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Has anyone else noticed the boards cycle?

Totalis·7/16/2015, 4:32:29 PM·7 votes·1,276 views

It always starts with a BUNCH of threads complaining about balance, or features of the games, and or complaining about Riot in some shape or form. Some of these are mildly coherent, others so angry and frustrated its almost comical.

Then people get so appalled by the amount of toxicity that new threads showing up bashing the complainers and defending Riot.

In the next phase right around this time a ton of memes and jokes appear to ease the tension, completing newton's third law: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Next is the miscellaneous phase were you are liable to see anything; from memes, to some mild complaints about a champion or the game as a whole. Every now and then you'll see someone post something from surrender@20, either loving it or hating it, even though its ALWAYS LIABLE TO CHANGE. Or just about anything else people feel like talking about.

Then, frustration and anger start to build again, whether it be from a lack of promises delivered (even though its quite possible that they ARE still working on it, and it's just taking longer to implement, which is understandable), disappointing new features (chroma skins), or what the community feels are completely outrageous balance changes, and slowly but surely the complaints start piling up, and we're back in phase 1. And the cycle continues.

Oh, and insert the part where everyone complains about the new champion into the cycle whenever one is released.

6 Comments

Radnar the bold7/16/2015, 4:40:32 PM1 votes

Its sad. And the sadder part is you have to be in the right cycle to voice your opinion. If the cycle is at the hate riot part, then any part defending rito will be downvoted to oblivion. To me the players will never ever be satisfied by riot and will only complain. To me I like seeing what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. I just hate it when people just think they are a horrible company and Im like so you hate the company that gives you this free game?

Daen7/16/2015, 6:15:02 PM1 votes

This is very true, but there's one thing in particular that helps break this cycle or at least limit the magnitude of the oscillations, as it were: Riot communication.

It always starts with a BUNCH of threads complaining about balance, or features of the games, and or complaining about Riot in some shape or form. Some of these are mildly coherent, others so angry and frustrated its almost comical.

This, to me, is fine and essentially healthy communication. When it starts to verge into anger it becomes a problem, of course, but it doesn't usually immediately start as anger unless Riot does something particularly disliked (Chroma forced bundling) or without proper communication (the Boards platform organization changes).

What solves or at least heavily mitigates these problems? Communication.

Then people get so appalled by the amount of toxicity that new threads showing up bashing the complainers and defending Riot.

Arguably, the cycle should stop in the first step if communication is handled properly, but for the joy of discussion let's move forward. This is, in my mind, the least useful phase of this cycle. People end up focusing on the tone rather than the content and sort of lose focus, and it brings the platform's usage down pretty significantly.

In the next phase right around this time a ton of memes and jokes appear to ease the tension, completing newton's third law: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

True story.

Next is the miscellaneous phase were you are liable to see anything; from memes, to some mild complaints about a champion or the game as a whole. Every now and then you'll see someone post something from surrender@20, either loving it or hating it, even though its ALWAYS LIABLE TO CHANGE. Or just about anything else people feel like talking about.

This is the healthiest part of the cycle; people are generally having discussions because they are actual discussions rather than trying to prove a point.

whether it be from a lack of promises delivered

Communication

disappointing new features

Communication

what the community feels are completely outrageous balance changes

Communication

Oh, and insert the part where everyone complains about the new champion into the cycle whenever one is released.

Amusingly this is usually a roughly equal distribution of "OMG OP" and "wow this champ sucks". Lovely community we have going here. :P

SeductiveGrandpa7/17/2015, 1:34:03 AM1 votes

My problem with the S@20 phase is that, ITS LIABLE TO CHANGE, and someone goes fucking crazy on the boards thinking their favorite champion is going to be smashed into the dust, and you're just like "Its liable to change" and they respond with that GODDAMN "WELL I NEED TO INFORM THEM BY YELLING ANGRILY AND CALLING THEM ALL FUCKING STUPID AND THAT IM QUITING THE GAME UNTIL THEY REMOVE THESE NERFS"

Remlap12237/17/2015, 3:29:58 AM1 votes

HOLY DEDUCTIVE SKILLS BATMAN!

WE'VE GOT AN IRL Caitlyn!

MajorPain97/18/2015, 8:41:44 AM1 votes

The Hot page, kicking off the previous popular posts seems to have more to do with it. The third rounds seem to have MUCH fewer upvotes and seem almost forced up there (looking at you memes) because there is no controversy left in the open.

Vincent Lucius7/17/2015, 5:25:01 PM

Funny thing is that this thread is apart of the cycle. Every time the new cycle begins its life a post like this appears explaining the nature of the cycle. You are the Shepard to a new age of repetition. You have begun this new cycle and as such have continued the circle of Rito.

Whine forever, defend forever, heal eternally repeat eternally. So it has been written, so it shall be.