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The way I see it is....
Those that are angry, care about their game so much that it does get their underwear in a bunch. If that is their source of entertainment for the night, they log in and they can't play due to some error, it is frustrating. It is especially frustrating when you work and have school and have only a small amount of time you reserve to play, only to find out that you can't. People come here in a hurry, post without looking through hundreds of threads and want a fix to their problem as soon as possible. The thought comes across in their head that it is unfair, that they pay 9.99 a month so they can have something to play... yet it doesn't work for them. They are angry at the "cheerleaders" because they don't understand how someone can be sooo happy through all this chaos. It is obvious they love the game or they wouldn't be mad that they can't play.
Those that are happy, obviously love their game too. They love the changes they see and can't imagine how other people don't love them too! The game is moving forward, which is infinately better than the condition it was in before. Bugs, errors and other technical problems will always be apart of something "under construction." The "negative nancys" drive them crazy. Some don't understand how one can have SO many problems with the game. So what if you are currently having problems...things will get better. Sit tight, the devs are working hard... no need to post problems over and over and over.
Both of these positions are valid. But it doesn't have to be either or. We all care about the game or we wouldn't be here.
I see "There is a human behind this sim" in profiles all the time in game. Perhaps we should remember that here.
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Well, I think you're 100% correct when you say it doesn't have to be either/or...I know sometimes myself I catch myself getting upset at someone for being a 'negative nancy' type, when really when I stop to look at it, THEY have not been all that negative individually sometimes. It just so happens that their one or two negative posts are surrounded by 20 or 30 overly negative posts that do fit into that category, and that one person ends up taking the rap for the actions of others. When I catch myself doing that, I do at least try to apologize, either in threads or in PM. Sometimes in our zeal to keep things positive we cheerleaders can make mistakes. I don't think anybody is claiming perfection.....I'm certainly not.
I *do* have to disagree with this, though:
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It is especially frustrating when you work and have school and have only a small amount of time you reserve to play, only to find out that you can't. People come here in a hurry, post without looking through hundreds of threads and want a fix to their problem as soon as possible.
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This is the real world. I know that mainstream society must work and/or go to school in order to make ends meet and/or learn, but if I were in that position, especially if I'd been playing for an extended period of time, I'd know that this game just isn't one that can be played effectively for short periods of time *especially* on Wednesdays and Thursdays, since that is when updates happen and therefore that's when bugs and problems are going to be the most rampant. On days that I only have an hour or two to play, I choose to play something else usually, or I make sure I patch in advance of that 1-2 hours if possible so that the entire 1-2 hours can be spent in game, unless its down for some unscheduled thing, like tonight with EA Land.
You're right in that passion for the game is a good thing, but I'm not sure that negative passion is as good as positive passion, in a time when we are specifically trying to target new players. In these times I really think saying nothing at all sometimes, or saying things through the private messaging or instant messengers programs if one needs to *vent* might be better for the big picture if anger and frustrations are so high that one needs to just 'let it all hang out' without a modicum of diplomacy or positivity, and it *is* possible to do that without having to be 'Little Miss Sunshine' or 'Pollyanna' (no reference to Polly the mod, sorry Polly hehe). Just like you said in your first point, it doesn't have to be either/or. Nobody's asking everybody to be 100% happy with 100% of the changes 100% of the time, we're just asking that people watch 'how' they say things when they do have a legitimate negative point to point out, that's all. The reason I think some people believe that the 'cheerleaders' are 100% happy is that they do no see what is said behind the scenes, only what is said here, some of which is carefully worded so one does not place themselves in the habitually negative category. I for one have been there, and I hated it. I hated how I felt, I hated how I was making the professionals around me feel, I hated how some of the players that I really respected the most felt about me and most of all I hated who *I* was turning into, myself. When things get so bad that you're so negative that you can't even stand to be around yourself sometimes, you know there's REALLY an issue.
Since I was the only person who could change it, I did, which is how I know it's possible for anybody else to change it IF they choose.
