Questionable quality of Obsidian boards

[Arkan]

Actually, this Board has recently become less and less of a "troll stomping ground", mostly because the Moderators and Administrators have stepped up their moderating to combat anti-NWN sentiment.

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Teh S0Vf 5|-|a11 r|s3 again!!!

[Leferd]

Spamming is lame. Effective trolling is art & entertainment.

[Agnar Stoneheart]

Spamming is lame. Effective trolling is art & entertainment.

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Pity there are very few here who could ever pull it off and be entertaining.

[caesarbear]

since we're so far off topic anyway... check out a user called "lorax" on the gone gold forums for an example of a master troll.

[Agnar Stoneheart]

since we're so far off topic anyway... check out a user called "lorax" on the gone gold forums for an example of a master troll.

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No need. The remnants of the old BIS community here have/had their own clique of "master trolls". Although they have been "toned down" as of late, anyone who frequented the old Black Isle Studios Message Board knows them and knows their work.

[Tarnak]

I have to say I don't agree that these boards are bad. My experience has been just the opposite - most people are friendly and polite and make lots of valid contributions.

[Leferd]

since we're so far off topic anyway... check out a user called "lorax" on the gone gold forums for an example of a master troll.

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No need. The remnants of the old BIS community here have/had their own clique of "master trolls". Although they have been "toned down" as of late, anyone who frequented the old Black Isle Studios Message Board knows them and knows their work.

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Speaking of the old BIS boards...wasn't there a site that archived it?

[Steel_Wind]

The thing is that I don't feel like contributing to these boards at all. I have seen and been member of boards far worse in "quality" than these, and for anyone who played on PVP servers (or other typical "Nerd" games, aka Counter Strike) knows what I am talking about. No way to post there without getting a healthy (?) lesson of american kiddie slang and insults .

 

I don't mind it to happen on those boards, because well.. there is the right for everyone to express themselves, and as long no real harm is done, why would anyone care ? However, on an official board like this one, of a gaming company that has yet to sell their game to their customers, I think it is... poor PR at best.

 

I heard that these boards were supposed to be moderated. When I see such threads on an almost daily basis, I keep serioulsy wondering about the real motivation of Obsidian to do so, and about the public they want to get feedback from for their game.

 

Once again, I don't pretend that my opinion is the only one, or the only valid here, and perhaps is it just better that I looked elsewhere for a new roleplaying game (which I will), if I am wrong about what Obsidian has planned for this game.

 

You are absolutely right Nissa.

 

Moreoever, the problem and tone on the Obsidian forums is not set by those "with just a few posts" - its set by thoese with hundreds - several of whom have been banned from the BioWare forums permanently.

 

Until this place gets a good dose of forum "Naziism" and a lot less of those who do little but spew negativity under the guise of "freedom of expression", this place will never be able to meaningfully contiribute to building the Neverwinter Nights community.

 

The good news is - this has been mentioned to Obsidian through many channels. They are aware of the problem and change, mes amis, is coming.

 

[Arkan]

The thing is that I don't feel like contributing to these boards at all. I have seen and been member of boards far worse in "quality" than these, and for anyone who played on PVP servers (or other typical "Nerd" games, aka Counter Strike) knows what I am talking about. No way to post there without getting a healthy (?) lesson of american kiddie slang and insults .

 

I don't mind it to happen on those boards, because well.. there is the right for everyone to express themselves, and as long no real harm is done, why would anyone care ? However, on an official board like this one, of a gaming company that has yet to sell their game to their customers, I think it is... poor PR at best.

 

I heard that these boards were supposed to be moderated. When I see such threads on an almost daily basis, I keep serioulsy wondering about the real motivation of Obsidian to do so, and about the public they want to get feedback from for their game.

 

Once again, I don't pretend that my opinion is the only one, or the only valid here, and perhaps is it just better that I looked elsewhere for a new roleplaying game (which I will), if I am wrong about what Obsidian has planned for this game.

 

You are absolutely right Nissa.

 

Moreoever, the problem and tone on the Obsidian forums is not set by those "with just a few posts" - its set by thoese with hundreds - several of whom have been banned from the BioWare forums permanently.

 

Until this place gets a good dose of forum "Naziism" and a lot less of those who do little but spew negativity under the guise of "freedom of expression", this place will never be able to meaningfully contiribute to building the Neverwinter Nights community.

 

The good news is - this has been mentioned to Obsidian through many channels. They are aware of the problem and change, mes amis, is coming.

 

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Forums...forums never change...

[BlueNullity]

You cant keep your sig of the girl jumping Arkan?

 

Well there you go the boards are modded if Arkan couldnt keep his sig img.

[Agnar Stoneheart]

You are absolutely right Nissa.

 

Moreoever, the problem and tone on the Obsidian forums is not set by those "with just a few posts" - its set by thoese with hundreds - several of whom have been banned from the BioWare forums permanently.

 

Until this place gets a good dose of forum "Naziism" and a lot less of those who do little but spew negativity under the guise of "freedom of expression", this place will never be able to meaningfully contiribute to building the Neverwinter Nights community.

 

The good news is - this has been mentioned to Obsidian through many channels.  They are aware of the problem and change, mes amis, is coming.

 

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This just makes me laugh. A board filled with nigh but "fawning fanboys" is no better. Do some, more than likely the usual suspects of "Bio-haters", go overboard on occassion? Yes. Do the drooling hordes of unadulterated fanboys on the Bioware Boards go overboard at the least little mention that all is not Utopia with NWN? Yes. Negative feedback is as important as positive feedback to gauge what's right and wrong with any given game. Both sides are guilty of standoffish behavior and outright "bad form". Your post is no better than one of the "Board Trolls" here bashing Bioware for Dwing being broken as it applies to thieves in SoA four years after the fact. The only difference is Karzak was at least somewhat amusing when he did it. Get off the Soap Box; yours is no cleaner than anyone elses.

[Arkan]

You cant keep your sig of the girl jumping Arkan?

 

Well there you go the boards are modded if Arkan couldnt keep his sig img.

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No. Guildmistress thinks it's inappropriate.

[newc0253]

Moreoever, the problem and tone on the Obsidian forums is not set by those "with just a few posts" - its set by thoese with hundreds - several of whom have been banned from the BioWare forums permanently.

banned from the Bio boards? oooh, scary.

 

what next? devil worship? cats and dogs living together?

 

Until this place gets a good dose of forum "Naziism" and a lot less of those who do little but spew negativity under the guise of "freedom of expression", this place will never be able to meaningfully contiribute to building the Neverwinter Nights community.

ah, nazism.

 

you know, i get as nostalgic as the next aryan for the good old days of goose-stepping and racial hygenics, but i tend to draw the line when it comes to actually promoting those policies in public. after all, people might draw the wrong conclusion and think that you're some kind of jumped-up little facist.

 

or maybe that was the right conclusion?

 

The good news is - this has been mentioned to Obsidian through many channels.  They are aware of the problem and change, mes amis, is coming.

feh. plus ca change, plus c'est la m

[BlueNullity]

You cant keep your sig of the girl jumping Arkan?

 

Well there you go the boards are modded if Arkan couldnt keep his sig img.

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No. Guildmistress thinks it's inappropriate.

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Oh

[Fionavar]

I have moved this thread as I believe it is of more benefit here. Furthermore, I hope that in the spirit of Nissa_Red, all will continue to add constructive and productive posts - be they criticisms or affirmations - that will hopefully allow the Obsidian fora to excel in the community it aspires to foster.

 

respectfully,

 

Fionavar

[mkreku]

Damn. I used to stare at that jumping girl for hours..

[EnderAndrew]

I always thought the board could use a wee bit more moderation, or at the very least, more consistent moderation.

 

I understand, and don't have a problem with the influx of NWN fans. We did the same thing over at Bethesda's forums when Fallout 3 was announced.

 

There are boards like RPG Codex, where flaming is heavily encouraged. Stupid posters are made an example of, and it's dog-eat-dog. Everyone knows this, and that's the way the board operates.

 

There are boards that are heavily policed, and flames are not tolerated. Everyone know this, and that's the way the board operates.

 

This forum fits neither category. The board has policies, but they're not clear, nor are they upheld with a modicrum of consistency. We have an off-topic area, but spam is deleted there. Which topics are on-topic in the off-topic area is anyone's best guess.

 

People get flamed all the time, and I've seen the worst vulgarity imaginable posted here (any one who tries can get around profanity filters) and nothing happens most of the time. Yet, on a rare occassion, a post is deleted, or a user gets a slap on the wrist.

 

My behavior on a forum is largely guided by the policies on said forum. It's too bad that I've been reading this forum since the days of Project X, and I have no clue what those policies are. Nor is this the first time I've made such a statement with no real response from the staff.

[Fionavar]

I am sorry that you feel this way. We have currently increased the moderating personell. As well, I would encourage you to let mods/admin know when there is something that you feel is in fact inappropriate. Your input is appreciated and hopefully with your involvement we may be able to address some of your concerns.

 

respectfully,

 

Fionavar

[EnderAndrew]

I'm glad to see changes are being made. I think adding Phosphor as a mod was a good idea.

 

Phosphor is more than welcome to come be a mod over at Fanout as well anytime!

 

And I got responses from two mods in a matter of hours this time, which is a nice sign.

[Shilkanni]

Just wanted to express my agreement with Nissa_Red's comments that the atmosphere on the Obsidian boards seems a little harsh and although I have had very limited exposure to these boards, I can say without a doubt that discourse on these boards is the most immature I have experienced.

 

I feel the rudeness encourages others to be rude in return, I know I have probably been less polite in my 10 or so posts on these boards than I would normally be because of the harshness of others in a thread. I know this is hypocritical...

 

I also feel the signal to noise ratio is pretty low, a lot of the regulars seem to just quote a large block of text and make what they consider to be a witty one liner.

 

That said, I've frequented less than a dozen couple different boards in my years on the internet, and have never frequented boards for first person shooters or such, so I do not doubt there is much worse going on out there.

 

I'm also sorry to say these things and am just expressing my opinion for what it's worth. Hopefully, this might just be an initial thing as a results of a flood NWN1 fans meeting Obsidian Ent fans, causing a lot of friction and resentment.

[Whitemithrandir]

I can say without a doubt that discourse on these boards is the most immature I have experienced.

 

Oh that is hardly the truth. Immaturity is usually a trait of younger posters who post without making a point or contributing to the topic. While such posts do exist here, I feel this board contains some of the most witty and intelligent gamers out there. One thing you must understand is most of the frequent posters here have been posting together for more than four years. I know I joined the old BIS boards back in april of 2001, and I still see many familiar e-faces here today. A quip or banter or even a witty retort among friends is nothing more than an amiable gesture. Don't take it to heart.

 

I feel the rudeness encourages others to be rude in return.

 

While that is certainly true, it's hardly the case here. Rarely do you see pages of unconstructive flaming. Sure insults are traded, but they're usually short and kept to a couple of posts; hardly the snowballing effect you're implying.

 

I also feel the signal to noise ratio is pretty low, a lot of the regulars seem to just quote a large block of text and make what they consider to be a witty one liner.

 

Here's where I absolutely disagree with you. Look at the threads in suggestions or general discussions. Pointless petty one liners are VERY rare. Most of the posts are dominated by strong, constructive points that contribute to the topic at hand. Don't take my word for it; go check out some of those threads yourself.

 

I'm also sorry to say these things and am just expressing my opinion for what it's worth. Hopefully, this might just be an initial thing as a results of a flood NWN1 fans meeting Obsidian Ent fans, causing a lot of friction and resentment.

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There's no such thing as "Obsidian Ent fans". Some of us have been following these developers for four or more years, particiapated in suggestions and discussion for all their games, and when some completely new poster joins these boards to flame us because our criticism was too "negative" for their favorite game, it's not friction; it's blatant disrespect for both the developers and the posters.

[newc0253]

There's no such thing as "Obsidian Ent fans".

true. i think you have to actually make a game first before you can have actual fans.

[Bob The Builder]

Damn. I used to stare at that jumping girl for hours..

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A gift for you, my friend.

[Whitemithrandir]

Oh that is hardly the truth. Immaturity is usually a trait of younger posters who post without making a point or contributing to the topic.

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You make good points: but I'd like to point something out concerning the above quote:

 

I agree, however, that's not entirely true.

www.firetrill.com/forums is a forum for Jedi Academy. Most of the posters are over 20, yet the immature flaming is nearly unparalleled.

[Shilkanni]

I can say without a doubt that discourse on these boards is the most immature I have experienced.

 

Oh that is hardly the truth. Immaturity is usually a trait of younger posters who post without making a point or contributing to the topic. While such posts do exist here, I feel this board contains some of the most witty and intelligent gamers out there...

 

It really is true, but of course, only applies to my opinion and my experiences. I've only read a couple meesage boards habitually (4, for any significant period of time) in the past 8 or so years I've been online. I accept that there are intellegent people here, and I have definately seen people here making good points,

 

I also feel the signal to noise ratio is pretty low, a lot of the regulars seem to just quote a large block of text and make what they consider to be a witty one liner.

 

Here's where I absolutely disagree with you. Look at the threads in suggestions or general discussions. Pointless petty one liners are VERY rare. Most of the posts are dominated by strong, constructive points that contribute to the topic at hand. Don't take my word for it; go check out some of those threads yourself.

 

I based my comments on looking through dozens upon dozens of suggestion threads, and only looking at threads that had constructive looking titles. I saw a lot of great suggestions, but I also saw a lot of trollesque posts, short posts, off topic posts, and minor flames.

 

...this might just be an initial thing as a results of a flood NWN1 fans meeting Obsidian Ent fans, causing a lot of friction and resentment.

 

There's no such thing as "Obsidian Ent fans". Some of us have been following these developers for four or more years, particiapated in suggestions and discussion for all their games...

(Emphasis added)

I must have a different definition of fan than you. Replace "Obsidian Ent fan" with "Obsidian Ent. forum frequenter" as required.

 

...when some completely new poster joins these boards to flame us because our criticism was too "negative" for their favorite game, it's not friction; it's blatant disrespect for both the developers and the posters.

Well, if it's disrespectful to the posters and developers for a "new poster" to post a 'flame', then it's disrespectful to the posters and developers for an "old poster" to post a flame. I certainly don't suggest either and I don't think either lead to constructive discussion.