Should General Chat be removed?

Unread post Sun Aug 09, 2015 9:11 pm

Hiya folks. Over the last 10 months this topic has come up once or twice. Here lately I personally have been a bit disturbed and at a loss for some of the conversations in General Chat. While I understand it could be a great helper for new players looking for information, it has also become an anything goes playground for those without filters and proper constraint.

So the question posed is should we remove general chat?

As in all official polls please stay on topic, be respectful of all others and don't get carried away. Don't argue with other community members and try to limit your responses to one if possible. Off topic comments will be deleted. The voting will be in place for two weeks. At the end of that period staff take your votes and responses. We take the votes into consideration, however ultimately we will decide what is best for the server. If we decide to pull General Chat it will take place swiftly after voting concludes.

Ramsus32 · Unread post Sun Aug 09, 2015 9:18 pm

I don't believe so. If it really bothers anybody they can remove it themselves. I personally haven't had any issues with it. If I see people being dumb, I just go to a different tab for a few minutes.

JohnFromSteam · Unread post Sun Aug 09, 2015 9:21 pm

Would be interesting using spatial again

tarnwar · Unread post Sun Aug 09, 2015 9:25 pm

Without General chat I feel the game would get very lonely, this would inturn force players to use planet chat or guild chats. But if you're on Dathomir and there is only 2 or 3 people there, (as grinding my Jedi on Dathomir I saw maybe 10-12 people over the course most of my grind., and didn't like or want to talk to some of those) Or even worse a planet like Yavin/Endor/Lok

This also will hurt new players coming into the game looking for help as a lot of the helpful players wont be on Tatooine where we are FORCED to start at.

Just today someone was new and came to general chat asking for help because the things outside Espa were tough, I pointed them to Corellia Coronet and mentioned the buff terminals near starports and tipped them some credits to get their first set of buffs from it while they ground meatlumps. Without General chat they could have been there hours dying to things and just gave up for the day.

While there are a few bad apples, Maybe better and harsher enforcement of rules on general chat will keep things better. A Few times of being frozen for 30mins about a sexual comment or vulgar language General chat wouldn't look so bad at times.

From the Rules:

7) Do not use the in game chat system to post obscene, drug related, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening, racial, or sexually-orientated messages.

Make it first time someone breaks that rule a warning is shot, second time they are muted for 30mins.

Larce · Unread post Sun Aug 09, 2015 9:25 pm

I voted No.

It's a fantastic tool for the community. Newbies, questions, sales, you name it happen in this chat. The ability to get to talk to one another is fantastic as well.

As for the one negative....

If we have ass clowns like ex-NoM members show up to try and troll people, the community and CSRs can take them out back for an beating.

QuorTek · Unread post Sun Aug 09, 2015 9:45 pm

I voted no, there is no reason to redo sony's mistakes, but again with SoE you could make custom channels though which you cannot on awakening, that was actually quite usefull, so untill then absolutely no, it would be the death to the game, yes we might have the biggest or best population of all the EMU servers... but there is a gigantic leap in difference from the extreme population we had back in live still on all times that is, it would or could sort of work IF there would be 2000 or more active and often users on the server (not forum count) though pr something alike that, especially if can make custom channels by one self, this or that community... and people would by then create their own general chat they can moderate without CSRs having to interfere... eg. ban this or that troll from it.

Treiyou · Unread post Sun Aug 09, 2015 9:49 pm

No don't remove

DarkLordIce · Unread post Sun Aug 09, 2015 10:16 pm

I like genchat and being able to talk with folks while I craft or do other things.
Might be useful to be able restrict disruptive people from using the channel for X amount of time, depending on how serious/often their poor trolling attempts crop up.

Which I realize means more work on the CSR staff :/

Ateth · Unread post Sun Aug 09, 2015 10:35 pm

I voted no. Like many others that have said here, it is an invaluable tool for those new folks to the server to get information and help should they need it. I too have noticed the friction lately in the channel lately but there are tools at everyone's disposal should they not want to be a witness to said disturbances. Taking themself out of general channel being one..add ignoring the perpetrator is another. If you don't want to see someone talk, addignore them and poof, quiet once more.

Don't feed the trolls folks. That's what they're after. They're -trying- to get a rise out of people. If you ignore them and they get no attention they will soon tire of their antics and leave.

Unread post Sun Aug 09, 2015 11:03 pm

No for me as well.

I'll be honest, I was very offended by the topics of conversation and the flat out bullying by some. But, as many have said general is the lifeblood of our community. Those that troll should be removed.

lorddarthdon · Unread post Sun Aug 09, 2015 11:55 pm

I'm with most on this topic. Add a filter to block people on a case by case basis. This would be given to everyone to block someone so they wont see them in chat anymore.

jasonh · Unread post Mon Aug 10, 2015 12:05 am

I voted without pause to keep general chat. It builds the community and a major reason to play this game. Clarify, then enforce the existing rules. /Addignore works wonders for assclowns. Running a tight ship will discourage most; CSRs can "discourage" the rest when they are available.

Celt · Unread post Mon Aug 10, 2015 12:33 am

I voted no.

Not everyone is in a social guild, or well populated guild. I think it contributes to the social aspect of the game greatly, especially as young as we are.

DarkLordIce · Unread post Mon Aug 10, 2015 12:44 am

lorddarthdon wrote:I'm with most on this topic. Add a filter to block people on a case by case basis. This would be given to everyone to block someone so they wont see them in chat anymore.

/addignore playername does this for you on a per-character basis

syfy88man · Unread post Mon Aug 10, 2015 1:19 am

Cynar wrote:Hiya folks. Over the last 10 months this topic has come up once or twice. Here lately I personally have been a bit disturbed and at a loss for some of the conversations in General Chat. While I understand it could be a great helper for new players looking for information, it has also become an anything goes playground for those without filters and proper constraint.

So the question posed is should we remove general chat?

As in all official polls please stay on topic, be respectful of all others and don't get carried away. Don't argue with other community members and try to limit your responses to one if possible. Off topic comments will be deleted. The voting will be in place for two weeks. At the end of that period staff take your votes and responses. If we decide to pull General Chat it will take place swiftly after voting concludes.

As for me it should stay, since new players might need to reach out to someone who need helps but the veterans players will just go into options and disable since they don't need it while they play the game.

onyxman · Unread post Mon Aug 10, 2015 1:51 am

I vote no

Xman

beowulfchauffeur · Unread post Mon Aug 10, 2015 1:59 am

Ateth wrote:Like many others that have said here, it is an invaluable tool for those new folks to the server to get information and help should they need it.

I have to vote no, for this same reason. I've seen a very large number of players new to the server ask in general chat whether the server is populated at all (due to the lack of players in starting cities and other NPC cities). Most likely, without general chat, those players would give up and leave the server without ever encountering another player.

General chat is far too valuable of a tool to be thrown away because of a handful of miscreants.

divnotded · Unread post Mon Aug 10, 2015 3:19 am

In the words of Trump "I don't have time for total political correctness." 1st reason I voted no, 2nd is the info I received from others was invaluable at navigating for the first few weeks.

Crypton · Unread post Mon Aug 10, 2015 4:13 am

I voted no.

Seriously if people are taking it a bit too far maybe they should be warned, don't take something away the majority of people enjoy. Also as a few have said its invaluable for new players who have never played the game or been away for a while.

Those who just like to chat it up all day should use some restraint, if they can't they should be warned or removed if they can't keep it civil

hazardousarea · Unread post Mon Aug 10, 2015 5:05 am

I personally say no.

All games have their own version of general chat, and while there are always going to be trolls (this is the internet) there are also a large number of friendly and helpful people who do not mind offering help regardless of faction or guild affiliation.
removing general chat would make it a lot more difficult for those people to interact with others.
While taking the good with the bad is part of any game, it is the friendly helpful types that will help to make the server's community.

It may be that i've hardened to trolls, being an EvE player, but I haven't seen general get anywhere near as bad as Jita chat, or even barrens chat...

and it's certainly a veritable shitload better than your average youtube stream's chat....