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RetractionBefore I begin what will most likely turn into a lengthy explanation and group mea culpa, let me just say that everyone at Rooster Teeth has enormous respect for the fighting men and women of the United States military.
We recently had a visitor to the Austin Rooster Teeth studio who came in full uniform and presented us with a special gift -- a hat which he said had been damaged in combat. We thought that was a very cool tale and we thought it would be fun to honor a fan's combat service by posting his story in our blog. Shortly after the post hit our front page, we started to receive emails telling us the story was false and that we should remove it from our feed. Some of our staff examined the links being sent to us and determined that it looked like enough people with enough knowledge were saying this was a fabrication. Keep in mind, we're not ballistics experts. We have no idea what size exit hole a round from an AK-47 should make. A member of the armed forces showed up in full fatigues, told us a story, showed us a hat and we took him at his word. That was our first mistake. While we are an irreverent comedy group, we do feel an obligation to post truthful information on our website especially when it comes to the very serious issue of battlefield valor. So without any real way to prove or disprove the story, we decided to remove it. We now believe that story was false and we don't want anything on our site to indirectly diminish the service of soldiers fighting in an active war.
However, removing the story from the site didn't stem the tide of emails flowing to the inbox and they arrived in varying degrees of politeness. In replying to those emails, our new Community Manager made a comment in an email that in essence said the emailer should spend their time worrying about something more important. While she essentially meant "something more important than someone lying on the internet" this was very understandably interpreted as "something more important than someone lying about their military service." That was our second mistake. Our Community Manager deeply regrets making that comment and sent an apology to the person to whom she made it. I also regret that we sent that original email. I feel that her private apology for a private comment is appropriate, but private emails can be posted to public forums making it feel like a public statement. It was not and I apologize to any combat veteran or their families who read that email.
Hopefully, people will understand that this all began when we posted a reverential story about a (purported) combat veteran. In our attempt to do something nice for a serviceman, we ended up pissing off a whole bunch more. However, this whole misguided adventure started from a place of respect. We made some mistakes along the way, but I hope people can see through that to the underlying genuine spirit of the post.
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Watch
Mind you, the person who sent the email was Canadian
- Victor
But then again, life wouldn't be a challenge and dynamic without obstacles.
And you'll get to know who you can rely on.
Barb, you're a valuable asset to RT and the community, just keep on doing what you do best ^_^
Whatever that may be, as long as you also keep being Community Manager :P
Who's the the cutest?
Burnie, I'd send you a homemade cheesecake or some sushi, but I'm afraid it won't survive the long trip :P
and yes i no my spelling is aweful but im pretty sure ull understand most of it
P.S: You're doing a great job Barbara, you didn't deserve being attacked like that. <3
I have tons of respect for all the staff of RT and appreciate the candor you have shown in dealing with what I think was actually a fairly minor event. You guys acted in good faith the entire time and never sought out to hurt anyone or disparage military service. While I never served, I did spend the better part of my life on military bases wondering if my dad was coming home. I always appreciate seeing respect being paid to those who choose to serve in the military. You guys tried to be respectful from the get go and it just spun a little wild.
Thanks for all you do,
Mr Trelawney (Patrick)
I'm sorry that Barbara had to deal with getting blasted by people and I'm glad you're trying to set the record straight with this post.
Stay classy Rooster Teeth
I have been a member of your site for about 7 years, and nothing you guys have done has been anything but respectful to those of us in uniform.
Seriously, I love you guys. Thanks for taking the time to clear the air from the honest mistake.
And, to that guy with the hat - If you were lying, which it looks like you were.... This is what you get when you talk about shit you know nothing about.
Post edited 1/31/12 10:45PM
As for the faker, I hope his chain of command slaps him on the peepee.
I don't believe it's your job to do a full ballistics test and go full CSI on everyone that tells you a story.
Unless the story sounded like a fabrication, or you knew the guy was of a dubious character (like a politician or banker
Not sure I agree with your retraction, though.
Just because some people on the site gave their opinion based on a single picture of the hat, doesn't sound anymore valid than the original post. If anything, it's weaker.
None of the commenters were there to hear the guy's account first hard, nor cross examine him at the time. They based their comments on a second hand account and a picture of an RT hat.
Technically, now you're calling the original guy a liar
I think the "emailers" need to calm down - it's only a post on the Internet.
I understand your sentiment, but I think you should have left it alone. At most you should have added a simple disclaimer at the end of the original post.
I hope this hasn't set a precedent.
Also, the original guy has never been deployed, and his hat has never left the country. He made the story up. Plain and simple.
Can't imagine why anyone would make up a story like that (or any other, for that matter).