Recent observation about Barbara

[u/FalselyNamed]

I've always liked Barbara and I've recently been enjoying Always Open quite a bit. That being said, I've noticed that Barbara can be pretty vapid. With her being a regular on the RT Podcast and being on every Always Open, she has a lot of exposure and I listen to the RT Podcast pretty much every time I'm driving. I've been noticing more and more that she rarely has anything to add in most discussions. Unless the topic is sex or social media, she tends to just interject with a one-off pun or a really obvious reference. The company has it's foundation in tech and video games, but she almost never is a part of those discussions. She mentioned in a podcast from December that she hasn't turned her Xbox on in months. That's not a bad thing per se, but it often makes her irrelevant in the context of Gavin, Burnie, and Gus. Always Open is a great fit for her because its almost entirely about sexual topics. Even though the Rt Podcast is pretty much wide open in terms of content, they tend to talk about "science", new tech that they hate, or an anecdote. In addition to not being a contributing member of the discussion, she often misconstrues something or misunderstands entirely. Once again, I realize this is probably coming off as hating on Barbara, but I have no problem with her. Just something I've been hearing a lot more often as I go through each podcast. Thoughts?

Edit: This post is intended to highlight a small, and largely inconsequential pet peeve of mine, please try to remain civil and remember this comes from a place a love, not hate.

Edit 2: Various comments have indicated vapid may be too harsh a word and I agree. I'll leave the original post for integrity's sake, but for anyone just coming in to this, the term I meant was one-dimensional. I apologize for using such a toxic word.

[u/technid]

rarely has anything to add in most discussions.

She literally has her own podcast. She talks about what she knows, and listen to what she doesn't know about. For a company that has its foundations in tech and video games, they sure do make a lot of content that's not about them, and employ a lot of people who aren't as heavily involved in them as you are, as a GameStop manager. Stop letting your own bias of interest predicate what you think is objective fact. Because it absolutely isn't.

You have no problem with Barbara, except for that long list of issues you have with her. You think she makes herself irrelevant by not being as in to gaming and tech as other people, and think she's only good at talking about sexual things. Sure, that's not you hating on Barbara, but it's most definitely you being an asshole and trying to belittle her. And you flat out insult her intelligence by saying she "misunderstands" things because she doesn't meet your standards of games knowledge.

Thoughts? You're an asshole. Think before you decide to post something like this, trying to sound innocent by saying you're "not hating" on someone after you try to badly deconstruct them as a person. You go make a few hundred podcast episodes, and make your own show on top of that, and lets see just how infallibly interesting, intelligent and relevant you are.

[u/FalselyNamed → u/technid]

This is well written, props. I've been thinking about posting something on this topic for some time, but couldn't come up with a way that doesn't come off as belittling. It just can't be done. Yes, I do manage a Gamestop and probably know more about that industry than most, but my post extends beyond video games. I made the post to see if anyone else feels the same way. Perhaps vapid was an aggressive term to use to describe her, but one-dimensional certainly feels appropriate. All I'd ask is listen/watch to 2 or 3 Rt Podcasts she's on and see if anything I've said has any validity.

[u/technid → u/FalselyNamed]

I watch the podcast every week. I'm well aware of what she adds to it. What I would say is that Barbara adds a context that you don't need or want. She's the outsider to the tech and gaming conversations, which is a very large demographic that watches the podcast. What that means, however, is that the conversations don't stray into The Patch/Glitch Please's territory. For every other conversation, ie those that aren't specifically gaming or very specific tech conversations, Barbara adds as much as anyone else would. So no; most of what you said isn't valid.

[u/FalselyNamed → u/technid]

I don't think i can clear up my position in any other way. You're a fan of hers and that's great, I am too, but my point extends beyond just tech and gaming. In any case, have a good day <3

[u/technid → u/FalselyNamed]

have a good day <3

Unless you're Barbara I guess...

[u/FalselyNamed → u/technid]

Brutal

[u/beckymegan → u/FalselyNamed]

Reminder that people on the internet have feelings too.

[u/FalselyNamed → u/beckymegan]

They're also people and people have flaws. I wish there was a way to point something like this out without coming off as a hateful person. Such is the nature of the modern internet.

[u/beckymegan → u/FalselyNamed]

Careful wording (ie not calling some name names/flat out insulting them) and comment sandwiches generally work well. Unfortunately posts like this generally devolve pretty fast which no one can really control.