New expansion in September? LOL, srsly?

You all should hope he's in a good mood, you do know how little it takes to get booted from these forums, right?

Just goes to show how little of what we write, actually gets read concisely. Someone is overreacting just a wee bit, ya think? If quoting a post of a dev, and not altering or changing that post in any shape, form or fashion is against the forum rules and it's not someone just having a temper tantrum, then by all means point it out so that we may avoid this action in the future.

Perhaps because most of what gets written is not worth reading?

Its amazing the devs have been able to keep their cool this long, since EQ's community really doesn't do them any favors. If I were Elidroth, and were in a bad mood, I think the poster would have been banned, without warning, from the forums permanently and a one week suspension from game. Just because.

That would be getting off lightly actually. There is actual legal precedent about distorting someone's words, especially if they represent a developer of a product in the market place whose good name or those of their employer could be damaged by suggesting they are beholden to a position when in fact they are not. The tort of misrepresentation if anyone cares to look it up.

Anyway, considering how much of a wine and cheese fest these boards are, many people get off lightly. The devs have every right to be extremely angry with some of you but professional courtesy requires that you all get to continue unabated.

I would assume when you sign up to be a dev that has to interact with the player base you also sign up to be criticized by those players.

Usually my 'drama fix' in any mmo I play comes from the players on the boards. It's even more entertaining when the devs join in (pretty rare I might add). I will probably get belittled for this but if you think the bickering on these boards are bad, go to the general forums of Warcraft.

Which is also why a person like you will never get his job.

I don't want his job. If I had his job, I would not listen to any feedback directly from the players anyway. Someone like Piestro can filter out what is important from the garbage. I am more of a mindset that this isn't Burger King and you don't get it your way. Creative work should not be driven by a committee and that is what many people try to do around here. Somewhere along the line, some players pitched a fit and the developers saw the merit in acquiescing to the complaints. Either because there was a valid problem or they just wanted to shut people up so they can move on with life and get focused back on what needs to be done. Either way, the precedent was set that if people cry, complain, whine and gripe enough that they WILL eventually get their way. Which is sad because the game ends up more of a mess because of it. Which in turn fuels more crying, complaining, whining and griping.....

You mean like pay to play on their product? I don't mean that we pay their salaries, but if you think your customers don't do you any favors then you have no business in business and you have no business with a job.

Elidroth as I've said before on the forums has a tendency to lose his temper. It gives him a bit of character on the boards, but he isn't stupid. He knows as well as anyone that taking an attitude like yours would not do anyone any favors.

LOL, Ok so I should not be able to be professionally employed or have a business because I do not subscribe to listening to and taking action on EVERY complaint? It ever occur to you that many complaints are unreasonable and baseless? Sorting through the tripe takes time away from being able to address complaints that have actual merit. Ultimately, just because you buy a product does not grant you 100% control over its creation, production etc.

Sinestra, have you ever had to work with the public professionally? (Spoiler Alert: The Public are collectively a bunch of idiots and the only good thing about dealing with them half of the time is taking their money and then seeing them leave. If they leave happy than its a bonus.) Yes, the customer thinks they are always right, but sometimes that really gets abused. Part of having a good relationship with your customers sometimes having to tell them "No" or choose to ignore them because you don't want to be placed in a position where you can't follow through with unreasonable demands. It is better for a reputation to say "No" than say "Yes" and than bungle the execution, which might have happened with EQ from time to time. Sometimes you also have to know when to throw the customer out of your place of business and call the police. There are limits to when a customer's opinion is valued and when they need to be pointed down the road to a competitor. Granted, this is my opinion, but some of the people on these forums have to resign themselves to the fact that they will not be getting exactly what they want all the time and it is on them to live with it rather than always demand the devs step in and change things to their liking. Too many times there have been some actual cool suggestions brought up, the Devs went out of their way to execute them, and they got complaining as a reward. Would you still be motivated to provide those perks afterward? Why not be thankful the game is even around after all these years?

You dont see employees at stores and whatnot get an attitude with their customers. They'd get fired for doing it.

Interacting with the community is a courtesy, not a requirement.

I know you are a young'un , but there have been many many Devs over the past 10 years who played a vital role in development of EQ, who never once spoke to and/or listened to the community.

I actually salute the current Dev team for being so talkative with us and engaging us.
Especially Piestro, he is a forum dweller on steroids

Yes, that is why working retail is murder, since if a customer is a jackknob you just have to let them continue to be a jackknob and give them what they want, all while smiling away and earning minimum wage. It really empowers idiots in this country, to say the least. It all works if the customer is reasonable, but most of the time, they aren't. That is why the smart employees will escalate the situation to the proprietor/manager and not have to deal with it. It boils down to a bit of mutual respect. The customer seems to think commonly that they do not have to provide that mutual respect and that the burden of that is all on the business.

PS: Piestro is not a dev. He is the Public Relations guy. It is his job to engage people on the boards and filter out what is bunk from what is legit.

Yes I've spent the last 23 years working with clients and customers. I've worked at fast food, Walmart, more than one bank, a server, multiple call centers, a telemarketer, medical offices, a teacher, sales, and multiple other businesses. I know all too well what is required to work in the customer service industry, so much so that I have spent 10 of those 22 years teaching others how to do so. Your comment wasn't about listening and taking action on every complaint, it was about throwing a childish fit and getting so drunk with power that you would ban some one if you were in a Dev's position just because you didn't like his comment and you woke up angry at the world when you rolled out of bed. Here let me quote it for you...

No one distorted his words. It's been shown. He directly quoted Elidroth without any alteration, then copied the sentence and changed only that which was clearly and obviously only his own words. No armchair lawyer necessary.

I never said nor implied that every comment should be addressed and shown respect. No where. Look again. I clearly stated that the comment that a player who is a customer of a business not having done anyone any favors is so absolutely laughable it's mind boggling. You don't like ideas, especially in the gaming industry, you veto them. Elidroth does it all the time, even when done harshly I have usually defended him. You stating that because you were in a bad mood, "the poster would have been banned, without warning, from the forums permanently and a one week suspension from game. Just because." is proof enough that you do not have the ability to deal with the public.

Mafia Wars. I played it when it was new because a friend told me he'd come back to EQ if I signed up. (He didn't.) By the time the 3rd expansion of MW came it, it was monotonous. It was clear that this would become the game that never ends, so I quit it. I feel if Everquest goes to level 105, it's jumped the shark. I haven't suffered much from not getting level 100 and I might just jump off the treadmill, along with half your user base. I suggest a survey before you decide to increase level cap what with EQN coming out.

They did take a poll, and the vote was considerably in favour of more levels, apparently.

I didn't see a poll. Did you see a poll? Was this at Fan Faire? Hardly representative.

Gonna go ahead and lock this one up as it seems to have run it's course.