August 31 2018 - WAN Show Document

[Skizzy_34]

Just now, Arika S said:

those were not opinions, they were accusations

Of him being egotistical? Yes. The rest I believe to be true.

[AlTech]

7 hours ago, LinusTech said:

Riley and I have known each other for almost 8 years and we've worked together in some capacity for over half of that time. 

 

He asked to review a graphics card as a total joke. That's not his forte and he's perfectly comfortable with that. Even back at NCIX Tech Tips (as he mentioned on the WAN Show today) he got Ivan's help with a lot of the benchmarking stuff. Big deal. 

 

You also need to understand that he's not some intern who isn't sure about his job security or his skills. Evaluating gaming cards may not be one of them but who cares? That's not what he was hired to do.

 

Riley was brought in as a specialist for TechLinked. 

 

Something you guys might also not realize is that Riley is perfectly comfortable dishing out his share of trolling off-camera - even if he's not sure where the limits are yet with the live audience. 

 

If LMG was a horrible place to work and anyone actually took me seriously about this stuff, we'd probably have a little more turnover, don't you think? These are very talented people who could get a job tomorrow if they felt like it. 

 

We tease each other, but it's part of having some fun at work instead of being all corporate. 

That didn't seem like fun at all for either of you. It was clear to me that Riley was bothered whether or not he is willing to admit it. And the way you finished that "joke" really didn't sound like a joke. If I was sitting in that chair next to you and you said that "joke", I would have been pissed off.

 

 

And in general on WAN Shows you have been rude and a jerk to the other host(s) on ocassion.

7 hours ago, LinusTech said:

I messaged Riley to tell him people were upset at the way he was treated on the WAN Show and to make sure he was okay and he had to go find the timestamps people were posting to see why he was supposed to be upset. 

Probably Riley just being polite.

[Arika]

2 minutes ago, Skizzy_34 said:

The rest I believe to be true.

if you truly believe that Linus was serious and Riley's reaction was genuine, then you really do need to grow up.

[Skizzy_34]

Just now, Arika S said:

if you truly believe that Linus was serious and Riley's reaction was genuine, then you really do need to grow up.

Apparently what I saw and you saw were two different things. His reaction was shock and awkwardness. Maybe after reflecting on it, he thought otherwise, but his immediate reaction was telling. It's odd that people can't think beyond their own bias, and realize what's directly in front of them..

[rcorkum]

wow I didn't know it was no caffeine coffee day. wow, lol. insert humor here. I am so glad we had so many mind readers in this forum. then can you explain windows 8?

anyway. 

 

 

[Arika]

4 minutes ago, Skizzy_34 said:

His reaction was shock and awkwardness

his reaction was like watching something out of the office.

 

i think someone on Twitter said it best

Quote

In 2018 it’s more important to be unnecessarily offended on someone else’s behalf than to actually put things in context

 

[Skizzy_34]

3 minutes ago, Arika S said:

his reaction was like watching something out of the office.

 

i think someone on Twitter said it best

 

I go by what I see. Sorry if that bothers you.

[pcdave]

Was a pretty awkward thing to watch to me and I felt bad for Riley as the look on his face to me was of sadness. However if supposedly it was indeed a joke badly translated than you have to take his word for it. People are allowed opinions though and shooting someone down for sharing one is just not acceptable. 

[Shibby303]

9 hours ago, LinusTech said:

So it's probably worthwhile to try re-watching with all of that in mind..

 

You couldn't pay me to watch that shit show again. Every video I've watched in the past 2 days where you've worked with someone, you've been a total control freak asshole. Hindsight is 20/20 and you will come to realize that in time. Mark my words.

[Chett_Manly]

https://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?DataSetCode=Table_II1

 

If Linus is going to talk about corporate tax rates, and the Trump tax cut, It would be nice if he understood where exactly the US stands now compared to the rest of the modern world. 

 

The OECD average is 22%, the US is at 21% base now. Mind you Canada's base is 15%, with local + other taxes pushing it to 26.8% on average. While the US overall is about 25.84% on average now. Before the US had a 35% base. 

 

The Trump tax cut put the US in line with the rest of the modern world. A necessary change for competitiveness in the global marketplace.  And even now the 'socialist' Scandinavian countries still have lower overall corporate tax rates than the US.

[Pool]

10 hours ago, LinusTech said:

He asked to review a graphics card as a total joke.

Yes he did, and I am not sure why you replied the way you did. You didn't reply to the joke, you didn't try to entertain the idea, you simply insulted him on the spot with no "/s" implied prior or later during the show. That might be different off-camera, maybe you guys are Okay with it but objectively your reply at that moment can only be considered as rude or a complete lack of sense of humor. I really never saw that kind of real life "troll" environment in a work place except when people pretend that everything is fine to keep their job, I consider my coworkers to be very trolly but at no point would I insult or belittle them without a smile on my face.

[Emily Young]

7 hours ago, Spotty said:

Riley is employed with LMG part time as an on screen presenter/host for the TechLinked channel, as well as writer for that channels content.

Anthony is employed as a writer for LMG who is charged with the task of performing benchmarks on new hardware and co-writing the content for the videos based on those hardware reviews and benchmarks he performs.

Every one of us has our own niche that works to enrich the content as a whole. I'm the tech guy who's got as big a nerd-on for retro hardware as current, James is a wizard at making input devices and consumer tech interesting and IMO has some of the best humour of all of us, Alex is a mad scientist car nut who knows how to test a laptop with such efficiency he can just churn out reviews, Ivan is a crazy Russian who's not afraid to get his hands dirty with almost any project for twenty bucks, Jake is a millennial water cooling guru who's got a range of talents involving esoteric configurations and especially streaming setup, and Linus is the all-rounder who ties it all together.

 

Of the other writers, Riley is potentially doing LTT videos soon, and he's a great on-screen personality with tons of experience writing exactly the type of show TechLinked is, Jon sometimes does LTT, but mostly his jam is TechQuickie, which involves deep research and fact-checking, and Luke, while rare, handles a lot of straight-up gaming content because he's on new game consoles and stuff faster than Nintendo dropped the Virtual Boy.

 

And then the non-writers with writer credit, like Brandon, Taran, Edzel, and Tyler, all contribute their own expertise when they're tasked to write or co-write a video that none of us regular writers possess, and everyone in the whole organization often provides valuable input regardless of their role, and I mean that in a tangible sense - If I'm stuck on something in a script, or even if I just need opinions on something, getting someone with fresh eyes and a different understanding of the topic at hand allows me to look at things from a different perspective that I otherwise wouldn't have, and everyone is willing to help in whatever capacity they can.

 

TL;DR we're a team with our own strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes we'll take on projects outside of our individual comfort zones in order to learn from each other.

[norgeek]

I genuinely wonder how you LTT guys (or anyone online these days) manage to stay so enthusiastic and keep at it when it takes so little for drama to ensue. I have a minuscule SoMe involvement in comparison and I just find it so tiring at times.

[xriqn]

19 minutes ago, GabenJr said:

Every one of us has our own niche that works to enrich the content as a whole. I'm the tech guy who's got as big a nerd-on for retro hardware as current, James is a wizard at making input devices and consumer tech interesting and IMO has some of the best humour of all of us, Alex is a mad scientist car nut who knows how to test a laptop with such efficiency he can just churn out reviews, Ivan is a crazy Russian who's not afraid to get his hands dirty with almost any project for twenty bucks, Jake is a millennial water cooling guru who's got a range of talents involving esoteric configurations and especially streaming setup, and Linus is the all-rounder who ties it all together.

 

Of the other writers, Riley is potentially doing LTT videos soon, and he's a great on-screen personality with tons of experience writing exactly the type of show TechLinked is, Jon sometimes does LTT, but mostly his jam is TechQuickie, which involves deep research and fact-checking, and Luke, while rare, handles a lot of straight-up gaming content because he's on new game consoles and stuff faster than Nintendo dropped the Virtual Boy.

 

And then the non-writers with writer credit, like Brandon, Taran, Edzel, and Tyler, all contribute their own expertise when they're tasked to write or co-write a video that none of us regular writers possess, and everyone in the whole organization often provides valuable input regardless of their role, and I mean that in a tangible sense - If I'm stuck on something in a script, or even if I just need opinions on something, getting someone with fresh eyes and a different understanding of the topic at hand allows me to look at things from a different perspective that I otherwise wouldn't have, and everyone is willing to help in whatever capacity they can.

 

TL;DR we're a team with our own strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes we'll take on projects outside of our individual comfort zones in order to learn from each other.

Well said. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, people shouldn't be complaining at Linus for pointing out that there's somebody else who's better at something (in this case it's you because you're better with benchmarking and stuff). But it was obvious that this information was incorporated in a joke, just some people don't appreciate good dry humor.

[geo3]

3 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

That didn't seem like fun at all for either of you. It was clear to me that Riley was bothered whether or not he is willing to admit it. And the way you finished that "joke" really didn't sound like a joke. If I was sitting in that chair next to you and you said that "joke", I would have been pissed off.

Dude it was CLEARLY a joke. Lighten the fuck up. 

 

Also @LinusTech Please fix the video quality in future streams. The whole episode was plagued with wonky frame rates and bad compression artifacts.  

[hydra150]

4 hours ago, Arika S said:

his reaction was like watching something out of the office.

well yeah that's the whole point - The Office is a show about a workplace where nobody would want to work, under an obnoxious boss, jarring and awkward for the viewer... 

the interaction didn't play out well, which is a shame because I'm sure LMG is actually a lovely place to work at and there was obviously no ill-intent. 

Podcasts and unscripted entertainment shows like this are a form of extended improv comedy - banter doesn't always play out well over 50+ minutes, and the fact that there is a power imbalance at play here made made the awkwardness unfortunately acute. 
 

[DeleteMePls]

Obligatory #FreeRiley

 

Make the shirt. Embrace the hate.

[Emily Young]

24 minutes ago, hydra150 said:

the interaction didn't play out well, which is a shame because I'm sure LMG is actually a lovely place to work at and there was obviously no ill-intent. 

The rate at which Linus suffers burns off camera would overwhelm every burn ward in this hemisphere.

[MattMatt]

For starters I believe this was just deep banter, when you've known someone for such a long time there's a connection outsiders won't see. I have friends where we insult each other to a point that outsiders would think we're on the verge of fighting but it's actually a really good friendship.

 

This has been touched on by some people here already but this is a problem with society now, people looking for reasons to be offended, and now even when it doesn't apply to them! This restricts our ability to communicate with each other honestly, scared to offend someone despite speaking what you truly think or even being factual. Our schools and governments might try and wrap everyone up in cotton wool but the world is still a real place where good and bad things happen. If you can't cope with some words then you're going to struggle hard when real problems occur. Realise this, wake up, toughen up, grow up and get on with life.

 

TLDR: Watch Jordan Peterson videos

[justamari]

14 hours ago, Lathlaer said:

What actually fooled everybody is how serious Linus looked and sounded when he said those words. Had he said simply "hahaha, nope", everything would be cool but he did elaborate that you will be doing that because you are more qualified. 

 

I can guarantee you that people will misinterpret the situation because Linus used a look and a tone managers use when they tell an underling that they will not get a raise or promotion because of their lack of qualifications.

 

Just look at YT comments under that video ;-)

I can see where people would misinterpret the video, and my problem is that people really mad about the way it came off were treated as "triggered snowflakes" as if the joke not landing is the fault of the audience and not the people that attempted it. No hate towards lmg, you guys just had a joke come off badly and look seriously like it was a manager talking down to an employee.

 

It's not being a snowflake to defend or understand how something comes off, the whole "it's just a joke" bs that makes it so you can't address the details of what happened is so old and tired. You don't have to go out of your way to bash someone that feels that way and alienate them, or claim the audience is tone deaf as some people have been doing. It was a joke, sure, but a joke that missed it's mark pretty badly. 

[Dredgy]

Last time I read a YouTube comments section that’s for sure. Ruined an otherwise good show. Didn’t even notice any of this until I read the comments and had to double back to watch, in fact I appreciated the chemistry and though Riley was a good host and his facial expressions when playing off Linus were amusing. Maybe people missed the old days when Linus fired Luke for incompetence every other week (people took that seriously too iirc)

 

I’ve noticed, having made my own tech videos and watched plenty of others, that people seem to take things super literally. Noticed it in the RED unboxing or whatever too, couldn’t believe people took that seriously. Maybe there’s a big overlap in the tech community with those guys who think girls only date assholes. Sarcasm, deadpan and ribbing are all natural parts of human communication.

 

[rfcokilljoy]

After just watching the video, it DOES look like Riley was upset/humiliated at some of the things linus said (Even if he wasnt). But that happens in a work place now and then. The problem with this is that you can't be doing something outwardly insulting, with no "this is clearly banter" tones, to a large audience who dont have any "behind the scenes" knowledge. It looked like Linus was angry, and it looked like Riley was humiliated, and that's all the average viewer can possibly see.

 

As can be seen from the comment section, people disliked the 40-50 minute segment, as even if Linus and Riley felt 100% fine, it was uncomfortable to watch. And that's what needs to be addressed.

 

A message explaining that Riley was okay, and an apology for the tense and uncomfortable nature of the video was all that was needed. Not a large "you're all wrong blah blah message".

 

That's just my opinion anyway. I havent felt this way about any other video from LMG, but also I've never felt this way about any video from a professional reputable channel. I doubt this will happen ever again though after this backlash...

[Arika]

 

There, Riley doesn't care, can people stop whining now?

[justamari]

1 hour ago, rfcokilljoy said:

After just watching the video, it DOES look like Riley was upset/humiliated at some of the things linus said (Even if he wasnt). But that happens in a work place now and then. The problem with this is that you can't be doing something outwardly insulting, with no "this is clearly banter" tones, to a large audience who dont have any "behind the scenes" knowledge. It looked like Linus was angry, and it looked like Riley was humiliated, and that's all the average viewer can possibly see.

 

As can be seen from the comment section, people disliked the 40-50 minute segment, as even if Linus and Riley felt 100% fine, it was uncomfortable to watch. And that's what needs to be addressed.

 

A message explaining that Riley was okay, and an apology for the tense and uncomfortable nature of the video was all that was needed. Not a large "you're all wrong blah blah message".

 

That's just my opinion anyway. I havent felt this way about any other video from LMG, but also I've never felt this way about any video from a professional reputable channel. I doubt this will happen ever again though after this backlash...

Pretty much this. I'm more annoyed about people saying "stop whining" than the initial video, I'm not mad at lmg for a joke that didn't fly.

 

We need to respect that and not call people snowflakes for having a bad reaction to a bad joke when a jokes merit is literally decided by the reaction of its audience

[Emily Young]

1 hour ago, justamari said:

Pretty much this. I'm more annoyed about people saying "stop whining" than the initial video, I'm not mad at lmg for a joke that didn't fly.

 

We need to respect that and not call people snowflakes for having a bad reaction to a bad joke when a jokes merit is literally decided by the reaction of its audience

Without getting too deep into it, I think what most people who are upset about the joke are doing is applying their own emotions to someone else who doesn't share them. It's fine if you don't find the joke funny, or if you thought it was in bad taste even if it was more of a jab between friends, but the defensiveness I think comes from the fact that a lot of people straight up accused Linus of being a terrible boss and saying he'd done something wrong when he clearly hasn't.

 

Choosing a side in this kind of situation is kind of a catch-22, because really, you're wrong either way: One side jumped to conclusions, and the other overreacted. The reality of it is that Riley didn't take offense to it, so the whole thing is by definition a non-issue.