What do you think the GS staff thinks about the forum communities?

I am referring to all the various boards, not just OT. Some members have been suggesting that the GS staff is becoming more confrontational and displeased with the forum communities. Do you think that is the case or do you think it is overblown? Do you think they enjoy the various posters and their viewpoints? Or do you think they view it as a necessary evil to maintain the site's popularity? Basically is it a chore, a pleasure, or both?

Working withthe publicon a daily basis can be frustrating at times. My career is such where I have to do that - most of the time I'm happy, but there are always jerks and other crazies that can just ruin your day. I've had my share of people that complain about me - all unjustly of course. :P Nobody likes to be criticized even if it is "contructive". It's hard to not take such criticism personally. What are your thoughts?

I don't think they think.

"Oh great, these assh*les are complaining about something stupid again"

Always assumed they were indifferent.

I think they are starting to get angry, it seems like they don't want any of the old people left

Staff is a dick.Jandurin

I dont think they think of anything or that the personality behind staff is genuine.

They are just being intentionally a dick to sort of make us regret the ToU changes that were pushed on the community. Like a taste of our own medicine or something. That's my take.

[QUOTE="Jandurin"]Staff is a dick.sonicare

It tends to vary from forum to forum since they tend to be… unique experiences across the board. Usually we're happy when you're happy so we listen to your feed back and try and make the changes you want to see.

Other times I sympathies with the pain of using the site when its broken all to pieces and so the hate and bile directed towards me is taken with a grain of salt (and sometimes a twist of lime and a shot of tequila).

And then of course there are the moments where I become fully aware that there are a great many users that will never be happy regardless of what changes are made, when they're made, how their enforced… and even if those changes were made the rest would turn into a bunch of whiners (and often do).

Finally, I come to terms with the fact that you can't make everyone happy but damn it all I'll keep trying no matter how many users tell me I "don't really care" :P

It tends to very from forum to forum since they tend to be… unique experiences across the board. Synthia

No one is happy/pleased with Staff. That is the single most baffling case of PR incompetence I've seen to date. An account with the purpose of deiliberately p!ssing off as many users possible? For the love of Jesus. Anyway, Adblock Plus'd Synthia for use of Ponies.

Here's what I think, but I am only one of many.

Many forums on the internet have specific purposes. For GameSpot in particular, I find that certain areas of the site (unions, ucb, game boards, and our main boards like off-topic) have different types of people that frequent there. These people make the environment special to me.

Many discussions in the forums have interesting insights because of the people who frequent them. Each person that posts might have some different kinds of ideas or opinions or they can find what you said and spin it into another idea/concept.

I find that the people who don't go with the flow in a topic attract my attention because they are not agreeing with everything and everyone. Those who provide different opinions kind of remind me of a type of devil's advocate (sort of like a curveball nobody thought about). But, then there are reasons to completely agree with someone's opinion, so the ones that provide their responses in a certain manner might also attract my attention.

I would say that the Off-topic forum has some people who respond and I enjoy reading what they say. Recently, System Wars has had even more posters that have caught my attention than before, thanks to the recent interaction I had in their lounge last week.

And, as you can see, a staff icon next to my name, people who don't treat me special compared to others often grabs my attention, and not in a good way. I might have access to see what bad things people have done but the reality is, some people with extensive moderation histories in the past (former policies marks with sarcastic troll remarks) were often the guy that made me laugh. Just because people troll on the internet, this does not mean they have sinned (which is what our old policies were about).

We've desired to upgrade these forums to assist with certain needs like ignoring and profanity filter options, but it looks like we just can't get the changes done fast enough to meet the needs of those who need them immediately.

So what do I think about forum communities? While forums might be considered as a waste of time (time sink) and ancient in today's Twitter/Facebook/Social media limelight, I disagree with those who claim this opinion about forums.

But, on a related note, I hope people like sonicare and Teenaged (calling you out because I liked your posts in here) can stick around during our maintenance of the site. I do end up missing familiar usernames on the site, but just like real life, people come and they go. We can't force anyone to stay. We can only say farewell and welcome back. We make new friends along the way, but we'll miss those who cannot pioneer with us and have the courage to accept change.

[...] Teenaged (calling you out because I liked your posts in here) [...]

JodyR

Anyway as for the two issues that I usually whine/complain about here's what I think:

Users leaving: in this case (xaos and scorch) it mostly had to do with the Staff account for me. I dont know who is behind it and other than the assumption I once or twice made about it being Drac, it doesnt really matter to me (who is behind it). The point is that imo it has gone too far and I dont think that my opinion is just the result of you guys not being able to please everyone. Far from it.

Glitches: I personally dont know who is responsible about the technical issue of the site.

Conclusion: the reason I (and others I assume) sometimes whine is because I hope someone who can do something about those things will pay attention. Not to threaten that I am leaving. Especially the glitches, if they were the only problem the site has, could never be the reason I leave.

You no longer do?

Teenaged

[QUOTE="Teenaged"]

You no longer do?

Synthia

By the way, if you're interested in seeing change, I'll give you a hint.... check below the On the Spot live show video player today. ;)

No one is happy/pleased with Staff. That is the single most baffling case of PR incompetence I've seen to date. An account with the purpose of deiliberately p!ssing off as many users possible? For the love of Jesus. Anyway, Adblock Plus'd Synthia for use of Ponies.

coolbeans90

This. Normally I'd give the admin team the benefit of the doubt and say they're just trying to make the best of a bad situation (it's a thankless job at the best of times, and I can't imagine community management is much of a priority for their CBS overlords beyond "keep subscription revenues up"), but the Staff account has been so thoroughly abused that it's destroyed every modicum of goodwill.

Oh, I'm sure they don't like me... :Pcodymcclain14

[spoiler] PS I'm sooo gonna go see Asking Alexandria this summer lml ^_^ lml [/spoiler]

[QUOTE="codymcclain14"]Oh, I'm sure they don't like me... :PSynthia

I seem to be one of the few to weather the effects of the ToU change almost indifferently.foxhound_fox

I really haven't noticed much from staff TBH....so I'm not sure if the problem is widespread or only a select few.LJS9502_basic

I seem to be one of the few to weather the effects of the ToU change almost indifferently.foxhound_fox

I'm with you. I do like that I can express my opinions a little more freely now, though.

[QUOTE="Synthia"][QUOTE="codymcclain14"]Oh, I'm sure they don't like me... :Pcodymcclain14

Oh wow... not only did xaos' blog get edited, now they edit his GS level as well.

Really? Is this the way staff wants to portray themselves? It comes off as childish to me.

[QUOTE="codymcclain14"][QUOTE="Synthia"] I dunno, its hard for me to want to dislike someone with good taste in music ;)Synthia

That's awesome. :}

Me and my friends are planning on going to warped tour to see AA and nearly allof our otherfavorite bands at once. Lol.

But yeah, that's still cool. ^.^

[QUOTE="LJS9502_basic"]I really haven't noticed much from staff TBH....so I'm not sure if the problem is widespread or only a select few.foxhound_fox

Oh wow... not only did xaos' blog get edited, now they edit his GS level as well.

Really? Is this the way staff wants to portray themselves? It comes off as childish to me.

Teenaged

wtf :lol:

No one is happy/pleased with Staff. coolbeans90

You do have to understand that I have a different perspective than many people who deal with content on the internet. I've met many people that use GameSpot.com and I've also met gamers who were jerks to me in the games.

GameSpot users I have met in person since 2005 at different lans/conventions/tournament events have been asked about former circumstances with them (because I have a good memory). When asking them about these circumstances the majority have told me that it was either a misunderstanding or they were trying to get staff's attention. /shrug

Oh wow... not only did xaos' blog get edited, now they edit his GS level as well.

Really? Is this the way staff wants to portray themselves? It comes off as childish to me.

Teenaged

[QUOTE="coolbeans90"] No one is happy/pleased with Staff. JodyR

You do have to understand that I have a different perspective than many people who deal with content on the internet. I've met many people that use GameSpot.com and I've also met gamers who were jerks to me in the games.

GameSpot users I have met in person since 2005 at different lans/conventions/tournament events have been asked about former circumstances with them (because I have a good memory). When asking them about these circumstances the majority have told me that it was either a misunderstanding or they were trying to get staff's attention. /shrug

[QUOTE="Teenaged"]

Oh wow... not only did xaos' blog get edited, now they edit his GS level as well.

Really? Is this the way staff wants to portray themselves? It comes off as childish to me.

JodyR

[QUOTE="JodyR"][QUOTE="Teenaged"]

Oh wow... not only did xaos' blog get edited, now they edit his GS level as well.

Really? Is this the way staff wants to portray themselves? It comes off as childish to me.

horgen123

[QUOTE="JodyR"][QUOTE="Teenaged"]

Oh wow... not only did xaos' blog get edited, now they edit his GS level as well.

Really? Is this the way staff wants to portray themselves? It comes off as childish to me.

horgen123

[QUOTE="coolbeans90"] No one is happy/pleased with Staff. JodyR

You do have to understand that I have a different perspective than many people who deal with content on the internet. I've met many people that use GameSpot.com and I've also met gamers who were jerks to me in the games.

GameSpot users I have met in person since 2005 at different lans/conventions/tournament events have been asked about former circumstances with them (because I have a good memory). When asking them about these circumstances the majority have told me that it was either a misunderstanding or they were trying to get staff's attention. /shrug

I've only seen a couple users profess they like Staff recently just because they enjoy seeing a dick make others whine about... him being a dick.

whatJandurin

[QUOTE="coolbeans90"] No one is happy/pleased with Staff. JodyR

Don't delude yourself; the reaction is overwhelmingly negative and you are fully aware of it. I have yet to see a single poster praise him. The account accomplishes nothing except alienate the community from the administration for a few kicks and giggles on your part. Not exactly the response a community relations liaison should elicit. The part which baffles me the most is how you have not picked up on it despite quite a handful of your own moderators expressing discontent with it. The account is a categorically stupid idea.