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

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Not sure I agree with much of what is being said. If you're okay with opinions, then out of a group of hundreds of thousands, you're going to have people for whom "Yellow" is their least favorite game...no matter what Metacritic says. In fact, the majority of people rail against the industry of Metacritic when a reviewer goes against the grain, but now we're okay using it as proof that a game shouldn't be subjected to negativity? Which is it - is Metacritic score indicative of quality or not? Are reviewers (pro and forum amateurs) who give "Yellow" a 5/10 when their peers are giving a 9/10 just "haters" or voicing their opinion?
 
Tiduz said:
i dunno, wouldnt it be kinda boring if everyone was like that? its kinda funny seeing fanboys being trolled and baited hard sometimes.
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This. At least here people get called out for saying something really stupid, and the mods are quick to act when things get personal.
 
The Omega Man said:
I just want to say that your favorite game is the worst game I have ever played, that shit sucks!
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Joke's on you, I haven't even played my favorite game because I'm a hipster and I'm trying to keep it as obscure as possible!

Tiduz said:
i dunno, wouldnt it be kinda boring if everyone was like that? its kinda funny seeing fanboys being trolled and baited hard sometimes.

in short: i dont give a shit what others think, if a game is fun its fun.
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I'm all for getting a little salty and making fun of each others' preferences, as long as people can be reasonable and realize when they're just bickering.
 
nel e nel said:
That's the fundamental problem with internet forums, instead of saying 'oh, I can see how you feel that way, but I don't agree with you' in a civil manner, we get all up in people's assholes and try to tear them down.
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There's the underlying problem. People often aren't really saying, "I think this game is bad." They're saying, "If you like this game, you're unlike me (which I think is bad)." I don't know whether it stems from insecurity or a lack of empathy, or both.

That's why many posts begin with "I don't understand how/why anyone could like/dislike..." Those are the posts to ignore. Posts that begin like that illuminate more about the poster than the thing they like/dislike -- or the people who feel unlike them.

That said, NeoGAF is pretty good about this, which is why I love it. You may notice the unreasonable posters more, but they're not the majority.

It's also important to recognize that just because people hold a strong opinion, it doesn't mean they're unreasonable. It's okay to hate something. Just try to do a good job explaining why -- and don't paint everyone who feels differently from you with a broad brush. Understand that, just like you probably have good personal reasons for hating something, someone else probably has good personal reasons for liking it.

Like the hat? said:
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.
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This is true, too. I mean, we need the crazies -- so long as they don't get out of hand -- if only to help us reevaluate why we feel differently from them (or to find out if we're among them). But if you're not one, you get fewer responses.
 
Stop visiting the IGN/Gamespot/Gamefaqs/Most other video game forums


NeoGAF is the place of peace, prosperity, and respect.

Fuck you if you disagree
 
WanderingWind said:
Which is it - is Metacritic score indicative of quality or not? Are reviewers (pro and forum amateurs) who give "Yellow" a 5/10 when their peers are giving a 9/10 just "haters" or voicing their opinion?
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Who cares? What I really want to know is how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop.

tootsie-pop-owl.jpg

THIS IS WHAT KEEPS ME AWAKE AT NIGHT
 
flyover said:
There's the underlying problem. People often aren't really saying, "I think this game is bad." They're saying, "If you like this game, you're unlike me (which I think is bad)." I don't know whether it stems from insecurity or a lack of empathy, or both.

That's why many posts begin with "I don't understand how/why anyone could like/dislike..." Those are the posts to ignore. Posts that begin like that illuminate more about the poster than the thing they like/dislike -- or the people who feel unlike them.

That said, NeoGAF is pretty good about this, which is why I love it. You may notice the unreasonable posters more, but they're not the majority.

It's also important to recognize that just because people hold a strong opinion, it doesn't mean they're unreasonable. It's okay to hate something. Just try to do a good job explaining why -- and don't paint everyone who feels differently from you with a broad brush. Understand that, just like you probably have good personal reasons for hating something, someone else probably has good personal reasons for liking it.



This is true, too. I mean, we need the crazies -- so long as they don't get out of hand -- if only to help us reevaluate why we feel differently from them (or to find out if we're among them). But if you're not one, you get fewer responses.
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All really good points, and regarding the bolded part, I guess my question would be is that a problem of other folks not explaining their feelings/opinions well? Or is it the poster not having good reading comprehension? That's a rhetorical question by the way, no need to answer it.
 
i notice if you dislike a game everyone else does and comment about it here, you get banned. it happened to me last week for saying something about Zelda Skyward Sword. ill learn to only comment about non-nintendo games now because it seems you can get away with anything if you make fun of bioware/Activision games but not nintendo.
 
dickwads gravitate towards the internet and actually feel as if their opinions matter in any context. And so they continually post garbage on message boards/forums. News at 11.
 
It still cracks me up to this day imagining developers who fucking SLAVED over a game for 2-3 years of their lives braving internet forums for feedback and seeing:

This is the WORST PIECE OF SHIT game I've EVER PLAYED! The developers should be lined up and executed!

welliguessthat'sthat.gif
 
For every "this game sucks" or "not fun" with no reasons I read 10 "this game is awesome/goty" or "immersive/fun" with no reasons. If you're gonna confront the unreasonable-ness of the internet, at least confront the giant in the room.
 
Phat Michael said:
i notice if you dislike a game everyone else does and comment about it here, you get banned. it happened to me last week for saying something about Zelda Skyward Sword. ill learn to only comment about non-nintendo games now because it seems you can get away with anything if you make fun of bioware/Activision games but not nintendo.
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It's all about how you express your opinion. It's not like you'll get banned for rationally explaining your opinion.
 
Michan said:
I think GAF is a pretty reasonable place. We're all pretty civil here.

Who am I kidding. It's worse than IGN, GameFAQs, and YouTube comments combined
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I'd agree, but the biggest trolls I've seen were spotted in the wilds of System Wars.
 
Phat Michael said:
i notice if you dislike a game everyone else does and comment about it here, you get banned. it happened to me last week for saying something about Zelda Skyward Sword. ill learn to only comment about non-nintendo games now because it seems you can get away with anything if you make fun of bioware/Activision games but not nintendo.
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That's being a little unfair. I've talked bad about nintendo plenty of times, zelda in particular, and haven't been banned. I seriously doubt you expressed dislike about skyward sword and was quickly banned for no reason.
 
ScOULaris said:
This needs to be taken into consideration as well. Sometimes we really do hate what has been done to a beloved series. It's like losing a loved one. In those instances, being unreasonably upset should get a pass.
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I feel like there should be some sort of cutoff for some of it, though. It's been over a year now, and we still can't have an intelligent and civil conversation about the game on these forums. Someone always has to come in and remind everyone about how terrible the game is and how it killed their children and then the thread ends up being about that. Again. It's the same for Dragon Age 2 or any game with widespread dislike.

Of course the reverse is also true. If a game is very well-liked, it becomes difficult to voice reasonable criticism because people don't want to hear it.
 
I don't think hating or loving is particularly bad, permitting a reasonable explaination for why is given. I think the problem occurs when it turns to insulting the other person for having a different opinion. Which occurs even on NeoGAF if you don't happen to follow the general consensus on a game.
 
Mr. B Natural said:
For every "this game sucks" or "not fun" with no reasons I read 10 "this game is awesome/goty" or "immersive/fun" with no reasons. If you're gonna confront the unreasonable-ness of the internet, at least confront the giant in the room.
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This, I've read 10 of each of these in the time between my last two posts in this thread.
 
Emotional investment and belief I think is part of it. Part of me thinks, thats the fan in fantatic too.

I remember one of my older dumb moves was Shining Force vs. Fire Emblem. I decided to jump in to defend Fire Emblem as the greatest SRPG unlike that pretender that got all the credit; "Shining Farce". After a bit of back a forth then the moderation being along the lines of "take your debate to PM" the debate came to a close with both sides looking like biased bufoons (which we were). That was about the 14 year old age.

daviyoung said:
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!
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Improved. Or you get that person who always posts text in the same colour as the background just to be annoying.
 
The Praiseworthy said:
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...............
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Well if the game sucks (for you) or if it's one of the worst you played this year then why it's not reasonable to say so publicly?
 
Derrick01 said:
That's being a little unfair. I've talked bad about nintendo plenty of times, zelda in particular, and haven't been banned. I seriously doubt you expressed dislike about skyward sword and was quickly banned for no reason.
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honestly, i didnt swear or anything - im just not a fan of the nintendo style graphics of mario/zelda - i.e. to me it looks like something more for children.

i got banned for a week.

its amazing i said something about zelda - yet you can make a whole thread calling Dragon Age Origin 2 "Shit Mountain" and its ok.
 
One of the main issues with this and any other online discussion forum is that people don't respect or take their fellow posters seriously. If someone says something that dissents from whatever the popular opinion may be, the first thing that happens is that they are called a troll or something like that. It'd be nice if people would assume that others are being genuine until they have proven otherwise. It's just another thing that lowers the level of discourse, and I always thought it would be nice if it was discouraged on here.
 
It's because gamers are very passionate about their hobby and care enough to go online and argue for what they believe. Also, many of them are assholes.
 
I don't think this is just gamers at all but people in general when they use a random name and no face to put along with it. The anonymous nature of the internet allows people to act without much consequence and IMO it's the most likely environment for someone's true colors to come out.

Sad really.
 
Phat Michael said:
honestly, i didnt swear or anything - im just not a fan of the nintendo style graphics of mario/zelda - i.e. to me it looks like something more for children.

i got banned for a week.

its amazing i said something about zelda - yet you can make a whole thread calling Dragon Age Origin 2 "Shit Mountain" and its ok.
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I remember the post you were banned for. You called it a game for children. Insulting a game is fine, insulting people isn't.
 
Phat Michael said:
honestly, i didnt swear or anything - im just not a fan of the nintendo style graphics of mario/zelda - i.e. to me it looks like something more for children.

i got banned for a week.

its amazing i said something about zelda - yet you can make a whole thread calling Dragon Age Origin 2 "Shit Mountain" and its ok.
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Well there you go.
 
Phat Michael said:
honestly, i didnt swear or anything - im just not a fan of the nintendo style graphics of mario/zelda - i.e. to me it looks like something more for children.

i got banned for a week.

its amazing i said something about zelda - yet you can make a whole thread calling Dragon Age Origin 2 "Shit Mountain" and its ok.
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There's your problem right there. That specific quote is used so often by trolls across the internet that it's near impossible to be taken seriously unless you write an essay in detail describing why.

edit: Double beaten :P
 
The Praiseworthy said:
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 :p
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OP of Forever.
 
If I post a valid critique of a beloved game that I did not enjoy, I'm not going to hold back just because it makes you comfortable. I am well aware of what you are talking about, as comments can sometimes come off as trollish, but if they are well written then why should I care how the general populace likes a game? There is just as much of a problem on GAF of groups of fans jumping on the user with the dissenting opinion without taking the time to try to understand his or her criticisms.
 
I was thinking about making the same thread this morning. Thanks for making it for me. This forum has gotten alot pissier lately. I'm not sure if it's because all the big games are coming out and not getting the perfect scores that gamers so desperately need to validate their existence or what but it is sad. But it doesn't surprise me because this is the Internet. I just wish we held each other to a higher standard on this forum, even if it is the most civil place to talk about videogames on the web.
 
Phat Michael said:
honestly, i didnt swear or anything - im just not a fan of the nintendo style graphics of mario/zelda - i.e. to me it looks like something more for children.
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I simply don't think this would be considered valid criticism by many. Just because an art style is aimed at children, it shouldn't be considered "bad". You also need to consider how you word your arguments.

If you were to say "I appreciate the premise of the game, but I am not enamored with the art style, as I feel it is more suited towards children rather than myself", then I would be hard pressed to criticise your post. However, if you say "this game looks terrible because it looks like a kiddy game", then we may have a bone to pick.
 
Here's three reasons:

Lots of people on gaming boards are pretty young.
Being rude and having strong opinions gets you noticed.
Anonymity.
 
i hate how everything devolves into an argument. i think a calm, reasonable discussion about video games is the internet promised land.

i can deal with it; it's just that most arguments are shit. you can't just attach adjectives to a piece of media and call it convincing.

Kurdel said:
People are unreasonable.

Go to the OT section and go into an Apple thread to see people go apeshit.

Go into the Atheism vs. Theism thread to see people contort reality to support their beliefs.

Go into any political thread and wait for the eventual nutjob to show up.

It's only natural to find such irrational beliefs and behaviours in gaming aswell.
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do you see those posts about hyperbole and people believing only their opinion matters? ....so who do you think they're talking about?
 
Calm, reasonable discussions are hard enough with 2-3 people face-to-face.

They're almost impossible with dozens to hundreds of people anonymously and asynchronously.
 
It's humans that are like that. And the fact the internet leave them anonymous, there's absolutely no barriers to their true personality. Internet shows you quite fast that there's a shiton of people that are unreasonnable and immature.
 
I love reasonable discussion in all its forms, and I usually try to be a reasonable person.

But if hating FFXIII and finding it one of the worst experiences I've had this gen is unreasonable, then there's really not much I can do about it, is there?
 
ScOULaris said:
It still cracks me up to this day imagining developers who fucking SLAVED over a game for 2-3 years of their lives braving internet forums for feedback and seeing:

This is the WORST PIECE OF SHIT game I've EVER PLAYED! The developers should be lined up and executed!

welliguessthat'sthat.gif
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Hopefully, game developers are not 15 years old with self esteem issues, and can disregard comments from enraged anonymous, with zero arguments to back their claims.
--
Personally i don't see the problem, hyperboles are a normal thing, in a system with so many opinions, there's the need to be heard, in some way or the other (as stupid and as unimportant as your opinion can be).
I don't really get the Metacritic score thing, which is generally crap, but if someone has a well supported opinion and is more than willing to discuss it, he can start from any claim in the world.
And picking the metascore as a standard to disregard certain opinions, goes against your premise of accepting other people's opinions.
Also, regarding those who complain for sport, they end up having very thin arguments at their disposal, so you just disregard them as they come and go.
 
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