Discussion

[keebo]

The reason I dont get on IRC anymore is cause one day I asked a question about the Galactic Civil War, I asked if it was going to work properly, SOE Never could get it right, I was told that They didnt want to deal with me and banned me. That was real nice of you guys. Im still gonna play, but that kinda knocked the wind out of my sails.

[soups]

Originally Posted by PhantomLeader

We have also never put anyone in the "Village Idiot" category.
Mostly that was the old mods, who are long gone...But in return, I would expect everyone to stop flaming noobs, read the FAQ, and try to be as helpful as possible. That is the best thing the community can do to help on the forums at the moment.

Your sig:
Immaturity and stupidity do not mix with good results.
Punctuation is your friend. Use it.
Read the FAQ and Newbie Guide before posting.

Another suggestion:

As we start down this new road of building a community on this site. Remnants of the old attitudes abound. You mention flaming newbs but notice that your signature contains an open flame about punctuation and posts that you might think are Immature or stupid. That kind of thing makes people afraid to post for fear of sounding stupid or having bad punctuation.

It is a funny sig though...

[dashbarron]

Originally Posted by PhantomLeader

We have banned nobody on the spot, unless it was for ban evasion.
We have also never put anyone in the "Village Idiot" category.
Mostly that was the old mods, who are long gone.
I would appreciate if we could stop with the "TEH MODS R NAZI's" type discussion. Nobody's going to get banned just for posting a question; that was awile back, and we don't do those kinds of things.
But in return, I would expect everyone to stop flaming noobs, read the FAQ, and try to be as helpful as possible. That is the best thing the community can do to help on the forums at the moment.

Phantom, that's great to hear. I know these things have at least gone on in the past. And while I'm sure I've seen the same mod names since then, it's good to hear the trigger figure is gone/under control, the old practice of 'Village Idiot' is long gone. Though strives may be taken to improve things, as they say, old wounds remain and people still remember. Nothing anyone can do about it, besides just work for the better future.

I think that everyone is discussing, and you are reading it, is a huge positive sign.

[LSky]

Originally Posted by Ramsey

What do you think the SWGEmu staff can do to better deal with new people or a flow of like 100 questions a day?

Take on more forum staff and instruct them not to be so extremely hostile. Perhaps Smussato and especially Ultyma don't ban people for asking a question, but they sure do succeed in making the environment very unfriendly on the forums and on especially on IRC. I can give examples, but I'm sure you all know what I'm referring to. You could also consider rewriting the FAQ in a nicer tone. It's not that hard, put some more time in Public Relations or get someone to do it for you.

[Gamer2bn]

When I first found this site I visited every day for like 2 months always saw alot of flaming so I never posted anything...

Slowly I started coming less and less as updates became rarer weekly updates as someone else stated would be nice but I understand that the dev's probably don't have time for that.

While I visited this site less I was visiting OpenSWG alot no flaming at all there and at that point there were alot of updates 2 or 3 a week sometimes it's slowed down since but they are still hard at work.

Another thing that is driving me away from the emulator scene as a whole is other emulation projects for older games like UO, EQ, and lineage have low player bases due to large distribution of server software and way to many people making small communities...

I hate too say it but I think SWGEMU and other emu dev teams need to keep their software to themselves, when it is done and pick 3 or 4 people with decent servers and internet connections to run it on. Otherwise I don't see any servers being populated to the point that they should be.

I liked the idea someone else stated of putting fliers in supermarkets and such, one should be designed pointing out all the myths that people beleive such as playing on an emulator being illegal and facts to support the stability and completeness (When it's done) of the server.

[PhantomLeader]

It is not a flame. It is a simple statement that punctuation is a good thing, which, from the looks of it, is not a widely accepted view on the internet. "Immaturity and Stupidity do not mix with good results." is also not an open flame directed at anyone; once again, it is a simple observation that people who have little maturity and lack intelligence often do stupid, dangerous things. It's not directed at any one person or persons.

As for the chat log...

<PhantmLdr> MudRat, be quiet.
<MudRat_02> no i wont be quiet
<MudRat_02> this is just childish
<MudRat_02> its like 'he who must not be named' off harry potter
<MudRat_02> cmon guys
Later...
<Ultyma> everyone stfu
<MudRat_02> yeah stfu everyone
<Ultyma> you too asshat
<MudRat_02> lol
<MudRat_02> wasnt it assmat?
Later...
<MudRat_02> phantmldr you assmat

I admit my idiot comments were out of place. However, we did tell him to stop it with the topic he was going into, which he flatly refused to do, and started insulting.

SWGEmu Homepage

IMHO the main page looks horrible. I do believe that many new people ask questions, which have been answered before, because they are not directly pointed to the right spots. FAQ, "About SWGEmu", etc. should immediatly catch the visitor's eye. Maybe add a newbie section.

Agreed. I'll talk to Ramsey as soon as possible about that.

Development Process

The whole development process is undisclosed.

Most likely it will remain that way; however, Ramsey has given some suggestions for the community on what to do. If you would like to do that, go ahead.

[Van]

This thread should be deleted and constructed in a more proper fashion. In the end it will just become a bigger fire, pitting Devs and Mods against community members. I know that's not the staff's intent at all, but this isn't the first time this has happened. Sometimes frustration sinks in and causes a negative release. Nobody wants this. We all want to be a big happy family, but is any family every truly happy??? No. All families fight, even blood relatives. Everyone has a point of view on something and when someone starts insulting the other it doesn't make it better. Please stop posting screens from IRC. No one is perfect and everyone has their faults. Some people just wish to antagonize others and this isn't heping the EMU get done any faster or better.

[Juspar]

Originally Posted by Ramsey

If you want to know what we're working on:
Crafting (research)
Clustering (beginning in core3, oru's planning that I think)
Npcs/mobs (core3)

This simple update, not an announcement of something that's done, just keeping people in the loop, is probably one of the two main things that the EMU team can do to encourage community.

The other would be to keep Uty off the boards. I love the guy for his passion and dedication, and obviously his skill, but he is NOT good for public relations.

The major issue the EMU team run into when trying to create a community is that there is nothing for the community to do, and no future plans for there to be. What you're working on is the backbone of all the server's communities, but that doesn't mean you have a draw . Really all you have is updates on progress of something that is important to all of us. If you can involve us though those updates and questions on things where community opinion is relevant, then you draw people to the boards. Once they spend some time here because you drew them, they will talk among themselves.

[soups]

The new link to the FAQ is certainly easy to see now.

Thats a great spot for it, I don't know about the impression having it multiple times makes but that placement rocks.

Oh its gone, well that was a great spot

[Dragonseeds]

I most definately agree. Im guilty of not having posted at all since I've joined the community. I'll take this chance to say THANK YOU for all the work you guys have put into this. I've messed around with some of the testing and stuff the last week and a half or so and I'm amazed at what you guys have done. So my goal is atleast 4 posts a week, more if i can. Thanks again

[Van]

Originally Posted by Juspar

This simple update, not an announcement of something that's done, just keeping people in the loop, is probably one of the two main things that the EMU team can do to encourage community.

The other would be to keep Uty off the boards. I love the guy for his passion and dedication, and obviously his skill, but he is NOT good for public relations.

The major issue the EMU team run into when trying to create a community is that there is nothing for the community to do, and no future plans for there to be. What you're working on is the backbone of all the server's communities, but that doesn't mean you have a draw . Really all you have is updates on progress of something that is important to all of us. If you can involve us though those updates and questions on things where community opinion is relevant, then you draw people to the boards. Once they spend some time here because you drew them, they will talk among themselves.

Exactly. We want to help, but all people do all day on here is make suggestions. More direct questions on something you are currently working on might be more helpful to both you and the community. Not only that, it gives a idea to everyone what is currently being worked on. Good post Juspar.

[Grija]

Originally Posted by Ramsey

Thank you guys.

The general concern that has been brought up is people "are too scared" to post in fear of being flammed/banned. I would like invite that particular group of people to speak up about their opinions and NOW share ideas and get involved in discussion. We, as a project, are trying to utilize our huge community to create a more friendly environment and bring precu back faster.

As for getting more things on core3,
Smusatto suggested having "themed" stress test events which I think is a GREAT idea to promote participation in tests, as well as demo technology.
An example he provided was, and I'll copy this verbatim from the chat

themed stress tests would be amazing, maybe some krayt action, or even faction base assaults

[Akelei]

Its the general hostility from some team members and moderators that causes it, be a little more friendly and keep the finger from the ban button for a minute and people wont hold back on starting or joining discussions. This goes for some people in the community as well.

And as with everything, people constantly need a carrot to keep interested or eventually they get bored and leave. Keep releasing videos, even if they are of the most insignificant feature. Things such as cities showing up on the map, or using a faction recruiter to change your status is always a sign of progress. Less frequently, feature tests such as the stress tests will also help in keeping the community interested and willing to put effort into helping you out.

Be friendly even in the face of exceptional stupidity and ignorace - make sure to show results whenever possible. Two of the most important things imo.

[Van]

Originally Posted by buughost

themed stress tests would be amazing, maybe some krayt action, or even faction base assaults

Factional base assault would be great, that way you could avoid getting ganked within the first 5 secs of logging in. You log in at the bottom of the base loaded with factional npc's and move out to the battlefield.

[PhantomLeader]

Originally Posted by Ramsey

There are tons of things you can do to make SWGEmu better, without having to be on the staff. Just help others out and SHARE ideas. Don't wait for updates and post "good job" every month or so. You wont be banned if you follow the rules and be respectful.

Ramsey was right on.

Now lets get back to suggesting ideas, not flaming the devs/mods. Okay?