Nethaera addresses questions about CM process

What examples are best to use to give GC and the Devs an accurate depiction of what has/has been happening?
Information about your class, your playstyle, the types of issues you're running into such as whether you're using a certain spec or certain spells and abilities when you're running into issues. The more specific you can be, the better really. Numbers are good on one level, but sometimes the numbers don't say whether you're having "fun" or not.
Information about your class, your playstyle, the types of issues you're running into such as whether you're using a certain spec or certain spells and abilities when you're running into issues. The more specific you can be, the better really. Numbers are good on one level, but sometimes the numbers don't say whether you're having "fun" or not.
Follow us after the break for more insights.
When you aren't allowed to talk about things, is that restricted to what the devs are doing (like "They are looking into it, and that is all I can say") or is it more like a complete gag order?
This is an odd one to address. We have methods to the madness and all things have their time and place. We try to work toward finding that right time and place based on a variety of variables. It's what we do as Community Managers. There is more to what we do than simply following "orders" and we actively work cooperatively with a variety of teams to discern what the right time and place should be. We work as an entire entity and respect each other as professionals.
How can we make your job, GC job, and Devs job easier (possibly suggestion format etc)?
Post as constructively and clearly as you can. Abide by the Code of Conduct and Forum Guidelines. Have patience with the process. When you're concerned about something, don't be afraid to tell us. Understand that sometimes, we won't have an immediate answer or one that you'll love. Let us know when we're off the mark and on the mark both. It helps us greatly to understand what your personal experiences are.
How much time is spent on these forums?
Lots. As much as we can, but we have other duties too that can sometimes take us away from them.
Is there a mandatory time spent?
No. We don't mandate the time spent. It's just not necessary since it's a part of our jobs. We spend what time we can so that we're on top of the current topics and discussions.
Does each (group of) CM(s) have a specialty?
Define specialty? We all pitch in on a variety of things and while one of us may have more experience on one thing or another, we try to learn from each other as much as possible so that we're all on the same (relative) footing.
If you can't answer simple questions without giving vague answers or answering questions with questions, please don't waste our time and reply. It really isn't hard to give a direct answer to any of the above questions. Out of all the things that are asked, we atleast deserve simple answers to simple questions : /
I did. The problem is less about my answers and more about the fact that despite Community Management being a growing field, many people still misunderstand what we do or can't fully understand unless they're in our shoes. It would take me far longer than a simple forum post to go into the intricacies of what we do and even then, unless you're on our side of the fence it's very difficult to truly gauge it in proper context. That's not to say that I don't think you are smart enough to get it, it's just that there really are no "simple" answers that I could give you that wouldn't lend themselves to even more questions.
There's a lot of intuition, people skills, writing ability, game knowledge, design and processes knowledge, and more that goes into what we do. Like I said, it's a much larger conversation and I'm sure there are resources beyond these forums that go into the job a bit more than I could here that could at least give you a perspective to go by.
This is an odd one to address. We have methods to the madness and all things have their time and place. We try to work toward finding that right time and place based on a variety of variables. It's what we do as Community Managers. There is more to what we do than simply following "orders" and we actively work cooperatively with a variety of teams to discern what the right time and place should be. We work as an entire entity and respect each other as professionals.
How can we make your job, GC job, and Devs job easier (possibly suggestion format etc)?
Post as constructively and clearly as you can. Abide by the Code of Conduct and Forum Guidelines. Have patience with the process. When you're concerned about something, don't be afraid to tell us. Understand that sometimes, we won't have an immediate answer or one that you'll love. Let us know when we're off the mark and on the mark both. It helps us greatly to understand what your personal experiences are.
How much time is spent on these forums?
Lots. As much as we can, but we have other duties too that can sometimes take us away from them.
Is there a mandatory time spent?
No. We don't mandate the time spent. It's just not necessary since it's a part of our jobs. We spend what time we can so that we're on top of the current topics and discussions.
Does each (group of) CM(s) have a specialty?
Define specialty? We all pitch in on a variety of things and while one of us may have more experience on one thing or another, we try to learn from each other as much as possible so that we're all on the same (relative) footing.
If you can't answer simple questions without giving vague answers or answering questions with questions, please don't waste our time and reply. It really isn't hard to give a direct answer to any of the above questions. Out of all the things that are asked, we atleast deserve simple answers to simple questions : /
I did. The problem is less about my answers and more about the fact that despite Community Management being a growing field, many people still misunderstand what we do or can't fully understand unless they're in our shoes. It would take me far longer than a simple forum post to go into the intricacies of what we do and even then, unless you're on our side of the fence it's very difficult to truly gauge it in proper context. That's not to say that I don't think you are smart enough to get it, it's just that there really are no "simple" answers that I could give you that wouldn't lend themselves to even more questions.
There's a lot of intuition, people skills, writing ability, game knowledge, design and processes knowledge, and more that goes into what we do. Like I said, it's a much larger conversation and I'm sure there are resources beyond these forums that go into the job a bit more than I could here that could at least give you a perspective to go by.
In addition to answering a few questions, Nethaera was also quick to point out that the chain of command isn't quite as linear as people presume. Ghostcrawler is actually in charge of a lot of the design, so he doesn't report to developers. Instead, he takes things to his team to discuss. Rather than a straight line of command, ideas and feedback are bounced back and forth between the various departments.
All in all, it's a fascinating glimpse into the behind-the-scenes process at Blizzard and well worth the read. Check out the thread in its entirety for more from Nethaera, and be sure to thank her for her time while you're there.
Filed under: News items






Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Artificial Feb 5th 2011 2:05PM
Ah yes, simple answers. People would rather be lied to than given the truth if the truth is not simple.
razion Feb 5th 2011 2:31PM
Oddly enough, the lie is in and of itself less simple.
Zanathos Feb 5th 2011 2:33PM
Ain't that they truth. If it isn't a soundbite, no one has the attention span to understand it.
JT Feb 5th 2011 2:59PM
"Lots" is pretty vague. Something like "Out of an average 8 hour work day, I spend about 5 on the forums. This goes up or down, depending on things like if it's near a patch or not, but I'd guess 5 is about right" is probably what the poster had in mind.
There's nothing mysterious or cryptic about what they do; it's just text based customer service.
Kurash Feb 5th 2011 3:00PM
That is very true, Artificial. But then, later on when the "simple answer" is revealed to be a lie people still seem to reserve the right to be angry about it, even if it's what they had wanted to hear. : \
Zanathos Feb 5th 2011 3:16PM
JT, what you said is essentially the same as "lots" but you took a paragraph to say it.
JT Feb 5th 2011 3:46PM
Yes, but it was specific, not vague. Also it gave details.
Andy Feb 5th 2011 4:43PM
5 hours = lots assumes a 8 hour day/40 hour week. The CM's could potentially go over 8 hours a day because they like their job, they like the game, etc., depending on the CM. So lots may be a perfectly good quantifier.
Tankadin Feb 5th 2011 2:11PM
I almost wonder if this game would be better without blue replies. It just feeds the forums which people then use to make changes in the game, regardless if it keeps the game challenging.
JT Feb 5th 2011 3:14PM
Just the same as if Lost would've been better had Lindeloff and Cuse not given all of those interviews. But that's another thread in another forum.
Ronin Feb 5th 2011 2:28PM
"Check out the thread in its entirety for more from Nethaera" Ooh, might not be good advice. Might want to just read the Blue posts instead ;) The thread, predictably, is a real mix of sensible replies and entitled whining and what I'd consider to be back-stabbing Neth for taking the risk of answering this kind of a post.
"and be sure to thank her for her time while you're there" Ooh, definitely good advice! Thanks for the reminder, I did just that!
missemilyblack Feb 5th 2011 2:32PM
That header photo creeps me out.
North Feb 5th 2011 2:46PM
I thought it was hilarious. It's funny to think of Ghost crawler as a mad scientist with a shady history.
Hob Feb 5th 2011 2:59PM
You have to see "Dr. Strangelove" ~ seriously, like this weekend.
Aside from being one of the greatest films of all time, featuring one of the greatest comedians of the 20th century (Peter Sellers), and a bleak indictment of the Cold War mentality, it also spawned one of the most hilarious photos ever taken. The photo of Greg Street, as Dr. Strangelove.
xyna Feb 5th 2011 2:47PM
The cake is a lie...
alan Feb 5th 2011 2:57PM
the lack of communication hurts Blizzard.
Are they doing games for themselves or for the customers ?
If customers why don't they communicate with the customers ?
They deserve to be burnt with the bad RP lately.
Hanak Feb 5th 2011 3:21PM
"lack of communication" ???
could you please tell me of another gaming company that dedicates more time/space than Blizz to customer communication? (I'd really like to know, since I've personally never seen any other company communicate as much as Blizz)
vern Feb 5th 2011 3:27PM
For the last 3 weeks, did you read the shamans threads in the healing forums ?
No blue responses, nothing that gives us a clue to what will be done to fix shamans.
Yeah MTT is nerfed ...
It even comes to the point where shamans are writing shaman jokes thread about themselves.
And still no blue response.
If you call GM ticket communication then yeah, its improving, otherwise the blue per day post as appearing into http://blue.mmo-champion.com/ is going down, not up.
MusedMoose Feb 5th 2011 4:40PM
@ vern:
Yes, of course, if one subject in one forum isn't receiving attention from the blues, that must mean that the blues aren't communicating at all!
[/sarcasm]
Sheesh. Just because the blues don't directly address something doesn't mean they're ignoring it or sitting there with their heads in the sand. There's more to the game than any one class or spec.
vern Feb 5th 2011 2:58PM
oops meant Public Relation and not RP.