A Request To The Ns Community

MonsieurEvilMonsieurEvil Join Date: 2002-01-22 Member: 4Members, Retired Developer, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
edited June 2003 in New Player Forum
<div class="IPBDescription">Everyone was new once</div> Heya NS fans,

Lately, the forums have been getting a little, well, snooty. People have tended to reply a bit more condescendingly, or perhaps treat new players with less respect then they are due. There's also been a tendency to try and moderate threads by people who aren't mods. And there've been too many flamewars, by NS forum standards.

<b>This needs to be stopped pronto.</b>

A lot of effort has been spent in the NS community to keep it very friendly, social, and PG. We want our forums, channels, and servers to be a refuge from the majority of the online world where anarchy reigns, and admins are nowhere to be seen. We can only do this with <b>YOUR</b> help.

In the next few weeks, the countdown to NS 1.1 is going to begin. This means that the publicity campaign is going to swing into high gear. All those screenshots, movies, battlefield stories, and the rest are going to bring a lot of new faces into the NS community. A lot of new faces that are not NS experts, who have not been playing since October 2002, have not been following the mod since July 2001. Basically, a lot of 'newbies'.

<b>These players are what will keep NS alive!</b>

They need to be welcomed, and treated with patience and respect. Again - <i>patience and respect</i>. This means that when someone asks some silly question for the 20th time that day, and you have nothing good to say, <i>then you have no reason to post.</i> First impressions are what counts in the online world, and if the first response someone gets to 'how do I evolve into an Onos?' is 'SUYF read the manual, n00b!' then that player is likely never to ask anything again. You and the NS team cannot afford for this to happen.

So, on behalf of the dev team, the mods, and the ops, I am asking you think before you post that flame. My moderators have also been told that we're tightening up, and they are going to enforce this new mindset with extreme force if necessary. This means you will get a thread lock and a PM if we find you getting out of hand. Then a temp ban. Then you will be gone forever. We don't want to ban anyone, but this is what it will take to maintain the peace and goodwill in here, we will.

That's all. Please make sure your friends and mates read this post (it will be stickied in a while). Ignorance will not be an excuse.

Thanks, and get ready for NS 1.1. It's going to be affecting your grades and work performance sooner than you think! <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo-->

Comments

  • MausMaus Join Date: 2002-11-03 Member: 5599Members
    edited June 2003
    Because of MonsE's spamathon I'm not at all sure where to reply (not all of them, natch), but hear hear!

    I think I've maybe been guilty of the snootiness from time to time (I think most everyone has) but still, it's good to have this reminder so we can welcome the new people with open arms instead of trying to distance us from them. Look at CS for a prime example of the veteran/newbie divide - that's not what we want here, surely. NS is fun, friendly, and above all a social experience. Let's keep it that way.

    *patriotic salute*

    ---

    edit: gg Maus, post it in the one nobody's replying in, why don't you?
  • Iced_EagleIced_Eagle Borg Engineer Join Date: 2003-03-02 Member: 14218Members
    lol Maus illl save you~11 we'll play nice MonsE <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
  • PegePege Join Date: 2002-11-27 Member: 10088Members
    edited June 2003
    I hope theres a some kind of warning sign for new players saying "DO NOT EVOLVE GORGE OR GO COMMANDER UNTIL YOU ARE SOMEWHAT FAMILIAR WITH THE GAME". Would kill about 50% of n00b bashing, I think. Commander and gorge are the classes which enable n00bs (meaning people who don't talk and more importantly don't listen) to do most damage to their own team.

    Also, would be cool if some playtester/veteran wrote a small guide on the basics of command in 1.1. You have to build IP first everytime so why not just write it to a guide flat out? Same with armory. The guide could also contain some tips on how to expand, tell that upgrades are crucially important and have to be researched as fast as possible, how to put mines into your base etc. Doesn't have to be detailed like "When playing ns_eclipse, go to Station Access nozzle first for RT...", but something like "Advance aggressivly and capture resource nozzles, it is absolutely vital for victory".
  • SirusSirus Join Date: 2002-11-13 Member: 8466Members, NS1 Playtester, Constellation
    I said this earlier, but if you are ever frustrated with anything on the internet then you have issues.

    It's literally a couple clicks then you never see that person again.
  • ThinGThinG Lord of wub and vlaai Join Date: 2003-04-11 Member: 15400Members, Reinforced - Supporter
    Everyone acts "snooty" sometimes.

    Useless things I want to say:

    1. NS has a steep learning curve...ok... ppl make guides...ok... BUT THEY DO NOT READ THEM <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
    2. These forums could be improved in user friendlyness, maybe when they do, we can post more links to a thread in which something might have been discussed before, so we can show the new guy. But most of us won't put the effort into that at the moment.
    My point being:

    The same questions keep getting asked over and over again... that get's tedious, some ppl made guides, or webbed threads, but they are simply ignored...

    *flame shield "on"
  • QuaunautQuaunaut The longest seven days in history... Join Date: 2003-03-21 Member: 14759Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Shadow
    In regards to what Maus said(the patriotic salute), I hereby vow to always support Natural Selection, the game that has definately become, game of the year. Even though its free. And "just a mod".

    Oh, and to sidenote what MonsE said, you must remember a lot of the new players are gonna be FROM CS, so please, try and be super nice, I repeat MonsE. Sorry about that, its just that I've had too many friends who hate NS just cause of idiots that tell them "j00 suck n00b!" and crap like that. We don't need it.
  • MonsieurEvilMonsieurEvil Join Date: 2002-01-22 Member: 4Members, Retired Developer, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
    edited June 2003
    Go and tell them to give us another chance Quanaut. If they still have problems in the forums, tell them to talk to me personally and I'll make it go away.

    That goes for anyone - tell your friends, cousins, co-workers, aunts, uncles - COME TO NS!
  • Sir_RobinSir_Robin Join Date: 2003-05-26 Member: 16724Members
    a brother in arms is forever a brother in the heart...
  • lolfighterlolfighter Snark, Dire Join Date: 2003-04-20 Member: 15693Members
    W00t! Rooting for the newbies!
    Repeat after me: "I vow to be nice."
    That's all it takes fellas, it's REALLY that simple!
    But I don't worry too much about the ppl coming from CS. Even the worst flaming we can give 'em is like vacation compared to where they're coming from. CS is a great mod, but the fact that SO many people play it means that it attracts a lot of nasties. Still, let's show 'em LOVE!
  • CutterJoeCutterJoe Join Date: 2002-12-30 Member: 11594Members, Constellation
    Bravo Monse. I too have lost a few friends to the rudeness of some of the community. Its upsetting to see my friend ask a question about what something did, and see about 5 teammates call him noob and tell him to go to a different server or he would be kicked. And it used to be such a friendly community <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo-->
  • ThinGThinG Lord of wub and vlaai Join Date: 2003-04-11 Member: 15400Members, Reinforced - Supporter
    Can we all settle for just being normal and respectfull <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo--> ?
  • ZunniZunni The best thing to happen to I&amp;S in a long while Join Date: 2002-11-26 Member: 10016Members
    In my opinion MonsE, this has been a long time coming....

    I appreciate the New players, I appreciate their enthusiasm and vigor to a game I think some of us have become slightly jaded towards, it's no longer about the wonder of the game and has become making sure you have JP and HMG first...

    However, recently I have been encouraged by a few small incidents and wanted to share them with you now..

    One- A person who had never commed before and kept expecting to get ejected over every move he made finished his first commanding mission. Now we lost, but I think it was the patience and good natured fun we were all having that made this possible, not one rude or harsh word was said.

    Two- two or more gorges in a game and people explaining why its inefficent instead of just flaming the poor new player out of his socks...

    Three- TF's in base used to mean mass f4's.. But more people are giving other strategies a chance, and just playing for fun....

    As I mentioned I have felt these forums have been unfriendly to new players for a while now, and have openly posted against such acts when I have time to post. So I'm glad to see some tightening of rules.

    I hope we don't pull an NHL and let the rules slide again once 1.1 has been out for a while. I have directed many friends here and most have been turned off by the snobbish attitude. I'm going to try to bring them back...

    Excellent Post MonsE, you and the rest of the team are the reason why NS will succeed....

    <but I'm still hovaring with flapping, deal with it... That's the closest I'll come to anarchy <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo--> >
  • PsychotixPsychotix Join Date: 2003-06-28 Member: 17750Members
    edited June 2003
    It would be a bit more constructive as well to help the newbie on voice comms as well, esp when they are comming/playing marine or whatnot.

    imo, someone saying on voice comm, 'Psychotix, you f***king suck, try actually shooting someone' is not very constructive or helpful at all.

    -- actual voice comm message to me tonight on a oss server.
  • SquabbSquabb Join Date: 2003-06-20 Member: 17556Members
    I've been playing NS off and on since Nov. 2002, which means I'm one of those farts in the ventilation, who never got good. Anyway, an idea could be to put links on the ns 1.1 manual to a site with ALL the manuals made by the community.

    I have a few problems with the above though.

    1. I got ejected by a group of "bad people" from commander, which...wasn't pleasent.

    Wrong thread sorry.

    =Fly Molo=
  • That_One_GuyThat_One_Guy Join Date: 2003-06-26 Member: 17718Members
    One of the hard parts of having a community like this is always dealing with the noobs. Over on the <a href='http://www.specialistsmod.net' target='_blank'>specialists forums</a> we're starting to get an influx of people, and it's worse on the actual servers because very few people actually bother to go to the forums.
    It's hard to maintain the patience to answer the same questions over and over, but keep in mind one thing. For every newbie you help to make better, to help have a better understanding of the game, the more people you have who will do the same for other newbies. It is a test of patience welcoming in a steady stream of newbies, and some communities have well...gone down the whole because they didn't have that patience *cough*CS*cough*. Just stay with it guys, and don't be snooty to the newbies.
    <img src='http://www.static3d.com/gaming/bf1942/images/teachnub.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
  • BigMadSteveBigMadSteve Join Date: 2003-02-12 Member: 13472Members
    I don't mind newbies that ask questions constantly. At least they are willing to learn. What I do mind are the ones who just ignore you. Nice picture, lol.
  • MonsieurEvilMonsieurEvil Join Date: 2002-01-22 Member: 4Members, Retired Developer, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
    edited July 2003
    And if you are a new player:

    Make sure you check out the list of new-player friendly servers:

    <a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=17&t=36262' target='_blank'>Newbie-Friendly Server Review (courtesy of Cpl. Davis)</a>
This discussion has been closed.