The Community Spotlight 2021.05.08

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight. I, @zombiepie, am once again honored to be your host as we look back at the week that once was. Before I share how the recent events have made me feel I wish to emphasize how hard the introduction to this Spotlight was for me to write. I scrutinized over three drafts trying to avoid the usual soundbites and tropes. To call the exits of Alex, Vinny, and Brad an "end of an era" does not do things justice. All of them helped pioneer the identity of what this website stood for over a decade. Many of you are users of this site and members of this community because of them.

As Jeff put it, it fucking sucks that they are leaving, but you have to respect their decision to leave and wish them the best. The countless hours of entertainment they have provided and the in-depth discussions and coverage of this industry and hobby will not go away. That they remained committed to this site for as long as they did, is something we should all be grateful for, and something we should never forget.

Without a doubt, we should and must commend Alex, Vinny, and Brad for everything they have done for this website and this community. However, this site is not being shut down, and the staff members who are still here have many more stories to tell. This community has more to give to the hobby and industry that it seeks to champion. So, with this edition of the Spotlight we will pay tribute to those who are leaving and made an indelible mark on each and every one of us. But, we will still explore and showcase the community voices that deserve an extra "speakerphone." I will and have cried with many of you as the gravity of the recent events finalized. But, as I have said on the site before, I will follow Jeff to the Gates of Mordor. So with that in mind, let's review some "housekeeping" items.

• Here's a link to the official thread announcing Vinny, Brad, and Alex leaving the site. This is generally the thread where users are encouraged to share their feelings and process the news.
• In GameSpot's report of the news, they interviewed Jeff and asked him about what the future holds for Giant Bomb. It's a definite read if you have not checked it out already.
• Brad's technology podcast with Will Smith is worth subscribing to if you still want to keep up with their activities.
• Don't forget that Jeff announced his wife is expecting their second child. If you have yet to congratulate them, please do so.

Tributes Around The Web

Instead of the usual batch of silly Giant Bomb-themed Tweets, I decided to share some of the more touching and artistic tributes to Brad, Vinny, and Alex I was able to find on Twitter. If you think I may have missed a tribute that resonated with you, feel free to post a link in the comments and I will happily share it next week.