getting hired? Does this really help make serious amends?

2) The report that will come out on monday is tainted , from the investigator posts its pretty clear that he has a soft spot for the site owner which means the real truth will never be in it.

3) Never ever care about Brash Games or Open critic again.

4) Love the gaf post backfire.

 

[Off-Kilter]

I also found this pretty damning. Posted about a week ago.

https://twitter.com/ReviewsFlash/status/847843424074182657

https://twitter.com/ReviewsFlash/status/847867461445799936

 

[Par Score]

That would be great.
Thread title should add 'OpenCritic is utter trash too'

In a thread title that's is supposed to be about Brash Games, you'd never know that OpenCritic would wind up being as big a negative story unless you read the thread and see where it all goes wrong.

Yeah, the thread title really should be updated to reflect the founder of OpenCritic weighing in on this in such a hamfisted way.

Not every day you get to see someone swallowing their own foot.

 

[Mattenth]

I was just trying to advocate for decency and civility. I was worried about risks of harassment and doxing that this type of content could spark. I'm clearly in over my head - I've never worked in games journalism and feel like an amateur. It was a mistake - I'm sorry.

 

[bonesmccoy]

Im not sure I would get the pitchforks out towards Open Critic just yet, because of some random and reactionary "investigator". I really question just how much Open Critic even agrees with his stance, if at all.

Dude advertises himself as a/the cofounder of OpenCritic in his GAF profile.

edit: Wait - what the heck?

I was just trying to advocate for decency and civility. I was worried about risks of harassment and doxing that this type of content could spark. I'm clearly in over my head - I've never worked in games journalism and feel like an amateur. It was a mistake - I'm sorry.

Well, your heart was in the right place, but I don't think you should have commented on this outside of an 'official' and anonymous outlet.

 

[Leona Lewis]

I was just trying to advocate for decency and civility. I was worried about risks of harassment and doxing that this type of content could spark. I'm clearly in over my head - I've never worked in games journalism and feel like an amateur. It was a mistake - I'm sorry.

You could've done that without shitting on the author.

But good on you for owning up to your foolishness. This Paul Ryan fellow, on the other hand, doesn't quite seem up to the task.

 

[firenskill2000]

I was just trying to advocate for decency and civility. I was worried about risks of harassment and doxing that this type of content could spark. I'm clearly in over my head - I've never worked in games journalism and feel like an amateur. It was a mistake - I'm sorry.

It's fine that you made a mistake and better that you owned up to it but I'm still not following your line of thinking about how the article in question would lead to doxxing. The guy outed the site he worked for (in an article that you would think should have been edited and squashed to begin with) for being shitty. Where does the doxxing come in? He didn't name names or give out personal info. It's just a weird stance given the article in question.

 

[Lucumo]

He's the founder of OpenCritic, according to his Twitter. Which makes his comments even more dubious.

If he speaks for OpenCritic in here, I think it's fair to judge those comments as such.

Well, "Mattenth" also looks to be a combination of his first name and family name.

This doesn't mean much when one can choose whatever nickname but at least it's highly likely that he is the actual co-founder.

Considering his first sentence:

I'm the investigator at OpenCritic, and our report is indeed out Monday.

He is definitely speaking for OpenCritic.

 

[Joqu]

I was just trying to advocate for decency and civility. I was worried about risks of harassment and doxing that this type of content could spark. I'm clearly in over my head - I've never worked in games journalism and feel like an amateur. It was a mistake - I'm sorry.

Well, I do think you've said some foolish stuff here re: that review's author regardless if your good intentions, but at least you're owning up to it. Fair enough.