Picture this. You are watching your boss on stage at E3. He’s about to launch the pre-order button for something you’ve been working on for months. The community has been positive. You feel good about your work. You have a lot of work left to do. Now people will start to speak with their wallets. It’s a scary time, and then the worst possible public reaction occurs.

This is not a post on the right or wrong of the situation. It’s a post in the hopes that fans who have free voice remain mindful of the power of their words.

It’s hard for everybody to remember that people on both sides are here because of passion. Tirzah is passionate about making amazing maps. Samuel is passionate about making sure all the server tech is playing nice. Lena is passionate about making awesome encounters and music.

Crazylegsmurphy who will now be infamous for being the person to have the top voted post on the Guild Wars 2 subreddit is pretty passionate about Guild Wars 2. The same goes for a lot of players “refusing” to purchase Heart of Thorns on the grounds of value and perception. How many of them booted up Guild Wars 2 the last few days? I think that speaks volumes. I only write here because of that same passion.

Fans are able to speak their minds. It’s a gift and a curse. Game developers crave feedback, but at the same time they can’t always have a discussion with the fans. Sometimes it can be bad when a developer does speak openly.

I think this puts some fans in a bit of a fervor. They aren’t talking to a human being. They are yelling at a corporate wall. Who knows how much of their emotion and logic is making it through?

Well this post is to make these fans remember that all of it, good and bad, is getting through. Your words have effect. You might not see it through your computer screen. Be a human being. Don’t be a catpiss man throwing filth around.*

As Vulcan as I wish we were, humans are creatures of emotion and illogic. That doesn’t mean the feedback of stimuli has to be negative, especially if it will affect others. Remember that you are affecting others. What stimuli do you want to be? Constructive, emotional, and forceful can all be had without affecting others with negativity.

–Ravious

*EDIT: I am going to leave this in, but I will also apologize. The “meme” was used to convey the simile of a filthy person, regardless of actual weight, fitness or cleanliness. When all we have is words and all your words are ugly, mental images of filth come to mind. In hindsight “Internet Dickwad” is far more apt, but unfortunately our editor budget has flown to Bermuda.

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