As popular Youtubers record the game, will the community worsen?

Okay I have to disagree, it will not get worse.

Let's say currently 15% of the forum is the vocal part of the forum is seen as negative to the forum. Now as the forum grows we get more people who act that way but we also gain people who are not like that. It only seems more because more people are acting negatively.

if the forum grew 10 times the size it is now, we would have 10 times the amount of negative and positive people.

 

Starbound does have a main storyline, or will when it is released. I think we will just have to take the small amount of bad with the already established great amount of good.

I don't think the community will suffer as much as some think, but only time will tell.

 

When this game is picked up by popular youtubers, we will get the good with the bad, but most importantly, the game itself gets a lot more exposure and tons more potential customers.

I have experienced the pure Horror that is the League of Legends Forums for more than 3 years. Three. Freaking. Years. It doesn't matter what you do or what you say to those that are either herpa derps(and no, I don't count people that are ignorant of the game and its features answering questions as herpa derps... they are just curious and you should be happy to answer their questions), or simply express their opinions in a manner that most people would find offensive. All we can really do is set a good example, even though there will be others that argue in a circular pattern for the sake of arguing rather than expressing a valid point. The only way to "win" in this scenario, is to prevent ourselves from becoming "them."

 

I'm worried less about fans of youtubers ruining the community / making it worse and worried more about our community's negative reaction towards said fans. I'd rather not have our community instantly look down on people because something as stupid as "what youtuber you watch." I don't want this site to be "The Few. The Proud." I want it to "Be all you can be" and "An army of one." Elitism is akin to cancer in communities.

To put it shortly: I'd rather this community be as big and welcoming as possible. If the "bad crowd" has one good member, I'll take it. It's worth it to have that one good member. And I hope our community can turn the "bad members" into "good members."

 

As with all mainstream media, it'll acquire an abundance of people you wish you could drown in a shallow pool. It's unavoidable.

BUT, You'll only suffer as much as you allow them to affect you, given this isn't an MMORPG. I played minecraft without pause for years while the official servers melted down in complete drama and moral decay... That being said, I'll likely vanish from here when the game goes into it's beta period.

Unless the devs decide to openly cater to the influx of very new and very vocal players at the cost of the game's original goals... Then all bets are off and we should go home.

 

Whilst I agree that elitism is basically just an annoyance, I do not see how it would become so prevalent in this game and its community as it has in say LoL.

This is a primarily co-operative game, there is no competitive aspect to really rage about, nor is there anyway to judge another player on the forums on the 'skill' level of their play... So unless suddenly being richy rich gives you some kind of right over others, which it obviously doesn't then I don't see the issue...

 

It won't get worse, it will just be a different kind of bad.

 

Why would more people be a BAD thing?

 

The thought process of the viewer:

1. Watch favourite youtuber playing Starbound
2. Ask people in comments if they should get it
3. Go to steam and get it
4. Search on google "multiplayer starbound servers"
5. Take first result and go on there
6. If first doesnt work, take the next, repeat however many times until they get one
7. Play on that server for ages

It is inevitable that some will come, and that some will be bad, but the majority of the bad ones wouldn't even think about going to a forum for the game because forums are for nerds
many will just not come to the form ever

 

Because elitism, which this thread is, unfortunately, full of.

 

If you wish to stop the community from becoming like so many others, there is only one way which you can counter it. It is a difficult thing for many to do, but it is by far the most effective method.

You must improve yourself. Be cordial to the rudeness. Swallow your pride. Welcome those who you hate. And keep your voice low when criticising, and call reinforcements (By Reporting them) quietly when a situation looks like its becoming a problem. That alone is what will encourage people to be kind. And if not, they will leave you alone if you ignore them soon enough.

Only YOU can make a forum awesome.

 

Elitism isn't just in competitive games. Elitism can be about anything and everything. Skill, age, interests, anything. When we've had users who have been here from the very first day treating brand new members badly because these new members don't know the "proper" posting etiquette, what not to make a thread about, and if these new members ask a question that was previously answered. That's the start of "age" elitism. The whole "I was here first, so therefore _______." I've seen people on TO treating others like crap because "I was here before the game even came out. I know more about the forums than you because I've been here longer." Or when brand new members ask a question that's already answered and they have 15 "senior members" ganging up on them to tell them "this has been asked before, use the search funciton, blah blah." In a Utopian world: every new member would know how to do everything. In reality: They don't. It's no reason to rip their heads off about it. This can also be described as "age elitism."

One would think elitism wouldn't exist in a primarily cooperative game, but it does. I notice a lot of our community keeps worrying about "the new members who'll ruin the community" as if they forget that they were once new members themselves. And the fact that they're the "older generation" who thinks the younger generation will be the ones that start to make the community worse. Elitism is cancerous to communities because it ultimately creates a cloistered group of people as opposed to being an open community. These elitists will make the new blood (members) feel unwelcome, those members will decide to not be a part of this community. These members will then spread the word that the community is bad, preventing new members from wanting to join it. Every day an elitist might leave, and eventually, the community dies out because of the elitist vocal minority, who decides to disrespect and hate on other members for reasons that are stupid.

In fact, I see elitism a lot more in cooperative games than in competitive. Simply because cooperative games don't often have official rulings on "winners," so we'll get people who constantly try to compete and outdo each other in a cooperative setting, and if you don't play the way they see as acceptable, they'll disrespect and hate on you for it.

But like I said: The disdain for "the new members" or "I can't wait until all these people make threads going LOL What's this thing?!" or "I can't wait till all the newbs make threads asking "how I mine for fish?" are definitive baby steps towards a problem of elitism. I see a lot of disdain for Pewdiepie fans as if they're all going to be a massive cesspool of community-killing tumors, and there's going to be people who treat them as if they are community killing tumors. New members are the lifeblood of communities, and I hope everyone is welcoming our new members with politeness, dignity, and respect. The day we stop getting new members is the day the community starts to die. Whether it's a month, a year, or a decade: The community loses members every day and will die without new members.

So yes, competitive games have elitism. No more or less than any other game, though. Every single game that ever existed has had elitism. Whether "You're a noob because you go AP instead of AD" or "You're playing as an OP char that doesn't take any skill to use." It's elitist mentality. Terraria was cooperative, but there was ''ranged vs melee" arguments where both sides had elitists.


TL;DR: This game has/will have elitists in it. This forum has / will have elitists in it. Elitism exists in every community; it's a parasite that feeds off of certain behavior and can/will eventually destroy a community. It's a very real problem that every community needs to be ready to deal with productively.

Examples of elitism in this community:

"I can rationalize your interests as something as irrational and I will talk down to you because of it, using sweeping generalizations of the entirety of people who share your interests."

"I put much thought into my suggestion and I expect you to do the same before you make a thread about it"

"Your opinions are not as valid as mine because you do not use the same level of grammar or spelling that I use."

 

Won't there be PVP in Starbound?
I mean, if there is then I'm sure there would be more Elitism around.

Also maybe I shouldnt have mentioned Pewdiepie in the first post here..
I got 19 likes overnights. So it sounds like you're right on that part..

 

You know what they say about Likes. Theyre gross, and theyll eat your shield quickly.

 

it could get bad, or it could get better, or it could stay the same...

and if it does get back we have mods to clean up the forum... lol

 

I'd say... I honestly didn't except so many.. I woke up to 30 alerts.. that was just crazy honestly..

 

I just really hope this game doesn't allow other players to bomb my buildings like you could early Terraria.

 

Once Starbound becomes playable, I imagine a lot of the traffic here will change to questions about the gameplay. As far as I'm aware, nobody here (aside from the developers) knows "how to play" Starbound yet. The people asking those kinds of questions may be new and "old" members alike, as may the people answering them.

I would like to believe that it takes a certain enthusiasm about Starbound to register for the forums in the first place instead of going straight to a Wiki or FAQ about the game. There are typically no wiki pages or guides about likely-to-be-common questions such as, "Is Starbound just like Minecraft/Terraria?" and "Does anyone know where I can find a good server?" to boot.

In that regard, no, I can't picture the community getting worse. It will undoubtedly become larger, though, and invariably bring with it a more noticeable number of "new people." Whether those new people are trolls, valuable contributors, or anywhere in between is up to them. The moderation team should filter out those that don't belong. Whether or not the rest stay, however, will be up to us.

 

that's all good and stuff.
but the problem is that modern society and the net did create pure-breed idiots. and the increasing community means its statistically impossible not to get some of them, and that's what people are afraid of.
I mean, i'm on another forum for a game in development but with a playable beta and the community is awesome ! every new player is kindly welcomed and his question answered, but we still get our share of pure-breed idiots that just ruins everythign and sour our members :/

 

I don't want to see ANY and I mean ANY sort of smosh games bullcrap to do with this game.

Probably be fine seeing as there audience are 5 year olds.