community-drama
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Storyboard: Dramatic community
A couple of friends of mine recently found themselves knee-deep in roleplaying community drama. For those of you who have not seen this dread beast before, let me assure you that it is the most vile of all forms of drama, in which people wind up angry at one another over elements that virtually no one else cares about. I've seen it strike many times, and it's always frustrating and unpleasant due in no small part to its sheer pointlessness. I've talked about community drama on one occasion when it comes to the Final Fantasy XIV roleplaying community, but the fact that I'm seeing it passed around elsewhere means that it's a topic worth addressing in a general sense. This isn't drama centered around what happened within the game but drama about the managerial aspects of the community, about handling site ownership and moderation and all of the associated stuff. And there are a few tricks to help minimize this before it starts.
The Daily Grind: When do you start getting involved with the community?
When a new game is on the horizon, people start gathering. It's inevitable, really; long gone are the days when you learned about a new game by seeing it on store shelves. MMOs are frequently announced years in advance, and players will start gathering in anticipation long before a release date is confirmed. Games like Guild Wars 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic already have large and active communities despite not yet being playable or even purchasable by the many fans eagerly following the news. Obviously, getting involved with the community earlier means getting your name recognized faster and getting an earlier feel for how the game's playerbase will shake down. But there's a downside, too -- if you're in from day one, the game might develop into something you don't wind up liking, be delayed, or be canceled. You also run the risk of burning out from community drama and general debates about a game you aren't yet playing. So how early do you like to get involved in the community of MMOs you're anticipating? During closed beta? Open beta? Release? Or do you like to wait for a couple months to see who sticks around? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
