Wotc Community Survey

[avin]

You can't seriously be using the WoW forums as an example of good moderation, 'cause that alone destroys your argument wholesale and why would you want to do that in the very first post?

I'm using WOW as an example of how moderators can type without look like corporate robots not as an example of perfect boards.

Wow forums has by far the worse kind of QQers around, but moderation there has been improving since Tseric days. Ghostcrawler is doing a very good job and know how to take the heat.

 

[Kzach]

At the end of the day, moderation works here because the community as a whole WANT it to work. Don't underestimate the power of the masses. Sure, the mods do a lot of hard work and without their dedication it wouldn't be possible, but when all is said and done, there is an unspoken social contract here that the majority implicitly participate in that makes it work.

That will probably never be the case at a corporate website because they are intrinsically linked to the product and therefore can never claim to be either a part of the community or unbiased in their moderation.

What's one of the biggest complaints about the WotC boards? That they're too heavy-handed with the anti-4e censoring, right? And yet, they HAVE to be, it's their BUSINESS. Even though they supply forums for other editions, they will never escape the link they have with the product they sell.

Quite frankly, the best solution for WotC would be to limit their forums to official questions and answers and have a very rigid structure in place for doing so. Continuing the blogs is also a good idea as it is generally a one-way feed of information that doesn't require community input but can still accommodate feedback.

Trying to force the creation of a community will never, ever work and will always just be a massive money-sink for them. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, they would be better served cutting their losses and focusing their money elsewhere, like on DDI and paying for advertising on sites like this one and RPG.net. After all, sites like this generate money for them.

I think WotC should stop trying to be everything to everyone and become more focused. Not even Apple tries to have community forums and they are the very best example of manipulating and milking a fanbase that has ever existed. WotC should learn from their example and let the fanbase do it's own thing.

 

[Dice4Hire]

I answered the survey though I rarely go there any more. I think it has been a couple of years, since Gleemax, since I actually posted over there.

 

[Aeolius]

While I frequent the WotC boards from time to time, looking for topical keywords, I can truly say that their message boards are currently as relevant as their chat rooms.

 

[Festivus]

I use the boards quite a bit for RPGA related things. For CharOp or gameplay I tend to come here more. I think the WizO's are great at what they do and don't mind them at all.

 

[mudbunny]

What's one of the biggest complaints about the WotC boards? That they're too heavy-handed with the anti-4e censoring, right? And yet, they HAVE to be, it's their BUSINESS. Even though they supply forums for other editions, they will never escape the link they have with the product they sell.

The other biggest complaint that you see on the WotC forums?? That the ORCs don't do enough to stop anti-4E people from ruining the forums.

I have been a regular on the WotC forums since the announcement of 4E, and, in the case of anti/pro-4E sentiment, it runs in cycles:

It is calm for a while, and then one group says that the other is getting preferential treatment. There are threads and examples brought up. The idea dies down and it is calm for a while. Then the group that was getting "preferential treatment" starts to complain that the other group is getting preferential treatment. Then it calms down for a while, and then it starts up again.

 

[Dausuul]

The other biggest complaint that you see on the WotC forums?? That the ORCs don't do enough to stop anti-4E people from ruining the forums.

I have been a regular on the WotC forums since the announcement of 4E, and, in the case of anti/pro-4E sentiment, it runs in cycles:

It is calm for a while, and then one group says that the other is getting preferential treatment. There are threads and examples brought up. The idea dies down and it is calm for a while. Then the group that was getting "preferential treatment" starts to complain that the other group is getting preferential treatment. Then it calms down for a while, and then it starts up again.

I just had an insight into why so many successful (interesting, civil, engaging) forums prohibit discussion of moderator decisions and policies.

 

[wayne62682]

I used to go to the WotC forums an awful lot years ago, and not as much lately... mainly it was because I got tired of know-it-all posters who were quick to pass judgment on anyone who disagreed with the commonly-accepted opinions. I absolutely hate the "corporate drone" attitude of the WizOs/ORCs - they don't have any passion anymore and come off as shills and "company men" who tow the company line instead of fellow gamers.

Also the "silence all dissent" attitude of the community, where anyone who remotely says anything against 4e is shut down, even when the criticism is valid. However, I understand that point of view because when 4e was first released there was a group of trolling grognards that would repeatedly post flamebait threads insulting WotC, people who like 4e and everything about 4e. I'm strongly against the view some (most?) moderators seem to take in that anyone who questions you or what you are doing needs to be silenced; that sort of fascist attitude only serves to make the community an unwelcome one.

 

[MrMyth]

The VCL program needs to be shut down. It was a very poor idea when it started, people still are confused about the difference between VCLs, Forum Leaders, Scribes, WizO's, etc, and some of them simply don't have the objectivity that a trained, paid moderator does. Giving fanboys power on fan forums is a very poor idea, and when the program started, a lot of people felt that the deck was getting stacked with people receptive to the then-current folks in charge of the program rather than much else.

Honestly, the VCLs I see active over there are some of the most mature and responsible posters in those forums, and do an excellent job of keeping threads on topic and as civil as possible. I think dismissing them as 'fanboys' is a pretty big disservice, especially given your own actions and behavior there.

For myself, I used to find the WotC forums a completely untouchable place that I would never consider venturing into. In the last year or so, they've become a remarkably usable place. I would occasionally wish for a bit more moderation, but the current environment is a vast improvement over how the boards used to be.

 

[Scott_Rouse]

I pointed out that guys like Peter Lee and Scott Rouse posting on boards such Enworld and DDMspoilers is something very nice.

aww shucks