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Amateurs as 'opinion writers' in E-sports media: ESEA's Westerman
2012-09-01 02:18
Today, as part of my usual course of catching up on E-sports news, I came across this in a forum thread - news.esea.net/index.php?s=news&d=comments&id=11622 and read it on ESEA. After reading it, I just had one thought in mind.
You can't get more incompetent than this.
I wonder how Jack "Westerman" Westerman managed to work for Gotfrag for two years before moving to ESEA and putting out drivel like this one. He likes to call himself an 'opinion' writer. If only he understood the difference between a carefully formed opinion and a rant.
My dear, what's the problem?
Sensational headlines work but to say CS:Promod is dead without having any insight into the workings of the development team is utter failure on Westerman's part. It's also disinformation. He makes no effort to find out why things were slower earlier and if things are any different now. Has he met the dev team and asked them these questions? Is he privy to their further plans and release roadmaps? He just passes judgement without background research. That shows the lack of knowledge of basic journalism. He doesn't find it relevant to even mention that CSP team plans to work differently this time with a faster update cycle than before (which they have repeatedly stressed through public statements). The article is riddled with contradictions which make me question his suitability as a writer for a large organization like ESEA.
Ah! The big claims!
He makes many claims in the first paragraph itself:
"At the end of 2005, Counter-Strike was dying"
"Top players were retiring at a phenomenal rate..."
"More and more sponsors were walking away each day – taking their wallets with them – and professional CS teams were folding faster than they could be replaced."
Even before we start arguing about the truth in his statements, let's understand that this is clearly Westerman's opinion. Then, like a school boy who has forgotten his way home but pretends otherwise, he conveniently dumps his opinion on CSP team to make them the scapegoat.
"In reality, their “vision” turned out to be an exaggeration. Counter-Strike wasn’t really dying – in fact, it was going from strength to strength".
Yes, how convenient. 'Their' vision. You obviously thought that CS was growing. We can see that.
Also, he gives his opinion about Source in the beginning. That's him talking about the game.
"Source was a disaster for the community – a game so riddled with bugs, so ruined by broken physics, and with maps so full of useless garbage that it was completely and utterly unplayable."
Then again he puts the burden of his opinion on CSP team's back.
"The picture that the mod’s founders had painted back in 2005 was delusional, fuelled by pure egotism and an irrational hatred of Source. In actual fact, Counter-Strike wasn’t dying, Source wasn’t terrible,..."
(I wonder from where he got the egotism part. Westerman, can you validate that? Also, he proves that his earlier opinion about Source was just "irrational hatred" and that it isn't really "terrible" when earlier he thought it was a "disaster". Oh, I see.)
More claims!
Westerman just doesn't know when to stop. So here are a few more samples.
"...each and every CSP beta release has been a monumental disappointment, providing some of the most laughably flawed gameplay experiences in the entire gaming industry."
(I will call you out here. Wannabe writers like you who think putting so many adjectives in a single sentence to force your claim down a reader's throat is cool, obviously haven't worked in a truly professional setting before. Also, don't show off by writing 'entire gaming industry'. You know nothing. Can you list out the worst five failures in gaming history, including small dev teams making mods, before calling this the worst one? I would have appreciated if you would have at least googled that for your article and shown us the list.)
"...they also boasted one of the most lethargic and incompetent development teams..."
(most incompetent? On what basis can you claim that? Many users of the current beta would disagree with you, just to give an example. And you are comparing a small team with Valve.)
"ProMod’s developers have established themselves as one of the most amateurish, disorganised and dishonest divisions within our community"
(Honestly Westerman, when you stoop down to the level of personal attacks like these, have the guts to owe it up and not disguise it as "our community". They might not have done a competent job but I don't think any one of us thinks they are dishonest. CSP was always targeted mainly towards 1.6 loving community who wanted the particular gameplay to survive. This is what you had to say as part of this community that you claim to be a member of - news.esea.net/index.php?s=news&d=comments&id=10692.)
Incompetency needs to be shown the door
In some cases, when such judgements are passed by experts or long time observers of the field, it is understandable and even worth debating. Westerman is no expert. Not even a veteran. Hasn't played pro and hasn't been part of a serious known dev team. I rest my case.
Westerman, I know it's all cool to be masquerading as an e-sports 'journalist' and an 'opinion' column writer when you don't know one thing about either. I am sure you would drop in and say it is an opinion piece but an opinion piece which has no facts and background research to back it up and which shows no effort to reach out to all stakeholders and get their explanation, is bullshit. I don't know how your employer can pay you for writing bullshit. I feel you must be good at things other than journalism to be fooling people at ESEA in continuing to employ you. Something like bullshitting. I hope ESEA, which has done a great job in NA so far for E-sports, wakes up to that.
Thanks for reading.
Notes:
1. I think the poor state of E-sports journalism deserves our attention so that we can separate the wannabes from hard working people. I will be doing a series of articles on the same. Any feedback on the topics you guys want to see is greatly appreciated.
2. I have been in 1.6 community for many years. Guys like liquidmotion would attest to that. I have nothing to do with CSP, its team, its success or failure. I just want to point out the remarkably poor journalism put out by wannabe 'opinion' writers that goes around in E-sports. Today he is trying to make CSP look bad without having the necessary facts. Tomorrow, he might do the same with some other small developer or modder who would actually be working honestly and diligently. That hurts the whole community.
3. I am not making the claim that CSP will make it big or beat CS:GO or that it will fail. I am just asking people like Westerman to back their opinions with facts. Otherwise, they should just come to public forums and create threads for their poor pieces of writing. We have loads of 'deaded' threads already. One more from Westerman can't be too catastrophic.
You can't get more incompetent than this.
I wonder how Jack "Westerman" Westerman managed to work for Gotfrag for two years before moving to ESEA and putting out drivel like this one. He likes to call himself an 'opinion' writer. If only he understood the difference between a carefully formed opinion and a rant.
My dear, what's the problem?
Sensational headlines work but to say CS:Promod is dead without having any insight into the workings of the development team is utter failure on Westerman's part. It's also disinformation. He makes no effort to find out why things were slower earlier and if things are any different now. Has he met the dev team and asked them these questions? Is he privy to their further plans and release roadmaps? He just passes judgement without background research. That shows the lack of knowledge of basic journalism. He doesn't find it relevant to even mention that CSP team plans to work differently this time with a faster update cycle than before (which they have repeatedly stressed through public statements). The article is riddled with contradictions which make me question his suitability as a writer for a large organization like ESEA.
Ah! The big claims!
He makes many claims in the first paragraph itself:
"At the end of 2005, Counter-Strike was dying"
"Top players were retiring at a phenomenal rate..."
"More and more sponsors were walking away each day – taking their wallets with them – and professional CS teams were folding faster than they could be replaced."
Even before we start arguing about the truth in his statements, let's understand that this is clearly Westerman's opinion. Then, like a school boy who has forgotten his way home but pretends otherwise, he conveniently dumps his opinion on CSP team to make them the scapegoat.
"In reality, their “vision” turned out to be an exaggeration. Counter-Strike wasn’t really dying – in fact, it was going from strength to strength".
Yes, how convenient. 'Their' vision. You obviously thought that CS was growing. We can see that.
Also, he gives his opinion about Source in the beginning. That's him talking about the game.
"Source was a disaster for the community – a game so riddled with bugs, so ruined by broken physics, and with maps so full of useless garbage that it was completely and utterly unplayable."
Then again he puts the burden of his opinion on CSP team's back.
"The picture that the mod’s founders had painted back in 2005 was delusional, fuelled by pure egotism and an irrational hatred of Source. In actual fact, Counter-Strike wasn’t dying, Source wasn’t terrible,..."
(I wonder from where he got the egotism part. Westerman, can you validate that? Also, he proves that his earlier opinion about Source was just "irrational hatred" and that it isn't really "terrible" when earlier he thought it was a "disaster". Oh, I see.)
More claims!
Westerman just doesn't know when to stop. So here are a few more samples.
"...each and every CSP beta release has been a monumental disappointment, providing some of the most laughably flawed gameplay experiences in the entire gaming industry."
(I will call you out here. Wannabe writers like you who think putting so many adjectives in a single sentence to force your claim down a reader's throat is cool, obviously haven't worked in a truly professional setting before. Also, don't show off by writing 'entire gaming industry'. You know nothing. Can you list out the worst five failures in gaming history, including small dev teams making mods, before calling this the worst one? I would have appreciated if you would have at least googled that for your article and shown us the list.)
"...they also boasted one of the most lethargic and incompetent development teams..."
(most incompetent? On what basis can you claim that? Many users of the current beta would disagree with you, just to give an example. And you are comparing a small team with Valve.)
"ProMod’s developers have established themselves as one of the most amateurish, disorganised and dishonest divisions within our community"
(Honestly Westerman, when you stoop down to the level of personal attacks like these, have the guts to owe it up and not disguise it as "our community". They might not have done a competent job but I don't think any one of us thinks they are dishonest. CSP was always targeted mainly towards 1.6 loving community who wanted the particular gameplay to survive. This is what you had to say as part of this community that you claim to be a member of - news.esea.net/index.php?s=news&d=comments&id=10692.)
Incompetency needs to be shown the door
In some cases, when such judgements are passed by experts or long time observers of the field, it is understandable and even worth debating. Westerman is no expert. Not even a veteran. Hasn't played pro and hasn't been part of a serious known dev team. I rest my case.
Westerman, I know it's all cool to be masquerading as an e-sports 'journalist' and an 'opinion' column writer when you don't know one thing about either. I am sure you would drop in and say it is an opinion piece but an opinion piece which has no facts and background research to back it up and which shows no effort to reach out to all stakeholders and get their explanation, is bullshit. I don't know how your employer can pay you for writing bullshit. I feel you must be good at things other than journalism to be fooling people at ESEA in continuing to employ you. Something like bullshitting. I hope ESEA, which has done a great job in NA so far for E-sports, wakes up to that.
Thanks for reading.
Notes:
1. I think the poor state of E-sports journalism deserves our attention so that we can separate the wannabes from hard working people. I will be doing a series of articles on the same. Any feedback on the topics you guys want to see is greatly appreciated.
2. I have been in 1.6 community for many years. Guys like liquidmotion would attest to that. I have nothing to do with CSP, its team, its success or failure. I just want to point out the remarkably poor journalism put out by wannabe 'opinion' writers that goes around in E-sports. Today he is trying to make CSP look bad without having the necessary facts. Tomorrow, he might do the same with some other small developer or modder who would actually be working honestly and diligently. That hurts the whole community.
3. I am not making the claim that CSP will make it big or beat CS:GO or that it will fail. I am just asking people like Westerman to back their opinions with facts. Otherwise, they should just come to public forums and create threads for their poor pieces of writing. We have loads of 'deaded' threads already. One more from Westerman can't be too catastrophic.
agree
This isn't the first idiotic article he's written. He continually gets bashed by the community for his short-sided and unpopular (should I say stupid?) claims.
Agree, agree & agree!
We have to do marketing of this game, we have to support this game!
We have to do marketing of this game, we have to support this game!
dude, get off his nuts, promod is a good game, to bad it'll never come out, therefore it is dead
First, I wasn't trying to convince people that GG CSP IS BEST!. I just showed how poorly thought out article Westerman wrote. Like a brain dead guy. Heck the article begins with "At the end of 2005, Counter-Strike was dying..." You judge yourself. Maybe if you read my blog properly, you wouldn't ask me to get off his nuts.
Btw a small question.
How do you know CSP will never come out?
Btw a small question.
How do you know CSP will never come out?
Westerman just showed the world how stupid he is and the Promod team will fuck him in the a$$ with 1.09's release and show him how much DEAD they are. Also, a well written blog mate :)
promod is dead though
I guess so. I can hardly see it competing against Valve's marketing. Its only chance lies in having flawless gameplay. Then also it is difficult but you never know.
Personally, I would want only one title of CS to succeed - either CSP or GO. That is the only way to unite the communities so that team based FPS survives. The split during Source time weakened the CS community and this is the time to fix it.
Post edited 2012-09-01 05:34:41
Personally, I would want only one title of CS to succeed - either CSP or GO. That is the only way to unite the communities so that team based FPS survives. The split during Source time weakened the CS community and this is the time to fix it.
Post edited 2012-09-01 05:34:41
Still Westerman's article is ridiculous. Just imagine you were a developer and Westerman said your game is dead even without consulting you. That is very retarded. Trying to kill something before it appears. Let people decide.
Post edited 2012-09-01 05:38:32
Post edited 2012-09-01 05:38:32
What don't you understand of opinion based article?
So you mean to say that you can call Nomad a terrorist in an opinion article without bringing one supporting fact to the table? Because that's your opinion?
That's not how real opinion columns work. That's what people like Westerman would like you to believe. That opinion column is a place to bullshit randomly.
That's not how real opinion columns work. That's what people like Westerman would like you to believe. That opinion column is a place to bullshit randomly.
That's just like his opinion man.
HLTV.org would be a better place with more articles like that. Not only souless statements and boring reporting.
HLTV.org would be a better place with more articles like that. Not only souless statements and boring reporting.
Front page does not belong to deluded liars. If it's too boring for you, there's a column in the right side of the page, click on it.
Westerman went a little over the extreme and over sensationalized his article, but I don't see why would you blame ESEA.
I never mentioned Westerman or ESEA.
He had already mentioned that if it's one's opinion in general(lacking supportive facts, out of confusing), then one must put it as a public forum thread/debate topic and not as a sensational article on a reputed e-sports website.
he is a terrorist.
:) Indeed, he is a terrorist.
And that is why my friend both our views and opinions like the above belong to comment sections of one of millions of public forums like this one. And not an 'opinion article' on a major community platform which hundreds of players read and for which the author gets paid.
I mentioned this in Third point of Notes. Take a look.
Post edited 2012-09-01 15:55:06
And that is why my friend both our views and opinions like the above belong to comment sections of one of millions of public forums like this one. And not an 'opinion article' on a major community platform which hundreds of players read and for which the author gets paid.
I mentioned this in Third point of Notes. Take a look.
Post edited 2012-09-01 15:55:06
Jack 'Westerman' Westerman is trying to replace our beloved Saucer troll Richard 'Dick' Hewis.
They are both very good at lying, maybe they should cooperate.
OP, you are clearly biased toward CSP. His claims ar not that outrageous, CSP is dead, make no mistake about it. To take so looong with a mod is ridiculous. It was a good ideea and if this was 2007-2008 maybe it would catch on. Today, no chance. To bad for all that work tho.
I am not saying CSP is going to be the next big game. In fact, the chances of its success are very slim.
What bothers me is how he can rant about something in a very ill-informed way. Almost like a kid. With no facts. And in the process hurt it. If you made a game, and he said it was dead even before community tried it, you would be happy? He can call you dishonest too. And the biggest failure in gaming history. Does he even know the failures in gaming history? He is a scrub. End of discussion.
What bothers me is how he can rant about something in a very ill-informed way. Almost like a kid. With no facts. And in the process hurt it. If you made a game, and he said it was dead even before community tried it, you would be happy? He can call you dishonest too. And the biggest failure in gaming history. Does he even know the failures in gaming history? He is a scrub. End of discussion.
I wrote this in the other forum post, but let me repeat myself here.
To Westerman, the sole feature that makes a game worth playing is how new it is. If it is old, if there is a newer game with the same title, then the old one is not as competitive.
Literally every argument he makes stems from this fact. He doesn't always realize it himself and attributes it to something else, but always the chain of logic can be traced back to that one consideration.
To Westerman, the sole feature that makes a game worth playing is how new it is. If it is old, if there is a newer game with the same title, then the old one is not as competitive.
Literally every argument he makes stems from this fact. He doesn't always realize it himself and attributes it to something else, but always the chain of logic can be traced back to that one consideration.
Frankly, I don't think he has any respect for logic. A basic article on such a topic would demand that he gets in touch with CSP team for their side of the story. But obviously Westerman is incompetent or is simply after more page views for his little e-sports journalistic career.
Sorry, confusing wording on my part. By chain of logic I didn't mean he was logical. I meant if you look at any conclusion/claim he makes and trace the line or arguments that gets to that conclusion, it always goes back to the presumption that newer=more competitive.
edit: Also I agree with all your points. He leans on it being 'an opinion piece' in order to justify making baseless claims and not looking up the info, such as by contacting the CSP team as you say.
Post edited 2012-09-01 16:54:47
edit: Also I agree with all your points. He leans on it being 'an opinion piece' in order to justify making baseless claims and not looking up the info, such as by contacting the CSP team as you say.
Post edited 2012-09-01 16:54:47
Yes, you are right. I notice that too.
"Opinion" is the cover incompetent writers in e-sports are hiding under to sell their rant.
If lurppis writes an opinion piece, he at least argues why he is saying what he does. He makes every effort to make sense. He convinces you through arguments and not through variety of adjectives. And he has an interesting point to offer every time simply because he has been in top tier e-sports for so long.
Westerman is a nobody. And still he tries to pass off as an expert.
"Opinion" is the cover incompetent writers in e-sports are hiding under to sell their rant.
If lurppis writes an opinion piece, he at least argues why he is saying what he does. He makes every effort to make sense. He convinces you through arguments and not through variety of adjectives. And he has an interesting point to offer every time simply because he has been in top tier e-sports for so long.
Westerman is a nobody. And still he tries to pass off as an expert.
Lol have you read anything from that Richard Lewis kid? Now that's the epitome of poor journalism.
I know! I wanted to write but that would have made this too big.
If you see the "journalists" and "opinion writers" in e-sports, they are really a joke. Sometimes preaching to the whole world without even having a basic degree in anything. Leave being an expert in e-sports.
They don't know abcd of basic fact collection, neither do they keep their articles free of their bias. They don't even try to talk to all the people involved in an issue. In opinion you have more freedom, but you better argue for each point. They don't see the importance of doing that either.
Such opinion writers are no different than kids who make CS DEADED threads day in and day out.
If you see the "journalists" and "opinion writers" in e-sports, they are really a joke. Sometimes preaching to the whole world without even having a basic degree in anything. Leave being an expert in e-sports.
They don't know abcd of basic fact collection, neither do they keep their articles free of their bias. They don't even try to talk to all the people involved in an issue. In opinion you have more freedom, but you better argue for each point. They don't see the importance of doing that either.
Such opinion writers are no different than kids who make CS DEADED threads day in and day out.
Aye, pretty much agreed. I don't think you necessarily need a degree in something in order to be able to write about it as long as you can provide a balanced viewpoint free of obvious bias. Instead we get hyperbole with an agenda. No thanks.
I just wanted to say that he has no authority to claim something without argument. Only experts and veterans of the field can sometimes do so. Others needs to justify their opinion.
I agree on the degree part :) Not compulsory. Thanks for pointing that out.
I agree on the degree part :) Not compulsory. Thanks for pointing that out.
Whether CSP goes out, beats GO, fails or whatever, OP is showing you how some people just LIES (there's no other word I could use when someone says/writes things that are not true) in the name of a group I'll name (as he did) "community" in order to gain GOD KNOWS WHAT.
Opinions are like dicks, everyone has one. But lies aren't like opinions.
Opinions are like dicks, everyone has one. But lies aren't like opinions.
esea always sucked
Hey what's up. Where have you been, rarely see your posts lately :)
hej hej ;)
Yes, just browse these days. Don't post at all. The discussions here are too hot to handle :P
Yes, just browse these days. Don't post at all. The discussions here are too hot to handle :P
I demand an apology from Westerman. He just openly bashes all cs 1.6 players out there.
Lol saying that CSP is dead is not an opinion. It's a fact. And even if it WAS a biased opinion, what the fuck is your problem? It's called journalism, everybody is free to say what he wants (if it respects all the laws, ofc). It's like people posting their blog here saying that csgo is crap, even if they're writing opinions, they have the right to do so... You should try to respect other people's opinion
SO you are saying that "biased opinion" is called journalism.
You are not the brightest crayon in the box, are you? :)
PS And if it's a fact, write it as a fact and prove it. Why being a sissy and taking cover behind a "personal opinion" article? Not to mention he doesn't know what an opinion piece on a media website is. It is not your forum thread, just to give an example.
Post edited 2012-09-02 00:34:33
You are not the brightest crayon in the box, are you? :)
PS And if it's a fact, write it as a fact and prove it. Why being a sissy and taking cover behind a "personal opinion" article? Not to mention he doesn't know what an opinion piece on a media website is. It is not your forum thread, just to give an example.
Post edited 2012-09-02 00:34:33
Ok so you've never heard the words journalism nor blog in your third world country. Sry
Oh thanks for displaying your ignorance by writing third world country there. See the colors till your bubble lasts! :)
Haha don't tell me your "potential superpowers India" bullshit. Even if India's economy is developing very well, 90% of the people there are still poor and uneducated (and can't afford a decent pc to play csgo lololo) like in China or Brazil
And how does that prove that what you were saying is right? This further proves that you have nothing worthwhile to say. Your country is rich but you turned out dumb.
Good bye.
Good bye.
hah :D
fire him, lol
sooo right!
Those CS:GO fanboys will flame at you.
heppened, happening and never stop
heppened, happening and never stop
It is actually true that cs lost tons of players in 05/06 the reason is called world of warcraft.
Agree!.:D
nice read ;)
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