Got Bias?

kmouser · 10-03-2006, 12:11 PM

What started as news has become so much more. Gotfrag has expanded into another market...again. Gotfrag has continuously pushed the envelope of esports news and has once again taken things to a new level with GotComms. Does this affect their objectivity though?

GotComms is Gotfrag's Team Speak and Ventrilo hosting service. That’s right, now you can get Vent and TS servers from Gotfrag. This has left some people to flame Gotfrag concerning their pricing. Some saying they can get the same service cheaper by buying direct from the place Gotfrag uses to run this service. Scott Smith from Gotfrag TV had this to say to some of the pricing critics, "As for anything for sale in this world, there are always price differences for similar if not the exact same items. If you are in need of a voice server and you want to support GotFrag, which in turns allows us to send more people to cover events, add more things to the website, etc, then check out the service. If you do not need one or choose to shop somewhere else, by all means go for it."

The upside to the GotComms service is that there are no codec restrictions and instant setup. Despite the price critics the rate isn't too outrageous. These few critics are nothing compared to the hissy fit some people had when Gotfrag announced the creation of Gotfrag TV with the CPL deal. Shoutcasters initially went bonkers when they learned they would have to play a 15 second Gotfrag ad or lose their coverage rights to CAL. I saw Gotfrag TV as a natural step for this gaming news agency.

However the real issue is does this affect their objectivity? As of yet I don't see that it has. I think we will continue to have a safe and relatively unbiased Gotfrag so long as they don’t start sponsoring teams. If they begin sponsoring teams with servers and giving those teams news coverage, a bias could develop and then things will have gotten out of hand. All this is my opinion of course and you know what they say about opinions. Feel free to leave some comments/opinions on what you guys (the community) think about this issue.

You can get more information regarding GotComms and find some of the community comments/opinions I used in this article HERE.

*EDIT* I had used part of what Scott Smith had said earlier and at his request included the rest of the statement.

ImpRoV · 10-03-2006, 12:32 PM

alright coltrane lets get a move on this, lets talk to julie from hi-def and have invitegamer servers up for sale...

btw...imo... the ad u gotta play or lose the cal coverage rights is pretty effin pathetic

Ironfalcon · 10-03-2006, 12:50 PM

zzz subject is lame, they shouldnt have to pay fight the power.

practice-tmc- · 10-03-2006, 01:38 PM

i don't think the word biased is what you were looking for. it doesn't really apply to this situation

kmouser · 10-03-2006, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ironfalcon

...they shouldnt have to pay fight the power.

Not sure I understand what you mean.

Quote:

Originally Posted by practice-tmc-

i don't think the word biased is what you were looking for. it doesn't really apply to this situation

bias
–noun
1.A line going diagonally across the grain of fabric: Cut the cloth on the bias.
2.
a. A preference or an inclination, especially one that inhibits impartial judgment.
b. An unfair act or policy stemming from prejudice.
3. A statistical sampling or testing error caused by systematically favoring some outcomes over others.

I used the word bias in asking "Does GotFrag's other business dealings beyond news make their reporting biased?" It was a play on the name Got-Frag?...Got-Bias? I thought it fit. For the record I enjoy GotFrag.

practice-tmc- · 10-03-2006, 04:13 PM

well i don't think this is a matter of whether you like gotfrag or not. I personally dislike many things about gotfrag. at the momen i dislike how gotfrag is infested with flash advertisements. i dont really see how reselling a service is going to affect how they report their news.

kmouser · 10-03-2006, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by practice-tmc-

...i dont really see how reselling a service is going to affect how they report their news.

I agree. I was responding to some of the comments I heard being made. Thats why I was saying that unless they get into sponsoring teams, teams they would give coverage to then we shoudn't have a problem.

practice-tmc- · 10-03-2006, 06:36 PM

i dont think they'll ever take it that far. i don't think it's a basic supply and demmand thing like they say. that'd be like me buying a whopper and selling it outside of burger king for an extra dollar and change the name. what pisses me off is that they advertise "their" service as something special, but it's the exact same thing that gamedaemons offers.