Industry Information Influx?

[Mark CMG]

ShinHakkaider makes a point in another thread that I felt could use more expansive discussion -

And honestly when the WOTC people used to post here more often, a small but vocal group of posters did a pretty good job of kicking them in the junk at every given opportunity. Maybe if that werent the case we might have heard from someone might have been here a bit sooner to answer questions about this whole mess.

So where does the buck stop on the interaction or lack of it with industry persons on Internet message boards (particularly here)? Do the posters bear the responsibility? The Industry persons? The medium? The moderators? Something else entirely? Perhaps a combination of all factors?

 

[Michael Silverbane]

I blame you!

No... But really, I think its a combination of factors... The general public (that is, the posters on the boards) for sure have to bear some of the responsibility for being so willing to "kick them in the junk" time and time again, sometimes over imagined slights.

The moderators here do a pretty fabulous job at quashing outright hostility, but there's some wiggle room in the loud complaint/baiting arena that they can't necessarily moderate out of hand without kiling off any semblance of open debate... And that wouldn't do anybody any good. So... maybe the medium itself is in some way to blame.

The corporate whateveryness that the professionals need to maintain, I'm sure is a big deterrent to coming to a place like this. Folks who are in the know about stuff simply can't return hostility in kind if they come on to a message board and get thier noe bloodied by some outraged fan, they have to toe the company line and maintain a friendly appearance. That's gotta suck.

Hmm... Other stuff. I'm sure, but I don't know what it is. One thing that I know for certain, is that it'd be considerably easier if people would top kicking them in the junk.

Later
silver

 

[Crothian]

This is purely a fan site. The industry people that post here do so because they want to and it is their choice. If they decide to stop for whatever reason that's fine. They don't owe us anything.

 

[Mark CMG]

They don't owe us anything.

Not the point.

 

[Crothian]

Not the point.

It might not have been your point but it was mine

 

[Mark CMG]

It might not have been your point but it was mine

Oh, I get that it is your point. But it isn't the point of the thread. But since you seem intent on derailing it and I can't match your post count, I'll just go ahead any ask it be closed down before this gets too far along.

 

[WhatGravitas]

The corporate whateveryness that the professionals need to maintain, I'm sure is a big deterrent to coming to a place like this. Folks who are in the know about stuff simply can't return hostility in kind if they come on to a message board and get thier noe bloodied by some outraged fan, they have to toe the company line and maintain a friendly appearance. That's gotta suck.

That's a big problem. They're not really allowed to go ballistic. And sometimes (of course not very often, and without ad hominem attacks) you need to go a bit ballistic.

Then, there's anonymity. Posters are not talking to people, they're hacking words into a keyboard - the basic internet phenomena: Normal Person + Internet + Anonymity + Random Urges = Threadcrap. A big deterrent for industry people - you know, the trolling/flaming/4chan-people.

The "helpfulness" of people - people who always try to suggest new things - and in an RPG, with the easiness of making up house rules - it can be annoying, yet you have to play nice, and cannot really comment on it (making you distant).

Of course, NDAs and so forth. It's hard - at least I assume so.

EDIT:

Oh, I get that it is your point. But it isn't the point of the thread. But since you seem intent on derailing it and I can't match your post count, I'll just go ahead any ask it be closed down before this gets too far along.

And, of course, "board fame". Post counts. Profiles (like "old-school 0D&Dler"). Not necessarily bad, but they can lead to certain positions, that you would never see in RL - i.e. random "bragging rights". :\

 

[Khairn]

Corporate insiders want the interaction and the buzz that their comments generate. Its good for business. The downside is that some MB folks can be a real pain.

In many respects its similar to the Hollywood crowd and the paparrazzi.

So if EN World is People ... RPGNet is US ... Forge is Cosmo ... and the WotC boards are National Inquirer ...who is Paris Hilton?

 

[MerricB]

The tone of an internet community depends on the moderators. The buck stops there. If moderators tolerate antagonistic posting, then it will happen.

If the moderators of a site want a place where game designers can interact with the fans, then it is on their heads to make sure it happens. They need to lay the ground-rules, and enforce them.

If a poster decides that the rules don't apply to them, and the moderators don't discipline them, then it's the moderator's fault.

Cheers!

 

[blargney the second]

EN World needs a new motto: check your rabies at the door.