Quote Originally Posted by XXXWriterDude View Post

Patrick and Rainey are not impressionable 5-year-olds. They are both adults who are old enough to make their own decisions in life. I have a very hard time believing that either one of them let Epoch "strong-arm" them into leaving behind their jobs at CCBill and PrideBucks, respectively.
I am one of the people who made statements to the effect that stealing employees is not OK. And I stand by the statement. I've had to deal with headhunters attempting to steal my employees at various companies, and I think that, in general, they are the scum of the earth.

But companies contacting other industry people that they meet through shows and such is in a different category; if someone is unhappy or ambivalent enough to want to make a change, that's a little bit different, and that sort of thing goes on all the time, both in our industry and in most others. If it's handled appropriately, I don't see much of a problem with it.

Now of course, if Patrick and Rainey each contacted Epoch first, that does change the picture considerably... but what's really interesting here is that this could VERY easily have been disclosed at the outset to quell the concerns that were arising, and would have painted a completely different picture.

So Either Epoch has the absolute worst PR representation on the planet working for them (which I'm beginning to believe) or the entire story about who contacted who was fabricated to try and do damage control. (Also possible, but, given the parties involved, considerably less likely.)

As gossipy as the gay community is, companies should know better than to try to simply be silent on issues like this. Transparency is always the best course of action. Here's hoping that this incident, once resolved, will lead to greater transparency, so that those who are dealing with good and honest intentions can be seen for who they are, and those who are not so honorable can also be seen for who they are.