Should ArenaNet have an Official Forum?

Photics · #1 12-17-2005, 01:09 AM

Should ArenaNet have an Official Forum? :/

I think one of the biggest mistakes made by ArenaNet was the decision to forsake their own official forum. ArenaNet is huge on building a community. Yet, they do not have an official forum. Do you think ArenaNet should change their mind and make an official forum, or is posting on fansites good enough?

residentgood · #2 12-17-2005, 01:14 AM

Well, as you said before, Arena.net reads your forums, but I think it would be a good idea for A.net to have an official forum. I would think it would help with certain topics not related to anything found in photics.com.

residentgood

Nori · #3 12-17-2005, 02:46 PM

It would definitly improve the communitiy spirit in GW. But only a forum with topics related to GW.

beaverlegions · #4 12-17-2005, 07:35 PM

It doesnt really need a forum right now since they have ppl like Gaile that are postin stuf from A net and checkin what the community has to say, on some forums.

Photics · #5 12-17-2005, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beaverlegions

It doesnt really need a forum right now since they have ppl like Gaile that are postin stuf from A net and checkin what the community has to say, on some forums.

I haven't seen Gaile around these parts in quite some time. :rolleyes:

I think it was after the third time I reset the forum that might have done it. :lol:

Hopefully there won't be any more forum resets around here. I like the new system and the new server. I think things will pick up around here, especially when Chapter 2 arrives. I'm just wondering why ArenaNet did it. Why don't they have a forum? Will ArenaNet change their minds? Forums can be a pretty rabid place at times, but it is also the best way to build a community around a game.

Side note - I like how most visitors to my website are civil. :D

#6 12-20-2005, 03:28 PM

I personally believe that Arenanet made the right decision by leaving this aspect of the game to the community. Forums are a double-edged sword. On one hand, it is a good way to build community and expand and share ideas between players. On the other, gamers in general are extremely passionate about their opinions.

Take the classic arguments: XBOX vs. PlayStation, Intel vs. AMD, Mac vs. PC, WoW vs. GW...the list goes on. I've seen conversations become very heated and it all comes down to a matter of opinion. I just don't think Arenanet wanted the responsibility or the overhead of maintaining an official forum. This is a company that is working very hard to gain positive PR and having something awful posted in their forums, or even just having a slew of negative posts isn't a chance they wanted to take.

They also don't want to be accused of controlling the buzz around the game. Like, if someone posted some info about Chapter 2 on the "official" forum, it suddenly gains more prominance and substance than if the rumor was on a community forum. Therefore, Arenanet might be compelled to remove the post, because it's not true or because it IS true but it wasn't time for that information to be released. This actually would lead to a backlash as people complained about being sensored or their opinions not being heard. Having several forums solves this problem, because a rumor can stay a rumor without appearing to be endorsed by the company.

And don't forget the amount of administrative overhead around a forum. Updating software for hacks, banning out-of-line users, keeping the "spirit" of the forum intact...with the amount of work they seem to do streaming in updates and new content WITHOUT subscriptions, I'm not sure they would want to add a forum staff to expenses. Just a few thoughts.

Zerek
http://www.maxdamage.net

Nemisari · #7 12-20-2005, 07:48 PM

perhapse ANet was trying to help out the fansites... by not having an official forum, gamers have to go the the fansite forums, which helps keep the fansites alive.

I credit the fact that there are no official forums for me being part of The Crusaders. If there was an official forum, I probably wouldn't have checked the fansite list and found my way here :)

Aside from this, as stated before, it eliminates the need for a forum staff.

Photics · #8 12-20-2005, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemisari

perhapse ANet was trying to help out the fansites... by not having an official forum, gamers have to go the the fansite forums, which helps keep the fansites alive.

I agree. Since ArenaNet does not have a forum, it helps fansites. Not so much Photics.com as it does the other elite Guild Wars Fansites. I wasn't cool with having a forum here at Photics.com, as I didn't have the technical resources that were required. Now, with the new server and new forum software, Photics.com can have a forum. It is ultimately in my best interest for ArenaNet to not have an official forum.

Yet, is it in ArenaNet's best interest?

Speaking from greed... I'm looking to see ~500 users online, like at the other elite fansite forums. I think that would be great for Photics.com. Perhaps when Chapter 2 rolls around, this forum will significantly grow in size. Yet, I don't think ArenaNet realized the politics involved. Essentially, ArenaNet is not in direct contact with their community. Their community essentially becomes my community. For example... if I suddenly say Photics.com is a World of Warcraft fansite, a huge chunck of their community is disturbed. That's not likely to happen. Yet, wouldn't it be better if Guild Wars gamers had one central place to talk about their game?

Then yes... on the flipside... there is the ranting. Because this forum is detached from ArenaNet... there is less ranting about the game here. This clearly would not happen if this was an official forum.

Anyway... I've just been pondering the situation. Now that I'm looking to improve this forum, I'd hate to see ArenaNet suddenly wake up one day and say, "Hey, we should have our own forum!" That would really ruin my plans. HA HA.

Yet, I would adapt... as an official forum could help this website more than hurt it. Either way, I win. I'm just wondering - what are the odds of ArenaNet changing their policies?

#9 12-20-2005, 08:46 PM

There's something to be said about smaller forums too. I don't check the forums every hour, and in some of the big ones, you post something and there are 94 replies in a day. It's overwhelming. You don't even know where to begin because the conversation moves so fast. Photics has a more relaxed pace to posting and thus feels like a smaller room with less people talking at once. Can you imagine an official forum?? I'd post something really controversial just to see if I could break 1000 replies in an hour. And then if you arrive on the scene, are you going to spend a few hours reading that thread?

Zerek

Photics · #10 12-20-2005, 11:30 PM

Well... I look at it this way. I would like to see traffic similar to what the other elite fansites enjoy. There are few plans in action to make that happen...

1 - Photics.com GuildWarsWiki - I think I made a mistake by excluding strategy information. I thought the magazines would be enough to draw the interest of the community. Plus, I didn't know how to organize all the information. Now that I have a Wiki intergrated into this forum, I think it's working out great. It's even better that the page disappearing bug has been mostly resolved. Most importantly, this is the first way fans of Photics.com can join in and contribute to this website. I have been very reluctant to allow anyone to do anything at my website. Yet, I am pleased with the way this project has been progressing.

2 - Games - Guild Wars: RogueBATTLE was the most popular item at this website. I have taken steps to build on this. The plan is to have exclusive Guild Wars web games at this website. If all goes well... there might even be game design competitions. I'm a little afraid to open such a contest, but some prizes have already been secured. I'm waiting to finish my current game projects... plus "someone" here is working on "something". I'd like to see that project finished first. It's something of a litmus test. The popularity of RogueBATTLE almost crippled my site. I'm going to be very careful with proceeding with future games. Yet, there might be more information in the February 1, 2006 issue. It depends on how gutsy I feel.

3 - The Forum - I'm waiting to see what the folks at punBB cook up, but there are serious projects planned for this forum. Not only would I like to see the population grow, but additional features for this forum are being considered.

I would be pretty bummed out if I got the forum working, built-up the community, then see ArenaNet release an official forum the very next day. I doubt that would happen. Plus, I doubt it would hurt the overall popularity of the forum. As mentioned, people like the different pace that this site can offer. The dialogue that happens here is not like most forums.

Yet... the goal is to make the site more popular. Where the forum is at now is not where I want it to stay. It's tough... you know? Photics.com is not going to be the same site one year from now. Think about it from a year ago. I didn't have any web games here. I didn't have the Wiki. I only had a handful of comics. The forum was still troublesome. I wasn't happy with the previous web hosting company. I wasn't using Flash Paper. The game wasn't even released.

Plus - my science fiction novel is now available. I mean wow... I finished my own book! :cool:

Now that I have a better understanding of things, I am looking forward to the release of Chapter 2. If the Guild Wars expansion is worthy, another surge in traffic will occur. This time, I don't intend to miss it.