I'm a long time player and an avid Twitch fan of both Hans and the entire "Official" Tournament casting crew (Stormless AE + guest casters + Sunday KOTH gig) so I'll really be speaking from a neutral point of view with no favoritism.
My only objective is to place an opinion on what I think is best for our community and the game we all love.
I believe that any casting of official tournament play (live or re-runs) should be the "property" of those hosting the tournament and anyone wanting to redistribute this content should, in the spirit of ethics, request permission to do so.
"At the end of the day this is my job and I have to make a living out of it, you can't spite me for trying to cast tournament matches." -Helpinghans
I disagree, with the notion that the Tournament matches aren't your property to rerun.
That's like saying it's ok to rebroadcast NBC's NFL Superbowl game on your own channel because you need to make a living.
The Tournament directors spent a lot of time, effort, (I'm sure some money) and opportunity cost in organizing the entire event and therefore should have the say in how the tournament content is distributed during live play and thereafter.
Now with that said, I think it's best we all try to act grown up and try and resolve this with solutions so that there isn't a some wedge between top elite players and the nice tournament host that spend a great deal of effort to provide great professional content for us.
Some suggestions:
1) Written Notification - Tournament directors should post some visible terms (and speak them) somewhere in their cast/channel/tournament website. This could prevent some who might unintentionally step on their toes when they might not realize that what their doing shouldn't be done and is not permitted by the owner of the content.
2) Work Together - ..I'm sure there's many ways to find a solution that benefits both the official casters of the tournament and anyone who can add value to the content.
- Ex1: Invite Hans to guest cast with you on official stream.
- Ex2: Give Hans permission to rebroadcast other replays (where he could speed up and give commentary on decisions/turning points).
Also, I don't think Hans' actions were pre-planned, so let's not treat it as such.
I was watching both streams and Hans'audience was telling him he should cast and slowly the idea grew on him to act upon his viewers wishes, despite my opinion on weather he shouldn't do this or not.
I think really after everyone's initial emotions have been expressed and take a minute to breath that both parties should come together and find a solution that includes everyone involved to benefit both themselves, the tournament and the game.
Surely, there's a win-win solution you all can come up with.
It would be a shame otherwise, because I (and I would assume many others) who respect both sides are likely to not pick sides but rather distance ourselves from any aspect of the game that has a toxic vibe.
Hope everyone takes the high ground...
Just my 2 cents...
well written!