A place for everything

[Sapience]

With the recent increase in forum posting and activity, this seems like the perfect time to explain why we have more than one forum. Each group is responsible for a specific area of the game. For example Account Support deals with account and store issues. Tech Support deals with player technical issues, and the game team has specific areas they look to for feedback. Posting in the correct area is the best way to ensure you get the right eyes on your issue.

Here’s an example. You post an Account Support question in the General forums. It’s going to get a lot of player attention. However, you’re probably not going to get timely assistance from the accounts team. That team is monitoring their forums and responding to those posts on a very regular basis. They usually don’t spend a lot of time hunting down issues in other forums. It would take them away from actually addressing issues posted in the correct place. You’ll speed up both the response time, and the likelihood of a reply, dramatically if you simply start out posting in the right forum (regardless of your issue).

If your post just doesn't seem to fit anywhere else, then by all means drop it in the general forums.

The community team tries very hard to keep up on the flow of misplaced threads and move them to the correct area so they can be seen and so you can receive assistance as quickly as possible. When we move your support questions to a support forum, we're not moving it 'where no one looks', we're moving it where the people who can actually help you look.

So the next time you make a post, make sure you’re posting in the right area and if your post suddenly turns up missing, it’s probably just been moved there for you.

[bigboobaddy]

Received and understood.

BTW thanks for moving my thread that was in the wrong place yesterday :-(

[coot]

Yes but....

Having so many separate forums for stuff that would fit in general if it wasn't controversial in some way is kind of a hassle.

If you are interested in what everyone is concerned about (just reading) you really don't want to have to look to see if there is some obscure special subsection where general gameplay stuff has been transferred...like to legendary or classes or suggestions or crafting or skirmishes or store or quests or instances or FTP or monster play......more often, transferring from general kills a thread which I suspect is often the actual purpose of many transfers.

[Arbalister]

Yes but....

Having so many separate forums for stuff that would fit in general if it wasn't controversial in some way is kind of a hassle.

If you are interested in what everyone is concerned about (just reading) you really don't want to have to look to see if there is some obscure special subsection where general gameplay stuff has been transferred...like to legendary or classes or suggestions or crafting or skirmishes or store or quests or instances or FTP or monster play......more often, transferring from general kills a thread which I suspect is often the actual purpose of many transfers.

Yes but...

Posting in the right forums is going to get you the response you need from the team that can fix your problem. Controversial has nothing to do with it. Posting a rant about how you're being ripped off by billing in the General forums WILL NOT get your problem fixed. Posting it in Account Support will. The only reason people post those things in General is in the mistaken belief that getting the community to express their outrage at Turbine's mistreatment of them might actually have some bearing on getting their problem resolved. It doesn't. It just makes it take longer.

[Zunai]

I was wondering where we should report game bugs when we can't get the /bug to work in game. I can find a forum for Lotro Player Portal bugs, but not for game bugs. Perhaps I overlooked it somehow, but I didn't see one. Or do all bugs just go in that one forum?

[Sapience]

I was wondering where we should report game bugs when we can't get the /bug to work in game. I can find a forum for Lotro Player Portal bugs, but not for game bugs. Perhaps I overlooked it somehow, but I didn't see one. Or do all bugs just go in that one forum?

You can use this form. http://forums.lotro.com/new_bug.php?

[Armedeus]

Minimum collateral damage.
It's called damage control.
You dont want everybody to see the magnitude of unhappy campers.
Same old same old.
I've been in the gamming communities since games have been discussed on line.

It's all good tho, isnt that why you patrol the forums...same as I do on several others ?

;-)

[TopcatNZ]

Rats, for a while there I thought Sapience was saying there was a forum for everything, and I went looking for the account support forum, in the hopes that I might find other poor souls like myself who never get the courtesy of a reply to the messages we send to the accounts lack of support team.

At least then we could have the solace of talking amongst ourselves, in the vain hope that somebody was actually reading our missives, whilst we wait, and wait, and wait, for the account support person to actually fix our problems.

[ArcticAurora]

Yes but...

Posting in the right forums is going to get you the response you need from the team that can fix your problem. Controversial has nothing to do with it. Posting a rant about how you're being ripped off by billing in the General forums WILL NOT get your problem fixed. Posting it in Account Support will. The only reason people post those things in General is in the mistaken belief that getting the community to express their outrage at Turbine's mistreatment of them might actually have some bearing on getting their problem resolved. It doesn't. It just makes it take longer.

That's such an unbelievably fanboyish thing to say. First off, yes - in general, posting where it belongs helps keep a clean and tidy atmosphere. It's also great because it minimizes bad PR caused from things like issues with GMs, frustrations with billing, etc. I'm well aware of dealing with large online communities and running them. It's very easy for everyone just to go to the GenDisc. forum and hit post. Many will do that because they don't want to bother finding the right place. But others do it intentionally to draw attention to something. And sometimes Turbine doesn't want that attention because it's simply bad PR. So does that mean everything goes in GenDisc? Of course not. Does that mean every single thread that isn't convenient, and could be routed off to some quiet corner of the forums do die, should be? IMO, no. If a thread captures the feeling of a significant portion of the community, I believe Turbine would/should have some reaction, even if it's internal. Saying that everything that's posted 'wrongly' in GenDisc will delay and not help a resolution is a biased and flawed reality. If something has merit, it has merit. I'm not against the general policy. I'm against it's rigid enforcement on instances where there are legit 'beefs' players have with real problems.

AND... Posting in the right forum does not in any way guarantee a solution by blue names. That statement saying posting in the right location 'will' get a response is nonsense. Posting a thread in account support can be a complete waste of time. It may net nothing. You're thread may very well die unanswered, unheard, and unnoticed (read: perception - of course they might read it, but a lack of reply basically equates to 'unnoticed'). It, at best, only increases the chance of it slightly.

Turbine seems rather eager to shunt inconvenient threads to quiet corners. I've had and seen my share of them.

[Arbalister]

Rats, for a while there I thought Sapience was saying there was a forum for everything, and I went looking for the account support forum, in the hopes that I might find other poor souls like myself who never get the courtesy of a reply to the messages we send to the accounts lack of support team.

At least then we could have the solace of talking amongst ourselves, in the vain hope that somebody was actually reading our missives, whilst we wait, and wait, and wait, for the account support person to actually fix our problems.

You mean like this one:

http://forums.lotro.com/forumdisplay...port-Questions

:-)

[Arbalister]

That's such an unbelievably fanboyish thing to say.

Sorry. Didn't read past there. It's been my observation, over many years, that anyone that uses that as the basis of an argument doesn't have the imagination necessary for interesting discussion.

"Fanboy" is an instant "you lose" card.

[VPQRDE]

Turbine seems rather eager to shunt inconvenient threads to quiet corners. I've had and seen my share of them.

They will keep something if they actually want to see a discussion. If they don't, it will be more likely to go.

That's such an unbelievably fanboyish thing to say.

I love how fanboys inevitably betray how much they really do think they are more civilized than you.

I go to fewer forums now and read less pages because they all take longer to load. :/ Bringing up this response page in my browser took what seemed like 30 seconds. I bring up dev tracker and general, and occasionally suggestions and off-topic, and that's all I want to take the time to read.

[ArcticAurora]

Sorry. Didn't read past there. It's been my observation, over many years, that anyone that uses that as the basis of an argument doesn't have the imagination necessary for interesting discussion.

"Fanboy" is an instant "you lose" card.

Would you rather I spruced up and reworded that phrase, as to convey the same desired intent, yet somehow sanitize it in a bath of diplomatic flowery? The net effect is here you're towing the PR line hook and sinker, and rather embarrassingly gushy in your statements that posting where things categorically belong WILL guarantee an answer. I quite suspect the reason you posted your reply as such is because you'll play the 'My feelings were hurt' card rather than address why you can somehow attest and certify that Turbine will respond to all issues with directed properly. So let's try this again - Let's say instead of 'fanboy' that I said this: "That's such a biased statement housed within an unnatural and loose connection with reality." It's not that I sought to automatically reject your reply; rather I sought to simplify and sum-up a comment as to not needlessly lengthen a post. I'm truly sorry you don't like reading what contradicts your reality.

They will keep something if they actually want to see a discussion. If they don't, it will be more likely to go.

Right, and I simply hope that level of common sense is maintained. Problem is the view of a customer can differ than a view from Turbine. I'd simply like to see a few more err's in our favour. You will concede that threads complaining about GMs, billing, etc do not make for good PR, especially around such a time as a Free to Play launch. It's best keeping that stuff out of the commonly viewed forums (for both categorical and PR ends).

[Mirthgar]

To clarify at least from a tech issue standpoint, if you're having an issue with the game that requires technical based help/responses the best spot for it is the Technical Support forum thread since not only do I and others peruse there helping where we can you get views from tech-savy players and often get a reply sooner(tm)

The Customer Support threads are not quiet "backwater" forums areas, quite the contrary they are very active segments of the overall forums.

Posting appropriately isn't about "PR" it's about getting a response quicker and from the appropriate segment of the population both moderators and other players.

My sig also has other good useful links as well.

EDIT: Regarding my sig (I know this will come up ), the section about CS forums being "best" is in regards to Customer Support team responses, we don't always reply to every post (most usually get replies and help from other players before we can) so I have that there as a reminder so that if you're not getting a response that is helping or tried everything suggested and it's not working that you should definitely contact the appropriate team directly.

(*Wonders if this qualifies him for the "Sapience's Minions" forums tag yet* )

[Victorie]

Hello General Discussion!

<looks around the "room"> Nice place you have here. I do have to say, I almost never come here. Sapience is right. (He likes it when I say that. Though I should probably start asking for some sort of bribe. <cue evil laugh>)

Some of you may know me from the Beta forums, or more likely the Account Management forums. Yes, I am the resident Account/Points & Store/Premium Service "guru". And while I don't answer EVERY question posted in the Account Management forum, I do try to answer most of the questions. We have some very helpful, knowledgeable players who often beat me to the punch, and if they have provided the right information, I don't generally chime in.

I encourage you to check out the Account Management forum. Gaze in wonder at the sticky posts. See how many responses I have, and how many posts have responses.

I do admit that we can't answer account specific questions. However, I'm happy to refer you to the correct department, and can often provide a couple of "most common reasons" which may even help you help yourself.

If you're not sure where to post, please also feel free to check out this sticky, which provides information about who to contact (and how) for assistance. Contact options for all of the departments can be found in my signature.

Happy posting!
Victorie

[cipher_nemo]

Throughout my years on these forums, I've learned that if I want a response from a Turbine dev/rep/mod, I will make posts in the appropriate forum/sub-forum. However, if I want the widest response from the community as a whole (ie: subscribers, players, et al), I will post in the General Discussion forum.

It's just human nature. And considering how many forums we have within the entirety of the LOTRO forums, specifically 76 forums on "Forum List" with 7 more 'links', who can blame our community? We can ask to post in the appropriate forum all we want, but the majority of the posts are going to go into General Discussion because the number of forums as it stands right now is overwhelming.

While Turbine employees might have special software to organize and read the forums better, we're all stuck with this unwieldy, scroll-monster interface through our browsers.

[Mirthgar]

Throughout my years on these forums, I've learned that if I want a response from a Turbine dev/rep/mod, I will make posts in the appropriate forum/sub-forum. However, if I want the widest response from the community as a whole (ie: subscribers, players, et al), I will post in the General Discussion forum.

It's just human nature. And considering how many forums we have within the entirety of the LOTRO forums, specifically 76 forums on "Forum List" with 7 more 'links', who can blame our community? We can ask to post in the appropriate forum all we want, but the majority of the posts are going to go into General Discussion because the number of forums as it stands right now is overwhelming.

While Turbine employees might have special software to organize and read the forums better, we're all stuck with this unwieldy, scroll-monster interface through our browsers.

Just wanted to chime in with this, there is a new feature with the new forums layout where you can "collapse" the topic sections now. (look for this icon on the main forums list) and it does come in handy, (if you have "cookies" enabled I believe it stays per browsing session as well)

Also the "Forums" jump outs (hover over the "Forums" tab up above) do help with navigation as well somewhat.

If you're like me (speaking as an "any forum" user in general here) I like to "bookmark" the most visited sections I go to as well.

Just wanted to get the info about the collapse option out there since you made a very valid point of there being somewhat of a topic overload (but this is true in almost every forum you visit unless its incredibly new and there aren't that many topics created yet)

[cipher_nemo]

Just wanted to chime in with this, there is a new feature with the new forums layout where you can "collapse" the topic sections now. (look for this icon on the main forums list) and it does come in handy, (if you have "cookies" enabled I believe it stays per browsing session as well)

(...)

Just wanted to get the info about the collapse option out there since you made a very valid point of there being somewhat of a topic overload (but this is true in almost every forum you visit unless its incredibly new and there aren't that many topics created yet)

Thanks, that's a helpful suggestion. It does help me remove those I'd rather not see such as the Race, Class, and Server sections, which are also quite long. I'm still unable to collapse the "Monster Play" section and the section immediately following it, even though those two are very small.

As for bookmarks, I prefer one for each community in which I participate. I have mine set to the user control panel for subscribed threads, settings, etc. I only go back to the forum list when my subscribed threads are showing little activity or when I want the latest community news/happenings. If I had multiple bookmarks per community site, I'd have thousands instead of hundreds.

In general I think the forum categorization is too specific. For example, the Gameplay section has different forums for Crafting, Housing, Deeds/Traits/Titles, and several more. Housing only had 84 threads, while big debates about it (ie: Foreclose debate) have many more responses in an even shorter time over at the General Discussion forum. If the same debate was started in Housing, I can guarantee it wouldn't get the same readership as it did in the General Discussion forum.

On that note, I really appreciate you Turbine reps leaving this thread open for discussion within the community. If it was anywhere else (ie: SWTOR, WoW, STO, EVE, etc. forums) the reps wouldn't even let community members reply.

[Victorie]

Throughout my years on these forums, I've learned that if I want a response from a Turbine dev/rep/mod, I will make posts in the appropriate forum/sub-forum. However, if I want the widest response from the community as a whole (ie: subscribers, players, et al), I will post in the General Discussion forum.
...

I would say that is a very good way of looking at what your goals/expectations are with a post.

[ArcticAurora]

Yup, and sometimes when something goes 'wrong' - and you're likely sure that a GM won't be able to help, and that it's not an Account Support issue, sometimes a person just wants a little /support from other players. That goes to the General Discussion forum, as that's the intention of it. Seeing those kind of threads moved is what I take exception to. No, it's not strictly 'PR' - but that's a component if one's being honest. A /rant thread likely won't be publicly addressed, as it's involving a specific account. Seen it happen.

[TopcatNZ]

You mean like this one:

http://forums.lotro.com/forumdisplay...port-Questions

:-)

Okay thanks, I admit I was in error, there is a place to talk about account problems. In fact I finally resolved the issue by phoning Turbine (International Toll Call), and I must admit the person who answered and helped me was the best help desk person I have come across. Sorry I didn't catch his name, but your phone support personnel are ok in my book. Thanks Turbine