unforum

[Varin]

[sixsidedsquare]

I was talking earlier with a friend who has had a few run ins with Unfiction in the past, more as a sort of outside player sort of view. One of the things he sort of got at that I feel is where much of the negativeness some people have towards Unfiction comes from, was how we have basically taken ownership of the genre and feel we are the ones who define it. People don't like it in general when others try to take ownership of something, even if it is somewhat warranted to an extent, by being the place where most ARG news hits, games have been played (and the time we spend discussing meta topics related to the genre ) Of course, without ARGs, we would not exist, but without us other communities would take over and even sprout up in place of Unfiction, and ARGs would still go on.

However, the other prevalent thing he mentioned was how the people here were such a welcoming and friendly group. I've seen people comment on this many a time and it is quite a true thing; as groups on the internet go we are one of the friendliest corners. So warm fuzzies all round and I'm going to email my mum for her awesome brownie recipe, as now I have major cravings. We could totally use a brownie emoticon.

[ItWasntMeISwear]

p

[rose]

I know that unfiction is a tiny part of the internet world. I wouldn't suggest that games be designed just with us in mind. I think it is great that other forums exist for games. I enjoyed the enthusiasm and the talent of the Echoing the Sound players in Year Zero. I'm not concerned about unfiction's status vis a vis other forums, I'm concerned about this forum. As I said, I was surprised by the way this forum was viewed.

If players want to have a voice in the ARG world that is more than just that of consumers or fans, I think we need to care about our reputation. I also think that if we are in a sense "co-creators" of a game, then maybe we do have some responsibility to the genre. I think that responsibility might include having an open mind (and maybe even some generosity) toward games that haven't started yet, that are trying something new (or using technology we don't approve of) or that we haven't played. This, of course, is just my opinion.

While marketers might, or even "should", remain indifferent to unfiction as an audience for a game, I'm not indifferent as to the way the forums are viewed from the outside. I think of unfiction players as enthusiastic, curious and creative people, not people who are guarding a status quo.

[Rogi Ocnorb]

I'm as guilty as anyone of periodically showing a lack of compassion for both PMs and players that just don't "get it". I shall strive to be more welcoming in the future. But I will continue to call them like I see them, regardless of whether the the other party is a hubric artiste or lazy, goodfernuthin whiner.
There have been times when the community came down a little too heavy on people, but I haven't seen any (internal anyway) blowups like that in a while. So I think we've had some changes, there.
I wish there were a way to quantify the external view of UF, especially over time. I think we'd find that overall, a lot of the experience feeding these kinds of comments would be somewhat dated.
I've been hanging out, here for less than 2 years, but it seems that when uF and other online groups are both working on a game, there is much more cooperation and less derision than I saw when I first came here.
I feel like uF's rep (especially where players are concerned) is constantly improving.
I feel that incidents like the SaveMyHusband game are actually good for the genre. The developers may cry foul, but in their heart of hearts, they know they messed up And, honestly, I'd bet their audience went way up once people found out about the backdoor and told their friends. The players come in complaining about unfairness while not (for the majority) admitting that they did/would use any and all information they found on uF to their benefit. Either way, for both groups, lessons were learned and uF is definitely remembered.
So, bottom line... Membership is growing at a pretty fair rate(YMMV). Lots of folks do want to play with the big dogs. And as more of those other communities get introduced to games requiring work, skills, opinions, etc. and not the typical "contest" faire they're used to, everybody will step it up a notch. Players and PMs.

[Taluria]

See, in my case, I think part of the problem is that I try to be overly nice. But, I've liked UF for the short time I've been here, most everyone has been quite welcoming to me. But yeah, I have seen lots of people voicing their frustration and dislike of various games. I suppose its part of human nature to complain.

Note to all involved: Generalizations = not cool

[krystyn]

Everybody generalizes!

[vpisteve]

Not everybody! I've told you a million times not to exaggerate!

[Taluria]

That's not generalization, that's hyperbole, sillies...

[notgordian]

One way of tracking outsider impressions of UF would be to track the ratings on the two UrbanDictionary definitions of the community...

Although that wouldn't really deal with the target community we've been discussing.

[SpaceBass]

[HaxanMike]

[HaxanMike]

[HaxanMike]

[konamouse]

And how most of Year Zero was played on the another forum. Or Vanishing Point on Neowin.