Paizo Jessica Price (ex Paizo employee) spills the beans

[Gradine]

Alright, who had "boilerplate empty response", "we're continuing to improve" and "i can't be X,I have X friends" on their schadenfreude bingo cards?

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

Am I understanding this correctly: we can't give any credence to complaints about a workplace unless and until the complaining employees have won a civil lawsuit against their employer, or a regulatory agency has successfully issued a citation against it?

You only got half of it, or maybe all of it but it's worth clarifying anyway: we can't neither give nor deny any credence to complaints. Refusing to give credence is the exact same error as giving credence: since we don't have the ability to review the complete evidence, we can't determine whether it's true or not. It's undetermined and there is no "guilty party": neither the employee (who could be right or guilty of libel) nor the company (who could be right or guilty of endangering the life of their employees) is guilty and therefore the only thing to do is encourage the plaintiff to contact the regulatory bodies to get vindicated. It can't always be easily done (from lack of fund, insufficent access to these institutions or state of mind (in the case of victims of abuse who simply can't realize their situation). In this case, I hope labor unions would help overcome any difficulty in getting access to a court. Going public is certainly worthwhile when denouncing something that is legal but one wants to change (ie, a political problem) but it doesn't seem to be the case here: the situations described seem clearly already illegal (I am pretty sure it's illegal nearly everywhere to discriminated based on gender or to refuse to clean an office to the point it's becoming a health hazard). The judicial branch is here to help (or at least it should be) and it's a sad situation when Twitter is preferred to the relevant authorities.

 

[Parmandur]

Alright, who had "boilerplate empty response", "we're continuing to improve" and "i can't be X,I have X friends" on their schadenfreude bingo cards?

I thought they might give a more competent corporate response, but I guess the bar needs to be lowered again.

 

[darjr]

From the Paizo thread Erik Monas respond on Reddit to some of the things said.
on_the_occult_saint_germain/

It's been quite a week. For Paizo's official statement, please go here. This isn't that.

A recent Twitter thread critical of Paizo’s management called out three elements related to my interest in historical occultism as problematic from a company culture perspective, and I’d like to take a moment to respond to them, not as a company representative, but as me, Erik.

Specifically, these criticisms involve 1) A picture of the occult figure Saint Germain I once had on the wall in my office that offended some then-co-workers; 2) A tiny picture of a swastika I once accidentally posted to my personal Facebook amid a huge dump of occult images; and 3) Some creatures I wrote for a Pathfinder Bestiary that were inspired by Theosophy and Eastern mysticism.

Because my personal values do not align with racism AT ALL, and the accusations seem to suggest that I hold racist beliefs, I want to respond to these accusations personally.

1. I have long been intrigued by the mythology of the allegedly immortal Comte de Saint Germain, a jewel thief, composer, spy, and all-around 18th Century weirdo. My research on this figure revealed Saint Germain’s use by a 1930s-era cult known as the I AM Activity, which promoted Saint Germain to the rank of Ascended Master. I found what I thought was a fun portrait of the guy from that cult and put him on my wall. I do not recall ever being told by any of my co-workers that they found the image problematic. Regardless, this illustration has not been on display for several years. I regret any offense that the image may have caused anyone, and I categorically apologize that I did not anticipate that it might make some people uncomfortable.
2. A few years back I acquired an occult book from the turn of the century that included page after page filled with small occult symbols. I posted images of several pages from the book to my personal Facebook. Shortly thereafter, a friend pointed out that one of the symbols was a swastika (unfortunately very common in occult books of the age, as it had not yet achieved its 20th century infamy), something I had initially overlooked. I removed the image immediately upon it being noticed. Again, I regret that I posted it at all, but this was an honest mistake that was probably online for less than an hour total.
3. I wrote some monsters in a Pathfinder Bestiary that were inspired by Theosophy, which some people found objectionable. As recounted in the accusation, Paizo’s editors clipped material they thought might be problematic, which is a testament to the skill and intelligence of Paizo’s editors, as protecting our manuscripts from unconscious bias is part of their jobs, and something they do very well.

To summarize: I am not aligned with racism of any kind. I stand strongly behind the values of diversity and inclusion. naughty word Nazis. naughty word them in the eye.

Thanks for your time. –Erik

 

[ReshiIRE]

From the Paizo thread Erik Monas respond on Reddit to some of the things said.
on_the_occult_saint_germain/

That post at-least comes off as more genuine and it tackles the accusations head on. It is a world ahead. I don't trust it entirely as I am always skeptical but it at-least acknowledges harm.

 

[Malmuria]

The judicial branch is here to help (or at least it should be) and it's a sad situation when Twitter is preferred to the relevant authorities.

The US judicial system has failed victims of discrimination, workers, people of color, and sexual assault survivors again and again and again. Though, one could argue that what might be regarded as a bug (the inability of the courts to provide justice) is actually a feature and says a lot about the power dynamics of US society and the way that sexism, racism, and homophobia is not just a matter of individual instances (say, at Paizo), but institutional and systemic.

 

[Parmandur]

That post at-least comes off as more genuine and it tackles the accusations head on. It is a world ahead. I don't trust it entirely as I am always skeptical but it at-least acknowledges harm.

It's at least a human response, and not a cardboard cutout. Honestly, I do not think this makes Mona look any better, since that stuff is shady AF and he doesn't address any of the other major issues at all.

 

[darjr]

This is what Jason said, via the Paizo thread, from another poster. So take it with a grain of salt. I didn’t track it down on discord. I got bars to bend and gates to lift.

Its fine folks, its a serious matter. I can't talk about it, tbh, but I support you all voicing your thoughts and concerns. If you feel the need to remove me from this community, for your safety, I respect that. I have nothing but good will and respect for all of you. And while I can only deny the things said about me, it is impossible to prove a negative. As for the other issues, they are serious and we are having a lot of serious discussion internally about them. I am using my place in the company to push for a better paizo every day and will continue to do so. Thats about all I got here... carry on.

 

[darjr]

Here’s Jeff’s response as President of Paizo. Just to have it here.

The recent departure of two long-time Paizo employees has generated a great deal of public discussion, including a series of accusations critical of the company’s management that range back several years. While Paizo cannot discuss personnel issues in public, we wish to strongly reaffirm the company’s commitment to the ideals of inclusiveness and diversity in gaming, both within our company and in the products we create.

From the day the company opened back in 2002 all the way to the present, POC and LGBTQIA+ contributors and staff have been a critical part of our creative and business operations, and our company has been at the forefront of these issues in the work we publish and the values we espouse.

We are committed to these values and work to do better every day, backed up by a tremendous staff at all levels of the company, all of whom share the values of inclusivity, diversity, and improvement. We are also working actively to listen to those employees and take additional steps to ensure that they feel their voices are being heard. By doing so, we believe we have become better now than we were 5 years ago, and that we will be better 5 years from now than we are today.

--Jeff

 

[Parmandur]

This is what Jason said, via the Paizo thread, from another poster. So take it with a grain of salt. I didn’t track it down on discord. I got bars to bend and gates to lift.

Smells fishy, painting himself as a heroic martyr.