As for "Why don't they just fix the forums?", lemme see if I can explain this to you all.
This first thing is, none of this will make any sense what so ever. Most of you will read this and think, "Gosh, that's so stupid, if they would just do Blah Blah Blah, it would get fixed.", but see the problem is, that would make sense. One of the requirements to work for a company in China is get your common sense surgically removed. It makes living here so much easier. So, that said, here goes:
Problem #1: What the boss wants, the boss gets. Even when what the boss wants is super stupid and everyone can see it's super stupid, you do not try to convince them that there might be a better idea. Face is a thing in China. Nobody wants to be wrong and look foolish. So even suggesting that the boss could be wrong about something is a great way to lose your job. Now, for the forums, what the boss wants is the main site and forums linked so that when once makes an account, a forum account is automatically generated for them without having to register. It's not a bad idea, the easier it is a player can access the forums, the more likely they are to get involved, get invested socially, and thereby stick around to play the game. The problem is when a big problem crops up and the solutions point toward making the boss' pet want go away, nobody wants to be the one to step forward and suggest it for fear of being fired. So this is the first problem towards fixing the forums. The fact that most solutions involve taking away a feature the boss really wants, and nobody is going to step up to recommend any solution that involves that.
Problem #2: There is no problem. The next thing getting in the way is a strong desire to pretend like there is no problem. After all, nothing needs to be fixed if the mods just spend all day, every day, just deleting these threads. And if the mods refuse to do this, because they have things like lives, then there still isn't any problem because the reason for all the spam threads is that the mods aren't doing their job. Which means there must not be enough mods and that's the fault of the Customer Service team, not IT. Again, this falls to face again. To admit there is a problem means you messed up somewhere. So point the blame to someone else is better than actually admitting there is a problem and fixing it. It's generally why the first reaction to a problem is to pretend there isn't one and hope it just goes away. It's also why with bugs, cheats, and exploits, I've had to literally shove proof into a dev's face to get them to admit it there was a problem and have it fixed.
Problem #3: The IT dept has gone through a few staff changes. The folks there now aren't the same folks who made the main site. It's another reason why they don't want to futz with things, they don't really understand it. This is actually a big problem with any Chinese developed game that lasts a while because if you want a raise in pay, it's so much easier to just get a new job than try to wring more money from the company you're currently working for. Turn over is high and the new folks coming in have no clue how the code actually works. So when something needs fixing, they're at a loss of how to fix it.
Now, lemme say I know how stupid this all sounds. Any idiot should be able to look at the forums, realize there is a problem, and get it fixed. If fixing means changing things, then put your big boy pants on and go talk to the boss about it. But it'll never happen. IT and CS are going to do there best to hide the fact anything is wrong from the bosses. They'll do their best to ignore the problem and when it can't be ignored point fingers at each other for not being the ones to fix the problem. While they do this, they'll continue to hide the problem from the boss, because nobody wants to be the one to admit to the boss that they allowed this problem to occur in the first place.
This isn't to excuse why it's not getting fixed. It's more to explain why taking your frustations out on the mods about the state of the forums is misplaced. This is what they're dealing with to try and get the forums fixed. And why whatever “How come R2 doesn't do this?†you have ready to ask them isn't going to go anywhere. Whatever bright idea you have, they've already suggested it, fought for it, and watched it go nowhere.
This first thing is, none of this will make any sense what so ever. Most of you will read this and think, "Gosh, that's so stupid, if they would just do Blah Blah Blah, it would get fixed.", but see the problem is, that would make sense. One of the requirements to work for a company in China is get your common sense surgically removed. It makes living here so much easier. So, that said, here goes:
Problem #1: What the boss wants, the boss gets. Even when what the boss wants is super stupid and everyone can see it's super stupid, you do not try to convince them that there might be a better idea. Face is a thing in China. Nobody wants to be wrong and look foolish. So even suggesting that the boss could be wrong about something is a great way to lose your job. Now, for the forums, what the boss wants is the main site and forums linked so that when once makes an account, a forum account is automatically generated for them without having to register. It's not a bad idea, the easier it is a player can access the forums, the more likely they are to get involved, get invested socially, and thereby stick around to play the game. The problem is when a big problem crops up and the solutions point toward making the boss' pet want go away, nobody wants to be the one to step forward and suggest it for fear of being fired. So this is the first problem towards fixing the forums. The fact that most solutions involve taking away a feature the boss really wants, and nobody is going to step up to recommend any solution that involves that.
Problem #2: There is no problem. The next thing getting in the way is a strong desire to pretend like there is no problem. After all, nothing needs to be fixed if the mods just spend all day, every day, just deleting these threads. And if the mods refuse to do this, because they have things like lives, then there still isn't any problem because the reason for all the spam threads is that the mods aren't doing their job. Which means there must not be enough mods and that's the fault of the Customer Service team, not IT. Again, this falls to face again. To admit there is a problem means you messed up somewhere. So point the blame to someone else is better than actually admitting there is a problem and fixing it. It's generally why the first reaction to a problem is to pretend there isn't one and hope it just goes away. It's also why with bugs, cheats, and exploits, I've had to literally shove proof into a dev's face to get them to admit it there was a problem and have it fixed.
Problem #3: The IT dept has gone through a few staff changes. The folks there now aren't the same folks who made the main site. It's another reason why they don't want to futz with things, they don't really understand it. This is actually a big problem with any Chinese developed game that lasts a while because if you want a raise in pay, it's so much easier to just get a new job than try to wring more money from the company you're currently working for. Turn over is high and the new folks coming in have no clue how the code actually works. So when something needs fixing, they're at a loss of how to fix it.
Now, lemme say I know how stupid this all sounds. Any idiot should be able to look at the forums, realize there is a problem, and get it fixed. If fixing means changing things, then put your big boy pants on and go talk to the boss about it. But it'll never happen. IT and CS are going to do there best to hide the fact anything is wrong from the bosses. They'll do their best to ignore the problem and when it can't be ignored point fingers at each other for not being the ones to fix the problem. While they do this, they'll continue to hide the problem from the boss, because nobody wants to be the one to admit to the boss that they allowed this problem to occur in the first place.
This isn't to excuse why it's not getting fixed. It's more to explain why taking your frustations out on the mods about the state of the forums is misplaced. This is what they're dealing with to try and get the forums fixed. And why whatever “How come R2 doesn't do this?†you have ready to ask them isn't going to go anywhere. Whatever bright idea you have, they've already suggested it, fought for it, and watched it go nowhere.
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