Rioter grrrlee here. I have only recently started to lurk these boards, and I can't but find it a little disheartening that so many people seem to believe we do not care about players. I have to keep reminding myself that these Boards are not the most accurate representation of the player base. (◞‸◟；)
As a part of this company, I have never felt that it has focused on anything other than Players [that means you and me]. In fact, it's the only thing in our mission statement, and a huge part of our manifesto [ see: http://www.riotgames.com/riot-manifesto ]. People here really do aspire to be player-focused, as much as we are able. We are gamers; we play LoL often and can feel the player pain as much as the rest of you. I've been a part of companies that are driven solely by marketing -- bombarding customers with annoying promotional/sale emails, selling information to all bidders, scheming on how to milk every penny. I left my last job to come to Riot because this attitude didn't sit well with me, and I could see how it was affecting our customers. I have not once seen a major focus on eCommerce or marketing, and that is one of the things that I appreciate most about working here.
If you don't believe that we are focusing on certain issues that really matter to you, you may be right. But it's prolly because there are so many other issues jumping up all over the place. The things we choose to work on, and what we ultimately end up doing, is determined by a mixture of research, data, player feedback, and our own instincts/emotions as gamers ourselves. We cannot possibly make everyone happy about everything all at the same time, but I honestly feel that this company is approaching things as correctly as possible.
More on topic with OP: decimatetheweak, if you have documented your research, I would love to see it and even possibly share it with others here at Riot. Toxicity is something we are striving to battle better all the time, and maybe your work can help us improve. I appreciate your passion for this issue!
