Would you hire a guy who..

[Prosper]

-Was infamous for being considered a troll on the internet gaming sites.

-Banned repeatedly because people disagreed with his art and mods.

-But was talented after all. (made his own game that earned millions of USD)

 

 

 

Second question:

Would you fire him if you received enough hate mail?

Edited September 8, 2013 by Prosper

[Walsingham]

I wouldn't fire him for hate mail.

 

I'd make him walk a long wooden bar, suspended ten feet off the ground every day in the company car park. Haters would be permitted to come in, for a small fee, and lob eggplants at him during his attempt.

 

If he fell or otherwise failed to walk the bar he would be obliged to resign.

 

I can therefore recommend you begin training your toes to grip things.

[Gorgon]

Yes I would totally fire someone because they were banned from random internet gaming sites. 

[BruceVC]

-Was infamous for being considered a troll on the internet gaming sites.

-Banned repeatedly because people disagreed with his art and mods.

-But was talented after all. (made his own game that earned millions of USD)

 

 

 

Second question:

Would you fire him if you received enough hate mail?

 

Your reputation on certain gaming forums would be irrelevant, all I would care about is your work ethic and can you code successfully

[Labadal]

I'd hire Prosper and make him lead game designer.

[Gorth]

 

-Was infamous for being considered a troll on the internet gaming sites.

-Banned repeatedly because people disagreed with his art and mods.

-But was talented after all. (made his own game that earned millions of USD)

 

 

 

Second question:

Would you fire him if you received enough hate mail?

 

Your reputation on certain gaming forums would be irrelevant, all I would care about is your work ethic and can you code successfully

 

Two things are key when working in a project based organisation. Individual skills and team skills. You can be the greatest something in the world, but it doesn't matter if you can't work together as a team (and vice versa). Public reputation is irrelevant (within reason) if you don't have a client facing function.

[Keyrock]

If I was making a Cthulhu-themed game I'd probably hire this hypothetical person.

[Malcador]

Two things are key when working in a project based organisation. Individual skills and team skills. You can be the greatest something in the world, but it doesn't matter if you can't work together as a team (and vice versa). Public reputation is irrelevant (within reason) if you don't have a client facing function.

So acting like a sociopath is a bad thing is what you are saying ? Hmm.

[Walsingham]

 

Two things are key when working in a project based organisation. Individual skills and team skills. You can be the greatest something in the world, but it doesn't matter if you can't work together as a team (and vice versa). Public reputation is irrelevant (within reason) if you don't have a client facing function.

So acting like a sociopath is a bad thing is what you are saying ? Hmm.

 

 

To be fair, from what you've been saying both you and your workplace exhibit sociopathic tendencies.

[Prosper]

This gave me hope. Wouldn't an internship teach team skills?

[Malcador]

This gave me hope. Wouldn't an internship teach team skills?

It would. Depends a lot on the place, one old uni mate got shunned by his entire team when he interned at a place - they'd go for lunch without him, barely speak to him, etc. Not much to learn from an experience like that.

[J.Burke]

This gave me hope. Wouldn't an internship teach team skills?

 

That's very very dependent on the company and on the individual that is interning. 

 

I've heard horror stories of companies just throwing their interns at mundane tasks that no one else wanted to do for a few months and then letting them go. While the intern may have learned new technical skills, they did not learn much about working as a team.

 

What I'd imagine is more common is that companies will ease you into things to start. If you do well and are proactive about being a part of the team, they will continue to give you more complex things to work on. You can't expect a company to hand you everything just because they hired you as an intern. It's up to you to prove that you're competent and that you want to be a part of a team.

 

I started at Obsidian as an intern. My experience here was very positive. 

[Walsingham]

 

This gave me hope. Wouldn't an internship teach team skills?

It would. Depends a lot on the place, one old uni mate got shunned by his entire team when he interned at a place - they'd go for lunch without him, barely speak to him, etc. Not much to learn from an experience like that.

 

 

I would suggest that shows a lack of task focus. A strong team goal allows integration to depend on your contribution towards that goal, not what shoes you are wearing, or how old you are, etc.

 

A weak task focus shows poor leadership.

 

So, while I'm pointing the finger at your mate's team leader, I'd also suggest that it's hardly grounds to despair of internships. Typically interns get assigned to the most wily leaders in a group, because they give cheap effort.

[melkathi]

Internships can be a mixed bag and it depends both on the intern but also very much on the company.

 

I know of one ... person (I'll be civil) who went to the UN for an internship and within a week had managed to get everyone to avoid him and not speak to him because of his racist rethorics and attempts to appear "cool" through lecherous, sexist banter. Obviously, his internship went badly.

 

My own internship went amazingly well. On one hand I put my back into it and did what I could to be a full member of the team, but I only could do that because the team let me do it. They needed the extra help at the time and were fully prepared to welcome the intern and give them responsibilities.

 

But many companies don't really know what to do with interns. They at some point picked up that having interns is the thing to do. Maybe management even believes that giving young people a chance to learn in a working environment is a good thing. But they haven't really thought about the reality of it.

 

I think it's important to know what you want to get out of the internship and be prepared to not only work towards that goal, but to communicate it with the hosting company.

[Tsuga C]

-Was infamous for being considered a troll on the internet gaming sites.

-Banned repeatedly because people disagreed with his art and mods.

-But was talented after all. (made his own game that earned millions of USD)

 

Second question:

Would you fire him if you received enough hate mail?

A good read for you. Negative interactions at work are 5x stronger than positive ones as people expect civilized, respecful treatment in the office. If you're an A-hole, I'd fire you in a heartbeat. How do you know if you're an A-hole? Here's what Robert I. Sutton refers to as "The Dirty Dozen" behaviors that A-holes use to poison the workplace:

 

1. Personal insults

 

2. Invading one's personal territory

 

3. Uninvited personal contact

 

4. Threats and intimidation, both verbal and non-verbal

 

5. Sarcastic jokes and teasing used as insult delivery systems

 

6. Withering email flames

 

7. Status slaps intended to humiliate their victims

 

8. Public shaming or status degradation rituals

 

9. Rude interruptions

 

10. Two-faced attacks

 

11. Dirty looks

 

12. Treating people as if they are invisible

 

 

Use this list as a mirror and if you see yourself reflected in it, methinks you need to shape up.

Edited September 10, 2013 by Tsuga C

[Malcador]

Most of that list is just par for the course on my team. I guess we need to be more corporate.

[Labadal]

 

This gave me hope. Wouldn't an internship teach team skills?

 

That's very very dependent on the company and on the individual that is interning. 

 

I've heard horror stories of companies just throwing their interns at mundane tasks that no one else wanted to do for a few months and then letting them go. While the intern may have learned new technical skills, they did not learn much about working as a team.

 

What I'd imagine is more common is that companies will ease you into things to start. If you do well and are proactive about being a part of the team, they will continue to give you more complex things to work on. You can't expect a company to hand you everything just because they hired you as an intern. It's up to you to prove that you're competent and that you want to be a part of a team.

 

I started at Obsidian as an intern. My experience here was very positive. 

 

 

I bet you 100 rupees that Feargod was holding a gun to your kneecap when you wrote that.

[J.Burke]

 

 

This gave me hope. Wouldn't an internship teach team skills?

 

 

I started at Obsidian as an intern. My experience here was very positive. 

 

 

I bet you 100 rupees that Feargod was holding a gun to your kneecap when you wrote that.

 

 

 

I'm still here after 4 years, so there must be something positive about working here 

[melkathi]

 

I'm still here after 4 years, so there must be something positive about working here 

 

 

They are really good at hiding the key to that ball and chain?

[Tsuga C]

Most of that list is just par for the course on my team. I guess we need to be more corporate.

More corporate?  No, just more considerate.

[Malcador]

Everyone gives as they get and have a laugh about it in our case. But we've long since cracked.

[AGX-17]

Wait, isn't this a tacit admission on Prosper's part that he's just been trolling all along? How am I supposed to deal with these emotions?

[Walsingham]

Wait, isn't this a tacit admission on Prosper's part that he's just been trolling all along? How am I supposed to deal with these emotions?

 

Gin.

[Tsuga C]

Everyone gives as they get and have a laugh about it in our case. But we've long since cracked.

That's a rare and delicate balancing act to sustain for any length of time. Enjoy it and protect it as best you can as I can assure you that it's nearly impossible to recapture once disrupted.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Would you hire a guy who..

 

No.