[edit 17.08.2023 – drugi wątek śmierdzącej szatni wydaje się potwierdzać, dopisane niżej]
“how the mighty have fallen”
Bałem się że w końcu zacznie się proces spadania z rowerka Linusa i LTT, ale nie sądziłem że w tak żałosny sposób.
są przynajmniej dwa wątki:
1. komputerowy i wszystko co związane z testami i podejściem do sprzętu
tutaj Steve z Gamers Nexus zrobił duże wideo, link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGW3TPytTjc zamieszczę podsumowanie znalezione na r/pcmasterrace:
Steve made a 45 minute video about how Linus Media Group needs to improve the accuracy of their reviews and questioned their integrity over several public decisions that appear to have been made with their own (LMG) interest in mind rather than any consideration for viewers or small creators hurt as a result. Some bullet points of specific claims:
- Despite an employee stating LTT Labs runs new tests for every review it clearly isn’t true.
- There’s an overarching theme that LMG no longer cares about accuracy because what matters most to the company is putting out as many videos as possible as quickly as possible. This is accompanied by clips of numerous LMG employees stating as much.
- Steve shows about a dozen instances where reviews were obviously incorrect to anyone willing to pass a second glance at it. Some of these had comments or corrections added after the fact, but many didn’t.
- Steve questions how entrenched with large companies LMG is and if they’re truly able to give honest reviews of their sponsors’ products. Specifically pointing out Noctua.
- Billet Labs sent LMG a novel GPU cooler along with a compatible GPU to make a video review about. They knowingly used the wrong GPU which heavily harmed the results of their tests. (The GPU used left about a 1mm gap between itself and the cooler) The review blasted the cooler. “Nobody should buy this”. Despite an employee asking if they could spend more time doing the review correctly it was published anyways. When asked about this on the WAN show Linus stated it would have cost the company upto $500 in employees’ time to rerun the test and that he would have given the same conclusion regardless of the results. After all of this LMG then accidentally sold the prototype at auction despite multiple communications and responses with Billet Labs that it was their most complete prototype and it needed to be returned.
- In a follow-up response to Steve’s video Linus compounded this fuck up by claiming Steve should have asked him for comment before releasing the video because he could have been informed of the added context that LMG had already agreed to reimburse Billet Labs for the cost of the prototype. This however, was misleading to the point that most would consider it a flat lie. LMG didn’t offer reimbursement to Billet Labs until 2 hours after the Gamer’s Nexus video was released, but technically before Linus’ response.
- Finally the video shows a review of a Pwnage mouse where LMG complained about how awful its ability to slide around was. In reality they had forgotten to remove the protective tape from the bottom of the mouse. When this was pointed out they claimed that wasn’t true. When it became more obvious that it was true, they added a comment below the video that the tape was indeed there, but really it was Pwnage’s fault for not making it more obvious.
2. drugi wątek to śmierdząca niemytymi stulejami chłopięca szatnia, czyli jak traktowali dziewczynę, Madison Reeve, Social Media Managera. Opowieść w threadreader, ale jako że to jest oparte na platformie muska i może w każdej chwili zniknąć, przekleję.
To stop the speculation and DM’s I am receiving.
I chose to quit my role at LTT because it, and the working environment I was facing, were ruining my mental health.
The number of daily items the Social media role at the time was expected to fill was incredibly high.
I was expected to post 3 tweets, 2 Instagram posts, and 2 TikToks minimum per day.
I was also expected to plan, film, edit, and post 2 Floatplane exclusives per week.
This included wrangling people to be in them when they were also all struggling to get their work done.
I was also expected to manage, plan, come up with, execute, get approval for, and schedule out all the sponsored content on socials (not including YouTube)
All while being told not to complain because my job was “the fun job”.
I cannot speak on what it’s like now, but they have an entire team working on (seemingly) what I was expected to accomplish alone.
I misspoke originally when I stated I had signed an NDA. (I thought the employee handbook acted as one, I am not a lawyer)
I never publicly made any statements regarding my time there because I feared even more backlash from a community that was already attacking, defaming, and sending me death threats.
I also feared for my future in this career given that LTT is large and has industry connections.
My time at this company brought my mental health to an all time low.
You could talk to anyone who was around me during my employment and they would confirm it.
I would not have recommended anyone I knew to work there, especially with my experiences as a woman in the office.
I was consistently belittled by certain members of upper management.
My work was called “dogshit” I was called “incompetent”.
When I would reach out to managers and try to get help with these situations, I would be told to “put on my big girl pants” and be “more assertive”.
It doesn’t matter if you think I am, or am not stupid. This behavior is not appropriate.
After enough complaints from me, I was pulled into a meeting.
In that meeting the writers room was pointed to and I was asked
“do you think any of these people would have a hard time getting a job?”
I said no (keep in mind this was about a month into working there)
I was then pointed to and asked “What about you?”
I was scared, I remember asking “are you going to fire me?”
I was laughed at and told to stop being so pessimistic, as if my job and ability hadn’t just been vaguely threatened.
I was then asked to agree to a verbal “no drama contract” The verbal part is important!
In this moment I realized I was no longer considered part of the team.
I was now a threat because I was putting up a fuss when I believed I was being treated unfairly and inappropriately.
This verbal agreement wasn’t right, it was a behind the scenes warning with no record.
A warning that came very shortly after I had come forward stating I had been inappropriately grabbed multiple times in the office, amongst other issues.
I was barred from being in videos. So when you ask what happened? Why wasn’t she in more content?
This is why.
There is this perplexing fear that people will leave LTT and start their own thing if given a platform.
So if that platform could threaten negative things coming out about your company or you, you’d probably want to squash it too.
In my experience there is a belief that everything you accomplish, no matter how much it is created by your own effort, is ACTUALLY due to Linus giving you a platform.
This was what I was told when I moved from Arizona to Vancouver to take this job.
After it was publicly announced by Linus that he was hiring me (without my knowledge or consent to that situation) and also before I was even offered the job, or shown the salary.
I agreed and signed the employment contract.
I had asked and been told during my interviews that I would be allowed to monetize my YouTube channel and be allowed to join Floatplane in exchange for shutting down my Patreon.
ONCE I moved I was presented with an entirely new contract/handbook that I was not told existed.
It detailed that I was given incorrect information and would actually have to make changes to my plans if I wanted to continue being employed at LTT.
This was AFTER I had moved entire countries and given up my visa status, I couldn’t just go back.
Some corrections were made as apologies for the miscommunication but I was still upset.
I later went to Linus about this and stated that the effort to remediate the situation wasn’t sitting right with me.
He told me perhaps I should change my priorities.
He was in this instance referring to the fact my brother had suddenly passed away not even a week before I moved for this job, and that perhaps I should just ignore that I had been mislead because that was more important.
I cannot tell you how upset I felt in this moment.
The opportunities LTT presented to me were nothing in comparison the day to day issues I faced.
It did not matter if I spoke to someone with evidence of an abuse of power, or inappropriate workplace behavior, it was considered tattle taling.
I was actually called a tattle tale
I was told I was bossy, when I was trying to be assertive. (like I was asked to do)
I was told I was arguing, when I was trying to discuss my point of view.
I was told to “calm my tits”, “stop being such a bitch”, and other comments to similar effects.
There were numerous instances of misinformation being given to me purposefully to negatively impact my work.
I only know this because co-workers would tell me they overheard the actual information I should have been given.
It felt like a horrible teenage drama movie.
Work from Home was a whole issue.
If you took 3 minutes to answer a personal email, you could get in trouble. (happened to me)
There is a system of micro-managing and a level of distrust because the amount of content they have to push out daily is so insane, no one gets a break.
I remember getting told off for taking my sick days, as in the days you’re entitled to.
This no days off, “grindset” culminated in the real moment I realized I had to leave.
I purposefully cut my leg open so badly I would have to go to the ER to get it stapled back together.
It was genuinely the only way in my mind to take a day off without being harassed for a reason why.
I had spoken to managers about how I was struggling, and how the workload was too much for one person.
But I was belittled and told “you just have bad time management skills”
There are so many instances that led up to that moment.
Some of them I have replayed over and over asking myself what did I do wrong, how could I have changed the situation.
But I don’t think I could have.
I was not treated fairly and in the moment I couldn’t even see that because I was told I was the problem by people I had looked up to for years.
I had co-workers come to me saying “I didn’t like how you were treated, glad you got out.” And only then did I realize it wasn’t me.
I haven’t shared any of this besides with my closest friends and family because I couldn’t, at the time, take any more hits to mental health.
I couldn’t deal with how small and worthless the job had made me feel all to push out some mediocre shit posts.
I am still scared shitless of what the response will be, since I am a woman, and have already been called dramatic.
I’m not stating what happened to me because I am seeking clout, I’m stating it because it has been eating away at me for 2 years.
There ARE GENUINELY amazing, compassionate, and incredibly intelligent people who work at this company and are driven to just share the cool tech they love.
It sucks that ego and a bottom line are slowly destroying some of them, and hurting the entire reputation of the company.
I didn’t ever want to say anything for fear of hurting those people and their employment, but at this point I am hurting myself keeping this all in while also being CONSTANTLY bombarded with questions about LTT and jokes made at my expense
I have been patient and tried to ignore these comments.
But some of you don’t understand the mental anguish and nights of crying, feeling like I did something wrong and ruined my life, that I have had to go through.
This was my dream job.
I was at my dream job, and they spoke to me like I was nothing. I can’t express to you how worthless I felt.
They seem to hire young people who don’t know any better for some roles, and then get away with this over and over.
This wasn’t just my dream job, it IS a “dream job”
There are so many more stories of horrible things and shows of ego that I witnessed while working there.
But I just needed to get out at least some of what I experienced because it has been two years and every day I see people speculate is another day I’m forced to feel small.
Also meant to add, yes, that Glass door review was me. It was, at the time, the only way I felt I could safely express anything that had happened.
Since Any time I had previously tried, I would be crucified by fans sticking up for who they loved
The things said by Linus about talking to management, and HR, and promises about how things are handled internally, were a gross misrepresentation of what actually goes on behind those doors.
I remember he posted this in response to people speculating something wrong had happened to me.
And if you read it, it pretty much says “hehe no one has come out against us, therefore we have done no wrong”
When I read this I was fuming with upset, because what a dick thing to post when you were at least partially aware of the treatment your employee was getting from you higher ups.
But, I don’t know what I expected from someone who would mock others for not knowing who they were.
I was asked about my sexual history, my boyfriends sexual history, “how I liked to fuck”.
I was told that certain issues were “sexual tension” and I should just “take the co-worker out on a coffee date to ease it out”
I was asked to twerk for a co-worker at one point.
I was told I was chunky, fat, ugly, stupid.
I was called “retarded” I was called a “faggot”
And at any point I would bring up these comments, I would get told, oh we will have a chat with them.
Nothing ever came of it.
The day I handed in my notice was when someone who constantly over stepped me, mislead what I was working on and who I was said to me:
“I think the reason you try to be funny, is because you lack any other skills.” smiled then walked away.
I quit 15 minutes later.
It hurts when people compare where I am now to where I was then because yeah I had a bigger audience, yeah I made more money on Twitch.
But I didn’t know if I wanted to even exist if the person I had looked up to could treat me and other people I respected like pawns.
It sucks because that was what I had worked for, FOR YEARS, I had tried to get noticed by this big company and this cool guy I respected.
Because of that I was willing to get shit on for that job, yelled at, and degraded.
I was also the one tasked with managing the Only Fans account.
Something I said I didn’t want to do.
I had to read comments from people talking about how they wanted to fuck me and my co workers.
I saw peoples dicks, and vagina’s.
I said no, and was told only a little longer.
If you want to say that I am just hopping on a bandwagon, that’s fine.
It doesn’t take away the very real experiences I had, or that sharing these without current events would have gotten me persecuted for attacking a company, most of you until a few days ago, thought was perfect
They also forced me to have them as my representation if I wanted to take any sponsors for my Twitch or YouTube channels.
Originally I had been told, just make sure you okay things by us for non-compete issues.
Then that changed when I moved to take the job.
To be clear this meant I couldn’t seek any companies to represent me to brands for sponsorships
Something important for making a living on twitch or YouTube
But LTT also wasn’t doing this for me. They were just going to take any traffic I gained myself, make a deal and take a cut
I eventually got all the money back that they would have taken when I called out that their calculations for the cut they should have been taking were being made BEFORE any sort of supplies were re-imbursed
Even though in the contracts there was a set aside amount for supplies.
I am still angry that for a year I was being forced to sit under them while they weren’t doing anything a company would do to really represent you
And then somehow a big corporation gets the math wrong on how they should be paying you?
IE a company is paying you $600, AND $100 they are giving you specifically to spend on their platform for the content.
The cut LTT was trying to take was of the total $700 not the $600 that was the ACTUAL payment. I had to talk to multiple people before this was rectified.
Also apparently some managers didn’t like me because I “hadn’t gotten drunk with them before”
Which was said in that haha just jokin (but actually I’m serious) tone
After I came forward about being assaulted, Someone accused Linus of inappropriate conduct on twitter.
He came over to my corner and started BERATING HER. Calling her insane, mentally ill, an attention seeker, and just digging into this poor woman who had felt wronged by him.
Also remember the corner I was in, people would sneak up on and try to scare me.
After the “incident” I was nervous about this and requested a mirror so I could see behind me.
I watched co-workers get what I had asked for weeks before they did.
It took 2 months to get mine.
Similar things would happen whenever I requested ANYTHING. I needed more RAM installed in my PC for months because I was expected to edit RED footage.
It took 5 months and a writer being kind enough to do it for me when the numerous requests I sent in were ignored or put off
I would go to management for help and get told I could handle it myself.
Eventually I was pulled into a meeting for insubordination because I had gone around the system for requesting RAM after I was ignored for months and dealing with my PC crashing and losing work daily.
There was an incident where I requested a $15 notebook.
Keep in mind I had made maybe $25 of purchase requests in my ENTIRE time working at this company.
I requested this notebook to help with my “poor time management skills”
denied “you don’t need it, you have lined paper”
I was upset and responded back that this was different. “No” then BAM ANOTHER MEETING Madison, why were you rude and non communicative with this manager.
I didn’t mean to be I was told no, but then I got in trouble because they said they didn’t know I was still upset.
Cut to me being at my desk and I get a message saying “I did know you were still upset because you never emailed me back.”
They had lied in front of the big boss, to make me look bad, and worst of all I knew if I brought this up I would be the one getting reprimanded for tattling
There were also numerous times I would be asked why I couldn’t just check up on socials or do little jobs during the weekend because it’s social media so “is it really working?”
Imagine telling someone in 2021 social media “isn’t a real job”
I’m sure there will be more things I remember and wish I had mentioned in this thread in the coming hours, but for now.
Please don’t attack individuals who don’t actually have power at this company, most of them are blameless or powerless to actually change anything.
Also “why didn’t you take legal actions”
I had just quit my job, was scared shitless of this company, felt like I was worthless and PERSONALLY I don’t have millions of dollars to throw at legal fees.
When I left I was told that they would announce I parted ways from the company on WAN show.
I said NO unless you make sure you clearly state that I quit.
They then never mentioned it on WAN show.
• • •
[edit 17.08.2023]
Colin, także były pracownik LTT na tzw twitterze potwierdza co Madison napisała o toksyczności w LMG:
(screen jakby zniknęło, w końcu to tylko zniszcznony przez muska wrak twittera)
