5457 réponses à ce sujet

[JaKaSa]

I was never really active here, but I lurked around every now and then. At the moment I'm happy I didn't waste more time here, but still bit sad to see this place going down. I may lurk around there sometimes, but I don't have reddit or any social media accounts, in my opinion they are clear step down as means of communication with your fans. RIP BSN.

[LPPrince]

I was never really active here, but I lurked around every now and then. At the moment I'm happy I didn't waste more time here, but still bit sad to see this place going down. I may lurk around there sometimes, but I don't have reddit or any social media accounts, in my opinion they are clear step down as means of communication with your fans. RIP BSN.

 

 

Thats because they are a step down. But whoever makes the big decisions doesn't see it that way. After all the praise you often hear about in ads is short meaningless sentences, not an essay on why something is awesome.

[crazyrabbits]

Wait did they seriously tell people to go to neogaf. Lol no. I'd be banned so damn fast.

 

Fun fact: As of this posting, the last post in the Mass Effect GAF thread on Community-side was Friday. And most of the last page is people bitching about the BSN being closed (with the exception of a couple, who are arguing otherwise). Even there, the response is polarizing.

 

GAF does not have a good history of supporting Bioware games. It was already mentioned earlier in this topic, but they dogpiled on DA2 when it came out. The official thread for that release (which consists of a series of images showing bugs and absurd character poses) is probably one of the most legendary threads in GAF history. The forum got a cease-and-desist order from EA when they openly talked about the ME3 story leak months before the game came out. The resulting release had almost everyone there mocking the game, and even today, you still find a lot of posters who react with skepticism to any announcement, despite Shinobi's attempts to argue otherwise.

[DaytonaUSAFanHH]

Do sock puppets dream?

Oh, so anyone who likes someone you don't is a sock puppet huh? I'd expect nothing less from the hateful trolls on this site.

 

Have a nice day. 

[AngryFrozenWater]

Sorry; not biting into the poisoned apple of angst towards Bioware. Not fond of them choosing to close the forums; not happy that they are going to use lesser social media sites to issue notes, but refuse to become a hissing cat about to get a bath.

As with most issues, I hope for the best, but shall expect the worst. Hope the forums will remain open to better discuss games with others including the Devs, but expect that since the Devs do not see this with the same perspective, that the boards will close soon.

FWIW- still kill Loghain and Branka, side with the Mages, save Wrex, and choose Synthesis; y'know, things of true importance....

I agree with all, except synthesis.

 

This must be a first Elhanan!

 

Keep on gaming!

[llandwynwyn]

Thats because they are a step down. But whoever makes the big decisions doesn't see it that way. After all the praise you often hear about in ads is short meaningless sentences, not an essay on why something is awesome.

 

More like they dgaf. Like some people said, they have "annulled" us, I'll add they will also burn the library and put the tower down. Everything gone.

 

It a clear message from BioWare.

[CHRrOME]

And if you're not a fan of Mordin or Wrex, what the hell's wrong with you?
 

 

The only characters I don't like in the ME series are probably Kaidan/Ashley (I can hear people yelling "how dare you!!!1"). IMO they're a**holes, at least after ME1 (whichever survives, anyways).

Always second guessing Shepard, never truly trusting. Always acting as the SJWs of the franchise. I could never have any type of respect or love for those characters.

Also I don't find them memorable like many others. Heck, I believe even Zaed is more interesting.

[mrs_anomaly]

Oh, so anyone who likes someone you don't is a sock puppet huh? I'd expect nothing less from the hateful trolls on this site.
 
Have a nice day. 

1- It's not about me liking or not liking someone. I absolutely detest sock puppetry.
2- I am not trolling nor a troll.
3- You're looking very much like a sock puppet.

*shrugs*

[maia0407]

Do sock puppets dream?

Edit: Eh, NVM. Looking at the post history, this appears to be a person from a certain forum stirring up trouble.

 

Good grief, they really are taking advantage of Poe's Law to sow confusion.

[Salaya]

I'm without words... never expected this. Probably the best forum I've been, ever. All kinds of dicussions and information. Also, all kinds of likable and not-so-likable but interesting nonetheless people, too.

 

I've been reading and posting since I discovered Dragon Age Origins. I was always amazed with the amount of participants and threads this forums always had. It is a very, very sad thing to see all this utterly deleted. I think you are making a big mistake; the discussions and relationships the forums offer are not possible in the social media you suggest.

 

But as I said, I don't know how to express myself. Let's just repeat that this makes me feel pretty sad. I hope the spirit of these forums continue in some form in another fan-mad forum, but I doubt it.

[PCThug]

As someone who previously had a GAF account with nearly 10k posts, and has a new one, it's clear you have no idea how that site works.

 

Not only does GAF require you to have a non-standard email account, but you're lucky if your account gets approved within months. I was a poster on the ME community thread, which got shunted off to the community section of Gaming after its importance diminished. People were discussing the same topics over and over again, and days (sometimes weeks) would go by with no new content being contributed. And even then, it was an echo chamber of like-minded opinions.

 

I even recall that the only guy who really shilled for ME, Shinobi, supposedly was friends/in close contact with some of the devs and would relay updates. There was next-to-no dev involvement in that thread.

 

Like, I know it's an enthusiast site, but pointing to GAF and Twitch (where you're lucky if you can even read comments half the time because they're scrolling by so fast) as examples for your argument is hilariously misguided.

Thanks for posting this. I'm just a lurker on NeoGAF. It's also clear that, as a whole, the boards are not especially invested or interested in Bioware games. There's nothing wrong with that but it makes Bioware's recent attempts to court them all the more baffling.

 

On another note, it was pretty annoying how Shinobi talked up the E3 presentation for months only to pull back in the days preceding.

[Nattfare]

*Checks PMs. Runs off and cries.

I didn't get one either. Who needs PMs anyway? Not us!

Spoiler

[Iakus]

Not for long.

Not this forum, no.

[LPPrince]

I'm without words... never expected this. Probably the best forum I've been, ever. All kinds of dicussions and information. Also, all kinds of likable and not-so-likable but interesting nonetheless people, too.

 

I've been reading and posting since I discovered Dragon Age Origins. I was always amazed with the amount of participants and threads this forums always had. It is a very, very sad thing to see all this utterly deleted. I think you are making a big mistake; the discussions and relationships the forums offer are not possible in the social media you suggest.

 

But as I said, I don't know how to express myself. Let's just repeat that this makes me feel pretty sad. I hope the spirit of these forums continue in some form in another fan-mad forum, but I doubt it.

 

 

I miss the DAO days. All this information about the game posted on the forum, loads of discussion over it, the tournament between teams to decide who could speedrun through Ostagar the fastest, etc etc.

 

Bioware doesn't do that stuff anymore.

[crazyrabbits]

This just give them a negative image if anything.

And this decision I'm certain was also made by someone on the top of BW, surely the Kings of Salt. Talk about "toxic".

 

They cultivated that image from the get-go. Mods like Priestly and Woo effectively silenced criticism, or outright lied (i.e. the requirements needed to unlock ME3's "best" ending) constantly. It was under Priestly's watch that the forum became as unhinged as it did. Reactionary instead of proactive.

 

I was here when the ME3 backlash started. I remember the whole sordid saga. There was at least one mod who was stripped of his privileges for asking the company a question about DLC. People were who were banned on the forum lost access to the single-player ME3 component (which was quickly reversed once the gaming press got wind of it). Employees like Priestly, Woo, Christina Norman and others chastized the fans with all manner of insults, and they co-opted members of gaming sites to actively disassociate and demonize the fanbase. Major news sites like The New Yorker and CNN, along with industry people like CDPR and Adult Swim, mocked either or both parties. MrBTongue was right in one of his videos when he said that everyone involved just wanted to put a mulligan on the whole affair.

 

In that respect, I can at least understand where some of the higher-ups would be coming from. But shutting down the forum isn't the way to do it. Wizards of the Coast got away with closing their forum because virtually no one was visiting it consistently. This is a different scenario, and it's clear that no one's ever bothered to make the effort in years to promote or overhaul the forum. The fact that this is coming in the wake of an upcoming triple-AAA title, in 2016, is so absurd as to be laughable.

 

Slapping a new coat of paint on it every so often isn't the way. It's a place that was mired in bad leadership and inconsistent moderation for years, and all this handwringing from past employees that it was overdue is ignoring the very problems they themselves brought to the forum.

[LPPrince]

They cultivated that image from the get-go. Mods like Priestly and Woo effectively silenced criticism, or outright lied (i.e. the requirements needed to unlock ME3's "best" ending) constantly. It was under Priestly's watch that the forum became as unhinged as it did. Reactionary instead of proactive.

 

I was here when the ME3 backlash started. I remember the whole sordid saga. There was at least one mod who was stripped of his privileges for asking the company a question about DLC. People were who were banned on the forum lost access to the single-player ME3 component (which was quickly reversed once the gaming press got wind of it). Employees like Priestly, Woo, Christina Norman and others chastized the fans with all manner of insults, and they co-opted members of gaming sites to actively disassociate and demonize the fanbase. Major news sites like The New Yorker and CNN, along with industry people like CDPR and Adult Swim, mocked either or both parties. MrBTongue was right in one of his videos when he said that everyone involved just wanted to put a mulligan on the whole affair.

 

In that respect, I can at least understand where some of the higher-ups would be coming from. But shutting down the forum isn't the way to do it. Wizards of the Coast got away with closing their forum because virtually no one was visiting it consistently. This is a different scenario, and it's clear that no one's ever bothered to make the effort in years to promote or overhaul the forum. The fact that this is coming in the wake of an upcoming triple-AAA title, in 2016, is so absurd as to be laughable.

 

Slapping a new coat of paint on it every so often isn't the way. It's a place that was mired in bad leadership and inconsistent moderation for years, and all this handwringing from past employees that it was overdue is ignoring the very problems they themselves brought to the forum.

 

 

You know, thats a big one. Bad leadership.

 

Reminds me of the forum I frequented all the time before and partially during my time on the BSN. It was a great forum and we rarely ever had problems with trolls and things like that, but management was NEVER around. Ever.

 

If there was a problem, mods were expected to handle it. We always wondered, "Uhh...why? Where are you guys?"

 

It was a paid forum;I left it when the price went up dramatically for no reason and for no real gain.

[Neras]

I realize this thread has gone off in its own direction but let me post a brief on-topic interlude:

 

I'm a lurker here on the forums, but the BSN was were I got most of my info about and built up my enthusiasm for new DA games (as well as maintained enthusiasm for the series when it was flagging). This came from the enthusiasm (good and negative) of fellow fans rather than the direct interaction with the devs. It was pleasantly surprising to find a dev post, but that wasn't why I would browse the forums. The character and lore discussions were a particular interest to me.

 

I understand that BSN has a certain reputation, but I'm disappointed and baffled that Bioware is closing its forums. Social media is something I barely and rarely use, and fan run forums are something I've been burned by in the past and am now uncomfortable using. I frequent gaming sites irregularly and reviewers don't always persuade me as easily as a large thread topic, with a variety of opinions, to buy a game I'm on the fence about. I trust forums users to be more honest, if impassioned (I can be one of those). At this rate I probably won't hear about the next Bioware or DA release until I see it on the shelves. I realize that I'm part of a minority of customers that a large company probably feels is an acceptable or already likely loss, but I can't help feeling saddened and bit troubled. I just wanted to say it, while there was still place I felt comfortable saying it, I guess. 

 

To the BSN community: I was never really a part of you, but thanks for the hours of enjoyment and amusement, for the lore discussions, the mage/templar debates, the screenshot threads, the character and spec builds, mod recs and keeping me up to date on twitter (which makes me feel old when I find it so odd). It has been fun.

[AlanC9]

Most (all?) businesses with an accessible office don't "turn you away" for simply walking up to the front desk and asking a question. Or is this that famous Bioware "everyone's against us" attitude flaring up again?

Well, if you walked up to my office, back when I worked from one, all you would have found at the front desk would be a receptionist who wouldn't be able to tell you much. We used to hire would-be actresses who were just doing the job until they got their break. (One of them actually made it.)

[crazyrabbits]

I don't think it really matters. Without a semi-official forum, any attempt will be fruitless. 

 

Its destruction was being sowed long, long in advance.

 

The post from Allan (I think) earlier in this thread confirmed something I'd suspected long ago - that the forums very nearly died due to the ME3 backlash. Seems it was always living on borrowed time. They should have tossed the whole thing out then and started from scratch. Considering how long ME:A has been in development, cultivating a brand-new forum after scrapping every account would have been the smart choice to take. Hire or co-opt social media coordinators to perform modding duties, make sure there's a clear system in place to handle dev-to-fan interactions, etc.

 

Bioware knows very well that there is nowhere to go that can actually cultivate a community, for better or worse, than it did in this forum. In that respect, this thread is classic BSN - a series of talking points by a company rep that's essentially disproven in minutes.

 

Reddit's DA subreddit is taking steps to ensure that they'll be heavily locked down in the event of an influx of new users, and the ME subreddit isn't much better.

 

As far as NeoGAF goes, it's out of the question for anyone who's not already a user.

 

Twitter has a layout that actively denies any sort of long-form communication. Same goes for Reddit, where (unless you're on AskReddit or one of the political forums), your posts are at the mercy of the hivemind, and whether or not you replied early enough to a topic.

 

Youtube's always been a cesspool, and if I recall, Bioware disables the ratings and comments on most of its videos. They stopped listening to comments over there a long time ago.

 

And I'm not going into the topic of the fan forums people have been arguing about for the last 50 pages.

 

 

Well, if you walked up to my office, back when I worked from one, all you would have found at the front desk would be a receptionist who wouldn't be able to tell you much. We used to hire would-be actresses who were just doing the job until they got their break. (One of them actually made it.)

 

Ah yes... Alan. I remember you.

 

A business often has a receptionist who handles customers who walk in off the street, direct them to company resources as necessary, or (if they have a major issue) can direct them to the appropriate division in the building or refer them to a customer service rep.

 

The fact that a rep from this forum basically told someone who (politely) asked if they could come in and talk to someone that they were "upset" and insinuated that they would be led out by security speaks volumes about Bioware's current culture.

[AlanC9]

Often? Sure, but I don't think Bio is one of those cases. I'm not sure Bio ever had customer support, and if they ever did they handed it off to EA years ago, who promptly outsourced it to India.

[crazyrabbits]

Often? Sure, but I don't think Bio is one of those cases. I'm not sure Bio ever had customer support, and if they ever did they handed it off to EA years ago, who promptly outsourced it to India.

 

 

This is the Edmonton office's reception desk, according to 30 seconds of searching on Google. I'm generally just talking about Bioware's policy of handling walk-ins off the street. I'm sure they have a receptionist, which is why the response from the OP was so bizarre to me.

[Kabraxal]

I think the majority of the tone in this thread is telling.... It is one thing to be disappointed and confused, but the constant attacks, lashing out, and proclamations of doom are the very reason this forum has faded over time. This isn't the exception here sadly. This place has challenged gamefaqs for one of the most toxic forums you can find. That is not good. Actually, all 3 forums I once frequented have had an influx of negativity and trolls..... I think forums are just in need of break on the whole.

[thedancingdruid]

Okay, I caught up with the thread. Thank goodness for Neras' post above, because most of this has just been a cat fight.

Let's please try and remember the previously silent voices, like myself, who are grieving about losing our forums, and those to come who do not need to read about the who's who of possible future "other" forums, which can, no matter how hard they try, live up to this one. I praise the hard work I am sure all of them are putting into it, but, to come in here and landblast each other really defeats the purpose of why we are all here and doesn't do anything in the least to assuage the fears of those who really do not want to see THIS forum shut down.

[crazyrabbits]

I think the majority of the tone in this thread is telling.... It is one thing to be disappointed and confused, but the constant attacks, lashing out, and proclamations of doom are the very reason this forum has faded over time. This isn't the exception here sadly. This place has challenged gamefaqs for one of the most toxic forums you can find. That is not good. Actually, all 3 forums I once frequented have had an influx of negativity and trolls..... I think forums are just in need of break on the whole.

 

I'm sorry, but your post doesn't make sense. The OP/moderator began this thread by basically giving a doublespeak explanation on why the forums are shutting down, using arguments that either make no sense or are deliberately misconstrued. He has since referred people to a variety of other outlets, several of which have publicly said that they hate the BSN and see no value in its content or its members, or places where conversation is limited to bite-sized sentences.

 

People have made plenty of suggestions over the last 100+ pages on how Bioware could fix this, but they've apparently bailed out of this topic and are busy locking threads - ironically, what they should have been doing more of, and more effectively, a long time ago.

 

I've been part of far worse forums than this. One I currently frequent nearly melted down several times over because of borderline-illegal gambling practices, and that was for a F2P game.

[Solas]

Kabraxal, I'm pretty tired of the "BSN is a toxic cesspool" rhetoric. It's so short-sighted. Do you not care about the host of practical issues that will be caused by the forum's deletion?

 

- some game mods and (edit) builds are only hosted on the forums

- some DLC e.g. some items are tied to/only accessible using the forums

- the forums are the best source of tech support, tech solutions, bug fix information, etc. EA tech support/Answer HQ is woefully lacking and Twitter doesn't compare

- the forums are the best place for people who speak other languages e.g. French, German, to come together and speak to one another

- a lot of the citations on the fan-made DA wiki link to forum posts

- if we don't archive/save posts, build guides, posts on gameplay mechanics, lore discussions, character analysis, years of all of that will be lost

- the fracturing and fragmentation of an entire community

- the logistical/organizational workload (nightmare) created for folk who lead communities here

 

not to mention the silliness of the "omg it's a cesspool" position in the first place. not even going to get into that.