What is your preference for a player to get a commendation?

[Bourne_Endeavor]

I won't commend anyone who doesn't say at least their Hello/Goodbye/at the very least emote.

Sadly it's come to the point where anyone who can manage at least the above criteria will get my commendation, but I am not really impressed by a Bard using Foe's or whatever for example because that's the most basic of gameplay and I don't think they deserve a pat on the back for it. Skill matters very little to me. I'll always commend the person who spoke or who was humble in complete failure above the mute who performed well. If you're a Healer who failed hard and nearly caused a wipe in Mhach but apologised sincerely while the Tank clutched the raid from a wipe, you're still getting my commendation over the Tank.

See, this I don't agree with. Based on your scenario, that tank pulled out victory from the jaws of defeat. They went above their basic rotation; maybe popped a perfectly timed Hallowed Ground or worked LB3 into their cooldown rotation to save the group from a wipe. Not giving them a comm because the healer apologized for mistakes feels cheap to me-- like you're giving them a participation award. I'll still be nice to said healer and tell them not to worry about it if it were an honest mistake, but I have to give the tank the comm because they did their job well and I like encouraging that.

[Vivi_Bushido]

See, this I don't agree with. Based on your scenario, that tank pulled out victory from the jaws of defeat. They went above their basic rotation; maybe popped a perfectly timed Hallowed Ground or worked LB3 into their cooldown rotation to save the group from a wipe. Not giving them a comm because the healer apologized for mistakes feels cheap to me-- like you're giving them a participation award. I'll still be nice to said healer and tell them not to worry about it if it were an honest mistake, but I have to give the tank the comm because they did their job well and I like encouraging that.

^

This is a much nicer and probably more accurate way of putting what I was trying to say.

[Clover_Blake]

[...] but I have to give the tank the comm because they did their job well and I like encouraging that.

That's exactly why some of us will give commendations to players who are actually capable of communicating: we like encouraging that.

The thing is that the dungeon is going to be done anyway, as most of the time people will play their role correctly, so I don't mind who has the most perfect skill of them all. Everyone is still doing their job. Some are just contributing to making the roulette a nice trip, and others are treating you like business they want to get over with. Since I'm a human being and not a robot, I will never encourage the unfriendly bot behaviour.

(It's not like we're asking for much anyway; having the courtesy of saying "hi" doesn't require a huge effort, I believe *laughs*)

[Bourne_Endeavor]

That's exactly why some of us will give commendations to players who are actually capable of communicating: we like encouraging that.

The thing is that the dungeon is going to be done anyway, as most of the time people will play their role correctly, so I don't mind who has the most perfect skill of them all. Everyone is still doing their job. Some are just contributing to making the roulette a nice trip, and others are treating you like business they want to get over with. Since I'm a human being and not a robot, I will never encourage the unfriendly bot behaviour.

(It's not like we're asking for much anyway; having the courtesy of saying "hi" doesn't require a huge effort, I believe *laughs*)

Oh, no. I very seldom comm people who cannot even be bothered to say "hi." But the scenario Knahli presented showed off a tank going above the standard rotation. A recent example I had was our tank in Weeping City holding Hallowed Ground to purposely absorb the beam phase from Ozma after Alliance B made mistakes that caused most to die. Our tank knew the chances were good a lot of damage was going to be incoming and a healer LB3 when we couldn't handle two beams plus her Hallowed basically helped save us from a 2% wipe. If I hadn't been in a party with her already, she'd have gotten my comm for the situational awareness. My experiences have been very mixed with people in Weeping City. If she were entirely silent the whole run, I consider someone else if they also played well. But at the same time, I kind of want to give her a deserved pat on the back for helping pull us out from a wipe.

[Knahli]

But on the other hand, if I were that tank, I would probably slowly quit doing my job if I began to feel like my ability to play my job goes ignored and unappreciated because having skill is no longer a factor in getting a commendation.

Basically what I'm getting at is, when people are giving out commendations just for saying something as simple as hello, and nothing more. All incentive for me to want to try my hardest goes out the window because I could Heavy Shot my way through a dungeon without using any other skill at all; and still get commendations all because I said hello. See where I'm getting at here? Not trying to sound rude, just being brutally honest. Some of us do want the commendation rewards, and if being good at your job is no longer a requirement to getting it, than, why bother? Your commendation is basically teaching me that it's okay to be bad as long as I'm friendly and talk.

Netflix and chill mode engage!

I don't require validation to enjoy the game so I have difficulty relating to that. I will (usually) play the game near enough to the best of my ability - assuming I am not taking part in a conversation on a shell or something - and I don't look for commendations at the end of the run to determine how "noticeable" my efforts were, regardless of how casually or seriously I took a particular run. If they commend me then great, I am happy I made enough of an impression to make their run slightly more enjoyable; if not then I do not take it personally and treat it as a reflection of their verdict on my overall efforts. I wouldn't commend anyone I noticed being lazy with their rotations or otherwise, but I am not interested in evaluating their performance as if it were anything that by definition mattered very much to them. For all I know they have no interest in end-game raiding and just like relaxing in the game while throwing themselves into a roulette or two now and then.

See, this I don't agree with. Based on your scenario, that tank pulled out victory from the jaws of defeat. They went above their basic rotation; maybe popped a perfectly timed Hallowed Ground or worked LB3 into their cooldown rotation to save the group from a wipe. Not giving them a comm because the healer apologized for mistakes feels cheap to me-- like you're giving them a participation award. I'll still be nice to said healer and tell them not to worry about it if it were an honest mistake, but I have to give the tank the comm because they did their job well and I like encouraging that.

But honestly speaking, they really didn't. It is up to everyone, no matter the job, to respond to the scenario as presented to them regardless of whether they wanted to or not. A Tank that clutched the raid from a wipe is not a hero. Personally, I place the experience of party members above my own unless they give me good reason not to, but even with that said, if I am the last person alive and I have a chance of finishing off the boss then all of my efforts build toward an outcome that is just as beneficial to me as it is for the rest of the dungeon/raid, so I have every incentive TO try my best. Now consider the same scenario from the point of view of someone who is a little more self-centred which, frankly, I think it quite typical of your average DF encounters.

Even with all of that said, they will nonetheless be praised by everyone and have all of their appreciation(mine included) and unless they have an insecurity complex then they certainly don't need anyone telling them that they did a good job. And let's be honest, they're already going to get a handful of commendations from the rest of the party anyways. If someone fails on the other hand, if they have half a conscience about it then they will actually feel guilty and - particularly so in raid environments - that can be stressful and embarrassing. That's what my commendation is for. To put it bluntly, I am far more concerned about about the feelings of someone who made an honest mistake than I am about the ego of someone who was only looking out for themselves. If they can own up to a mistake then they have my respect because too many people today are shameless enough to not take responsibility for something as basic as that. As Clover has already mentioned, I will encourage that behaviour and show my support for people like that, not someone who can just play the game well. Their substance and actual character behind the avatar has a lot more meaning to me than any perfectly timed Hallowed Ground ever will.