Still, realistically, why do people join games such as these? Do people typically join a gaming community after evaluating how much the administration has personally sacrificed to keep a game orderly? People join for content and the experience of playing the game, not for how emotionally invested staff members—not even developers—are in the game.
I will argue that not everyone in-game even knows who the staff are because they do not care to know if they do not directly affect their experience. When I joined FH, I had no idea who the staff were, how they worked, how active they were, etc. Once I became more involved in the forum, I dedicated a lot of my time and regarded the staff very highly for their work, although looking back now, sometimes I wasn’t really sure what that work was (in regard to promised forum work, anyways). After my experience with staff head-on and my experience with administrating the community’s largest Discord server, I can now form my own opinions on the game’s administration through various interactions with the community, current staff, and former staff.
This is something I’ve said. Let’s be honest here, the only reason there’s this huge fixation on staff in recent years is because there’s nothing better for the community to put their attention on. The game isn’t actively getting updates and content to keep them invested in other avenues so now of days the community that is left is searching for anything to do, say, and or blame for why things are the way they are. It’s really that simple.
If you start seeing the game get updated more frequently and content pouring in, the focus will then shift to the game again.
Part of the issue with the tone between the community and staff is because they’re way too involved in each other’s matters to a seemingly personal level. You said yourself you never knew the staff or cared much about them up until you directly involved yourself with them. You then formed your own opinions on them. When you put yourself in a place to get to knowing people more personally that’s when you apply deeper attachments or stronger emotions to them and the things they do. This is why between both some community & staff they react more strongly in regards to matters. I think some are taking things too personally and applying those feelings too much into these matters. It’s actually why you have some staff teams out there who choose to remain in the background to not risk theses sort of issues. As I said before there’s no universal correct way for how gaming communities handle things, but from my own reflections, the moment the staff & community gets too strung up on each other and personal matters things go down hill. Same goes for any form of work place. In life you’ll meet people you might not like, agree with, etc. Same goes with a staff team of a game you might like. Just because you like or care about the game doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily like, get along with, agree with the people behind the game. And that’s not always down to just the fault of either individual, that’s just human nature. Outside of the game world when you don’t get along with someone or agree with them you disassociate with them, don’t talk to them, etc.
This is why of the many game communities I’m a part of I simply focus on the game itself. I don’t care to know the staff/devs or interact with them, cause the moment you do that you’re destined to set yourself up for problems since, like I said, humans will be humans. Same goes for staff towards community. Life isn’t all about getting along or agreeing with each other, what matters is that we get stuff done and in this case that’s a game. Once the game can start updating again everyone will find some peace I’m sure, because the focus will be back on the right place.
Suggesting people that have also worked their asses off to voluntarily assist staff with reports in the past as now “giving constant misinformation, doubt, [and] ridicule” only breeds more tension.
Mind the language as we do have forum board rules. But yeah, where in that statement did I say that it’s the people working their hardest or giving reports that are the ones who “give constant misinformation, doubt, ridicule etc”.
In fact let me quote that phrase:
Does it really make sense to think that a staff team that has to deal with constant misinformation, doubt, ridicule, trolling, death threats and so forth would stick around for nothing?
No where did I say it was those people because the type of people helping the community aren’t the ones doing those things. Several times here I’ve seen people jump on that statement to twist it up to seemingly fill some false narrative or misconstrue my words. You know me, if that was what I was saying I would straight up say it. As I said before that statement was a list of examples of the varying degrees of reception we receive and deal with and how we don’t just give up simply because it’s not always positive. Stop assuming things that I didn’t say. We’re trying to improve communication not misinterpret it further.
