Gamers Nexus alleges LMG has insufficient ethics and integrity

[NickR1978]

On 8/14/2023 at 4:25 PM, LinusTech said:

There won't be a big WAN Show segment about this or anything. Most of what I have to say, I've already said, and I've done so privately.

To Steve, I expressed my disappointment that he didn't go through proper journalistic practices in creating this piece. He has my email and number (along with numerous other members of our team) and could have asked me for context that may have proven to be valuable (like the fact that we didn't 'sell' the monoblock, but rather auctioned it for charity due to a miscommunication... AND the fact that while we haven't sent payment yet, we have already agreed to compensate Billet Labs for the cost of their prototype). There are other issues, but I've told him that I won't be drawn into a public sniping match over this and that I'll be continuing to move forward in good faith as part of 'Team Media'. When/if he's ready to do so again I'll be ready.

To my team (and my CEO's team, but realistically I was at the helm for all of these errors, so I need to own it), I stressed the importance of diligence in our work because there are so many eyes on us. We are going through some growing pains - we've been very public about them in the interest of transparency - and it's clear we have some work to do on internal processes and communication. We have already been doing a lot of work internally to clean up our processes, but these things take time. Rome wasn't built in a day, but that's no excuse for sloppiness.

Now, for my community, all I can say is the same things I always say. We know that we're not perfect. We wear our imperfection on our sleeves in the interest of ensuring that we stay accountable to you. But it's sad and unfortunate when this transparency gets warped into a bad thing. The Labs team is hard at work hard creating processes and tools to generate data that will benefit all consumers - a work in progress that is very much not done and that we've communicated needs to be treated as such. Do we have notes under some videos? Yes. Is it because we are striving for transparency/improvement? Yeah... What we're doing hasn't been in many years, if ever.. and we would make a much larger correction if the circumstances merited it. Listing the wrong amount of cache on a table for a CPU review is sloppy, but given that our conclusions are drawn based on our testing, not the spec sheet, it doesn't materially change the recommendation. That doesn't mean these things don't matter. We've set KPIs for our writing/labs team around accuracy, and we are continually installing new checks and balances to ensure that things continue to get better. If you haven't seen the improvement, frankly I wonder if you're really looking for it... The thoroughness that we managed on our last handful of GPU videos is getting really incredible given the limited time we have for these embargoes. I'm REALLY excited about what the future will hold.

 

With all of that said, I still disagree that the Billet Labs video (not the situation with the return, which I've already addressed above) is an 'accuracy' issue. It's more like I just read the room wrong. We COULD have re-tested it with perfect accuracy, but to do so PROPERLY - accounting for which cases it could be installed in (none) and which radiators it would be plumbed with (again... mystery) would have been impossible... and also didn't affect the conclusion of the video... OR SO I THOUGHT...

 

I wanted to evaluate it as a product, and as a product, IF it could manage to compete with the temperatures of the highest end blocks on the planet, it still wouldn't make sense to buy... so from my point of view, re-testing it and finding out that yes, it did in fact run cooler made no difference to the conclusion, so it didn't really make a difference.

 

Adam and I were talking about this today. He advocated for re-testing it regardless of how non-viable it was as a product at the time and I think he expressed really well today why it mattered. It was like making a video about a supercar. It doesn't mater if no one watching will buy it. They just wanna see it rip.  I missed that, but it wasn't because I didn't care about the consumer.. it was because I was so focused on how this product impacted a potential buyer. Either way, clearly my bad, but my intention was never to harm Billet Labs. I specifically called out their incredible machining skills because I wanted to see them create something with a viable market for it and was hoping others would appreciate the fineness of the craftsmanship even if the product was impractical. I still hope they move forward building something else because they obviously have talent and I've watched countless niche water cooling vendors come and go. It's an astonishingly unforgiving market.

 

Either way, I'm sorry I got the community's priorities mixed-up on this one, and that we didn't show the Billet in the best light. Our intention wasn't to hurt anyone. We wanted no one to buy it (because it's an egregious waste of money no matter what temps it runs at) and we wanted Billet to make something marketable (so they can, y'know, eat).

 

With all of this in mind, it saddens me how quickly the pitchforks were raised over this. It also comes across a touch hypocritical when some basic due diligence could have helped clarify much of it. I have a LONG history of meeting issues head on and I've never been afraid to answer questions, which lands me in hot water regularly, but helps keep me in tune with my peers and with the community. The only reason I can think of not to ask me is because my honest response might be inconvenient. 

 

We can test that... with this post. Will the "It was a mistake (a bad one, but a mistake) and they're taking care of it" reality manage to have the same reach? Let's see if anyone actually wants to know what happened. I hope so, but it's been disheartening seeing how many people were willing to jump on us here. Believe it or not, I'm a real person and so is the rest of my team. We are trying our best, and if what we were doing was easy, everyone would do it. Today sucks.

 

Thanks for reading this.

I opened an account on this forum just to say what a completely embarrassing response this is. The avoidance of responsibility, the idea you're owed some kind of opportunity to make a response/conduct pre-emptive damage control before your absolutely abysmal behavior is covered publicly, just the insane level of self-importance expecting special treatment, as if you're not just another tech YouTuber. What an absolute shit show.

[Dom1252]

8 minutes ago, Neroon said:

So I just looked at the Pwnage mouse video, which is still up btw, and while they have changed the text of the pinned comment, they still claim it didn't change enough of David's conclusion.

 

I mean seriously guys, why are you still tone deaf? I get, he might still not look at it favourable enough, but you cannot just cut out parts and dismiss it as good enough, because he still isn't a fan...
I get that he might still not like it, but it's the same argument as with the cooler block and so many other videos, yes it may not change a lot, but the video is still based on a non full experience, and in this case it will have changed the whole video. No matter how much I like or dislike a mouse, if it slides crappy, it will make the whole experience worse.

I would honestly just take down the video, maybe make a new one, get someone else to try it out, or have 1 new person and David do it together, or I don't know, but this just feels bad.

Especially after labs guys says they will take down videos with wrong data, but this? Nah, not worth the extra 100, 200 or 500 bucks of time spend on deleting the video

[Godiwa]

1 minute ago, 3m3m said:

Here is the problem with that "follow up" GN  "made the news" GN did not "report on it". He created the story, set the narrative and then manipulated the situation so that GN can sling mud all day and get away with it.

 

I can't see GN in a good light anymore. To be clear I am not subbed to LTT. But right is right and wrong is wrong and no matter how they butter the situation it is still wrong to do what they did. Imagine for a moment it was GN that got hit by something like this. Do you think they would not ask for an opportunity to comment?

 

But I do believe in what goes around comes around and GN will never be able to make a mistake because there will be a million YouTube channels reporting on it doing the exact same thing to them. Why? Because GN set the standard for this type of conduct.

 

But then there is This. So the video wasn't monetized, right? YouTube Stats Summary / User Statistics for Gamers Nexus (2023-08-03 - 2023-08-16)

I wonder why Socialbalde think they did. Guess it is a bug? But we can now blow it out of proportion but at least we give him a benefit of a doubt. 

 

 

 

He didn't force them to do a piss pooor job and to treat Billet like crap... THEY DID... that is what he reported on... he didn't create shit...

[Godiwa]

1 minute ago, NickR1978 said:

I opened an account on this forum just to say what a completely embarrassing response this is. The avoidance of responsibility, the idea you're owed some kind of opportunity to make a response/conduct pre-emptive damage control before your absolutely abysmal behavior is covered publicly, just the insane level of self-importance expecting special treatment, as if you're not just another tech YouTuber. What an absolute shit show.

then watch the video instead which was posted today... that response is from yesterday when he was a bit emotional...

[Guest]

Just now, Godiwa said:

He didn't force them to do a piss pooor job and to treat Billet like crap... THEY DID... that is what he reported on... he didn't create shit...

it is not what he did that bugs me it is how he did it that bugs me.

[MrSuperb]

4 minutes ago, Godiwa said:

He didn't force them to do a piss pooor job and to treat Billet like crap... THEY DID... that is what he reported on... he didn't create shit...

And nobody forced Billet to got to the big bad corporate YouTube company.

They could have gone with perfect „small“ creator like GN, but they didn’t.

And we all know why. This was always a business transaction.

[MrSuperb]

3 minutes ago, surrey_nerd said:

you snowflakes are hilarious lol

every time linus has gone after a company, has he done it professionally? such as the billet example, did he say the product wasnt up to scuff like pro or did he called it dogshit basically live on youtube like a cod kiddie AFTER he tested it wrong and being called out for testing it wrong? lol

If he always does that, why are companies so stupid to work with them?

[Lurker_Letum]

1 hour ago, TechDeckCAD said:

People keep citing the SPJ Code of Ethics, but they completely misunderstand that you do NOT have to address every single entity in a story. In fact, the irony is that the same Code of Ethics clearly states to not give anyone special treatment (which is unironically what Linus wanted, as he would've had the ability to control the narrative through Stephen/GN). So once again, people complain about one thing, and then completely lose sight that LMG/LTT's requests would've contradicted Code of Ethics too.

But GN did give Linus special treatment. He normally asks for comment but in this case he decided not to. Negative special treatment is still a form of special treatment and still a breach of ethics. Doesn't help that Steve has said multiple times in the past that he holds himself up to high journalistic standards. So to fail at upholding the ethics of what is considered a relatively lax code of ethics for journalist is a pretty big failure on his part.

 

1 hour ago, TechDeckCAD said:

You act like GN didn't do any vetting when he's been on record saying that he had the timeline of emails and communication from LTT/LMG, and BL's allegations showed that LTT/LMG stopped communicating, and thus led to the events that would ultimately end in the copper block being auctioned. It seems that in complaining about the virtue of ethics, you've completely lost sight that GN did everything in their power to not only showcase accurate information, but also went through great lengths to remain ethical in their sourcing and disclosing of information.

 

We can also see from the apology video posted today an email that shows LLT agreeing to pay back Billet Labs on August 10'th. 4 days before the original video went up. However a mistake was made and Colton forgot to put an email into the To field however procurement was already working on getting the hardware to send back. Now if GN had done its journalist due-diligence than that would of changed that part of the video and cleared things up however they decided to treat LTT differently and give them special treatment.

 

 

I'm still subscribed to GN and have been subscribed to them for far longer than LTT. However I'm disappointed in how Steve handled this situation and hope he learns from his mistakes and improves. Also hope he at some point uses the fan tester so I know my $50 I sent his way wasn't wasted......

[andreimj]

11 minutes ago, 3m3m said:

Here is the problem with that "follow up" GN  "made the news" GN did not "report on it". He created the story, set the narrative and then manipulated the situation so that GN can sling mud all day and get away with it.

 

I can't see GN in a good light anymore. To be clear I am not subbed to LTT. But right is right and wrong is wrong and no matter how they butter the situation it is still wrong to do what they did. Imagine for a moment it was GN that got hit by something like this. Do you think they would not ask for an opportunity to comment?

 

But I do believe in what goes around comes around and GN will never be able to make a mistake because there will be a million YouTube channels reporting on it doing the exact same thing to them. Why? Because GN set the standard for this type of conduct.

 

But then there is This. So the video wasn't monetized, right? YouTube Stats Summary / User Statistics for Gamers Nexus (2023-08-03 - 2023-08-16)

I wonder why Socialbalde think they did. Guess it is a bug? But we can now blow it out of proportion but at least we give him a benefit of a doubt. 

 

very good take

 

 

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, surrey_nerd said:

you snowflakes are hilarious lol

every time linus has gone after a company, has he done it professionally? such as the billet example, did he say the product wasnt up to scuff like pro or did he called it dogshit basically live on youtube like a cod kiddie AFTER he tested it wrong and being called out for testing it wrong? lol

So why do you completely miss the following Noah Catz got the opportunity to respond? If I am such a snowflake why do you conveniently miss this tiny little detail?

[NickR1978]

12 minutes ago, Godiwa said:

then watch the video instead which was posted today... that response is from yesterday when he was a bit emotional...

I watched it. It was the deciding factor in commenting. 20 minutes of corporate deflection of responsibility is not an apology. The tip off is the advertising embedded in the video, the jokes, the time it spent monetized, and the total lack of apology.

 

The previous 5-6 year's worth of blatant laziness, lack of technical aptitude, egregious Idiocracy-levels of shilling sponsor products, and poor treatment of people ON CAMERA, well, that's all why I unsubscribed back then in the first place. It's been crazy to see my odd feeling about what goes on behind closed doors, with the least likable public-facing person who has mistaken the charm and appeal of others for their own success, be so eerily accurate.

[andreimj]

1 minute ago, NickR1978 said:

I watched it. It was the deciding factor in commenting. 20 minutes of corporate deflection of responsibility is not an apology. The tip off is the advertising embedded in the video, the jokes, the time it spent monetized, and the total lack of apology.

 

The previous 5-6 year's worth of blatant laziness, lack of technical aptitude, egregious Idiocracy-levels of shilling sponsor products, and poor treatment of people ON CAMERA, well, that's all why I unsubscribed back then in the first place. It's been crazy to see my odd feeling about what goes on behind closed doors, with the least likable public-facing person who has mistaken the charm and appeal of others for their own success, be so eerily accurate.

it's fine, now you can delete you account on LinusTechTips too

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, NickR1978 said:

I watched it. It was the deciding factor in commenting. 20 minutes of corporate deflection of responsibility is not an apology. The tip off is the advertising embedded in the video, the jokes, the time it spent monetized, and the total lack of apology.

 

The previous 5-6 year's worth of blatant laziness, lack of technical aptitude, egregious Idiocracy-levels of shilling sponsor products, and poor treatment of people ON CAMERA, well, that's all why I unsubscribed back then in the first place. It's been crazy to see my odd feeling about what goes on behind closed doors, with the least likable public-facing person who has mistaken the charm and appeal of others for their own success, be so eerily accurate.

You call LTT lazy, I call it a growing business. You call GN hard working and he can't pick up the phone and call someone and ask to set the record straight. But he can give someone like Noah Katz the benefit of the doubt? You are seriously willing to believe that? Then that is on you.

[Guest]

 

Now you tell me why GN really did this? Their channel is not doing well. They actually needed the cloud. The true story is literally staring you in the face.

YouTube Analytical History for Gamers Nexus

 

There you have the true story of why GN didn't want to give LTT a snowball's chance in hell.

[Yaksh]

As a fan of LTT & LMG, I saw what is going on with GN and LTT. Personally, I feel that taking a week off and cleaning the mess is an extremely good decision made by the team. Having a labs team at disposal means that we as an audience will get a good result before making a purchasing decision. 

Surely, they (Labs Team) need to set some ground rules and documentation (make it available to the public) before testing any product.  

HOPEFULLY, we will see some positive changes in the future. 

 

Update: (1) 17-08-2023

 I recently discovered that one employee of LMG wrote a long Twitter thread about how she was treated while working for the company, at first read I don't want to believe what she is quoting but if this is the case, then a full investigation should be launch and the findings should be published by the authorities. It is mandatory to provide a very safe working environment for all, I have been through bad working situations so I don't want anybody to suffer mentally. 

[NickR1978]

7 minutes ago, 3m3m said:

You call LTT lazy, I call it a growing business. You call GN hard working and he can't pick up the phone and call someone and ask to set the record straight. But he can give someone like Noah Catz the benefit of the doubt? You are seriously willing to believe that? Then that is on you.

I didn't mention GN at all. I don't follow their channel either.

 

LMG is long past the "growing business" phase, as is any company with 100+ employees.

 

Your delusion this is some scrappy startup were talking about? Or that being one makes any of this okay? That is on you.

[andreimj]

1 minute ago, NickR1978 said:

I didn't mention GN at all. I don't follow their channel either.

 

LMG is long past the "growing business" phase, as is any company with 100+ employees.

 

Your delusion this is some scrappy startup were talking about? Or that being one makes any of this okay? That is on you.

*you're

[ilya]

Long time lurker here - I haven't actually read or watched much of the LMG response to all this drama, but I have watched all the GN stuff.

 

Followed LTT on and off for years since I was a long time NCIX customer. Don't really follow Steve as I find I'm a lot like him and don't think our type of approach/style is great for the industry (way too monotone and caught up with small details that 99% of people don't care about) - so I may be biased. I highly value journalistic integrity but I don't consider tech journalists serious journalists for the most part.

 

But holy crap, from just watching the GN stuff it is a pretty bad case of the kettle calling the pot black.

 

I agree with the vast majority of issues Steve brings up and know LMG really fucked up and has a lot of work to do. BUT since I loosely follow the WAN show it seems like they've known about these issues for a long time and have been taking action to address these issues for a while now. (new CEO, process changes, etc, not enough but still something) It is incredibly difficult for a decent size corporation to move quickly on this stuff so I'm not surprised or disappointed with LMG. I'm just going to continue to use them as one of multiple review sources like a reasonable person would.

 

It also seems Linus royally fucked up his initial response but that honestly doesn't surprise me and I'm not sure it is as big a deal like Steve is making it.

 

As for Steve:

 

He goes on about journalistic standards and doesn't even give the corporation involved a chance to respond before going public like a REAL journalist would.

He repeatedly quotes how LMG didn't sell but auctioned off the Billet product. Now I don't think the rest of the quote regarding charity excuses what LMG did, but he should have addressed that instead of sensationalizing/thumbnailing the partial quote.

While LTT has a pretty sizeable reach, the negative impact of the inaccuracies seems totally overblown. (most people don't check the graphs and those that do have more than one review source) LMG is bad, but that doesn't mean you get to ignore journalistic standards and claim journalistic integrity.

 

I'm not sure he realizes how he has done some of the stuff he rightfully accuses LMG of, IMO either Steve is doing this for drama or is butthurt about something and doesn't see his own hypocrisy.

 

As for Billet:

 

I'm not sure how to say this nicely so: What dumbass didn't think the prototype wouldn't get lost or damaged being handled by Linus? There is so much video footage of product managers cringing as Linus gets his hands on a prototype it has become a comical part of the LMG brand.

Jokes aside if you're going to send out your only prototype of a flagship halo product do your homework and have a plan for WHEN not if things go wrong.

All that said it doesn't in any way excuse the way LMG handled the situation, if Billet was a company of any significance this mistake could've easily destroyed LMG legally. TBH Billet probably still could/should. Maybe the lesson will convince LMG to hire some QA and PR people.

 

To the people at LMG, this post will probably get buried in the noise but just in case:

There are still people out there that are reasonable and realize you are not the be all and end all of tech reviews. We just want to see you guys try and succeed in the monumentally epic goal you're trying to achieve.

You do however, bear some extra responsibility due to your size and reach. You guys have had some significant failures so far but you have plenty of runway and the willingness + resources to get it right.

 

PS: Get your new boss to hire some QA and PR, Linus seemed unwilling but you guys need at least a little at your size.

[Neroon]

38 minutes ago, andreimj said:

Who the hell puts protective film on their mouse pads and doesn't instruct it's users to take them off. It's absurd. I think I bought more than 20 mouses in my life and never have I ever had to peel protective film from the mouse before use

I don't disagree with that, it's really poor design. My guess is that the feet are cut with the protective layer on it, and then places on the mouse, vs doing it after so that you get a large piece of plastic on it. I have definitely had plastic on some mice feet before though, but you couldn't overlook them.

That doesn't change that they should have contact the creator to check if it was faulty or missed something. If you get an expensive mouse that feels like shit for review, just call them up to check.

33 minutes ago, Dom1252 said:

Especially after labs guys says they will take down videos with wrong data, but this? Nah, not worth the extra 100, 200 or 500 bucks of time spend on deleting the video

Yup. And even if you would normally still leave it up, just avoid the extra drama and just take it down. It's like you got caught robbing a house, and you are busy arguing that it wasn't you who left the footprints on the carpet.

[dragonuck76]

Why are so many still on the attack bandwagon.   Get over it.  More detail has come out and detail that shows GN made a meal and thoughnstill LTT still need to fix things...but to that end good times coming from LMG... I see them making the fixes and the lab killing it with info we all want to help with our choices as well as using other YouTubers to support more to our choices 

[Ottoman420]

3 minutes ago, NickR1978 said:

 I felt compelled to start an account reading about it while standing in a checkout line with my groceries, because it's exactly the kind of Internet drama people such as yourself like to latch onto

 

This makes no sense, well...not the sense you mean

[stflames01]

1 hour ago, jubjub said:

They didn't address the Madison situation at all, provided no apology to GN, Linus used the same deflection tactic of "here are people being unhinged" instead of sticking to addressing the issues and the jokes + lttstore plug rubbed some people the wrong way.

Not saying I agree with all those as reasons to dislike the video but I understand why people might see them as reasons to be unhappy. Personally without an apology to GN I refuse to accept that Linus actually believes he was in the wrong and I believe he likely still believes that some of what he said was right.

lol, but he has said he was wrong and GN has reached out to others for comment before and expose' (Newegg, the other now forgotten pc building company) so Linus assuming he would get one isn't so outrageous here. Of course, GN can choose not to, which they decided not to so now what's the issue again? Steve made this a huge deal when it realistically didn't have to be. There was no big scandal. LMG made a mistake. Oops. They are trying to fix it. Thats all. And yes, lol, they are a larger company but that doesn't mean things can't be lost in the bureaucratic pipelines. Shit happens and with all the exponential growth, its happening a bit more frequently so they are playing catch up. Thats it. You guys should chill with the pitchforks already

[yuck]

r

[SimonZerafa]

So it seems that a lot of people throwing shade at GN really haven't watched Steve's video about the issues at LTT. Or if you have they you really didn't understand what Steve said. Go watch it again and really listen this time.

 

To be clear I watch and enjoy both channels but to call Steve out for point out the egregious errors LTT been publishing and the poor way they previously handled criticism are deluding themselves.  There would be no changes or reflection going on at LTT now if Steve hadn't published what he did in exactly the way they did it.

 

Yes, public criticism is hard to take and its doubly worse when it's accurate and fully justified. No I wouldn't be happy either.

 

LTT hopefully will learn and be better for it. When Linus understands and accepts this hopefully he will contact Steve and thank him. That will be the sign he's understood and taking everything onboard and change has arrived. Yes that will be hard but I suspect Linus can do it.

 

The situation with Madison is really fucking disturbing and if 1% of what she says is accurate then LTT has much more serious internal issues to resolve. In most serious UK organizations the type of behavior she describes would get you fired. I suspect it would be in Canada also, at least it should be the cause for very serious ramifications. Let see what the independent investigation mentioned in the Verge article brings.

 

Edit for additional comments.

 

That the meeting which was apparently covertly recorded and is now on YouTube was even necessary is the issue.

 

The people working at LTT are supposed to be adults who can work professionally with each other without resorting to harassment, bullying, toxic and unnecessary work schedules and even it seems instances of sexual assault.

 

Seems like the LTT "family" isn't going as well as they would have liked to believe. If it actually ever did.

 

Frankly I don't see the so called independent investigation working out. If staff are honest, speak up as to their experiences and detail what is actually happening they will probably be demoted or required to leave to "resolve" the issues.

 

Those engaged in promoting the toxic workplace will get away with it and problems won't be resolved. They will be ignored and the status quo will remain.

 

Quite sad in many ways but nothing lasts forever. LTT won't be here in its current form in 12 months unless they really do clear out the toxic employees, managers and supervisors and I can't quite see that happening.

 

Too many of them are personally connected to Linus and he does call the shots whatever his CVO status might imply.

Edited August 17, 2023 by SimonZerafa
Additional Thoughts and Comments

[andreimj]

8 minutes ago, ilya said:

Long time lurker here - I haven't actually read or watched much of the LMG response to all this drama, but I have watched all the GN stuff.

 

Followed LTT on and off for years since I was a long time NCIX customer. Don't really follow Steve as I find I'm a lot like him and don't think our type of approach/style is great for the industry (way too monotone and caught up with small details that 99% of people don't care about) - so I may be biased. I highly value journalistic integrity but I don't consider tech journalists serious journalists for the most part.

 

But holy crap, from just watching the GN stuff it is a pretty bad case of the kettle calling the pot black.

 

I agree with the vast majority of issues Steve brings up and know LMG really fucked up and has a lot of work to do. BUT since I loosely follow the WAN show it seems like they've known about these issues for a long time and have been taking action to address these issues for a while now. (new CEO, process changes, etc, not enough but still something) It is incredibly difficult for a decent size corporation to move quickly on this stuff so I'm not surprised or disappointed with LMG. I'm just going to continue to use them as one of multiple review sources like a reasonable person would.

 

It also seems Linus royally fucked up his initial response but that honestly doesn't surprise me and I'm not sure it is as big a deal like Steve is making it.

 

As for Steve:

 

He goes on about journalistic standards and doesn't even give the corporation involved a chance to respond before going public like a REAL journalist would.

He repeatedly quotes how LMG didn't sell but auctioned off the Billet product. Now I don't think the rest of the quote regarding charity excuses what LMG did, but he should have addressed that instead of sensationalizing/thumbnailing the partial quote.

While LTT has a pretty sizeable reach, the negative impact of the inaccuracies seems totally overblown. (most people don't check the graphs and those that do have more than one review source) LMG is bad, but that doesn't mean you get to ignore journalistic standards and claim journalistic integrity.

 

I'm not sure he realizes how he has done some of the stuff he rightfully accuses LMG of, IMO either Steve is doing this for drama or is butthurt about something and doesn't see his own hypocrisy.

 

As for Billet:

 

I'm not sure how to say this nicely so: What dumbass didn't think the prototype wouldn't get lost or damaged being handled by Linus? There is so much video footage of product managers cringing as Linus gets his hands on a prototype it has become a comical part of the LMG brand.

Jokes aside if you're going to send out your only prototype of a flagship halo product do your homework and have a plan for WHEN not if things go wrong.

All that said it doesn't in any way excuse the way LMG handled the situation, if Billet was a company of any significance this mistake could've easily destroyed LMG legally. TBH Billet probably still could/should. Maybe the lesson will convince LMG to hire some QA and PR people.

 

To the people at LMG, this post will probably get buried in the noise but just in case:

There are still people out there that are reasonable and realize you are not the be all and end all of tech reviews. We just want to see you guys try and succeed in the monumentally epic goal you're trying to achieve.

You do however, bear some extra responsibility due to your size and reach. You guys have had some significant failures so far but you have plenty of runway and the willingness + resources to get it right.

 

PS: Get your new boss to hire some QA and PR, Linus seemed unwilling but you guys need at least a little at your size.

THIS IS THE BEST TAKE THAT I'VE READ TODAY ON ANY OF THE PLATFORMS. Wow, so thoutghful and cerebral. Very insightful and I couldn't agree more. Kudos my guy.