Goonhub
06-03-2023, 04:28 PM
Note: This was written for the original thread, and it got closed before I could post it there, and I haven't been in the right mindset to post these last few days, so I'm just gonna copypaste it here. It's not exactly an inspired post, but I feel that I must contribute to the discussion. I'd like to apologize in advance if anything I say is something that's already been discussed, or that's irrelevant to the issue.
Hi. I'm going to chime in here — I'm not sure if it'd be considered peanut posting, but since I'm mentioned by name in the OP itself I'm going to assume it's not; feel free to let me know and delete the post if that's not the case.
Also, another disclaimer is that I haven't exactly read everything said thus far, nor will I. It's a whole bunch of text and I've been without my ADHD medication until recently, which makes reading it all exceedingly challenging for something which, despite being deeply important to me, is not exactly life-or-death. There'll be a TL;DR in the bottom, feel free to skip all this garbage I'm writing, it's not exactly important or necessary that you read everything.
Secondly, I'd like to note that I haven't been playing much Goonstation recently. This is not due to insatisfaction with the game, or any changes that have been made, or any members of the community. I'm just playing something else at the moment. This isn't really all that important, I just want to make sure that nothing regarding my recent actions can be mistaken as an act of protest - it's not.
And finally, the last disclaimer is that I'm not dissatisfied with either the admin team nor the dev team. I think that overall the impact you guys have had has been more good than bad, and I appreciate the opportunity to communicate.
I think that the thing that most commonly comes up, as far as player complaints over the server's administration goes, is a general lack of communication. Players and the community feel as if what they have to say is being ignored or not taken as seriously, and that an admin's voice is worth several of ours. To put it in other terms, it is believed that any unpopular changes will stick to the game, despite an overwhelming negative reponse, because one or two admins/developers will vehemently support the change within closed communication channels. Whether or not that's true is a separate matter; the real issue as I see it is the general feeling of being unheard.
Adding to that is the general perception that the development team does not take kindly to criticism. I won't elaborate on this, nor will I name names, but I will say that while I don't exactly agree with the sentiment I can see where it's coming from. This, to me, feels like a snowball, where all a developer has to do is respond to criticism in a way that rubs someone off the wrong way, and they'll go and talk to their friends about how they got dismissed or angrily told off by someone on the dev team and that'll be the only side of the story their friends will hear. That kind of stuff spreads like wildfire sometimes and comes back in force in the shape of accusations and snarky comments that don't line up with reality.
The number one thing to blame for the above problem is something that's unavoidable and unfixable: the fact that text doesn't convey meaning and intention very well. But you can't exactly force anyone to join up on voice chat.
I think the conclusion I'm leading to here is that everyone is starting to form very different perspectives on the issue, which in a way means there's a growing divide separating us from each other. This is starting to erode the feeling of community, slowly but surely, as everyone is passionate about the game but most don't seem to agree on many things. It's something we should address together, as I don't feel it is a problem with server administration so much as it is a problem with server culture. We could be trying to work with one another to tackle this problem that we're too disconnected to see properly and communicate about.
I think that everyone is maybe? probably? a bit too focused on what they're doing instead of how they're being perceived. We're all a little biased, and see our own actions as being justified — so when someone disagrees it feels like we're getting pushback for being right. It's only human that we feel this way.
I'd like to finish off by repeating what I've said a few times before on the Discord: A town hall is needed, and not just now but regularly. I know that they're boring, shitty, and repetitive. I know that most questions are "what are your long-term plans for x and y" when long-term plans are avoided. But a town hall is a civilized, curated way to get players' questions, doubts, frustrations, and wishes up where they know that it's being heard. I'm not saying you guys aren't hearing what we have to say, I'm just saying that people don't always perceive it to be the case.
That's all I wanted to say, aside from a huge thanks to everyone in the community - Admins, Players, Developers alike - for creating and maintaining this cozy community that I like to call home. I really like it here.
TL;DR: Poor communication from everyone - all of us - and diverging perspectives is leading to something that one day could erode away the feeling of community we have. Personally, I feel that regular town halls wouldn't solve the problem but would help us get there.
P.S. When something potentially controversial is added/removed/modified, would it be possible for it to be added to the voting booth? As in, every player gets to vote on whether they agree with certain changes, and the votes are tallied after two to three weeks, and if it's approved by the community it stays, if it's not it doesn't. I dunno, just throwing poo-level ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks.
P.P.S. Sorry for being the broken record I've been recently in regards to town halls. I won't keep suggesting it anymore I promise.
Hi. I'm going to chime in here — I'm not sure if it'd be considered peanut posting, but since I'm mentioned by name in the OP itself I'm going to assume it's not; feel free to let me know and delete the post if that's not the case.
Also, another disclaimer is that I haven't exactly read everything said thus far, nor will I. It's a whole bunch of text and I've been without my ADHD medication until recently, which makes reading it all exceedingly challenging for something which, despite being deeply important to me, is not exactly life-or-death. There'll be a TL;DR in the bottom, feel free to skip all this garbage I'm writing, it's not exactly important or necessary that you read everything.
Secondly, I'd like to note that I haven't been playing much Goonstation recently. This is not due to insatisfaction with the game, or any changes that have been made, or any members of the community. I'm just playing something else at the moment. This isn't really all that important, I just want to make sure that nothing regarding my recent actions can be mistaken as an act of protest - it's not.
And finally, the last disclaimer is that I'm not dissatisfied with either the admin team nor the dev team. I think that overall the impact you guys have had has been more good than bad, and I appreciate the opportunity to communicate.
I think that the thing that most commonly comes up, as far as player complaints over the server's administration goes, is a general lack of communication. Players and the community feel as if what they have to say is being ignored or not taken as seriously, and that an admin's voice is worth several of ours. To put it in other terms, it is believed that any unpopular changes will stick to the game, despite an overwhelming negative reponse, because one or two admins/developers will vehemently support the change within closed communication channels. Whether or not that's true is a separate matter; the real issue as I see it is the general feeling of being unheard.
Adding to that is the general perception that the development team does not take kindly to criticism. I won't elaborate on this, nor will I name names, but I will say that while I don't exactly agree with the sentiment I can see where it's coming from. This, to me, feels like a snowball, where all a developer has to do is respond to criticism in a way that rubs someone off the wrong way, and they'll go and talk to their friends about how they got dismissed or angrily told off by someone on the dev team and that'll be the only side of the story their friends will hear. That kind of stuff spreads like wildfire sometimes and comes back in force in the shape of accusations and snarky comments that don't line up with reality.
The number one thing to blame for the above problem is something that's unavoidable and unfixable: the fact that text doesn't convey meaning and intention very well. But you can't exactly force anyone to join up on voice chat.
I think the conclusion I'm leading to here is that everyone is starting to form very different perspectives on the issue, which in a way means there's a growing divide separating us from each other. This is starting to erode the feeling of community, slowly but surely, as everyone is passionate about the game but most don't seem to agree on many things. It's something we should address together, as I don't feel it is a problem with server administration so much as it is a problem with server culture. We could be trying to work with one another to tackle this problem that we're too disconnected to see properly and communicate about.
I think that everyone is maybe? probably? a bit too focused on what they're doing instead of how they're being perceived. We're all a little biased, and see our own actions as being justified — so when someone disagrees it feels like we're getting pushback for being right. It's only human that we feel this way.
I'd like to finish off by repeating what I've said a few times before on the Discord: A town hall is needed, and not just now but regularly. I know that they're boring, shitty, and repetitive. I know that most questions are "what are your long-term plans for x and y" when long-term plans are avoided. But a town hall is a civilized, curated way to get players' questions, doubts, frustrations, and wishes up where they know that it's being heard. I'm not saying you guys aren't hearing what we have to say, I'm just saying that people don't always perceive it to be the case.
That's all I wanted to say, aside from a huge thanks to everyone in the community - Admins, Players, Developers alike - for creating and maintaining this cozy community that I like to call home. I really like it here.
TL;DR: Poor communication from everyone - all of us - and diverging perspectives is leading to something that one day could erode away the feeling of community we have. Personally, I feel that regular town halls wouldn't solve the problem but would help us get there.
P.S. When something potentially controversial is added/removed/modified, would it be possible for it to be added to the voting booth? As in, every player gets to vote on whether they agree with certain changes, and the votes are tallied after two to three weeks, and if it's approved by the community it stays, if it's not it doesn't. I dunno, just throwing poo-level ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks.
P.P.S. Sorry for being the broken record I've been recently in regards to town halls. I won't keep suggesting it anymore I promise.