5512 réponses à ce sujet

[zMataxa]

Saw this news on Polygon.

Stunned.

Sad.

VERY Disappointed.

 

Came out of lurking.

Have not been posting for last few years. 

Been lurking and enjoying when I have some time.  But that time makes me more a Bioware fan, just like others have said.

In fact, this year rebought the ME trilogy for PC and almost every DLC because of so many long in-depth discussions here (on another computer for those wondering why I don't have game icons showing).

Optimized my DAI playthrough because of so many in-depth chats here (yes bought all the dlc).

 

What Bioware forums does is bring together different groups, that normally do not hang out together.

Autumn Witch's Dragon Age forum, Vroom, TopShelf, - they appeal to different user groups.

This place brought it all together like a massive cosmopolitan hub, and very importantly allows IN-depth convos, and many of them are high quality.

To me, that was one of the essences of Bioware, and the fans here represent that diversity, including that we play combative games and talk the same way, and still more than not, we do get along. 

Recognizing diversity and making them work together is one of Bioware's strengths.

These forums represented that.

Now that is taken away. 

It is a VERY sad day.

 

I would hope that in the face of these passionate resposnses, Bioware would ask themselves if there is another way to keep these forums alive.

Is it the cost? I'd chip in $20 CDN every year.  They are worth it. 

archiveofourown.org (a fanficsite) has an annual(?) fundraiser to keep it alive.  I don't see why this couldn't be something similar.

I really hope Bioware revisits this decision.  Please?!

 

 

 

[lynroy]

We actively follow and seek out what our players are saying, whether its here or on other websites, blogs, or social media. We also get the odd handwritten letter, and we read those too.
Closing these boards does not mean that stops, nor does it mean we expect you to give us 144 character reviews or feedback. We encourage all of our players to talk about our games in the way that best suits them and the discussion they are wanting to have. Sometimes that's on Twitter, sometimes that's via a blog, or Reddit, or community forum.

For many of us the best way to do that is on these very forums. Connecting with other players here. This is our community. And Bioware is just going to shut the door on that?

[TobiTobsen]

Probably not the decision but the message could use some work as this one makes about as much sense as licking a subway floor to boost your immune system.

 

He... but what is he supposed to do? You can gold plate a turd as much as you want, it's still a turd.

 

And this decision is a massive turd.

[Fixers0]

I'm still amused as well as a little saddened by the obvious discrepancy of: "we care of the community, therefore we close it".

 

And as for other community platforms Here's an analogy:

 

If a grocery was only selling apples and one day there would pears, peaches  and strawberries, would they're be a reason to stop selling apples just because there are other fruits now?

[London]

This is BS and I am sure even the OP knows it. Treat us like adults and tell is you just don't want to pay for forum moderators anymore. Or that EA wants to minimize the BioWare name. Or they just don't want to host a website. Whatever. But to tell us that you now fly all over to large events to meet players in person... Just what? How many go to these? Less than 1 percent of the player base I'm sure.

To suggest that we all just tweet our conversations or go to Facebook as a replacement is laughable. No one can honestly look someone in the eyes and say that social media and large events will be a replacement for the depth of discussion that can be had in these forums.

I won't be creating a Twitter account for you. And I've been on Facebook pages for games and the discussions don't hold a candle to here.

[Heimdall]

I think I'm going to write them a respectful but impassioned letter about this, anyone else?

[MisterJB]

No, this was not a monetary decision.

Then what's the point?

 

I get it, you're not the one making these decisions and I am not trying to give you a hard time but really, if it's not a monetary decision, then it makes no sense whatsoever.

 

It's like saying "Yes, I cut off one of my hands but it doesn't matter because I have another one. Why yes, it was my dominant hand, why do you ask?"

 

Maybe you should just not mutilate yourself?

[Fredward]

He... but what is he supposed to do? You can gold plate a turd as much as you want, it's still a turd.

 

And this decision is a massive turd.

 

I would've appreciated "Ya'll suck and we're done pretending your opinions matter," at least that would have been honest.

[prosthetic soul]

lol.  Bioware, when you're in a hole of bad decisions, you STOP. DIGGING.

[NRieh]

Relevant: Does anyone know a way to archive a thread fairly easily without having to go through and save it manually? It's thousands of pages long. I'm not tech-savvy, sure you can tell by this post. Can it even be done?

Only if they be so kind to add a PM-like button for archiveing the conversation. I'm afraid.

[Patriciachr34]

It would be beneficial to BioWare, financially and socially, to leave the forums open. Here's why:

1. Mass Effect Andromeda is going to release in the near future. You'll need the forums to accommodate those fans and provide for discussion.

2. Social websites like tumblr and reddit are fads. They will likely lose popularity like My Space and any of the other forgotten blog sites. The Dragon Age wikia (another blog) has also steadily lost activity over the past year due to bad management. The forums will last longer, and they can be updated and improved if needed. You have no control over the fate of other websites or if new ones will arise.

3. The forums allow BioWare to generate and hold interest in their products. More fans come here all the time and discuss the various games to no end. That allows BioWare to maintain a fan base and an interest in their products.

4. The forums are an easy tool for advertising. Why pay for ads on Yahoo or MSN or IGN and hope their tracking programs (spyware) is adequate enough to target your customers when you have all your customers right here in these forums? You have some news about an upcoming product? Post a thread. You want to spark interest in a project? Post a thread. You want info about your product to travel by word of mouth? Post a thread.

5. You can't trust other websites to provide a social environment that suits the company's best interests. Those sites and the rules of conduct are set by their respective owners. Do you really want your fans to have potentially negative websites as their only outlets of speech and expression? Some sites allow rude and inflammatory behavior. Some allow obscene content. Conduct such as that will likely turn fans away from your products. Better to have these forums open for those fans to enjoy a civil message board that BioWare has control over. One that BioWare can set the rules for. One that shows up first in any Internet search.

6. Closing the forums will definitely turn fans away. I don't use Facebook, Tumblr, or Twitter. I don't use the wikia or any other fan site. Besides, those websites don't allow for in-depth discussions or debates. The formatting doesn't allow for it. These forums do though. So if you close these off you'll be fracturing your fan base, and most won't bother to find any new forum to discuss your games. They will stop talking about BioWare products, and that could lead them to stop purchasing your products as well.

7. It is much easier to read fan feedback here than checking all the various fan sites. The forums allow suggestions and feedback to be grouped and organized in one place. This actually saves BioWare time and effort when it needs feedback from the public.

This and much more.  TBH this announcement has actually prompted me to go to a very uncomfortable place.  I just Tweeted.  I don't even know what a # is for or why it is necessary; AND how can anyone properly express themselves with such a limited response space?

 

Is there any other place where Bioware fans can go to get comprehensive information about games under development, etc?  How will we discuss morality themes as presented in the games, content and why it is or is not necessary, or the giddiness we feel when pursuing our in game LI's?  On BSN we can be serious, intellectual and,or just plains silly.  On what other venue will this be possible?  On what other venue will we find the camaraderie that exists between the posters on BSN?  I'm going to cry now.

[Shechinah]

I think I'm going to write them a respectful but impassioned letter about this, anyone else?

I wrote this but it may not come across as respectful as I intended because of the feels. 
 

"Welcome to the BioWare Forum. We envision this space as a symposium of minds where players can share, exchange, and discuss perspectives on BioWare Edmonton and Montreal game universes and products in the Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises as well as our legacy titles. This place is important to us, and we hope it becomes a bustling hub for our fans." - Our Philosophy.

It did.

These forums became a place where we, the players share, exchange and discuss perspectives. There are threads that are born and die in the span of a day and there are threads that are born and continue on for months at a time. We share stories, we exchange opinions and oh, we discuss the games including from our own perspective. What you envisioned came true down to the greek meaning of the word symposium in the form of the Drinkquisition thread.

It may no longer be important to you, Bioware, but it is to us, the fans. If you no longer believe in that vision then have the courtesy to say so because as the quote above seems to say these forums were not meant to solely be about developer and fans communicating, it was also meant to be about fans communicating with fans and we still communicate even if it is without you.

Source: https://forum.biowar...our-philosophy/

[Mlady]

This is BS and I am sure even the OP knows it. Treat us like adults and tell is you just don't want to pay for forum moderators anymore. Or that EA wants to minimize the BioWare name. Or they just don't want to host a website. Whatever. But to tell us that you now fly all over to large events to meet players in person... Just what? How many go to these? Less than 1 percent of the player base I'm sure.

To suggest that we all just tweet our conversations or go to Facebook as a replacement is laughable. No one can honestly look someone in the eyes and say that social media and large events will be a replacement for the depth of discussion that can be had in these forums.

I won't be creating a Twitter account for you. And I've been on Facebook pages for games and the discussions don't hold a candle to here.

 

Unfortunately Twitter and FB and all the other ones suggested are the "in" thing mostly for the younger kids just starting into these games, which have already been catered to younger people (this was done with Sims 4 too) so that's where the best media is likely.

[Amirit]

Been through three iterations of this forum and I have yet to fall in this famous toxic waste pit. Maybe I gain some super powers.

Reddid is 10 times more "toxic" than BSN ever was! Yet, developers are always there. No, if anything, "toxicity" has nothing to do with closing.

[BioFan (Official)]

 

 

I had such a heartbreak with this news I really felt like I needed to make a video about it. 

[goofyomnivore]

 

What Bioware forums does is bring together different groups, that normally do not hang out together.

Autumn Witch's Dragon Age forum, Vroom, TopShelf, - they appeal to different user groups.

This place brought it all together like a massive cosmopolitan hub, and very importantly allows IN-depth convos, and many of them are high quality.

 

Exactly. One user whom I can't remember their name had a signature or one liner, 'It was like throwing the frat boys and drama club in a tiny room together' when regarding one of the parts of the BSN. Sometimes it goes hilariously bad and a few people get some warnings or bans, but more often than not people gain additional information or perspective they otherwise would haven't obtained.

[SnakeCode]

Lmao BioWare are a joke.

[nightscrawl]

I would at least like something to make it easy to archive threads and PM's.

You can archive PMs. At the bottom of each conversation is a button that says, "Archive Conversation." Clicking his will send you an email (to your registered email) of the entire conversation.

[LastFadingSmile]

Fan-run forums, blogs and websites are all great in theory, but they can also be incredibly transient in nature. A popular blog or website or youtube channel or twitter account or FB page/group lives and dies, in many cases, by its creators' or admins' commitment to maintaining it. The Bioware official forums stand as the one truly stable place for players to reliably find information and discourse (and ironically, without need of any dev input most of the time!)--and that's evidenced by how many people still frequent these boards even between announcements and releases. I just cannot grasp the reasoning behind this in the slightest; every time I try to make sense of it, all I come up with is something that is ill-conceived at best, and condescending at worst.

[Pasta Stevens]

Hey everyone long time lurker first time poster here. I'm real bummed out too but there's an alternative.

 

I know it's got some bad stigma, but 8chan's Dragon Age and Mass Effect generals are some of the best discussion of the game I've found. Everyone there is friendly and welcoming and we all just want to talk about the game without trolls, unlike the idiotic children on halfchan (What we call 4chan).

 

Please try not to let our reputation stop you and come have a look. I think you guys will be surprised by the strong community us fullchanners have established,

[Phalaenopsis]

 

 

I had such a heartbreak with this news I really felt like I needed to make a video about it. 

You've been quick ;-)

[mgagne]

...

 

 

 

With all due respect you might want to retreat back in the shadow for a while...  You've made your decision public and now we're grieving.   Feeding us platitudes in a vain attempt to defuse the whole thing after the fact is just adding insult to injury.

[Sah291]

Eh, this stinks.

This certainly isn't the first discussion forum I've seen close or die off thanks to social media... it's just sad, because twitter/facebook/tumblr/etc are hardly platforms for in depth or nuanced conversations about anything. To the contrary. It's depressing to see forums like this one dying off everywhere, social media is no substitute for lively debate and discussion.

I really enjoyed all the lore discussion and debate here, so thanks to everyone for that.

[Puddi III]

We understand and appreciate that the people who use these boards enjoy them, but there are a lot of great things out there waiting. And while we are sad to see them go, we are hopeful for the future, and remain committed to talking with and listening to our community.

If you (BioWare/EA) were sad about it going at all then you wouldn't close it, since you've given no logical reason for doing so except "other communities exist," which isn't a logical reason for doing so.

So obviously there's some other, yes likely monetary, reason, or you just DGAF, or both.

[Kaibe]

I've enjoyed Bioware games for a few years, but I never really considered myself a fan until I joined the BSN. For a couple of years I've visited these forums daily, enjoying the discussions with other fans. I enjoyed this community so much that playing the games became only half the fun. These forums were the rest. I had never enjoyed any franchise so much until then. And I feel like without this I could never enjoy Bioware's games as much as I had.