UO Community Manager

[Nimuaq]

This post is aimed only to understand how the community team works. I'm quite enthusiastic about the game and I also dont find the posts fair which criticize developers too harshly on works in progress.

We dont have a community manager or community coordinator, have we? We all pretend that we have, they're listed on credits under community after all, but we only have few people who post publish notes and news.

I've recently posted something about Mesanna being our only community manager. When we have an important issue or question, we first pm to Mesanna, not Rowland Cox (Community Lead) or James Nichols (Community Coordinator). I know we had great community managers in the past, but my question is, in which way the current team members listed under Community help us more than Mesanna?

If you read this blog post, you'll understand why our community manager is in fact Mesanna, since these are the things she's actively doing (as well as being an Associate Producer).

From: The Four Tenets of the Community Manager « Web Strategy by Jeremiah Owyang | Social Media, Web Marketing

The Four Tenets of the Community Manager
In the following, I’m not going to list out all my findings, but it was clear there were 4 number of Tenets, or beliefs that each role holds. In nearly all the job descriptions, the following beliefs were spelled out as requirements for the role.

1) A Community Advocate
As a community advocate, the community managers’ primary role is to represent the customer. This includes listening, which results in monitoring, and being active in understanding what customers are saying in both the corporate community as well as external websites. Secondly, they engage customers by responding to their requests and needs or just conversations, both in private and in public.

2) Brand Evangelist
In this evangelistic role (it goes both ways) the community manager will promote events, products and upgrades to customers by using traditional marketing tactics and conversational discussions. As proven as a trusted member of the community (tenet 1) the individual has a higher degree of trust and will offer good products.

3) Savvy Communication Skills, Shapes Editorial
This tenet, which is both editorial planning and mediation serves the individual well. The community manager should first be very familiar with the tools of communication, from forums, to blogs, to podcasts, to twitter, and then understand the language and jargon that is used in the community. This individual is also responsible for mediating disputes within the community, and will lean on advocates, and embrace detractors –and sometimes removing them completely. Importantly, the role is responsible for the editorial strategy and planning within the community, and will work with many internal stakeholders to identify content, plan, publish, and follow up.

4) Gathers Community Input for Future Product and Services Perhaps the most strategic of all tenets, community managers are responsible for gathering the requirements of the community in a responsible way and presenting it to product teams. This may involve formal product requirements methods from surveys to focus groups, to facilitating the relationships between product teams and customers. The opportunity to build better products and services through this real-time live focus group are ripe, in many cases, customer communities have been waiting for a chance to give feedback.

I also think while Petra is not working for Mythic, she's more towards the role of a community manager than the ones listed under community. I'm not proposing any change, I just want to understand if my view above reflects the truth and I'll also be glad if someone can tell me why it doesnt.

 

[Taylor]

Technically speaking, James is meant to be the Community Coordinator. I'm happy that Mesanna is willing to be flexible and responsive, though.

Also, Petra can never receive too much praise. That lady works harder as a Stratics volunteer than I do at my full-time job.

 

[HD2300]

James Nichols is no longer with Mythic. He left a bit more than a month ago to Rift.

I think Cal is the PR/Community Guy and Messana calls the shots even though the titles are different.

 

[hungry4knowhow]

James Nichols is no longer with Mythic. He left a bit more than a month ago to Rift.

I think Cal is the PR/Community Guy and Messana calls the shots even though the titles are different.

This. Anyone who watched the Video HOC can clearly see this.

 

[Storm]

Also, Petra can never receive too much praise. That lady works harder as a Stratics volunteer than I do at my full-time job.

I second this their is so much behind the scenes that this lady does or coordinates it would amaze people !

she is the bomb!!

 

[popps]

Does anyone know how large the current full time team is for Ultima Online ?
How many people ?

I mean people only working on Ultima Online, not sharing their working day with other games also.

 

[Woodsman]

You'd probably have to look at the credits for Stygian and then work out who all was laid off or moved to other games and go from there.

 

[Ahuaeyjnkxs]

 

[Nimuaq]

James Nichols is no longer with Mythic. He left a bit more than a month ago to Rift.

You're right, it seems he is the new assistant community manager for RIFT: Rift Junkies Introduces New RIFT Assistant Community Manager - RiftJunkies.com - An Official Rift: Planes of Telara Fansite

Only 26 days before the above interview:

(...) In addition to myself there is Rowland Cox, Director of Community Relations (da boss); and our new European Community Manager who just started - we'll be introducing him shortly (his hire was simply coincidental with Andy's departure.) Both are aware and knowledgeable to handle my external facing responsibilities in my absence.
(...)
As far as the website is concerned I'm a one man army currently - I'm working to update areas when I can, but agreed that the information there has languished and not been maintained to the highest standard. This is why you likely will see more third party partnerships (such as Stratics taking the archives) as it allows these resources to be available without having to wait for my schedule to allow me to update the content myself.

So we have Rowland Cox and Kai Schober now. I wonder if Mark Steelman left too, he hasnt visited the forums for more than a month now.

 

[Taylor]

I see. Interesting.

*strokes air beard*

 

[Woodsman]

So we have Rowland Cox and Kai Schober now. I wonder if Mark Steelman left too, he hasnt visited the forums for more than a month now.

That's actually not a very good sign at all if they don't even bother replacing him and don't really care about the website. I know they don't care about the website, but for him to have publicly acknowledged that they don't care about it is another thing all together.

Every well managed and well supported MMO cares about their website. BioWare has enough people devoted to their other games' websites that they could probably spare somebody to spend a few weeks working on UO and DAOC websites. Oh wait, it's BioWare, the group that has an official forum for a 15 year old DOS game and for Warhammer, but isn't willing to support an official forum for Camelot and UO - actual titles that are still making them money.

Stratics, UOGuide and UOForums really are carrying the weight of supporting UO.

 

[Sevin0oo0]

How many people ?
I mean people only working on UO, not sharing their working day with other games also.

That's probably Zero, unless you honestly think a lone rag-tag group of barely surviving coders and artists can work 40hrs @wk to produce what's been released.

It also makes better use of purchased software licenses if they can be used on many products, reduces redundancy of manpower, and keeps them busy.
Even tho Cal's title says "UO" Producer, you think he just works on UO all day? He hasn't coded in years. We've already seen his expertise in spreadsheets, so he probably isn't doing that - maybe he just gets beer for that kid?

 

[AirmidCecht]

Stratics, UOGuide and UOForums really are carrying the weight of supporting UO.

That's not entirely how I see it. It's the developers that carry the weight of supporting UO with always updating our game and interacting with the community. It's the fansites that support the community to do so. It is true that they all feed off each other so when one is lacking on either part the players suffer.

Rarely do you see a post in an official way from gaming titles when someone takes their leave. I was actually pleased to see that for Jeremy when she left as CM. Some of us still keep in touch after they move on and I am happy for Chrissay at EVE and James at Rift and Andy at NC Soft. Updates have not stopped, Kai and Rowland have carried on but we do feel a presence is lacking, of course.

On our end at Stratics, we've upped our communication and highlighting key issues not just from uhall but our other forums as well. We have a great team of volunteers that have a pulse on what's going on and can wave orange sticks. It is as much a joint team effort over there with filling in and taking care of what needs done. Cal posted directly to the Oceania players because he is invested as much as Mesanna with our events and content or Derek with stability issues, ect. I do hope UO is given a dedicated Community Manager again but in the meantime I think Rowland and Kai are just as much a part of that team as anyone.

 

[Woodsman]

The problem is that a person who is interested in a new game is going to visit the official site.

 

[Ahuaeyjnkxs]

Because of my extensive online experience on both sides of the veil I can also confirm that after bring gone from uo "innocently" (did NOT profit from UO or anything related, did NOT enjoy any e-status) there is much improvement to be done on that particular aspect of communication.

When I came to WoW forums I realised how much ridiculously "corporative" it was but at least every legitimate question was duely answered, we felt like someone was on the other end organising those things.

Of course now for UO, the motivation level to invest in such an endeavor is lower, because the game is older and there is seemingly no real hope.

Well, that should also be part of the community leader's role, to preserve the hopes and aim high. (this includes meta-moderating, those trolls eat a good part of your monthly allocation of "brain food")