Oh ho hooo! This is gonna be fun to watch in the coming weeks/months.
unfolds chair and grabs popcorn
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"Digital Homicide is representing themselves in the lawsuit, and do not have an attorney"
They just don't want to learn
I suspect the package full off feces was a "return to sender" thing from steam for all the shit they keep trying to sell.
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I was really hoping these guys would turn it around. Start putting effort into making decent games and get a decent community manager or PR person. They've created a really bad image and it's not Sterling's fault -- it's their own. They get too emotional and act without really thinking about the consequences, because there is no way this will end well. I'm pretty sure that their crowdfunding on Indiegogo is breaking the TOS though, since it's for legal fees.
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^this, i think we all want more good games. But at the same time after all they did it may be too late for DH.
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Like I said on page 1-turds like this will never turn into gold.Doesn't help that their actions and personel (like that "Robert" guy Sterling had a chat with) made the stink coming from them more evident.
They were asking for it,and now they will,hopefully,pay the price for their stupidity.
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There was a release from them a while back called Dungeons of Kragmor or something that Jim played and said had some promise, provided they keep working on it (it was in early access).
However, they apparently said that they weren't making money fast enough with the "actual effort" business model, and decided to return to shitspinning. Paraphrased, but I'm not even joking. There was actually a blog post from them to that effect.
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Ah. So that explains why I've seen comments along the lines of "get back to Kragmor" appear on (and disappear from...) their latest rounds of Greenlight submissions.
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Everyone who owns any of their games please go leave them bad reviews on Steam. Normally I wouldn't say something like that but I'm tired of these assclowns and they deserve it. They should have been banned from Steam a long time ago.
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in order to leave a bad review, do i have to acknowledge them as Games?
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I should hope not. Although Valve, for their part, seems to think that it is a loose term these days, in that a bunch of prepackaged assets cobbled together haphazardly and masquerading a game seems to qualify.
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This is the exact thing that is getting Jim in trouble. His fans go off and go on harassment campaigns like this.
If you want Digital Homicide to win their lawsuit, definitely do this, and make sure you include "Jim Sterling" in every review.
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While harassment can be a problem, DH's games ARE very clearly bad, and deserve bad reviews.
I say the more the merrier, but make sure they're 100% about the game itself, and try to include some constructive (if possible) criticism. Don't mention any exterior factors or events, of course. Even if a review is legitimate, it can be invalidated and branded harassment if there's even a hint of bias, especially by folks as adept at jumping the gun as DigiHom.
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as long as he doesn't encourage his fans to do so, it won't get him in trouble
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Yeah well I'm not one of his 'fans'. I don't follow him and the primary reason why I heard of him is because of all the controversy created by Digital Homicide due to their immature and unprofessional behavior. Sorry but they deserve any flak that they get.
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The Jimquisition videos are really good, usually about actual topics of game industry. Greenlight stuff usually targets bad games for shits and giggles, ichio tasty sometimes pretty okay. TBH I'm a subscriber, love the jimquisition ones, but even I'm very bored and start to watch him play a terrible GL game or criticize it I get a " what am I doing with my life?" epiphany because instead of playing, reading, doind stuff I'm watching someone play an objectively bad game :D
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I've seen some of his videos before and he seems like a good critic/journalist. I just didn't like the implication that I (or anyone else) is somehow automatically a Jim Sterling 'fan' just because they may have criticism for Digital Homicide. I do not follow him and for the most part have no idea what he has been doing. So one being a Jim Sterling 'fan' and having disdain for Digital Homicide are not necessarily mutually inclusive.
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+1, same here - Subscribed but mostly only watching Jimquisition and occassional bonus video that is a critic/jopurnalist material, avoiding GL/trailer/itchio materials, simply because I do not enjoy Let's Plays of good games even, not to mention bad ones, doesn't matter if I like person doing mentioned LP ;p
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I always felt that he's wasting his talent with the GL stuff - but if that's required for him to stay afloat and get money, who am I to judge?
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In most cases (not Jim's as his channel is fully funded by Patreon, not Ad money) the thing is - the more content you produce (unless it's overflowing) the more views overall you will get.more views overall also meaning more add revenue. Format like Jimquisition takes a lot more time to produce than a simple giggly short LP. Researching topic, formatting the video, writing a script and so on and on. Let's assume that he would be able to make 2-3 Jimquisitions a week if he fully commited to it. It being his most viewed and popular materials will generate him 200-300k views each as they tend to do. It's 600-900k views per week. In the same time instead of 1-2 extra Jimquisitions you are able to produce 10-12 low effort extra content - each will get you 60-75k, so in total with Jimquisition you will have 800-1300k views per week with much less work put into it, because these videos doesn't require script, a lot of research or video editing. Even if he doesn't generate ad revenue that still makes his channel more popular because gets more views and also gives spare time to make other things - like written articles which he does really good or podcasts.
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It will be interesting to see how exactly they go about this (presuming it's not a bizarre PR stunt), just hope our rotund saviour has the good sense to take it seriously and hire decent representation. While his opinions about their asset-flipped shite are clearly right it's still all rather subjective and plowing after them so consistently (and through their various incarnations) looks rather unfortunate if they can demonstrate it hit them financially.
They're evidently fucking idiots at best but shit, even if it's 99% sure to get thrown out and the $10m figure is clearly ludicrous it'd still cause me the odd sleepless night were I in his position.
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as long as he's stating his opinion,it's completely legal.
"I think you're mentally disabled" is fine, whereas saying "you're mentally disabled" is not.
I haven't read the articles, but, I get the impression that it's all his opinion, rather than a misstatement of fact, which means it'll be straightforward.
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step by step guide
(in case someone didn't see my comment in a reply to someone):
- don't buy any games from them
- don't buy bundles that contain games from them
- don't sell your soul (enter raffles) to get a free DH key
- if you happen to have spare keys, don't activate them, don't give them away, don't resell or trade them
- if you happen to have items (cards, emotes, backgrounds, boosters) of their games, turn them into gems but don't sell them on the market and don't buy cards to craft a badge
- delete all DH games from your steam library
- join http://steamcommunity.com/groups/digitalhomicides to keep getting news about the matter
- tell your friends about all that
result: you just made the world a better place.
disclaimer: yes i made mistakes and own a limited number of games that i'm going to farm, then delete from my library. just for the gems, not to give them money - chaka
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yeah dont turn them into gems craft the badge ,i have their games on like 15 alts and i dont intend to sell them on the market so they wont get any cut from it
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They are not getting money if you turn them into gems I thought?
And if you have their games on different accounts, you already gave them money and it's time to delete those games :3
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they don't get money as long as you don't sell them on the market , and i dont think having them in you library gives them any money
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it's for setting a sign. sure, you are still eligible for getting booster packs but they won't help anyone in hell 8)
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And they have the nerve to ask for money from the crowd. These people must be living in a dream world.
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I was always curious - why he chose 'Jim Sterling' as a nickname? Is it because of 'Leverage' TV series?
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Why people even hear persons like Sterling? I mean, seriously, Sterling? For real? You want to know about a new game and you hear Sterling???
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I hope they get countersued. Digital Homicide is the example of a bad publisher: blames critics when things go wrong, poops out games with no effort (Wyatt Derp 2 is just top down Wyatt Derp as far as I can tell from what they've shown us), and refuses to learn or improve.
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lol, they make a game that is beyond shit that absolutely nobody will ever buy then sue him for telling people how shit it is for far more than they could EVER possibly make from it.
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So, they failed at making money developing games so now they turned to lawsuits. Nice.
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It's like they're getting all their inspiration from Game's workshop
Recently Game's Workshop wrote in the report to their shareholders that they would stop being so trigger happy with lawsuits, as it did not generate the "expected revenue"
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Wouldn't be the first company to commit buisness suicide that way by a long shot.
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If their court case is anything like their games it will go a little something like:
"This guy was a meanie butt against our stuff we want 10 million in dollars."
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Well, at the very least, they're now opening themselves up to legal problems for doing business under a fictitious name.
But, none of their claims are actually slander or libel. All instances are matters of opinion, not statement of fact. And the assault claim....
This lawsuit will be dismissed very, very quickly
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well, none of the facts indicate that Jim Sterling did anything wrong.
Just because DH feels like they're being defamed, doesn't make it so. They should have consulted a lawyer, who would have told them right away that they don't have a case. It's not illegal to hurt someone's feelings.
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I don't need to view the case through their eyes, that's not how the law works. The law is based on facts, not feelings.
I read the claims. Based on the claims, they don't have a case. Based on everything else I've read, they don't have a case.
There are plenty of attorneys who are willing to take on a losing case in exchange for a fee. If they had a good case, there would be attorneys willing to take the case on contingency (i.e. the attorney only gets paid if they win).
and before you bring this up, I am an attorney. In the U.S.
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PACER lets you read the actual case files.
The article doesn't mention anything from a lawyer, only taht they claim they talked to a "premium online defamation law firm", who said they have a case. I don't know what makes the law firm "premium", but plenty of lawyers will claim you have a case, whether you have one or not. But they most certainly do not have a case for assault.
I wouldn't assume a party has a case, until after reviewing the facts. I've reviewed as many facts as I could in a relatively short amount of time, and I presume they don't have a case.
Let's sum up:
In Arizona, the elements of a defamation claim are:
a false statement concerning the plaintiff;
the statement was defamatory;
the statement was published to a third party;
the requisite fault on the part of the defendant; and
the plaintiff was damaged as a result of the statement.Note that pure opinion is protected speech.
The closest that DH gets is where jim sterling claims that DH is up to chicanery. Well, truth is an absolute defense against defamation, and, a good lawyer can argue that DH is up to chicanery, because they published games under a name they did not register. (note: it's perfectly legal to register a name that is used by another company, even one in a similar line of business, so long as that name has not been registered in a state in which you are doing business. But no such name has been registered in Arizona - I checked).
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I'm sure they talked to a lawyer. Doesn't mean they talked to a lawyer that wasn't trying to bilk them out of a fee, no matter how weak their case.
The case has been filed (and can be read on PACER). I'm saying I can think of several different ways to have the case dismissed, because they're idiots. Even if the case is not dismissed outright, the case won't survive a motion for summary judgment (this is where, even if all the allegations are true, the plaintiff would still lose).
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Now this is interesting. I have a few questions regarding PACER and this case.
1- Will CIA bang up my door if I use PACER as a non-US citizen?
2- Is PACER efficient in terms of looking for specific causes (e.g. slander, manslaughter etc.)?
3- What exactly is the disadvantage of taking a case to the court without an attorney in US? Shouldn't an individual be allowed to file a case, even when he/she doesn't have the funds for an attorney? Or is the reaction just about this specific case, where DH seems to have a really weak case and it will be hard to prove it without an attorney?
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1 - I doubt it
2 - it's not efficient, but it's relatively cheap. Westlaw and Lexis are efficient, but they cost significantly more (it's what law firms use to do research)
3 - an individual is allowed to file a case and represent him/her self. The problem is that an individual is unlikely to know how to represent him/her self best. Knowing what to include, and what not to include in a written complaint, which court(s) have jurisdiction - and which one is the most favorable, what evidence is admissible, what information is subject to discovery, the list goes on.
As an easy example. DH sued in Arizona state court. That court doesn't have jurisdiction over Jim Sterling (unless he physically travels to Arizona). They should have either sued in Mississippi state court (where he lives) or in Federal court.
Likewise, the assault charge will be dismissed right away, because it requires physical contact of the threat of physical contact.
Now, let's assume for the sake of argument that one or more of Jim Sterling's videos actually constitutes defamation. Arizona defamation law requires the following elements:
a false statement concerning the plaintiff;
the statement was defamatory;
the statement was published to a third party;
the requisite fault on the part of the defendant; and
the plaintiff was damaged as a result of the statement.Rather than just claim defamation, I would show each element of the crime:
On X date, JS recklessly stated that we illegally reused another company's assets in a youtube video [link] elements 1, 3 and 4
This statement cast our company in an unfair light, bringing us into disrepute and causing ridicule. element 2
As a result, sales of our games abruptly and unexpectedly dropped significantly, from X copies per month to Y copies per month element 5
Now, we've listed all the elements of the case, and simply by bringing in 2 pieces of evidence, the youtube video and the sales charts, we're done. It'll be up to Sterling to find an excuse for his actions (which DH can then rebut). Sterling is on the defensive, and more likely to lose.
Based on the current statements, DH hasn't pled their case properly, putting DH on the defensive. Right of the bat, they will need to overcome a motion to dismiss, by showing there's a chance they may win, then they will need to struggle to prove every element. (it's a real struggle if you don't even know which elements you need to prove).
Let's say JS brings into evidence that he published a correction (which he did). Will DH know whether or not they can object to this correction, and on what grounds to object? If JS argues that, even if elements 1-4 are met, it still didn't cause any damage, that the drop in sales is unrelated, will DH know what evidence JS may or may not introduce to support that claim?
While many a judge will be sympathetic to a party without an attorney, and will try to help them along, there's only so much a judge can do, and only so long that they'll spend, before the case is decided, simply because DH didn't know which arguments to make when, and how to best make them, and a competent attorney will be able to come up with many ways to destroy their case.
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I was peacefully eating popcorn by that thread and read your analysis with much interest, thanks for that ! Not into law business, but generally interested in human attempts to implement justice. On a side note, I saw recently the documentary "making a murderer". Scary !
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I do business and law.
I often present myself as doing business, and can always tell when a lawyer in dealing with isn't that good. Then I completely take advantage.
These guys would have no chance
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I see. I thought the status of "not having an attorney" itself would cause a disadvantage to DH, rather than not knowing legal terms and actions, at least it is how I read the comments in this thread. As I am totally unfamiliar with Common/Anglo Saxon Law System, it made me think "having an attorney" was somehow a factor and changes the legal status of parties.
Thanks for your answers and clarifications. Which one of those databases/engines would you suggest for someone who wants to get familiar with common law practice?
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None.
Tell me more specifically what you want and I'll tell you where to look.
Pacer is really for looking up the latest filings, Westlaw for case history.
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I am thinking about starting working international and I might end up in US at some point, which makes me believe I have to get familiar with the law system as my current knowledge is all about European Law and won't do good. Theory is always easy to catch up but when you are far away from the practice, there will be some particular subjects that won't make any sense. I am looking for an engine that can list up bunch of cases (and verdicts) about a subject so I can match.
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Unless you have a law degree from a U.S. law school, there are only a few states where you could be permitted to practice. And some of those states will require you to get an LLM degree in U.S. law.
Westlaw is a very good engine for looking up cases, but, as I said, it's expensive. Lexis is a somewhat cheaper alternative, but it's still pricy. Surprisingly enough, Wikipedia is a very good starting point for many subjects.
But if you tell me any particular subjects you're interested in, I'll be happy to point you in the right direction
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I just want to say if digital homicide felt that they were being attacked / harassed or anything related to defamation, they should clearly sue, would you not sue if you felt someone did that to you ?
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Whether the evidence is good enough is for the legal system to decide, true. But if you don't have a solid case--which, based on the public evidence, it does not appear DH does--then the legal system is not likely to decide in your favor. And no matter how butthurt you feel, filing a lawsuit you're not likely to win is at best a waste of your time, and at worst will open you up to legal and financial liability in the form of countersuits and/or anti-SLAPP claims.
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lucky for them, in this country, you can file suit because you feel like it.
lucky for everyone else, there are things like "motion to dismiss" and "summary judgment", either of which will terminate this lawsuit before it really begins.
20 days to respond to a complaint
15 days to respond to motion to dismiss
Of course, this is ignoring the fact that they're suing in the wrong court.
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If you feel attacked it's ok to defend yourself, but only as long as you do so in polite, moral and according to the law. And it's everything they did not. Stealing critic material and then modifying it to bash him in a vulgar manner. making a false DMCA to censor him, trying to do so multiple times to take down his whole channel and so on. Not to mention their other decissions not regarding to Jim Sterling that they got just angry that he called them out for.
They could go straight to the court - in this case I believe it would be stupid, as we have our lawyer user above explaining why there is no case here, but legally it would be right thing to do. The thing is thou that they do quite a few other things before that that are not only immoral but in some cases can also be viewed ilegal (like they admitted they were aware that they DMCAs are false, yet still filled them just to hurt the other party).
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Attacking a person is not the same as attacking the product they are selling.
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Bad things happen when you don't know when to stop...
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Digital Homicide's games suck and Jim Sterling is a tit. I hope they both lose.
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The hell? This is still going on? Why don't people know when to quit?
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Just imagine if Digital Homicide put the time spent watching Jim Sterling youtube vids, digging up dirt about him and the legal fees they're spending on this farce into actually making better games.
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http://kotaku.com/angered-game-developer-sues-game-critic-jim-sterling-fo-1765484317
popcorn.gif
EDIT: Here's Popehat's post on one of DH's previous run-ins with Sterling, where they abused DMCA to take down his review. It doesn't seem like their understanding of the legal system has improved since then.
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