7 réponses à ce sujet

[Logyn]

From my standpoint, the Bazaar has been a lesson in how the best intentions can have unintended consequences.  There is a lot to be learned at how an online community will react when faced with an opportunity to earn tangible prizes.  I won’t go into the issue of exclusion of members because of geographic ineligibility as honestly that is a litigious issue and while it is unfortunate that is the nature of the society we live in.

Before I continue let me state that this post is not a condemnation of the Bazaar as a failure.

I see the Bazaar as Bioware giving back to the community that supports it.  The prize list is honestly astounding.  The intention here was to distribute these prizes to loyal community and have some fun doing so. 

The issue here is the execution of the token system.  The token system currently in place was built to reward based on merit and to some extent luck.  Instead what is being observed is that people with more technical expertise are being rewarded as well as strong pre-existing social networks.   The “image trick” was a deceiving technical trick.  Although it may be a bannable offense now the damage is already done. It is analogous to saying there are no more problems after the fire has been extinguished despite the building being burned down.

Here is my critique of the system:  It should’ve been more focused on luck as that is one of the few ways to keep a semblance of equality.  A lotto system is a better solution because it affords everyone a chance to win.  Instead of using tokens as currency they could be used to as chances to win each prize.  A community member could enter 5 token on a prize he was really interested in and 2 in something he might have only a passing interest in. Of course, this means that a person could enter all of their tokens on one item and walk away with nothing but it also allows for a “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” scenario where someone with very few tokens gets lucky and wins the big prize.

For the most part I liked how tokens were acquired.  The challenges are fun.  I would’ve liked something that reward loyalty to Bioware more though.  Loyalty based rewards would have been nice to see. For example, giving a set amount of tokens based upon the length of time a community members has had a BioBoards account.

These are my thoughts on the issue; I’d like to hear other opinions.  And of course http://social.bioware.com/brc/60988

Modifié par Logyn, 04 avril 2010 - 07:17 .

[Feraele]

Nevermind...I see you fixed it.

Modifié par Feraele, 04 avril 2010 - 07:14 .

[Maria Caliban]

I have to say, the token system isn't my favorite. It rewards spamming and pyramid schemes, and has nothing to do with what an individual member has given to the community. It is very possible that a person could create an account the first day of the contest and get the highest number of tokens.

On other boards, I’ve noticed a ‘reputation’ system, where members could reward one another for posts they found informative or entertaining. I’d like to see BioWare implement something similar and then *sometime in the future* reward posters with the highest reputation.

I thought the twitter challenges were interesting and well done, though I’m not a fan of twitter.

[AntiChri5]

I just cant wait till its over and we can have the off topic forums back....

[Twitchmonkey]

The problem with your logic is, as you admit, you see this contest as having been run with "the best of intentions" and to"distribute these prizes to loyal community and have some fun doing so". I really don't think this is the case and I've been saying this since before I was disqualified. This was a way for BW to promote its products under the guise of a community event. Your idea would work, as would many others, but they wouldn't help BW make money, so we have to tolerate link spamming as our means to win these prizes.

[Appolo90]

I'm with OP. The users here are very cynical and unappreciative of BioWare's efforts. For those that were excluded, BioWare even promised an event especially for them.



The URL thing can be seen as underhanded and greedy, or it can be seen as 'just business'. I definitely see it as just business because, you know, BioWare exists to create a profit. And besides, with prizes that valuable and numerous, they're probably just trying to recoup the money they invested into the promotion is all. I don't think URLs were a good idea in terms of keeping an even playing field, but I don't spit on BioWare's face for doing it. Chill out, community.

[Twitchmonkey]

I really doubt the cost of the items listed is anywhere near the profit they stand to make from the links. Not only have they got thousands of people spamming these links all over the internet, half of the prizes are produced by them or EA, likely for a few pennies, and the ones that aren't are likely giving them a huge price reduction for being listed as sponsors.



Now, I have my issues with BW and how they handled this contest, but strictly speaking, the fact that it was an attempt at profit isn't one of them. I didn't mind boring myself to death posting on forums to try to sell their products, I realized that was what i was doing and it was worth it to me to have a shot at one of the prizes. My only point is that is why this contest is as it is, focused more on link spreading than the community's enjoyment.