What do we do now?

[thescream93]

Remembered I had an account here right after writing, so I'm going to copy and paste what I posted in the Youtube comment section.

I'm not going to repeat what I've read from comments that I agree with, but I would like to add from my own perspective that this came off pretty tone deaf in some areas. Most notably are the Labs Vlog thats exclusive to Floatplane- while I understand that that kind of content is typical to the Floatplane platform because it's more of an insider "techie" thing that might not be great for the Youtube algorithm or what have you, I really think it should be published here on Youtube as well. While Billet Labs are (rightfully) getting more of a talk-about, thats still something that was important not only to GN's criticisms but criticisms as a whole. Upload it here, on this channel too. For free.

The other area that came off tone deaf was the sponsorship and lttstore jokes. I know Yvonne mentioned that it's still going to be the fun playground that LMG is known for, but that wasn't necessary in this video. It came off awkward and feels like it's just not very caring towards the situation, or maybe it was Nick's tone, but I'm not trying to jab at him specifically. I see the Update 2 in the pinned comment, but again I'd like to reiterate it's the EXACT kind of thing people have been complaining about. I know I'm just one person and I'm writing 2 paragraphs in a Youtube comment section instead of the forums, but both are on fire right now anyway. I want to continue liking LTT content, but this video doesn't feel like it's helping as much as it theoretically should be.

[public-file-6521]

1 minute ago, William Payne said:

 

yeah but there are places where two people verbally agreeing to something is legally binding under the law. I don’t know what it’s like in Canada.

In this context the verbal/written distinction isn't relevant. Verbal agreements must also contemplate the exchange of valuable consideration between the parties to be binding and enforceable. 

[-spithcetsunil]

Awesome! These are great changes. 

[William Payne]

Just now, public-file-6521 said:

In this context the verbal/written distinction isn't relevant. Verbal agreements must also contemplate the exchange of valuable consideration between the parties to be binding and enforceable. 

Where I come from a contract agreed upon between two parties completely verbally is binding under the law. The value exchange does not have to be money. It Can be the item itself. It just has to be done with the intention between both parties that it be binding. 

[hblaub]

I just don't trust them anymore. As a small guy myself, it just hurts seeing the behemoth LTT/LMG trampling down on a promising young startup.

• "We offered them money" and "at least it's not sitting on a shelf": How can you even live with yourself? It was never about primarily about the money. It is a startup with a cool new product. They trusted you to either keep it yourself (maybe to retest with the correct graphic card this time) or to send it back. Don't you know anything about protecting trade secrets at all?!
• "We were never asked to keep this information private": Is that a joke? Your girlfriend sends you nude pictures and you share them all over the Internet on your big Youtube channel without even considering that yes - of course - for a startup, the actual cost (manifacturing et al) is also a trade secret in of itself?! For example, this much amount of copper has this price, blah. 
• "monetization has been turned off for this video": But your store still gets an ad? Another cruel joke, to profit off of this situation still.
• "the lab will have a busy week": Yeah, because that's what your employees really really need right now. More fun. In some industries, people have even the whole company going in vacation, just to recharge and refocus again. But you guys, yeah keep hitting your people on the head and make them suffer in this week. Sounds like a good plan.
• "I will not pay another 100, 200, 500 dollars to retest" and "Nobody should buy this product": Just awful. If Linus does not like it, 1) don't let him test it or 2) skip it all together. Do you really need those clicks so desperate? It seems like it. I don't expect you to love it, but give a startup a fair chance - which you maybe just destroyed now. Maybe. And that would be another reason to block your channel forever. Your bland arrogance.

[public-file-6521]

Just now, William Payne said:

Where I come from a contract agreed upon between two parties completely verbally is binding under the law. The value exchange does not have to be money. It Can be the item itself. It just has to be done with the intention between both parties that it be binding. 

I'm not saying it has to be money. It just has to be something of value. There is absolutely no indication that Billet was to convey anything of value in exchange for the return of the prototype. I feel like I've made this clear several times. Without an exchange where both parties get something, you're not looking at an enforceable agreement whether it be written or verbal (even if the parties intend for it to be enforceable). 

 

If I walk up to my grandfather and he signs a paper saying he'd give me $10,000.00 in a week, and I take it say thanks and I accept it, and we both intend for that paper to be binding, there is still no contract/enforceable agreement. It's just a signed promise. This is a fairly basic and near universal principle of contract law.

[Distinctly Average]

1 hour ago, Mondodimotori said:

If the point is badly presented with a strawman and ad hominem argument, what did you expect? LTT is a huge media conglomerate, not anymore a single channel. And when people that expect a certain quality standards get disappointed, they are entitled had must express their disappointment.

 

And they have to express their disappointment when the apology comes only after a couple of salty post on this very forum.

 

If people cannot express their own disappointment, stuff can't never change.

 

But, instead, you focus on the toxic and aggressive bunch, while ignoring the rest.

 

You didn't had a valid point in the first place, and indulging it it's a waste of time.

I was only commenting on the inclusion of humour in the apology video, nothing more. You seem to have missed that. I still feel that a little humour an apology is not taking anything away. Some seem fixated on that small thing, instead of concentrating on the actual issues. If people choose to be offended by tiny details like that, then they have their priorities wrong. I did "have" a valid point, it is just that in your opinion it was not valid. 

 

There were/are also posters in both threads who have obviously registered just to join the herd, and some of them focussed on the humour in the apology video. There were plenty of real things to focus on rather than that tiny detail. I chose not to focus on the rest as there are already so many doing that.

 

As for the humour, in other videos I do at times feel it a little cringe worthy, male dominated and puerile. There a lot of LTT followers in their formative years. It is blindingly obvious that there are lots who see Linus as a bit of a role model. I thinks at times Linus forgets that and oversteps the mark. When both Yvonne and Luke have "that" face it should surely be a sign to Linus that he is swaying to the wrong side of the line. Linus, and the team, should be setting an example IMHO.

[karanssh]

New apology video drop! jk haha.

 

I personally think the Billet Labs situation was bad - and they seem to have addressed it. These things happen, and yeah, it sucks but they addressed it. Let's be real folks, it's a very niche product and will likely have unit sales in double digits or triple digits at best. My thoughts - as a company of two, sending out your only prototype to a large channel like LTT where videos take time in itself is questionable, but I digress, LTT did them wrong and they need to be made whole - which I hope happens.

 

The rest of the thing - I like that you guys are slowing down. I do LOVE the fact that LTT uploads daily and CONSISTENTLY. It has been a part of my daily breakfast routine for ages now, and thanks for all that you do

This will take a while to adjust and get used to. It's important to recalibrate when you mess up this bad, and yes, mistakes happen. I appreciate the honesty. This did feel very PR-like but that is a good direction to take, with a proper scripted response instead of what we expect from linus who wears his heart on his sleeve.

 

I am happy to hear your focus on processes and how content is pushed out is being re-looked at. More transparency is always welcome. There's very few tech outlets out there with the kind of size you have yet remain grounded. I am rooting for you all, since I have been here practically forever.

 

There's a lot of talk outside around how employees are treated at LTT - and this has been brought up so many times before. Believe it or not, if someone was wronged, legal recourse does exist, and realistically, they are a privately held company and they seem to treat most of their folks right. I am not going to comment on something I am not directly in knowledge of. Hopefully, they improve and continue to be a good place to work at for everyone involved.

[TazX14]

2 minutes ago, HowdyBread said:

Can I get a TLDR of this? I'm really confused about the controversy between Billit and Madison.

 

These are 2 seperate things. I would recommend watching the Nexus Gamers Videos for a more in depth detailing of the issues surrounding the Billet Labs (BL) issue and others. But for a TLDR summary here it goes:

 

Nexus Gamers(NG) posted a video exposing the increasingly inaccurate videos and lack of accountability for these inaccuracies. Of of the most damning examples being the Billet Labs cooler which I'll explain below.

 

Linus Tech Tips (LTT) received a prototype cooler which they improperly tested using improper components and had a hard time with giving it a scathing review. On the podcast and other occasions, it was suggested that they review it properly and give it a fair shake but Linus refused stating he just didn't like the product and nothing (even possible better results) could change his opinion.

 

Following this, Linus Media Group (LMG) expressed that the prototype would be sent back along with the 3090ti BL provided. LMG then sold the prototype at an auction by mistake. LMG contacted BL saying they would pay an undisclosed amount for the trouble. Linus posted that HE HIMSELF contacted the company, which BL then publicly proved that he had not.

 

LMG also lost the auction receipts and record and had to email everyone asking for them to reply with the purchases they made in an attempt to retrieve info on who purchased the cooler and the cooler itself.

 

The situation is ongoing.

 

As for the Madison issue, I'll reply with that in a bit.

[William Payne]

Just now, public-file-6521 said:

I'm not saying it has to be money. It just has to be something of value. There is absolutely no indication that Billet was to convey anything of value in exchange for the return of the prototype. I feel like I've made this clear several times. Without an exchange where both parties get something, you're not looking at an enforceable agreement whether it be written or verbal (even if the parties intend for it to be enforceable). 

 

If I walk up to my grandfather and he signs a paper saying he'd give me $10,000.00 in a week, and I take it say thanks and I accept it, and we both intend for that paper to be binding, there is still no contract/enforceable agreement. It's just a signed promise. This is a fairly basic and near universal principle of contract law.

If I ring up a hotel and say I want X room on X date and they say yes and put my name down but no money has changed hands. That is a legal contract here 

[public-file-6521]

2 minutes ago, William Payne said:

If I ring up a hotel and say I want X room on X date and they say yes and put my name down but no money has changed hands. That is a legal contract here 

I am concerned at this point that you're just trolling. Your example is an agreement where one party agrees to provide accomodations, and the other party agrees to provide monetary compensation in return. The money doesn't have to change hands at the time the contract is executed, the contract need only contemplate that exchange. You gave an excellent example of what is necessary: both parties agreeing to provide something of value to the other. 

[public-file-6521]

1 minute ago, public-file-6521 said:

I am concerned at this point that you're just trolling. Your example is an agreement where one party agrees to provide accomodations, and the other party agrees to provide monetary compensation in return. The money doesn't have to change hands at the time the contract is executed, the contract need only contemplate that exchange. You gave an excellent example of what is necessary: both parties agreeing to provide something of value to the other. 

Upon further reflection, I misread your comment. Your example was not a valid contract, as you did not offer to provide money in exchange. You wouldn't be able to sue the hotel if you showed up and the room wasn't available. That's why you sign forms and exchange currency when you actually arrive and get the room.

[Noodlefu]

7 hours ago, iAxX said:

that 69 joke from Luke too. Fucking hell... 

 

Fucking hell, please everyone stop spouting this nonsense. You and anyone else quoting this are reaching. Six nines is in reference to 99.9999% uptime, i.e. high availability. It's what a CTO would use to reference 30~ seconds of downtime a year, and commonplace among large service dependency organisations. Stop reading into everything as meaning harm.

[William Payne]

1 minute ago, public-file-6521 said:

I am concerned at this point that you're just trolling. Your example is an agreement where one party agrees to provide accomodations, and the other party agrees to provide monetary compensation in return. The money doesn't have to change hands at the time the contract is executed, the contract need only contemplate that exchange. You gave an excellent example of what is necessary: both parties agreeing to provide something of value to the other. 

I am just terrible at trying to explain myself that’s all, no intentional confusion. 
 

Would in this case the content made from the item be the value exchange? Genuine question.

[Nahlem]

Just now, Ex14 said:

Sorry. Are you expecting near instant response times? Most standard BUSINESS reply times can be 3-5 business days at times for various big businesses. EVEN if you were in corporate orders a turnaround time of a day or two is considered reasonably quick...I mean didn't we want LESS work load for the staff?

 

 

And this is unfortunate of the internet, people feeling entitled to getting response in less then 1 day because thats how they think it should be but in reality thats not how it works, people don't understand how business work in all to many ways, they all to often think "Hurr durr business you are rich yada yada" but also Linus and the team is at times slow to respond to certain events, watched the Steves videos first he goes on a rant on LMG team about how they show wrong data and this is certainly not okay i agree on that point this needs to improve, then he goes on throwing a bunch of his own opinions in their witch imidietly invalidates him by saying stuff like "Linus has resources" by saying they are a big company,  If Steve truly was about facts he would go in to details and do his due diligence about his opinions before throwing them in there.

Do Steve know how LMG teams resources are distributed, Do Steve know how LMG costs are in terms of employment costs? Do Steve know any of the inner data sense Steve likes a lot of data to be correct do he know all of LMG Data in there before making his rant?

Do Steve know the reasons LMG are pumping out so many videos? Profit? Maybe Linus like cash? Or is it simply something that i have my self seen in business all to often companies growing very fast and the original team not being able to keep up, throwing more personal at the issue is not a solution every person needs to be educated in how the company works and how they will be doing their work and so on and so forth. And that is time consuming while the company keeps growing at a faster rate.

Steve didn't put in anything in his video in there before going on his rant, and that pisses me off more then the data that LMG videos show at times even though wrong they shouldn't be putting out incorrect data in the videos as Steve puts it, that quality control needs to improve. To make it properly.

But Steve didn't address anything in his video that i found noteworthy other then LMG missing to put in correct data in there and that needs to be fixed asap.

Other then that if you don't have the experience of growing a company from few persons to being very big then the opinions of Steve in this case is irrelevant and Steve should apologize for talking out of his a** when talking about LMG as a company. At this point i used to enjoy a lot of Steve videos now i won't watch, he as he claim him self to like facts/data didn't even bother to put in the work really check the inner workings of LMG other then using the extreme stup*d excuse "Hurr durr LMG big company lot of money = bad company"

Steve embarrassed himself with that video. Don't talk unless you have the experience in running a company in that specific country under their laws and rules until you do your opinion on that is irrelevant but his opinion on LMG Data needs to be corrected and be done better is valid, the rest about that water cooler from that certain company, that could easily be miscommunicated, depending who reads the message and how it is interpreted also a company thing about communication that Steve seem to know more about but putting out zero facts or data that backs up his claims.

At this point LMG should do better in terms of data in their videos but they sure as he** shouldn't back down from any stup** opinions Steve had about LMG without backing up his claims and trying to make them a fact for his viewers the same thing he said LMG was doing he did himself and putting out even more videos about the same thing later on, classy work Steve.

Last time i checked US Laws in terms of running a company is very different from Canada. And if Steve wants to put out correct "data" he should probably educated him self about Canadian laws and how companies in Canada have to operated compared to the US. Before making any claims about LMG.

More people need to educate them self before posting their opinions on matters they have no clue about.

Its as stu**d as when people claim stuff like EVs are bad because i need a car for cross country hauling every 20 years so i should keep buying fossil cars..... Same stup***ity as Steve put out in his video.

Steve in his video is very dishonest in how they have cut and edited it, at this moment i am not interested in his videos until he apologizes for it.



 

[poochyena]

53 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

immediately went into Angry Linus Defense Mode^(TM)

I was kinda shocked by this. STILL being defensing, wow. Complaining about some random meaningless comments. He is more mad at the comments than he is at his and the teams failings.

[neriya]

There's 37 pages of responses here and I certainly have not read them all. I didn't think this apology video was as bad as a bunch of folks have made it out to be. It's a bit cringe, but that's basically on-brand for LMG in my opinion.

 

I only have a simple question - why in the ever living F is the Billet labs video still online? It should be private at a minimum, or simply deleted. It is 100% known to be full of misinformation and bad decisions, yet it is still online garnering views to this very moment. The first step to getting out of a hole is to stop digging.

[Kravatie1]

1 minute ago, NastyFlytrap said:

Thank fuck GDPR's got my back and i can request a deletion of my data because i aint spending another minute on a site owned by him.

 

stop coping smh

[public-file-6521]

Just now, William Payne said:

I am just terrible at trying to explain myself that’s all, no intentional confusion. 
 

Would in this case the content made from the item be the value exchange? Genuine question.

Oh no worries, I'm sorry for the accusation. I got a little carried away.

 

In this case, yes, the content made from the item was likely part of the value exchanged from the original agreement. Billet gave LMG the prototype, and LMG agreed to film a video in return. That agreement appears to have been separate, though, from the later promise to return the prototype.

[SuperGnu]

24 minutes ago, public-file-6521 said:

"We originally said you could keep it."

That is not the same thing. Specially not in the correct context.

[gregcron]

2 minutes ago, Nahlem said:

And this is unfortunate of the internet, people feeling entitled to getting response in less then 1 day because thats how they think it should be but in reality thats not how it works, people don't understand how business work in all to many ways, they all to often think "Hurr durr business you are rich yada yada" but also Linus and the team is at times slow to respond to certain events, watched the Steves videos first he goes on a rant on LMG team about how they show wrong data and this is certainly not okay i agree on that point this needs to improve, then he goes on throwing a bunch of his own opinions in their witch imidietly invalidates him by saying stuff like "Linus has resources" by saying they are a big company,  If Steve truly was about facts he would go in to details and do his due diligence about his opinions before throwing them in there.

Do Steve know how LMG teams resources are distributed, Do Steve know how LMG costs are in terms of employment costs? Do Steve know any of the inner data sense Steve likes a lot of data to be correct do he know all of LMG Data in there before making his rant?

Do Steve know the reasons LMG are pumping out so many videos? Profit? Maybe Linus like cash? Or is it simply something that i have my self seen in business all to often companies growing very fast and the original team not being able to keep up, throwing more personal at the issue is not a solution every person needs to be educated in how the company works and how they will be doing their work and so on and so forth. And that is time consuming while the company keeps growing at a faster rate.

Steve didn't put in anything in his video in there before going on his rant, and that pisses me off more then the data that LMG videos show at times even though wrong they shouldn't be putting out incorrect data in the videos as Steve puts it, that quality control needs to improve. To make it properly.

But Steve didn't address anything in his video that i found noteworthy other then LMG missing to put in correct data in there and that needs to be fixed asap.

Other then that if you don't have the experience of growing a company from few persons to being very big then the opinions of Steve in this case is irrelevant and Steve should apologize for talking out of his a** when talking about LMG as a company. At this point i used to enjoy a lot of Steve videos now i won't watch, he as he claim him self to like facts/data didn't even bother to put in the work really check the inner workings of LMG other then using the extreme stup*d excuse "Hurr durr LMG big company lot of money = bad company"

Steve embarrassed himself with that video. Don't talk unless you have the experience in running a company in that specific country under their laws and rules until you do your opinion on that is irrelevant but his opinion on LMG Data needs to be corrected and be done better is valid, the rest about that water cooler from that certain company, that could easily be miscommunicated, depending who reads the message and how it is interpreted also a company thing about communication that Steve seem to know more about but putting out zero facts or data that backs up his claims.

At this point LMG should do better in terms of data in their videos but they sure as he** shouldn't back down from any stup** opinions Steve had about LMG without backing up his claims and trying to make them a fact for his viewers the same thing he said LMG was doing he did himself and putting out even more videos about the same thing later on, classy work Steve.

Last time i checked US Laws in terms of running a company is very different from Canada. And if Steve wants to put out correct "data" he should probably educated him self about Canadian laws and how companies in Canada have to operated compared to the US. Before making any claims about LMG.

More people need to educate them self before posting their opinions on matters they have no clue about.

Its as stu**d as when people claim stuff like EVs are bad because i need a car for cross country hauling every 20 years so i should keep buying fossil cars..... Same stup***ity as Steve put out in his video.

Steve in his video is very dishonest in how they have cut and edited it, at this moment i am not interested in his videos until he apologizes for it.



 

 

Why the hell are you starring out 'stupid' ?

[Qahlel]

This is my 2nd ever comment on LTT forums but I have been following LTT for longer than I can remember.

 

I don't think any faulty actions -that were taken- was done with malice in mind. But the more you grow the bigger the footprint of your mistakes become (I wasn't trying to go full Yoda).

 

The bigger you are, the more careful you have to be when you move as there are more thing that can be hit by you even though that's not your intention or goal. An elephant walks on grass, kills ants as collateral damage. It doesn't feel anything about its actions. But we are human and we do feel when we hurt even though when we don't mean to do so.

 

Less bureaucracy, more quality, more standards and better & efficient procedures are way to go.

 

I think Linus was pissed as the original video, put him out as if he was the villain of the story. That's why -I assume- his tone was defensive as he felt attacked. I empathize. But sometimes shit hits the fan and there is no easy way to clean it up.

[nervenjere]

Strong move.

Stay exactly how you are.

Mistakes are normal, so are Emotions.

Comming back to rational and not starting a war is impressive.

[poly_boi]

Firstly, don't wear your pain on your sleeve. It isn't important to the community and although your narcissism wants to centre it, it really isn't what is important. While your intentions may be pure, you have grown way beyond that being enough and the experience that you deliver to your stakeholders is what is actually paramount. This isn't the little leagues anymore. You can't get by on intention alone.

 

Your pain is yours to own except for when it isn't. It's a learning experience and while you can lean on those closest to you to help you through it; you shouldn't be peddling it out to the masses. You only appear callous to how your mistakes have affected others or merely feed the ravenous trolls. Speaking of whom; you should not be allowing to inflict pain on you in the first place. You have been here since the beginning. You know what they are. You know that they can't be reasoned with. They can only be ignored. The rational will see the absurdity of the accusations of the trolls and wouldn't believe something ridiculous like intentionally stealing a £2,000 pound prototype to auction to charity when you're a nine figure company.

 

I know in your narcissistic mind it's really important that you don't come off as a thief but you need to recognise that nobody truly believes that and that you need to focus your efforts on remedying the mistakes that you have actually made and then only addressing them publicly once they have been resolved. If you're really burning that hard to get the pitchfork and torch crew off your back; picking up the phone and having your cash ready would have been the quickest way to resolve this so that you could then address it publicly. If you remedy it first nobody can then come after you when you address it publicly. You're never going to come out of it clean though. Mistakes were made, people got hurt and maybe you're going to continue to look bad due to the compounding mistakes after the initial one. There's only so much you can fix though and the rest of your efforts need to go into not making similar mistakes in the future. Arguing about timelines and entering into a he said she said battle isn't going to make you look any better. Apologising and remedying the situation are.

 

Speaking of making mistakes, you need to slow down. I know that when it comes to ADHD that seems impossible and anything less than full speed feels like death. However, if you aren't going to do the work to manage this condition yourself then you need to relinquish some of your power so that there are people around you that have enough power to hold you accountable. When you aren't capable of doing what you need to on your own, you need people around you that are capable of either walking or pushing you through it. I'm hoping that Yvonne and Terren can do this for you but they need to be given the power to do so.

 

In this specific case what you need to understand is that you don't have the luxury of teething issues. You're not a two man team shooting out of your garage anymore with a handful of viewers and just enough impact to keep you going. You have the responsibility of a community of millions and the respect that you have earned over the almost fifteen years that you have been doing this. That gives you an incredible amount of influence and therefore a huge burden of accuracy if you are to maintain your integrity. Any misinformation needs to be addressed appropriately and any tech needs to be presented showing its full capabilities as well as its shortcomings so the individual can form their own informed judgement of its viability.

 

In summary:

• Don't centre yourself as the victim of what were ultimately your own (or your company's own) mistakes.
• Show that you recognise the impact of your mistakes on others and show that you know how to address them.
• Don't get hung up on the perception of your mistakes. Just make it right and know that your patterns of behaviour will speak for themselves.
• Know when to ADHD and know when not to.
• Get help if you can't help but ADHD even when you know you should not.
• Understand the consequences and therefore the responsibility of being a public figure.
• Recognise that your intentions are trivial when you operate on this scale because the consequences of your actions are significant.
• If you're going to show some tech; show us what it can actually do, not just what it can't. Both sides of the coin are equally important so that each member of the community can evaluate its usefulness within our own individual context.

Lastly, recognise our criticism for what it is. We're all just hugely passionate about this community and protective of the standards that you are a big part of espousing. I hope that you can put your own personal struggles aside for a moment and appreciate that what Steve did was out of his love for this community and was a necessary call to return to the standards that we have come to expect in this community. You may not appreciate the way that he did it; but you are too close to realise that it was in the best interest in the community. Calling the information that you have been disseminating into question publicly let the community know that we need to take your more recent material with a grain of salt as some of it has been erroneous and/or unethical. It was a community first approach that I hope you can appreciate. I know that you need to make money to cover the costs of the lab but I hope that you're not in such dire need that you would prioritise LMG or the lab over the consumer or this community. I hope that you can publicly come out and thank Steve for looking out for this community when you dropped the ball because the community hates it when Mummy and Daddy are fighting.

[TazX14]

1 minute ago, neriya said:

There's 37 pages of responses here and I certainly have not read them all. I didn't think this apology video was as bad as a bunch of folks have made it out to be. It's a bit cringe, but that's basically on-brand for LMG in my opinion.

 

I only have a simple question - why in the ever living F is the Billet labs video still online? It should be private at a minimum, or simply deleted. It is 100% known to be full of misinformation and bad decisions, yet it is still online garnering views to this very moment. The first step to getting out of a hole is to stop digging.

I do feel that an argument could be made about the authenticity of their apologies. However, the reason they are receiving flack from this video which are completely valid are as follows:

 

States in the video that they will take time with each video and attempt to ensure each videos accuracy of information and ensure that they respect their partners and community. Then proceeds to release video monetized (which is in very bad taste and done through either ignorance or worse yet considering their initial message, because they rushed to put it out and didn't check). Additionally they failed to blur confidential information in the email they showed from Billet Labs revealing the actual price of the prototype, then edited after the fact (which was one of this whole debacles' main instigating complaints).

 

Additionally, I agree with you 100% that the Billet Labs video and connecting WAN show should have been taken down, but they are seemingly tone deaf and or money hungry in all of their actions at this point.