On Penny Arcade, Exploitation, and the Myth of the Do-Everything Rock Star
cwbuecheler.tumblr.com
On Penny Arcade, Exploitation, and the Myth of the Do-Everything Rock Star
1–10 of 187 posts
Re: On Penny Arcade, Exploitation, and the Myth of the Do-Everything Rock Star
#2Wait, the (linkedin) post isn't sarcastic? I heard Jeff Jaques (QC) mocking the idea on twitter earlier[1], and thought he was joining in a wider joke.
[1] https://twitter.com/jephjacques << at the moment, the posts are about 4 hours old and the first 5 or so.
Re: On Penny Arcade, Exploitation, and the Myth of the Do-Everything Rock Star
#3I have the opposite reaction to this posting: Penny Arcade are being abundantly clear and transparent about the requirements and drawbacks of the role.
It's not exploitation; it's a trade, and Penny Arcade have listed out their terms. Everyone is free, or not, to go along with what they want.
The author mixes two messages: (1) the merits of the offer, and (2) the ethics of the offer. The author may be right about (1) -- I am not qualified to say -- but this does not imply that he's also right about (2). A poor job offer is not an unethical one; and in this sense I think Penny Arcade are living up to higher standards by being transparent about where they may fall short.
Re: On Penny Arcade, Exploitation, and the Myth of the Do-Everything Rock Star
#4Wait, the (linkedin) post isn't sarcastic? I heard Jeff Jaques (QC) mocking the idea on twitter earlier[1], and thought he was joining in a wider joke. [1] https://twitter.com/jephjacques << at the moment, the posts are about 4 hours old and the first 5 or so.
It is only sarcasm if half the people that reads it will wonder if it is serious. otherwise it is just slapstick humor.
Also, while this is sarcasm in the tech industry, this is the life blood of non-profits.
Re: On Penny Arcade, Exploitation, and the Myth of the Do-Everything Rock Star
#5This is the dirty little secret of startups too. As an early hire you will work as hard as the founders, and take at least as much personal financial risk as them if it doesn't work out, yet with minimal exposure to any upside - so the sane options are, full co-founder, or double market rate salary to offset the risk. Not pennies and "stock options".
Re: On Penny Arcade, Exploitation, and the Myth of the Do-Everything Rock Star
#6"you know what’s even more rare? A guy who can write excellent code in several disparate languages, manage multiple different server installs, administrate databases, and configure office firewalls."
Is that really so hard to find? I might be selling myself short... (I actually thought I'm worth less on the marketplace by being a "generalist")
Re: On Penny Arcade, Exploitation, and the Myth of the Do-Everything Rock Star
#7I think the thing that frustrates me the most about it is: they’ll probably get a thousand applicants. A bunch of 25 year-old kids with a ton of talent and stars in their eyes are going to try to get this crap job for crap pay so they can work somewhere “cool” and feel like a part of something big. The Penny Arcade “machine” (their term) will roll on, making its millions of dollars while somehow retaining the “little guy” image that hasn’t been accurate for at least five years, and probably more. That’s one of Khoo’s many gifts — he has figured out exactly how to sell this company, even if the image they’re peddling is a load of horseshit.
This confuses me, because its as if the author tries to force his valuation of the opportunity onto all prospective applicants. He recognizes that a position at Penny Arcade has a level of cachet, but doesn't recognize that that level of cachet is transitive: if someone "can work somewhere “cool” and feel like a part of something big", then good for them. It's up to each person whether or not to decide if those benefits outweigh the costs of eschewing different employment.
Also, lots and lots of ad hominem. I'm not super familiar with Penny Arcade -- having never attended PAX and having not read the comic in a few years -- but a lot of this post seems to be conjecture which hinges on Robert Khoo being a villain.
(I would never apply for this job, because I value salary and work-life balance too much. But I recognize there are people who don't, which is why early-stage startups can thrive.)
Re: On Penny Arcade, Exploitation, and the Myth of the Do-Everything Rock Star
#8I have the opposite reaction to this posting: Penny Arcade are being abundantly clear and transparent about the requirements and drawbacks of the role. It's not exploitation; it's a trade, and Penny Arcade have listed out their terms. Everyone is free, or not, to go along with what they want. The author mixes two messages: (1) the merits of the offer, and (2) the ethics of the offer. The author may be right about (1)…
He makes an explicit case for both (1) and (2). He doesn't try and merely imply (2).
Also, a transparent trade can still be exploitive. If I were to advertise for a slave, that would be an advertisement for an exploitive "offer."
The real question is if this offer, in particular, is exploitive or not. I think he makes a solid case that it is.
Re: On Penny Arcade, Exploitation, and the Myth of the Do-Everything Rock Star
#9I have the opposite reaction to this posting: Penny Arcade are being abundantly clear and transparent about the requirements and drawbacks of the role. It's not exploitation; it's a trade, and Penny Arcade have listed out their terms. Everyone is free, or not, to go along with what they want. The author mixes two messages: (1) the merits of the offer, and (2) the ethics of the offer. The author may be right about (1)…
You can take precisely the same position about walmart; Their jobs are shitty, but they're an offer, and working it is up to you. Whether this validates walmart or damns PA is up to you.
Personally, I take the former opinion, though I'm saddened that walmart is able to continue to exist despite their bad proposition. Many people see their options as "Work for walmart" or "starve", and in many cases, they're right (Or they might end up with both anyway). Basic income might fix this, though I doubt it.
Re: On Penny Arcade, Exploitation, and the Myth of the Do-Everything Rock Star
#10There are a lot of people who would like you to grind your life into dust in exchange for the glory of having made them richer. If you want to do that, there are a lot of ways, and this is one. I agree that they are trading on their name to find some gullible nerd to do all this stuff. The terrifying thought is, there are people who will read this and mostly agree with it, and still be willing to take the job. I can't really explain that.