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Statement from Linus Tech Tips about Madison's accusations (aussie.zone)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[+] -19 points 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago) (8 children)

It's probably overwork, rather than a malicious lack of integrity. Guy left a to field empty and moved on with his day, well probably was sending 900 emails a day and can't keep track. Sexual harassment in the workplace? Can't think of that we have deadlines!

(downvote edit lol: not defending Linus, not defending the actions, or those involved in it all. Just pointing out that mistakes are made when overworked rather than tainting everyone at LMG with the unethical / lack of integrity brush)

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  • [–] 37 points 3 years ago (4 children)

    I know this might be a controversial take. But people in professional settings are expected to fullfil the responsibilities they agree to take on, follow thru with promises, and to turn down the things they reasonably cannot be expected or can't do. It's called having professional ethics.

    In some ethical frameworks, intention of action is not excusable. An act or absence of act that causes harm is immoral regardless of whether the harm was intended or not.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    Yeah I mean things drop through the cracks. Humans is humans.

    As a foreigner in the same city as LMG the work culture is to never say no, I get in to a bunch of professional trouble when saying no. So turning down work to make yourself less busy is hard for some here. I'm just suggesting that this may not be mallace and pure evil, the situation is a product of the work and office culture there. It would play out differently in different parts of the globe.

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  • [–] 4 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    I never said it was malice. I said it was lack of ethics. They might be very good and nice people. But if in a professional setting they behave like this, they are unethical. If the whole industry behaves like this then the industry's work culture is unethical. This is not rocket science. The tech sector is a toxic sludge of unprofessional pricks. The tech entertainment is worse. But that's not excuse. There are professional and ethical tech entertainment companies in the space who don't abuse their employees.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago (1 child)

    I am in the wrong thread man. My comments are purely based on the billet labs thing where this thread started, and those not directly involved with the sexual harassment being grouped in with the unethical lack of integrity brush.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago*

    That's the interesting part. Linus wanted to make his yt channel a company. Created LMG with a loan and all. Cool. But that means that now the company, and by extension Linus himself as the owner, is morally responsible for all that happens within their walls. That's also part of the initial ethical failure, I don't mean they cause or are to blame all the time, but they're responsible for dealing with it.

    Linus might not have harassed anyone himself personally. But, if one of his employees harassed another of his employees, he is responsible. Worse, if he know and did basically nothing, then LMG neglected to act on its duty of care. Same reason why, when one employee goes in public to diss out and trash talk a competitor, then it's as if it came out of Linus mouth, because it's LMG speaking.

    "But I was busy with emails" is not an excuse, or "I didn't know", isn't either. Your company your responsibility.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago

    This is the schedule that they themselves set though. It made sense a bit to create as much content as they could in the beginning when they were first starting out and growing their channel. But they're extremely successful in this category and they don't have to remain beholden to the YouTube algorithm to make money what with Floatplane and so on. They literally have the ability to slow down production, do reviews, and other content in a responsible way, and they haven't.

    That work load may have contributed to him not addressing or not properly handling the situation with Madison, but that is something he brought on himself. It shouldn't have been an email to a single person. This isn't some random startup with venture capital. Linus built a whole successful company. A company that should have both a PR team (who don't let him get in his feelings with reactionary remarks without getting legal counsel first), and an HR team to handle things like this. It should literally never have gotten to this point.

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