The Housing Controvery in Hannover
Posted 03-07-2009 at 01:45 PM by 1
I'd like to take a moment to elaborate on the comment I posted on Gotfrag about the recent housing controversy in Hannover, Germany.
First, I want to express how much I appreciate the efforts of Extreme Masters and what a wonderful job they have done running their events in general. EM is providing an amazing platform for eSports during difficult times and has executed an incredibly entertaining event with top notch competitions, coverage, and excitement. All the wonderful people who run the event are owed respect and thanks for advancing the gaming scene we all love and enjoy.
My concern is centered around the housing and transportation issues in Hannover. We have our WoW team in the city and have been dealing with these issues all week. We have spent over $500 on cabs because transportation is not adequate. (Other American organizations have shared the same frustrations.) After Hostile was assaulted with a gun during a robbery I felt it was only right to bring these issues to the forefront. His family is one of several who contacted me with concerns. They do not have a public voice and are not certain how to express their anger and frustrations so I volunteered and stepped into the crosshairs on their behalf.
All gamers understand that attending LAN events in big cities presents the inherent risk of danger that any other person would have. However, the tradition in most countries has always been for event organizers to provide safe hotel/motel housing and transportation when part of their business model is to provide lodging. If gamers venture out, outside of the safety of said premises, they are obviously on their own and assume responsibility for their own safety.
Perhaps the issues at hand arose due to a lack of proper communication. American gamers simply were not aware that their lodging in Hannover would include living with local residents, often without any teammates accompanying them. Personally, I believe that the opportunity to be welcomed into the home of a nice German family is an amazing chance at experiencing the culture beyond traditional hotels and room service. However, not all international travelers share the same sentiment, and many gamers were very distressed to learn they would be staying apart from their teams with local citizens they were not familiar with.
For future reference, it is my humble opinion that options should be offered. If EM is generous enough to offer local residential housing (which is a wonderful gesture) they should also explain the details of this arrangement prior to gamers arriving and release other lodging alternatives that gaming organizations can choose to purchase at their own expense.
Again, it's my opinion that these are precarious times for eSports and everyone should be supporting the efforts of Extreme Masters. The global events they were able to execute were very well done and have advanced gaming for us all. At the heart of this 'controversy' is a basic lack of communication which can be easily solved for 2010. Families concerned about their loved ones and gaming groups charged with taking care of their employees will have other options if they are not pleased with residential housing. Personally, I would love to stay with a nice German family if I am able to attend CeBIT 2010, but not all gamers share my sentiment.
Best wishes to all the people who work hard at Extreme Masters, and best wishes to Shaun and his family.
First, I want to express how much I appreciate the efforts of Extreme Masters and what a wonderful job they have done running their events in general. EM is providing an amazing platform for eSports during difficult times and has executed an incredibly entertaining event with top notch competitions, coverage, and excitement. All the wonderful people who run the event are owed respect and thanks for advancing the gaming scene we all love and enjoy.
My concern is centered around the housing and transportation issues in Hannover. We have our WoW team in the city and have been dealing with these issues all week. We have spent over $500 on cabs because transportation is not adequate. (Other American organizations have shared the same frustrations.) After Hostile was assaulted with a gun during a robbery I felt it was only right to bring these issues to the forefront. His family is one of several who contacted me with concerns. They do not have a public voice and are not certain how to express their anger and frustrations so I volunteered and stepped into the crosshairs on their behalf.
All gamers understand that attending LAN events in big cities presents the inherent risk of danger that any other person would have. However, the tradition in most countries has always been for event organizers to provide safe hotel/motel housing and transportation when part of their business model is to provide lodging. If gamers venture out, outside of the safety of said premises, they are obviously on their own and assume responsibility for their own safety.
Perhaps the issues at hand arose due to a lack of proper communication. American gamers simply were not aware that their lodging in Hannover would include living with local residents, often without any teammates accompanying them. Personally, I believe that the opportunity to be welcomed into the home of a nice German family is an amazing chance at experiencing the culture beyond traditional hotels and room service. However, not all international travelers share the same sentiment, and many gamers were very distressed to learn they would be staying apart from their teams with local citizens they were not familiar with.
For future reference, it is my humble opinion that options should be offered. If EM is generous enough to offer local residential housing (which is a wonderful gesture) they should also explain the details of this arrangement prior to gamers arriving and release other lodging alternatives that gaming organizations can choose to purchase at their own expense.
Again, it's my opinion that these are precarious times for eSports and everyone should be supporting the efforts of Extreme Masters. The global events they were able to execute were very well done and have advanced gaming for us all. At the heart of this 'controversy' is a basic lack of communication which can be easily solved for 2010. Families concerned about their loved ones and gaming groups charged with taking care of their employees will have other options if they are not pleased with residential housing. Personally, I would love to stay with a nice German family if I am able to attend CeBIT 2010, but not all gamers share my sentiment.
Best wishes to all the people who work hard at Extreme Masters, and best wishes to Shaun and his family.
Total Comments 16
Comments
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Well said jasonPosted 03-07-2009 at 01:57 PM by JetBlk 
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ditto
Posted 03-07-2009 at 02:16 PM by Vader
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Thanks for writing this up.
Posted 03-07-2009 at 02:50 PM by Macdad88
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don't seem as hostile in this post (no pun intended.)
Hostile was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, in a very rare and unfortunate case. I don't think the housing had much to do with him getting robbed.Posted 03-07-2009 at 04:28 PM by KnowTheScene
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Actually, the housing has a lot to do with him getting robbed. When you stay in a large hotel with your team, especially at an event like Cebit, this type of crime is almost impossible. There is a huge police presence at events like this, and even the slowest of criminals won't take the risk. Having the players stay in the homes of families is arguably acceptable, however making them walk there alone is NOT fine at all.
Even in my small hometown, I would NEVER take the risk of walking around downtown late at night by myself. Hell, just last night I went downtown for a couple hours, and when I came back to my car it had been broken into despite all the doors being locked.
Opportunity is all a criminal really needs to commit crimes like this, and if you reduce that opportunity(i.e. lodging the players in large hotels with lots of police) then this sort of thing won't happen.
Despite the fact that I'm an outgoing person, I know i would have been a little upset at finding out I had to stay with local residents that I had never met. The option to stay in a hotel should certainly be given to the players. Just because E-Sports is nowhere near as big as the MLB, NFL, NBA, etc, doesn't mean that the players don't deserve safety, at the very least.Posted 03-07-2009 at 04:59 PM by deefop
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deefop, you do realise hostile got robbed at 1 in the morning after being at a bar. ESL can't escort you everywhere and as far as I know the players were picked up everyday and taken to the event.
Posted 03-07-2009 at 05:20 PM by KnowTheScene
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Hostile was robbed about 10 seconds from his host house, which you would know if you were really following the incident. The pub in question is literally next door to him, and he was actually enjoying friendly conversation with the people who mugged him for about 20 minutes prior to the attack. Normal people don't spend 20 minutes making friends with someone and then mug them, this was obviously a sketchy area, as Shaun has already stated, and the gamers don't deserve to be housed in areas where 10 seconds from your home is no mans land.
Posted 03-07-2009 at 05:25 PM by deefop
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Well said...... ESL has presented CS on a platform that rivals any to date, and should set the bar for any future events to match. As for the housing issue, for me, if i go to an event i'd find it rather unsettling that i'd be seperated by the rest of the team unwillingly and staying at some persons house.Posted 03-07-2009 at 05:36 PM by jdubya`
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deefop whats your point?
They weren't trying to make friends, they sus you out, find out what you have on you and if its valuable or not then jump you outside. No doubt during the time at the bar he had his iPhone out and obviously got his wallet out to purchase drinks, also being on holiday means you have a fair bit of money on you too.
This is not ESL's fault at all, freak incident and staying in local residents is safe and acceptable enough. This may of been the first incident of violence in that area for all you know, ESL have also said they avoid the rough areas.Posted 03-07-2009 at 07:39 PM by KnowTheScene
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@ deefop
You talk and try to make a point as if hostile would be forced to live in the worst possible place on this planet and what happened was almost preprogrammed.
ESL has today released another statement, on german sites and on HLTV.org where they made clear that they care for any individual. They pick up the players in the morning, drive them to the gaming place and drive them back home in the evening, to give them maximum possible security. As ESL also stated, is Hannover the city with the statistically lowest crime rate in germany - a main reason for this is the CeBit and other important events that last for the whole year - because the police presence is immense and by far higher than in any other german city. And the area, within this statistically lowest crime rate city, where hostile stayed is the quietest area in Hannover. ESL also said, that they are really shocked and sorry for what happened to hostile, but they are no "babysitters". ESL takes care on the security during the event, but they are not responsible for what a player (or any other visitor of CeBit) does in the evening and night hours in their free time.
It's also discussed in german forums, and this is quite a point here, that the housing circumstances have not changed and many player of the ESL event live in worse areas than hostile did, but nothing happen to them. Furthermore are they very happy to live more "familiar" in a household rather than in a boring hotel room.
Point is, the majority think that it was a sad case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and blaming ESL for this incident is just unfair.
Everyone can have their own opinion on this matter, but some objective view on what happened wont harm.Posted 03-08-2009 at 06:16 AM by Bossi
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i agree completely with Bossi on this. What happened to Hostile was an unfortunate thing. It is not ESL's fault.Posted 03-08-2009 at 07:44 AM by VeLoCitY
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A thing you americans need to understand is, that this is an extremly rare situations. In europe, we dont have guns like you guys, and shooting/gun-threatning accidents is very rare. I know its very normal in USA to have a gun, and walking around in the streets at night is unsafe because of that. However, its not the same in Europe, atleast not countries as Germany. Just having a gun hided in your closet can give years of prison. In Europe we let our kids be out all night, because assaults is so rare.
And blaming this on ESL is rather pathetic in my oppinion. First of all its not possible to get all players in hotels, i mean, how can you expect a 500.000 city to have hotel room for 600.000 guests? Second of all, im having a hard time understanding how you could use 500$ on taxis, as ESL had sorted transpotation for everyone. Ive heard many clans about this, and the only one complaining is the americans. A coincidince? Last, but not least, if you go out to a pub at the middle of the night it could never be ESLs responsibility to make sure you are alright. They cant have babysitters for everyone.
About the whole "lets-sue-ESL", i must say thats rather pathetic. Once again there is some cultural differences between America and Europe, and one of them is that you cannot go sue people of ridicolous reasons. I know that in America you can sue a company if your put your cat in the microwave - however in Europe, we actually need a prober reason to sue.
Last i want to say that im ofcourse sad on Hostiles behalf, must have been a terrible experience and i hope he will get back on his feet asap!Posted 03-08-2009 at 11:36 AM by Dammii
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The crime could of happened anywhere to anyone. Just tough luck.
500 euros on cabs? Maybe you should of called the free shuttle which was driving teams around.. I managed to stay under 100 euros with cabs.
I feel it's so unthankful to blame everything on ESL like this, if you didn't like the houses, go into a hotel, if you don't like cabs, don't go to an event.Posted 03-09-2009 at 10:34 AM by Roychez
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Roychez the problem is that the players didn't know this was the situation and couldn't make a change without spending a lot of money when they arrived.Posted 03-09-2009 at 06:55 PM by VoidOfEnigmas
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So they just went to the event without checking where they sleep? Sorry, that's just stupid.
Posted 03-10-2009 at 04:40 AM by Roychez
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uhm....you know there is public transportation in Germany, a Weekly ticket is max 20 Euros (instead of 500... WOW).
Kinda sad trying to blame this on ESL, because you have to behave quiet stupidly or naive to be robbed.... but what can you do, it happens to the best of us.Posted 03-10-2009 at 01:00 PM by bubuuu
