Do devs care about EU game playerbase?

Community General Discussion
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Actual developers are not permitted to post on the forums and interact with the community. That’s what PR and community managers are for. Developers are very passionate and in the end human, so they don’t want them posting something which could hurt the company image.

Community managers (blue posts) will contribute to a silly and very casual thread every now and again, but won’t ever take a stance or relay direct information without the approval of PR. Because they don’t want to say anything that might upset us and when in doubt, it’s better not to say anything at all.

The forums are a place where the players can interact with one another, not a place where the community can interact with developers. Community Managers relay constructive feedback both ways when it is required. Some developers, do however read a forum thread every now and again.

Also, bear in mind that the job of a community manager, is only to relay feedback, not see it through to the end or to make sure a change is made, regardless of how popular or upvoted a thread is. They are also not required to inform the community that said feedback has been forwarded or if it is being acted upon or not.

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For many years i didnt see any, but some, na community manager posted personally some news.

Not much, but atleast its something

Not true at all, they can post, check NA forums.

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y u do dis

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Devs be like: isnt europe ONE country?!?!?!

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I get where you’re coming from and totally appreciate the feelings that you’ve expressed here Retributor

Anything the developers say is picked over with a fine tooth comb. One wrong word and suddenly something a dev said was “considered” can end up all over the internet as “confirmed by Blizzard next patch!” even if that’s not what they said at all. One poorly worded joke made in good faith can provoke a backlash that becomes a meme for years. Even the simplest response can take a lot of time to get right, especially when it’s not the author’s expertise. Posting can take even longer if the information needs to be approved for release and translated to other languages. While you and I are not developers, imagine how daunting, and scary, it could be to make even a casual interaction when your voice might carry so far and have implications not only for yourself, but the fans, and colleagues throughout the company.

So there’s risk of causing the wrong kind of storm, and there’s time. Time, that they’re spending fully into making and improving the game. There’s also something I’ve mentioned before. Any member of staff commenting on feedback instantly makes that idea “about the blue” and can detract from the OP’s feeling or message. The thread may get flooded with people who want to join in, or who click on through from one of the various blue trackers, but actually don’t care about the size of an orcs ears (or whatever the suggestion was) vastly skewing what the real community sentiment is on a subject. It’s often better to let a community discussion play out, and observe, to gain a more accurate perspective.

So does that mean your voice isn’t heard? No, not at all. Even if they may not post often, the developers can read the forums. In addition, various roles make lots of reports of what’s being said here and other places, as well as a large number of other activities and avenues that all play their part to convey the pulse of the playerbase and ensure you’re listened to.

Now, I can’t speak for the devs, but I do know that from all the interactions I’ve had with them, they care. The care a heck of a lot about the game and you, our amazing fans. Truly.

I hope this at least provides a little insight and helps put your mind to rest a little. :blue_heart: :heart:

While we’re on the subject, if you haven’t already seen it, check out the recent developer update below :slight_smile:

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If u want ur voice to be heard then you are at the wrong place.

Go to reddit.

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Big issue highlighted, easier to spot.

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That is kind of ironic considering…

Even blues can’t post without their posts being dissected, interpreted, jumped on etc :wink:

It’s like having to prepare an official statement that requires someone else to read through it and say what could they jump on, what can they twist, what can they misinterpret.

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And that has happened in the past …

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So in short, not.

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I’d make the argument that if you voice something that’s interesting, then it’ll be heard. It doesn’t really matter where you voice it. The community is really good at putting a spotlight on the interesting topics of discussion and making them stand out. That holds true for these forums, it holds true for Reddit, and it holds true everywhere else.

Anyway,
The only developer who has ever taken an active approach to posting on the forums was Ghostcrawler. The NA forums have never had a lot of developer posts – they had Ghostcrawler.
During Alpha and Beta tests it’s common that a developer will post updates on the forums regarding upcoming changes. But that’s just a form of early patch notes, it’s not really discussion engagement.
So it’s always only been Ghostcrawler. Blizzard’s developers have never otherwise made a habit out of discussing on the forums. As said earlier, their presence seems more focused on social media, interviews, and other forms of communication that reach out to a broader audience.

For curious minds, here’s an interview where Ghostcrawler talks about his time posting on the forums and how that played out internally:

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That’s just so incredibly wrong on so many levels.


… Not all of us are tall.

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You’re right. I’m a dwarf. But still!

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Good job proving blue post right. I’m proud of you.

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Nobody is saying that devs should respond or comment to anything, but hearing they “can” read the forum is quite disappointing, like in its their choice.

If they really care making a game about us, they should the forum first hand, and not through several people interpretation. It should be a baseline part of their job, and even a simple interaction now and then saying “we have noted your feedbacks” can go a long way in making us feel that we are somewhat considered and not second class citizen.

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Breast sliders for Shadowlands confirmed!

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Erm?

The post literally says they read over the posts but don’t opt to comment often because in doing so it often detracts from what the thread was originally about because “blue is involved” You can see it in a lot of suggestion threads already, where a blue posts, suddenly all replies start to fire at them and ask them other questions and demands.

If you want to get an idea of the concerns of a playerbase in a natural way, the best way is to observe them naturally, not artifically. Let them play it out as was said.

Even if the blues post in a thread “Okay, thanks for the suggestion, we’ll take this back to HQ!” people will still start poking for replies, and others will then start going “where’s the acknowledgement of my thread?” etc, and before long it’s a full time job having a blue posting in threads all day just to post “Yeah we read this :)” which is a bit meh, considering they can do exactly that now, they just don’t make a post to let you know they do.

So i’d say taking away “they don’t care” from the post is a bit of a reach. I can watch my kids from a distance whilst they play and make sure they’re okay, I don’t have to be by their side 100% of the time saying “i’m watching you, i’m acknowledging you!” to qualify as caring for them!

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I never said that they shouldn’t respond. I’m not sure where you got that. I actually love what Rejuv brings to the forums. They aren’t the only blue active on the forums of course and it’s really nice to see that engagement.

I thought it was ironic that you did the very thing that makes posting so hard by any member of staff.

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Come back to reality for a moment.

They hire community managers to manage the community, and developers develop the game.

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Rejuv is not a dev. He (?) has a different role and it’s fine.

But i worked with devs in the past and if i have issue X, reported through the “chain of command” in the office ended up on their table as issue Y because at each step, people read and then wrote out what they interpreted was the issue. It’s the human nature in communication, personal perception alters the message. Always.

This i why i think devs must read the forum.

Manage the community has nothing to do with listen to feedback and consider them while developing.