And the mask comes off.

[Ironwolf]

I work in the Corporate environment, if someone gets canned it is Friday 4pm every time.

[Arcana]

Completely wrong, I'm afraid. I work as a computer programmer. I've been laid off twice and fired once, and both times it was "I'm going to have to let you go. Here's a box. Security will escort you to your desk to collect your personal items." If it's done any other way, there's just too much risk that you'll walk out the door with code or data, or cause some damage before walking out.

In fact this is so ingrained as standard practice that businesses can be held liable for damages employees inflict upon their former employers on the way out the door on the presumption that failing to immediately revoke all access to anything important is a form of incompetence, specifically for cases of involuntary termination (the presumption is that voluntary termination is not as sensitive, because anything the employee wanted to do before leaving he or she could have done before announcing his or her departure).

I've actually dinged clients under audit for failing to have involuntary termination policies that demand that terminations happen in basically this way.  Its unfortunate, but it is what it is.

[Ankhammon]

My favorite was the dual simultaneous meetings. If you were invited to one you were immediately "laid off" and an army of security marched all of you to the door. If you went to the other you were given a little speech about how this was needed for the company and then they sent you back to work.

[Mistress Bloodwrath]

Those numbers were never released. The only people in a position to know that were the people in the room, and none of them have talked. Believe me, I tried, and while I was able to get some interesting bits of info from people outside the room, they didn't know those kinds of details.

Unless you're talking about that stupid $80 million rumor that seems to have started as a forumgoer's estimate of something and somehow mutated into "NCSoft's insane asking price". That's an irritatingly persistent one, right up to the point as of being presented to people at Valve, et al. by their underlings as the price point -- at least until they did the research and realized it was bogus. That one really just needs to die already. It's laughably far off, as the few buyout attempts to actually get past the ncsoft desk clerks found out. It didn't help that a few prominent people in the community who should really know better repeated it without verifying what it was or where it came from.

The $80 million myth came from a relative of someone who worked at NCSoft in Austin.

They were under the assumption some new tax changes in Texas would cause the buy out price to include other tax liabilities. This believe it or not was the myth that changed everything.

Once I ran this down and it was found to be untrue - the relative was a sister to one of the folks now making the effort to buy the game! They then contacted some of the original TFHM team and was able to get to the person at NCSoft who could actually make the decision to sell the game.

Other groups had tried to get through but did not have the name of the person and so got stopped by the wall of minions who stop progress. It is like the old saying if you have to ask someone for the name or price - they don't want to talk to you.

Mmm... okay, sounds like a reasonable set of occurrences. I'll let the guy who was whispering to me these things in late 2012 and early 2013 come forward if he likes to explain his part of why he was spreading the details he was--that is, assuming he's even reading this thread; I know he's active here. But thanks for clarifying things on the price issue.

[hejtmane]

Completely wrong, I'm afraid. I work as a computer programmer. I've been laid off twice and fired once, and both times it was "I'm going to have to let you go. Here's a box. Security will escort you to your desk to collect your personal items." If it's done any other way, there's just too much risk that you'll walk out the door with code or data, or cause some damage before walking out.

I was part of a layoff and I was a month transition that I had to stay and work for a month before I would be severed. I stayed around with my full control on the IT side no less for an extra month then again we had a merger and still had work to do and they where giving me a good 6months of salary to go away plus some extra perks with the layoff. You know that song take the money and run yea I did that.

[pinballdave]

Completely wrong, I'm afraid. I work as a computer programmer. I've been laid off twice and fired once, and both times it was "I'm going to have to let you go. Here's a box. Security will escort you to your desk to collect your personal items." If it's done any other way, there's just too much risk that you'll walk out the door with code or data, or cause some damage before walking out.

Hurray for cloud storage!!

[FourSpeed]

My favorite was the dual simultaneous meetings. If you were invited to one you were immediately "laid off" and an army of security marched all of you to the door. If you went to the other you were given a little speech about how this was needed for the company and then they sent you back to work.

Been there, done that... I don't recall the day of the week (it was a *l o n g* time ago), but it *was* first thing in the morning, because after packing our stuff, 4 or 5 of us who were in the layoff batch, went over to the local bar for an early lunch to comiserate, grouse, and have a couple (ok, several  ) beverages.

While I generally agree that in my field (IT programming), it is pretty common to "get walked to the door" by security,  I've also been in some companies where folks were given advance notice that they were getting RIF'd (Reduction in Force), so they could post internally for other possible positions.

Like many things in business -- "it depends".   


Regards,
4

[Ironwolf]

Nothing like interviewing for your own job again.........

[AlienOne]

Heh.  All this "Sure, it may have been your favorite game of all time, a game by which all other games before and since have come to be judged (and all found wanting), but to NCSoft, it was just a teeny tiny nothing, so you shouldn't be mad about it" is not having the intended affect, I think.

Hey, Chun Li, Bison doesn't even remember murdering your father.  It was just a Tuesday for him.  So lay off all the anger, okay?

(Yeah, yeah, I know that's not a perfect analogy, but that's how I feel.  The fact that what they took away from me - from all of us - was so insignificant to them does not make me feel better at all, it makes me feel worse)

This is pretty much where I'm at.

Side note:
I had a dream that I was a Warshade last night. I don't know what that means, but it happened regardless.

[chuckv3]

Hurray for cloud storage!!

I used to hoard code when I was first starting out (and first learning Java), but I no longer do that. Re-writing is a golden opportunity to fix foundational items you wish you had done differently. The one "big gun" piece of software that people hire me for I have actually re-written 5 times now, and the latest version is absolutely the most capable, cleanest and most readable of any of them, mainly because I learned to apply design patterns in a deliberate way.

[pinballdave]

This is pretty much where I'm at.

Side note:
I had a dream that I was a Warshade last night. I don't know what that means, but it happened regardless.

It means your chest cavity will soon burst open with an alien in its second form scratching and biting its way out.

[Zerohour]

So, people here are still using the "business takes as long as it takes" excuse to keep this dream going? 

[chuckv3]

So, people here are still using the "business takes as long as it takes" excuse to keep this dream going?

It's not a "dream," as the negotiations are active and alive. And it's not an "excuse" either, since we are getting assurances from the team doing the negotiations that they are proceeding.

The worst that could happen is the deal falls through. Even then, we'll have Heroes and Villains, City of Titans and Valiance Online to choose from. All 3 seem to be making notable forward progress, and it seems all 3 will probably be going to beta in the next couple of years.

[Angel Phoenix77]

So, people here are still using the "business takes as long as it takes" excuse to keep this dream going?

Aren't you the bastion of positivity. You do not seem to understand how business is or how long business takes. Iron Wolf has repeatedly said that the Nate and the team has to deal with Nc Soft, they are a Korean company, so that means they have to play their game.
You are free to think and believe anything you want, however, I think you might only have a very few people think that. I would like to think there are a lot more thinking we will get our home back. Even I have to say if this attempt fails does not mean that will be over and done.

It's not a "dream," as the negotiations are active and alive. And it's not an "excuse" either, since we are getting assurances from the team doing the negotiations that they are proceeding.

The worst that could happen is the deal falls through. Even then, we'll have Heroes and Villains, City of Titans and Valiance Online to choose from. All 3 seem to be making notable forward progress, and it seems all 3 will probably be going to beta in the next couple of years.

Exactly chuck

[Vee]

So, people here are still using the "business takes as long as it takes" excuse to keep this dream going?

Sorry, the regularly scheduled iteration of this conversation is supposed to be in the new efforts thread.

[Mistress Bloodwrath]

So, people here are still using the "business takes as long as it takes" excuse to keep this dream going?

Considering that's pretty much exactly how business works, it's amusing that you even can call it an excuse. Let's hope you never have to deal with a government office; they're even slower.

[Nyx Nought Nothing]

Considering that's pretty much exactly how business works, it's amusing that you even can call it an excuse. Let's hope you never have to deal with a government office; they're even slower.

On three occasions the company i work for ended up working directly for a government agency instead of an artist or gallery or estate. (We do sculpture fabrication and restoration.) Each time it's been a long drawn-out annoyance with many, many irrelevant requirements added to what is normally a straightforward job. Each time it's over we say we hope to never do it again.

[Arcana]

So, people here are still using the "business takes as long as it takes" excuse to keep this dream going?

I'm picturing popping into a discussion group on general relativity and saying "still using the 'space-time can be curved' excuse to keep this dream going" only when I do it there a ",eh?" at the end.

[Zerohour]

Aren't you the bastion of positivity. You do not seem to understand how business is or how long business takes. Iron Wolf has repeatedly said that the Nate and the team has to deal with Nc Soft, they are a Korean company, so that means they have to play their game.
You are free to think and believe anything you want, however, I think you might only have a very few people think that. I would like to think there are a lot more thinking we will get our home back. Even I have to say if this attempt fails does not mean that will be over and done.

What's it been, about 3 years now since this started?  Does that seem acceptable?  And while we are at it, where are these updates from the negotiation team?  The "new efforts" thread hasn't been updated in months.

[Angel Phoenix77]

What's it been, about 3 years now since this started?  Does that seem acceptable?  And while we are at it, where are these updates from the negotiation team?  The "new efforts" thread hasn't been updated in months.

If what I understand, these new talks have only gain momentum just a little over a year. City of. was closed down 3 years ago. The original attempt failed, you might want to read Iron Wolfs posts to understand on what happened. So yes it is completely expectable.
Iron Wolf has posted as well as a few other people posted you are not due anything in other means you do not need to know what is going on behind closed doors. You need to understand what non disclosure means; and that is the people involved in something cannot talk about it.
That is where I think you have not read the thread, if you did you would have read Caitlin's post as well as few others stating that the talks are still on going.
Like I said if you want to think the effort failed that's your right, however, trying to make others believe as you do seems a bit selfish and self centered. I believe in time I will be able to play once again.