EA takes their board monitoring seriously..

Blaise · Post by **Blaise** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 5:14 pm

Found this post over at the Stratics forums:

http://boards.stratics.com/php-bin/stra ... 2=postlist" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Although still employed at EA in Texas, Cadillac is currently "unassigned" to any project... so he pops his head in now and again, but I wouldn't say he's an MCO Team member per se.
Skweek was, um, dismissed under mysterious circumstances between round one and round two, after posting several revealing messages as to "what's ahead for MCO" on the MCO-BBq. (We've seen that happen to a couple people at EA, haven't we? You'd almost think they were communists at the Head Office!). As far as I know, Cadillac occasionally speaks with her; for her whereabouts ask either Caddy or TwinCam (they work in the same place and speak daily).

Now instead of only monitoring boards for self preservation, maybe EA can assign a team of forum monitors and managers to get involved with the community.

BigBen · Post by **BigBen** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 8:44 pm

KevRok was a nice guy and all, but an authority on who left EA for what reason?

I had several exchanges with Skweek in the early stages of MCO, and I don't think her leaving MCO had anything to do with her message board posts. I remember her as being a cautious poster from the get-go.

Communicating with the community is damn tricky. You guys (and I include myself in this group) are a shining example of exactly why every company has to be very careful about who says what to their customers.

Now instead of only monitoring boards for self preservation, maybe EA can assign a team of forum monitors and managers to get involved with the community.

They do. I've met them, and you guys know at least one of them (Bob Falfa from MCO, who goes by another name now). Hell, a group of NASCAR league racers and I raced against them (and the producer of NASCAR Simracing, who roasted everybody on the track) at a local kart track.

Think about it this way. How many Codemaster guys do you see posting on the internet. Activision? Vivendi? Sony? Microsoft? Hell, have you ever seen anyone from any of those companies on the internet? I saw a Codemaster guy once, and he was about as in touch with reality as Micheal Jackson. He thought one of the biggest selling points of Pro Racer was its realistic physical simulation.

The only companies I've seen who communicate with the players anywhere near the level of EA are Blizzard (which has a whopping 2 product lines to support) and the LFS team (which supports only one game).

I don't mean to rant, but it's frustrating working with gamers who take a real interest in what they are doing, and spend a lot of time trying to figure out what works best for the customer, and comming here to see them bashed over guesses made by a fan two and a half years ago on the internet.

If I based an argument in the Political forum on something Joe Public said on a message board two and a half years ago, Calabrio would probably drive to my house and bitch-slap me out of principle.

~Ben

Z28K · Post by **Z28K** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 9:10 pm

BigBen wrote:
If I based an argument in the Political forum on something Joe Public said on a message board two and a half years ago, Calabrio would probably drive to my house and bitch-slap me out of principle.

~Ben

Last year maybe, but with the cost of gas these days, Cal might not be driving to your house.

Blaise · Post by **Blaise** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 9:17 pm

BigBen wrote:I don't mean to rant, but it's frustrating working with gamers who take a real interest in what they are doing, and spend a lot of time trying to figure out what works best for the customer, and comming here to see them bashed over guesses made by a fan two and a half years ago on the internet.

~Ben

Hmm I guess what I wanted to say kinda came out wrong. I know there are people out there working for EA who have nothing but the customers' best interests in mind.

It's just that it doesn't seem EA (and I'm using EA as an example because I play or have played mostly EA games) has invested enough interest in listening to and responding to, in writing via the boards, what the community has to say.

I'll use the official EA NFSU, NFSU2 and NFSUMW forums for example. Does EA realize that these forums include the same community that plays the game? EAcomSmoothie is doing an excellent job of monitoring the forums and responding to the community. But looking through all three of those forums, it seems he is the only one monitoring the boards and answering questions. It just seems natural to appoint lots of people to answer all expected questions, not just one person!

It just makes the community feel much more secure and satisfied by having the majority of their questions answered (granted alot of the questions are ghetto gibberish asking OMFG PlEas3 t311 m3 EveRting I Ne3D 2 nO 2 aBovT th1z gaM3!)

And this is obviously a task greater than one person can handle.

IMO of course.

BigBen · Post by **BigBen** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 10:01 pm

Sorry Blaise, I didn't mean to snap at you. I kinda feel like pulling a Cartel myself, and making my post go away.

As a general rule, when I see someone from EA says something in public (asside from the folks who's job it is to speak to the public), it goes badly. There are just too many people out there that want to make their mark by hating on the internet, and EA has a big freakin target on it's t-shirt just based on how much of the gaming industry EA touches. It makes discussing 'work' in public a very stressful experience.

I could be perfectly honest, and accidently share something that is useful to our competitors. I could be thoughtful and optimistic, and accidently lead someone to believe something that isn't true. I could be careful and conservative, and look like an uncaring corporate robot.

These are not fears that have been instilled by a manager or policy, this is what I've picked up from being on the internet, and on both sides of the customer/gaming company wall.

With that, I'm going to duck out of this conversation. :mrgreen:

~Ben

Satchmo · Post by **Satchmo** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 10:30 pm

Z28K wrote:
BigBen wrote:
If I based an argument in the Political forum on something Joe Public said on a message board two and a half years ago, Calabrio would probably drive to my house and bitch-slap me out of principle.

~Ben
Last year maybe, but with the cost of gas these days, Cal might not be driving to your house.

True. And since we can't establish if he even HAS a job to afford gas in the first place, you're probably ok Ben.

Liberal Boy · Post by **Liberal Boy** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 10:31 pm

BigBen wrote: With that, I'm going to duck out of this conversation. :mrgreen:

~Ben

WIMP! Come on tell us when MCO is coming back. Let something "slip out" that might give us hope. Tell you what I can call over at EA and ask to talk to Trouble's biatch and you can "let slip" over the phone, what it is I know you're DYING to tell us.

Seriously though, JBX KevRok there is a name that takes me back to MCO days. He and I did alot of racing and setup swapping there towards the end. Does anyone have contact info for him? He's not a member here(at least not that I'm aware of)...and I think he'd like this place.

Blaise · Post by **Blaise** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 1:33 am

BigBen wrote:Sorry Blaise, I didn't mean to snap at you. I kinda feel like pulling a Cartel myself, and making my post go away.

As a general rule, when I see someone from EA says something in public (asside from the folks who's job it is to speak to the public), it goes badly. There are just too many people out there that want to make their mark by hating on the internet, and EA has a big freakin target on it's t-shirt just based on how much of the gaming industry EA touches. It makes discussing 'work' in public a very stressful experience.

I could be perfectly honest, and accidently share something that is useful to our competitors. I could be thoughtful and optimistic, and accidently lead someone to believe something that isn't true. I could be careful and conservative, and look like an uncaring corporate robot.

These are not fears that have been instilled by a manager or policy, this is what I've picked up from being on the internet, and on both sides of the customer/gaming company wall.

With that, I'm going to duck out of this conversation. :mrgreen:

~Ben

No worries man. I don't expect you to answer for EA. And as someone who sees alot of the negatives on the internet, we the community appreciate how you put up with us. Just hope your blood pressure level is still in the green :mrgreen:

BigBen · Post by **BigBen** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 1:59 am

Actually, I just flipped out and mowed down 4 customers in one clip.

I like BF2. :mrgreen:

Toasted Onion · Post by **Toasted Onion** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 7:50 am

RandomMan wrote:
BigBen wrote: With that, I'm going to duck out of this conversation. :mrgreen:

~Ben
Seriously though, JBX KevRok there is a name that takes me back to MCO days. He and I did alot of racing and setup swapping there towards the end. Does anyone have contact info for him? He's not a member here(at least not that I'm aware of)...and I think he'd like this place.

I believe KevRock had a site for the JBX club, might still be in operation. He was from around the Ontario area if memory serves me right.

Apache · Post by **Apache** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 8:15 am

TQ's Little Bitch wrote:
RandomMan wrote:
BigBen wrote: With that, I'm going to duck out of this conversation. :mrgreen:

~Ben
Seriously though, JBX KevRok there is a name that takes me back to MCO days. He and I did alot of racing and setup swapping there towards the end. Does anyone have contact info for him? He's not a member here(at least not that I'm aware of)...and I think he'd like this place.

I believe KevRock had a site for the JBX club, might still be in operation. He was from around the Ontario area if memory serves me right.

KevRok sucks. He's a little bitch.