The community deserves better

[Jacob]

For this community representative does someone have to nominate you, or can you put yourself forward? for I am eager to at least be considered for this role, as I think it is something I would be able to do and something I would enjoy doing as well.

[Akira]

Hello Everyone,

In light of recent comments and opinions voiced by some of the community, we feel its best to restate the position of FSE in relation to the community and the official servers. The servers which we maintain are done so on a voluntary basis at private expense for the benefit of the public players for the sake of community, we try to host servers that are open to all and and are fun to play on, to the best of our ability.

Now, the difficulty of maintaining these servers is obvious and despite our efforts, there will be failures on the part of the admin team and the owners. As a game development company we have overstepped ourselves when dealing with the community. To that end, we will be making certain changes in regards how FSE deals with the community:

1. FSE will be taking a step back from community altering decisions. In our pursuit of stopping an argument that had been made three times over the possession of the 51st name we rashly decided to remove the object that was contested, instead of punishing the ones who were breaking forum policy. Inadvertently we managed to punish the entire community by removing something that rightfully should have been theirs. For this, we apologize, and will now rectify. We will no longer withhold  any regiment number, even if it proves a source of great controversy and fighting. We will no longer involve ourselves in this process. As such we will return it to the last community member that had possession of said regiment name.

2. Now, even though we are from now going to step back from these kind of decisions and loosen the grip we try to have over the community, there may be a time in the future when such decisions may need to be made. But it will no longer only be in our hands, instead If such a time comes, we will need a base of respected players who can give an informed opinion on such decisions, before we make them. Thus, we will be instituting a new group of players on our forums, the NW Community Representatives. They will be nominated by the community, and will have access to a new forum board area. If FSE sees a need to make a community altering decision, we will first post the proposal of such in this area, in order to gain necessary community feedback so as to make an informed decision. This place will be carefully watched Their opinions will guide our policy, and allow the community a voice to the FSE management.

We will be setting up the Community Representative Process shortly. I look forward to serious dialogue taking place, with real solutions being found with help from both the administration and the community.

Let me guess, more "well-knowns" who "deserve admin"?   

They should have an interview process that lasts a week or so.

[Vorlen]

Here's a point. This is mabie 2% to 5% of the community. The rest are happily playing the game, abiding by the server rules and not having to worry about any of these arguments. Unfortunally, as with most cases, the unhappy amount are always the most loudly spoken. They are here to complain, taking for granted a game that has given them hours and hours of enjoyment, and forgetting what the real purpose of a game is. To have fun. From the 300+ hours i have spent on NW, i have never seen any admin abuse or unfair banning. There are two sides to every story.

Then get this 95-98% to post. Most of the poster have a reputation of some kind, and are known.

In other news, Thank you Refleax, I, and numerous others apreciate your respons. Hekko obviously never intended a coup. But the prevailing feeling since NW's release has been one in which the higher ups ignored the little guy. I'm a nobody, i expect to be ignored, I have never tried nor wanted to be a big cheese in the community, it aint my thing. But it's not 'me' being ignored that bothers me. It's when people i respect are.

Anyway, enough backtracking that didn't help. Let's move forward with integrity and a stronger and closer knit community from this all.

(Or im still a cock.... /disclaimer... feel free to agree)

[Flash]

Personally I would like a review of all forum punishments given out in the past few weeks. For example James Grant was a victim of over-zealous moderation and now multiple regiments and even the Anglo Zulu mod are suffering because he is still unable to post.

#freejamesgrant

[GoldenEagle]

Hello Everyone,

In light of recent comments and opinions voiced by some of the community, we feel its best to restate the position of FSE in relation to the community and the official servers. The servers which we maintain are done so on a voluntary basis at private expense for the benefit of the public players for the sake of community, we try to host servers that are open to all and and are fun to play on, to the best of our ability.

Now, the difficulty of maintaining these servers is obvious and despite our efforts, there will be failures on the part of the admin team and the owners. As a game development company we have overstepped ourselves when dealing with the community. To that end, we will be making certain changes in regards how FSE deals with the community:

1. FSE will be taking a step back from community altering decisions. In our pursuit of stopping an argument that had been made three times over the possession of the 51st name we rashly decided to remove the object that was contested, instead of punishing the ones who were breaking forum policy. Inadvertently we managed to punish the entire community by removing something that rightfully should have been theirs. For this, we apologize, and will now rectify. We will no longer withhold  any regiment number, even if it proves a source of great controversy and fighting. We will no longer involve ourselves in this process. As such we will return it to the last community member that had possession of said regiment name.

2. Now, even though we are from now going to step back from these kind of decisions and loosen the grip we try to have over the community, there may be a time in the future when such decisions may need to be made. But it will no longer only be in our hands, instead If such a time comes, we will need a base of respected players who can give an informed opinion on such decisions, before we make them. Thus, we will be instituting a new group of players on our forums, the NW Community Representatives. They will be nominated by the community, and will have access to a new forum board area. If FSE sees a need to make a community altering decision, we will first post the proposal of such in this area, in order to gain necessary community feedback so as to make an informed decision. This place will be carefully watched Their opinions will guide our policy, and allow the community a voice to the FSE management.

We will be setting up the Community Representative Process shortly. I look forward to serious dialogue taking place, with real solutions being found with help from both the administration and the community.

HEKKO FOR PRESIDENT

[Comrade Temuzu]

If you people are going to be appointing consuls or whatever, make sure that they spell "Vive la Révolution" correctly.

[Affjoris]

Personally I would like a review of all forum punishments given out in the past few weeks. For example James Grant was a victim of over-zealous moderation and now multiple regiments and even the Anglo Zulu mod are suffering because he is still unable to post.

#freejamesgrant

With him the others who where banned of said reasons. Banning people should be a benifit to the community, not a burden.

[Vikestad]

Hello Everyone,

In light of recent comments and opinions voiced by some of the community, we feel its best to restate the position of FSE in relation to the community and the official servers. The servers which we maintain are done so on a voluntary basis at private expense for the benefit of the public players for the sake of community, we try to host servers that are open to all and and are fun to play on, to the best of our ability.

Now, the difficulty of maintaining these servers is obvious and despite our efforts, there will be failures on the part of the admin team and the owners. As a game development company we have overstepped ourselves when dealing with the community. To that end, we will be making certain changes in regards how FSE deals with the community:

1. FSE will be taking a step back from community altering decisions. In our pursuit of stopping an argument that had been made three times over the possession of the 51st name we rashly decided to remove the object that was contested, instead of punishing the ones who were breaking forum policy. Inadvertently we managed to punish the entire community by removing something that rightfully should have been theirs. For this, we apologize, and will now rectify. We will no longer withhold  any regiment number, even if it proves a source of great controversy and fighting. We will no longer involve ourselves in this process. As such we will return it to the last community member that had possession of said regiment name.

2. Now, even though we are from now going to step back from these kind of decisions and loosen the grip we try to have over the community, there may be a time in the future when such decisions may need to be made. But it will no longer only be in our hands, instead If such a time comes, we will need a base of respected players who can give an informed opinion on such decisions, before we make them. Thus, we will be instituting a new group of players on our forums, the NW Community Representatives. They will be nominated by the community, and will have access to a new forum board area. If FSE sees a need to make a community altering decision, we will first post the proposal of such in this area, in order to gain necessary community feedback so as to make an informed decision. This place will be carefully watched Their opinions will guide our policy, and allow the community a voice to the FSE management.

We will be setting up the Community Representative Process shortly. I look forward to serious dialogue taking place, with real solutions being found with help from both the administration and the community.

Let me guess, more "well-knowns" who "deserve admin"?   

Would rather have them choosing than having the fate of the forums be in the hands of these so-called revolutionaries

[Tiberius Decimus Maximus]

For the benefit of the people, I'll compile the list of grievances I find are rational in a simple list, and accompanied proposals on how to fix them. This may seem similar to the OP, but considering people have already strayed a considerable distance in page length from there, this may be helpful and accessible for newcomers, and those involved in the debate to keep their conversations on track. Let me know if there are any addendums you would like me to add, and I'll repost with the updated list if I find the grievance bears merit.

1. The selection process for Administrative Positions on the forums and for the servers is faulty, based too much on popularity, "veterancy" in the community, and favoritism on the part of the existing Administrative and Developer Staff. This brings in administrators who may display symptoms of personal indulgence and corruption, heavy-handedness, and hot-headedness.
-The solution would be a transparent reform of the way Administrators are picked. While they should not be community chosen, community input should be valued and put into legitimate consideration.

2. A continuation on the previous grievance, the appearance of nepotism on behalf of the staff, in particular Vincenzo, is deeply troubling in regards to the legitimacy of a 'professional', commercial company of any kind.
-Removal of administrator rights for those who benefit from nepotism should be immediate, regardless of ability. Corruption on the part of staff members should be seen as unacceptable.

3. The crackdowns on opinions and ideas from the community, including thread locking, mutes, bans permanent and temporary, and post deletion have made the FSE development and administrative staff quite infamous. It degrades its professionalism in the eyes of customers, and brings doubt into their seriousness and ability to carry projects through to completion, as well as satisfy community desires and improvements.
-Unban all those who have been banned solely due to voicing their concerns about the community, the staff, and issues with the game. The development staff should make an effort to show that community presented issues with gameplay, administrative rulings, or ideas for upcoming updates and games are appreciated, most importantly, giving equal attention to all well presented suggestions, with no favoritism in regards to community history or donations.

That is all that came to mind based on my viewing of the thread. Please let me know in a well presented post if there are any more grievances you would like added to the list, and I will duly add them shortly.

*EDIT*

Warning - while you were typing 36 new replies have been posted. You may wish to review your post.

...Oof.

[Thomaas]

Personally I would like a review of all forum punishments given out in the past few weeks. For example James Grant was a victim of over-zealous moderation and now multiple regiments and even the Anglo Zulu mod are suffering because he is still unable to post.

#freejamesgrant

#freejamesgrant   2013!!

[Modig]

Hello Everyone,

In light of recent comments and opinions voiced by some of the community, we feel its best to restate the position of FSE in relation to the community and the official servers. The servers which we maintain are done so on a voluntary basis at private expense for the benefit of the public players for the sake of community, we try to host servers that are open to all and and are fun to play on, to the best of our ability.

Now, the difficulty of maintaining these servers is obvious and despite our efforts, there will be failures on the part of the admin team and the owners. As a game development company we have overstepped ourselves when dealing with the community. To that end, we will be making certain changes in regards how FSE deals with the community:

1. FSE will be taking a step back from community altering decisions. In our pursuit of stopping an argument that had been made three times over the possession of the 51st name we rashly decided to remove the object that was contested, instead of punishing the ones who were breaking forum policy. Inadvertently we managed to punish the entire community by removing something that rightfully should have been theirs. For this, we apologize, and will now rectify. We will no longer withhold  any regiment number, even if it proves a source of great controversy and fighting. We will no longer involve ourselves in this process. As such we will return it to the last community member that had possession of said regiment name.

2. Now, even though we are from now going to step back from these kind of decisions and loosen the grip we try to have over the community, there may be a time in the future when such decisions may need to be made. But it will no longer only be in our hands, instead If such a time comes, we will need a base of respected players who can give an informed opinion on such decisions, before we make them. Thus, we will be instituting a new group of players on our forums, the NW Community Representatives. They will be nominated by the community, and will have access to a new forum board area. If FSE sees a need to make a community altering decision, we will first post the proposal of such in this area, in order to gain necessary community feedback so as to make an informed decision. This place will be carefully watched Their opinions will guide our policy, and allow the community a voice to the FSE management.

We will be setting up the Community Representative Process shortly. I look forward to serious dialogue taking place, with real solutions being found with help from both the administration and the community.

Let me guess, more "well-knowns" who "deserve admin"?   

Would rather have them choosing than having the fate of the forums be in the hands of these so-called revolutionaries

You really hate people, dont you?

[Cherry#YOLO]

#Yolo

[Blade]

We will be happy if you unban Daniel, Craig etc. Who got banned from the forums. It is our demand. The people wants it.

[Bashy]

Set free those of whom you have entrapped with your corruption!

[red.h]

We will be happy if you unban Daniel, Craig etc. Who got banned from the forums. It is our demand. The people wants it.

They ban the people that speak against them