[22/11/2015 21:55:13] Dave / Xander: Yeah I knew you were still in but you seem increasingly on the outside of GSF. Fuck knows, none of my business really.
[22/11/2015 21:56:19] Endie H: Nah it's cool
[22/11/2015 21:56:26] Endie H: I left for a few reasons
[22/11/2015 21:57:03] Endie H: The biggest one, which grew and grew over time, was the increasing extent to which all in-game decisions were made on the basis of what was good for the new version of TMC
[22/11/2015 21:57:39] Dave / Xander: it's funny, Tubrug sent us a submission today which is running on CZ tomorrow going into depth on this subject
[22/11/2015 21:57:48] Endie H: the one which leaves the website behind and focusses on being paid to promote other games, and to try and make money from shitty kickstarted books
[22/11/2015 21:57:49] Dave / Xander: about CFC essentially being Mittens-bank now
[22/11/2015 21:58:11] Dave / Xander: which I debated not running because ugh, it has the potential to come across as bitter or something
[22/11/2015 21:58:19] Dave / Xander: we're running it with an op-ed opening para from Niden
[22/11/2015 21:58:38] Dave / Xander: that SotG was amazing
[22/11/2015 21:58:46] Dave / Xander: I swear Alex has went full-retard
[22/11/2015 21:59:11] Endie H: The CFC, now Imperium for marketing reasons, is absolutely a profit-centre/cash cow for TMC, which is Mittens, Sion, Aryth, Laz etc
[22/11/2015 21:59:30] Dave / Xander: it certainly appears that way from the outside
[22/11/2015 21:59:39] Endie H: I cannot, by the way, see how the fuck they think there is sufficient cash for them all to live off once the VC runs out but vOv
[22/11/2015 22:00:04] Endie H: I also left because of the culture that is taking over because of the dominance of Sion
[22/11/2015 22:00:19] Dave / Xander: and on the one hand we should write about it on CZ but on the other hand it just comes across as so much bitter and I really can't be arsed with the hassle again after that fucking nonsense during CSMX campaign and Sion
[22/11/2015 22:00:27] Dave / Xander: that and the fact I give no fucks about Eve atm
[22/11/2015 22:00:33] Dave / Xander: I despise Sion
[22/11/2015 22:00:39] Dave / Xander: but that's hardly news to anyone
[22/11/2015 22:00:43] Dave / Xander: shrugs
[22/11/2015 22:00:43] Endie H: They fucked over Blawrf badly - like horribly - and instituted this hilarious regime where every director has to fill in monthly reports on the first of the month or get fired
[22/11/2015 22:01:02] Endie H: Sion has basically been conducting a war against you for over a year
[22/11/2015 22:01:10] Dave / Xander: You don't say
[22/11/2015 22:01:19] Endie H: Thus the ban on CZ work for imperium people
[22/11/2015 22:01:22] Dave / Xander: I mean, I know this is the oldest line in the book but Goons are so far from what Goons 'are'
[22/11/2015 22:01:24] Dave / Xander: oh I know
[22/11/2015 22:01:41] Dave / Xander: Sion has went full in on me since I left Gents for PL
[22/11/2015 22:01:47] Endie H: and once I called him out on that (with Solo drakban's help) mittens quashed it, but obv he has been telling people not to work with you as recently as this week
[22/11/2015 22:02:06] Dave / Xander: well I mean, I am so backseat on CZ now it isn't true
[22/11/2015 22:02:09] Endie H: No "ban" is very different from no "pressure"
[22/11/2015 22:02:16] Dave / Xander: and this was Jeff's show
[22/11/2015 22:02:19] Dave / Xander: oh I know
[22/11/2015 22:02:38] Dave / Xander: I had no doubt that any official removal of any rules didn't practically mean fuck all
[22/11/2015 22:02:43] Endie H: https://twitter.com/EndiePosts/status/668545975645024257
[22/11/2015 22:02:57] Endie H: that tweet is a step on the road to me getting shot at dawn so I hope you enjoyed it
[22/11/2015 22:02:58] Dave / Xander: but yeah, Sion is fud
[22/11/2015 22:03:04] Dave / Xander: well
[22/11/2015 22:03:06] Dave / Xander: you know
[22/11/2015 22:03:20] Dave / Xander: when that happens, I'm sure you'll want to write something about it
[22/11/2015 22:03:23] Dave / Xander: and I know a guy
[22/11/2015 22:03:25] Dave / Xander: ahem
[22/11/2015 22:03:28] Endie H: Sion is very clever and when people joke about eve people having no morals it is utterly true about him
[22/11/2015 22:03:41] Dave / Xander: Sion is super intelligent, no doubt
[22/11/2015 22:03:49] Endie H: And don't under-estimate the commitment and lengths that he will go to
[22/11/2015 22:04:00] Dave / Xander: he's also utterly incapable of segregating Eve and RL
[22/11/2015 22:04:01] Endie H: No he isn't super-clever, although he is smart enough
[22/11/2015 22:04:12] Endie H: But he is totally committed
[22/11/2015 22:04:39] Endie H: He is Martin Bormann: he rose through total loyalty to Mittens and by controlling access to him
[22/11/2015 22:04:48] Dave / Xander: meh, he has no reason to bother me any more which is fine and some Imp FC not being allowed on Jeff's show is just something to laugh at frankly
[22/11/2015 22:04:58] Endie H: I mean, he moved from fucking Australia back to America, to fucking Madison
[22/11/2015 22:05:06] Endie H: You think that was a cute little co-inkydink?
[22/11/2015 22:05:20] Endie H: Yeah and Asher not being allowed to host his show with you
[22/11/2015 22:05:35] Dave / Xander: Asher?
[22/11/2015 22:05:53] Endie H: Yeah, the podcasting GSF FC
[22/11/2015 22:06:06] Endie H: He was asked by CZ to host his show with them
[22/11/2015 22:06:24] Endie H: And I gather it was firmly suggested that this would be treasonous
[22/11/2015 22:06:26] Dave / Xander: ah was he? must have been Niden he spoke to
[22/11/2015 22:06:43] Dave / Xander: sounds like something we would have said yes to certainly
[22/11/2015 22:06:52] Endie H: I see that as stupid, for instance: the utterly inflexible approach when the Imperium has a dwindling supply of FCs
[22/11/2015 22:06:57] Dave / Xander: meh
[22/11/2015 22:07:01] Dave / Xander: protecting the brand
[22/11/2015 22:07:03] Dave / Xander: makes sense
[22/11/2015 22:07:07] Endie H: Protecting the views
[22/11/2015 22:07:21] Dave / Xander: don't lose a content creator to 'the enemy'
[22/11/2015 22:07:25] Endie H: If your article tomorrow doesn't say this, then you should suggest changing it:
[22/11/2015 22:07:58] Endie H: the imperium's membership are the recipients of broadcasts, just like a cable tv audience in a town with a monopoly
[22/11/2015 22:08:05] Endie H: the point of the imperium is to grow that audience
[22/11/2015 22:09:13] Endie H: the only way that the TMC Media business can grow and become more valuable is to increase the number of recipients of each broadcast, so that they can say to the producers of H1Z1 or War Thunder: "pay us x and we will get you eyeballs on your adverts in broadcasts to a community of y thousand"
[22/11/2015 22:09:31] Endie H: So they cannot take any real risks that might lead to the loss of significant numbers of eyeballs
[22/11/2015 22:09:45] Dave / Xander: I have to say from a purely spiteful position, what has happened with this kickstarter is fucking hysterical
[22/11/2015 22:09:52] Endie H: they don't kick underperforming corps for loooong periods, and when they do all line members are invited to join
[22/11/2015 22:10:20] Endie H: allies are not kicked, but folded into existing allies of new structures like the bastion
[22/11/2015 22:10:32] Endie H: karmafleet is a successful play for reddit-sourced ad views
[22/11/2015 22:10:54] Dave / Xander: I hadn't even considered that
[22/11/2015 22:11:07] Endie H: yeah, I am sure in any case that I would have been written-out, but I cannot help chuckling at how they fucked it up
[22/11/2015 22:11:21] Dave / Xander: man, when you are kicked from CFC, I can't wait to see your expose
[22/11/2015 22:11:28] Endie H: This should cheer you up:
[22/11/2015 22:11:31] Dave / Xander: probably won't be kicked for that reason actually
[22/11/2015 22:11:38] Endie H: (exactly)
[22/11/2015 22:11:44] Endie H: (holy shit the logs)
[22/11/2015 22:12:08] Endie H: When it was all going well on day one and they thought success was theirs, Mittens said (on the meta show, I think) that this kickstarter was sion's project
[22/11/2015 22:12:12] Endie H: and that he had spent the last year on it
[22/11/2015 22:12:18] Endie H: take a second
[22/11/2015 22:12:19] Endie H: enjoy that feeling
[22/11/2015 22:12:59] Endie H: That's the long, smooth taste of Schadenfreude.
[22/11/2015 22:13:28] Dave / Xander: meh, I can't view Sion through a clear lens
[22/11/2015 22:13:38] Dave / Xander: any opinion I have on him is frankly coloured and irrational
[22/11/2015 22:13:48] Dave / Xander: he's a fucking bellend
[22/11/2015 22:14:15] Endie H: Well he is a bellend whose major project for a year very publicly crashed and burned
[22/11/2015 22:14:33] Dave / Xander: yeah but we know how this plays out
[22/11/2015 22:14:39] Dave / Xander: Alex has already started it
[22/11/2015 22:14:49] Dave / Xander: when this dies, it's going to be everyone else's fault
[22/11/2015 22:15:06] Dave / Xander: everyone who said anything remotely negative about it was actually hurting Eve
[22/11/2015 22:15:06] Endie H: I wouldn't put my money in it
[22/11/2015 22:15:15] Dave / Xander: the narrative is already being spun
[22/11/2015 22:15:21] Dave / Xander: that SotG was amazing
[22/11/2015 22:16:06] Endie H: I mean they are going to struggle to break 40k on a kickstarter with one of their friends giving them a grand by himself
[22/11/2015 22:16:56] Dave / Xander: yeah it's fucked. Unless someone literally sticks in $100k to ensure it passes, it's dead. I don't know if Alex could / would do it
[22/11/2015 22:17:00] Dave / Xander: Or CCP? Surely not.
[22/11/2015 22:17:16] Endie H: That is a very expensive way to get capital if you have 100k already
[22/11/2015 22:17:24] Endie H: No, they have already written it off
[22/11/2015 22:17:27] Endie H: and they blame reddit
[22/11/2015 22:17:32] Endie H: So fucking stupid
[22/11/2015 22:17:43] Dave / Xander: man, some of those initial rewards
[22/11/2015 22:17:44] Dave / Xander: amazing
[22/11/2015 22:18:05] Endie H: The thing I hope nobody tells them - the thing I would have opened my dumb mouth and told them if still in there - is that they need to swallow their fucking pride and gall and seduce r/eve
[22/11/2015 22:18:28] Endie H: yeah I would have told them to stab whoever suggested the virtual pizza party
[22/11/2015 22:18:31] Endie H: holy shit awkward
[22/11/2015 22:19:03] Endie H: There is one major eve community - r/eve - which large numbers of players frequent and which shapes opinion
[22/11/2015 22:19:15] Endie H: and they think that conducting some childish war is good business?
[22/11/2015 22:19:47] Dave / Xander: ach, if they did that, that would be the last step in admitting Goons are in any way actually 'Goons'
[22/11/2015 22:20:19] Endie H: Goons are a tiny part of their market segment.
[22/11/2015 22:20:50] Endie H: Or more correctly, "goons" are a branding tool that they are working to extend as widely as possible, while internally mocking SA
[22/11/2015 22:21:07] Dave / Xander: aye
[22/11/2015 22:21:24] Dave / Xander: so can I ask, you still have a good relationship with Alex?
[22/11/2015 22:21:31] Endie H: I sincerely doubt it
[22/11/2015 22:21:32] Dave / Xander: you guys used to be pretty tight no?
[22/11/2015 22:21:50] Endie H: The day I left that was it: you don't leave and get to stay part of that circle
[22/11/2015 22:22:13] Endie H: Blawrf was the same: lots of the same stuff I got about "let's catch up later" but not a word since
[22/11/2015 22:22:19] Dave / Xander: Ah ok. I presumed with the history you guys had, there may have been a friendship there.
[22/11/2015 22:22:25] Endie H: and he was allowed to sit in illum until this week, too
[22/11/2015 22:22:35] Endie H: I thought that, too.  But no.
[22/11/2015 22:23:20] Endie H: I am told, by people from Madison who got used for lifts and house-moving and stuff, that this is very, very normal
[22/11/2015 22:23:30] Dave / Xander: well that sucks
[22/11/2015 22:23:43] Dave / Xander: I mean, surely you and he have a longer more storied history than most
[22/11/2015 22:23:49] Endie H: Not really.  The air from out here is a lot sweeter-smelling
[22/11/2015 22:23:56] Dave / Xander: Sion and LazTel appear to be flavour of the month from the outside looking in
[22/11/2015 22:23:59] Endie H: Yeah, it was me, him and VR
[22/11/2015 22:24:12] Endie H: Sion and LazTel help make him money
[22/11/2015 22:25:16] Dave / Xander: I can't wait to see how they publicly play this kickstarter failing
[22/11/2015 22:26:24] Dave / Xander: ah well, you publicly going head to head with Sion won't do you any favours
[22/11/2015 22:26:27] Endie H: grr reddit
[22/11/2015 22:27:05] Endie H: I went head to head with sion for years and won, but the effort and the poison meant that when the thing I was fighting for was no longer worth it, it was time to go
[22/11/2015 22:27:22] Endie H: I didn't want to help run the imperium in order to make money for a small group of people
[22/11/2015 22:27:30] Dave / Xander: oh I didn't realise you and Sion had previous beef
[22/11/2015 22:27:46] Endie H: and there have been numerous departures by senior people in recent months, many for the same reason
[22/11/2015 22:28:07] Endie H: I always distrusted Sion and detested his plans for the bloc
[22/11/2015 22:28:33] Endie H: No risk, lots of bureaucracy
[22/11/2015 22:28:46] Endie H: and for the last year and a bit, dollah dollah
[22/11/2015 22:29:23] Dave / Xander: it's weird looking how CFC and TMC have evolved over the past year or so
[22/11/2015 22:29:41] Endie H: Did you see the traffic figures for TMC that gevlon published?
[22/11/2015 22:29:45] Endie H: from alexia?
[22/11/2015 22:29:54] Dave / Xander: we follow Alexia super close :)
[22/11/2015 22:30:09] Dave / Xander: I hadn't seen Gevlon's blog though
[22/11/2015 22:30:13] Endie H: are you suffering the same decline due to dedgame?
[22/11/2015 22:30:18] Dave / Xander: goes and looks now
[22/11/2015 22:30:36] Dave / Xander: yeah, EN24/TMC/CZ all trend much the same tbh
[22/11/2015 22:30:44] Endie H: http://greedygoblin.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/tmc-going-down.html
[22/11/2015 22:30:46] Dave / Xander: we have been (very very) slowly catching up
[22/11/2015 22:31:07] Dave / Xander: we were doing very well in Spring but have dropped away over Summer
[22/11/2015 22:31:31] Endie H: La joue ist gefickt
[22/11/2015 22:31:55] Endie H: Until something exciting happens figures and subs and tmc advertising audiences will struggle to avoid decline
[22/11/2015 22:32:26] Endie H: Thus the flailing around to come up with risk-free content: providence and cloud ring and now the tribute subject thing
[22/11/2015 22:32:53] Dave / Xander: Tubrug covers the newly announced deployment in his post tomorrow
[22/11/2015 22:32:56] Dave / Xander: in those terms
[22/11/2015 22:32:59] Dave / Xander: fuck it, two seconds
[22/11/2015 22:33:22] Dave / Xander: Can you see this?
[22/11/2015 22:33:23] Dave / Xander: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jHg1FjqgGxJDgAX3JT_r2J41aFWbSLGhpaHTJ1dqbgc/edit?usp=sharing_eid&ts=56520d09