Maudlin Thoughts at the End of Days

I’m sure there are going to be a bunch of questions and more than a few accusations, so let’s start with, yes, we’ve known this was coming for a while now. It has been painful to watch them dismantle the Boards and not being able to say anything - NDA’s and all, don’t ya know.

And, no, this doesn’t have anything to do with the Volunteer Moderation Program. Riot has been very clear about that, at least with us. So why are they nuking the Boards?

I’ve been saying for several years now that Riot has never had a consistent vision for what the Boards are supposed to be.

• Do new players come here to learn? No. Much better information can be found elsewhere and the community tends to treat newcomers… let’s just say badly.
• Are the Boards a source of quality feedback? You must be kidding. Go take a look at Gameplay.
• Is there a vibrant, welcoming community? Also no.

There is also the metric fuckton of batshit crazy. I still can’t go into details, but there have been lawsuits and restraining orders. I had to learn an entirely new level of computer security. There were also the hyper-obsessive people who were just absolutely locked into the idea they had the inside track on how the world works and proceeded to tell us all how much we suck. It’s one of life’s great constants that most people will demand you do things to their satisfaction rather than make it happen themselves. Some days, Dunning-Kruger feels as inescapable as gravity.

My feeling is that someone at Riot finally asked what they were getting for their time and money invested in the Boards and came to the logical answer: not a damned thing. They can use Reddit and Twitter to connect with the player base. Other people will moderate and maintain those platforms at no cost to Riot. Given how poorly the Boards software was programmed, it would cost tons for Riot to create a viable replacement. Given that, this is the logical decision.

To be honest, I’m glad and relieved this is how the Boards end. I don’t think most of you have any idea just how relentlessly toxic and infantile people have decided to be. We signed on to this program hoping to make a difference and were basically told, “nah, I want to be the worst possible version of myself” by all too many people.

It’s sad, too. I’m part of other online communities that have managed to make moderation work. You know what the key is? Strict moderation. Even stricter than anything we ever considered. There is a deep-seated rot in Boards culture and nothing we could do would have changed it at all. You can know you're tilting at windmills because that's who you are. That doesn't make the futility sting any less.

During these last few days, I encourage you to take a long, last look. This is who you are.