4 Reasons Kirk Is The Best EIC (& 4 Why Stacey Will Be Better)

We celebrate the change of our EIC by finding out who is the true Gamer.

You Are Reading :4 Reasons Kirk Is The Best EIC (& 4 Why Stacey Will Be Better)

We’ve had Kirk McKeand as our Editor-in-Chief at TheGamer.com for a little over a year. It’s always a strange time when a new face comes in at the top and when he first arrived no one knew what to expect. Over the following few months, a lot would change. Old faces left and new ones replaced them. Kirk fished in a pool of writers to bring unique and talented voices to the site, then gave them the freedom to write about a huge variety of subjects. We also got a new style guide, so now we can eternally annoy pedantic gamers by saying Pokemon, rather than Pokémon.

Kirk has done so much for TheGamer (no spaces) and its staff, most of which those of you reading this will never know about. When he announced that he was leaving there were tears (mostly from George) but as talk turned to who could fill his shoes the same name kept coming up, Stacey Henley.

Luckily for us, those higher up also correctly identified the rightful successor, so we’re celebrating them both here. If you had to ask Kirk what his least favourite thing about TheGamer was, he’d say lists with brackets and ampersands. That’s why we don’t do them anymore. For his last day though, we’re breaking the rules. Kirk, for the last time, here’s a list with brackets and an ampersand for your enjoyment.

8 Kirk Gave Us The Best Slack Emote

At TG we love a good custom Slack emote. Some are gaming-related, some are meme-inspired, but the very best ones are those crafted from the faces of our very own staff.

Not many EiCs would allow themselves to be debased so thoroughly by a set of emojis, but Kirk is different. He tolerated us immortalising Kirkles, the crossover between Knuckles from Sonic and Kirk himself that we use for, well, almost anything. Once Kirk is gone, Kirkles will live on.

7 Stacey Offers The Best Slack Discourse

While Stacey may not be immortalised in emote form yet – give it time – she frequently offers unique takes – yes, this is code for ‘bad opinions’ but I can’t exactly print that on her first day, can I? If you want a niche opinion or a controversial quote then Stacey is your woman.

She’ll also help you remember that time you accidentally implied that you were having sex with a colleague because it was a long day and the words came out wrong. While Slack has an edit button, Stacey is quick on the draw with a cheeky screengrab.

6 Kirk Added New Words To The Vocabulary Of Our US Editors

Since Kirk has been in charge of hiring new staff he has formed a team that are not only talented writers and editors but are also predominantly British. Some may say this is a coincidence but others suspect it’s so he can enact his secret plan to introduce British words and phrases into the vocabulary of all the editorial staff.

Without Kirk, our US and Canadian editors may never have known the joy of using the word bollocks, the difference between the bee’s knees and the dog’s bollocks, and why weapon and tool are great insults. They still don’t know what wellies are though.

5 Stacey Will Eliminate Use Of The Word Soccer

Speaking of the American vocabulary, we still see the word ‘soccer’ used far too often right now. As our resident FIFA expert, and one of a select pool of zero other sports fans in the editorial team, Stacey looks set to put a stop to this immediately.

People who know how important football is to Stacey, even if they don’t understand how shite Newcastle are at it, are already beginning to apologise for their word crimes. We look forward to this trend continuing.

4 Kirk Taught Us About The Beauty Of Arkane Titles

It’s no secret that Kirk is a huge Arkane fan. Ever since he arrived he’s been turning TheGamer into a Prey fan site as a not-very-discreet side project. Over the course of his time here our Prey content has shot from approximately five articles to around 50. Content based on other Arkane titles, especially the Dishonored games, has also vastly increased.

With the staff now almost fully converted to Arkane fans, this trend looks set to continue. Something Kirk also leaves as a lasting legacy while he floats off still on a high from the time he killed Dinga Bakaba in his own game.

3 Stacey Is Still Trying To Teach Us The Beauty Of Dragon Age 2

Stacey is a firm defender of Dragon Age 2, and considers it the best Dragon Age game there is. In her time here she has consistently tried to rally others to her cause, with little success so far. Nevertheless, she persists.

While none of us intend to change our minds about DA2, even when Stacey is the boss, all of us who love games everyone else hates feel that pain of trying to convince everyone else that they’re wrong and you’re right. We may not be DA2 fans but are kindred spirits.

2 Kirk Brought Diversity To Our Team

The team at TheGamer has changed a huge amount over the years but the current line-up is likely the most diverse we’ve ever seen. We have staff and editors of a variety of ages and ethnic backgrounds, as well as a large number of LGBTQ+ editors. There are also staff members who are neurodiverse, with autism or ADHD, as well as some with chronic health conditions.

Our individual circumstances have never been a barrier and as the diversity on our team has increased, tolerance of hatred and bigotry has evaporated. We may all enjoy taking the piss out of each other, but Kirk has built an environment where everyone can feel comfortable and raise any issues they have.

1 Stacey Is Diversity

In her own words, Stacey is “a working-class trans woman from the North East of England” She’s in a minority that is rarely amplified and now her voice is coming from the top of our team.

While Kirk worked hard to bring talent and diversity to the team as he vacates the Editor-in-Chief’s desk, he’s passing the mantle to one of our most talented and diverse team members.

We’re speaking metaphorically here of course – we work from home, after all, some of us don’t even have proper chairs. However, the sentiment still stands, the title of EiC is passing from one much loved and respected TG staff member to another. Just don’t tell either of them I said that, ok?

Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/reasons-kirk-best-eic-why-stacey-better/