EPTProfessionalism is the enemy of authenticity - Page 2
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United Kingdom3341 Posts
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SpiritoftheTunA
United States20903 Posts
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makmeatt
2024 Posts
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Plansix
United States60190 Posts
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Acritter
Syria7637 Posts
What professionalism means and has always meant to me is: you devote the kind of care and attention to your work as if it were your entire life, which, if it really is your profession, it kinda should be. Slight exaggeration, I know. Everyone has stuff that they do outside of work. But if you really want to build up your work and make it a huge portion of your life, it stands to reason that you should put serious effort into making your work something beneficial and beautiful. And that's not some moral standpoint, either, but just the simple observation that if you're a professional, your work is a lot of your life, and if your work is ugly and messy it's inevitably going to mean that the same large portion of your life is ugly and messy. Being professional isn't some kind of grand imposition of cultural norms from on high; it's the logical choice for anyone who wants to have a life worth two shits. So, in practical terms, what does this mean for the DOTA2 pro scene? It means that if you show up late to events and refuse to practice, you don't think your life is worth the time you put into it. It means that if you incessantly insult players and treat the games you're casting as a joke, you're insulting your life and think your life's a joke. It means that if you're crude, disrespectful, and slobbish overall, that all your bad traits aren't just limited to the game. If you're a bad person in how you treat the game, it outright makes you a bad person. I'm expressing this very strongly, of course. Realistically, almost all the people involved in the scene are under 30, and there's even a substantial contingent under 21. Young people are expected to be dumb and make mistakes. That doesn't mean those mistakes should be ignored (or worse, celebrated), but it does mean that if they learn, they should be forgiven. This isn't an external standard of perfection that I think people should be held to, although of course none of us are obligated to support pros who we think are shitty. This is a way that I think that people should think of their own work. Also, let's not get super-edgy and think that acting out like some kind of bad boy is the same thing as having personality. Dendi is practically an icon of good PR, and he has a lot of personality to himself. Regardless of his recent results and the ongoing team issues, I'd be shocked if anyone seriously watched his interviews and said that he was anything but polite, friendly, substantive, and personable. | ||
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SpiritoftheTunA
United States20903 Posts
“habits and qualities that the professional possesses that the amateur doesn't: 1. The professional shows up every day 2. The professional stays on the job all day 3. The professional is committed over the long haul 4. For the professional, the stakes are high and real Further: 5. The professional is patient 6. The professional seeks order 7. The professional demystifies 8. The professional acts in the face of fear 9. The professional accepts no excuses 10. The professional plays it as it lays 11. The professional is prepared 12. The professional does not show off 13. The professional dedicates himself to mastering technique 14. The professional does not hesitate to ask for help 15. The professional does not take failure or success personally 16. The professional does not identify with his or her instrument 17. The professional endures adversity 18. The professional self-validates 19. The professional reinvents herself 20. The professional is recognized by other professionals” ― Steven Pressfield, Turning Pro his books are about turning pro in creative fields, i.e., following ur dreams, but idk the point stands that you can interpret professionalism in both fruitful and positive ways and interpret them in dumbfuck ways. i agree that dumbfuck interpretations exist out there, but you don't throw out the whole concept because of a few people who suck at wielding it. | ||
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DonDomingo
504 Posts
Let people be who they want and enjoy what you want to enjoy. | ||
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SpiritoftheTunA
United States20903 Posts
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Acritter
Syria7637 Posts
On January 30 2016 08:39 SpiritoftheTunA wrote: o yea reminds me of steven pressfield's books his books are about turning pro in creative fields, i.e., following ur dreams, but idk the point stands that you can interpret professionalism in both fruitful and positive ways and interpret them in dumbfuck ways. i agree that dumbfuck interpretations exist out there, but you don't throw out the whole concept because of a few people who suck at wielding it. That's basically where I stand. I totally accept that some people aren't sane enough to realize that their stated desires are just to turn people into shallow husks, but that doesn't mean that there's no such thing as professional standards. That's a neat little list, too. Some of the points are a little vague and loose, but that's to be expected from self-help books. The single best boss I've ever had, who taught me the rough rules of professionalism that I use, kept it pretty simple. 0. Never be late. (He'd yell at you for a while and send you home if you showed up even a couple minutes late, unless you sent him a warning in advance. I got into the habit of showing an hour early. Nothing else matters if you aren't on time.) 1. Keep things clean, always. 2. Work carefully and consistently. 3. Set goals of improvement for yourself and review those goals after each workday. 4. Keep a thankful mindset. And then there were other little job-specific things that I won't get into. It worked pretty damn well, though. | ||
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SpiritoftheTunA
United States20903 Posts
some points are vague out of context but he really hammers the mindset home over the course of the book | ||
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Acritter
Syria7637 Posts
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SpiritoftheTunA
United States20903 Posts
On January 30 2016 09:59 Acritter wrote: Sounds good, man. I think there's no comparison to working alongside someone who lives that life, though. The master/apprentice relationship is really underrated. yea i agree, i honestly wish it were a bigger part of american culture | ||
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Acritter
Syria7637 Posts
Sometimes ancient rituals are rituals for extremely good reasons. | ||
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nanaoei
3358 Posts
being featured on tv was, or would have been a big deal in the past. you also have to recount the eastern tendancies to view tv on mobile on transit or whereever. that is a level of convenience that didn't catch on in the west. past 2013 or so, streaming is a much larger platform for viewing on the go, and should twitch decide, it can all be compartmentalized to be much more friendly to the mainstream. that's all really on them and the sky is the limit while they're enjoying this success in exposure. if viewing streams was only possible through tv, that would bear a level of authenticity for our esports. maybe it's the acceptance of new technology that makes us aware that each individual can and may watch through different avenues. for television shows that mosly premiere and air on television, fans talk about saving vods (tivo, recording hardware), or downloading to watch at later convenience. being there for the strict time schedule, or watching re-airings is more rare these days. for sports however, that is all a bit different. it's a live event and being there for the moment is a large part of the experience even if you're just doing it from home. the keyword is event, much like a music concert or a festival (which dreamhack was built around). in the future i imagine events much like the international will become larger and more appealing to the general public and will become featured anywhere and everywhere where news and live coverage can exist--if that's the route that the game and the professionals in the scene should all take. | ||
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hfglgg
Germany5372 Posts
i understand the fear people have that a focus on an arbitrary ideal of professionalism can disconnect the pro scene from the player base and result in a decrease in viewership but in dota this just isnt happening. casters behave like they always have, players behave like they always have and the only three things that really changed in the last 5 years is that teams are on time, there is a larger staff behind the casters and tournament organizers organize tournaments instead of humiliating disasters. yeah casters dress a little better when on stage and there is an analyst panel where people have teeth but that is really all that changed in that regard in the last 5 years. | ||
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Plansix
United States60190 Posts
Its all about thinking before speaking and using all the words, rather than a few and assuming the audience understood. | ||
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Targe
United Kingdom14103 Posts
this reminds me of that gheed blog | ||
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