Why gamers can't be reasonable in forums and message boards?

[The Praiseworthy]

Seriously seriously, is that SO HARD?

I mean... just because they didn't like a game they call it "sucks"... and just because they didn't get into it they call it "one of the worst games EVER", when the game is ranked really good in metacritics and got a good reviews .

Now now... I don't have anything against personal opinions because we all have it, but I have something against those who make their opinions sounds like undeniable FACTS :\

For example... game "Yellow" got really nice reviews and a good spot in metacritics, but it just isn't for me because I didn't enjoy it and it doesn't suit my test.... so when there is a discussion about the game in a message boards or a gaming forums.... it's not right for me to post and say " this game SUCKS" or "one of the worst game ever in this year".... no no no, why? because it's not reasonable.................. so instead I post a mature post and say "I just couldn't get into the game, it's not for me".

is that really HARD to do?

I know some of you will read this thread and they will say "what's wrong with this guy?"......... and please let me answer you.

In my opinion gaming forums or message boards should be a place where we can discuss things in a very reasonable and honest ways without forcing our opinions on each others and making jokes of each others tests.... there should be respect and honestly among us.

This could be impossible and won't happen at all because... this is what it is... but wouldn't it be nice if this happened?

Just saying because I've been thinking about this recently while surfing the web... we need more reasonable and honest opinions .

That's it

 

[GuardianE]

This isn't something exclusive to gamers. I think you have an issue with the internet in general.

 

[Scotch]

16 year olds.

 

[The Technomancer]

In my opinion gaming forums or message boards should be a place where we can discuss things in a very reasonable and honest ways without forcing our opinions on each others and making jokes of each others tests.... there should be respect and honestly among us.

This could be impossible and won't happen at all because... this is what it is... but wouldn't it be nice if this happened?

Thats...how most of GAF tends to work, honestly. Yeah, you get some crazies, some irrational fanboys, but GAF is far and away the best video game discussion board I've ever seen that had more then fifty members.

 

[Ushojax]

 

[Omegasquash]

In some forums yes I'm sure that civility takes place. Here?

Thisisgafdude.gif

 

[ctrayne]

NeoGAF isn't too bad about this, which is why I visit. Most people here at least post coherent sentences and it's not PR-dribble like Dtoid or Kotaku.

16 year olds.

This too.

 

[Regulus Tera]

This doesn't have much to do with video games and everything to do with the mixture of anonymity and freedom of speech on the internet.

 

[The Praiseworthy]

This isn't something exclusive to gamers. I think you have an issue with the internet in general.

Well... not just the internet, all the people who force their opinions in EVERYTHING .

 

[corporate cheerleader]

Just tell us who the biggest offenders are on this forum.

 

[plagiarize]

Thats...how most of GAF tends to work, honestly. Yeah, you get some crazies, some irrational fanboys, but GAF is far and away the best video game discussion board I've ever seen that had more then fifty members.

yep. that's why it's my internet home from home. plenty of good discussions.

 

[Michan]

I think GAF is a pretty reasonable place. We're all pretty civil here.

Spoiler

Who am I kidding. It's worse than IGN, GameFAQs, and YouTube comments combined

 

[AbsoluteZero]

Nobody likes to be told that their opinion is somehow "wrong".

 

[Orayn]

People treat their game and console preferences like religion and take great pleasure in flipping the fuck out at heathens and the blasphemous things they say.

 

[Tain]

You say you want more honest opinions, but at the same time you ask people to refrain from making qualitative judgments about games ("this game sucks"). Bringing Metacritic into play as though highly-rated games are the only ones people should avoid judging is a bad idea, too.

If anything, more people need to understand that a little bit of hyperbole is okay, that peppering posts with "in my opinion"-s or "I think that"-s is unnecessary, and that harsh judgment directed toward a game is not the same as harsh judgment directed toward the fan/defender of said game.

It's not a poster's job to convince other posters, only to be as honest and clear about their opinions as possible.

 

[Haunted]

because fuck you that's why

 

[stuminus3]

There's a difference between a random post saying "this game sucks!" and someone making a huge deal about it to the annoyance of everyone else. Thankfully GAF tends to be pretty strict on the latter. EDIT: actually GAF can be pretty strict on the former, too. It depends on the context.

 

[ScOULaris]

Because it's an industry in which anything that scores below an 8/10 is considered to be absolute shit, not only by forum dwellers but also by the critics and publishers themselves. Balanced criticism is something that eludes the medium to this day, and I honestly have no idea why.

 

[fredrancour]

People who actually genuinely respect the opinions of others are the exception, not the norm. Anonymity lets those of us without overflowing self confidence stop pretending otherwise.

 

[GlamFM]

Some threads are just asking for a flamewar.


This one comes to mind...


To put it in Yahtzees words:

I've never really understood the almost crusader-like fervor that consoles attract. Most people would say it's because your mum is only prepared to buy you one console, and if it turns out you didn't pick the winner, the best thing to do is go into denial until the very fabric of reality spontaneously changes, because God knows that's more likely to happen than you admitting fault.

 

[Dark Octave]

In some forums yes I'm sure that civility takes place. Here?

Thisisgafdude.gif

Gaf isn't wothout it's "personalities" but is probably the most mature board I've been to. Go to the official Xbox forums if you want to remember what middleschool was like.

 

[MuddyDonut]

Well... not just the internet, all the people who force their opinions in EVERYTHING .

So...the internet!

 

[The Praiseworthy]

The best we can do is be as honest and clear about our opinions on a game as possible while respecting other posters.

That's a very wonderful point.

because fuck you that's why

Do you think it's funny to tell people the "F" word?

People these days ..... :\

 

[Ricky_R]

I'm not trying to be special or anything, but I've always tried to be as reasonable as possible on the internet even though there's so many people that act only in absolutes.

Of course, there are times when I act the same. It's kinda difficult to be completely objective at times when there's so many people spitting out "facts" from their mouths.

 

[flyinpiranha]

16 year olds.

Hate to be an 'ageist' but yep. I think of the shit I was spouting when I was younger and at 36 I can't imagine having access to something where 100's of people, if not 1000's and millions could see how important what I was saying was.

I also think it's moderation. If mods didn't put up with bullshit people wouldn't risk their accounts, but that's a gray area because you don't want it to become to heavily modded.

Also, you have to realize that the people on these message boards are, for the most part, the most fervent fans. You have the people that absolutely loathe a game and think it is the ruination of the industry and then the opposite side of the spectrum where they love the game and that's all they put their gaming time towards.

In such a heavily and strongly opinionated subsection of the populace you're going to see some pretty outlandish claims on both sides.

I've never really understood the almost crusader-like fervor that consoles attract. Most people would say it's because your mum is only prepared to buy you one console, and if it turns out you didn't pick the winner, the best thing to do is go into denial until the very fabric of reality spontaneously changes, because God knows that's more likely to happen than you admitting fault.

Just consoles? I would disagree there, it's fans of anything. Try looking at WoW chat sometimes.

 

[Neon_Icarus]

Because Other M killed your mother and ate your babies.

 

[Eliciel]

I hate this thread!! ^^

Yeah I personally don't know what's the motivation behind it, but maybe a lot of people have some serious problems with their self-confidence. I don't know. Maybe they have problems in their real life. No one's listening to them?

Spill the beans, where are you haters and trolls?

 

[TheExodu5]

Yes, there are opinions and hyperbole on gaming forums. This is really the last place you should complain about this, however. NeoGAF is probably the most level headed gaming forum out there, assuming you're not getting trolled by Drinky. Even Amir0x, who has incredibly colored and hyperbolic opinions on games, will support his cause with well thought out arguments.

But hey, sometimes it's easier to throw out a hyperbolic opinion and not back it up with arguments. I will often do this myself. I don't think there's anything wrong with an expression on how you feel about the game. Also, considering that I tend to play mostly very good games, even a highly rated game on metacritic might seem terrible to me (like Zelda Skyward Sword, for example). When you're so invested in this hobby, the sad truth is that it's easy to become a tad jaded. However, I don't think that makes us unreasonable.

Because it's an industry in which anything that scores below an 8/10 is considered to be absolute shit, not only by forum dwellers but also by the critics and publishers themselves. Balanced criticism is something that eludes the medium to this day, and I honestly have no idea why.

If a game in my eyes (not in Metacritic's eyes) is below 8/10 or subpar or whatever you want to call it, then I hate the right to be disappointed by it. When I spend so much time playing some truly amazing games, it's very easy to be disappointed by what some might consider relatively minor flaws. That's just how it goes.

 

[Phonomezer]

Gaf isn't wothout it's "personalities" but is probably the most mature board I've been to. Go to the official Xbox forums if you want to remember what middleschool was like.

GAF certainly has its moments

 

[LiK]

People on GAF are pretty reasonable.

 

[brucewaynegretzky]

In some forums yes I'm sure that civility takes place. Here?

Thisisgafdude.gif

Never seen, except on the "Fables" message boards. The creator makes everyone use their real name. Smart move.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Trolling is easier than being constructive, and when you're emotionally invested, attacking the "other guy's" product repeatedly will be positively reinforced by like-minded individuals.

Doesn't work all that well all the time on GAF, since the gaming forum is mixed, and the sports forums aren't divided by teams. So anything that's worth defending (and even a few things that aren't) get their say around here. The mods are also relatively heavy handed and discourage repeated drive-by trolling without any substance, especially in official threads. Posting just "This game sucks" instead of writing a mini-review isn't really any more constructive than giving it a 1/10 on Metacritic.

Most message boards aren't so lucky.

 

[DrFunk]

You should see mobile phone message boards. I never seen so many nerds/mouth breathers so eager to defend a corporation/piece of silicon in my life

mobile phones = serious bizness

 

[Tears For Fears]

A products score doesn't reflect its quality. A bad game is a bad game no matter how many fake reviews MC.

 

[daviyoung]

I WANT TO BE HEARD SO I WILL SHOUT THE LOUDEST, USE THE WORST LANGUAGE, SAY SOMETHING INFLAMMATORY AND YOU WILL HEAR ME, AND YOU WILL REPLY TO ME. A RISE WILL BE GOTTEN!

 

[Like the hat?]

I remain civil when talking about games, but nobody responds to me because they are too busy responding to the crazies. The crazies act crazy partly because they get responses.

 

[Derrick01]

I appreciate honesty. If you think a game sucks then man up and say it, just because it has a 90+ metacritic or a huge cult following on the internet doesn't mean you can't think it's awful. That would kind of ruin the purpose of having an opinion and we should all just be mindless drones that, at worst, could say "well I hated it but I guess it's good anyway because other people like it"

 

[Deleted member 74300]

Because Other M killed your mother and ate your babies.

The baby?

The baby. The baby. The baby.

Spoiler

The game is average at best

 

[amar212]

I am professional Complainer. I complain on everyday basis.

Why? Why do you care? It is not your damn business. I have right to complain, I want to complain, I have nothing better to do than complain and I will complain as much as I can.

Why? I will answer you on this, because I stated that question, not you. I complain because I can. And you know what? You can't do anything about it. Nothing. Zero. YOU. ARE. POWERLESS.

I complain whenever I can, about whatever I can and for whatever I can. I do not give a damn care about reasoning or reasons that led to my complain, I complain because it is my professional duty and because I am entitled to it. I complain, complain and complain and there is nothing you can do about it.

I love to complain. My greatest complain is that is not enough things to complain. I mean, look at things from my perspective. I complain about anything and anywhere, do you even have an idea what a mammoth task that is? Do you even understand how much effort I have to put into it? OF COURSE YOU CAN'T. Because you're reasonable. Logical. You convinced yourself how there is a positive reason why you shouldn't complain and take things as they are.

Well, let me tell you something boy - THAT IS YOUR DAMN PROBLEM!

Instead of being rational and logical, you could stop doing such stupid rationalizations and start to complain. Instead of trying to find a positive in every negative, you could start to complain about the negative at the first place. Who on this GOd damn Earth even cares about positives with so many negatives around? HOW CAN YOU BE SO BLIND?

Oh, yeah, don't even start to think about starting that "constructive criticism" crap. Constructive criticism my butt! I despise those "constructive critiques" even more than I despise you. At least you have a decency to admit how you hate my complaints, but those "constructive" guys are just bunch of scary crybabies that fear for they status. They fear to say "Yeah, we are man! We admit - we are complainers!" They opted for that "constructive criticism" crap in hope they will be praised as people who are "objective".

OBJECTIVE MY BUTT!! There is no damn OBJECTIVE! You know what objective is? You want to know? I will tell you! OBJECTIVE IS THERE IS NO PERFECTION! And as long as there is no perfection, I will complain.

I swear to you, on this place, on the Holly Book of Justice Complaints, that i will complain forever and ever and there is no logical, nor objective, nor subjective reason I will ever, EVER stop complaining! Oh God, give me strength to fight all those so-called non-complainers, give me strength for writing down million of words of TRUTH they are so blind to see!

You can't beat me, you damn rationalists! You can explain anything to yourself, you can rationalize whatever you want, but for me - you're just a weak and blind insects feared to say what they really think! Admit, you are, right? Admit, come on. Ask yourself, ask yourself deep inside. Are you satisfied? Are you happy? Do you accept everything tossed at you with gratitude, just because you are entitled to be reasonable? Logical? Because you convinced yourself how there is a positive reason why you shouldn't complain and take things as they are? Come on. Admit it.

ADMIT IT, DAMN! YOU ARE WEAK. YOU ARE SMALL. YOU ARE PATHETIC. And you know that. But that is YOU. I am not like you. I am better. I AM COMPLAINER.

And you can complain about that as much as you damn like, all until the last part of this pathetic and imperfect planet disappears with every last Human on it. And trust me on this - oh, trust me boy - it will not happen because of me. It will happen because of YOU. Because you didn't complain enough.

And now - deal with it. While you complain about me complaining, I have to go and complain. At least I am aware about what I do. Phew!

 

[ihearthawthats]

stop going to gamefaqs.

 

[Thunder Monkey]

Haunted stole my response.

 

[mr jones]

Shitcock.

Being mostly serious, I think a lot of gamers here ARE civil. You'll always have a few that talk in extremes, others who like to be jokers, and others who simply want to get a rise out of someone. Welcome to internet society.

 

[corporate cheerleader]

I remain civil when talking about games, but nobody responds to me because they are too busy responding to the crazies. The crazies act crazy partly because they get responses.

Sorry to hear that. I could reply to you to make you feel b--

I WANT TO BE HEARD SO I WILL SHOUT THE LOUDEST, USE THE WORST LANGUAGE, SAY SOMETHING INFLAMMATORY AND YOU WILL HEAR ME, AND YOU WILL REPLY TO ME. A RISE WILL BE GOTTEN!

Oh no you did NOT just say something inflammatory.

 

[Chinner]

because fuck you that's why

no fuck you bro witcher 2 is CLEARLY superior to skyrim.

 

[Lion Heart]

My pet peeve is posters who are "two faced". They will act like complete idiots in threads regarding console x, little to no contribution, just make their lame jokes and side rail discussion, but for threads on console Y they are serious and actually offer lengthy responses. And they own all consoles/actually played the games but still act like idiots.

Worst shit on gaf.

 

[Tain]

no fuck you bro witcher 2 is CLEARLY superior to skyrim.

both of these games blow compared to ketsui

and that is a god damned fact

 

[RPG_Fanatic]

Because that would take away half the fun.

 

[DaBuddaDa]

I am professional Complainer. I complain on everyday basis.

Why? Why do you care? It is not your damn business. I have right to complain, I want to complain, I have nothing better to do than complain and I will complain as much as I can.

Why? I will answer you on this, because I stated that question, not you. I complain because I can. And you know what? You can't do anything about it. Nothing. Zero. YOU. ARE. POWERLESS.

I complain whenever I can, about whatever I can and for whatever I can. I do not give a damn care about reasoning or reasons that led to my complain, I complain because it is my professional duty and because I am entitled to it. I complain, complain and complain and there is nothing you can do about it.

I love to complain. My greatest complain is that is not enough things to complain. I mean, look at things from my perspective. I complain about anything and anywhere, do you even have an idea what a mammoth task that is? Do you even understand how much effort I have to put into it? OF COURSE YOU CAN'T. Because you're reasonable. Logical. You convinced yourself how there is a positive reason why you shouldn't complain and take things as they are.

Well, let me tell you something boy - THAT IS YOUR DAMN PROBLEM!

Instead of being rational and logical, you could stop doing such stupid rationalizations and start to complain. Instead of trying to find a positive in every negative, you could start to complain about the negative at the first place. Who on this GOd damn Earth even cares about positives with so many negatives around? HOW CAN YOU BE SO BLIND?

Oh, yeah, don't even start to think about starting that "constructive criticism" crap. Constructive criticism my butt! I despise those "constructive critiques" even more than I despise you. At least you have a decency to admit how you hate my complaints, but those "constructive" guys are just bunch of scary crybabies that fear for they status. They fear to say "Yeah, we are man! We admit - we are complainers!" They opted for that "constructive criticism" crap in hope they will be praised as people who are "objective".

OBJECTIVE MY BUTT!! There is no damn OBJECTIVE! You know what objective is? You want to know? I will tell you! OBJECTIVE IS THERE IS NO PERFECTION! And as long as there is no perfection, I will complain.

I swear to you, on this place, on the Holly Book of Justice Complaints, that i will complain forever and ever and there is no logical, nor objective, nor subjective reason I will ever, EVER stop complaining! Oh God, give me strength to fight all those so-called non-complainers, give me strength for writing down million of words of TRUTH they are so blind to see!

You can't beat me, you damn rationalists! You can explain anything to yourself, you can rationalize whatever you want, but for me - you're just a weak and blind insects feared to say what they really think! Admit, you are, right? Admit, come on. Ask yourself, ask yourself deep inside. Are you satisfied? Are you happy? Do you accept everything tossed at you with gratitude, just because you are entitled to be reasonable? Logical? Because you convinced yourself how there is a positive reason why you shouldn't complain and take things as they are? Come on. Admit it.

ADMIT IT, DAMN! YOU ARE WEAK. YOU ARE SMALL. YOU ARE PATHETIC. And you know that. But that is YOU. I am not like you. I am better. I AM COMPLAINER.

And you can complain about that as much as you damn like, all until the last part of this pathetic and imperfect planet disappears with every last Human on it. And trust me on this - oh, trust me boy - it will not happen because of me. It will happen because of YOU. Because you didn't complain enough.

And now - deal with it. While you complain about me complaining, I have to go and complain. At least I am aware about what I do. Phew!

16 year olds.

There ya go.

 

[Eliciel]

Trolling is easier than being constructive, and when you're emotionally invested, attacking the "other guy's" product repeatedly will be positively reinforced by like-minded individuals.

Doesn't work all that well all the time on GAF, since the gaming forum is mixed, and the sports forums aren't divided by teams. So anything that's worth defending (and even a few things that aren't) get their say around here. The mods are also relatively heavy handed and discourage repeated drive-by trolling without any substance, especially in official threads. Posting just "This game sucks" instead of writing a mini-review isn't really any more constructive than giving it a 1/10 on Metacritic.

Most message boards aren't so lucky.

I think "[..]trolling is easier than being constructive" is true even from a different point of view: To be constructive means you have to use proper language and you have to think about your wording which is a lot harder than just shouting out: Ok this game sux.

I am no native speaker either and I personally have some problems expressing myself in english like I do in my mother tongue. There is a difference in being constructive by using proper language and trying to be constructive, but no one understands where you're coming from.

 

[Kintaro]

1) Good metacritic and good reviews do not mean a thing. If you take the good, you have to take the bad. Can't have it both ways.

2) Games are $60. People don't like wasting their money if they don't like something, so they tend to use hyperbole.

These two things plus the fact it is the internet means you get what you get.