NEWS Developer Meet and Greet Transcript - February 26th, 2024

[Lindae Lives]

I love Stratics, I love the devs, I love that the devs and Stratics hate each other, I love the whole damn mess.

 

[Deimos]

Calling Mesanna a narcissistic leader who doesn't do her job isn't mean

And a control freak to boot.
As Nexus pointed out, she was told no (probably the first time in her life) and as such, she threw a tantrum, left these forums and dragged every other staff member away to the official ones.
Beating a dead horse, I know, but god I wish she would retire, the game deserves so much better.

 

[OREOGL]

I love Stratics, I love the devs, I love that the devs and Stratics hate each other, I love the whole damn mess.

while I laughed at this, I think I speak for most people when I say we do not hate the devs. But we aren’t afraid to call foul when we disagree with something.

 

[Victim of Siege]

I recon if the devs on the other forum were half as transparent as @Nexus has been about Stratics, there might be a bit less negativity in the community as a whole.

What did your reconnaissance of the DEV's reveal? anything juicy???

 

[Veldrane]

The forum should adhere to its policies about no personal attacks. The developers are persons.

There is a difference between a personal attack and criticizing their work performance.

 

[AntyvasII]

What did your reconnaissance of the DEV's reveal? anything juicy???

Pretty sure he meant "reckon".

 

[Pawain]

There is a difference between a personal attack and criticizing their work performance.

I don't think Merlin is ready for that fine line.
I was just criticizing that posters.... Play style, decorating ability, etc. It was not a personal attack.

Their work performance is pretty personal.

 

[Merlin]

I love Stratics, I love the devs, I love that the devs and Stratics hate each other, I love the whole damn mess.

To be clear, while we certainly do not see eye to eye, we do not hate each other either.

I don't think Merlin is ready for that fine line.
I was just criticizing that posters.... Play style, decorating ability, etc. It was not a personal attack.

Their work performance is pretty personal.

Stratics policy has generally always held the developers to a different level of what's considered a personal attack when posters criticize their work, compared to when a conversation becomes poster versus poster and turns negative. Being able to discuss their work and provide feedback that isn't all pom-pom waving is crucial to having a forum worth visiting. This is one of the key components of what separates Stratics from the Official forum.

The entire community that reads these forums understands full well what person in this conversation is not capable of understanding that fine line.

 

[Veldrane]

The entire community that reads these forums understands full well what person in this conversation is not capable of understanding that fine line.

It's @Anon McDougle, isn't it? I knew it!

(Just teasing @Anon McDougle)

 

[Anon McDougle]

It's @Anon McDougle, isn't it? I knew it!

(Just teasing @Anon McDougle)

It's a jump rope not a line

 

[AntyvasII]

It's @Anon McDougle, isn't it? I knew it!

(Just teasing @Anon McDougle)

I bet it's that lurker @Larisa !

 

[Pawain]

I bet it's that lurker @Larisa !

She is the one that changed Alpha to Beta in the Transcript.

JK

She gave me a watermelon, I luv her lots!

 

[Larisa]

She is the one that changed Alpha to Beta in the Transcript.

JK

She gave me a watermelon, I luv her lots!

LOL Luv you lots too!

And it was in the newsletter actually

 

[Nexus]

And a control freak to boot.
As Nexus pointed out, she was told no (probably the first time in her life) and as such, she threw a tantrum, left these forums and dragged every other staff member away to the official ones.
Beating a dead horse, I know, but god I wish she would retire, the game deserves so much better.

You’re assuming that BS would even replace her, or that someone would be willing to take the role. I feel pretty certain after she retires, if that doesn’t coincide with the game having the plug pulled there will be some changes that will harm what community is left in UO. The EM program is her baby, she fought for it, she runs it herself, I don’t believe anyone else wants it and would be willing to run it if she was gone.

Let me make this clear, I don’t hate the devs. I don’t even dislike them. I think Messana does what she feels is best for the game given the resources she has at a given time. I don’t agree with a lot of those decisions, nor do many others, and that is completely OK. That doesn’t mean I hate them, or even that I don’t appreciate what they do, it simply means I disagree with the direction they keep taking the game.

I do however believe that Messana is not the best person to be the face of the game. Yes they hired a community manager/liason type person, but as we saw when someone asked how to contact them with an issue Kyronix said uo@broadsword, Mesanna gave her direct email. I believe she has taken on too much herself and she is either afraid or unwilling to let go because she knows there is no one to replace her, unfortunately the longer she holds tight the more detrimental to the community it is. What she doing is like trying to squeeze a fist full of water, the tighter she squeezes the more it is going to slip through her fingers.

She needs to step back, operate behind the curtain let their community manager…manage their community, stop being the center and focus of everything, at least publicly. Let the CM answer what they can answer, interact with the community etc. She needs to focus on the game, coordinating and targeting the Devs, the EMs and the issues a CM can’t address and leave everything else alone.

 

[Deimos]

I think the problem is she wants control of everything, which I suppose is what a producer does? But, she takes any negativity or any form of criticism personally.
Look at all the snippy remarks she's made in nearly every meet up.
She treats the game like her own fiefdom and it's not exactly a state secret that she has her own small clique of fanbois/girls that worship the ground she walks on.
How many staffers from here quit that one time and are now mods on the official forums?

 

[Victim of Siege]

*snip*
How many staffers from here quit that one time and are now mods on the official forums?

Since there are only two moderators there that I’ve ever seen, I’ll go with two

 

[AntyvasII]

Since there are only two moderators there that I’ve ever seen, I’ll go with two

Do they have back-up mods for when the regulars get overworked or injured?

 

[Nexus]

I think the problem is she wants control of everything, which I suppose is what a producer does? But, she takes any negativity or any form of criticism personally.
Look at all the snippy remarks she's made in nearly every meet up.

Which is why she needs to let the CM manage the community and step back. It doesn't matter if she takes negative criticism personally or not, that is how it is perceived by a lot of folks. Quite frankly, I don't think the in-game Meet and Greets are a good thing either, they exaggerate this perception. They could do a live stream using vetted questions, give just as many answers to solid questions and avoid those snippy remarks that make her at times look petty or narcissistic. More trivial question answers could be sent out via the CM through emails or now there is a CM more frequent newsletters.

This thread wouldn't have detoured onto this topic because Kyronix wouldn't have said what he said, leading to all of this if they used that format. Part of the reason to have a good Community Manager is to have them act as a filter, someone who is knowledgeable and trained to on how to communicate effectively, without making faux pas such as what happed there.

 

[Anon McDougle]

I do think the CM is doing a great job given the situation

 

[Nexus]

I do think the CM is doing a great job given the situation

I didn't say they were not, just that I believe Mesanna has taken too much into her own hands and needs to step back and leave community interaction predominately to the CM.

 

[Merlin]

I do think the CM is doing a great job given the situation

Some of the CM's streams of EM events have been quite fun. She does good job at narrating not only what's going on, but discussing who is around her, giving tips about the encounter, etc. Suggest checking it out sometime if you haven't already.

 

[Veldrane]

I do think the CM is doing a great job given the situation

I'm sure they're extremely restricted on what they can speak about. I feel for the CM a bit because Messena has set this up as a shield for poor communication that the CM is not empowered to do anything about. The CM has the responsibility and accountability but none of the empowerment to improve the situation.

 

[Ghost of Gramps]

For anyone interested in finding themselves, I took a screenshot. Overall, it was a good event, though I eventually got bored and left early. I attended with my character Uncle Buck.

 

[Omnicron]

I love Stratics, I love the devs, I love that the devs and Stratics hate each other, I love the whole damn mess.

Sammmmme giiiirrrllllllllllll saaaaammmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. (sorry to assume gender but I felt like being sassy.)

 

[Lindae Lives]

Sammmmme giiiirrrllllllllllll saaaaammmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. (sorry to assume gender but I felt like being sassy.)

Darling, I can be whatever you want me to be.