#but i feel like usually rt and ah are such a positive community of people and the response to fiona has truly just been so negative

[politoad]

hello has this been said bc it needs to be

[acheemient]

Hello! feel free to ignore this ask if you don't feel like answering it :) im pretty new to the ah fandom, i discovered them through their overcooked videos (they're hilarious and made me cry laughing) but the comments on a few of their videos i've watched seem to be pretty negative towards them and i can't seem to understand why? is it usually like that? :/

First let me say, welcome to the fandom!!

Next, let me say, I tend to not read the comments on videos for this very reason.  I might write my own comment from time to time, but I try to keep them positive and/or teasing.

No, not everyone is like that in this fandom, but it really depends on what kinds of fans you surround yourself with.  I stick mostly to Tumblr and Twitter, and people on these platforms are overwhelmingly positive.  The RT site comments and YouTube, not so much.

Unfortunately, much of the negativity is focused on Lindsay and Fiona.  I really think that many of the commenters are men/boys who are sexist/misogynistic, whether they realize it or not.  It is an unfortunate fact, but I have found a lot of this negativity towards women in the online gaming community.

All of that being said, please don’t let the negativity in the comments deter you from being an Achievement Hunter fan.  Like I said, I have found a great community on Tumblr!  People on here are so inclusive!  I have never once regretted joining this fandom, and I hope you experience the same welcoming atmosphere that I have!

[misplacedyank]

Back on Track

It’s been a couple days and I’m feeling better so let’s get this train of thought back on the rails, shall we? I have some updates on the detour but those can wait. Just know that I’m feeling better and got talked down off the ledge by some amazing people I’m blessed to call friends. 

Now, where did we stop last time? Ah yes. I joined the fantastic team over at Xbox Community Support (XCS). 

So XCS. I showed up to Microsoft Studio D without having a clue of what to expect. I met my boss and new team and was relieved to discover that everyone was normal! Well, as normal as a bunch of geeks working Support can be. I was put to work learning the ropes and given a work Gamertag and then let loose on the Official Support Forums. I got quite good at proving support for a variety of Xbox hardware, Xbox Live, and Xbox Game issues. Anything from, “Hey why can’t I update my console” to “I bought a game and didn’t get my pre-order bonus” (Looking at you, Halo Wars 2) to “Hey I boiled my console, help.”

I spent just about a year there and then the team downsized and the good ol’ “last in, first out” came to play and suddenly I found myself in limbo. I shined up my resume (hey, I actually had legit skills now!) and sent it out. I had some really promising leads, including one from Xbox Enforcement. In the meantime, I found myself working on the QA Reserves team for Microsoft working on...Halo Wars 2. 

I don’t claim to be excellent or good at a lot of things but believe me when I say that I am not good at QA for RTS games. I was there for a whole 6ish weeks and I definitely tried but man do I stink at RTS games. Everyone on the team was friendly and worked hard to help me learn and I appreciate them all greatly. (Bonus: I now work with some of them again!) 

Those few weeks gave me a new appreciation for how undervalued and under-appreciated QA is as a skill and job. It’s a lot of repetitive work and doing a lot of things you may not enjoy or be good at. It’s tough! Had the game been one I enjoyed more, I probably would have enjoyed the job more and been more enthusiastic. Alas that wasn’t the case for Halo Wars 2. 

I DID wind up in the credits so that game #1 under my belt which isn’t too shabby at all. 

One day I got a call from the Enforcement recruiters and set up an interview at Studio D. I was killing time in Rukari’s office waiting for my interview when he actually called me. Turns out, his team wanted to have a phone chat with me about possibly joining the Microsoft Studios Community team. I mentioned that I was sitting in his chair and he came and introduced me to a couple of the people on MSStudios and sent me down to get a coffee and chat. We chatted for 20 minutes or so and then I rolled straight into my Enforcement interview.

That was a really hard transition, actually. I was in Studio prepping my mind for the Enforcement interview and focusing and reviewing what I knew about XBLPET from my XCS time and what to expect in that interview. Having to flex on the fly to how I could translate my volunteer mod life into a CM role was tough. Then having to turn around and go back to the Enforcement mindset was not easy. 

Regardless of having some mental struggles, I apparently knocked both interviews out of the park and was waffling between the two positions. Ultimately, I opted for the Community Manager spot at Microsoft Studios and started shortly after. I gave notice at the Reserves and took a day or two off before starting my 3rd job in 15 months in Seattle: Community Manager for Microsoft Studios!

If you’d told me that being a royal pain in the ass on the forums years ago would result in me getting a job, I’d have laughed in your face. 

And now, it’s bedtime so the rest will have to wait for another day. Maybe tomorrow? Maybe this weekend? I don’t know. But hey, I’m like 5 posts in, this is more than I usually do so I’m absolutely patting myself on the back. 

A la prochaine!