1433 réponses à ce sujet

[Volus Warlord]

Dovahbrony wrote...

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

[spam image removed]

Seriously, the bronies make me deal with enough MLP crap. 

Unless Bioware makes an MLP game (which if they do, kill me now) do not give the bronies any more emphasis. 

Modifié par Ninja Stan, 08 janvier 2014 - 09:45 .

[Ninja Stan]

There is one thread discussing MLP:FiM in the OT forum. Participation in that thread is optional.

[TheRealJayDee]

Ninja Stan wrote...

There is one thread discussing MLP:FiM in the OT forum. Participation in that thread is optional.

Making participation in the MLP thread mandatory would actually be a funny BSN change. 

[LPPrince]

Fast Jimmy wrote...

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.

On the subject of things going badly, I've noticed some people finding the snark and sarcasm in response to posters from some Biodevs here as really offputting compared to years ago.

I think the difference is when Bioware had a better track record back in the 08-09 days, the snark and sarcasm was funny and endearing, but now the company doesn't have as fantastic a reception from fans and the snark and sarcasm comes off as more of a "F you and your opinion".

I doubt thats the response devs want to express to fans, and I'm sure thats not the implication that anyone wants to be passed, but its still something I've noticed.

I don't really feel that way personally, but there have been a few times where I've thought, "Really? After the last few years and everything thats happened, should you even be responding to fans like that?"

I guess I'd ask for more sensitivity in response to fans' comments, more "I'm sorry you feel that way, but..." and less of, "No. I'm getting tired of fans saying..."

[TheRealJayDee]

Well, I did think (might have said it a well) that it could've been helpful if for example Priestly had chosen to abstain from using his trademark smiley during the bad ME3 days (or, idk, at least explained it in his signature), for the sake of new fans coming here who were unfamiliar with his "Evil Chris" thing. 

Reading a vague post about how Bioware is looking into the face import failure is one thing, but seeing this  at the end of the respective post without any context might be another. 

[Dominus]

The ability to cuss in text, i know its barbaric and immature but sometimes it really dos set a point across

Not likely.

Here's how I look at the swearing issue. Let's say an attorney is trying to make his/her case in a court of law. Out of nowhere, the lawyer begins swearing every sentence or so. Would you say this helps, or hurts the credibility of your attorney? Would you want them to represent you? I don't get bugged as much reading a swear, but I don't think the rest of BSN(especially if it's directed toward a specific individual) is going to feel the same. Our posts can influence positively or negatively how both ones' self and the rest of the community is represented.

I will admit there's a double standard when it comes to swearing, though. A normal word and a swear word can have exactly the same definition, yet one is given the blacklist as if it's the Word-That-Must-Not-Be-Named. All I can tell you is those are the rules, and it probably isn't going to change soon.

Modifié par DominusVita, 13 février 2014 - 09:30 .

[Fast Jimmy]

LPPrince wrote...

On the subject of things going badly, I've noticed some people finding the snark and sarcasm in response to posters from some Biodevs here as really offputting compared to years ago.

I think the difference is when Bioware had a better track record back in the 08-09 days, the snark and sarcasm was funny and endearing, but now the company doesn't have as fantastic a reception from fans and the snark and sarcasm comes off as more of a "F you and your opinion".

I doubt thats the response devs want to express to fans, and I'm sure thats not the implication that anyone wants to be passed, but its still something I've noticed.

I don't really feel that way personally, but there have been a few times where I've thought, "Really? After the last few years and everything thats happened, should you even be responding to fans like that?"

I guess I'd ask for more sensitivity in response to fans' comments, more "I'm sorry you feel that way, but..." and less of, "No. I'm getting tired of fans saying..."

 To respond to this, I'd say that this last part is a huge failure on Bioware's part. If people have been repeatedly asking the same questions, to the point where devs are getting tired of answering it, then they have failed to A) properly answer the question originally and archive and make it easier for a fan to find that answer, rather than Lester a dev to answer something they have already talked about. 

I know now there have been discussions of better ways to monitor and read Bioware dev posts with the BSN 2.0, so I'd be curious to see if it truly is different. 

[Ninja Stan]

Fast Jimmy wrote...

 To respond to this, I'd say that this last part is a huge failure on Bioware's part. If people have been repeatedly asking the same questions, to the point where devs are getting tired of answering it, then they have failed to A) properly answer the question originally and archive and make it easier for a fan to find that answer, rather than Lester a dev to answer something they have already talked about. 

I strongly disagree with this. In the 12 years I have been a Moderator, there are certain questions, misconceptions, and delusions that I have answered and explained repeatedly. This isn't because I have "failed to... properly answer the question originally," as I have, on many occasions, explained myself at length and continued posting in the thread to clarify any misunderstandings that might have arisen. The thing is, not every BSN member reads every thread, so they might miss things the first time around. And every time new people join, they might have that same question so they ask it if they don't see a thread addressing it.

And these days, the number of helpful, informative community members who help out newbies is few and far between, which means common questions have to be answered, addressed, and explained all over again. And that doesn't even take into account those community members who don't believe the answer or think it's a lie, PR spin, or a money grab.

As to your second point, I doubt there is any way to easily archive every single dev post explaining each and every questions ever asked of them, in a form that's as easily searchable as Google or Wiki. Besides, if all the answes were already posted, what would y'all talk about?

[Ninja Stan]

LPPrince wrote...
On the subject of things going badly, I've noticed some people finding the snark and sarcasm in response to posters from some Biodevs here as really offputting compared to years ago.

I think the difference is when Bioware had a better track record back in the 08-09 days, the snark and sarcasm was funny and endearing, but now the company doesn't have as fantastic a reception from fans and the snark and sarcasm comes off as more of a "F you and your opinion".

I doubt thats the response devs want to express to fans, and I'm sure thats not the implication that anyone wants to be passed, but its still something I've noticed.

I don't really feel that way personally, but there have been a few times where I've thought, "Really? After the last few years and everything thats happened, should you even be responding to fans like that?"

I guess I'd ask for more sensitivity in response to fans' comments, more "I'm sorry you feel that way, but..." and less of, "No. I'm getting tired of fans saying..."

Compared to years ago, there are a lot more "fans" being extremely demanding, insulting, obnoxious, and downright unreasonable in their interactions with the devs, throwing a tantrum at any perceived slight while insisting devs respond, capitulate, or be fired. That's not the way to encourage devs to stick around and have a lovely chat. It's far easier to ignore the forums completely if a particular dev doesn't see the value in regular, honest communication.

Sometimes, however, snark and sarcasm are warranted, and it's better to occasionally give an unreasonable "fan" a verbal smackdown than rant and rave at the community at large. Then again, perhaps the devs you are seeing are the more sarcastic ones. Dave Gaider can be snippy sometimes, but he's usually doing that in response to unreasonable expectations or rudeness. Mike Laidlaw has also been known to give as good as he gets.

It's easy to criticize devs for being supposedly unprofessional or too blunt, but you can't have it both ways. You can't treat the devs like a chummy pal when you want something, then turn right around and castigate them for being unprofessional when things go wrong. If a dev responds honestly, they're accused of PR spin. If they respond officially and coldly, they're accused of not engaging with the fans. They can't win.

[LPPrince]

I'd argue at this point its probably best to put the snark and sarcasm away for the sake of PR, just be straight up when necessary(not cold, tho), and be in good spirits(or appear to be) as much as possible.

Jessica Merizan does a wonderful job of this, which comes as no surprise. She's downright pleasant to interact with and I can not think of a single time where I felt that wasn't the case.

I imagine things would go a lot better here(on the forums)if everyone at Bioware followed that example instead of freely throwing the occasional barb at someone who might deserve getting knocked off their high horse, or saying something along the lines of, "Whats this? Oh, fans being wrong and completely off base. Typical. Continue."

That won't make ME feel bad since I've been here for freaking ever, but a newbie could find that a little insulting. Not even just newbies, also those with lower bars for what can hurt their feelings or make them uncomfortable.

It's the little things. I just don't think Bioware can afford to lose more faith and support. Every little thing that can be done to win fans over I see as a benefit, even the attitudes expressed on this forum.

It's not like people can't make mistakes(hell, I would know). I just think more can be done to put smiles on faces and keep people feeling good. Sometimes, people shouldn't be put down, or led to feel like they were put down if that wasn't the intent.

It's something to try at least.

Modifié par LPPrince, 16 janvier 2014 - 12:02 .

[LPPrince]

For example, I like the way you just came across with me.

Better than someone else(no one specific) saying something like, "They should say what they want! Don't like it? Kthxbai"

[OdanUrr]

LPPrince wrote...

Its the little things. I just don't think Bioware can afford to lose more faith and support. Every little thing that can be done to win fans over I see as a benefit, even the attitudes expressed on this forum.

Its not like people can't make mistakes(hell, I would know). I just think more can be done to put smiles on faces and keep people feeling good. Sometimes, people shouldn't be put down, or led to feel like they were put down if that wasn't the intent.

Its something to try at least.

I'm sorry, I just have to do this, you understand?

It's "it's" not "its."

Please, continue.

[LPPrince]

Welp, thanks for catching that Odan. Good bro is a good bro

[LPPrince]

See, I could've used that opportunity to be an ass about it and say something rude like, "How dare you" or better yet, "HOW DARE YOU DO WHAT I DO" but instead chose to be positive and leave a compliment.

Being positive is wonderful. Yeah, the devs will have a hard time with the usual trouble makers and trolls, but hey- high road. It counts for something.

[MegaIllusiveMan]

Hm.. Let's see...

What I would really like to see:

An ability to post avvis without bypassing the Configuration with DA Character Creator

Well, I would also like to start with:

More interactions of the mods parts.

On the other forum I visit, the mods joke, post GIFs, have GIFs avvis, memorable signatures, etc. Sure, this is BSN or "go visit the other forum then", but I would like to at least see the mods interact with us a little bit on discussions, jokes and etc, etc, etc, instead of just locking the posts and have that catch phrase: "We're done'

Well, look at Ninja Stan for example. We have him discussing on this thread. Cool! Then we had/have Eurypteid with his awesome signature "It's ROGUE damnit, ROGUE!"

That's my opinion. I wanted to see the mods participating more in the forums and having fun themselves instead of just "doing their jobs"

[LPPrince]

They woooould do that, but like Stan just said, the devs are met with a negative reception or just have to deal with things they shouldn't have to deal with, which leads to not much desire to post in here.

It was better in the old days. After a while though it gets a bit old constantly seeing, "so and so character for romance option", "completely off base idea that will never go anywhere", "troll thread", etc etc

Its a damned if you do, damned if you don't scenario, again like Stan mentioned earlier.

[naughty99]

How about a few more avatar options for people who are too lazy to hack the system?

[MegaIllusiveMan]

Ah yes, I also forgot...

An option of merging threads instead of "Please use the more recent Topic to discuss..."

I suffered heavily on that with my old thread... Just thinking here...

[Fast Jimmy]

LPPrince wrote...

They woooould do that, but like Stan just said, the devs are met with a negative reception or just have to deal with things they shouldn't have to deal with, which leads to not much desire to post in here.

It was better in the old days. After a while though it gets a bit old constantly seeing, "so and so character for romance option", "completely off base idea that will never go anywhere", "troll thread", etc etc

Its a damned if you do, damned if you don't scenario, again like Stan mentioned earlier.

Well, mods are different than devs. The mods who aren't devs but also have names don't really do much actual modding or conversing these days, honestly. I see Euryptid or Moonsong post a little more recently, but I've still not seen anyone actually acting in a mod-capacity. 

Devs acting as mods, such as Epler, Allan, Stan, Gaider, etc., lead to some issues of devs feeling they need to play babysitter as well as trying to respond to the actual topics, so they rolled out the "bot mods" (although I'd say I've yet to see any increase in dev posting since the numbered mods were enacted, so I'd question whether this intent is actually being carried out). An interaction by the actual active mods might not be the worst thing in the world. 

Modifié par Fast Jimmy, 19 janvier 2014 - 04:04 .

[LPPrince]

Thats the thing, they're more inclined to read what fans have to say now that they aren't bombarded with reports. We just don't know what it is they're looking at unless they told us.

Long before this scenario, I remember posting this very long, well thought out(at least I thought so) post filled with Dragon Age 2 criticisms.

I don't recall if any fans responded to it. Maybe one did. But I posted afterward that I wished it would be read by DA devs and not simply fade into obscurity.

I was met with a private message from a DA dev informing me that he/she had indeed read the post at length, and that I had naught to worry about.

So I'd argue that they're just being more careful about what they're responding to. It just feels off though when the few times someone does respond to something on the forum, its in a manner that could be more positive.

[zMataxa]

Ninja Stan wrote...

It's easy to criticize devs for being supposedly unprofessional or too blunt, but you can't have it both ways. You can't treat the devs like a chummy pal when you want something, then turn right around and castigate them for being unprofessional when things go wrong. If a dev responds honestly, they're accused of PR spin. If they respond officially and coldly, they're accused of not engaging with the fans. They can't win.

Been here about six months active reading in the forums. 
To me as a BSNer, this is a valid viewpoint 99.7% of the time.
The other 0.03% they're just human, and they aren't that far off the mark anyway.
Other than the occasional thread closing, I think the moderation has been generally very solid.
Cheers.

[Ninja Stan]

Fast Jimmy wrote...

Devs acting as mods, such as Epler, Allan, Stan, Gaider, etc., lead to some issues of devs feeling they need to play babysitter as well as trying to respond to the actual topics, so they rolled out the "bot mods" (although I'd say I've yet to see any increase in dev posting since the numbered mods were enacted, so I'd question whether this intent is actually being carried out). An interaction by the actual active mods might not be the worst thing in the world. 

Case in point, Jimmy. I left BioWare in April 2012, so I am not a dev. I've made no secret of it, and I've corrected it every time someone implied I still worked at BioWare, and yet there are still some forumites who don't know I've left. Sure, I could have it in my sig, in a FAQ, or whatever, but those are useless if people don't care to read them.

[LPPrince]

I think it just takes time for some folks to get used to the fact you're no longer a developer.

I'm used to it because from my perspective you're contributing more and are generally in a much more lighthearted and free sort of mood, which is fantastic.

Others though will always associate you with "end of line" though, and will from their perspective only ever see you as the dev/mod who closes things when they need it.