Nor am I particularly talented, or deserve credit for anything. But I know people who do.
My bad then. Your initial posts read as someone who had had a bad experience with community position. I still don't agree that CMs and such keep people out of the business.
I really didn't start seriously following games until 2002. My first experience of a community person was Frankie at Bungie. I never once thought he was anything other than the outward face of the company. Same with Doug Lombardi, Peter Hines, and Todd Hollendshead. Now I know that those last 3 are not CMs, but the do serve as the outward face of their companies, despite not actually making the games.
I just don't think you can pull people off the line to handle press requests. Nor do I think you'd want to. In this day in age, you have to be media savvy. You need people in that role interfacing with the press.
Of course I may be misreading your point, and you are zeroing in on the specific position of Community Manager. The guys who interact with the kids on the forums and do the podcasting. I still think most people who follow games are wise enough to know who is the marketing guy, and who is the talent. In that situation, is the adulation of the unwashed fanboy really something a coder/designer craves?
