On February 29 2012 04:43 Dr_Jones wrote: Holy shit, people have too much time on their hands. This is such a non-issue, just put down your pitchforks and get on with your lives. Applaud Playhem for they way they have responded, back off Katu about what he did, and enjoy the next tournament they put on!
People in the Starcraft community get wayyyy too agitated over what really are insignificant things. These pitchfork-wielders need to take a break from the internet for a while and focus on something real of more importance.
On February 29 2012 05:10 FidoDido wrote: I'll give everyone an example of how a professional caster handles things.
Moletrap, caster for GSL. Ever since he has been casting for GOM, he's been flamed, hated on, trolled by a part of the vocal community (gone on for almost a year). Yet, when do we ever see Moletrap react on live stream the same way Katu did? Never. For those who knew him back since BW, probably still has the same respect for him. Others may not.
This to me, feels like how things should have been handled by a professional. Instead of lashing out at the community and blaming the viewers for "trolling" him so he wanted to "troll" them back.
In the end, I think it's a good lesson for all aspiring professional casters out there since there are so many casters now to a point where we must decide what is requirement for a professional caster?
Funny you say that because Moletrap is the only caster I can name that calls players "Scrubs" or "trash" on a regular basis.
On February 29 2012 04:43 Dr_Jones wrote: Holy shit, people have too much time on their hands. This is such a non-issue, just put down your pitchforks and get on with your lives. Applaud Playhem for they way they have responded, back off Katu about what he did, and enjoy the next tournament they put on!
People in the Starcraft community get wayyyy too agitated over what really are insignificant things. These pitchfork-wielders need to take a break from the internet for a while and focus on something real of more importance.
Although its ironic because all this has done is make him even more popular. Earlier he had more viewers than White ra, incontrol, and destiny combined.
On February 29 2012 04:43 Dr_Jones wrote: Holy shit, people have too much time on their hands. This is such a non-issue, just put down your pitchforks and get on with your lives. Applaud Playhem for they way they have responded, back off Katu about what he did, and enjoy the next tournament they put on!
People in the Starcraft community get wayyyy too agitated over what really are insignificant things. These pitchfork-wielders need to take a break from the internet for a while and focus on something real of more importance.
Although its ironic because all this has done is make him even more popular. Earlier he had more viewers than White ra, incontrol, and destiny combined.
Do you think people actually view Dragon in a negative light because of what the caster said? Seriously? LOL.
I just want to say what Ryan posted is the most generous gesture from Playhem and while I still do not think that this incident should reflect on Katu, Playhem completely making up for his mistake is incredible.
While i don't agree with all Katu has said, this thing got completely blown out of proportion by the Starcraft "community" which i think is a vocal minority that is hellbent on getting their way without adding anything of value.
I'm annoyed that you already had to cave in to the enormous amount of spam over a few silly remarks and let Katu go. It might seem that this is the right course of action to do damage control. I wonder though how many there are like me: Watching and enjoying Playhem (and other starcraft events) quietly, without joining in on all the trolling and drama.
Please reconsider letting Katu go. Give him a timeout or something, but don't let a bunch of vocal dramaholics take down a good (and probably hardworking) caster who actually works on adding something of value to e-sports.
I would like to say, I was watching live when it happened, and I was very disappointed that Katu would make such baseless accusations against Dragon. However, I would also like to say that Playhem's response to this "issue" is amazing, and extremely generous. This is definitely above and beyond what was required and truly shows the character of Playhem and their management staff. Also, I want to say that Katu deserves a second chance, I think it was stupid and inconsiderate what he did, but I believe that if he apologizes we (the community) should give him another shot. Dragon made the mistake of cheating or something that was similar (since we don't actually know what happened exactly) and has been given another chance. He's made a good show of it too, getting into GM and showing that he actually has a lot of skill, and I think Katu could turn right around and become an excellent starcraft caster.
While i don't agree with all Katu has said, this thing got completely blown out of proportion by the Starcraft "community" which i think is a vocal minority that is hellbent on getting their way without adding anything of value.
I'm annoyed that you already had to cave in to the enormous amount of spam over a few silly remarks and let Katu go. It might seem that this is the right course of action to do damage control. I wonder though how many there are like me: Watching and enjoying Playhem (and other starcraft events) quietly, without joining in on all the trolling and drama.
Please reconsider letting Katu go. Give him a timeout or something, but don't let a bunch of vocal dramaholics take down a good (and probably hardworking) caster who actually works on adding something of value to e-sports.
- A quiet majority (i hope).
Disagree. Reading the Ryan's comments, he's pretty clear that the Dragon incident wasn't the only consideration at play here, and that upon closer inspection, he thinks Katu committed a fireable sometime before yesterday.
I can understand Katu’s stance in that he was simply trying to troll the chat after their initial negative reactions to him, but it should also be recognized that this is particularly unprofessional of him. While I do not expect my casters to be completely unbiased the allegations brought against Dragon made me really angry.
As an avid follower of both PlayhemTV and of Dragon’s streams Dragon is one of the most creative, forward thinking, goofy and for these reasons interesting players in the Starcraft II community to watch. Watching him play as Zerg I’ve seen him drop two hatcheries in to the main base of a Terran player in the first few minutes of a game to completely confound them. In response to people stream cheating him, I have seen him play complete non-builds to combat them and pull off incredibly strange wins.
His training and highly entertaining streaming show his intentions of redeeming himself in the eyes of the Starcraft II community. He seems determined to wipe the marks from his name and this along with his playful attitude and distinctly experimental style make him a favorite for many.
For these reasons, when Katu made allegations about the stream cheating there was such a strong reaction from the community I believe, Dragon has been working tirelessly to distance himself from the negativity that has surrounded his name. In doing so he has earned himself a fiercely loyal following.
While I do not believe Katu should be fired for his statements I would like to see a more sincere apology from him than “sorry guys I was trolling.” I believe he, like Dragon deserves a second chance. I am elated to see Ryan one of Playhem’s founders reacting so strongly and sincerely. For this reason I will continue to loyally follow Playhem in the future and I urge that no one lynch Katu for a mistake. His response was disappointing, but it was a lapse in judgement and he is still a well-intentioned Starcraft enthusiast like the rest of us. Let us not forget that.
Can't wait... I'll start stream cheating now, get caught (or at least pretend to and make a conspiracy theory) get good at the game, play in a playhem get bashed by one of their better casters and then get paid to go a to a tournament.
I think actually that Playhem is making the right move by getting on dragon's good side. The slander that is Katu's uttering can't just be punished by the company... It isn't the first time a caster has said something stupid and granted this is the furthest I've seen someone go to "troll". I think unless there is definite proof that Dragon was by any means a cheater and kicked off slayers for it that katu shouldn't be reprimanded. But seeing as Dragon did this back before Slayers and he left slayers due to a working conflict there is no reason for Katu to say anything.
I also would like to point out, that stream cheating isn't against the rules of the game (or tournament for that matter) as it is the risk of streaming a real-time strategy game. Not to say that Dragon would, just saying there is no reason for a caster to bring it up.
On February 28 2012 20:35 RyanDeSanto wrote: Hi everyone,
I'm Ryan, one of the founders of Playhem. I'm sorry if the following is sloppy and disorganized -- It's after 3am and was just woken up to my phone pinging with all of the complaint emails we've received due to this incident. However, I think its imperative that I address this immediately.
First and foremost, I must express my sincerest apologies to Dragon, his fans, and our stream viewers that were subject to the distaste apparent in our broadcast tonight. There are no excuses for such behavior, intentions included. However, being a strong believer in the adage, "actions speak louder than words," I'd like to extend an offer to Dragon, and indirectly to his fans, in an attempt to make amends. If his schedule permits, it would be our pleasure to sponsor Dragon at IPL 4 in Vegas -- player pass, hotel, and flight included. We would love for him to represent Playhem at the event, but understand if his preference is otherwise. The offer stands regardless. I can't read or write Korean, so if someone who does would be kind enough to help me contact and communicate with him, please email me at rdesanto@playhem.com.
Over the past year we have found our home in the Starcraft 2 community, for which we are proud and grateful. Without the daily support our players and fans, we would cease to exist. I will admit, this situation was handled improperly, and my apology probably too late. And so, I understand if you ignore my appeal, but please do not let the actions of an individual be representative of Playhem as a whole. All-in-all there are nearly 30 of us who wake up every morning and work into the hours of night with the singular goal of making Playhem something special. If everyone can take a step back from what transpired tonight, I think our true intentions are clear. We are committed to providing quality entertainment to the e-sports community, players of all skills and spectators alike. We <3 e-sports and all those involved, wanting nothing more than to continue showing our support in any way we can.
That said, I do not know what the fair punishment is, yet. I will ask, if a reformed player previously fallen from grace deserves redemption, should a caster not as well? I suppose Katu holds the answer to this question, but ultimately you, the community, will be the judge.
Unfortunately, my role in Playhem distances me from our day to day operations and an active involvement in the e-sports community. Between leading a team of 20 developers, heading up business development, fundraising, and everything else that comes with running a start-up, I'm left with little time to engage in a passion that was the catalyst for founding this company. What's even more unfortunate, is that an event of this nature is what brings me back. I'm truly sorry that any of this happened.
holy. you sir are a master of community relations. That's really awesome what you're putting out there !
Lol oh Katu, You have no idea what you're talking about and shouldn't open your mouth. Get your facts straight and realise what you're representing as a caster for Playhem and the players you are casting. You made dragon look bad for no reason like a total moron, You made Playhem look bad for have you as a caster, And you made yourself look bad for being an immature rager who blamed Dragon for things he never even did. Are you going to say that Sleep was also a cheater because he left Slayers? You sound stupid, I was never a fan of you to begin with and don't plan to be one now.
I rather liked Katu's casting. I don't think you should try to appeal to what to think is the hivemind in this situation; I'd give Katu a break, but I wouldn't totally fire him. As Chill said, Katu was 100% a volunteer, and a really good caster overall in my opinion, and if every time someone like him fucks up we take out pitchforks even though the guy probably doesn't earn a cent doing this, we're gonna quickly run out of community casters.
While i don't agree with all Katu has said, this thing got completely blown out of proportion by the Starcraft "community" which i think is a vocal minority that is hellbent on getting their way without adding anything of value.
I'm annoyed that you already had to cave in to the enormous amount of spam over a few silly remarks and let Katu go. It might seem that this is the right course of action to do damage control. I wonder though how many there are like me: Watching and enjoying Playhem (and other starcraft events) quietly, without joining in on all the trolling and drama.
Please reconsider letting Katu go. Give him a timeout or something, but don't let a bunch of vocal dramaholics take down a good (and probably hardworking) caster who actually works on adding something of value to e-sports.
- A quiet majority (i hope).
I came here to say exactly this. I think a suspension or timeout is appropriate, but it seems a little harsh to completely ban a caster who has worked hard and dedicated himself. I will agree that Katu as made comments that put me off even prior to this, but I think that everyone deserves a second chance at some point. Despite my past misgivings, I cannot blame him for not changing prior to this incident because no one had told him that his behavior wasn't proper. I hope that Katu can pull himself up by the bootstraps and walk away from this a better caster and a better person and, most of all, I hope he gets a second chance.
On February 29 2012 04:43 Dr_Jones wrote: Holy shit, people have too much time on their hands. This is such a non-issue, just put down your pitchforks and get on with your lives. Applaud Playhem for they way they have responded, back off Katu about what he did, and enjoy the next tournament they put on!
People in the Starcraft community get wayyyy too agitated over what really are insignificant things. These pitchfork-wielders need to take a break from the internet for a while and focus on something real of more importance.
Although its ironic because all this has done is make him even more popular. Earlier he had more viewers than White ra, incontrol, and destiny combined.
Do you think people actually view Dragon in a negative light because of what the caster said? Seriously? LOL.
that is not up to you to decide. new comers take information off the casters, assuming that they do check whether dragon has stream cheat before, they would believe that is the reason why he is off Code A and why he is off SlayerS. Even if they know dragon cheated before, not all of them followed GSL, they wouldn't know about code A issues
He did play in Code A after he got exposed for the stream cheating, SlayerS picked him up AFTER he was discovered he stream cheats and Dragon left due to his work committement (be it true or not) but he isn't even known for stream cheating anymore
Plus, he was accusing Dragon for stream cheating at this moment. I think it is a serious issue that you shouldn't just look past and brush off.
I don't want to be extremely harsh on the caster because I didn't even know who he is and I am not a particular big fan of dragon because he plays terran but after watching the VOD, I feel that letting him off for any punishment would be a management failure.
EPT
