Save our City! Dealing with negative or inflammatory media articles
By
Aggelakis,
Posted on: 2012-09-10 14:19 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
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Originally Posted by Hyperstrike
Hey guys.
You've already seen some of them. Articles essentially belittling the community for not just letting CoH go. Calling us immature, etc, etc. Telling us to "suck it up an drive on" and the like. I understand how this can get your blood boiling. It's irritating as hell for me too, and I find myself reliving flashbacks of the violent old days of the Usenet wars. Do yourself a favor. Fight the urge to strangle these guys with their own entrails. Yes, it'd probably make you feel better. But you'll feel even better if we're able to rescue the game. ... Just try to focus on the positive aspects of what we're trying to accomplish and let all this useless chaff fall where it may. If we do this right, we'll be laughing at them on December 1st. A far more satisfactory social interaction from our POV! |
This is, of course, excellent advice.
Remember - Stay FOCUSSED. But stay POSITIVE. And stay ON MESSAGE.
Don't get involved in flame wars. That's what many of these negative people want.
Kill em with kindness 
.
Thank them for their viewpoint.
Acknowledge that, from their point of view, it makes sense.
And then explain why you're all very different from what has been portrayed.
Wait...I think I just told you all my secrets of Community Management.
Drat.
Andy Belford
Community Manager
Paragon Studios
EDIT: FPARN! HI ZWILLY.
Aha I just started a similar thread to this. http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=297146
I didn't include "It proves them "right" about members of the community being immature/ It provides them fodder to generate more page views."
So yes, going to emphasize that.
Also, page views -> ad revenue. Don't give them ad revenue. Use AdBlock and/or don't visit at all (better).
I drew this for my friend Ninja Earl. I aspire to be a concept artist.Taimatsu-maru Fire/SS tank Grapes. Plant/Kin troller Blood? Healer/Emp/BR fender | more...
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Originally Posted by Zwillinger
Wait...I think I just told you all my secrets of Community Management.
Drat. |
*Takes notes for future reference*
What? It's a competitive market out there!
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Aww, Zwill, you are the best! |
Originally Posted by Zwillinger
Kill em with kindness
. Thank them for their viewpoint. Acknowledge that, from their point of view, it makes sense. And then explain why you're all very different from what has been portrayed. |
Thank you for sharing your view on this.
I can totally see how you, such an experienced and skilled lead community manager would have that perspective on such things! That makes perfect sense!
While I am not a platypus and never was involved in transmorgifying elephants and other things into girafes, I can see how some people may have suspected such things... nonetheless, I have, and always be, a firm supporter of amiability.
Hrm... I think I lost the message somewhere...
@Zethustra
"Now at midnight all the agents and the superhuman crew come out
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
Excellent advice overall.
Don't feed the Mogwai (after midnight), or splash water on them.
.
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Don�t say things. What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary. - R.W. Emerson |
YUMMY Low-Hanging Fruit for BASE LUV
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I think we left the antecedent back at the station!
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Originally Posted by Electric-Knight
Hrm... I think I lost the message somewhere...
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Install Adblock, or AdblockPlus (Chrome). Most of this negative crap is going to be written to be seen and to generate ad revenue. Don't just kill 'em with kindness, bar them from making money off of you doing so.
My guides:Dark Melee/Dark Armor/Soul Mastery, Illusion Control/Kinetics/Primal Forces Mastery, Electric Armor
"Dark Armor is a complete waste as a tanking set."
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What's the LD50 on kindness?
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Originally Posted by Zwillinger
Kill em with kindness
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Yes. And if that doesn't work, you can kill them with cuteness.|
Originally Posted by Zwillinger
Kill em with kindness
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In all seriousness though, excellent advice to be handing out right now. Don't fall for the troll posts.
@Rylas
Kill 'em all. Let XP sort 'em out.
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...Lol...|
Originally Posted by Zwillinger
Kill em with kindness
. Thank them for their viewpoint. Acknowledge that, from their point of view, it makes sense. And then explain why you're all very different from what has been portrayed. Wait...I think I just told you all my secrets of Community Management. Drat. |
k.
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Bag: open.|
Originally Posted by Zwillinger
Wait...I think I just told you all my secrets of Community Management.
Drat. |
Cat: out.
Please try MA arc ID 351455, "Shard Stories: Scavenger's Hunt." Originally created for the Dr. Aeon contest, it explores the wild potential of one of the City's most concept-rich but content-poor settings: the Shadow Shard.
Far as I'm concerned, it's not worth feeding the trolls. People have long picked on me for being hasty to ignore on the forums, but that's my general policy with anything Internet-related. Try to be reasonable and explain your situation. If the author is a decent fellow and understands, great! You win. If the author is a dick and trolls you, just ignore him and move on. You win nothing by proving him right.
Or her. Lady trolls also exist. At least I hope they do. Wait, didn't I make one?
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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The problem is that I don't want to learn self-trepanation. I want to practice trepanation on some select others.
But yes, deny the page views and they'll stop stirring the pancakes.
@Glass Goblin - Writer, brainstormer, storyteller, hero
Though nothing will drive them away
We can beat them, just for one day
We can be heroes, just for one day
Well. Zwill told you the secrets of Community Management; I'm an expert troll from way back.
The reason my post count is so low for the time I've been here is, frankly, because I like you guys.
So fwiw, here's the guide to trolling (the generic "you" here being the troll):
- It's not about rising out of the mud; it's about bringing them down there with you.
- You win every time they reply. Your e...status... is measured by thread length.
- There is nothing more satisfying than using someone's own words against them.
- Nobody is any more right than you are; it's all relative. Except that lots of people are more wrong, because they are stupid.
- The best targets are busybodies -- people who get involved for no real reason. They're basically trollbabies, and taking their candy is sweet.
There's a bit more. You can, in fact, make trolls self-destruct: Don't. Trolling other trolls will get you laughs and community kudos, but it basically relies on you being able to roll in the mud and come out clean. It's not a good bet. (It's also, I imagine, part of why Black Pebble has long been so silent.)
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Originally Posted by Jack_NoMind
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I'm actually really curious what that image is. I spent like, two minutes solid trying to find it on the host site.
I posted something similar on one of the FB pages:
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We've gotta be really careful. Everything each and every one of us says, represents not only ourselves, but our entire community. And one oh [bleep] can knock down ten atta boys. Now ESPECIALLY now, we're being looked at through a magnifying glass because of our fight for something we believe in.|
And guys, please remember to be POLITE and be FACTUAL. Let the facts and truth and dedication speak for themselves. Otherwise, we're doing -ourselves- a disservice by replying. Saying they should be "lined up and shot" is NOT the press we want. Sure it's irritating to see opinionated non informed bloggers who stand for nothing, post about what they don't know. But we don't do our cause any better by retaliating with our tone of that anger. We need to be careful.. |
Trolls will be trolls. And that's all these people are. Consider installing ad blocker as was recommended earlier. Vent to each other on the FB pages (seeing as they're private to us only), and either come up with a way to collectively respond, or just leave it be. But do NOT feed the flame war. It's only going to look bad on us in the end.
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You're right about that but the truth boils down to human nature and natural aggression. Heightened emotions about this game shutting down give those of us chillaxed individuals an open playground. It was like sniping newbs pre i13 in PVP. Or teleporting into a gang beat down. So many fun ways to express that.|
Originally Posted by LadyPhoenix
I posted something similar on one of the FB pages:
We've gotta be really careful. Everything each and every one of us says, represents not only ourselves, but our entire community. And one oh [bleep] can knock down ten atta boys. Now ESPECIALLY now, we're being looked at through a magnifying glass because of our fight for something we believe in. Trolls will be trolls. And that's all these people are. Consider installing ad blocker as was recommended earlier. Vent to each other on the FB pages (seeing as they're private to us only), and either come up with a way to collectively respond, or just leave it be. But do NOT feed the flame war. It's only going to look bad on us in the end. |
Really though I do commend your efforts, you guys are resilient and even thick skinned but there's going to always be someone out there to break that ice exterior and make you e-rage. Here's to hoping the game lasts for more lulz to ensue.
Know something....I think these negative things game sites are publishing may be actually good for us.
When I was reading City Of Children, at first I was mad....but as I kept on reading, I started to smile, then grin.
Which type of news story is more read and spread?
Good stories that are full of rainbows and kittens?
Or the stories that make people growl and hiss????
The way that story was crafted was to get us to respond and defend our game, and spread it.
The ways we could get NCSOFT to listen to us were things we had done, we were making money for the company...prove it he said, and so we did.
I think he crafted that article to help City Of Heroes....
Or maybe I am overthinking this.
Lisa.
So don't wait for heroes, do it yourself
You've got the power
winners are losers
who got up and gave it just one more try
***Dennis DeYoung
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I believe that was a picture of Itchy, the wookiee, Chewbacca's father from the Star Wars Holiday Special of 1978.|
Originally Posted by Jack_NoMind
I'm actually really curious what that image is. I spent like, two minutes solid trying to find it on the host site.
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Not kidding!
@Zethustra
"Now at midnight all the agents and the superhuman crew come out
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
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Personally I measured success by thread views. |
Originally Posted by Jack_NoMind
You win every time they reply. Your e...status... is measured by thread length.
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Originally Posted by McCharraigin
Know something....I think these negative things game sites are publishing may be actually good for us.
When I was reading City Of Children, at first I was mad....but as I kept on reading, I started to smile, then grin. Which type of news story is more read and spread? Good stories that are full of rainbows and kittens? Or the stories that make people growl and hiss???? The way that story was crafted was to get us to respond and defend our game, and spread it. The ways we could get NCSOFT to listen to us were things we had done, we were making money for the company...prove it he said, and so we did. I think he crafted that article to help City Of Heroes.... Or maybe I am overthinking this. Lisa. |
There's an old saying that's commonly attributed to PT Barnum...
"There's no such thing as bad publicity."
Honestly though folks, we just need to invoke an old forum rule here "Don't Feed the trolls."
Writer of In-Game fiction: Just Completed: My Summer Vacation. My older things are now being archived at Fanfiction.net http://www.fanfiction.net/~jwbullfrog until I come up with a better solution.
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You. And CuppaJo before you. And Nivienne before her. And probably more that I can't remember off-hand. Among the things I've never been able to understand is how, even through several management changes, the City of Heroes community has managed its 100% success rate of hiring and training community managers to actually DO that. Seriously. No other game's forum's moderator has ever managed to do what you, and every one of your predecessors, manages to do every day: listen to people's complaints and suggestions, paraphrase them back by way of proving that you listened and understood, gave as much feedback as you could about the likelihood, and then neither promised more than you could deliver nor closed the door permanently.|
Originally Posted by Zwillinger
Kill em with kindness
. Thank them for their viewpoint. Acknowledge that, from their point of view, it makes sense. And then explain why you're all very different from what has been portrayed. Wait...I think I just told you all my secrets of Community Management. Drat. |
As someone who's spent a lot of time managing forums on the Internet myself, and who's been on a lot of game company forums, Zwillinger, let me tell you that you and your predecessors have as much to do with why this game has an amazing community as its rich character creation tools and its powerset diversity. Maybe more. If some future studio were to snap up every creative and engineering genius in Paragon Studios' history and didn't snap up whoever it is that's hiring you or training you, they'd be missing the most profitable and reliable part of City of Heroes, the thing that kept it going during long content droughts by, if nothing else, gently encouraging people to keep imagining when it would some day be better because we were listened to.
Hey guys.
You've already seen some of them. Articles essentially belittling the community for not just letting CoH go. Calling us immature, etc, etc. Telling us to "suck it up an drive on" and the like.
I understand how this can get your blood boiling. It's irritating as hell for me too, and I find myself reliving flashbacks of the violent old days of the Usenet wars.
Do yourself a favor. Fight the urge to strangle these guys with their own entrails. Yes, it'd probably make you feel better. But you'll feel even better if we're able to rescue the game.
As you find, or are notified about such articles, record them. If you want, respond. But just do it in a civil fashion.
Calling these guys out, calling them names, flaming them, etc accomplishes two things:
- It proves them "right" about members of the community being immature
- It provides them fodder to generate more page views.
One of the articles I read got enough responses that the site's author immediately followed up with another troll-screed, hoping for more.We have many, MANY better things to do with our time than feed such trolls.
Again, it's all right to be irritated with such callous behavior. You wouldn't be human otherwise.
Just try to focus on the positive aspects of what we're trying to accomplish and let all this useless chaff fall where it may. If we do this right, we'll be laughing at them on December 1st. A far more satisfactory social interaction from our POV!
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