The situation at Tek syndicate

[Master Disaster]

8 hours ago, LAwLz said:

Post by Wendell on the forums:

  Reveal hidden contents

Fellas, question.

 

I have seen the recent stuff posted by Pistol and I feel my integrity is in question here. I don't think the public forum is the place to really discuss this type of thing.

 

I am trying to finish out the last obligation I have (obligation in the sense I said I would do it, and by god, I'm going to do it) with Logan, so I asked him about all this Pistol stuff. I don't want to make Logan to be the bad guy. There are backlog videos of me you'll probably see me on the /razethew0rld channel a few more times.

 

Let me be clear. I think Pistol is being a (dishonest) troll and, to an extent, Logan is caught in the middle. The goal of this drama is probably to discredit me or to "stir the pot". I think the real effect will be only to be even more divisive at a time when we don't need that.

 

All I really want is away from the crazy, exactly this kind of crazy that I have been enduring for some time now, and some value out of my shares would be nice. I am hoping to continue to be a steward of the community and I would hope there is no doubt about the content of my character.

 

I did not throw a tantrum and pull the plug on the site. I am not spreading lies (proof attached).

 

However, please put down your torches and pitchforks, reason will rule the day.

Premise: Much of the content you have seen is from me. Some of that content is directly sponsored. That content generated direct revenue and indirect ad sales. You all know that most of my work is edited "locally." You can see the line items in the invoices are for things like hosting, travel and work.

 

Think for yourselves; the truth comes out in the end.

Addendum: The public forum is not really the place for any of this.

I have posted a screenshot from a recent conversation with Logan about the 70/30 split, along with invoices which reimburse me for some of the direct expenses I have incurred for travel and video. You have seen the (sponsored) computex video that I did, along with other content. The hosting fee is a monthly fee. I think this is everything paid by the company for 2016 so far though I do have a couple outstanding invoices.

 

For me personally, I also have other documentation including our 2014 tax returns, Schedule K1, will have the partnership breakdown in black and white. It also has a lot of other information that does not need to be in a public forum, imho. However, I will be glad publish all of the financials and documentation I have if it comes to that.

 

I don't believe that wading into this, whatever this is, any further is necessary at this time.

Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

 

Please remember to calm yourselves, put down your pitchforks. Reasonable minds will find a reasonable way forward. Docs: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwUAnhvRhYsLV2VneEliSHBfSUk/view

The picture I posted earlier (the one where Logan says he is Steve Jobs from now on) is from that Google Drive link.

 

 

Pistol has also made some interesting posts on the official Discord channel.

Pistol is saying that:

1) Qain got fired because he didn't do his job. (source 1 and 2)

2) Claims that Wendell has been taking money from Tek Syndicate to fund his own company. (source 1, 2, 3 and 4)

3) Claims that Wendell doesn't actually own 30% of Tek Syndicate and that Logan owns 100% of the company. (source 1)

4) Claims that Logan has not used any Tek Syndicate money for personal things. (source 1)

5) Qain and Wendell are lying about a bunch of things. (source 1)

6) Pistol removes the ability to look at chat history on the Discord server and when asked why, Pistol replied with "I dont have to explain myself to anyone.". (Source 1, 2)

1) Don't care about Qain

2) That seems unlikely considering Wendell is the one publicly asking where said money has gone and Logan has already said "just wait a few days and you'll see" 

3) There's a transcript between W & L posted in this topic that proves this is false

4) Then why won't he tell his own business partner where the money has gone? 

5) People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones

6) But her and Logan didn't want the Discord server in the first place, now she's trying to remove the fan created one and replace it with her own. 

[LAwLz]

4 hours ago, NegativeZone said:

 

I don't know what the real story is at Tek Syndicate, but the one thing that has been consistent throughout this entire debacle is Pistol's attitude. She is beyond arrogant and constantly antagonizes the members. It's the wrong way to approach this situation and only makes her more dislikable to me, but I've never been a fan of hers in the first place.

 

Good work on compiling all this.

Credit should go to Reddit. I just picked out the juicy bits and summarized it.

 

 

2 hours ago, Shakaza said:

I need to remain impartial through this whole ordeal. I want to favor one side because of mounting evidence, but looks can be deceiving, and I know different people respond differently to crises.

I think that's the best attitude to have right now. Both sides are saying contradictory things and personally I am leaning towards Wendell's side. But we outsiders have very little evidence to go on so things might not be that simple as "Wendell is right and Logan/Pistol are wrong". It's a lot of word-against-word right now with very little facts. Wendell and Logan will have to sort this out behind the scenes.

I think Pistol is saying a lot of true things, and a lot of bullshit as well.

 

Did Wendell and Logan actually write down that Wendell owns 30% of the company, or was that just something they had told each other?

 

What does Pistol define as "Tek Syndicate money" and what does she define as "personal things"? From what I've heard (don't follow TS) Logan has been moving around a lot lately. Did he move with TS money and does that count as a "personal thing"? I don't think there is one single right answer to that question.

 

One thing I did not bring up was that Pistol also claimed that trouble had been brewing between Qain and Logan since a while back, because Qain wanted a bigger part of the company. He wanted to give orders and be more of a boss, and Logan did not agree. I don't think that's a lie and stuff like that can contribute to a poor attitude towards each other which can spiral out of control.

It sounds like the entire company was built on uncooked spaghetti if things like "it was never written down that Wendell owns 30% of the company" are true. Same goes for Qain's desire to be more of a boss instead of an employee. They might just have been a bunch of friends who decided to start a YouTube channel and take things as they come, without any of the groundwork laid out.

[Master Disaster]

4 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

Credit should go to Reddit. I just picked out the juicy bits and summarized it.

 

 

I think that's the best attitude to have right now. Both sides are saying contradictory things and personally I am leaning towards Wendell's side. But we outsiders have very little evidence to go on so things might not be that simple as "Wendell is right and Logan/Pistol are wrong". It's a lot of word-against-word right now with very little facts. Wendell and Logan will have to sort this out behind the scenes.

I think Pistol is saying a lot of true things, and a lot of bullshit as well.

 

Did Wendell and Logan actually write down that Wendell owns 30% of the company, or was that just something they had told each other?

 

What does Pistol define as "Tek Syndicate money" and what does she define as "personal things"? From what I've heard (don't follow TS) Logan has been moving around a lot lately. Did he move with TS money and does that count as a "personal thing"? I don't think there is one single right answer to that question.

 

One thing I did not bring up was that Pistol also claimed that trouble had been brewing between Qain and Logan since a while back, because Qain wanted a bigger part of the company. He wanted to give orders and be more of a boss, and Logan did not agree. I don't think that's a lie and stuff like that can contribute to a poor attitude towards each other which can spiral out of control.

It sounds like the entire company was built on uncooked spaghetti if things like "it was never written down that Wendell owns 30% of the company" are true. Same goes for Qain's desire to be more of a boss instead of an employee. They might just have been a bunch of friends who decided to start a YouTube channel and take things as they come, without any of the groundwork laid out.

I see it differently, Wendell is the one making a fuss in public about missing money and the fact Logan refuses to say where it's gone. The whole thing got to this point because the community started asking the same questions are were unsatisfied with the answers coming from Logan. 

 

What reasons exactly does Wendell have to sabotage his own business by creating this public mess about a subject he (apparently) already knows the answer too? 

 

I'm all for giving Logan a chance to explain the situation but claiming there might not be a situation is just wrong, it's crystal clear that there's missing money, that Wendell wants to know where it's gone, that Logan is refusing to say where it's gone and has gone as far as sabotaging his own integrity in order to stop the question from being asked. 

 

Given Wendell is a successful business owner do you really believe he would allow himself to get involved in another business without crossing the T's and dotting the I's? I just don't see Wendell allowing that to happen, he's way to smart for that. 

 

As for Pistols role in all this, honestly I wouldn't believe her is she told me her car was on fire and I could see the flames myself. She is constantly posting contradictory (or just flat out false) information into the public domain which isn't helping in this at all. Logan & Wendell are asking for calm while she continues to pour fuel on the fire and watch TS burn. She has an agenda, what that might be I don't know but her intention is to create as much confusion and mud slinging as possible. 

[Syntaxvgm]

19 hours ago, Heesleemer said:

Seemed more like a non-apology, apology than an actual apology 

sorry, not sorry 

-Logan, 2016

[Atmos]

Pistol just needs to stop talking completely. Every time she tries to bring out 'new information' or stop hate, she ends up causing more hate, and spreading blatant lies that wendell then disproves later. I don't care if she wants to be a troll, or if she wants to be logans yes-man on everything; but she at this point is only causing more damage than is deserved.

 

Logan on the other hand, also seems to be lying one quite a few... very important things. Trying to carve out a narrative that he's can't be targeted as the source of the problems. He wants to talk about having 'accidentally' taken down the dns because he forgot a password? A password. And he just happened to do that after the forums blew up with hate towards him acting like a trolling child and deleting comments left and right? I'm even pretty sure I remember him posting that he would take down the forums if people didn't 'chill out'

I'm sorry but actions speak louder than words. Wendells actions have been nothing but trying to keep the community together, restoring the forum, and disproving lies pushed by pistol. Logan on the other hand spent a night removing his entire moderation staff, screaming at the forum, and sending comments left and right off to oblivion because they called him out on his actions.

 

Still need more info though. 

[Misanthrope]

Only Wendell's Lawyer needs more information to sue Logan's ass for all he's worth present and future. And I think the case can mostly be constructed with Wendell's info since he's given enough for us to know he's probably 100% right (Mostly because he actually isn't accusing Logan of anything more than just wanting to know where the fuck the money went to).

[Yamoto42]

15 hours ago, Misanthrope said:

Fine, don't read it, don't reply to it.

 

/solved.

There are many people that make over $100k (Wendell's claim being ~$125k ANNUALLY) per year, yet spend little time with significant cash in their bank account.

From that we can get down to a roughly $10k MONTHLY income, from which seeing a balance of $6K (especially after some moves (i.e. extra expenses)) may be a might bit disheartening, but it is FAR from being outside the realm of possibility.

Was their some mismanagement?  Possibly...in fact probably.  As for illegal activity?

 

Since you seem bent on taking math to court, you may do with that what you wish.

[spartaman64]

15 hours ago, Master Disaster said:

Occums Razer. 

 

$100K missing

Change of behaviour 

Inflated ego

Aggression

Huge blow out

Fucking over his fans and business partner 

 

FTR I can say whatever I want, I don't know him nor will my words ever have any impact on the outcome of this cluster fuck. My words are my opinion, if you disagree then fine but don't try and tell me I'm not entitled to own opinion. 

actually occam's razor would cut out your explanation. saying he just made business mistakes and handled the situation badly requires less assumptions than saying he did drugs 

[Yamoto42]

13 hours ago, Captain Chaos said:

Actually it wasn't.   Here's proof :

 

I'm calling fake.   There's no AMD shill logos.

[Heesleemer]

1 hour ago, Yamoto42 said:

There are many people that make over $100k (Wendell's claim being ~$125k ANNUALLY) per year, yet spend little time with significant cash in their bank account.

From that we can get down to a roughly $10k MONTHLY income, from which seeing a balance of $6K (especially after some moves (i.e. extra expenses)) may be a might bit disheartening, but it is FAR from being outside the realm of possibility.

Was their some mismanagement?  Possibly...in fact probably.  As for illegal activity?

 

Since you seem bent on taking math to court, you may do with that what you wish.

~100k in growth each year

[exyia]

Do young tech enthusiasts ever bother asking themselves what they're watching?...this is a perfect example to me on why I just /eyeroll on tech youtubers and their associated fanbase

 

I stopped watching Tek Syndicate years ago because it was obvious there was no substantial, interesting content. The Tek shows were nothing more than Logan reading headlines and skimming sparse articles and spouting an opinion. No research on any of the topics nor any actual discussion or insight. Net neutrality topics used to be interesting, but he would never research how the legal process or guidelines work - he would just call everyone idiots. Wendell was the only one providing interesting insight, but that started to fade out as Logan's ego increased and I realized this just wasn't worth my time to watch

 

And for months (back when I watched, years ago), he never bothered to improve in any area. He just grew in ego as being the "correct opinion" as his channel grew. The Tek started turning into soapboxing to his own fanbase (further feeding his ego), and spouting "I don't have time for haters" at any form of criticism. The last word I would ever use to describe him would be "professional". So it's absolutely no surprise it all blew up now. Some people just aren't leadership material - it doesn't matter if you have the fanbase/followers.

 

Again - what does he actually provide? Does anybody ever stop to ask what is interesting about his content? Or do they just blindly watch because it's tech related? There are so many tech youtubers out there that have completely shallow content to me, but people keep watching and I just don't understand why. PcPer provides the best technical discussion, Linus provides the best variety and interesting tech, and Hardware Canucks provides the best critical yet informative reviews on any non-cpu/gpu review. What does TekSyndicate provide?

[SkepticKrab]

2 minutes ago, exyia said:

Again - what does he actually provide? Does anybody ever stop to ask what is interesting about his content? Or do they just blindly watch because it's tech related? There are so many tech youtubers out there that have completely shallow content to me, but people keep watching and I just don't understand why. PcPer provides the best technical discussion, Linus provides the best variety and interesting tech, and Hardware Canucks provides the best critical yet informative reviews on any non-cpu/gpu review. What does TekSyndicate provide?

This.

 

Completely agree, although I stopped watching them early last year and hopped off their forum because....ugh, I don't even want to go there.

Might I add TTL over at OC3D for in-depth, although not the most professional, reviews. He has an eye for spotting things and providing insight that most other reviewers miss.

[Stadin6]

24 minutes ago, exyia said:

Again - what does he actually provide? 

Well, Tek Syndicate has/has more Linux content than most other tech channels, but it takes forever between the uploads (on Tek Linux channel).

And 99% percent of Linux videos were made by Wendell, and he doesn't need Tek Syndicate to continue.

[vicviper319]

35 minutes ago, exyia said:

What does TekSyndicate provide?

Wendell. Only reason I started watching. I agree with the rest of your post wholeheartedly. It's a shame Logan is so short sighted. He should of been doing everything to work with him, not cut him out. Now we all know 90% of the community was there for Wendell. It's like Logan cut his right arm off and is swearing up and down he doesn't need it.

 

Wherever Wendell goes I'll follow. 

[exyia]

1 minute ago, Stadin6 said:

Well, Tek Syndicate has/has more Linux content than most other tech channels, but it takes forever between the uploads (on Tek Linux channel).

And 99% percent of Linux videos were made by Wendell, and he doesn't need Tek Syndicate to continue.

 

right, and when that started dwindling, I started questioning why I was even bothering to let this channel spam my newsfeed with junk (last straw was when they started those gaming discussion "shows" that was nothing more than just some non-experienced, non-critic (as in they don't play that many games) ramble on games as if they were stoned/high)

 

seriously people, just because it's tech and you like tech, doesn't make the content any good. don't complain that people who watch TV are just braindead drones watching content when it's clear that youtube audiences are doing the same thing

 

23 minutes ago, SkepticKrab said:

This.

 

Completely agree, although I stopped watching them early last year and hopped off their forum because....ugh, I don't even want to go there.

Might I add TTL over at OC3D for in-depth, although not the most professional, reviews. He has an eye for spotting things and providing insight that most other reviewers miss.

See, I'm not a big fan of TTL/OC3D's youtube (I don't mind his written content) - but at least his videos provide depth. I dislike his content because it's filled with a lot of clutter and seems to lack focus (but haven't watched in over 2 years), There's something there. My last memory of his videos was the 290x review and how he would take the time to show you every step of the card thermal throttling and heat soaking, and it cooling back down. To me, I'm just not interested in watching that whole process - but I can see why some do.

 

Joanne Tech Lover? She actually goes through the software on keyboard reviews. There is still not a SINGLE outlet out there that actually goes over WHAT EXACT CUSTOMIZATION FEATURES I get on an RGB Keyboard from _____ brand. They all say "customization is great and limitless" when it's total crap (for instance, using profile switching on Logitech RGB keyboards limits what lighting features you can use - nobody seems to go into that detail on a $150++ keyboard)

 

Paul's Hardware seems to have taken a vlog'er/casual "build it for the enjoyment of tech" kind of approach, which I can respect (but have little interest in following)

 

JayzTwoCents I still do not understand why everybody watches. He's not a professional speaker or builder or...anything - I don't see what he provides. He just puts up an expensive camera (video quality is good, admittedly) and rambles. I remember when he was building skunkworks and failed to measure radiator clearances - that was it for me. I just didn't see what he was good at or interesting in providing me.

 

I could go on, but now I'm rambling...(ironically)

[exyia]

2 minutes ago, vicviper319 said:

Wendell. Only reason I started watching. I agree with the rest of your post wholeheartedly. It's a shame Logan is so short sighted. He should of been doing everything to work with him, not cut him out. Now we all know 90% of the community was there for Wendell. It's like Logan cut his right arm off and is swearing up and down he doesn't need it.

 

Wherever Wendell goes I'll follow. 

 

Exactly, but for me the Wendell portion of the channel was already too small years ago for me to bother wasting time and being spammed with the clutter. They would be benefiting more from me (in subscriber count and Logan's ego feeding) than I am benefiting from content I actually enjoy from them (Wendell). To me, it's not enough, so I went elsewhere (but props to those that stuck it out just for his content)

 

it was like being subbed to an e-sports channel that spammed your feed with uploads of every. single. match. from. every. single. team. when all I really wanted where the popular matchups/games from ___ tournament that I wanted to see

[spartaman64]

1 hour ago, exyia said:

Do young tech enthusiasts ever bother asking themselves what they're watching?...this is a perfect example to me on why I just /eyeroll on tech youtubers and their associated fanbase

 

I stopped watching Tek Syndicate years ago because it was obvious there was no substantial, interesting content. The Tek shows were nothing more than Logan reading headlines and skimming sparse articles and spouting an opinion. No research on any of the topics nor any actual discussion or insight. Net neutrality topics used to be interesting, but he would never research how the legal process or guidelines work - he would just call everyone idiots. Wendell was the only one providing interesting insight, but that started to fade out as Logan's ego increased and I realized this just wasn't worth my time to watch

 

And for months (back when I watched, years ago), he never bothered to improve in any area. He just grew in ego as being the "correct opinion" as his channel grew. The Tek started turning into soapboxing to his own fanbase (further feeding his ego), and spouting "I don't have time for haters" at any form of criticism. The last word I would ever use to describe him would be "professional". So it's absolutely no surprise it all blew up now. Some people just aren't leadership material - it doesn't matter if you have the fanbase/followers.

 

Again - what does he actually provide? Does anybody ever stop to ask what is interesting about his content? Or do they just blindly watch because it's tech related? There are so many tech youtubers out there that have completely shallow content to me, but people keep watching and I just don't understand why. PcPer provides the best technical discussion, Linus provides the best variety and interesting tech, and Hardware Canucks provides the best critical yet informative reviews on any non-cpu/gpu review. What does TekSyndicate provide?

that is your opinion and other people have a different opinion. i dont watch them all the often either but i understand their appeal to certain people. I did like the way Logan talked and his jokes but then again im easily amused

[exyia]

8 minutes ago, spartaman64 said:

that is your opinion and other people have a different opinion. i dont watch them all the often either but i understand their appeal to certain people. I did like the way Logan talked and his jokes but then again im easily amused

 

and that's perfectly fine. But it was obvious he wasn't professional - funny/comedic at best like you said

 

so given that, I do not understand how people (not you, just in general about outraged fans) are up in arms or shocked about this outcome of the business/company/channel. It was only a matter of time that the lack of professionalism/leadership caught up to him

[spartaman64]

1 minute ago, exyia said:

 

and that's perfectly fine. But it was obvious he wasn't professional - funny/comedic at best like you said

 

so given that, I do not understand how people (not you, just in general about outraged fans) are up in arms or shocked about this outcome of the business/company/channel. It was only a matter of time that the lack of professionalism/leadership caught up to him

and LTT is professional? they are not angry about his format and unprofessionalism they are angry about the lack of communication which is a separate issue 

[Networking Wolf]

Just now, spartaman64 said:

and LTT is professional? they are not angry about his format and unprofessionalism they are angry about the lack of communication which is a separate issue 

what does ltt have to do with tek syndicate?

[spartaman64]

3 minutes ago, Jstone said:

what does ltt have to do with tek syndicate?

the person above was complaining about tek syndicate's lack of professionalism which is funny considered the level of professionalism at LTT of course its not meant as an insult. i like the way LTT acts its more fun and i would much prefer it than them trying to act stiff and professional 

[Networking Wolf]

1 minute ago, spartaman64 said:

the person above was complaining about tek syndicate's lack of professionalism which is funny considered the level of professionalism at LTT of course its not meant as an insult. i like the way LTT acts its more fun and i would much prefer it than them trying to act stiff and professional 

TBH show me a tech channel that is professional on youtube and no one bring up Jay got it

[spartaman64]

Just now, Jstone said:

TBH show me a tech channel that is professional on youtube and no one bring up Jay got it

like i said i prefer them acting "unprofessional" and every tech channel i watch acts unprofessionally including jay 

[Curufinwe_wins]

2 minutes ago, Jstone said:

TBH show me a tech channel that is professional on youtube and no one bring up Jay got it

Paul's Hardware on just his uploads... Also PCPr but they don't do that many.

 

 

[spartaman64]

1 minute ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

Paul's Hardware on just his uploads... Also PCPr but they don't do that many.

 

 

yea pcper probably has the least shenanigans in their videos but their version of the wan show has quite of bit of joking around