New Blue poster Timbal (not Tseric's replacement)
by Mike Schramm 
Jul 23rd 2007 at 3:30PM
Visitors to the official forums this weekend may have noticed a new name in blue: Timbal is a brand new Blizzard poster (and he's already closing threads with the best of them). But while players are guessing that Timbal is Tseric's replacement, and all the baggage that comes with that, Drysc points out that Timbal is a forum moderator, not actually a community manager. Timbal obviously doesn't have an avatar yet, either, but I'm not sure if that's because he's a mod, or because he's new.What's the difference? In short, Timbal and the other mods oversee the forums, while the CMs (like Drysc and Nethaera) oversee the community. As you can see from that last link, Blizzard still has the CM help wanted ad up, and so it seems to be a pretty good guess that Tseric hasn't been replaced yet.
Or maybe he won't be. According to what I've heard from players, the forums need more moderation than management-- while Blizzard's CMs have been focused on the forums, I'd suggest WoW's community isn't really there anymore (if it ever was, really). It's either in game, or on sites like WoW Insider. Lots of players have asked for a change in the forums, either a crackdown on the shenanigans that seem to take place there, or just a way to make them more relevant to the game. Hiring Timbal as a moderator might be a step towards moderation, and a step away from relying on CM activity in the forums as Blizzard's way of managing their connection with the WoW community.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Blizzard
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rahul Jul 23rd 2007 3:49PM
I'd say the community is actually not congregated in any particular place, and certainly not on blogs. Surely WoW Insider's readership consists mostly of a fairly conspicious hardcore niche. Whereas the largest WoW player base -- casual players with no interest in taking up meta-conversation about the game outside of the game itself -- have better things to do than hang out on any kind of WoW website, be it blogs, forums or whatever.
I'm still waiting for Blizzard to somehow engage this group. If it's even possible to engage them.
Apollon Jul 23rd 2007 4:04PM
The reputation of the official wow forums are notorious. I steer clear because I find them to be a cesspool of whiners, trolls and rude pricks with the social aptitude of a pile of dung. Hardly anything productive ever comes from them, and I find that if I have a query my time is much better spent seeking help from other sources (the wow LJ, my guild forum, etc).
I really do hope that Blizz cracks down on the forums and starts moderating much much MUCH more tightly. I wish it wasn't the case, but the state of things would be much better that way.
Sylythn Jul 23rd 2007 4:06PM
We're hardcore? News to me - I just like keeping up on what's going on, need something to do when bored at work, and like being aware of changes to the game.
CVJ Jul 23rd 2007 4:29PM
I really have no clue how I got to this site but I know I post on here more than the official forums because well the official forums are lame.
Verit Jul 23rd 2007 4:45PM
If your reading this at work (cough cough) - you could be hardcore...
Pucechan Jul 24th 2007 7:48AM
I'm new to WoW, literally been playing a week (with the trial 10-days prior) and I've already found myself viewing WoW Insider as my source of information rather than the official forums.
Blizzard really need to crack down on them as I'm sure there must be a wealth of info there, there is just a ton of sniping/whining/trolling covering it up.
John Jul 24th 2007 11:49AM
For a long time I tried to defend the official forums, in that it was a few bad apples causing problems. But now it has become so horrid that I feel that it would take an act of god to change things. Every suggestion is flamed, even if it is a fix to a known problem. If that isn't bad, oh lord help the person posting if he posts something not everyone agrees with...
drakegw Jul 24th 2007 11:08AM
If you can sift through the QQing about nerfs and buffs, the class forums (for hunters at least) are a great resource and you can learn more faster than just playing and trying to figure stuff out on your own.
Mike Oct 8th 2007 6:50PM
You need moderation in that place. But I don't see how you can moderate what's going on in General while the stupidity still lingers on in Customer Service.
Has anyone ever read that CS forum? Anything you post for help with, they can't help you anyway. All they do is have a bunch of regulars in there ready to harpoon the first person with a complaint about anything. It's either you're not supposed to be asking for that type of assistance there or it's a bunch of goons clicking refresh every 10 secs waiting for the next victim to pick on who messed up.
Where did they get that Syndri from too? She showed up in January. She is the biggest smartass Blizz ever employed. She makes Tseric look GOOD. She flirts with that Thunderwulf idiot everyone hates while "/sipping" her make-believe coffee all day long. They harp on cake and pie like fat pigs all day long and everything else is locked or deleted.
You expect us to have respect for moderation when you have that type of idiocy going on in there? Look at the example some of those moderators bring to the table. Look at the double-standard being set when the fanboi can flame to his heart's content while the person with a problem is banned or deleted. It's f'ing unbelievable. Some of those mods are on an ego trip and allow their player-henchman to be the worst offenders. It's their fault. Blizzard has no one to blame but themselves by employing people like those blues. They're hypocrites and most people know it and refuse to post there because of it.