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Is publicly available summoner data bad for the community?

VaIse·9/20/2013, 1:40:27 AM·7 votes·855 views

There was a thread on reddit about more data being tracked for normal games. I wasn't keen on the idea because I think it compromises the intended casual environment of Normal games.

But then I expanded on that thought...is it healthy for the community to have all this match data, even ranked data, publicly accessible? We've all seen stories (or have experienced it ourselves) of being judgmental because of them, such as teammates losing faith in you because you have few games or a low win rate with a certain champion (which makes it difficult to want to improve on new champions). People can even use lolnexus to look-up each other's masteries/runepages prior to the start of a match and can itemize accordingly. Granted, everyone has the same advantage/disadvantage, but it still seems to cause a lot of poor behavior. Could players perhaps have the option to not publicize their stats?

5 Comments

Captain Alejo9/20/2013, 12:55:25 PM2 votes

I've had mixed feelings about this for a long time. I generally side with this having a positive impact on the community overall, but there are edge cases where I find these tools have a negative impact on gameplay experience.

As you mentioned, these tools can be used to pull a little extra information on your opponents. In a ranked setting I don't feel this is a critical issue. The statistics only give you a small glimpse to the potential of your opponent.

I am not familiar with any tool that allows you see comprehensive statistics of your opponents prior to a match starting. I do know of tools that provide this information after the game has started, which doesn't bother me much.

The problem I have pertains more to the preservation of a casual atmosphere. I have come across a number of players who rely solely on this data to determine whether or not they will win a game. They go so far as to go "oh, I don't have to worry about this lane. this guy is only silver". I find this incredibly ignorant and negative.

This problem isn't inherently tied to the exposure of this data, just some of the ways people use it.

PriorityOne9/20/2013, 5:33:39 PM1 votes

"We've all seen stories of being judgmental because of them, such as teammates losing faith in you because you have few games or a low win rate with a certain champion"

  • If people are inclined to act immaturely then they'll find an excuse to do so. If not stats then something else. The problem isn't the availability of data but the attitude of those players.

"People can even use lolnexus to look-up each other's masteries/runepages prior to the start of a match and can itemize accordingly."

  • This is a good thing. Most skilled players will be doing this as soon as you step into lane. "Oh, he's running armor yellows" or the like. If the average player can look it up and use that knowledge then that actually levels the playing field against more skill opponents.

"Could players perhaps have the option to not publicize their stats?"

  • You should be getting used to having and enemies having more data, not less. Coming into each game with a better understanding of the game, your lane, and your opponent is a step up. It's like wanting to use a horse-drawn carriage instead of a car. Progress is scary and almost never entirely beneficial, but still good for everyone as a whole.
Claybo9/20/2013, 8:49:39 PM1 votes

Statistics are available for all sports at all levels. My inner nerd loves them.