Bats In My Belfry

Been playing Age of Conan since about a week after its release. As a newly released MMO it is not without issues. Some of the issues are pretty severe for those who are suffering them (game crashes, lag etc.) so there are legitimately frustrated people. There is, as well, the usual group of trolls who spend a great deal of time on the AoC boards crying, hollering, threatening etc. This is bog standard for MMO forums and not really to be taken seriously. Can be entertaining though.

I write here today because I need to get something off my chest that I cannot do on the Funcom AoC forums.

Forum moderation.

Now, when a group of gamers gets together there can be friction under the best of circumstances, no doubt. And moderation is essential. In fact I am critical of most game forums because I don’t feel there is ENOUGH moderation but the FC AOC forums? Plenty of moderation. Problem is, it’s wonky as hell.

It is capricious, it often makes no sense. For example a thread titled “Failcom Blows Goats” will remain in place and the inevitable fanboi vs. hater flame-a-thon ensues. But a thread that questions why there is a delay in receiving responses on legit questions or requesting information on account issues or wanting to know what the upcoming patch notes consist of gets nuked instantly (or nearly).

Also, there is a tendency to “prune” threads of “troll posts” which unfortunately often results in a thread that no longer makes much sense. In fact, I would say that all too often the pruning is too “deep” and leaves a thread which newcomers (e.g. folks that haven’t been following the thread since its inception) would find nearly incomprehensible.

I am ALL for attempting to keep boards civil. Very much so but I think that Funcom (at least the EU side) is doing a rather wobbly job of it. There is one moderator who is rather overzealous and responsible for the majority of questionable calls. I keep hoping that with more experience this moderator will start to learn the fine art of when to let something slide, when to just edit a singular post, when to prune several/many and when to shut down a thread.

As it stands now, Funcom is alienating even more people with these overzealous, sometimes incomprehensible moderation tactics and it’s not helping matters given the angst and ire that is swirling around the game itself.

There. I feel better now.

EDIT: I want to make clear that this rant is aimed at the volunteer moderators, not the 2Pi people. In fact, I am thrilled to see 2Pi coming on board. They have a deft, professional touch that is sorely needed. I do hope, as time passes and things settle a bit, I have to eat my words.

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