Dev-Tracker / Dev-Comment Badge

Milo · November 2019

Can we maybe get a diffrent badge if the only dev-comment in a thread is "removed a handful of comments", in comparison to a dev giving updates on on-hand issues?

I always think, "hey this is a good thread, hey even a dev commented on it." Just to see it was the basic, "removed comments.." "please be civil" etc.

Maybe give those a diffrent color. I mean they dont show up in the dev-tracker, so you can differentiate between them. Why not save us the click?

Milo · November 2019

When i think about it, why do the "removed.." comments even have a dev badge?

Danikat · November 2019

Milo wrote: »

When i think about it, why do the "removed.." comments even have a dev badge?

Because posts can only be removed by a moderator, who then replies to the topic to let everyone know and remind them not to keep posting stuff like that. Either moderators are all ZOS staff or they're using the moderator 'status' on the forum to enable the badge. I'm not sure which because I don't know Vanilla forums that well.

But if it's possible it would be helpful to have a different mark on topics where they actually commented vs. ones where they were just doing forum moderation.

FierceSam · November 2019

The ZOS icon is merely an indication of someone who works on behalf of ZOS.

It is not an indication of someone who is authorised to speak on behalf of ZOS.

And, yes, it would be very helpful to have some way of distinguishing between those activities that were Moderator focused and those that were actually delivering information, updates and/or comments on behalf of ZOS

Siohwenoeht · November 2019

Well, technically a moderator is different than a dev which is different than a community manager. So different colors makes sense to me.

Ackwalan · November 2019

The forums are run by a different company. ZOS devs and forum mods are not part of the same company, they should have a different tag.

Jaraal · November 2019

Ackwalan wrote: »

The forums are run by a different company. ZOS devs and forum mods are not part of the same company, they should have a different tag.

All the forum moderators have ZOS_(moderator name here) prefixes. I doubt that they would be called "ZOS" if they were not actually employed by Zenimax. But yeah, I've learned to expect that any "Z" next to a thread is simply notification of post removal and rules reminders.

Siohwenoeht · November 2019

Ackwalan wrote: »

The forums are run by a different company. ZOS devs and forum mods are not part of the same company, they should have a different tag.

I'm not sure this is exactly correct. The forums are hosted by a different company, but I doubt the mods are not zos employed.

essi2 · November 2019

Ackwalan wrote: »

The forums are run by a different company. ZOS devs and forum mods are not part of the same company, they should have a different tag.

Forums software and the hardware it runs on generally doesn't come with forum personnel attached, but maybe I've missed some piece of information regarding the forums.

I'd be curious to know what your are basing this conclusion on though.

As for OP, we've asked for this before, but ZOS didn't make the forum software and seems unwilling or unable to change this part of how the forums function

Jaraal · November 2019

essi2 wrote: »

As for OP, we've asked for this before, but ZOS didn't make the forum software and seems unwilling or unable to change this part of how the forums function

Yes, I think they like the fact that at first glance it appears that they are actively responding to questions, even though it's just an illusion.

What do you all think the actual ratio of scoldings to real responses is? 10 to 1? 50 to 1? 100 to 1?

kind_hero · November 2019

Good idea!

The developer comments are quite scarce

essi2 · November 2019

Jaraal wrote: »

essi2 wrote: »

As for OP, we've asked for this before, but ZOS didn't make the forum software and seems unwilling or unable to change this part of how the forums function

Yes, I think they like the fact that at first glance it appears that they are actively responding to questions, even though it's just an illusion.

What do you all think the actual ratio of scoldings to real responses is? 10 to 1? 50 to 1? 100 to 1?

No idea, but it is most likely to be a moderator scolding the users than an actual dev response.

Dev responses, even from the community team, are rare. And often just platitudes.

ZOS_Nith · November 2019

Hey there! We really appreciate this feedback. Additionally, if you need to navigate to a post from a Community Manager or Developer, the "Dev Tracker" tab at the top of the page is best tool to use.

Milo · November 2019

ZOS_Nith wrote: »

Hey there! We really appreciate this feedback. Additionally, if you need to navigate to a post from a Community Manager or Developer, the "Dev Tracker" tab at the top of the page is best tool to use.

Thanks for answering, but that was kinda my point. If you can distinguish between those 2 types of "dev-comments". Why is it the same badge, in the "general overview" of posts thrown together?

ZOS_Nith · November 2019

Yes, I can understand the confusion. While we use the specific icon and text color to ensure the forum community knows we are a ZOS employee, I can certainly pass on this suggestion!

Milo · November 2019

ZOS_Nith wrote: »

Yes, I can understand the confusion. While we use the specific icon and text color to ensure the forum community knows we are a ZOS employee, I can certainly pass on this suggestion!

Perfect, thank you very much!