To the EI Interactive Management and Horizons Team:
I am disturbed by the direction EI Interactive (EI from here on) has taken with respect to its community relations and dedication to Horizons. EI has been in control for a little over two weeks and has done nothing to earn the trust of the player community but has made leaps and bounds to alienate it.
In case they may have been overlooked or ignored, allow me to enumerate my grievances.
First, a lack of attention to the community. This is an ongoing issue which has existed since the day of transfer. Players have been asking questions but getting little response. Some of them in game, some on IRC, but there was a growing list of questions in the community forum – many were those concerned about their future in Horizons. To this day, there remains a thread of unanswered questions. No response like “We'll get to these in a few days� or “We can't answer that yet.� or even “Ya know, we don't know!� -- not a peep. Responses provided by DANU in IRC have been less than encouraging as they have raised additional worries while failing to allay the concern that brought up the initial question.
Second, a demonstrated lack of concern for the community. At the start of August, a replacement billing system was put into place. This billing system resulted in players sending their personal and financial data over an insecure connection to an insecure repository. Concerns for the security of this implementation were send to EI and either downplayed or flat out ignored. This system remained in place for the majority of the day, exposing an unknown amount of personal information which included credit card numbers, expiration dates, and CVV2 codes. No action was taken until the players became aware of the ramifications of using this system and began to complain loudly. This went on throughout the week, with the system's last vestiges (still gathering and exposing personal data) being removed four days later.
Third, attacking and trying to limit the communication within the community. Our IRC channel was prepared for a state of “lock down� -- traditionally voice was given to frequent members as a courtesy and used in the event the channel was moderated due to people coming in and disrupting chat. This was quietly removed one afternoon and everyone de-voiced. Somehow, we became the bad guys. The final blow came with the full moderation of the community forums and removal of the Rants and Goodbyes forum. The message being sent from EI is clear: “We don't want anyone to see or hear anything we don't like.�
Fourth, lurking. I see forum accounts from EI logged in periodically but no posts from them. I see people posting in the forum who seem like they are affiliated with EI (based on their knowledge of the company and goings-on) but do not outright state it. I hear DANU complaining about forum trolls, but hardly see him post. Trying to hide your presence from the people you are trying to gain the trust of is counterproductive.
Sure, EI may have been dealt a bad hand in the sale. That is excusable. The way EI handled the community after the sale is not. The long bouts of silence, downplaying of concerns, lack of timely reply, and cover-up attempts have no excuse. There was no shortage of qualified people willing to help.
What of the “attacks� and “bashing� from certain members of the community? I will concede that some of it was unwarranted. However, there were legitimate concerns brought up and very specific criticism given. Ironically these points -- the most important and well formulated ones, were ignored in favor of replying to those that seemed less thought out. EI has had every chance to open a dialog with the Horizons community and so far has passed those chances up. If anyone wonders why people attack EI, it is because their poor handling of community relations encouraged it.
In the last letter I wrote, I gave some rather direct clues about how to improve the relationship with the community. It does not look like they have even been considered. Become more visible, chat, act naturally... that isn't happening, I don't see it. EI representatives continue to be sporadic and brief in their appearance and their forum presence is next to nothing.
It looks like the community is being treated as a problem to be dealt with, like a memory leak in the client or a buggy quest. This is the wrong approach, and if EI wishes to salvage their relationship, this behavior must be changed immediately. If there is not a member of the EI team who has the “people skills�, time and patience necessary to act as an envoy between the developers and player community, find one, hire one, do something – more sooner than later.
Horizons is very much a community-supported game. We tell our friends about Horizons and advertise it. We help new players get started. We provide the atmosphere which makes trial players convert to a subscription. We try to talk our friends out of quitting. We talk to each other and come up with ideas which could improve the game. We fill in for the shortcomings of the development team.
This community is full of people from all walks of life, each with their own talent, experience and wisdom to offer. Most are willing to put in an effort if it betters the game and community. These are the people you want to help your team. They are the ones you want to be happy. They contribute to the positive experience in-game and generally command the attention if not respect of those around them. They can think past their own greed, pride and desires. If you gain their trust and respect, they will help you, look out for you, and they will stand up for you. If you continue down this path of censorship and conflict with the community at large, you will alienate the ones you need the most.
I urge those of you making these decisions at EI to rethink your community approach. Swallow your pride and own up to your mistakes. Reverse the moderation and censorship. Get more contact with us. Stop treating the community as an adversary and start looking at it as a resource. Look at your critics carefully. The well-spoken ones may be your best chance for success.
A copy of this letter will be sent to a number of @eiinteractive.com addresses (all the ones I can find). I encourage a well-thought response to either my personal mailbox, a private message to my account on the Istaria community forums, or directly in the forum itself, should this get past the moderation queue.
This is an open letter to initiate an open dialog. I intend to make it, as well as your response (or lack of) available to the community. Please keep this in mind when writing. In other words, if I get a response, it will not be kept confidential.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you will take the time to respond as well.
--Steelclaw
(Yes, I have a real name, but that is not for public knowledge. I may give it to you if contact me outside of this dialog.)