Please Stop Locking Substantive Threads

[DeusTrinitas]

Mods, please do not lock threads that are intended to get substantive interaction going among community members and between community members and developers. If you are looking to lock threads, I'll gladly point you to hundreds of absolutely pointless ones and/or ones whose questions can be answered by reading the FAQ.

The Original Post:

Harmonix,

I will put this as succinctly and frankly as I can. What we, your community, do not understand and what we are upset about is your almost total lack of communication following the release of Rock Band. Prior to the release of the game, the forums were regularly full of useful information--we had questions, you posted answers. There was an actual community and regular interaction between us, the players, and you, the developers.

Now that Rock Band has been released, however, things are different. When we have questions, they primarily remain unanswered. Just as an example, you started a sticky thread for mic lag problems in the Tech Support forum, asking for our input. We have given it. Yet, still, the mic lag problem has been unaddressed as far as we know and you have not commented on the issue essentially since starting the thread.

At the risk of beating the dead horse, I'll also bring up the drum issue once again. Clearly, something is not right with a good number of the drum kits. You issued a vaguely worded statement regarding the guitar problems and no statement at all regarding the drum kits. We have some very intelligent people in our community, people who know a thing or two about electrical engineering. We, as the community, know that there is a manufacturing defect in your drum kits and we have told you about it, yet you still don't acknowledge it?

Why do things have to be so? Is something preventing you from attempting to address your community's concerns? Does our input even matter? From the evidence I have seen following the launch, it seems to have fallen on mostly deaf ears.

You may take offense at this post and if you do, I'm sorry. But, I think we as your community are entirely in agreement that there is a difference between Harmonix pre-launch and Harmonix post-launch.

I assure you that the difference is not favorable.

[vtjustinb]

They read the forums, they're aware of issues.

There's a lot more that goes into "responding to an issue" than you'd lead on. The people who interact with this forum are community managers, and are often on a "need-to-know" system with information pertaining to specifics with development and support. They provide a channel to relay concerns from the community to the developers, and likewise relay their responses back.

Even if they are aware of inside information about certain issues, they still have to receive firm confirmation that such information is "ok" to divulge, and even then there are several legal, marketing, and logistical loops to pass through before anything can be said.

In short, you are beating a dead horse--and what would you hope to accomplish by such a thread? That the more people *****ing the more it'll get noticed? Please.

If anything, HMX has shown us that they're intimately in tune with their community, and have been since this place opened, so it's ridiculous to assume just because nothing offical has been said that you're being ignored. When they can say something they will, and inciting a mob just to get noticed isn't going to make that happen any quicker (and yes I know you're proposing peaceful interaction, but I can't see that happening when the subject already has people fired up).

[Ultrace]

You answer your own reason why many threads are locked...


At the risk of beating the dead horse,
There you have it. Needlessly duplicative threads should be locked, and I hope that Harmonix keeps doing so. If there is already a thread (probably six) about drum issues, then your post should go there. You'll get information when Harmonix makes it available. That's a blunt way of putting it, but starting a new thread, so that you can say the exact same things that other people have already said, accomplishes nothing except to make navigation of the forums more difficult for everyone--including the developers that you want answers from.

Since the meat of this thread boils down to "there's a problem with the drums" and "where are our answers," both of which have been discussed at length elsewhere, I am hoping that a moderator will lock this thread.

[zerogeo3]

OMG try posting here------------------------>


http://community.rockband.com/vbforum/forumdisplay.php?f=20

Tech Support.....:eek:

[DeusTrinitas]

They read the forums, they're aware of issues.

There's a lot more that goes into "responding to an issue" than you'd lead on. The people who interact with this forum are community managers, and are often on a "need-to-know" system with information pertaining to specifics with development and support. They provide a channel to relay concerns from the community to the developers, and likewise relay their responses back.

Even if they are aware of inside information about certain issues, they still have to receive firm confirmation that such information is "ok" to divulge, and even then there are several legal, marketing, and logistical loops to pass through before anything can be said.

In short, you are beating a dead horse--and what would you hope to accomplish by such a thread? That the more people *****ing the more it'll get noticed? Please.

If anything, HMX has shown us that they're intimately in tune with their community, and have been since this place opened, so it's ridiculous to assume just because nothing offical has been said that you're being ignored. When they can say something they will, and inciting a mob just to get noticed isn't going to make that happen any quicker (and yes I know you're proposing peaceful interaction, but I can't see that happening when the subject already has people fired up).

You're trying to read into my intentions. I'm not trying to get a whole bunch of people to ***** about something and I'm certainly not intending to start a "mob." I'm just voicing my opinion and trying to get some level-headed conversation going. It is entirely not my fault if people on these forums can't be civil.

Thanks for the information about community managers, though. That was helpful.

[HMXJohnlok]

Perhaps they do not move at a speed on a timetable that you find acceptable, but these forums are watched daily... and responded on daily... and your feedback is heard.

And though it's been repeated before, it is not in their best interests to comment until information is 100% confirmed, certain, etc.

Apples is absolutely right, and was right to lock your thread. If you would like, do a search on my posts, and on Sean's post, and you'll find that we're more than willing to discuss most issues if we are able. As for your feelings that Harmonix has changed since release, I would argue that the community itself has changed dramatically since - am I saying it's a bad thing? Certainly not. Adjusting to and growing with the demands of a community, in addition to the various issues that can crop up when a new product is launched is a part of any forum community. If you are suggesting that Sean's, or my responses are inadequate I can't help you there, and I'm sorry.

We lock threads for a number of reasons. If you would like to discuss the particulars of a specific case, you are free to send me a private message.