'Everything Is a Story' Inside Wyrmwood Gaming's Narcissistic Funhouse

[Teo Twawki]

Some posters don't like legitimate criticism of their unfounded bashing.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

I've said explicitly this is a criticism I levy at all journalism, so I don't know what you expect this statement to reveal.

Oh cool, you're just anti all journalism? Based on some some ancient, but likely just fabricated-from-whole-cloth standard you have for what journalism should be?

If that's your position, what are you doing in this thread? Like jumping into a movie discussion thread yelling "Hey guys all movies are terrible now amirite?!?!"

 

[amethal]

What, you expected it as a sonnet, or something? I don't know if "prose" is the word you want here, so I am not sure what you're accusing her of.

Standards in journalism would certainly increase if all reports had to be exactly 14 lines, and rhyme.

Might make it a bit tricky to do an in-depth article in the space allowed, however.

I think the expression might be "purple prose", although I'm not sure how much it's used these days.

 

[Umbran]

I think the expression might be "purple prose", although I'm not sure how much it's used these days.

"Purple prose" is prose so flowery and needlessly ornate that it becomes difficult to take in, distracting from the narrative with its very form - if sentences are very long, using fifty-cent words and a lot of cliches, the prose may be purple. Romance novels, 19th century literature for which the author was paid by the word, and Michael Moorcock's works have a lot of purple prose.

 

[Umbran]

This statement is self-reflective of its commenter.

Mod Note:
Do not make this personal. Casting aspersions on people is not okay. Keep it civil.

 

[Emberashh]

Oh cool, you're just anti all journalism? Based on some some ancient, but likely just fabricated-from-whole-cloth standard you have for what journalism should be?

If that's your position, what are you doing in this thread? Like jumping into a movie discussion thread yelling "Hey guys all movies are terrible now amirite?!?!"

Are you really this upset?

"Purple prose" is prose so flowery and needlessly ornate that it becomes difficult to take in, distracting from the narrative with its very form

While the phrase might not be accurate, the effects it has are in my opinion. As said, how this article was written triggered me enough to post and comment on it.

Frankly the subject matter itself doesn't even surprise me. Ive watched those vlogs they do on youtube and its immediately obvious what these people are as much as they try to hide it, and the revelations only confirm it.

Which is also why I take issue with how the article is written, because a lot of this (particularly the other incident thats only coming to light now) speaks for itself.

Im reminded of the first episode of Better Call Saul. Jimmy goes on in an elaborate speech trying to defend his clients, and the prosecution doesn't even say word, they just show what they did.

Thats the difference Im speaking to here.

 

[Willie the Duck]

Alright, I have read the article (twice).

It starts by setting a scene. The scene actually happened and is a part of the newsworthy elements of the story being covered. However, I can at least see how someone might interpret that as less traditional-standard-reporter-like than a story starting something like (to embellish from the subtitle) 'Allegations of disrespect for craftspeople, resistance to corporate and physical safety staff and processes, and a culture of unprofessionalism plague Wyrmwood Gaming; above and beyond allegations of sexual assault. [then proceeding with the scene in question].' If one is used to one, then the other seems jarring. I cannot see how it is somehow "embellishment or moisture," it is a framing device no different than my example is, neither specifically more or less accurate or prone to biased influencing of the reader. People are just very used to the Walter Cronkite version and can view it as somehow more pure.

Now, the article does contain a certain bias. The author clearly believes Wyrmwood's accusers more than the company official line -- and has a position on who is responsible (Doug Costello). I mean, statements like "there’s rot at the company" is passing judgement. That's perhaps a disservice to a reader looking for a (attempting at) neutral and factual rundown of what is known about the situation. However, it is not the form in which the article is written that caused this to be the case.

 

[Teo Twawki]

Standards in journalism would certainly increase if all reports had to be exactly 14 lines, and rhyme.

I attempted a similar line of philosophy with my Ph.D panel.

 

[Emberashh]

I cannot see how it is somehow "embellishment or moisture,"

Its that and the style/presentation in tandem that cause that suspicion.

Its just unnecessary. When you're dropping the proverbial bomb that the dude at the center of their vlogs did what he did (im not going to repeat it), you don't need to try this hard.

It really shouldn't be controversial to want better from a journalist than that, especially in a time when journalism as a whole is being devalued and co-opted to go against its original purpose.

I don't need to disagree with what shes reporting on (or for that matter, her opinion on what she reported, which is actually milder than my own given how the other incident is so seemingly glossed over) to still take issue with how she reported it.

 

[Umbran]

I used prose in the sense of it being more than just dry reporting of facts.

Maybe you feel she was editorializing? That might be a legitimate criticism.

Put another way, I don't appreciate journalism that tries too hard and too obviously to convince me of something instead of trusting the facts to do the talking.

So, the problem with that is that "dry facts" don't generally exist outside of mathematics and some well-established physical sciences. Authors who present "dry facts" on human events are still presenting the findings through their lens, with biases that come along with them. But, since they are being "dry", the reader gets little to no information on the lens, the biases are hidden.

This piece makes the author's take on the matter bleedingly obvious. I know what she thinks these things mean. That's good for a critical reader.