This is why I stopped coming here.

#1 - Jan. 6, 2015, 5:54 p.m.

I've played every expansion and been playing wow on/off for the last 9 years or so. I play for a bit each expansion then cancel as I get bored/want to play other games. I always liked looking at the forums and reading up on other people's opinions on how things are working. After my wife and I stopped playing around patch 5.2 or 5.3, we recently have come back to check out WoD.

I didn't look at the forums, I just talked to some friends playing who were enjoying themselves.

I didn't know about much except the garrisons seemed really enjoyable for people into that "more developed farm" style of daily stuff, which was nifty so I picked it up for the Wife and I a few weeks before Christmas.

We've been having a ton of fun playing and just enjoying the game. I didn't even know I couldn't fly at level 100, but I never felt like it was an issue while leveling, I actually greatly enjoyed not having level 100's constantly flying in to gank me while I was still remembering what/how to play and getting back into the groove of things.

The quests and all of that, just generally playing has been so much fun. I've only been 100 for a little while and only recently started doing heroics and some old content with friends and my wife. And then I made a horrible decision. I came here.

These forums are an absolute cesspool. Every single thread is people raging and threatening to quit over this or that, people whining about not being able to fly in an area that has TONS of flight paths and short travel to anywhere in the game. People complaining (again) that there is nothing to do, which has been exclaimed in every expansion that doesn't focus on what they deem to be the 'best' part of the game. Just in general the negativity here, is overwhelming. If I had looked here I never would have picked this game back up and that would have been horrible considering how much fun I've been having so far.

For those of you who can come here constantly and not be bogged down by this, I don't know how you do it, and I feel sorry for Blizzard knowing that they cannot make everyone happy and this is what they have to deal with.

I know this doesn't really add much to the conversations here, so I don't really know why I posted it. Just a thought I had while perusing the forums. Kinda wondering if anybody else felt the same way I suppose?

P.S. I do want to give a quick Thank you to Blizzard. My wife & I have both been thoroughly enjoying ourselves and so have our friends. So thank you for sucking us back into this world. The story line development through the questing and the cinematics and presentation have been absolutely top notch.

Zarhym

Community Manager

#187 - Jan. 6, 2015, 11:17 p.m.

01/06/2015 09:54 AMPosted by Fattyslave
I've played every expansion and been playing wow on/off for the last 9 years or so. I play for a bit each expansion then cancel as I get bored/want to play other games. I always liked looking at the forums and reading up on other people's opinions on how things are working. After my wife and I stopped playing around patch 5.2 or 5.3, we recently have come back to check out WoD.

I didn't look at the forums, I just talked to some friends playing who were enjoying themselves.

I didn't know about much except the garrisons seemed really enjoyable for people into that "more developed farm" style of daily stuff, which was nifty so I picked it up for the Wife and I a few weeks before Christmas.

We've been having a ton of fun playing and just enjoying the game. I didn't even know I couldn't fly at level 100, but I never felt like it was an issue while leveling, I actually greatly enjoyed not having level 100's constantly flying in to gank me while I was still remembering what/how to play and getting back into the groove of things.

The quests and all of that, just generally playing has been so much fun. I've only been 100 for a little while and only recently started doing heroics and some old content with friends and my wife. And then I made a horrible decision. I came here.

These forums are an absolute cesspool. Every single thread is people raging and threatening to quit over this or that, people whining about not being able to fly in an area that has TONS of flight paths and short travel to anywhere in the game. People complaining (again) that there is nothing to do, which has been exclaimed in every expansion that doesn't focus on what they deem to be the 'best' part of the game. Just in general the negativity here, is overwhelming. If I had looked here I never would have picked this game back up and that would have been horrible considering how much fun I've been having so far.

For those of you who can come here constantly and not be bogged down by this, I don't know how you do it, and I feel sorry for Blizzard knowing that they cannot make everyone happy and this is what they have to deal with.

I know this doesn't really add much to the conversations here, so I don't really know why I posted it. Just a thought I had while perusing the forums. Kinda wondering if anybody else felt the same way I suppose?

P.S. I do want to give a quick Thank you to Blizzard. My wife & I have both been thoroughly enjoying ourselves and so have our friends. So thank you for sucking us back into this world. The story line development through the questing and the cinematics and presentation have been absolutely top notch.

I must say that it put a smile on my face to read about you and your wife returning to the game. :)

This forum can certainly be a rough place at times, but I'm sure you know that there are so many more like you out there -- people who come and go from the game as they please, without taking the time on these forums to constructively discuss the factors that led them to return or take a break. And that's totally fine.

In any event, we're happy to have the two of you back and hope you continue to enjoy this expansion! We appreciate you sharing your renewed enjoyment of WoW, as well as your concern for the level of discourse on this forum.

Bashiok

Community Manager

#198 - Jan. 6, 2015, 11:41 p.m.

01/06/2015 03:17 PMPosted by Zarhym
I must say that it put a smile on my face to read about you and your wife returning to the game. :)

This forum can certainly be a rough place at times, but I'm sure you know that there are so many more like you out there -- people who come and go from the game as they please, without taking the time on these forums to constructively discuss the factors that led them to return or take a break. And that's totally fine.

In any event, we're happy to have the two of you back and hope you continue to enjoy this expansion! We appreciate you sharing your renewed enjoyment of WoW, as well as your concern for the level of discourse on this forum.

Pshh...

Shill.

Zarhym

Community Manager

#215 - Jan. 7, 2015, 12:05 a.m.

01/06/2015 03:41 PMPosted by Bashiok
01/06/2015 03:17 PMPosted by Zarhym
I must say that it put a smile on my face to read about you and your wife returning to the game. :)

This forum can certainly be a rough place at times, but I'm sure you know that there are so many more like you out there -- people who come and go from the game as they please, without taking the time on these forums to constructively discuss the factors that led them to return or take a break. And that's totally fine.

In any event, we're happy to have the two of you back and hope you continue to enjoy this expansion! We appreciate you sharing your renewed enjoyment of WoW, as well as your concern for the level of discourse on this forum.

Pshh...

Shill.

I challenge you to a lightsaber thumb wrestling rematch. Gotta make more use out of that gift your mom got you for the holidays.

Zarhym

Community Manager

#274 - Jan. 7, 2015, 2:36 a.m.

01/06/2015 05:33 PMPosted by Snowfox
01/06/2015 05:20 PMPosted by Sintestra
It's funny how much alike we are in regards to our passion for this game. We may not agree on some of the changes and directions the game has taken, but we both have a passion for it. I just wish the game had a direction that didn't leave me disliking the game as entertainment. I still most of the lore and I'll always have my memories of my time. And there are some awesome memories here.

I kind of see WoW as a playground.. arena.. sandbox.. on rails? There's all these different ways to play it, and over time have left things fall to the past. Hardcore raiding, pvp, etc. It's complicated because I value those things as memories, although I don't wish to do them anymore. I think others should have the chance to do them, even if I don't care about them anymore myself. Did the roleplaying thing for a while, but I tend to roleplay a much larger scope than just azeroth-related, so wow got limiting there. Dailies were okay, until they weren't. The farm was fun, until it wasn't. The garrison will probably be the same. When it gets boring I go walkabout elsewhere in the cyberinformationsuperduperhighway.

What seems to work in getting changes to WoW.. in my experience.. is actually kind of funky to do in practice.. but it's a pattern and here it is.

First off, can't be about you. That's customer service. Go there. Has to be about 'the game'

Second, it won't be fixed in the next week. That's bug reports. Go there.

Next, it helps immensely for it to be neutral yet positive and simple in nature. Transmogs are a perfect example of something I heard the playerbase ask for, people generally agreed, and bam! It was in. Toys, I think the same has happened with even if they mistagged a few things that remain in backpack instead. Those kinds of things are rocketships to the galaxy of likely-to-happen.

Then, if it can't be neutral, positive, or simple... then it must be extremely well-argued and filtered. That means you don't get a free pass on people criticizing it. It NEEDS to be vetted first. Get it vetted, refine the argument, and maybe try again. That's what communication is. The blues aren't going to just take some completely raw one-sided idea and implement it. They are going to weigh it, and the more you involve yourself with that before they weigh, the better off you are. This is writing 101 and "why you post constructively instead of raging" yet it's repeatedly and reliably the hardest thing to get through to people.

Finally, be patient. That's not about hope. That's about piece of mind. Even if you are going to get what you want, it will take time. Lots of time. If you aren't going to get it, then you also have to prepare yourself for that. Patience and acceptance are intertwined and one of those unfortunately 'wholesome' things we so easily shirk from trying to achieve... but be patient and accept that you can. ;)

Anyway, that's about as plain as I can lay it out... what I've seen work.

I like this post. I also like seeing Snowfox and Sinestra hashing it out again. ;p

Zarhym

Community Manager

#282 - Jan. 7, 2015, 2:49 a.m.

01/06/2015 06:26 PMPosted by Nassins
01/06/2015 06:23 PMPosted by Mythox
He didn't insult anyone, he nailed it right on the head.

Sorry, but calling people whiners is an insult, whether it's true or not.

I could summarize entirety of OP's post as "Hey, we resubbed. OMG, there are people on the forums who don't like the way some things are being handled. They disagree with us, therefore, they are clearly bad, evil, negative people who are trying to ruin the game for everyone. None of them have any legitimate gripes about anything, they're all just being negative and whining. Only me and my wife know that Blizzard is perfect and this is the greatest expansion ever and anyone who thinks otherwise is stupid."

Without these forums, Blizzard would leave players absolutely nowhere to discuss the game except Twitter, which is worthless since it's a one-way communication medium (Blizzard talks, people listen.)

Forgive me if this sounds so angry. It's because I'm tired of this attitude that every single forum poster is out to destroy WoW just because they'd like to see something changed or disagree with the way something is going. And I'm really unhappy to see CMs supporting this notion that "everyone who disagrees with me is wrong."

I don't know if anyone has that attitude. We certainly don't. I wouldn't stick with this job if I didn't want or like to hear from the community.

The fact that you're pushing to equate the OP's post, and my response to it, as an expression of such an attitude is a step in the wrong direction. Boiling opposing viewpoints or counterarguments down to their lowest common denominators is the type of hyperbole you seem to suggest angers you so much. I think you shouldn't do that.

Zarhym

Community Manager

#288 - Jan. 7, 2015, 2:55 a.m.

01/06/2015 06:43 PMPosted by Nassins
01/06/2015 06:32 PMPosted by Mythox
The truth can be painful. In this case it is the truth painful as it seems to be for you.

This is a place to share and discuss opinions. Dragging the conversation down into a debate about what or is not "true" is counterproductive, and not the least bit relevant to OP or the thread in general.

The way some of you'd have it, anyone who's ever complained about anything is a "whiner" simply because they've complained (which is somewhat ironic, in that it makes OP's post technically a whining post.)

It's like these forums have their own language at times:

"Whiner" = Someone who says something I don't agree with.

"Negativity" = Anything that's even the slightest bit critical of Blizzard, World of Warcraft, or anything at all

"Toxic" = "Oh my god, you mean other people actually agree with that 'whiner'? It's CONTAGIOUS!"

Nassins, I'd say just don't get too wrapped up in labels. Descriptors are thrown around like -- I dunno; something more than candy -- on the internet.

When I read the forums everyday, I have to brush off some of the attention-grabbing language and focus on the meat of a person's motivation for posting here in the first place. It's something more people should try to do. And, to be clear, I don't mean to say that every post on the forums is hyperbolic, useless, or anything else you implied in your previous posts.

Zarhym

Community Manager

#291 - Jan. 7, 2015, 2:59 a.m.

01/06/2015 06:49 PMPosted by Snowfox
01/06/2015 06:36 PMPosted by Zarhym
I like this post. I also like seeing Snowfox and Sinestra hashing it out again. ;p

Thanks! I've always been curious though. Can you like.. actually +Like our posts?

Yes, but as a team we've generally agreed not to use that tool. No matter how small the degree, we don't want to distort the like:dislike ratio the community gives a post. The rating system is only indicative about so much anyway, but I don't want to play a part in clouding that with my opinion... If that makes sense.