Could we possibly discuss a way to encourage Rioters to comment on these boards more?

Electro522·Nov 28, 2017·6 votes·2,568 views

I know it's a weird question to ask, but, I feel as if we've gotten to a point to where this needs to be a community led thing, not a Riot led thing. Some people may disagree with that, but, you can't deny that when one of the top voted threads on the boards is a God damned meme of someone comparing Riot to EA, it makes the people over at Riot afraid to comment on anything. Can you really blame them for that?

Some of you might say "Well, some of us get on these boards every day, and we have no problem dealing with the toxicity. Why hold Riot's hand?". To that, I'd say, it's because all of this toxicity isn't aimed at you. Try and imagine being a Rioter, with all of this crap going around. Would you honestly want to try and defend yourself on a thread saying that Riot is the same as EA? Or, would you just stay quiet, since it's easier for everyone?

Anyway...maybe if we could give them a little discrepancy, it could go a long way. Maybe either remove the Red Tracker out right, or possibly give them the option to not post as a Red. I know that they can already do this with a different account, but, it would just make things easier, would it not?

I don't know. i would love to see more Rioters on here, but I honestly can't blame them for staying quiet, so, I'd like to figure out something as a community in order to entice them to get on here more.

13 Comments

HalcyonDwellerNov 28, 20173 votes

A big part of it would be reducing the hostility here. A lot of players on the boards are upset - some rightly so - about changes to the game... however, this is not productive towards getting Rioters to comment, as they are often met with rude comments and insults by such players whenever they show their faces here.

IMO the best thing you can do towards this goal would be to (when you witness it) encourage such players to be kinder to Rioters. It helps to remind them that their concerns are more likely to be listened to if they don't sprinkle them with unnecessary hatred and insults.

Dokueki KenshinNov 28, 20172 votes

Pretty much this. We’ve had moderators straight up tell us that Rioters almost dread coming onto the boards sometimes because of negative, toxic, and downright depressing the environment can be. And this is gonna sound kinda bad or really divisive, but I gotta say it:

I feel that part of the toxicity is because a large number of people on the boards have lost perspective.

I’m not going to pretend that I’ve approved of every decision Riot’s made. I, for one, will always and forever consider Fizz to be a toxic champion until they severely nerf his Tidal/Trickster. Untargetability that also does damage on any character for a non-ultimate ability is just not okay in my eyes at all.

But I’ve also never forgotten that Riot Games has worked tooth and nail to make the most popular game in the world. I never forget that League literally changed the face of professional gaming. I never forget that they turn out new content on a regular basis for the sake of trying to please their player base. And I never forget that they do all of this as a free to play game. There is no $60 paywall. There is no monthly subscription service. Despite whatever controversies have arisen during the years, they have created a sustainable game and community solely through cosmetic products, not by forcing players to buy champions with real money.

I feel that some people on the boards have forgotten that. And I feel that it has caused them to start developing feelings of entitlement. Everything in League must conform to the perfect and unrealistic picture in their heads, and whenever it doesn’t, even for good reason, they cry treason against the player.

People have to be able to admit that they’re wrong, on both sides, for there to be progress, and those elements on the boards aren’t willing to do so. The refusal to do so powers more misplaced anger and rage than a Red Lantern’s power ring, and Riot employees have no need to be, and no right to be, exposed to that vitriol.

HalcyonDwellerNov 28, 20171 votes

I concur. Well said amigo.

oOBestEveNAOoNov 29, 20171 votes

[{quoted}](name=Dokueki Kenshin,realm=NA,application-id=6heBIhQc,discussion-id=3yVe0mHz,comment-id=00010000,timestamp=2017-11-28T23:25:28.460+0000)

The refusal to do so powers more misplaced anger and rage than a Red Lantern’s power ring, and Riot employees have no need to be, and no right to be, exposed to that vitriol.

The Opeli incident of 2014.

ModThe DjinnNov 28, 20172 votes

Being friendly, welcoming, and respectful to Rioters (and every other community member).
Giving them the benefit of the doubt -- they ARE trying to make the game experience better.
Reducing anger and group-think in general -- having actual discussions rather than ranting at each other.

oOBestEveNAOoNov 28, 20171 votes

[{quoted}](name=The Djinn,realm=NA,application-id=6heBIhQc,discussion-id=3yVe0mHz,comment-id=0002,timestamp=2017-11-28T22:41:02.075+0000)

Being friendly, welcoming, and respectful to Rioters (and every other community member).

The key.

Giving them the benefit of the doubt -- they ARE trying to make the game experience better.

Reducing anger and group-think in general -- having actual discussions rather than ranting at each other.

I must hold the record for Rioter participation in very "non benefit of the doubt threads". Probably cuz the first bullet means that much.

ModEvangeleNov 29, 20172 votes

Nami Yes! As was mentioned by a lot of our team already, friendly welcoming responses to Rioters make for a nice environment for them to come and engage in! That isn't to say you cannot disagree with or even challenge Rioters, but when doing so it needs to be respectful!

I would also encourage as another avenue to have more interaction from those in the Red capes, is to post insightful, well thought out and descriptive threads relating to whatever content you are passionate about! Seeing this type of content presented in a way that is engaging will (in my belief) drag those red names to your threads. :)

Electro522Nov 29, 20172 votes

And I do this.....all the time. I'm of the minority that supports and backs Riot through and through on these boards.

I would make insightful, well thought out posts all the time, if it wasn't for the fact that they get bogged down by non-insightful, poorly thought out posts that are nothing more than some person raging.

ModEvangeleNov 29, 20171 votes

[{quoted}](name=Paleo Electro,realm=NA,application-id=6heBIhQc,discussion-id=3yVe0mHz,comment-id=00050000,timestamp=2017-11-29T02:05:36.332+0000)

And I do this.....all the time. I'm of the minority that supports and backs Riot through and through on these boards.

I would make insightful, well thought out posts all the time, if it wasn't for the fact that they get bogged down by non-insightful, poorly thought out posts that are nothing more than some person raging.

Nami It's great that you post these types of conversations! Sometimes others are not as.....insightful as we hope they will be but really we can only control a couple of things....how we act and how we react. Best thing to do is to offer those who are not communicating effectively, a chance to do just that, engaging them with questions and looking for what they are trying to say through words that are perhaps....not quite what we were looking for. However, as usual, if those people are being antagonistic or harassing you, then report to the Moderators and move on :)

Continue doing what youre doing with the posts! More people contributing in positive ways is the best way we can make the Boards an excellent environment for not just Rioters, but other posters as well!

ChermorgNov 29, 20172 votes

One thing I'll add to what the Heralds (names in purple) have previously said:

If I worked for a company where it wasn't a requirement to interact with players, I would interact with them if I could, well, interact. And interacting doesn't just mean coming here and replying to one post and done is done. Interacting may mean a long comment thread with 5 replies from two people. It may mean a thread, 4 reply-threads, etc..

When players constantly bog Rioters down with unrelated or useless comments that are in reply to their posts, it makes it really hard for them to interact. I don't know if this is a reason they avoid the boards, but I suspect it must be. I see a Rioter come and comment and they get a ton of replies such as "why skin not out" or "fix BE". Tantram, the Player Behavior Rioter who most frequently posts has nothing to do with skins or BE. People asking him about those repeatedly does nothing but a) make him look at the notifications [or avoid them altogether], and b) waste time finding replies that he may wish to discuss further.

I use Tantram as an example, but I see this with almost every Rioter on the boards - people don't stay on topic. They see "OOH RED POST" and think it's their key to Life, Liberty, and Happiness. I'm not sure if we really should moderate those threads/posts "harder" or stricter, because it's important that players don't feel they can't reply to Rioters. That being said, I do think it helps if those of us/you with legitimate replies make sure to make them worth the read for the Rioter. Remember that most of them (save a couple) aren't required to ever look at the boards/reddit/off-site things. It's highly encouraged, but not required.

Let's make them feel welcome and give them a good chance to have legitimate discussions with us :)

oOBestEveNAOoNov 28, 20171 votes

It would be nice to have more reds interact here.

But its kind of a personal choice what social media platforms a person wants to use to belong to part of a community. Some people pick reddit, some pick the boards, some pick twitter, some pick all of the above and then some.

Sure, some of the hate mongering here could be a turn off, but there's plenty of playful and fun interaction with Rioters on the boards over the years as well from custom matches to board contests to in depth balance posts.

We'd all like more Reds to be part of the boards community, but I don't think we want to force them as that would be counterproductive if they don't want to come here to participate with us and we make it a chore.

What kind of stuff did you have in mind to entice Rioters to participate here more often?