I really appreciated you writing this up. A couple of thoughts.
First, a useful frame: when people are unhappy about a group, any group, they have two choices. They can either ‘exit’ or ‘voice’. This was originally discussed in relation to consumers buying goods, but it’s general and as simple as it sounds: you leave or you complain. Which of those people do is more complicated: it depends, afaict, on how loyal they are to the group and also whether they think voicing their concerns will work.
It seems like what you’re saying is that people come into EA, become loyal to the idea, get disillusioned because the reality doesn’t live up to the hype, but then exit rather than voice. The reason they exit is some combination not wanting to harm the project or be seen as a bad actor, and because they don’t think their criticisms will be listened to.
Second, lots of this really resonates with me. EA sort of sells itself as being full of incredibly smart, open-minded, kind, dedicated people. And, for the most part, they are—at least by the starts of the rest of the world. But they are people still: prone to ego, irrationality, distraction, championing their pet projects, sticking to their guns, and the rest. And these people work together in groups we call ‘organisations’. And even with the best people, getting them to work together and work differently is a struggle… It is a recipe for disillusionment.
(I recognise I’m not offering any solutions here, sorry...)
I really appreciated you writing this up. A couple of thoughts.
First, a useful frame: when people are unhappy about a group, any group, they have two choices. They can either ‘exit’ or ‘voice’. This was originally discussed in relation to consumers buying goods, but it’s general and as simple as it sounds: you leave or you complain. Which of those people do is more complicated: it depends, afaict, on how loyal they are to the group and also whether they think voicing their concerns will work.
It seems like what you’re saying is that people come into EA, become loyal to the idea, get disillusioned because the reality doesn’t live up to the hype, but then exit rather than voice. The reason they exit is some combination not wanting to harm the project or be seen as a bad actor, and because they don’t think their criticisms will be listened to.
Second, lots of this really resonates with me. EA sort of sells itself as being full of incredibly smart, open-minded, kind, dedicated people. And, for the most part, they are—at least by the starts of the rest of the world. But they are people still: prone to ego, irrationality, distraction, championing their pet projects, sticking to their guns, and the rest. And these people work together in groups we call ‘organisations’. And even with the best people, getting them to work together and work differently is a struggle… It is a recipe for disillusionment.
(I recognise I’m not offering any solutions here, sorry...)