A poster who goes by the handle VoiceOfReason has this thread going on the TeamXbox forums where, as a former employee of Microsoft (specifically a software guy involved with Xbox Live and multiplayer), he asks for questions about his experience there. The following is his first post, so you have a taste of what to expect throughout the thread, and he responds to whatever he can, so you can just skip to his responses rather than spending time reading everyone's questions:

Quote:

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As some of you know, I worked for Microsoft for six years or so, first on the Xbox and then on the Xbox 360. As some of you also know, I don't work there any more.

There was no formal policy prohibiting people on the team from posting to message boards, but it was still discouraged, and for very good reason. If you post "Sony sucks donkey schlong", it doesn't matter how many times you disclaim "I don't speak for Microsoft!", it's nearly a sure thing that some people won't listen, and before you know it, Gamespot is headlining "Microsoft says that Sony sucks donkey schlong!" This in turn could muddle the real official corporate message, which is that Sony actually sucks donkey balls.

I didn't always adhere to this good advice, especially when Sony was shoveling particularly pungent bullcrap and the gaming press was gobbling it down like it was filet mignon. That really irritated me (and still does) and I said so, loudly, but for the most part I tried to keep my mouth shut. Now that I no longer am employed by Microsoft, there's no longer any reason to do so, so I figured I'd ask: anybody have any questions?

Important disclaimer: please note that I am still bound by my NDA. Even if I weren't, I would never disclose proprietary information, on ethical grounds. I will not say anything that is Microsoft-confidential, so please don't ask. I'm not offering any super-secret information. What I am offering is the perspective of an industry insider, so if you've ever wondered what it's like, speak up!

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I found the thread interesting. Obviously, he won't have the answers to what everyone REALLY wants to know, but the conversation occasionally veers into some illumination.

I thought it was worth passing on!