Another form of communication

I read with attention what Jeff Freeman wrote (and Lum’s reply) about forums and communities in general but I don’t have much to add or comment. Despite the clarifications about the myriads of misunderstandings I didn’t find any really strong idea.

If I read it correctly then maybe I’m not the only one waving that flag. I’m also for community networks but I don’t find the debate about what technology to use really interesting. I don’t see podcasts having any greater use than a blog, quite the contrary. And as I commented on Lum’s blog I hope that in the case they happen they are also accompanied by text transcriptions.

When it comes to the communication and dialogue with the playerbase I think that CCP is giving a better example than what we see everywhere else. It’s not perfect but it’s something. They use blogs for that kind of one-to-many communication addressing the bigger topics, but the point is that they use them in a meaningful way. They go in great detail to explain things and they don’t have community reps that filter that work. At the same time they didn’t use those blogs to replace the communication on the forums. The point is that the community reps don’t replace dev communication but integrate it.

But even SOE improved its communication with the time. I remember they linked “Aggro Me” blog once, so anticipating what Jeff Freeman intended as a vibrant network. Nothing revolutionary but it was a small step. I see that they answer occasionally on the forums and I use often their dev tracker on EQ2 to read things. Then there’s the example of Scott “Gallenite” Hartsman. He goes outside the official forums and takes seriously the questions and critics brought by the players, answering them without any apparent demagogy or propaganda. And I often found what he had to say interesting. He also demonstrated what I repeat from years: there’s nothing to “fear”. A better and more direct, honest and, in particular, unfiltered communication and dialogue between devs and players goes to the advantage of BOTH parts. I think the reaction to his presence on FoH’s, for example, demonstrates that all this can only be positive.

On the topic of official or non-official forums I’ve always been at the side of official forums and I still am. From what I read Jeff’s main critics is that an official forum can be better controlled and even used to manipulate the opinions. But I don’t see this risk and I don’t believe in this myth.

The advantage of an official forum is basically just because it’s flagged as “official”. This makes it a predefined place where the players of the game can go. It is centralized. On the internet the main activity and main problem is to “find things”. And an official forum just has that purpose. It’s official. It’s centralized, easy to find.

This can make an official forum, when used well, a good place where to look for informations. From technical problems to gameplay questions. Today we also have Wiki pages that do some of that even better. Good. Bring them on. But why not trying to give an official support to all this and encourage the process? This is can be a part of the game and I think it would be a mistake to delegate it exclusively to third-party initiatives. Instead it’s a good idea to integrate it with your service and make it part of the offer.

And all this goes in the same direction. Embrace the community instead of isolating from it.

I find it curious that it’s Jeff Freeman who brings up these points, because I remember clearly when long ago he commented thottbot for WoW and he wrote that game companies should incorporate those services, make them part of the service, as I just wrote.

As another counterpoint to what Jeff says there’s the same WoW. This game has already realized Jeff’s ideal of vibrant community network. It has thottbot, wiki pages, all kinds of fansites, player’s blogs and more. But it’s also in this precise case that I think the communication sucks. For the only reason that there isn’t any real involvement of the devs with the community. They rarely discuss about the game if not in some interviews. They are extremely close from this perspective and the work of the community managers has the purpose to filter and completely replace the communication between development and the playerbase.

Today we have different tools available. The main point isn’t really to use them well and use them all. The real point is to go toward a more honest and open communication at all levels. This is what is getting increasingly harder with the time. All the rest is slowly improving with the exception of this specific aspect.

Give more freedom to devs. Encourage them toward an open confrontation. Give them the possibility to express their ideas freely, wherever they want. Personal blogs, non-official forums, whatever. Leave them space and breath. Communication to be good needs to be given space, not to be choked and controlled closely. And this isn’t a problem of official or non-official forums. This is a problem of general attitude of a whole company toward the outside. It involves the promotion of a different kind of culture.

Take also the case of Lum the Mad forums. They slowly got legitimation. The power of the “red name”. There was something going on, an interesting process that was lost. The forums were an active part of a much larger process and they also became the (unfiltered) encounter between industry people and players. This was good and I think it was also fruitful for those who were able to appreciate it.

The exchange. The point isn’t that the players need answers to their questions. The point is a real dialogue and confrontation that happens in the interest of both parts. The point is the meaningful encounter of those two parts.

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