5403 réponses à ce sujet

[thedancingdruid]

It seems appropriate here to mention Leliana's possible conversation after dealing with Marjolaine.

She says that the Maker made the world beautiful and dangerous...and to really experience it, one has to embrace it, not run away and hide in some nunnery.

So, I, for one, would like these forums to remain. I can ignore the danger and praise the beautiful and embrace it all, as a whole, if it means my world, this world, doesn't have to disappear.

I am not really the nunnery sort.

[Vigilant111]

Chris Priestley's post here confirms that it is all about negative publicity after the disasters of DA2 and ME3. And that is why the forums needed to be purged. It removes that history.

 

And that just strengthens the thought that BW does not care about this community. Individual devs may think otherwise, but as a company, they shouldn't hide the non-truth (have to be careful here with selecting my words) that their community is valuable, because deleting these forums and trashing its community is proof of that non-truth. If BW can dream up new meanings for "innovation" (dumbing down) and "iconic" (no customization of followers) then I should be able to invent a term like "non-truth".

 

If the company does not want to be treated like crap then it is time to realize that they have treated this community like crap for years, by letting this community go to hell. There were voices in the company who delayed all this, but this wouldn't satisfy those at the top, who kept pushing their destructive agenda. Talking about toxic.

 

The time to close the forums is well chosen. It is in between releases and it is well before the holiday sales. They hope that the public fall out of their decision will be cleared before that. Convenient.

 

Deleting the forums also serves a purpose. The intention is to delete any records of the events. That way the alleged negative information about BW's products isn't available anymore, plus all existing links to this site will cease to exist. Solid plan. This also deletes all references to community sites that link to this forum. Another proof that BW doesn't care at all about its community.

 

Closing the forums is also proof of a corporate culture driven by fear and insecurity. If the forum was apparently able to influence the public opinion of DA2 and ME3 (and by extension sales numbers) then potentially the same could be expected for future titles, like MEA. That means that they have no confidence in their own product. And again, the timing is right: Closing the forums before its release.

 

There is more to the timing: A lot of people are on vacation. Interest in games decreases in the summer. So the forums are less active. That's also convenient to deliberately announce the closing on the forums itself.

 

To top it off: No-one is getting an e-mail about the event. So, a lot of inactive users will only notice that the forums are gone, after the event. That's also very convenient. If there is to be an e-mail then it is best to send it near the final closing date. So maybe we will still get one. I doubt it, though.

 

In the meantime members of the forum will be angry, frustrated, disillusioned, etc. They will post accordingly on this forum until the closing date. That serves BW as well. It shows that the forum is indeed toxic and thus, that they were right to close it. Perfect, isn't it?

 

Could this have been prevented? Of course. If customers are not happy with your products then don't throw the ban-hammer to them. Improve your products and invest in the community. If a company does this well (like CDPR has done) then the community will be loyal and spread the word about its products. But you if you don't, then it starts with a dissatisfied murmur and ends with a situation like this. You can be sure, that a lot BW's customers, will not advocate the company and advice against buying the product.

 

It doesn't have to be too late. The ball is still in BW's hands. They can play it in any direction. But then they have to believe in their community, invest in it, and don't give it nonsensical corporate sweet talk. These forum members are too smart for that.

 

I think that BW's train of thought is unbecoming. It tells a lot about the corporate mindset.

 

Some individual devs may not agree what Bioware has done to itself (and are maybe sad about it), but I as a gamer have no respect for the company that proves indeed to be nothing but a trademark of EA's Bioware-label.

 

Bioware, once a company to be proud of, and with a gamer friendly culture, has ceased to exist.

I cannot agree more.

 

I will also say that to me, the BW community is very much a part of the video games themselves and this is the best place to exchange ideas and opinions among people who shared the same experiences, to take this community away from everyone who purchased BW games is down right unethical, regardless of whatever motives the development company has.

[QueenPurpleScrap]

They said we could use twitter. Hmmm. I decided to test this and tweeted one of my posts, it was from a DA4 thread. https://forum.biowar...-iv/?p=20377284

 

I sent it/them to @bioware. That account is under the name I use for most gaming related stuff, Norstaera. I have tweeted a total of 24 times, 18 of them were used to tweet this post. Twice a single sentence had to be continued into the next tweet.

 

I finished about two hours ago.

 

So far, no response. My guess is I won't get one.

 

I deliberately opted for a previous post unrelated to the closed forums announcement. It was one of my shorter posts. My purpose was to highlight how ridiculous? unhelpful? limiting? twitter is for many of us. Dunno, maybe it just comes off as passive/aggressive. Or maybe it just shows that I'm old. *sigh* In either case, it's done now.

 

 

[Solas]

There moderation worked for years til the general Internet mentality took over. Should they have prepared and modded better? Yes, but that wouldn't stop it anyway. Other forums have much more strict moderation and yet all people do is create alts to continue to troll and gimmick post and flood the forums with their crap.

Bioware gets a little blame, but it is the general entitled attitude of the community that has led to this forum being burnt to the ground.

Still waiting to find out why you're here behind "you guys deserve this you brought it on yourselves yall need andraste". 

[Rifneno]

There moderation worked for years til the general Internet mentality took over. Should they have prepared and modded better? Yes, but that wouldn't stop it anyway. Other forums have much more strict moderation and yet all people do is create alts to continue to troll and gimmick post and flood the forums with their crap.

Bioware gets a little blame, but it is the general entitled attitude of the community that has led to this forum being burnt to the ground.

LOL. The fact that the topic of moderation comes up and you don't mention Priestly's antics shows how out of touch with reality you are.

You know, by defending nuking the board because you don't like it, you're the most toxic one here.

[Rifneno]

Still waiting to find out why you're here behind "you guys deserve this you brought it on yourselves yall need andraste". 

Victim blaming is popular nowadays.

[maia0407]

And if we are then told that Other Sites will moderate and ban the jerks better than this place did, well. Seems it was a moderation issue and not a "toxic cesspool forum" issue. Hard to believe the whole of the community here is being blamed for that failure.

I'm giving the side-eye to several of the communities suggested as some of their supporters, in the case of new forums, or regulars, in the case of established forums, are pretty hostile to any type of progressive talk. Frankly, from what I've seen in several of these communities, is a lot of unmoderated bigotry in the forms of sexism, racism, homophobia and the like. So, I guess, know where you are going. Look at who are mods and reconcile that with what you know of their posting history here. Luckily, I found a few that seem home to some tolerant nice people.

And here comes the attacks in 5....4.....3....

[Boomshakalakalakaboom]

I just like taking up space with pointless posts....not because I've got double posting issues.

[Boomshakalakalakaboom]

I'm giving the side-eye to several of the communities suggested as some of their supporters, in the case of new forums, or regulars, in the case of established forums, are pretty hostile to any type of progressive talk. Frankly, from what I've seen several of these communities are show a lot of unmoderated bigotry in the form of sexism, racism, homophobia and the like. So, I guess, know where you are going. Look at who are mods and reconcile that with what you know of their posting history here. Luckily, I found a few that seem home to some tolerant nice people.

And here comes the attacks in 5....4.....3....

Were you killed before you could count down to 1?

If you were, then there's no need to reply.

[mousestalker1]

I'm giving the side-eye to several of the communities suggested as some of their supporters, in the case of new forums, or regulars, in the case of established forums, are pretty hostile to any type of progressive talk. Frankly, from what I've seen several of these communities are show a lot of unmoderated bigotry in the form of sexism, racism, homophobia and the like. So, I guess, know where you are going. Look at who are mods and reconcile that with what you know of their posting history here. Luckily, I found a few that seem home to some tolerant nice people. 

 

And here comes the attacks in 5....4.....3....

So you found a home? Excellent. As far as I can tell, one of the older established fan forums has no hatred, bigotry or homophobia at all.

 

And now I have a song from Guys and Dolls running through my head. There are worse fates.

[thedancingdruid]

Still waiting to find out why you're here behind "you guys deserve this you brought it on yourselves yall need andraste". 

What's wrong with Andraste...did I miss that thread, I need to find it. Oh, I hope there's still time.

[N7M]

Victim blaming is popular nowadays.

Playing the victim is popular with some and you play it like you've got a lot of practice.

[lynroy]

Poor and inconsistent moderation is going to set the tone for the forum. People with bad attitudes who break the terms of service will find their antics tolerated and continue that pattern. I have read about and been given warning points for absolutely no reason while another user creates posts laced with racism and hate speech. Was the user breaking the terms of service penalized? No, and they continued to spout their drivel for months before finally being taken care of.

[thedancingdruid]

See that is why the forums need to remain for slight nuances of character and looking up all the codex reference that can't be achieved in the game otherwise due to bugs...or multiple playthrough requirements...the list goes on and on.

[maia0407]

Were you killed before you could count down to 1?
If you were, then there's no need to reply.

 

It was a squirrel distraction.  

So you found a home? Excellent. As far as I can tell, one of the older established fan forums has no hatred, bigotry or homophobia at all.
 
And now I have a song from Guys and Dolls running through my head. There are worse fates.

I've found two I really like and a possible third.

[Rifneno]

What's wrong with Andraste...

Oh, nothing...

You know what's an interesting coincidence? Andraste was born the year after the Dumat archdemon was finally slain.

It's weird how Flemeth referred to the the OGB as an ancient ritual, as if it had been performed long ago...

Man, the way she died. Horrible. Burning at the stake. That's nightmare tier. If I were ever in that situation, I'd find myself wishing I could do that body swap thing. Maybe put the bastard responsible for my predicament in my place. Of course I'd have to kill them quickly before they figured out what happened and alerted anyone. You know, like Archon Hessarian did to Andraste right before he totally reformed and spent the rest of his life promoting her values.

These are just random thoughts of course. Not trying to imply anything.

[Kabraxal]

LOL. The fact that the topic of moderation comes up and you don't mention Priestly's antics shows how out of touch with reality you are.You know, by defending nuking the board because you don't like it, you're the most toxic one here.

Because that years ago and I learned to let it go instead of harbour an unhealthy grudge in order to slander Bioware whenever I feel like it.

But keep up the posts that have become a staple of this forum. You are only proving the point being made in the first place.

I would liked the forums to remain open, especially for the purpose of the groups and a few mods. But I will not act like an entitled child for a forum that Bioware can choose to close. They opted to open it years ago and actually worked hard to interact on those forums. But the entitled, the hostile, and the childish whiners and trolls ruined it for everyone else. Maybe instead of attacking Bioware for all the evils in the world, you should look in around and see where the problem actually began. I know you'll still scream Bioware, but it was with the fans that took ME2, DA2, and ME3 as personal attacks against them and lashed out at Bioware like spoiled brats.

And before someone tries to point anything witty out... I was one of those spoiled brats during ME3's ending fiasco that did take it a little too far before I came to my senses and started acting like a rational human being again.

[thedancingdruid]

There's nothing rational about burning down the entire house it took many years to build.

[Neverwinter_Knight77]

One reason why I kept bringing up the "faceless" modbots... I got a warning point for censoring my own cuss word (non-cuss example: a***). People openly cuss all the time and don't get in trouble for it (and the system doesn't catch it). My guess is that some troll reported my post and the modbots responded as a robot would.

[Wolven_Soul]

Poor and inconsistent moderation is going to set the tone for the forum. People with bad attitudes who break the terms of service will find their antics tolerated and continue that pattern. I have read about and been given warning points for absolutely no reason while another user creates posts laced with racism and hate speech. Was the user breaking the terms of service penalized? No, and they continued to spout their drivel for months before finally being taken care of.

 

I got a warning point for calling out someone who was being 'toxic' towards console gamers once.  I mean really saying some rude crap.  I think I got a point for referring to him as a jerk or something like that.  I made it a point to mention that to the moderator who sent me the message about that point, not sure if the other person was ever penalized or not.

[Salaya]

I don't get this toxic forum stuff.

 

Yes, I recall the vitrolic posts made by some and the fighting that ensued over DA2 and in particular ME3 (which is probably why Bioware would discourage in office visitors as some of that was pretty badly abusive).

 

Yes, there is bickering and name-calling by some posters even now. Yes, and even on this thread there are there are some posters who seem to be fanning the flames. The world is like that.

 

Why posters even respond to trolls and bullies on this or any forum is beyond me. Why poke the bears? Ignore them.

 

But it must be said:

 

The vast majority of posters on this thread and all others on this board are decent, fair, respectful, people who love the forum, love the games! To effectively silence the vast majority of supporters and lovers of Bioware because of those who are abusive - empowers the bullies, disempowers us and does a huge disserve to Bioware -I don't get why they want to shoot themselves in the foot ... I truly don't.

 

I hate being disparaged as toxic - so unfair.

 

Bioware - "take what is worth taking and with a breath of comfort, blow the rest away" (author unknown).

 

I love this post. It sums up pretty nicely what I think.

 

If there is such things as "toxicity" in these forums, I'm pretty sure there are many different ways to try and solve the issue without completely erasing the forums. It's just so... radical. I don't know, out of the blue I can think simple things like actually simplfying the forums to better control the negativity flow. Or take the matter seriously and hire/compose a team of mods/supervisors for the forums in a better, more manegeable environment. 

 

But no, let's just burn the vast amount of information, potential new discussions and relatiosnhips between fans just because. 

 

Also, citing what Sylvius The Mad said the other day: this place was a place for fans interacting with other fans (and it had the advantage of having tons of already registered users that actively posted every day). Dev interactions were very welcome, but not the main reason many of us came here. 

 

Oh, well. I'm still sooo sad about this T_T

[Draining Dragon]

One reason why I kept bringing up the "faceless" modbots... I got a warning point for censoring my own cuss word (non-cuss example: a***). People openly cuss all the time and don't get in trouble for it (and the system doesn't catch it). My guess is that some troll reported my post and the modbots responded as a robot would.

Mods will only look at posts that get reported, and they will almost never look at the context around the post, which basically means that the system rewards people for reporting everything they don't like.

[LPPrince]

I love how the solution to the "devs don't post much around here" problem is not to fix the forum to entice more dev-fan interaction but instead to close the forum.

 

This is what Bioware has always looked like when things go wrong-

 

 

"86 the forum!"

 

"But we've got a game on the way right now"

 

"I don't care, 86 it!"

 

I don't know what to tell you Gordon, she's always like this

[Rifneno]

See, that is why these forums need to remain open...imply away. It is so much fun.

Err, I was. I was being sarcastic. I really don't see how it's possible that it's a coincidence with the thousands of years of history in DA, Andraste's birth being in the 9 month range after Dumat's death could be a coincidence. Most events they were just "long ago, in a galaxy far away..." But they gave us specific years for these two events, and they're consecutive. I don't see how that can possibly be a coincidence.

Then again, people who don't know anything at all about PTSD can convince themselves that the dreams were PTSD so I guess I shouldn't be surprised at what people will tell themselves to support their previously held PoV.

[thedancingdruid]

Salaya

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be the first time many volumes of knowledge were burned.

Maybe there is still time to put out the flame before it becomes a blazing inferno.