Editor-in-chief of MMOHut.com allegedly fired for not ‹selling out›

As social news website Reddit increasingly becomes a haven for the scorned and bullied, yesterday's in­cident left a particularly sour taste in the mouths of many gamers frequenting the site.

Identifying himself only as «Spunkify,» the former editor-in-chief of the popular MMOHut.com posted to Reddit's gaming channel a relatively lengthy piece detailing the downfall of «the second most visited gaming review site dedicated to just free-to-play games.»

Starting with the departure of MMOHut's previous owners and ending with his firing, Spunkify's post recounts his brief tenure as editor-in-chief of the site in the midst of a corporate takeover. Spunkify writes that initially he was excited to turn his experiences into a full-fledged career developing content in the gaming industry. But that excitement suddenly faded.

…I quickly realized this company did not share the same passion, but rather viewed the site as a cash cow they could milk profusely. In just a few months, the site's front page had devolved into nothing but ads. My attempts to push content to the front page instead of ads were met with firm no's, and unwillingness to compromise.

Spunkify's post also mentions a flood of inexperienced employees, the demolition of the site's intimate forum community, the unwarranted merging of a sister site, advertiser pressure on reviews, and the gradual scaling back of his own duties, which ultimately led to his firing. The official reason, according to the post, is that the company was going in a «different direction.»

Different direction indeed, considering Spunkify was originally brought on to help maintain the «indie feel» of the site. Personality, intimacy and a singular unique vision run perpendicular to corporate greed and mass appeal.

This image, included with the post, demonstrates the ad to content ratio on MMOHut.com's front page. It's worthwhile to note here that many gaming websites feature ads on their front pages, though not nearly to the same extent. Even so, more reputable sites mark game specific ads as advertisements to prevent confusion for the consumer and maintain their brands' integrity. Captions above MMOHut.com's ad­vertisements say «recommended,» or «popular.»

The corporation in question, CPMStar out of Los Angeles California, already seems to be actively searching for Spunkify's re­placement.

Comments on the original Reddit post generally speak out in Spunkify's favor. Many individuals remark that they are «banning» MMOHut.com. Those that never visited the site, say they never will.

A thread on the MMOHut.com forums titled «Spunkify fired, MMOHut is sinking, Onrpg is next» demonstrates similar reactions from users. Some say they only frequent the site for its robust forums anyway, now that quality content on the site is reportedly more difficult to find.

But most importantly, many users welcome the idea of forming a new community far away from MMOHut.com.