Not sure if this goes here but Gamers Nexus is going all out here
The Problem with Linus Tech Tips: Accuracy, Ethics, & Responsibility
nani17
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Shutting down and reorganizing for a week. I guess my biggest complaint is how one guy can continue to disrupt companies and enjoy doing so. People do still depend on linus and newegg and all these other companies for a paycheck to feed their kids and instead of texting linus to talk about the monoblock being a bad scenario, he potentially ruins his whole company and 120 peoples lives. I know technically what steve is doing is rectifying problems in the industry but the way he does it just doesn't sit right with me.
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Ex-Linus Tech Tips employee alleges mistreatment and poor conditions: “No one gets a break” - Dexerto
Ex-Linus Media Group employee Madison Reeve posted a thread on social media on the alleged working culture of Linus Media Group.
All this stuff makes me glad I'm not a professional. I have only my own personal standards to adhere to and I don't need to pander to anyone for my next meal.
Like his methods or not, it's not Steve's job to help LMG save face in the misguided hope that LMG's continued profits would be the best thing for LMG employees. Whatever potential ills may befall those not culpable for LMG's actions who still depend on LMG, the bulk of the blame falls squarely on those in charge at LMG, as well as the systems in place that ensure that they'll never be held accountable. Worst case scenario, for them, is that they sacrifice the LMG corporate person/legal fiction and move on to a new venture under a new name.
All sorts of people depend on all sorts of things that probably shouldn't exist.
Like his methods or not, it's not Steve's job to help LMG save face in the misguided hope that LMG's continued profits would be the best thing for LMG employees. Whatever potential ills may befall those not culpable for LMG's actions who still depend on LMG, the bulk of the blame falls squarely on those in charge at LMG, as well as the systems in place that ensure that they'll never be held accountable. Worst case scenario, for them, is that they sacrifice the LMG corporate person/legal fiction and move on to a new venture under a new name.
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They're shutting down video production. Based on the video you linked, it sounds like everyone is working and being paid. Taking care of their employees is mentioned at least a couple times.
Worrying about the welfare of companies and corporations is misguided. Yes, companies are made up of people and those people need to eat. They don't need to eat at the greater cost to society of letting companies do whatever they want. In fact, that will cause those very people harm. We should expect and push for companies and industries to do better for both consumers and their employees. Excusing their shortcomings because they help provide for people's livelihoods just exacerbates the situation.
I, for one, am happy to see they're now taking the criticism seriously and acting on it. I think their content will be better for it and bet a number of their employees will benefit from improved processes and, hopefully, a greater focus on quality and accuracy over sheer volume.
This isn't the first time someone called out LTT for ethics or accuracy and I've watching LTT make mistakes for quite a while now. Why is Gamers Nexus, who defended Linus's integrity and accuracy before, now making this video?
Was whole thing an objective piece of journalism and positive feedback from one professional to another, for the benefit of the community? Did we all end that video enlightened or did we end it thinking LTT = Scumbags? Steve did released the video with no financial benefit to him and his channel, right?
Or were their other motives?
Was whole thing an objective piece of journalism and positive feedback from one professional to another, for the benefit of the community? Did we all end that video enlightened or did we end it thinking LTT = Scumbags? Steve did released the video with no financial benefit to him and his channel, right?
Or were their other motives?
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The video was months in the making and it (allegedly) started with LTT (and Linus himself) dunking on Gamers Nexus and Hardware Unboxed testing methedology, claiming GN and HU test results were inferior to LTT. The whole Billet Labs issue was icing on the cake that coincidentally played out right before they were to release the video, as it were.
Im sure his 1/4 million dollar project was years on the making? At least months. I don't think these videos would ever have been made if LTT didn't launch their labs... I don't think Steves primary interests on in some billet startup or the "community". But that's just my opinion.
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I kept up with all this and just watched LTT's "What do we do now" video explaining what they'll do moving forward.
And... I just can't take them seriously. They keep not knowing how to separate the entertainment they provide from the seriousness that is required at certain moments.
This was supposed to be a serious, non monetized moment, but they still initially had the video set to monetized (see "Update 2" in the pinned comment on the video), all the while several staff still making silly jokes and shoving commercial placements - retro themed screwdriver, the ltt store, joking about the 'absence' of a sponsor for the video (even worse coming from the CEO himself and Yvonne) and right at the end Yvonne again makes the joke about there not being a sponsor, while mentioning that Dbrand did offer to sponsor. That is in itself a promotion of the brand. Come on!
They really need to take time off, and this video is itself proof of that.
P.S.: It also seems that Linus basically ran around the issue of him only agreeing to compensate Billet after the GN video and the fact that Billet hadn't said anything yet at the time he posted his comment on the LTT forums.
And... I just can't take them seriously. They keep not knowing how to separate the entertainment they provide from the seriousness that is required at certain moments.
This was supposed to be a serious, non monetized moment, but they still initially had the video set to monetized (see "Update 2" in the pinned comment on the video), all the while several staff still making silly jokes and shoving commercial placements - retro themed screwdriver, the ltt store, joking about the 'absence' of a sponsor for the video (even worse coming from the CEO himself and Yvonne) and right at the end Yvonne again makes the joke about there not being a sponsor, while mentioning that Dbrand did offer to sponsor. That is in itself a promotion of the brand. Come on!
They really need to take time off, and this video is itself proof of that.
P.S.: It also seems that Linus basically ran around the issue of him only agreeing to compensate Billet after the GN video and the fact that Billet hadn't said anything yet at the time he posted his comment on the LTT forums.
This will be / is a big problem. Probably the crux of the issue. The allure of LTT is the raw energy/emotion they have in their videos; its goofy but its also relatable. Especially when Linus tries to put ram in backwards... I do it all the time
. They employ a certain type of personality that is not conductive to scientific and objective thought.Steve is a very smart and very detail oriented individual but it makes for, IMHO, dry and uninspiring content. I watch him like I read a text book. Begrudgingly and only if I need proper research. But he's also been getting rather elitist in his views and snarky so I don't watch him nearly as much as I used to.
LTT will have to find out how to balance their energy with objectivity and will probably have to hire some new individuals who are more introverted and calculating to help with objective reviewing.
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It may or may not be related, I won't pretend to know what is going on in the minds at GN. But if someone was calling your hard work out for bad data and practices, would you not want to respond in kind? Especially when said someone has given you plenty of ammunition to work with?
Personally? I'd let my work speak for itself. Sure, Steve has a lot of credibility given to him by LTT, but I'd argue its all lost when its pointed out (and it has been) that he defended LTT against similar accusations in the past.
Steve is being two faced and disingenuous. He's not out to "find the truth" or "fix LTT" or "support the community" or "uphold a small startup". He's using all of this to smear LTT. Why? Probably because LTT is directly competing with him (and winning).
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I started out listening to and watching LTT. After a few years I discovered GN. I couldn't believe how much more professional GN is. Soon, I was only watching a LTT video here and there. I also discovered how they like to use click-bait titles on their videos to try and get you to watch them. Since then I have expanded to include a few other youtube channels like Hardware Unboxed and Paul's Hardware. I find them all to be more professional than LTT is. Hell, I would rather watch J2C than LTT.
I am just flabbergasted that LTT sold a prototype from another company after agreeing to return it. I honestly hope they sue and teach Linus a sorely needed lesson.
Even now, they have doubled down on how they didn't do anything wrong. Maybe a judge could convince them otherwise.
I am just flabbergasted that LTT sold a prototype from another company after agreeing to return it. I honestly hope they sue and teach Linus a sorely needed lesson.
Even now, they have doubled down on how they didn't do anything wrong. Maybe a judge could convince them otherwise.
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The main LTT channel has almost eight times the number of subscribers of GN, LTT's main channel videos do a minimum of 1 million views each, with several doing 2 million+, how are they even comparable? LMG now even has a gaming channel that has as many views and sometimes more than many other gaming oriented channels.
The "You" in YouTube still plays a factor in relatability and quick channel identification when glancing over video suggestions, that's why Linus's face, Steves's (both GN and HUB), JayZ's, Paul's, etc, appear in most of their respective videos. There is always something drawing people to them in terms of presentation style, personality but also the specific focus each creator puts on the content and the detail they go to.
The target audience of LTT has some overlap with GN, but the people who go specifically to GN will not stop going there just because one day Linus will have a fully working lab with great fully automatized benchmarks (let's see if that's possible; Steve from HUB thinks it's not possible, see their first podcast video on their new HUB podcast channel) and useful publicly accessible benchmark databases, just like AnandTech and Tom's Hardware used to do. Linus will still do what gets him and LMG the most views: focusing on the entertainment side and doing some general remarks, with the benchmarks to back it up.
This isn't having to choose driving to one place or another. Time is money, sure, but videos are a click away and it's not an exclusive game to that extent. And as always, any person who watches GN content knows better than to rely on a single or even two sources of information.
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I don't think he's "snarky". I believe he is frank, and I much prefer to listen to his candor than the antics of LTT.This will be / is a big problem. Probably the crux of the issue. The allure of LTT is the raw energy/emotion they have in their videos; its goofy but its also relatable. Especially when Linus tries to put ram in backwards... I do it all the time
Steve is a very smart and very detail oriented individual but it makes for, IMHO, dry and uninspiring content. I watch him like I read a text book. Begrudgingly and only if I need proper research. But he's also been getting rather elitist in his views and snarky so I don't watch him nearly as much as I used to.
LTT will have to find out how to balance their energy with objectivity and will probably have to hire some new individuals who are more introverted and calculating to help with objective reviewing.
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5,188 Posts
What do we do now? - YouTube
It's nice to see some real adults jumping in and giving clear apologies. Linus should have been mature enough to say these things on his own.
This is a lot like the Activision drama. Toxic work culture from trying to overproduce and focusing too much on quantity over quality. Male leadership creating a hostile work environment for female employees to the point of blatant and obvious sexual harassment. They really need to get rid of these child "leaders" like Linus and his gang. He is a terrible face for this business, and I have always felt his channel has succeeded despite him, not because of him.
I have to add, I don't give a crap about Linus. I don't watch his videos and I never really have. I just find him to be really off putting for a lot of reasons. This is just some mildly entertaining tea for me.
I do like gamers nexus. Steve is long winded, but he makes an earnest effort. Their videos have great graphics and deeps dives that are pretty useful, and occasionally they do something interesting like visiting the AMD engineering/design labs. That said, no one should be watching these kind of tech videos on a regular basis as anything more than background noise. When I need info on some hardware, I won't hesitate to get it from GN, but that's about it.
It's nice to see some real adults jumping in and giving clear apologies. Linus should have been mature enough to say these things on his own.
This is a lot like the Activision drama. Toxic work culture from trying to overproduce and focusing too much on quantity over quality. Male leadership creating a hostile work environment for female employees to the point of blatant and obvious sexual harassment. They really need to get rid of these child "leaders" like Linus and his gang. He is a terrible face for this business, and I have always felt his channel has succeeded despite him, not because of him.
I have to add, I don't give a crap about Linus. I don't watch his videos and I never really have. I just find him to be really off putting for a lot of reasons. This is just some mildly entertaining tea for me.
I do like gamers nexus. Steve is long winded, but he makes an earnest effort. Their videos have great graphics and deeps dives that are pretty useful, and occasionally they do something interesting like visiting the AMD engineering/design labs. That said, no one should be watching these kind of tech videos on a regular basis as anything more than background noise. When I need info on some hardware, I won't hesitate to get it from GN, but that's about it.
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