For almost 2 years, I have visited N4G for the latest video game news and content (Even if half of the submitted articles are garbage). For 2 years, I pretty much just ignored the goofy inconsistencies and bias from the moderators. But when I was reduced to 2 bubbles in a few days for posts that HARDLY deserved what moderators marked them for, I felt that I could no longer hold my tongue.
Frankly, I don't care about my bubbles; it's the ridiculous reasons why they were taken that strike me.
Bubble #5: Labeled as "Trolling" - An article about Kids and Kinect. In a nut shell, I said that children have incredibly low standards, and I was sick of seeing people who were NOT the target audience, get so touchy in defending it. Unfortunately, I do not have the link to this one.
Bubble #4: ( http://n4g.com/news/661871/... ) Labeled as "Trolling" - I mentioned that it was silly that a first party was using a third party to find these numbers, and I went on to call out Microsoft's inconsistency in reporting sales numbers.
Bubble #3 - ( http://n4g.com/news/662462/... ) Labeled as....."Spam"?! - This one absolutely disturbs me. I was labeled as spamming for saying that Xcom was not an Xbox 360 exclusive, as the site had claimed. I'd love to the meet the guy who could justify calling that spam.
I would like to stress that N4G Moderators control bubbles, not the community. Every time you hit a bubble, you are simply making a suggestion. I have an image which will make this quite clear (See comment 1....it didn't seem to have posted here). In it, the mods choose to give a "well said" to someone that is supporting Kotaku completely falsifying information, while a post with unanimous agreement goes unacknowledged
(43 agrees, 0 disagrees!).
Those of you who squabble about which fanboy "owns" N4G needs to change their perspective. N4G is controlled by the moderators, who are absolutely not always fair in their judgments, even perhaps, to the point of foul play.
Helldivers 2 players have taken it upon themselves to shoot those wearing pre-order armor. The developers are asking those involved to stop this undemocratic behavior.
WTMG's Oliver Shellding: "It’s a clever little title, handles well on the Switch and comes in at the same price as a Happy Meal. While it won’t blow away critics at the end of the year, The Exit 8 is memorable and serves as a good proof of concept, like how P.T. once captivated players across the world with unspeakable dread. I genuinely hope we see more from KOTAKE CREATE, because, as delicious as this appetizer is, it just doesn’t do enough to fill up any one player: The Exit 8 is almost destined to leave you hungry for more."
WTMG's Leo Faria: "Bear in mind that I appreciate the attempts at spicing up a Cretaceous-era gameplay loop with elements like the stress meter and a (forgettable, but still extant) story, but all in all, Lunar Lander Beyond is best enjoyed, and then forgotten, in 15 to 20 minute bursts. There was nothing about it that irritated me, but rarely did the game wow me, very rarely did it impress me. It’s a very honest attempt at reviving another Atari IP without the need of turning it into yet another Recharged title, but there’s just so much that you could do to update something that was already quite limited in scope even back in the 80s."
The image didn't seem to have posted, so here it is.
http://img249.imageshack.us...
This is a plea to both N4G and its community. Something is not right about how things are done, and it needs correcting.
Thank you.
It's not foul play. The site admins have hired people from both sides to moderate which really wasn't a good decision from the start. But for the most part, they balance each other out.
The problem is there aren't enough mods to quickly dispatch the issues that arise. It's very simple, but as of now they only get to a reported story/user when they finish with everything else.
I also want to know why they allow trolls to have multiple accounts and not ban them, I mean..couldn' they just blacklist their IP adresses for this site???
Unless the mods themselves troll around cause they have no life.......what the hell is the point of bashing MS, Sony, Nintendo, or any other game company?? You still get to play games and it doesn't matter if others don't like them or not, unless they flat out lie like Kotaku or give unfair comparisons (which always show up on this site).
Why the hell do you think I lost my bubble? Haha, for trolling? Well, if trolling is saying, and I quote, "Microsoft also uses shipping numbers as an excuse for sales numbers. It's what companies do to try to show everyone that the public would rather have them over someone else. It's just an old corporate trick and I'm not surprised to see either Microsoft or Sony doing this", then take my damn bubble away. But that's the truth, so why the hell am I missing a bubble?
And THAT'S why I don't comment on a lot of things anymore unless I have a very strong viewpoint on it. The vast majority of this site does not believe in any opinion but their own and not having their opinion is trolling, SPAM, offensive, off topic, immature, a personal attack, and a message chuck-full of bad language. So, yes, I only really go here for the user blogs and reviews and the news itself, not the "opinion pieces" that are the biggest starters of flamebait I've ever seen.
Do I get a well said bubble for that, moderators? What, you don't like that I called this site broken? Oh, you're gonna bubble me down? Thanks (you bastards)!
For all the trolling and name calling I've seen in this place, what I lost a bubble for today was pretty harsh in my book. What do you guys think?
In a Forza article, a fan requests:
"implement weather,night driving,buggaty veyron super sport"
My reply
"Theres already a game that has that stuff. Jus saying."
Slightly cheeky maybe. Trolling? No way.
If I said, Killzone needs plasma rifles, floaty physics and blocky armour and someone said try Halo, I wouldnt be upset. And I wouldnt consider it trolling.
Far worse gets said everyday.
Its hard as hell to build up those bubbles, but easy as to lose them. I got up to 9 once, took about a year, then they change the system, I when back to 3 and now cant get over 5 again. Hell I'm lucky to have 5.
And truth be told, I dont need 5 remarks on everythread, I dont need to argue back and forth like some of these guys. I say my piece, respond to the replys and thats usually it, but thats not the point.
I just want some CONSISTANCEY so I know what will get me in trouble and what wont. People full on drop F bombs in here now and nothing happens. I suggest a game that sound exactly like the one someones describing and its a bubble losing offence.
What do you want from me N4G?