Kirby wrote:
Unless you're talking about FFXIV, I don't see how you can see forums as "an online complaint department".
I believe Magil is speaking in general, whereas you're thinking of a specific instance. Go to almost any forum on the internet and it's full of whiny ****** people complaining about anything they can think of, many times admitting they know nothing of what it is they complain about while claiming to know more than the people they whine at. That applies to these boards as well, but the karma system generally does a better job at weeding out the truly ignorant than a typical admin moderated board.
There are a few boards here that have really turned me off, the XI board being one of them. For years I wanted to try XI but didn't for one simple reason, the boards here were so full of incessant moaning I couldn't deal with it. Although last year I found a copy of XI in the bargain bin and grabbed it. Installed it, started it up, then ran into a problem. I went to the XI board and again, the whining and ********* I simply uninstalled and never looked back.
Another example is when SOE was taken offline for a few weeks. I'm no expert as I'm still in school, but I've literally been messing with computers and networks since I was old enough to open a case. InfoSec is not only a career path for me, but a passion. I spent several pages arguing with people who by their own admission knew nothing about a security audit or the steps involved in a large scale system breach like SOE had, yet felt that SOE should have the servers back online within minutes and felt that SOE should come to their door with a hand written apology for interrupting their gaming. I literally find it mind-boggling, trying to understand how such blatantly ignorant ******* people are capable of living day-to-day. I'm no genius, but I at least have enough common sense to figure out what the hell I'm talking about before ******** about something.
As far as ZAM itself, EQ was the last game I played where this site came in handy as far as information. I'd look up a few things on occasion in the other gaming sections, but the info has never been as reliable as it was in Lucy or the Bestiary. I'm not going to point fingers or place blame anywhere, not because I'm better than that, but because it was a series of events. I guess I'm still here because the karma system works for the most part, keeping the idiots from getting too out of control. Also I recognize a lot of the names, and I'd like to think a few recognize mine as well. Having been here since '04 with my post count, it's fairly obvious that I'm a lurker for the most part, but I'm a people watcher too, so there's that.
It's like the old haunt that's past it's prime. You know it's time to go, but you're just not ready to give up your seat.