Official Discord server arrives September 11th 2023!

[SkyRider99]

It's just pure chaos, filled with endless: "Hello", "Enjoying my breakfast now", "Got to make dinner, catch you later", and the random "I just got a genie form the Spire!", " I have a cat named Molly" type of comments... and conversations one can not follow or participate in because it all goes too fast

So, by analysing the network traffic emanating from your IP address, and filtering for TCP port 443 connections to Elvenar, and using the fact that your cat is named 'Molly', I have deduced that you live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. and you are in fact the president of the USA. And they call Discord secure! Bah, humbug!

 

[Hekata]

When I worked for Miniclip.com as a Moderator (7 years) and they closed the forum, we made a fan forum also, worked ok for a month or 2 but due to the absence of the on site/in game link being removed it sadly died. For a forum to live on it needs the backing or at least the link in game to continue to survive.

Yeah, I thought that might be the case. But at the very least it shows that a lot of players really want a forum and not Discord.

I still don't understand why we can't have both, that would keep everyone happy. And Inno would be "in touch" with more players instead of losing the part that doesn't like discord.

 

[Verde]

Fully agree, here, but again what is the point @Silmaril @anonglitch @Herodite Seems Inno are saying like it or leave...

Certainly the beta CM is in the 'like it or leave ...' camp. (Not inconsistent with his general style imho)
Not so sure whether his opinion reflects what's been said here by the mods.

 

[SkyRider99]

that would keep everyone happy.

Where's the fun in that? Whatever would happen to all the fear, loathing, and hostility being promulgated by certain political parties? Although if you're happy with my government's fear, loathing, and hostility I could use that!

 

[m4rt1n]

Certainly the beta CM is in the 'like it or leave ...' camp. (Not inconsistent with his general style imho)
Not so sure whether his opinion reflects what's been said here by the mods.

Under instructions to keep their "jobs" past experience of Modding can range from a meagre wage, 100$ a month to in game freebies and gifts. Never heard of a gaming moderator recruited in the game doing better than that.

 

[Verde]

Under instructions to keep their "jobs" past experience of Modding can range from a meagre wage, 100$ a month to in game freebies and gifts. Never heard of a gaming moderator recruited in the game doing better than that.

Believe the Community Managers are actually fully paid staff, as opposed to the Mods which are more like described.

 

[Seniwildflower]

FYI. A quick search reveals that all Inno games have an Official Discord server apart from Forge of Empires. There, the idea was vetoed by a poll and not put forward as a suggestion to the developers.

 

[McBratty]

A lot has been said about lack of participation in the forums by members. When this whole Discord debacle reared its head, I informed my Fellowship that Inno are closing the forums. Quite a few have the problem of being unable to register on the forums and this I have seen over the years as being a common problem for a lot of people. Perhaps that should have been looked into rather than people got frustrated and stopped trying.
As has also been mentioned, we come to the forums to find out information on a problem we are having. Being sensible bunnies we first check the forums to see if someone has had a similar problem and how it was solved. If we find nothing then we make a post stating our problem and asking the lovely people here for help. To therefore base forum useage solely on posters is ridiculous!
I know like all things Elvenar, even though we strongly voice our disapproval of this plan, the powers that be will ignore us and it is going to be a done deal. I really hope they know what they are doing and have done their homework because nothing would be worse than Discord fails and we have lost all the forums also!
Im going to hold out hope up till they close this down, that the developers will get smacked up the side of the head with a wet noodle and will finally see sense, allowing peace to once again descend on the realms of Elvenar....Yours living in hope but standing by with the wet noodle.

 

[Silmaril]

Hey guys, if anyone is having trouble registering to the Forum, it is likely they have yet to validate their emails. Please ask players to reach out to support and we can get this checked out and guide them in.

 

[Morning Town]

As has also been mentioned, we come to the forums to find out information on a problem we are having. Being sensible bunnies we first check the forums to see if someone has had a similar problem and how it was solved. If we find nothing then we make a post stating our problem and asking the lovely people here for help. To therefore base forum useage solely on posters is ridiculous!

Well said McBratty.... I am a mage in my fellowship and it is part of our role to rootle through the forums and announcements (we have a number who play beta and again keep us update) and forward/highlight to our excellent (but busy in RL) Fellows, we monitor EN and other language forums (we have a polylingual group of Fellows) and often bring the groups collective feedback to these "hallowed halls"

 

[Anni-Lizzie]

A lot has been said about lack of participation in the forums by members. When this whole Discord debacle reared its head, I informed my Fellowship that Inno are closing the forums. Quite a few have the problem of being unable to register on the forums and this I have seen over the years as being a common problem for a lot of people. Perhaps that should have been looked into rather than people got frustrated and stopped trying.
As has also been mentioned, we come to the forums to find out information on a problem we are having. Being sensible bunnies we first check the forums to see if someone has had a similar problem and how it was solved. If we find nothing then we make a post stating our problem and asking the lovely people here for help. To therefore base forum useage solely on posters is ridiculous!
I know like all things Elvenar, even though we strongly voice our disapproval of this plan, the powers that be will ignore us and it is going to be a done deal. I really hope they know what they are doing and have done their homework because nothing would be worse than Discord fails and we have lost all the forums also!
Im going to hold out hope up till they close this down, that the developers will get smacked up the side of the head with a wet noodle and will finally see sense, allowing peace to once again descend on the realms of Elvenar....Yours living in hope but standing by with the wet noodle.

sorry had to do that! McB with the wet noodle again, lol. Never gets old.

As to a more serious reaction, I have liked the last page and a half of comments when really I wanted to add instead, was add masses of sad face emojis. It seems the CM here was at least walking a tight rope of party line professionalism in the responses to some of these thread messages, however on other forums internationally it does sound like no one is listening, but worse, they don’t give a flying rats arse how anyone feels. Some of those comments were tackless and down right rude.
Sometimes I am at a loss why as a community, country, world, species… we place little or no value on shared intellectual knowledge that can only truly come with age and perseverance. Catering to the bright shiny thing will only have us circling the fish bowl with our mouths open, learning nothing, valuing nothing. Looking for the next bright shiny thing. Pathetic

 

[Silmaril]

I cannot speak for any other Community Manager, but I am very interested in how players are feeling. This is why you are all seeing a lot more of me currently. I may not always say too much as you can appreciate a CM role is not a full time one, but I am around as much as I can be for you all. It has always been a privilege to be the CM of the International community as your communication and insights are wonderful to behold.
Please keep your comments and feedback coming in, each and every one of them is being noted by myself and passed forwards as we navigate these new discord waters.

 

[C-Nymph]

It seems the CM here was at least walking a tight rope of party line professionalism in the responses to some of these thread messages, however on other forums internationally it does sound like no one is listening, but worse, they don’t give a flying rats arse how anyone feels. Some of those comments were tackless and down right rude.

Well I much more appreciate the straightforward honesty than beating around the bush and trying to keep the community 'happy' while only postponing the punch, even if that's the command from higher up. If you know there is no way out of the situation, the forum is being closed eventually, it's just a matter of time, might as well just bite the bullet and tell us the truth, that Inno does not care about the feedback and will continue on the path they chose.

I cannot speak for any other Community Manager, but I am very interested in how players are feeling. This is why you are all seeing a lot more of me currently. I may not always say too much as you can appreciate a CM role is not a full time one, but I am around as much as I can be for you all. It has always been a privilege to be the CM of the International community as your communication and insights are wonderful to behold.
Please keep your comments and feedback coming in, each and every one of them is being noted by myself and passed forwards as we navigate these new discord waters.

We know YOU care, and we very much appreciate your increased presence right now, but I honestly doubt anything will change, even if you collect our feedback and pass it along. Does Inno care at all?

 

[Silmaril]

It is not our intention to upset the community. Feedback is being asked for to show that the Forum is still active, that players are still joining the community as well as highlighting the incredible resource this is to us all as players.
Over the last five years the Forum has reduced considerably from a point of view of players registering and joining in here. It seems to be a common trend among the gaming sector in general, so far from exclusive to Elvenar. Thoughts were that communities moved across to social media, not least Discord as a preferred platform...so here we are.
and yes.....keep the feedback coming guys...

 

[Killiak]

It is not our intention to upset the community. Feedback is being asked for to show that the Forum is still active, that players are still joining the community as well as highlighting the incredible resource this is to us all as players.
Over the last five years the Forum has reduced considerably from a point of view of players registering and joining in here. It seems to be a common trend among the gaming sector in general, so far from exclusive to Elvenar. Thoughts were that communities moved across to social media, not least Discord as a preferred platform...so here we are.
and yes.....keep the feedback coming guys...

It may not be your intention, but that has already happened. Not to mention that the comments of the German CM make it seem that Inno's official stance is that it's already a done deal.

The feedback given is clear enough, from various forums, to my opinion. So how much more does Inno need to open their eyes, that the forum should just stay alongside Discord!?

 

[C-Nymph]

Thoughts were that communities moved across to social media, not least Discord as a preferred platform...so here we are.

Maybe Inno should stick to facts instead of thoughts then in the future... Apparently their thinking is way off...

Yes, there might have been a request for a Discord server, but that request NEVER included "please shut down the forums"

 

[OldHag]

I think the DJ here is better (That's an MC to you younger folk....lol)

 

[Anni-Lizzie]

I cannot speak for any other Community Manager, but I am very interested in how players are feeling. This is why you are all seeing a lot more of me currently. I may not always say too much as you can appreciate a CM role is not a full time one, but I am around as much as I can be for you all. It has always been a privilege to be the CM of the International community as your communication and insights are wonderful to behold.
Please keep your comments and feedback coming in, each and every one of them is being noted by myself and passed forwards as we navigate these new discord waters.

Slimaril, if you have been following all the thoughts, feelings and ideas, might you answer one part that has been bought up a few times, as best you can- if the forum is opperating as intended, supplying info to assist chapter growth, report feedback on tech, help fellows with genuine angst issues, reach out and connect to the brains trust of long time players and community managers such as yourself and get their queries answered. Then consequently the answers are so thorough and helpful, that forums guests who also come to draw in this incredible bank of knowledge, find their answers too - so don’t feel the need to sign up and post. Isn’t that the success of the forum and why then can‘t they not just count the signed up members but track guest usage as well? Surely that would change the numbers considerably?

 

[Silmaril]

We can indeed track guest usage here too, so we can see a broader picture beyond the general activity here.
Yes it does change the numbers, but also shows how little players utilise even viewing information here.
Given the Forum has been here for over eight years now, it is our least used resource. We have for the last few years been actively directing players here with our in-game news items, linking articles/announcements/information from here to support tickets to also promote the Forum even more overtly.
Numbers though have not increased, and this is across the board on all of our Forums, triggering the situation we now find ourselves in.

 

[m4rt1n]

We can indeed track guest usage here too, so we can see a broader picture beyond the general activity here.
Yes it does change the numbers, but also shows how little players utilise even viewing information here.
Given the Forum has been here for over eight years now, it is our least used resource. We have for the last few years been actively directing players here with our in-game news items, linking articles/announcements/information from here to support tickets to also promote the Forum even more overtly.
Numbers though have not increased, and this is across the board on all of our Forums, triggering the situation we now find ourselves in.

Is Discord seeing a ton of new traffic? As with any game especially one aimed at the more mature gamer many players just like to be private and rely on their fellows for information or just use the in game and wiki info. Many my age and above avoid social media entirely so not sure what Inno's aim is for a game designed for patience and the mature generation.