1433 réponses à ce sujet

[Ninja Stan]

The Mad Hanar wrote...

Make the rules make more sense.

If posters go off on a tangent that has something to do with the topic of a thread, but it isn't about the topic of the thread, then that thread is closed for being off topic.

However, if that tangent is close enough to the topic of that thread, then we aren't allowed to make a thread about it because we are told that we should discuss it in the similar thread and the tangent thread is locked.

I already allow for some tangential discussion, but the main thrust of the discussion should be related to the main topic. And some tangents do not read like they plan on getting back to the original topic anytime soon, so I will nip those in the bud before they go way off into left field.

I think that, before suggesting the rules make more sense, you should try following them more closely to see if it's the rules or an individual user that needs changing.

[Caldari Ghost]

Ninja Stan wrote...

The Mad Hanar wrote...

Make the rules make more sense.

If posters go off on a tangent that has something to do with the topic of a thread, but it isn't about the topic of the thread, then that thread is closed for being off topic.

However, if that tangent is close enough to the topic of that thread, then we aren't allowed to make a thread about it because we are told that we should discuss it in the similar thread and the tangent thread is locked.

I already allow for some tangential discussion, but the main thrust of the discussion should be related to the main topic. And some tangents do not read like they plan on getting back to the original topic anytime soon, so I will nip those in the bud before they go way off into left field.

I think that, before suggesting the rules make more sense, you should try following them more closely to see if it's the rules or an individual user that needs changing.

feel the burn!

[Fast Jimmy]

Not everyone wants to add "community liaison" to their list of tasks. Some devs are content just to do their jobs. Others, like the DA writing team, like to interact with the community. And still others, like me when I was still with the company, really liked the community and felt there was value in hanging out here. Most of us community-lovers have left the company since, and some dislike interacting with the fans due to the all the negativity and juvenile whinging, but there are some who have stepped up and started chatting with all y'all.

The difficulty in having those kinds of threads is that posting in the forums and having discussions has to be done in whatever free time/spare time/compiling time is available, and that can't be scheduled. I mean, can you imagine taking a break from work only to do work-related things? That takes a toll on people. It might be something Jessica Merizan can set up in the future, but it would have to be planned well in advance and whatever devs are involved would have to have the time available and the wherewithal to deal with the community on a more regular basis. Those things aren't easy to get.

Sorry if I didn't show this in my original Wall o' Text... I envisioned this as something that is definitely coordinated and scheduled, not something I imagined the Bioware employees (outside of the Community Managers) would take upon themselves naturally.

I do think employees and devs who have taken the initiative to go out on their own and try and begin some discourse on the BSN are definitely at risk for being burnt out on it. Allan is taking a break right now. Blair, who used to post regularly there for a few months, disappeared after an examiner article began dissecting his every post. Seb and Mike even made an appearance every once in a while a month or so back but did not wind up posting more than a few times. Jessica made her first post in months announcing the removal of blogs, polls and albums and really stepped back after getting her head bitten off a couple times. And you yourself are not nearly as active as you were back in the hey days.

The BSN is a huge, wild beast that may purr and lick your face as a dev when you first approach it, but will swallow you whole if you don't have a game plan. Two or three of the same devs trying to act as the voice of sanity will not only get out shouted once the novelty of their presence wears off a little, but they will quickly descend into the same level of madness as the power common denominator.

Anyway, that's why I suggested more innocous thread discussions initiated by devs and where a rotation was spread around. Not to say that someone couldn't come on when it wasn't their "turn" but the burden of things might ease a bit with the devs when there are a dozen or so volunteers from Bioware interested in talking for just a little bit on a semi-scheduled basis. The more discussion that can be begun through Bioware and can be semi-controlled is more of a feeling that this is a place of discourse, instead of a place to just hang out while waiting for the latest Twitter feeds.

Modifié par Fast Jimmy, 27 décembre 2013 - 09:20 .

[Ninja Stan]

I agree, and who knows what BSN 2.0 is going to be like? The admins have plans within plans that they won't even tell us about!

[Fast Jimmy]

Ninja Stan wrote...

I agree, and who knows what BSN 2.0 is going to be like? The admins have plans within plans that they won't even tell us about!

Agreed. The new BSN 2.0 may address these ideas or other concerns people have.

I guess my sole thign to point out is that what I suggest is not in any way limited by current technology or require any new systems. It is simply a philosophy/operational change. And those are often more difficult to just throw a switch on and get going than a web release is.

[Abraham_uk]

discosuperfly wrote...

I don't know if the Powers that Be are still interested in what we would like to see, but I had a funny little idea. I thought it would be kinda cute if the emoticons we use in the future forums could be DA themed... like a little Flemeth, Alistair, Shale, etc. I thought it might be cute. Okay, just thought I would share my silly idea.

I think we're missing an "angry" emoticon and a merely "annoyed" emoticon.
What about "sarcasm" emoticon. In fact I'd argue that's the most important of the missing emoticons, since there are many occasions when people have been unable to tell that someone is being sarcastic.

We have: Please correct me if I'm wrong.


 Upset
 I'm excited and laughing at the same time.
 I have no opinion
<_< (No idea what this emoticon is supposed to mean)
 I am amused.
 The devil: I am saying something that I know will annoy or amuse some people.
:innocent: The angel: I have a bright idea that I'd like to share with you. Or I am taking the ethical high ground in this discussion.
 Sorry. You are just boring. To long didn't read. Or perhaps it could mean, "I am sleepy."
 I have edited my post. I have quoted your post before you edited it. Or, your post has been removed by the moderators.

 No idea what this emoticon means. I think it means "thinking outside the box".
 This news makes me so sad. I think I'm going to cry.
 I'm relaxed. Just chilling.
 I'm confused.
 (Does anyone know what this emoticon is supposed to mean)? Is this the "say something controversial and then pretend that nothing controversial was said" emoticon?
 You are beginning to scare me. Could also mean, "I'm about to cry".
 I love it/ I love you/ I love this. Great idea.
 I feel sick.
 I love this idea.
:happy: I agree. I am happy. Nice idea.
 I love this idea! Let's celebrate!
 What?
<3 I love this idea.
 I don't understand. You are beginning to scare me.
 I am happy.
 I have edited my post. I have quoted your post before you edited it. Or, your post has been removed by the moderators.
 I am laughing out loud.
 I am laughing out loud.
 I am taking the moral high ground or I am giving advice.
 (I don't know what this emoticon means)
 (I don't know what this emoticon means)
 Face palm?
 I am shocked.

 Alien face. Could mean "that idea was out of this world".  "I am talking about Aliens: Asari, Turians, Salarians, Krogans, Vorcha, Baterians, Drell, Volus, Quarians, Geth, Protheans, Reapers etc."


I'd like to see 

Angry face
Disagree face
Annoyed face

and 

Sarcastic face

Modifié par Abraham_uk, 02 janvier 2014 - 11:37 .

[Pearl (rip bioware)]

How about a Post Preview option? It's not a huge deal, but having to edit posts because formatting didn't display correctly or BBCode decided to break gets annoying after a while.

Speaking of, would it be possible to add a collapsible spoiler box?

[Volus Warlord]

Abraham_uk wrote...

discosuperfly wrote...

I don't know if the Powers that Be are still interested in what we would like to see, but I had a funny little idea. I thought it would be kinda cute if the emoticons we use in the future forums could be DA themed... like a little Flemeth, Alistair, Shale, etc. I thought it might be cute. Okay, just thought I would share my silly idea.

I think we're missing an "angry" emoticon and a merely "annoyed" emoticon.
What about "sarcasm" emoticon. In fact I'd argue that's the most important of the missing emoticons, since there are many occasions when people have been unable to tell that someone is being sarcastic.

We have: Please correct me if I'm wrong.


 Upset
 I'm excited and laughing at the same time.
 I have no opinion
<_< (No idea what this emoticon is supposed to mean)
 I am amused.
 The devil: I am saying something that I know will annoy or amuse some people.
:innocent: The angel: I have a bright idea that I'd like to share with you. Or I am taking the ethical high ground in this discussion.
 Sorry. You are just boring. To long didn't read. Or perhaps it could mean, "I am sleepy."
 I have edited my post. I have quoted your post before you edited it. Or, your post has been removed by the moderators.

 No idea what this emoticon means. I think it means "thinking outside the box".
 This news makes me so sad. I think I'm going to cry.
 I'm relaxed. Just chilling.
 I'm confused.
 (Does anyone know what this emoticon is supposed to mean)? Is this the "say something controversial and then pretend that nothing controversial was said" emoticon?
 You are beginning to scare me. Could also mean, "I'm about to cry".
 I love it/ I love you/ I love this. Great idea.
 I feel sick.
 I love this idea.
:happy: I agree. I am happy. Nice idea.
 I love this idea! Let's celebrate!
 What?
<3 I love this idea.
 I don't understand. You are beginning to scare me.
 I am happy.
 I have edited my post. I have quoted your post before you edited it. Or, your post has been removed by the moderators.
 I am laughing out loud.
 I am laughing out loud.
 I am taking the moral high ground or I am giving advice.
 (I don't know what this emoticon means)
 (I don't know what this emoticon means)
 Face palm?
 I am shocked.

 Alien face. Could mean "that idea was out of this world".  "I am talking about Aliens: Asari, Turians, Salarians, Krogans, Vorcha, Baterians, Drell, Volus, Quarians, Geth, Protheans, Reapers etc."


I'd like to see 

Angry face
Disagree face
Annoyed face

and 

Sarcastic face

What sort of order did you go in?

And its
 implied /facepalm
 Wow!/Pervetastic!
:alien:Alien
:lol:Laugh
:DBig grin
:innocent:Confessional/Goody Goody
-_-Boring/tired
:whistle:/rolling eyes
;)/wink
<_< really?
:ph34r:ninja'd
[obselete, no real purpose]
 Look at that train wreck. 
:kissing:Pucker up.
 
:oWhat? /shocked
 Smug or self-satisfied
:mellow:Huh?
:)Happy w/o smugness
B)Too cool
:huh:What? /confused
:devil:Evil
:happy:Happy
:(Sad/Depressed
<3I (fill in the blank)
:unsure:Doubtful/despaired
:crying:Crying, upset
:wizard:Nerd power!
:sick:Grossed out/disgusted
:blush:confused beyond all measure at your fubar logic
:wub:Lovey Dovey
=]Happy
:police:Bashing w/ Rules/standards/ethics
:blink:What? /confused/appalled 

There is a lot of rendundancy.

[Kaiser Arian XVII]

You're asking too much ... *bioware removes emoticons, poll section, albums and blogs"

[Kaiser Arian XVII]

Put 'like' and 'dislike/boo' buttons for all the comment in the Forums to know how much approval and opposition our comments will get.

Modifié par Kaiser Arian, 04 janvier 2014 - 12:03 .

[Angrywolves]

I had to ask a thread be closed because a player got out of control when I expressed what I had heard about a topic.

Sad.


The friends things, how we become friends with anyone under the current system.
Any chance of tying it to facebook ?

Someone becomes a friend on facebook , Bioware's facebook or something similar and you can add them as a friend here.

Modifié par Angrywolves, 05 janvier 2014 - 08:47 .

[bEVEsthda]

Ninja Stan wrote...

Fast Jimmy wrote...

I guess I would have expected more posts by the devs/mods to be made here, with links at other social media directing them there for more info.

The BSN is primarily a place for gamers and fans to share discussion and ideas. The devs are kdept far busier these days than in the freewheeling independent days when having a direct line to fans was new to most of us. The control of the flow of information is far more prevalent these days.

Back in Summer 2012, Chris and Jessica started up a BSN Question of the Month. It only lasted two questions over the course of three months (to the best of my recollection, at least) and the topics were not at all specific to any future product, but were more general questions about being a fan or about their video game preferences.

I thought this idea was really great. And I think it would have been incredibly easy for the Aaryn Flynn's of the world to post on Twitter about the thread topic and get some interaction from the outside world, as it were. In fact, I thought that a few of the devs could put together some questions, about general gameplay ideas or mechanics and see what people thoguht of them. Not in a "here's what we're thinking about for DA:I/MENext," but rather "here's how some games have done it, what are your personal preferences?"

Not everyone wants to add "community liaison" to their list of tasks. Some devs are content just to do their jobs. Others, like the DA writing team, like to interact with the community. And still others, like me when I was still with the company, really liked the community and felt there was value in hanging out here. Most of us community-lovers have left the company since, and some dislike interacting with the fans due to the all the negativity and juvenile whinging, but there are some who have stepped up and started chatting with all y'all.

I came in here in this thread, in order to post something useless like "I want my old forum back, and my old forum pals back". "Old" having the double meaning of both before EA, and also somewhat of before the DA2 war/civil war here on the forums. But went re-reading this old conversation that the quote sort of represents. I also reread some of the Angrywolves exchange, and that did sort of stir old bitterness a bit. Which probably should stay buried.
One doesn't make any progress by constantly looking backwards. Nor can one put old grievances away, if one doesn't leave them behind.

 I do not believe in discussing forum moderation in the forum anyway. I never did and even in the worst days, I kept myself hard away from it. I only made a couple of brief, snide comments, at the worst. Because ultimately, I regard the forums as the property of a business. And I'm only a guest. I can be here and leave as I see fit, but I can make no demands on how the place is run. But one can try to make suggestions or provide advice, good or bad.

There's not much point, anymore, to make many of the suggestions. Since I think Bioware moderation has cleaned up its act. I also think that the worst "PR-mistakes" weren't really made by Bioware, locally, but by EA-moderators that occasionally got involved. As far as I've been able to trace them, anyway. What can I say? It seems EA has had, for a very long time, poor discipline and an arrogant, vindicative culture amongst employees dealing with customer segments. And it sure has hurt EA a lot. Really, really a lot. Sure, I can understand their feelings too. They're only human, after all. And in the worst of times, the forums and other contact venues have been a real horror story. Not an easy or rewarding job. I understand that. And I'm not speaking of only Bioware forums then, but also of some other EA disasters.

But what I think I've seen through all this, - through NWN OC, EA-takeover, Spore, DA2, ME3, - is that it makes a lot of difference, having moderators and developers speak reason on the forums. It has always calmed feelings, reduced number of fanatics on a wild vendetta. NWN OC crisis was handled real slick. Keeping silent, and/or employ viral posters makes it worse. The Spore forums turned really ugly. Total disaster. And I suspect viral posters made DA2 forums worse too, but at least some Bioware people did some effort to speak reason on the forums, and that was good. Spore forums got a lot worse from the complete silence from the developers. I do understand that the developers have other things to do, and their employer may not see involvement with forums as proper work. But silence, i.e. don't get involved - let it run its course, is not a good tactic when there's a crisis. Viral posters is also a very bad idea, because they're not smart enough to post smart posts. They're more like pouring gazoline on the fire.

So while things are calm now and there's not much need, I also think EA and Bioware should consider to set up paid working hours for interacting with the forums. It's not just about harvesting suggestions and feedback. It's also about making friends, show a human contact, which people are less likely to want to hurt, than a faceless corporation fronted by marketing clichés. And feedback the other way, presenting reasoning. And I think Bioware have periodically been successful with this. So the idea obviously already exist. I just want to strengthen it, confirm that IMO it really seem to work.

[zMataxa]

FYI: Jesse/Jessica
I came across this "option" for managing various types of clientele.
Thought i'd pass on in case this approach has a new spin that hasn't been considered yet.
http://www.gamasutra...cial_Values.php

Not sure it meshes with your open community principles, but it's still an interesting POV to consider.
IMO, It would be a loss if another romance subforum had to close (but it also one of the greatest triggers for "Troll behaviour").
Cheers.

Modifié par zMataxa, 06 janvier 2014 - 07:24 .

[Dominus]

(Link)
Not sure it meshes with your open community principles, but it's still an interesting POV to consider. Cheers.

I'm not sure I could see the BSN literally quarantining users considered as troublemakers. I will, however, say there's a snippet in the article worth remembering:

Sometimes a meaningful penalty can reform a troll.

It's not uncommon for some to find a "normal" ban merely a detterence or obstacle for a particular posting habit. Without incentive to make a change, how likely will there be one from said users?

It's an interesting idea, but I can't say I favor it.

Modifié par DominusVita, 06 janvier 2014 - 07:33 .

[Fast Jimmy]

Viral posters is also a very bad idea, because they're not smart enough to post smart posts. They're more like pouring gazoline on the fire.

I agree with this pretty strongly. The amount of good PR control you can do with Twitter's 256 characters or less is limited. The amount of DAMAGE you can do is pretty limitless.

Twitter is good for teasers, for linking to other sources, for giving shoutouts... and for sparking flame wars. It's great for when things aren't going badly. Its a minefield when people are upset at your company. One Tweet can be taken and ran with to unheard of directions.

Modifié par Fast Jimmy, 06 janvier 2014 - 07:36 .

[zMataxa]

DominusVita wrote...

Not sure it meshes with your open community principles, but it's still an interesting POV to consider. Cheers.

I'm not sure I could see the BSN literally quarantining users considered as troublemakers. I will, however, say there's a snippet in the article worth remembering:

Sometimes a meaningful penalty can reform a troll.

It's not uncommon for some to find a "normal" ban merely a detterence or obstacle for a particular posting habit.

_____________

I think to give full consideration to this initial idea requires a pivotal "trick".
Don't just take it as basic quarantine.
You have to dress it up.

There are options that seem less "quarantine-like", and more a grouping of similar intereaction preferences.
In a way this may be breaking new ground as in this article there are no intricate mechanics sugested with it.  Just a basic underlying mechanic really.

RE: "a meaningful penalty".  That takes active moderation and 24 hours a day.  When BSN comes alive again with DAI, I'd really hate to see the romance subforum close becasue it takes too much work to regulate.
Groupings are one way to increase self-regulation and take some load off the moderation.

Most people will be excellent to each other, but there are some - that just "can't help themselves" and it takes a LONG time and TREMENDOUS effort to modify the behaviour of some BSNers, and some you simply can't. (And that's what i saw in these relatively quiet last few months).

Modifié par zMataxa, 06 janvier 2014 - 07:49 .

[Giggles_Manically]

An ability to go straight to the posts of your friends from your feed?

I know I would enjoy just going right to what they posted, rather then digging through stuff if it was the night before.

[Dominus]

RE: "a meaningful penalty". That takes active moderation and 24 hours a day.

True. I didn't mean that as some golden solution, and I get that said ideal isn't always going to meet reality. As far as the rest, well, that's for the mods to decide.

[zMataxa]

DominusVita wrote...

RE: "a meaningful penalty". That takes active moderation and 24 hours a day.

True. I didn't mean that as some golden solution, and I get that said ideal isn't always going to meet reality. As far as the rest, well, that's for the mods to decide.

____________
FYI. i just edited my reply.
My first part was poorly worded on the first pass.

Yeah, the way I read you post, I knew you were not proferring it as the golden solution.
But it's still an excellent addition to BSN toolset, as you point out.

[Dovahzeymahlkey]

the forums need a legit mlp-themed smileyface gallery. Oh and moar hawt bewbs. But thats just one dragonbro's opinion.

[Dominus]

the forums need a legit mlp-themed smileyface gallery.

The closest you'll get to that is outsourcing it. What I'd do is make a .txt file and throw in all the BBCode with the image itself. Copy N' Paste, and the rest takes care of itself. I can design one if you like. If you pick some from here(or somewhere else if you like), I'd be willing to design a file to make it work for you. 

Modifié par DominusVita, 10 janvier 2014 - 05:02 .