[Meatex]

It's weird but I don't feel the bias is too much for me most of the time
Granted I don't pay full attention when watching streams as I'm usually multitasking and I do notice some things

eg. when he says that his team is going to win easily in next week's matches not only does that insult the other team - even if it may be true, its about the wording - it makes viewers less keen to tune in.
There are times in SEA events where you'll be casting a diamond versus an xGKing player and yes the diamond player likely doesn't have a chance but when casting its your job to get the viewer excited!
One player may be "favoured" but doesn't mean an upset is totally off the cards and if you insist that it is then viewers will tune out

[ROOT`iaguz]

Well this is awkward....

I do agree on the bias thing. The casters job first and foremost is to make the players seem ******* awesome, not just the ones you happen to like.

The second thing is not to wave your stream numbers around. No one ******* cares.

Quick Comments

	x5_dot:	LOL awkward indeed..
	inFeZa:	viewer count gets lost within the beard of madness

[ToRSpartaz]

Originally Posted by xGKingiaguz

Well this is awkward....

I do agree on the bias thing. The casters job first and foremost is to make the players seem ******* awesome, not just the ones you happen to like.

The second thing is not to wave your stream numbers around. No one ******* cares.

Out of respect for you man, this is really a valid point. Amongst other points I would like to contribute, but seriously im way too tired to be writing them today.

(Btw you were awesome at the LAN man ^^ iaguz "PIZZAAAAAAA RAAAAAAAAAAWR" )

Taking into consideration these ideas they will really help improve your casting, try not to take them to heart Benji they are aimed at helping you improve as a caster and this is why you cast man cause its for the community not just you. Every individual caster out there all has something to add to this amazing community and help in its development. Numbers DO NOT reflect the achievements and skill of the caster, every caster/streamer should be acknowledged for what they are contributing to eSports.

Just a couple of thoughts

[[TA]LoSt]

Originally Posted by FaDeRicocheT

huge bias towards xGKing when casting (i.e ACL etc.).

LOL

Didn't cast ACL man. Looks like we need a Maynarde feedback thread, getonitasap

Quick Comments

	Fourby:	Bayney fishing out BS since '12
	TAEdgE:	he needed longer hair
	RicocheT:	Crap. Well spotted LOL
	Dox:	maynarde's dreamy gaze was too freaking distracting, i couldn't focus on the game
	nirvAnA:	lol MAYNARDE FLOODGATES HAVE OPENED

[Maynarde]

Originally Posted by [TA]LoSt

LOL

Didn't cast ACL man. Looks like we need a Maynarde feedback thread, getonitasap

I welcome it Always looking to improve

Quick Comments

	cruxBsK:	This is the attitude you should have ^ with regard to feedback (not the spell)
	iM yang:	you need to be less manly so i can feel good about myself
	x5_dot:
	xGKingdelete:
	Synizta:

[RicocheT]

Originally Posted by Maynarde

I welcome it Always looking to improve

Sexier beard.
More shouting.
???
Profit

Also edited my fail post further up, wtf was I thinking putting ACL there LOL.
Well spotted by Lost~

Quick Comments

	Maynarde:	Noted
	Kalikah:	I'd like to add take your shirt off during stream
	Champi:	seconded kalikah
	Mayo:	lold

[cruxBsK]

I must admit when I tuned into the stream and he was like blah blah something about stream viewers and if you don't like my stream etc I personally didn't like to hear that I'm sure no one else does either apart from that the same as everyone else comments RE bias casting and putting down opponent players over highlighting awesome things the other player is doing.

I think if you can't take criticism there's no point in trying to improve what you are doing to better the community and you're casting skills there's no point casting.

[Rockstar]

I don't really understand why this thread exists... You can't change someones personality at the drop of a hat, nor can you mould it into something that's 100% PC and reflects the views of a whole community... The guy casts because he enjoys it, obviously... He has viewers because they enjoy it... If he respects the people criticising him in this post, he would listen. If he doesn't, he won't...

My point is if the guy doesn't respect you enough to listen to you 1 on 1, why put it in a public thread? The people whom he DOES respect COULD (if they choose) confront him 1 on 1 instead of publicly, and he may actually listen. I don't feel I'm in a position to judge/confront Benji over his casting, I don't think he'd give 2 shits what I thought if I did.

A lot of this thread seems to me an attack veiled as constructive criticism.

Quick Comments

deL:

it's out of desperation

[TAEdarus]

Originally Posted by Rockstar

The guy casts because he enjoys it, obviously... He has viewers because they enjoy it..

He has a monopoly over a lot of events.

Originally Posted by Rockstar

A lot of this thread seems to me an attack veiled as constructive criticism.

So you're saying the points raised are not valid criticisms but rather personal attacks?
In the words of the man himself, "I disagree."

[Maynarde]

Originally Posted by Rockstar

A lot of this thread seems to me an attack veiled as constructive criticism.

This thread was approved by nirvAnA and Benji himself. Please read the thread some more, most of these posts are actually quite constructive. I've learned a bit from it as well. Regarding the private message thing, apparently this avenue has already been explored. Whether or not he respects the people approaching him privately is another matter, hopefully someone he respects is posting in this thread.

Originally Posted by TAEdarus

He has a monopoly over a lot of events.

Not really? Not these days anyway.

[Rockstar]

Originally Posted by TAEdarus

He has a monopoly over a lot of events.

If the tournament organiser doesn't want him he won't be there... If he's running the event he can do it however he pleases.. That's hardly a monopoly.

Originally Posted by TAEdarus

So you're saying the points raised are not valid criticisms but rather personal attacks?

Not all of them, but a lot sure come across that way. Also, you're essentially talking behind his back... He's not actively here to defend himself. By the time he gets to this post it'll be probably 7 or 8 pages long of criticism directed at him... How is that in any way helpful? He might even stop casting altogether when he reads some of the stuff being said.

[nirvAnA]

Time to give my thoughts on this, TGM style! (subscribers will get what i mean haha)

Stuff I like

• Persistence and presence - the only SEA caster who has stayed from the beginning till now. You didn't leave once the novelty of casting went away and are by far the most hard working caster in SEA. Without you, many events would not even be casted!
  
  
• Reliability / Dependability - Always showing up AND being punctual, never flaking or canceling at the last moment. This is fantastic work ethic that all casters should have and your dependability bearing in mind this is a volunteer position is a phenomenal asset to tournament organizers.
  
  
• Casting Voice - Easy to understand and a nice sounding casting voice. I remember back in the day when you first appeared (before xGking) with ziE mentioning you as her favourite caster and you were generally more well liked then too!
  
  
• Resourcefulness - "discovering" Xeen, Zepph and heaps of other co-casters, grooming them, teaching other casters like doble the ropes etc. Kinda like a casting mentor to some people.
  
  
• Improvement of Technicalities - Love the extra effort you put in the overlays to show player pictures / information before the games sometimes. Also loved the "homestory vibe" of the last CH lan.

Stuff which can be improved

• Biasness / Negativity - This is the biggest one for most people. As iaguz says "The casters job first and foremost is to make the players seem ******* awesome, not just the ones you happen to like." Casters can't undermine or talk down teams. They have to provide a neutral commentary for the viewer. Sure Streamers / Players on their own personal stream on the ladder can but when you cast a major SEA event, as a caster its your responsibility to provide a neutral opinion because that is what the SEA viewer is tuning into. As dox has said people also watch your stream because of the players / event and also because its listed on TL. IMO you should only ever measure a streamer's success by numbers if theres something comparable, say two streams at the same time of the same event in English but in the first place a comparison isn't even necessary just focus on being the best you can be or you end up limiting yourself.
  
  
• Jokes - Too many cocky ones which people don't find funny. If you make "jokes" against people who don't like you already, they are not going to take it well. Imo tone done on this. Sure make as many jokes off iaguz/light/mafia etc because they are your mates / team they will be okay with it but other teams are gonna take those jokes as plain insults so be careful!
  
  If you look around you have unawarely offended many teams ranging from EVE to SPR and TA. And if you were acting neutral you wouldn't have any of these problems! So yea you have to realise it is not just a few groups anymore... there are quite a large number of people who are unhappy of what you say during your casting.
  
  
• Attitude - What Dox said - "If you don't like it, don't watch my stream" and "I get more viewers than any other SEA caster so obviously it's fine" are ridiculous. People tune in to the stream because of the games being played. You're a gateway to content that people want access to.
  
  This is just the wrong attitude to have! It should be, if people like it, I will get more viewers and I am therefore a more successful / better streamer! And then evolving yourself to what people like. Of course, you don't want to care about complaints if its the minority, but if its the majority, like in this thread, and in the long-term if all the hate / negativity is going to affect your viewer numbers then you gotta start realizing something is wrong and change.
  
  
• Likability - This stems from the attitude you have. Popular casters are well liked. A popular caster gets a ton of more viewers. Casting games is already a positive thing to do be doing for the community as it takes heaps of time and dedication. If people dislike you they go "meh" each time you cast and overlook all the effort you put in. If people like you they think you are an amazing selfless individual and the whole experience seems far more rewarding. So, get on people's good sides! Be likable!

• Don't be biased, people can see you are just supporting your own team and it irks them.
• As Apth has mentioned, focus on the positive! Make the game seem FUN!
• Talk up other players /team instead of talkign down - talk about their achievements etc. For e.g instead of saying "Eve is a free win" say stuff like Eve is a upcoming team that many people underrate, in fact last season EveRekanise beat EnDerr in the last SEACL qualifications and they have many strong players who train hard on Korea. The result is Eve feels proud and happy to be recognised rather then angry at you, and you get well liked by them and get their support instead of hated. kelly once called souj a "all he does is cheese" after he beat GLaDe and he and WsWg hated her (and some still do) for a long time. It maybe just an "honest opinion" (and misinformed) to you but to the players its a lot more then that, these offensive words stick with people for awhile!
• Don't wave your stream numbers around or talk down other SEA streamers, again it makes people mad instead of happy no need to put others down.
• Don't make jokes of other teams you are not tight with as they will get offended.

Basically ask yourself what would Day 9 do!

What I hope to see

There's a lot of good posts in this thread, most of it has been constructive and from many different walks of the community. I hope you don't view it as a lynching and block out everything but rather take it as good feedback and use it as an opportunity to evolve as a streamer. It was also quite necessary because all the backlash was spilling out in a negative manner in various parts of sc2sea and by various different people to the point where it was getting out of control with random jabs in irrelevant threads. Hopefully this thread will help stop that from happening again in the future.

Imo the first change will be acceptance that there is indeed something wrong, please don't take it the wrong way and blame the community for being terrible, we are not and a lot of us like myself have taken the time to write up posts to help you. The next stage will be the decision to change/improve yourself which will result in your casting improving. That will lead to your stream improving which results in the SEA community embracing you and you getting more viewers, which is good for your stream viewer count, your sponsors and the community. Its a win win for everyone and IMO you have been holding back because you weren't aware of the majority of people's perception until this thread but now that you are please don't "block it out."

I hope to see some changes for the better for yourself and everyone.

Quick Comments

	x5_dot:
	ToRSmotPokingFish:
	mGGSouth:
	wolf:	boss post
	Kringe:	Dem colors and dem titles
	deL:	Covers most of my own thoughts :)
	JoFritzMD:	If benji only looks at one post, I want it to be this one.
	FaDeKerrigan:
	NOM:
	xGKingdelete:
	BaKaiNu:	Do you know that you're awesome? :)
	Nemo:	Boss style :)
	Champi:	good post
	crAzerk:	What Would Day9 Do? WWDD?
	Mayo:	^^^

[x5_dot]

Originally Posted by Maynarde

Quote:
Originally Posted by TAEdarus
He has a monopoly over a lot of events.
Not really? Not these days anyway.

That's cos Maynarde's bossing it up!

[wolf]

I would like to hear Benji's own thoughts on this thread.

[TAEdarus]

Originally Posted by Maynarde

Not really? Not these days anyway.

Forgot the Frognarde...

[ROOT`iaguz]

I think he's at work you're gonna hvae to wait a while.

[Frogmite]

I think Benji should also display the HP Bay.

Quick Comments

	deL:	All casters should display the hp bay proudly at all times to be even considered a real caster.
	Synizta:
	inFeZa:	that originated on my stream.
	crAzerk:	I agree with deL, HP Bays are the most important

[iMSystem]

Originally Posted by Maynarde

I've learned a bit from it as well.

You and me both, friend

Quick Comments

Champi:

car friend! (Y)

[TAEdarus]

Originally Posted by System

friend

Quick Comments

	x5_dot:
	TCPKiaSu:	glee lol

[x5.Revenant]

Off Topic: I've just like to say that I enjoy Benji+Zepph's casting the most on SEA.

Quick Comments

	nirvAnA:
	Zepph:	<3
	AxSGRiM:
	ProAnnn:	That's 2nd. I love Benji + Xeen the most. I miss Xeen