the difference between useful and useless feedback by LordArtemis

[astrobear]

so while i was visiting the SW:ToR forums, i found this amazing post made by LordArtemis about what is good feedback for devs and what isn't.


i will post the actual post this thread, so you wont have to visit another page

I think he was actually right on the money. But clearly complaint posts for the sake of complaining is of no value, other than to identify that certain folks are upset.

I am going to give examples of what I think is useful and useless feedback...note that that does not mean useless feedback should not be offered, as everyone has a right to speak their mind IMO.




Useless praise

Bioware, dont listen to the haters. Your doing a great job, they are just looking for attention. This is the greatest game ever, keep up the good work and ignore the loud mouthed minority that will never be happy.

Useful praise

I think that Bioware has instituted quite a few positive changes recently, and I think they have been well received overall. I think the open discussion with respect to the {blank} issue was the right way to go, and they addressed the issue immediately. Obviously this was a good move. Looking forward to more great changes in the future.

Notice the first praise offers unqualified compliments, then turns to insulting those that post complaints as a way to promote the post....which in the end is next to useless IMO. The second comment however offers specific praise for a specific action or change, indicates what is positive about it, and then closes without a single dig against those that have an opposing opinion.



Useless criticism

Wht the %$&%$&$% Bioware. This game is such a piece of %^*&*^*&^. If the devs would just pull their heads out of their collective &*^&(&*(^&*^ they might actually do something right, but of course they don't care what we think. I have been complaining about this forever and not a single dev post. It is $#$#@#$. I'm out of here.

Useful criticism

Bioware, I believe there is a serious issue with [blank], and you have ignored the problem long enough IMO. You must be ignoring your playerbase, because based on some of the feedback in the forum and outside across the net this problem is serious and has broken [blank] essentially for certain players. I think if you continue to ignore this problem it will eventually hurt the health of the game. I for one would like to hear something from the devs about this issue....anything....even if it is to say there is no problem.

Here is what I think needs to change.....

The first post has no concrete complaint. Instead it is simply rage with no focus, and Bioware learns nothing from this. The second post, though harsh, at least gives an opinion on what they think is wrong, why it is bad and what should change.



That, IMO, is the difference between useful and useless feedback on both sides of the fence.

OP is advertising, See you in 10 days.

???

ok i removed the link, by im not "advertising" swtor, but a single post a forumner made.

[Animation]

OP is advertising, See you in 10 days.

[ValVae]

I think most people understand the difference but when a little emotion comes before reasoning (such as "this problem is affecting me now, fix it") is when people don't realize the difference between these.

Even the best of people succumb to criticizing things poorly from time to time.

[RoosterAgathos]

You should make a a thread about useful replies to threads... I suspect you wont have to look far for an example

[Codek]

Honestly, I feel that the way people reply to other comments is far more of a problem then what is originally posted in threads. It's not so much the criticism of the game, but the criticism of the suggested changes that needs to be handled with more thought.

Often times it comes down to a couple people blindly stating support for their own arguments without comprehending much of what the others are saying. This also becomes a repetitive sequence once someone try's to join into conversations without actually reading what has already been said before.

Having a conversation seems to be one of the most complicated things to manage at times.

[Malamasala]

You have people not able to be polite. Then you have people who grow too tired at being polite and saying the same things over and over. In the end you usually are just left with insults.

I for one am extremely tired of the "Kill Fates" threads that is always about "My way or the highway" attitude people who claim there should only be one way to play, and it is their way. Not to mention their only excuses for not doing something about it themselves are "I'm too lazy to form my own open world group" and "I only get awesome loot and exp in dungeons, not awesome loot and BEST exp. This sucks".

Usually I roll my eyes, and sometimes I post an annoyed reply.

[astrobear]

Honestly, I feel that the way people reply to other comments is far more of a problem then what is originally posted in threads. It's not so much the criticism of the game, but the criticism of the suggested changes that needs to be handled with more thought.

Often times it comes down to a couple people blindly stating support for their own arguments without comprehending much of what the others are saying. This also becomes a repetitive sequence once someone try's to join into conversations without actually reading what has already been said before.

Having a conversation seems to be one of the most complicated things to manage at times.

indeed, the problem here is that everyone come onto a thread with their mind made up (due to their bias) even before discussing the issue and WILL NOT BULGE even if they are wrong. if SE does something wrong or isnt completely correct with a statement they made, people instantly enter one of these two mode: fanboy or hater mode

as you can see from my OP, both of these type of posters are useless and quite harmful in the long run of things.