Gamers Nexus alleges LMG has insufficient ethics and integrity

[Kuromario]

Just now, SAUVE76 said:

But why, is it full more of attacks ...as I said they are aware of the issues and will fix...  what else is there bar attacks

How can you comment about what you don't know? Watch the video then return when you've seen it.

[ToboRobot]

I guess I understand the problem, how do we create more time?

 

If we assume that LMG video schedule is based on their overhead, which with the 100+ headcount is substantial.

So if they can't cut back on the content schedule, how can they have more time to create videos with better quality control for accuracy?

 

Businesses tend to be able to invest in three categories: people, process and technology.

Hiring more people doesn't solve the problem immediately, and contributes to the problem of overhead driving the need for so many videos.  Training takes time, especially to get people to standard that is expected.  Training also takes away the resources that would be making videos, and training needs to be a constant ongoing process and there needs to be enough time for new employees to get up to the LMG standard..  And working people overtime to train and crank out videos, burns people out and creates errors. 

Investing in technology to make everything perfect, again takes time, training and may not be possible to fully accomplish the goal of perfectly automated reviews.  Projects like Markbench are long term investments that may pay off in this regard.

However I think process is the most important aspect, and I suspect that LMG can improve in that aspect. 

It will take time, and maybe a small team, but LMG needs to sit down and document their processes and follow the standard.  The standardized process need to be rigorously followed all the time.  The process documentation needs to be thorough and complete.  Not just simple checklists, but a document that explains things like benchmarking in a manner that covers all the boxes and educates readers on the subject so they can be good at their job be it technical or on camera. 

If they get better process to ensure the accuracy and quality is there, and processes to train people to the standard, hiring more people to have more time will be possible.

I think the challenge for many people is that change isn't instant, and process change can take a long time to get right and take effect.

[daydreamfaze]

2 minutes ago, R_M_Renfield said:

"Knowingly" buying stolen goods

Dont even need to "knowingly buy" them in many states just "receiving stolen property" is a crime. No payment needs to be made nor money changing hands. 

[Lyre]

1 minute ago, Srius1 said:

Steve is lame for doing this piece on LTT for someone who linus called his friend. I can see lots of other creators not dealing with GN any more for this. I bought over $400 of product from GN but will not spend another penny there due to this.

 

zero need for this BS hit piece . There are tons of other stories he could have done and this is dumb and just starting a fight and drama for no reason. Linus has said multiple times LTT videos are entertainment first. They never said they were 1000% accurate . This is like being mad at McDonald’s for their burgers not looking the exact same as the picture…

GN is the good guy here? if he didn't care about LTT as a friend to the channel he would not have made the video in the first place and would have probaly just sent a tweet or something like that

[SirCabbage]

Mistakes happen during reviews, frequency of mistakes is what matters. (Personally can't comment on the frequency without compiling data)

There are other things that feel a bit meh about the recent LTT videos:

If Linus is hosting the video, it feels like he doesn't read the script before posting the video.

Feels like, He does not know the exact contents(might know the title/basis of what's happening but not the exact idea) of the video untill the shoot starts.

They have to push out content as they have 100+ employees to pay. But that's hurting their reputation.

 

Even their employees think that they are moving too quickly and want to slow down.

 

But, at the end of the day LTT is a good vendor for educational/tech content. Let's just hope they take the video as criticism and improve the quality of what they put out.

(Also find a way to give back the prototype). 

 

 

[Billetlabsauction]

Just now, Srius1 said:

Steve is lame for doing this piece on LTT for someone who linus called his friend. I can see lots of other creators not dealing with GN any more for this. I bought over $400 of product from GN but will not spend another penny there due to this.

 

zero need for this BS hit piece . There are tons of other stories he could have done and this is dumb and just starting a fight and drama for no reason. Linus has said multiple times LTT videos are entertainment first. They never said they were 1000% accurate . This is like being mad at McDonald’s for their burgers not looking the exact same as the picture…

LTT is a tech review channel at it's core and by not being accurate, they are hurting their viewers and consumers in general. They also stole a prototype block from a startup worth thousands and sold it off AFTER misrepresenting it. Keep supporting an unethical, lying and malicious corporation in LTT, that's your downfall!

[lal12]

Just now, Jazmodo said:

It's the undertones & snide comments, it's unnecessary. I've watch a lot of GN. This isn't an isolated incident, nor just with LTT. It just happens to be the most egregious example. 

 

Yes, GN have done some great investigative work, but that doesn't justify the crusader attitude. I enjoy GN when it's extreme OC & in-depth case testing, or similar. This garbage, less so. 

I agree Steve is often a bit to "harsh" and applies standards which I wouldn't agree with or perceive as realistic. However he is consistent with those standards, so not really something to blame just to disagree. And honestly given the issues a video definitely was necessary, yes I would have done it a bit less "harsh" too.

[FadedSpark]

3 minutes ago, Srius1 said:

Steve is lame for doing this piece on LTT for someone who linus called his friend. I can see lots of other creators not dealing with GN any more for this. I bought over $400 of product from GN but will not spend another penny there due to this.

 

zero need for this BS hit piece . There are tons of other stories he could have done and this is dumb and just starting a fight and drama for no reason. Linus has said multiple times LTT videos are entertainment first. They never said they were 1000% accurate . This is like being mad at McDonald’s for their burgers not looking the exact same as the picture…

Bad take. Why does labs exist then?

[RasmusDC]

7 minutes ago, R_M_Renfield said:

"Knowingly" buying stolen goods

there is still also in Denmark the ILL faith and the good faith of purchasing stolen goods..

 

the outcome is you will ALWAYS loose the item purchased WITHOUT compensation.. if it is stolen..

 

The good faith will not be punished by fines or prison the bad faith can be up to 1 1/2 years of imprisonment.. 

 

now Good and Bad faith is a court decision, but pricing and marked is often a decider if it is bad faith a REALLY low price, or a market low price is often enough to deem it as bad faith.

 

So even if you did not "KNOWINGLY" buy fenced goods, it is enough to be in bad faith if it was bought at a "known place" that sold a lot of fenced items, OR if you paid less than marked value of a used item..

 

a lot more Effort in Denmark is put into that YOU as a consumer, actually has to have some sort of intelligence... it is not just enough to say that you were stupid.

[Blademaster91]

17 minutes ago, Alexeygridnev1993 said:

It very much is. Would you register on a random forum of a random youtuber and make a bunch of comments there unless you are a regular viewer? I would think not, especially given that fora in general is not really a thing anymore

 

For sure it is tiny but it very likely has a disproportional financial impact on LMG because, if you're a forum member, you're also very likely a Floatplane subscriber, a Youtube sponsor, a regular viewer etc.

I haven't watched LMG content regularly in quite a while, the last one I was interested in was the Framework review, and didn't even trust that one very much because of Linus' financial involvement with Framework, I'm not on Floatplane either, the forum community is sort of separated from the main LTT content, people are mature and knowledgeable here, while the main LTT content is very much targeted towards a younger and less mature audience.

 

20 minutes ago, wanderingfool2 said:

 

Why aren't they obligated?  It's the same discussion that I've been having over on the Toyota one (where I'm trying to argue that they legally have to disclose the connections with Toyota).  The Canadian Competition Act pretty much says that they have to have transparency when there is any material connections in relation to statements made about products.

 

It doesn't matter if it's Linus' "own money", he owns LMG/has direct say in what occurs at the company.  There is a conflict of interest at that stage, and the ones where he hosts the videos is even more of a conflict of interest.

Indeed, the Toyota review was one that bothered me, Linus even replied to that thread and acted like he was above having to disclose how they got the vehicle for review, I think if LMG wants to get into car reviews they need to be more transparent with sponsorships. Linus seems to take things too personally and keeps on having the "trust me bro" attitude like viewers are just supposed to trust LMG as a company, the fanboys are of course although the whole "trust me bro" goes against what Linus says himself not to trust corporations.

[Kronoton]

2 minutes ago, Srius1 said:

zero need for this BS hit piece . There are tons of other stories he could have done

 

Yeah media should always focus 100% on the biggest news piece at any given time and should for sure play favorites !!

 

Unless you can point out GN making false claims your missing the mark by an interstellar distance.

[A_Mediocre_Kangaroo_Farmer]

Just now, Skiiwee29 said:

Again not disagreeing that the look is bad, it is imo. But by the law, it's not a conflict of interest since the money is from a different pool/account not tied to the business beyond Linus being the owner of the company. That's all I'm saying. 

Legally sure. I can't speak for everyone, but I was never trying to argue a legal point. I've been following LTT for a very long time and the way I see it LMG is slipping. Now slipping is fine, a relatively mild downturn and I fully expect (as long as Linus, Luke and Yvonne are in control) them to find their balance in time. There is a psychological element to "opening Pandora's box" when cutting corners or breaking with one's principal.

 

The long time para-social relationship makes me consider Linus to be a hardworking and heartfelt guy, and honest. That's why I know he's very emotional and might not do or say the right thing at all times. Not gonna pretend to know how he will respond to this though.

[ToboRobot]

2 minutes ago, Srius1 said:

Steve is lame for doing this piece on LTT for someone who linus called his friend.

Real friends call each other out when they are wrong and present constructive criticism to help you improve.

[TetraSky]

Linus probably thinking "bro, why didn't you just call me"

[lal12]

1 minute ago, Lyre said:

GN is the good guy here? if he didn't care about LTT as a friend to the channel he would not have made the video in the first place and would have probaly just sent a tweet or something like that

For one as he said, he has journalistic responsibility and I agree with that. Secondly as the interviews show the issues already seems to be known. The reaction to the HWUnboxed Tweets also shows there wasn't really any consequences even though stuff was known. And the billet auction definitely had to be made public!

[the9thdude]

3 minutes ago, Budget DIY said:

Let's call it 110% stupidity, and a very valid reason to fire someone.

While I can see your reasoning, given that this is the first known account of this happening that I know of, this lays at the feet of the general manager at the time, aka Linus, as he was CEO at the time. The easy thing is to blame the employee, who was likely just doing what they were supposed to and were not made aware that the prototype needs to return to Billet. If it were a repeat thing, then I'd be inclined to review the employee in question for termination, but as it stands, it's a first offense likely caused by improper vendor product handling procedures.

 

What should be done (following compensating Billet and doing what LMG reasonably can to make them whole again) is a complete scouring of the warehouse for any other vendor products that might still be on the shelves that need to be returned. This needs to be done alongside developing new procedures for handling prototypes and other valuable products, the easiest being that the writer maintain positive possession of the item with logistics being involved in tracking where that item is at the end of every business day.

 

This can be something as simple as when a prototype is being sent to LMG, the logistics team is roped in on the email traffic so that they are aware of the valuable item is, who will be maintaining accountability for it, setting up a safe or some secure area for valuable items in the warehouse, then only allowing the writer or the logistics team to handle that item. No one else, not even Linus.

 

This entire situation might blow up in LMG's face because it could show their partners that they aren't trustworthy to protect and handle valuable items. Establishing some sort of item handling standards, documenting them, and showing everyone how it works, would go a long way in terms of getting ahead of any potential scandals in the future.

[Benji_w]

If you've watched Steve's video and can honestly, with straight face, and pure 100% faith in LMG, reply to the thread that Steve is out of hand for making the video, you're delusional and need to seek help. Not only that but you've proven what he's saying in the whole video.

 

 

 

[wanderingfool2]

9 minutes ago, Alex T88 said:

As always, there are 2 sides to every story, to say the least. What I will say, is that I am fairly certain that Billet Labs, would have already taken legal action, especially that a prototype of a great magnitude for the company, is in discussion

I do agree, there could be 2 sides to the story; but a lack of legal action doesn't mean necessarily much.  Lawsuits, even simple ones, against a company the size of LMG require a ton of money and in some cases depending how a contract was worded they might not even be entitled to recoup lawyer fees.  On top of that you also have to weigh the risk of then being excluded from the community if lets say LMG decides to go full ham against you.

 

11 minutes ago, Skiiwee29 said:

Again not disagreeing that the look is bad, it is imo. But by the law, it's not a conflict of interest since the money is from a different pool/account not tied to the business beyond Linus being the owner of the company. That's all I'm saying. 

By the law, you have to mention any material connection.  Material connection, by how the competition bureau has mentioned wouldn't care if it comes from different pools.  It would look at the fact that Linus has a financial interest in Framework and that he has controlling interest and editorializes in LMG

 

To quote from the canada.ca website:

Quote

A material connection is any relationship between an influencer and a company that has the potential to affect how consumers evaluate the influencer's independence

So Linus' ownership in framework and LMG is a material connection

[A_Mediocre_Kangaroo_Farmer]

4 minutes ago, Jazmodo said:

It's the undertones & snide comments, it's unnecessary. I've watch a lot of GN. This isn't an isolated incident, nor just with LTT. It just happens to be the most egregious example. 

 

Yes, GN have done some great investigative work, but that doesn't justify the crusader attitude. I enjoy GN when it's extreme OC & in-depth case testing, or similar. This garbage, less so. 

Steve has a sarcastic sense of humor, and a sarcastic way of pointing out faults. He's sarcastic, if you don't like it then that's fine. Doesn't mean he's wrong. I wouldn't agree that this is the most snide he has been though.

[Tanaz]

3 minutes ago, SirCabbage said:

Mistakes happen during reviews, frequency of mistakes is what matters. (Personally can't comment on the frequency without compiling data)

There are other things that feel a bit meh about the recent LTT videos:

If Linus is hosting the video, it feels like he doesn't read the script before posting the video.

Feels like, He does not know the exact contents(might know the title/basis of what's happening but not the exact idea) of the video untill the shoot starts.

They have to push out content as they have 100+ employees to pay.

 

But, at the end of the day LTT is a good vendor for educational/tech content. Let's just hope they take the video as criticism and improve the quality of what they put out.

(Also find a way to give back the prototype)

 

 

This is so on point. Linus feels like more of an actor than ever. Fabricated excitement is so easy to see through and it kinda deflates a video from the get-go.

[TheFlyingSquirrel]

2 minutes ago, Timoran Synkral said:

I Am Not A Lawyer (I suspect neither are you) but if you're saying LMG has a defamation claim against GN, I doubt it. LMG constitutes a public figure, and for a statement to be defamatory, it first of all has to be false, and second of all, if it is false, it must have been presented with actual malice or reckless disregard to the truth. I don't even know what LMG would accuse from GN's video of being false. I think most of the factual points are things Linus has admitted.

I am a commercial delivery manager for an IT service company, i work alot with contracts, and therefore need an understanding of the laws in relation to my employer's work. 

 

Here in the UK, loss of earnings due to reputational damage, intentional or unintentional can lead to a legal dispute and claim. 

[ice_hiboy]

Everybody that keep saying "I watch LTT for entertainment not facts". Guys thats not the problem. I too watch it for entertainment, but there was a point where if Linus says this product is good, I would trust him and maybe buy that product over another. With all the errors, people that still does that, will end up with false information. 
They keep using labs as a proof that if they say something is good or bad you can trust them. The problem to me is it seems like no one is watching the video or reading the script before pushing upload.

I dont watch a video about a product more than once, I can watch vlogs and wacky high jinx multiple times, but lets say a video about a 4090 I would watch once and never again. How would I know to come back days later and look for a pinned comment stating that benchmarking was wrong. Or what if I dont look at the screen but mostly listen.

Either they need to spend more time on the script or have someone watch the whole video before upload. And they also need to be able to do reshoots. I dont get why tech quicke cant do reshoots. Its not a channel with deadlines or NDA´s, just take the extra 10 minuts to reshoot/do a voice over and do it properly. 

[Comrade_Xero]

The worst part is mishandling the water block for billet labs. Imagine sending off a prototype to a media company, something which could well being confidential, then not sending it back despite promising too and then later on auctioning off someone else's property(perhaps to a potential competitor). Now the company has lost a prototype and LMG faces no accountability for quite likely tanking someone's business on a false premise and false testing.

[Lyre]

Based on the Likes on GN's Video It seems that most people agree with him (rightfully so)

 

 

a 220k View video with 72k Likes is wild

 

 

A similar LMG video with around the same views has and incredibly low like count in comparison

I hope that LMG just sucks it up and fixes their mistakes here in any way that they can but right now they're in hot water and if they don't do anything or double down we the fans have to take up arms (protest by disliking or unsubbing from FP or something like that we should)

[pinkcat]

1 minute ago, Benji_w said:

If you've watched Steve's video and can honestly, with straight face, and pure 100% faith in LMG, reply to the thread that Steve is out of hand for making the video, you're delusional and need to seek help. Not only that but you've proven what he's saying in the whole video.

 

 

 

They are just in denial.