Community managers

Saltisol

What is the Community managers role, or job decription ?

DarkPicture

taking your moneys from eso+ and crowns

redspecter23

Managing the community. Kind of like running a daycare except the pay is worse and the kids know all sorts of nasty words.

Flaminir

Don't take this out on them...
Seriously!
They work DAMN hard behind the scenes and get all the cr#p that comes from us players which should be landing on other people's desks.
The mess we're putting up with at the moment is the fault of others, & the community managers don't even work weekends, so what you're seeing if them in situations like this is likely in their own time.

FierceSam

They are like the moderators, they don’t decide what ZOS’s policy is and they can only say what their managers allow them to say.

Their job is to communicate a prearranged message on command.

They are simply errand runners carrying messages for their masters

Saltisol

Flaminir wrote: »

Don't take this out on them...
Seriously!
They work DAMN hard behind the scenes and get all the cr#p that comes from us players which should be landing on other people's desks.
The mess we're putting up with at the moment is the fault of others, & the community managers don't even work weekends, so what you're seeing if them in situations like this is likely in their own time.

I'm well aware of that they are not the cause and nor the solution but how about a bit of communication ?

VerboseQuips

I think the community managers aren't the one to blame here. They're on the frontline, and are probably having a very hard time right now, but server stability is not their responsibility. Perhaps even, they aren't auhtorized by higher-ups to give us full statements about why PC-EU is crumbling to dust...

Saltisol

FierceSam wrote: »

They are like the moderators, they don’t decide what ZOS’s policy is and they can only say what their managers allow them to say.

Their job is to communicate a prearranged message on command.

They are simply errand runners carrying messages for their masters

I think that you are dimishing their role by claiming that they are "simply errand runners"
How can you possibly know that ?

KoultouraS

Flaminir wrote: »

Don't take this out on them...
Seriously!
They work DAMN hard behind the scenes and get all the cr#p that comes from us players which should be landing on other people's desks.
The mess we're putting up with at the moment is the fault of others, & the community managers don't even work weekends, so what you're seeing if them in situations like this is likely in their own time.

Lol mate...
So an official representative of a company bares no legal liability when a company
causes a mess?
WHat is the point of being a representative if you are mute?

FierceSam

Watch Apocalypse Now!

You will get the reference

NoodleESO

You know im something of a community manager myself, I manage to deal with this community ._.

MartiniDaniels

Saltisol wrote: »

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Flaminir wrote: »

Don't take this out on them...
Seriously!
They work DAMN hard behind the scenes and get all the cr#p that comes from us players which should be landing on other people's desks.
The mess we're putting up with at the moment is the fault of others, & the community managers don't even work weekends, so what you're seeing if them in situations like this is likely in their own time.

I'm well aware of that they are not the cause and nor the solution but how about a bit of communication ?

What communication they made provide aside from obvious one, which is already provided? I'm suffering from performance problems from spring 2019... and they happen in peak hours. It's clear as day, servers can't handle all the load and fact that there is no info about new servers in their "2020 performance fix plan" means that Bethesda don't see point investing in ESO hardware. Which means this week situation will repeat again and again and again each major event unless some miracle will happen with software optimization. What community managers can tell about this?

Flaminir

Saltisol wrote: »

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Flaminir wrote: »

Don't take this out on them...
Seriously!
They work DAMN hard behind the scenes and get all the cr#p that comes from us players which should be landing on other people's desks.
The mess we're putting up with at the moment is the fault of others, & the community managers don't even work weekends, so what you're seeing if them in situations like this is likely in their own time.

I'm well aware of that they are not the cause and nor the solution but how about a bit of communication ?

They have been communicating.

Plus remember, it's the weekend... They aren't probably being paid... And are likely at home or living their lives.

You want someone to criticize, I'd suggest the management/weekend support managers responsible for the game while the office is shut. They are at work and should have processes to communicate updates.

jircris11

redspecter23 wrote: »

Managing the community. Kind of like running a daycare except the pay is worse and the kids know all sorts of nasty words.

so much this, as someone who was a community manager for a large company this is EXACTLY it. can't post anything without people getting pissy and can't be silent without the same effect.

jircris11

KoultouraS wrote: »

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Flaminir wrote: »

Don't take this out on them...
Seriously!
They work DAMN hard behind the scenes and get all the cr#p that comes from us players which should be landing on other people's desks.
The mess we're putting up with at the moment is the fault of others, & the community managers don't even work weekends, so what you're seeing if them in situations like this is likely in their own time.

Lol mate...
So an official representative of a company bares no legal liability when a company
causes a mess?
WHat is the point of being a representative if you are mute?

sadly no, as a community manager our hands get tied in situations like this because half the time we don't get information until AFTER the fire starts (i am talking from my time with bliz). We are there to relay information to and from but if the higher ups tell us to not communicate then we don;t NOT ONLY THAT but we typically did not work on WEEKENDS. and it is a weekend in the us right now.

Flaminir

KoultouraS wrote: »

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Flaminir wrote: »

Don't take this out on them...
Seriously!
They work DAMN hard behind the scenes and get all the cr#p that comes from us players which should be landing on other people's desks.
The mess we're putting up with at the moment is the fault of others, & the community managers don't even work weekends, so what you're seeing if them in situations like this is likely in their own time.

Lol mate...
So an official representative of a company bares no legal liability when a company
causes a mess?
WHat is the point of being a representative if you are mute?

What on earth are you talking about? Community managers have zero legal liability for this.

All I'm saying is the target here is wrong... Don't shoot the messenger as the saying goes.

Especially a messenger who's not at work or probably being paid to message! 😂

Tavore1138

Flaminir wrote: »

Don't take this out on them...
Seriously!
They work DAMN hard behind the scenes and get all the cr#p that comes from us players which should be landing on other people's desks.
The mess we're putting up with at the moment is the fault of others, & the community managers don't even work weekends, so what you're seeing if them in situations like this is likely in their own time.

While you are probably correct the key, primary job of someone in their type of role is communication. Anything else should be secondary.

If they are 'behind the scenes' type people then they may be of huge value but should have a different job title and role. And ZoS should employ someone else to do the job of communicating with the player base.

daedalusAI

Saltisol wrote: »

What is the Community managers role, or job decription ?

Going just by the name: communicating with the customers, being the link between customer and devs, being present etc.

What ZOS does: purging the forums of unwanted/critical threads/posts while posting template responses with 0 actual communication.

FierceSam

Tavore1138 wrote: »

show previous quotes

Flaminir wrote: »

Don't take this out on them...
Seriously!
They work DAMN hard behind the scenes and get all the cr#p that comes from us players which should be landing on other people's desks.
The mess we're putting up with at the moment is the fault of others, & the community managers don't even work weekends, so what you're seeing if them in situations like this is likely in their own time.

While you are probably correct the key, primary job of someone in their type of role is communication. Anything else should be secondary.

If they are 'behind the scenes' type people then they may be of huge value but should have a different job title and role. And ZoS should employ someone else to do the job of communicating with the player base.

You can only communicate if you have something to say...

If you aren’t given anything to say, there is no communication anyway..

The communication manager’s real skill is to develop the avenues of communication and manage the messages being conveyed. It is absolutely not about determining what those messages are. That is done by their superiors, who will give them messages/agreed positions etc for them to communicate.

If they are not given a message to communicate then they cannot communicate. They absolutely don’t make it up as they go along.

Do not confuse the one way distribution of information that is their responsibility with a conversation.

And don’t blame the messenger for the message (or lack of it).

dtsharples

Don't post messages if they are empty

dtsharples

why you defend these useless turds is beyond me.

Flaminir

dtsharples wrote: »

why you defend these useless turds is beyond me.

Because if you read the posts from one or two of us that work for software companies you'll see we're NOT defending zos as a company, but we ARE pointing out that this thread is targeting entirely the wrong people.

And calling people who aren't at fault 'Turds' isn't exactly a good way to add credibility to any argument.

It's very simple... Target the management if you're unhappy (I'm flipping fuming as well!)... But don't shoot the messenger (community managers) who isn't the role to blame in any way here.

tahol10069

So, I witnessed a real change in the Community Managers activity in SWTOR, meaning, Eric Musco really began to communicate. For example, he could give a long explanation why a server was misbehaving and what they were doing to fix it. It was pretty awesome to witness, because I remember the time when SWTOR community manager never communicated...just like this games right now, right here.

What changed? Project Manager changed. He got a new boss, and this new boss is pretty good (he plays the game himself). He was ALLOWED to communicate. He was encouraged to communicate, and why not, his boss answers to you if you contact him through forum e-mail.

When Project Manager changed, the change in the whole atmosphere was palpable. When Musco before wrote a short, surly post once in a blue moon, he now turned out to be a friendly guy who wrote long posts and commented in forum posts (past tense because I haven't been there for a year).

So, my two cents is that if ESO's community manager doesn't have much to say, it is probably not their fault. They aren't given anything to say, and they are probably told that less they say the better. There is someone on upper level blocking all communication because they believe it is not important. I 100% know that Ben Irving believed communicating with players wasn't important because he seemed to believe players are not people at all and one shouldn't trouble your head with them.

dtsharples

I'll target anyone in the company.
You are either doing a good job or not.
If i receive a less than adequate meal on a night out, i'll probably speak to the waiter 1st. But i know ultimately it's the chef at fault.
But, Without breaking through the kitchen doors I can't confront the chef.
There is a line of 'command' for a reason.
Someone has to take responsibility.

FierceSam

dtsharples wrote: »

I'll target anyone in the company.
You are either doing a good job or not.
If i receive a less than adequate meal on a night out, i'll probably speak to the waiter 1st. But i know ultimately it's the chef at fault.
But, Without breaking through the kitchen doors I can't confront the chef.
There is a line of 'command' for a reason.
Someone has to take responsibility.

Yes but the Community Managers are doing their job.

They will have a very specific remit to communicate very specific, agreed messages to the community.

If they aren’t authorised to give a message, that message won’t be given.

Yelling at them won’t get you through to the chef because the chef isn’t in the building. It’s a weekend. He’s on holiday.

Ydrisselle

dtsharples wrote: »

I'll target anyone in the company.
You are either doing a good job or not.
If i receive a less than adequate meal on a night out, i'll probably speak to the waiter 1st. But i know ultimately it's the chef at fault.
But, Without breaking through the kitchen doors I can't confront the chef.
There is a line of 'command' for a reason.
Someone has to take responsibility.

And that someone is not a CM, since they simply don't have any answers yet. I'm quite sure that the engineers don't work at weekend unless it's absolutely necessary. Of course we may think we're at that point yet, but someone at ZOS should decide about it...
I've played in Azeroth for a long time; Blizzard worked hard at cases like this, and they got a solution way faster than ZOS.

jazsper77

So much wrong info in this thread.

I employ 51 community/ customer relations representatives in 37 states. I pay them on the avg of 72k a year plus 5 weeks vacation, pension, matching 401k and full medical.

They darn well know what the position entails when they interview and when they accept the job. That is they put up with all the BS from our vendors,partners,community, etc. it doesn’t matter if it’s in software or a company that shovels crap the position is the position.

Furthermore no one I’m sure put a gun to anyone’s head when they accepted the position at ZOS. So cry my a river somewhere else.

There are basic responses that any rep can use without going to their supervisors or it can be as serious as having to forward pertaining items to legal.

But to flat out give them a free pass do to people liking some of them is just flat out wrong.

MartiniDaniels

jazsper77 wrote: »

So much wrong info in this thread.

I employ 51 community/ customer relations representatives in 37 states. I pay them on the avg of 72k a year plus 5 weeks vacation, pension, matching 401k and full medical.

They darn well know what the position entails when they interview and when they accept the job. That is they put up with all the BS from our vendors,partners,community, etc. it doesn’t matter if it’s in software or a company that shovels crap the position is the position.

Furthermore no one I’m sure put a gun to anyone’s head when they accepted the position at ZOS. So cry my a river somewhere else.

There are basic responses that any rep can use without going to their supervisors or it can be as serious as having to forward pertaining items to legal.

But to flat out give them a free pass do to people liking some of them is just flat out wrong.

And? what community managers can say? repeat "we are working on this" in every thread? Write every thread creator in PM to calm down them a little and provide free 250 crowns as compensation?