Support NeoGAF

[devious.one]

I can understand having a little sympathy for the man losing his job and all, but I don't see how anyone can say this is "gaf's fault". It was said earlier, but this was a self inflicted wound. He himself put Microsoft in a bad position PR wise, and they responded like a lot of people thought they would.

Besides, if he's as good as Jaffe and these other people on Twitter are saying, he'll land another job and he'll have learned a lesson. Quit acting like his life is over now.

 

[mckmas8808]

First of all: why would that make someone feel happy about him being fired as long as you are not a higher up at Microsoft? As an individual, why would you see things from a corporate perspective and not from your own (probably being an employee of some kind as well)? That I don't get.

And secondly: I thought that Microsoft's reaction statement was basically a confirmation of their always-on strategy. If not, they could have just said: "Nope, don't have to be online." Instead, they talked around it so that when they reveal the console they can sugar talk it.

I didn't want him fired, but some people are just sick and tired of executive F-ing up this country (USA) and then when they screw up the company they work for and many middle class people lose their jobs, they walk away with a golden parachute.

Some people want executives to be held accountable in this country.

 

[Cat in the Hat]

This cannot real. Then again, you're unable to recognize outright theft, so perhaps you are just that daft. Incredible opinion though.

A little background. It was a permanent blue sharpie that she never used(she only used black and red) so I took it to finish drawing a picture on my door at home. At the time I took I thought, "oh cool, I need a permanent marker so it doesn't come off. I'll just return it in the morning" Of course I realized later when I got to school I fucked up and that what I did was wrong. My point was that the punishment didn't fit the crime. I got in mad trouble for a flippin' marker.

This whole ordeal here reminds me of this.

I know this is a videogame forum(I've been here a long ass time, I know) but by the reaction here you'd think this dude did some heinous shit; he didn't. I just wish GAF could just calm down and quite being so fucking serious about trivial things. You didn't have to start a war on this guy to try and change Microsoft's DRM direction. There more constructive ways of getting the "Always Online DRM blows" message across. On top of it all, no one here even knows if any of that shit is true!

Also I didn't mean to condemn all of GAF, I was directing this to those who participated in the strange and creepy hate.

 

[DJ Lushious]

And secondly: I thought that Microsoft's reaction statement was basically a confirmation of their always-on strategy. If not, they could have just said: "Nope, don't have to be online." Instead, they talked around it so that when they reveal the console they can sugar talk it.

Did you and I read the same Microsoft response? 'Cause you sure seem to be finding a lot of information about the strategy of their unannounced system from this:

We apologize for the inappropriate comments made by an employee on Twitter yesterday. This person is not a spokesperson for Microsoft, and his personal views do not reflect the customer centric approach we take to our products or how we would communicate directly with our loyal consumers. We are very sorry if this offended anyone, however we have not made any announcements about our product roadmap, and have no further comment on this matter.

 

[WanderingWind]

A little background. It was a permanent blue sharpie that she never used(she only used black and red) so I took it to finish drawing a picture on my door at home. At the time I took I thought, "oh cool, I need a permanent marker so it doesn't come off. I'll just return it in the morning" Of course I realized later when I got to school I fucked up and that what I did was wrong. My point was that the punishment didn't fit the crime. I got in mad trouble for a flippin' marker.

This whole ordeal here reminds me of this.

I know this is a videogame forum(I've been here a long ass time, I know) but by the reaction here you'd think this dude did some heinous shit; he didn't. I just wish GAF could just calm down and quite being so fucking serious about trivial things. You didn't have to start a war on this guy to try and change Microsoft's DRM direction. There more constructive ways of getting the "Always Online DRM blows" message across. On top of it all, no one here even knows if any of that shit is true!

Also I didn't mean to condemn all of GAF, I was directing this to those who participated in the strange and creepy hate.

Take your own advice and calm down.

Bro.

 

[freddy]

A little background. It was a permanent blue sharpie that she never used(she only used black and red) so I took it to finish drawing a picture on my door at home. At the time I took I thought, "oh cool, I need a permanent marker so it doesn't come off. I'll just return it in the morning" Of course I realized later when I got to school I fucked up and that what I did was wrong. My point was that the punishment didn't fit the crime. I got in mad trouble for a flippin' marker.

This whole ordeal here reminds me of this.

I know this is a videogame forum(I've been here a long ass time, I know) but by the reaction here you'd think this dude did some heinous shit; he didn't. I just wish GAF could just calm down and quite being so fucking serious about trivial things. You didn't have to start a war on this guy to try and change Microsoft's DRM direction. There more constructive ways of getting the "Always Online DRM blows" message across. On top of it all, no one here even knows if any of that shit is true!

Also I didn't mean to condemn all of GAF, I was directing this to those who participated in the strange and creepy hate.

I don't see how you can lecture people when you still haven't taken ownership of your petty theft all those years ago. "she never used it and I really needed it". Please.

 

[wildfire]

Incompetent microsoft

I would disagree. They took less than 20 hours to issue an apology. 24 hours later a well connected MS fanboy confirms certain features and tries to spin them all as positives.
The next day information is leaked to VG or Kotaku can't remember which reconfirming features.
Verge comes out day after that explicitly saying certain features are officially confirmed and tries to put a positive spin on it.
Finally on the fourth day they just say fuck it and flat out state through controlled leaks used games won't be blocked and always online won't prevent discs from running locally years after the product is discontinued.
So yesterday on the fifth day it was officially confirmed Orth has parted ways with Microsoft.

I'm just waiting to see if they pull out anything else today to close off this miserable chapter in their marketing history.

They've been handling this decently.

[edit]
Welp. I didn't have to wait long.

 

[Cat in the Hat]

Take your own advice and calm down.

Bro.

I'm not riled up or anything. Just thought I'd post an opinion on the GAF and the gaming industry. That is was this forum used for after all.

I don't see how you can lecture people when you still haven't taken ownership of your petty theft all those years ago. "she never used it and I really needed it". Please.

At the time I didn't even think about it. I know it was wrong I've said that already. I guess as a 9 year old I saw it as borrowing. Now I see it as it was, petty theft. Still, if my kid took nails out of the garage to finish his art project without asking me. I'd just tell him to ask me next time and that would be that. Not because I don't see it as wrong but I see it as a teaching moment. Not a freakout moment, because I understand that it's just not that big of a deal. If he took a neighbors bike that would be different.

 

[WanderingWind]

I'm not riled up or anything. Just thought I'd post an opinion on the GAF and the gaming industry. That is was this forum used for after all.

Do you truly not understand the irony here?

 

[EatChildren]

You're mostly right, I think, but I don't like the idea that because you are an asshole on the internet in a fairly limited scope, it's okay to receive a hugely disproportionate amount of bullying and mocking. I think the internet reaction is okay up to the point that he got fired, but there are lines that shouldn't be crossed (for something as relatively harmless as this, at least to the consumer).

I'm not trying to be holier than thou or think that I am above the majority of GAF, but personally while it may be clever, I don't find the image of him staring at a Monster page funny in the slightest or these memes of him referencing him losing his job. If he was racist or sexist or something that was actively harmful to humanity I would disagree, but in the large scope this is pretty minor and it just feels like dog piling. Making fun of his logic or statements is okay to me, but enjoying his misery in losing his job feels wrong.

I think you're mostly addressing people that think GAF got him fired or he didn't deserve to be fired, but I thought I would say this anyways.

Yeah, I didn't mean to insinuate that bullying is justified by behavior on social media, but instead that it attracts attention. The bullying, as someone else put it, is a whole other can of worms. I too don't find the Monster image funny or anything, because I don't condone someone losing their job. Even if I think always online is awful, Orth's arguments terrible, and his behavior obviously unfavourable in the eyes of his employer, I don't relish the fact he is no longer employed there.

My main point was that making yourself and your opinions very public will naturally draw attention. A lot of attention. And I think this is what many people on social networks forget. And I also think that just because you have an opinion, something to say, does not make you immune to criticism. It's very easy to finger the internet as to blame for the bad reaction to Orth's post, when it's more likely the bad reaction was a response to Orth's poor wording, and the subject matter he was discussing. People are really vocal about their dislike for an always online Xbox. An employee of Microsoft insinuating the system will be isn't going to be brushed aside and forgotten among the millions of other forgettable tweets.

To see some people take the stance that Orth is a victim of the internet, as if this is an entity with an agenda, let alone NeoGAF, to me shows an incredibly juvenile perspective of the matter, and a detached understanding of what kind of environment the internet and social networking create. It defers responsibility.

 

[MehsterChief]

I didn't want him fired, but some people are just sick and tired of executive F-ing up this country (USA) and then when they screw up the company they work for and many middle class people lose their jobs, they walk away with a golden parachute.

Some people want executives to be held accountable in this country.

What?

Isn't this a bit far-fetched? If Adam Orth had been an executive at Goldman & Sachs or some company like that, then yeah, I'm all for it.
But it's not like he treated people poorly or reacted overly greedy. He tweeted some bullshit about the DRM service of a console. Different beast altogether.

 

[Oblivion]

I guess this is old (just saw it tweeted).. but it´s still funny..

Instead of EA it should have said Monsanto.

 

[VeryGooster]

I saw this linked in another thread once and thought it made for a good read regarding "safety in numbers bullying" and such. http://comedychat.co.uk/2012/09/05/...-for-co-ordinated-safety-in-numbers-bullying/

 

[MehsterChief]

Did you and I read the same Microsoft response? 'Cause you sure seem to be finding a lot of information about the strategy of their unannounced system from this:

We apologize for the inappropriate comments made by an employee on Twitter yesterday. This person is not a spokesperson for Microsoft, and his personal views do not reflect the customer centric approach we take to our products or how we would communicate directly with our loyal consumers. We are very sorry if this offended anyone, however we have not made any announcements about our product roadmap, and have no further comment on this matter.

I think that this sentence is important:

his personal views do not reflect the customer centric approach we take to our products or how we would communicate directly with our loyal consumers.

They're saying: we like consumers, treat them with respect and communicate with them in a certain way.
They're not saying: Orth's comments are untrue.

For me, the sentence has the connotation that yeah, Orth is right, we would have just liked to tell you in a nicer way.

Doesn't have to be true, but for me it sounds like that.

 

[RobbieH]

While we can debate on how "GAF" is responsible for what happened to Mr. Orth, I think it's more telling that more than 50 news pieces on sites of varying reach and importance amplified the situation.

Google says there were 272 Adam Orth stories posted over the weekend.

 

[larvi]

Yeah. Businesses seriously need to start having seminars about how to conduct yourself on the internet. I'm sorry the dude got fired, but if he was in the know and essentially broke an NDA, it's not surprising.

I would bet that MS already does have training on this. I work for a large IT firm and it's been included in my annual training for years now. Somone in his position really should have known better. He either didn't pay attention to his training or just figured that it only applied to employees in towns like Janesville of Blacksburg and not to him.

 

[Figboy79]

While I know how much it sucks to lose your job, I can't say I sympathize with this guy completely.

Not because he was being an asshole, but because the next Xbox is still very much under wraps and shrouded in NDAs and secrecy until MS feels it's the right time to reveal the console.

Adam could have easily treated all this speculation and rumor about the next Xbox like his employer's do: IGNORE IT AND MOVE ON.

Honestly, it's really not that hard to keep your fricking mouth shut about these things. I work at Capcom. We have company meetings every few months where we get to see a lot of things that in the pipeline. Sometimes, some of those things spill out as rumors on the internet. It's tempting to want to be smug and say, "Tee hee, I know something you don't know!" But NDA's exist for a reason, and they should be honored.

I'm sure every MS employee is sworn to secrecy about the next Xbox, including Adam, and by opening his mouth, he lent a lot more weight to those particular rumors surrounding the box and it's online, and I'm sure MS wasn't happy about it. I wouldn't be either. Not because the always on thing is good or bad, but because I'm sure they wanted to control how that is confirmed or denied, and not through some shit talker on Twitter.

He really could have just kept his damn mouth shut, but he felt compelled to talk, and it cost him his job.

I have a Twitter and Facebook. It is incredibly easy to simply not be a douche, or ignore things that you know could possibly get you in hot water. I don't understand "Twitter battles" or any of that bullshit. Just act like a fricking adult when you know your comments are going to be seen by large amounts of people, and you are using a company account. I have a personal Facebook, and a work Facebook for work related stuff. I'm not going to start posting some shit on my work Facebook that reflects badly on Capcom. Some people have no self restraint. This Adam guy seems like one of those people.

I feel bad when people lose their jobs, but this situation was easily avoidable if he was a mature as he thinks he is and just didn't comment on the rumors and speculation. In a few short weeks, we'll be swimming in next Xbox related news, so I don't see why any of this had to happen at all.

It wasn't a witch hunt, or a mobbing. He brought this on himself, honestly.

 

[FaustsBoon]

Don't know if this has been mentioned... but I heard, third-hand, that Orth was removed from the company's central phone registry within 24hrs of his tweets. So whatever went down, it did so QUICKLY.

 

[blitzcloud]

Honestly, it's really not that hard to keep your fricking mouth shut about these things. I work at Capcom. We have company meetings every few months where we get to see a lot of things that in the pipeline. Sometimes, some of those things spill out as rumors on the internet. It's tempting to want to be smug and say, "Tee hee, I know something you don't know!" But NDA's exist for a reason, and they should be honored

*stalks*

 

[Bert]

When I was a kid this stinky weird kid saw me take a marker from my teacher so I could use it at home. The next morning before I put the marker back my teacher with horrible shit breath and a fupa the size of small bean bag searched my bag and found the marker. She yelled at me, informed my mom I was a thief, and gave me detention for a week.

I took the marker so it was my fault right? Yes it was
Does taking a single marker without permission for 16 hours actually matter? No it does not
Should that kid just have kept his mouth shut? Hell yes, this kid thought he was being some sort of hero for his teacher. Instead all it did was make my life suck for a couple weeks and my mom possibly think I was a thief. All because of a mother fucking marker...

What you guys need to realize before you go on one of these heroic crusades for internet justice is this. You guys acted like a bunch a manbabies on the internet, causing this huge uproar because some dude said some dumb shit. Your uproar got so big, that you got this man fired; and for what? Because he said a thing that you disagreed with, not a important social issue or something like this that would warrant such an outrage. No, you got him fired because of his opinion on gaming...

What if he goes home and kills himself? You guys don't know him, he could be depressed. What if he flips out and hurts someone? You don't know if he has mental issues.

All I can hope for is for some of you, before you post stuff like this, think about what you are actually upset about. Are videogames really a thing to devote your venom and hate towards?

Please don't pretend either that GAF didn't get this man fired either. You absolutely did.

Wow. If you're any older than 13 you need to take a serious look at your world view. Also, you are a thief who stole from someone who probably bought that out of her own money because she wanted to improve the lives of those she taught (including ungrateful shits like you).

How about for your next trick you "borrow" some candy from a baby? Jeez!

 

[FStop7]

Quoth the Ballmer, 'NevermOrth.'

 

[Slappers Only]

It would be so Internet of us if we turned this around and had Adam's back on this. Mobilize!

 

[Jacksonlee]

thank god he wasn't a girl.


then, there would be a shitstorm

 

[kaioshade]

Did you and I read the same Microsoft response? 'Cause you sure seem to be finding a lot of information about the strategy of their unannounced system from this:

It is pretty much a given when a company says "we do not comment on rumor" thats essentially the same as saying "yup, its true"

 

[Cat in the Hat]

Wow. If you're any older than 13 you need to take a serious look at your world view. Also, you are a thief who stole from someone who probably bought that out of her own money because she wanted to improve the lives of those she taught (including ungrateful shits like you).

How about for your next trick you "borrow" some candy from a baby? Jeez!

Hot damn your mad.

 

[lastflowers]

Yeah, I didn't mean to insinuate that bullying is justified by behavior on social media, but instead that it attracts attention. The bullying, as someone else put it, is a whole other can of worms. I too don't find the Monster image funny or anything, because I don't condone someone losing their job. Even if I think always online is awful, Orth's arguments terrible, and his behavior obviously unfavourable in the eyes of his employer, I don't relish the fact he is no longer employed there.

My main point was that making yourself and your opinions very public will naturally draw attention. A lot of attention. And I think this is what many people on social networks forget. And I also think that just because you have an opinion, something to say, does not make you immune to criticism. It's very easy to finger the internet as to blame for the bad reaction to Orth's post, when it's more likely the bad reaction was a response to Orth's poor wording, and the subject matter he was discussing. People are really vocal about their dislike for an always online Xbox. An employee of Microsoft insinuating the system will be isn't going to be brushed aside and forgotten among the millions of other forgettable tweets.

To see some people take the stance that Orth is a victim of the internet, as if this is an entity with an agenda, let alone NeoGAF, to me shows an incredibly juvenile perspective of the matter, and a detached understanding of what kind of environment the internet and social networking create. It defers responsibility.

There is a lot of sense in your posts within this thread.

 

[Burai]

We don't have any evidence that his actions would cause any significant problems to MS.

It also isn't confirmed if he left voluntarily or was fired.

So I would clear those up first before making assumptions.. that is if you actually care about not making them.

Most employers would expect you to work at least a months notice period. Do you think he handed in his resignation a month ago, then caused a Twitter shitstorm to coincide with his leaving?

No, they gave him a choice - you resign with immediate effect or we fire you. I've seen plenty of people "resign" over the years.

 

[Figboy79]

*stalks*

Lol.

Also, this thread has gotten crazy!

 

[Oblivion]

Yeah, I didn't mean to insinuate that bullying is justified by behavior on social media, but instead that it attracts attention. The bullying, as someone else put it, is a whole other can of worms. I too don't find the Monster image funny or anything, because I don't condone someone losing their job. Even if I think always online is awful, Orth's arguments terrible, and his behavior obviously unfavourable in the eyes of his employer, I don't relish the fact he is no longer employed there.

My main point was that making yourself and your opinions very public will naturally draw attention. A lot of attention. And I think this is what many people on social networks forget. And I also think that just because you have an opinion, something to say, does not make you immune to criticism. It's very easy to finger the internet as to blame for the bad reaction to Orth's post, when it's more likely the bad reaction was a response to Orth's poor wording, and the subject matter he was discussing. People are really vocal about their dislike for an always online Xbox. An employee of Microsoft insinuating the system will be isn't going to be brushed aside and forgotten among the millions of other forgettable tweets.

To see some people take the stance that Orth is a victim of the internet, as if this is an entity with an agenda, let alone NeoGAF, to me shows an incredibly juvenile perspective of the matter, and a detached understanding of what kind of environment the internet and social networking create. It defers responsibility.

This post is remarkably lacking in bloodlust.

Where's your sense of honor, sir?

 

[cosmicblizzard]

Don't know if it's been posted, but this also got NMA'd!

 

[bj00rn_]

He went for a smoke and ended up burning down his house..

 

[chaostrophy]

Think about it...the people making the complaints about the 720 that he was reacting to are potential customers of MS. And he publicly insults them? That's just an epic fail of basic professionalism. Why would anyone think it's ok to act that way?

 

[Forceatowulf]

I cold have easily shrugged most of his comments off, but that line about "Why would I live there?" really bugged the fuck out of me...

 

[Dead Man]

A little background. It was a permanent blue sharpie that she never used(she only used black and red) so I took it to finish drawing a picture on my door at home. At the time I took I thought, "oh cool, I need a permanent marker so it doesn't come off. I'll just return it in the morning" Of course I realized later when I got to school I fucked up and that what I did was wrong. My point was that the punishment didn't fit the crime. I got in mad trouble for a flippin' marker.

This whole ordeal here reminds me of this.

I know this is a videogame forum(I've been here a long ass time, I know) but by the reaction here you'd think this dude did some heinous shit; he didn't. I just wish GAF could just calm down and quite being so fucking serious about trivial things. You didn't have to start a war on this guy to try and change Microsoft's DRM direction. There more constructive ways of getting the "Always Online DRM blows" message across. On top of it all, no one here even knows if any of that shit is true!

Also I didn't mean to condemn all of GAF, I was directing this to those who participated in the strange and creepy hate.

Nope. Still not helping your cause.

 

[Captain Tuttle]

how is the blame now put back on Gaf members? dafuq?

The Forced resignation is the issue. He shouldn't have lost his job. 2 week administrative leave at the worst.

Look everybody makes mistakes, and this one, whether true or not, was a colossal fuck up for stating his opinions in public on a subject, im sure he signed NDA's for.

flip side of that coin, there was no race card, sex card, gender card, political card, that adam played. Those are the cards that should get you fired. Sadly he could of talked about how big his secretary's tits are on twitter, get called into his boss's office and got the 2 week, administrative leave, then right back to work. But No MS thinks this is worse.... IMO its BS with the MS coats put public image over everything else, on what some are calling false info anyways.

Hey Bowler!
No way man, CEO's get fired for that kind of nonsense. Sexual harassment and hostile work environment stuff can cost companies millions of dollars in legal expenses. That shit is a no-no.

This wasn't GAF's fault and it wasn't MS's fault. It was Orth's fault, he used incredibly poor judgement which calls into question his ability to do his job and manage people. Period. If he "resigned" then it was under pressure from the top, maybe they offered not to contest his unemployment or something.

 

[Zeliard]

Because people like to vent about work.

A better question is why are people nosy and stalk people on twitter ?

Twitter is a public forum, which apparently both you and Orth fail to understand.

 

[Pavaloo]

I think the guy was poking fun at the vitriol aimed towards the new xbox because he knows it isn't what people are speculating. I agree he was wrong with the comments of "why would I live there?" and "deal with it," but to me from the very beginning it seemed like a guy who knew the new xbox was not going to be an always-online device. People took him seriously though, because of his position, he reacted terribly. I just hope he doesn't have to relocate and change industries because of twitter drama.

 

[GlamFM]

He insulted the public - he was publicly humiliated.

I think he should get his job back now.

 

[oktarb]

I don't know this guy from Adam but it bugs me that companies these days want you to twitter, monitor your FB account ect and then fire you when you mis-step. I simple apology was all that was needed here.

 

[Bowler]

Hey Bowler!
No way man, CEO's get fired for that kind of nonsense. Sexual harassment and hostile work environment stuff can cost companies millions of dollars in legal expenses. That shit is a no-no.

This wasn't GAF's fault and it wasn't MS's fault. It was Orth's fault, he used incredibly poor judgement which calls into question his ability to do his job and manage people. Period. If he "resigned" then it was under pressure from the top, maybe they offered not to contest his unemployment or something.

Hey Tut!!! while I agree, far too often that kind of stuff is swept under the rug... (nor shinobi screen capturing it lol) let alone the secretary even finding out about it. I guess what im getting at, is those offences should get him fired... gender, homophobe, race, etc. not jarring back and forth about his opinion on a always on console. I understand the shitstorm that he created.... but forced resignation is a shit move by the employer.

 

[akidnamededdy]

I think the guy was poking fun at the vitriol aimed towards the new xbox because he knows it isn't what people are speculating. I agree he was wrong with the comments of "why would I live there?" and "deal with it," but to me from the very beginning it seemed like a guy who knew the new xbox was not going to be an always-online device. People took him seriously though, because of his position, he reacted terribly. I just hope he doesn't have to relocate and change industries because of twitter drama.

Perhaps, but whether or not people took him seriously or saw through the (hypothetical) ruse, the fact is there's a 99.99999% chance he was under an NDA to not comment at all about anything related to the next XBox. The smarminess and sarcasm was just the exclamation point at the end of his death sentence.

Am I glad somebody lost their job? No. But as soon as the first topic popped up here showing what he'd tweeted, I knew it was going to happen.

 

[Mr. Enigma]

Good riddance to this assclown. Honestly, the most incriminating tweet for me was talking shit about the lesser towns with spotty Internet. Reading that "Why on earth would I live there?" response was infuriating and probably had more to do with his deserved shitcanning than some realize.

 

[Pavaloo]

Perhaps, but whether or not people took him seriously or saw through the (hypothetical) ruse, the fact is there's a 99.99999% chance he was under an NDA to not comment at all about anything related to the next XBox. The smarminess and sarcasm was just the exclamation point at the end of his death sentence.

Am I glad somebody lost their job? No. But as soon as the first topic popped up here showing what he'd tweeted, I knew it was going to happen.

Yeah, I understand why this is seen as unprofessional, but I think a simple apology would've sufficed. I think that knowing the guy is under an NDA pushes me further into thinking that he was poking fun at false rumors.

 

[RustyNails]

Yeah, I didn't mean to insinuate that bullying is justified by behavior on social media, but instead that it attracts attention. The bullying, as someone else put it, is a whole other can of worms. I too don't find the Monster image funny or anything, because I don't condone someone losing their job. Even if I think always online is awful, Orth's arguments terrible, and his behavior obviously unfavourable in the eyes of his employer, I don't relish the fact he is no longer employed there.

My main point was that making yourself and your opinions very public will naturally draw attention. A lot of attention. And I think this is what many people on social networks forget. And I also think that just because you have an opinion, something to say, does not make you immune to criticism. It's very easy to finger the internet as to blame for the bad reaction to Orth's post, when it's more likely the bad reaction was a response to Orth's poor wording, and the subject matter he was discussing. People are really vocal about their dislike for an always online Xbox. An employee of Microsoft insinuating the system will be isn't going to be brushed aside and forgotten among the millions of other forgettable tweets.

To see some people take the stance that Orth is a victim of the internet, as if this is an entity with an agenda, let alone NeoGAF, to me shows an incredibly juvenile perspective of the matter, and a detached understanding of what kind of environment the internet and social networking create. It defers responsibility.

In other words, if Orth was in 1850 and stapled his comments outside a saloon, he'd have gotten the same reaction.

 

[dreamfall]

sunhi being sunhi

My goodness, this GIF is the stuff of legend.

The situation here is complicated- I can't tell how many people related to the industry need to get Twitter training or something. People keep putting themselves in jeopardy with some stupid brazen comment, and then we reflect on exactly why they've lost their jobs. I don't think the punishment was justified, but the fact that he did add negativity to the reveal doesn't help.

 

[Curufinwe]

He insulted the public - he was publicly humiliated.

I think he should get his job back now.

Microsoft probably would prefer to have someone in that role that they can trust to act appropriately.

 

[GiantBreadbug]

Adam Orth, I'm sorry you lost your job. But this is nobody's fault but your own, and the company you work for.

Sorry. You decided to use a social networking site to be pretty rude, and people caught on.
The namecalling and bullying that happened are detestable, but that has nothing to do with why your employer canned you.

Also, Microsoft, if you weren't so tight-lipped about all this shit, maybe people wouldn't be speculating, and maybe Adam's comments would've gone unnoticed.

Orth's Tweets were rude, and pretty dumb on his part. As inconsequential they probably should have been, that's not the way it turned out. I feel sorry for the guy.

 

[Wyndstryker]

My goodness, this GIF is the stuff of legend.

The situation here is complicated- I can't tell how many people related to the industry need to get Twitter training or something. People keep putting themselves in jeopardy with some stupid brazen comment, and then we reflect on exactly why they've lost their jobs. I don't think the punishment was justified, but the fact that he did add negativity to the reveal doesn't help.

No need for Twitter training. Anyone who is in a position where NDA's are involved should just do the following:

Delete Twitter Account
Delete Facebook Account

Sadly people have an ego and want to be noticed by everyone and so all it takes is one screw up and done.

 

[CTLance]

I don't know this guy from Adam but it bugs me that companies these days want you to twitter, monitor your FB account ect and then fire you when you mis-step. I simple apology was all that was needed here.

Nobody forced him to use his twitter account registered to his real name and clearly identifying him as MS employee.

He could have easily created a private Twitter account just for that sort of horsing around with close friends and family. He could have easily used a private message, or a protocol/service that is not by default broadcasting every little thing one says for the world to see.

He did not.

Everything he typed could be traced back to him, and in turn, his employer. He knew that, and yet he posted stuff of questionable nature anyway.

I do feel sorry he got fired/was forced to resign/resigned of his own volition or whatever caused him to no longer work at MS. I do not wish that on anyone.

However, all of this is his own making.

(If he got axed for breaking an NDA he can be happy that all he lost was his job. There are some genuinely scary phrases in some of them.)

 

[GazzaScotland]

NMA TV take on it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxwsQIlBNDU

Sorry if its already been posted.