Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

There's a simple rule of thumb: Would she have gotten the same treatment if she were a guy? If not, then calling shenanigans is the right response.


What do you mean by calling shenanigans? Blaming the PR people?

The thing is, the guys didn't get the same treatment... but my point was simply that the PR people were exposed to a certain pattern (someone is a girl => they aren't that experienced playing shoot em up video games) and it was repeatedly reinforced through subtle social feedback, that expecting them to just be good at the game was not producing great results for them or for your brand. And since the PR person wants to do their job and give a good impression of the game, they would just assume this girl was like the others, and offer to show her the best parts about the demo, so that she can write about them.


The thing is, you're perpetuating the myth too.

"Those poor PR people, how were they supposed to know that a chick plays video games?"


They aren't poor, I am asking why she is surprised given that they were very likely to do that, and indeed most of them in her story did do that.

What is the alternative? I am not calling them poor, but you are calling them deluded. And I am deluded. Basically we all believe a myth.

What is more likely is that there is an underlying reason for the PR people and others to believe it. It is the reason that should be analyzed and addressed, not the people who are the product of it.

This is starting to sound a lot like http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/PublicChoice.html


> What is more likely is that there is an underlying reason for the PR people and others to believe it.

You're making the same mistake that the PR guy made (Obviously women don't play games, therefore it's an understandable mistake). Stop doing that, would be a really good start.


first of all he was the one who made the judgment, I simply evaluated his judgment

secondly why do you keep saying that acting based on previously established patterns in one's life is a mistake?

how do you know I'm not a nobel prize winning sociologist, and that you are the one making the mistake


I don't think this is right. If most of the women who come by tell the PR guys that they don't play, then the PR guys are right most of the time when they assume that women don't play.


Most of the time when the IT guy makes sexual jokes, the girl laughs, so how was he supposed to know that this one time the girl was going to be offended?


This is painting all women as non-gamers on the basis of interacting with (probably very few) other women. Unfair but not completely baseless.

Anyway if it's the same man and woman each time it's a different situation.


Here's another simple "rule of thumb": Would she have gotten the same treatment after applying OP's suggestions (saying "No, thanks, I'll drive!") ? If not, then I feel that finally calling shenaningans is the right response.

And, again, quid bono ? She certainly did, a bunch of people who would never ever read her column now just gave her a bunch of pageviews.


She probably would, at the next booth. And the next, and the next[1]. At what point are you going to stop blaming her for other people's idiocy?

btw, it's "Cui bono" - the literal translation being "who benefits"?

[1] - Actually, it did, if you read the article:

  It happened during one of my first appointments of the
  show, a half hour I’d booked to check out the sequel to a 
  well-known military shooter franchise.
..later..

  It continued to happen through the next few days of E3. 
  Upon checking into a booth, I would often be asked by the
  PR rep whether I wanted someone to play my “hands-on” demo
  for me. During booth tours, I would more often than not be
  guided towards the Facebook games.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: