John Doe Has Got to Go

Yesterday. SK Gaming posted an article written by an anonymous writer only known as John Doe. This the third article on sk-gaming.com that SK has allowed without revealing the said writer. And John Doe did not come to exactly the warmest welcome, and for good reason.

In the first John Doe article, posted in April after Game Services, the company that ran the ESWC, went bankrupt, the writer claims that this type of stuff is actually good for professional gaming. The article got mixed comments. Then life went on. No big deal.

A few days after the launch of the WWFOG's website, John Doe returns to give a token bashing to not just the WWFOG but American pro gaming as well. Doe pretty much praised Europe and Asia-based leagues for simply existing while listing American leagues as "FAIL". Among the "FAIL's" was the CPL. Although it did not have happy ending, the CPL is recognized in Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer's Edition as longest-running professional tournament organizer, running from 1997 and folding in 2008. Pretty much like saying that Michael Jordan was a failed athlete because his team did not make it to the playoffs in his final season. Doe conveniently omitted Major League Gaming, which has a vice grip competitive Halo and is now teamed up with EA Sports to run Madden tournaments.

And then yesterday the latest Doe article emerges. The piece about the so-called evolution of eSports sponsorship is poorly organized badly written to be in a column for any pro gaming site. My favorite phrase is "The official prize money changed from tons of beer to tons of money". Seriously? The prize money was once beer but is now money?

But the biggest eyesores in article 3 are the cheap swipes at American gaming journalists, even using a vulgar line from a bland cable TV show. The quote was "I won't go down in history, but I will go down on your sister." Fit for the news section, indeed.

Third time is the charm. Three strikes and you're out. However you phrase it, John Doe's third article was the straw that broke the camels back. How could SK post such poorly written articles without identifying the writer? Aren't they even remotely worried how this would look to their readers? More important what would the sponsors think about this. I can't read minds, but if I saw this type of stuff posted on a website run by a company I gave sponsorship money to. I would think twice before writing them another check.

I'm not losing sleep over these articles but I do feel they need to stop. If you feel the same way don't just post finger-wagging comment on SK's site. That is clearly not working. Instead direct your outrage to the sponsors. That should get us better results.