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You know my fave online troll exterminating moment was on the Half-Life mod BrainBread. People were arguing, so some guy played Phil Collins' 'Easy Lover' over his mic at full blast. Not suprisingly, the trolls left because ol' Phil has that effect on everybody under the age of 40.
I myself just went mad because I stuck around. I eventually thought Phil was actually Cthulhu speaking to me in his native tongue.
The end.
I myself just went mad because I stuck around. I eventually thought Phil was actually Cthulhu speaking to me in his native tongue.
The end.
I think it would be amusing to have icons next to a persons icon that others users use to "rate" the poster. The obvious one being the troll which would be associate with a picture of Jack Thompson. I realize the legalities concerning this, but it would be worth it. Irony is delicious.
Easy answer: have them not be filled with faux intellectuals who think they have anything important, interesting, or valid to say.
Phantom Spaceman: You can't get rid of those people. They're like the goddamn... something that doesn't go away. Herpes?
To remove the asshat fanboy, one must remove the environment in which it thrives - which is the equivalent to the scorched earth theory applied to an online space. Everyone gets burned eventually, we can only live with it.
Now, if there were a function to allow 24-hour muting, that would be genius. Or allowing the offender to see their own posts, but say something snarkily self-depreciating to the rest of the world. Oh well, a man can dream.
Now, if there were a function to allow 24-hour muting, that would be genius. Or allowing the offender to see their own posts, but say something snarkily self-depreciating to the rest of the world. Oh well, a man can dream.
So is this restricted to gaming discussion communities like Dtoid or can we write about actual online game communities like SOCOM or Halo 3?
I'll just put this here since I'm not exactly the cblogging type...
Ditching the super-professional BS and having a staff featuring a wide variety of distinct personalities helps. It makes it more likely that a visitor will find something (an opinion, an attitude, etc.) to latch onto. Could you imagine a Destructoid with a toned-down Jim Sterling or Anthony Burch? I can't.
Bonus points go to a staff that is willing to actually interact with the community an a regular basis, whether that be trolling, commenting on articles they didn't write or answering questions brought up in the comments. Too often the only time you hear from staffers (besides their articles) on other sites is when they messed something up and are telling people that 'we will fix the problem soon,' or when they are warning the more opinionated visitors that the ban hammer is on the way.
The community blogs section of Destructoid is, of course, a great way to promote a community... but I'm sure you've already thought of that one, right?
Ditching the super-professional BS and having a staff featuring a wide variety of distinct personalities helps. It makes it more likely that a visitor will find something (an opinion, an attitude, etc.) to latch onto. Could you imagine a Destructoid with a toned-down Jim Sterling or Anthony Burch? I can't.
Bonus points go to a staff that is willing to actually interact with the community an a regular basis, whether that be trolling, commenting on articles they didn't write or answering questions brought up in the comments. Too often the only time you hear from staffers (besides their articles) on other sites is when they messed something up and are telling people that 'we will fix the problem soon,' or when they are warning the more opinionated visitors that the ban hammer is on the way.
The community blogs section of Destructoid is, of course, a great way to promote a community... but I'm sure you've already thought of that one, right?
Let me save you the trouble of going to my blog
Make gaming communities suck less by not hiring editors who hate the community and/or start shit in the community.
Make gaming communities suck less by not hiring editors who hate the community and/or start shit in the community.
@eternalplayer2345
Chad could make a list of 10-15 steps on "How to be more awesome like Chad Concelmo".
Chad could make a list of 10-15 steps on "How to be more awesome like Chad Concelmo".
It's pretty easy:
1) Get more Chad Concelmo's/Jims/Anthonys involved. Completely outspoken Editors (read: characters) the community loves. More Editor blog involvement/Editor commenting. There are a large amount of Editors who respond to the community (Ant, you and Ashley Burch come to mind, as do a lot of others like Holmes, Chad, and Jim): more of that=stronger community.
2) Get rid of the extreme trolls. You're always going to have trolls: always. Nix the ones who consistently shit on people's opinions, or worse, the people who don't want to hear them/are offensive or unbecoming to new members to the extreme.
3) Don't hire people like Summa. Their egos are way to big to be held in a team environment. They'll inevitably split the community, and some of the members will side with these enigmatic demogouges and their lies of how they "quit the site", when they were really forced out.
1) Get more Chad Concelmo's/Jims/Anthonys involved. Completely outspoken Editors (read: characters) the community loves. More Editor blog involvement/Editor commenting. There are a large amount of Editors who respond to the community (Ant, you and Ashley Burch come to mind, as do a lot of others like Holmes, Chad, and Jim): more of that=stronger community.
2) Get rid of the extreme trolls. You're always going to have trolls: always. Nix the ones who consistently shit on people's opinions, or worse, the people who don't want to hear them/are offensive or unbecoming to new members to the extreme.
3) Don't hire people like Summa. Their egos are way to big to be held in a team environment. They'll inevitably split the community, and some of the members will side with these enigmatic demogouges and their lies of how they "quit the site", when they were really forced out.
Easy answer: have them not be filled with faux intellectuals who think they have anything important, interesting, or valid to say.
Also, "attitudes of bullsh*t entitlement and superiority"
Also, "attitudes of bullsh*t entitlement and superiority"
@ VWGTI
I would lump that in with my #2. Despite how long you've been here, if you're not staff, you don't really have any special privileges, and shouldn't be mean to new users for no good reason.
I would lump that in with my #2. Despite how long you've been here, if you're not staff, you don't really have any special privileges, and shouldn't be mean to new users for no good reason.
Anthony, you should totally do a Rev Rant on game communities and what YOU think we can do about them. =)
I'll be thinking about this, hopefully I can come up with enough ideas/things to address to write up into a blog post.
I'll be thinking about this, hopefully I can come up with enough ideas/things to address to write up into a blog post.
Just don't implement a perma-ban policy. I hate trolls as much as the next person, but I got the banhammer on kotaku for posting an off-topic comment.
I like dtoid because the posts are profane and occasionally OT. I'll take that along with the occasional troll that I can just scroll past.
<3 dtoid; Kotaku can get fucked. =)
I like dtoid because the posts are profane and occasionally OT. I'll take that along with the occasional troll that I can just scroll past.
<3 dtoid; Kotaku can get fucked. =)
How to make online gaming communities suck less? Get rid of obnoxious trolls like sexualchocolate :))
It's all about feedback. Reward good comments and commenters. Kick trolls and asshats. Explain your actions, stand by your principles but also prepare for exceptions and admit when you're wrong. Transparency is key. If you're honest and up-front with the community, they'll support you.
Trolls won't but who gives a shit about trolls. Like you, random person who commented somewhere before me: who gives a shit about you? <---trolling
Trolls won't but who gives a shit about trolls. Like you, random person who commented somewhere before me: who gives a shit about you? <---trolling
Damn, I sort of already covered this in my latest blog today, so I think I'll pass on this one. Don't have a ton more that I can say, unfortunately.
Rewarding people who use the site is what Kotaku did. Have you seen how elitist it got recently with the 'star' rating? This is why use Destructoid a lot more than I used to.
I believe in giving a spotlight to bloggers, but I'm not sure about rewarding them. The flipside to that is others get overlooked because of favouritism. Fuck that, especially after what happened with Kotaku. The failbloggers still have to go though. I know that makes me out to be a snob, but they just waste useful space on that scroll-list.
I believe in giving a spotlight to bloggers, but I'm not sure about rewarding them. The flipside to that is others get overlooked because of favouritism. Fuck that, especially after what happened with Kotaku. The failbloggers still have to go though. I know that makes me out to be a snob, but they just waste useful space on that scroll-list.
You just gotta have faith and passion and not be a total dick... problem is that so many dicks are out there on the internet just waiting to troll and flame.
I'll have to agree with Stevil, don't overdo the reward part. Just acknowledge the good posts, but don't make it so that it separates the elites from the plebes, or it will become to elitist (just like Kotaku did, which is a real shame).
Just ban the assholes and that's it. BANHAMMER!
Maybe implement some sort of reporting system, and have that reporting system prioritized, for ex have old and contributing members assigned a points system by the staff and analyze the reported posts/blogs based on those points. BUT, make the points system invisible to the end-user or there will be elitism and segregation.
Just ban the assholes and that's it. BANHAMMER!
Maybe implement some sort of reporting system, and have that reporting system prioritized, for ex have old and contributing members assigned a points system by the staff and analyze the reported posts/blogs based on those points. BUT, make the points system invisible to the end-user or there will be elitism and segregation.
Someone said it up above, but just getting the community used to engaging with things besides brainless news and gushing reviews is key. The thing about Kotaku is that when they suddenly want to change gears and do something complex, everyone bitches because suddenly they have to engage with something they might disagree with or not understand.
I agree with Los255, although gender must be specified. There are plenty of tits already in the online gaming community, but they don't belong to females.
I've said this in NihonTiger90's What do you like to read about on the C-Blogs? blog...
Copy pasta time, folks.
I'd love to see more c-blogs drip with decent spelling and grammar. Contain more depth and personality. And have actual, valuable information and entertaining insight into the world of video games.
Also, more community involvement... Meaning, more attention and comments should be given to a worthy c-blog. Ignore the others.
And, lastly, more interaction between different community members, rather than the same group of veteran DTOID robots speaking to each other.
Basically - More, more, more community involvement and interaction between DTOID rookies and veterans. It'd be sweet to have DTOID veterans and/or more editors respond and get involved in discussions.
And please, don't feed the trolls. Ignore their bridge, find another route.
=)
Copy pasta time, folks.
I'd love to see more c-blogs drip with decent spelling and grammar. Contain more depth and personality. And have actual, valuable information and entertaining insight into the world of video games.
Also, more community involvement... Meaning, more attention and comments should be given to a worthy c-blog. Ignore the others.
And, lastly, more interaction between different community members, rather than the same group of veteran DTOID robots speaking to each other.
Basically - More, more, more community involvement and interaction between DTOID rookies and veterans. It'd be sweet to have DTOID veterans and/or more editors respond and get involved in discussions.
And please, don't feed the trolls. Ignore their bridge, find another route.
=)
1. Do something about the trolls, not just a slap on the wrist or unban them quickly, actually DO something.
2. Do not allow the community to act as a police force, if you have someone in charge of curbstomping shitty behavior, let that man do his job instead of having the people act like massive assholes and chasing people way because they made a mistake or broke some unwritten rule.
3. Much like Mags said, don't have editors that love to start shit, see every Jim Sterling post ever.
4. As an editor, be someone that people can respect and things will go smoothly for you, see Ashley, Hamza and Samit as good examples and see Jim and Anthony as bad examples.
5. Don't applaud the behavior and don't add to it, its not funny to see some poor shmuck's derailed thanks to some morons discussing some irrelevant and then seeing an editor or worst, the very found of this site contribute to the inane conversation.
6. If the community wishes to contribute to overall better the site in some aspect then make sure that you do it with EVERYONE, don't make exceptions for people that have been here longer or because they are popular, all this does is make you look like a hypocrite.
7. No circlejerking, to many times a group of people get popular and its like a club nobody can get into or worse yet the newbie is insulted and treated like crap for things the circlejerkers engage in constantly. The community should feel open to everyone.
So at its core my argument is do the complete opposite of this place and you'll have the greatest gaming community on the planet.
@Magnalon
Hahaha, your post is laughable.
"1) Get more Chad Concelmo's/Jims/Anthonys involved. Completely outspoken Editors (read: characters) the community loves. "
Chad is ok but your other 2 are a big problem, your parenthesis should go like this (read:assholes) as most of the time those 2 do nothing but spark mass arguments here, Jim being the biggest problem in this regard and Anthony just constantly coming as condescending and arrogant.
"2) Get rid of the extreme trolls. You're always going to have trolls: always. Nix the ones who consistently shit on people's opinions, or worse, the people who don't want to hear them/are offensive or unbecoming to new members to the extreme."
So that's what? 80% of the community here?
"3) Don't hire people like Summa. Their egos are way to big to be held in a team environment. They'll inevitably split the community, and some of the members will side with these enigmatic demogouges and their lies of how they "quit the site", when they were really forced out."
On the other hand, don't hire people who do nothing but troll and flame bait in most of their articles or worse, insult writers that no longer work for this place such as the little snipes I see some editors make at someone like Leigh for example who is 10 times the writer than say Jim or Anthony.
Its even funnier to see a site who's built on not taking games seriously playing host to Anthony's videos when they are the definition of taking something to seriously.
Its funny how I haven't bothered with this place in almost 2 months and the very first thing I see is this weekly musing theme and a few hypocritical posts, don't ever change guys.
2. Do not allow the community to act as a police force, if you have someone in charge of curbstomping shitty behavior, let that man do his job instead of having the people act like massive assholes and chasing people way because they made a mistake or broke some unwritten rule.
3. Much like Mags said, don't have editors that love to start shit, see every Jim Sterling post ever.
4. As an editor, be someone that people can respect and things will go smoothly for you, see Ashley, Hamza and Samit as good examples and see Jim and Anthony as bad examples.
5. Don't applaud the behavior and don't add to it, its not funny to see some poor shmuck's derailed thanks to some morons discussing some irrelevant and then seeing an editor or worst, the very found of this site contribute to the inane conversation.
6. If the community wishes to contribute to overall better the site in some aspect then make sure that you do it with EVERYONE, don't make exceptions for people that have been here longer or because they are popular, all this does is make you look like a hypocrite.
7. No circlejerking, to many times a group of people get popular and its like a club nobody can get into or worse yet the newbie is insulted and treated like crap for things the circlejerkers engage in constantly. The community should feel open to everyone.
So at its core my argument is do the complete opposite of this place and you'll have the greatest gaming community on the planet.
@Magnalon
Hahaha, your post is laughable.
"1) Get more Chad Concelmo's/Jims/Anthonys involved. Completely outspoken Editors (read: characters) the community loves. "
Chad is ok but your other 2 are a big problem, your parenthesis should go like this (read:assholes) as most of the time those 2 do nothing but spark mass arguments here, Jim being the biggest problem in this regard and Anthony just constantly coming as condescending and arrogant.
"2) Get rid of the extreme trolls. You're always going to have trolls: always. Nix the ones who consistently shit on people's opinions, or worse, the people who don't want to hear them/are offensive or unbecoming to new members to the extreme."
So that's what? 80% of the community here?
"3) Don't hire people like Summa. Their egos are way to big to be held in a team environment. They'll inevitably split the community, and some of the members will side with these enigmatic demogouges and their lies of how they "quit the site", when they were really forced out."
On the other hand, don't hire people who do nothing but troll and flame bait in most of their articles or worse, insult writers that no longer work for this place such as the little snipes I see some editors make at someone like Leigh for example who is 10 times the writer than say Jim or Anthony.
Its even funnier to see a site who's built on not taking games seriously playing host to Anthony's videos when they are the definition of taking something to seriously.
Its funny how I haven't bothered with this place in almost 2 months and the very first thing I see is this weekly musing theme and a few hypocritical posts, don't ever change guys.
Speaking of hypocritical posts, didn't you say:
"1. Do something about the trolls, not just a slap on the wrist or unban them quickly, actually DO something."
and then later say that someone's post was "laughable" for saying the same thing? All within the same post, no less.
People taking games seriously is fine... I mean, that's why we're all here in the first place. But people need to stop taking other peoples' opinions so seriously. People need to stop feeling they need to justify or defend their purchases by putting down the competition, and realize that by stubbornly refusing to accept any other console, they are DEPRIVING themselves of great games.
"1. Do something about the trolls, not just a slap on the wrist or unban them quickly, actually DO something."
and then later say that someone's post was "laughable" for saying the same thing? All within the same post, no less.
People taking games seriously is fine... I mean, that's why we're all here in the first place. But people need to stop taking other peoples' opinions so seriously. People need to stop feeling they need to justify or defend their purchases by putting down the competition, and realize that by stubbornly refusing to accept any other console, they are DEPRIVING themselves of great games.
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