What the DDO community needs is community

[KoboldKiller]

Let me explain. I've been on a hiatus and checking out other games and the one thing I notice in those games that DDO lacks is general chat. I know we are a good community however I don't see that we are an open community. I don't know how many times I've had new players send me tells because there is nobody watching or using general chat. I think as a community we need to make an effort to come out of our own little worlds (Guild Chat) and start looking at general chat thus giving the sense of an open helpful community.

I'm KoboldKiller and this is my 2cp.

[DoctorWhofan]

Thelanis has a their own website. It has a chat window. So yeah community is there.

But I get your drift.

[branmakmuffin]

Let me explain. I've been on a hiatus and checking out other games and the one thing I notice in those games that DDO lacks is general chat. I know we are a good community however I don't see that we are an open community. I don't know how many times I've had new players send me tells because there is nobody watching or using general chat. I think as a community we need to make an effort to come out of our own little worlds (Guild Chat) and start looking at general chat thus giving the sense of an open helpful community.
One of the first things I've learned to do is to remove general input from all my chat windows. Being inundated with PvP smack talk while in the Lobster, random goofy things players type, people using general when they should be using party, etc., is more than I'm willing to put up with.

Edit: I know others who do the same.

[Jendrak]

One of the first things I've learned to do is to remove general input from all my chat windows. Being inundated with PvP smack talk while in the Lobster, random goofy things players type, people using general when they should be using party, etc., is more than I'm willing to put up with.

Edit: I know others who do the same.

But thats the problem right there. Bye ignoring everything we hurt our selves as a community. I cant count how many times ive seen someone ask a question in generall chat just to be ignored. And before i get some troll shooting their mouth off about "well why didnt you help them" i answered them in tell. Now maybe others did the same idk.

There was a time when the generl chat of ddo was used as a place for everyone to chat about what ever. What happened?

[branmakmuffin]

There was a time when the generl chat of ddo was used as a place for everyone to chat about what ever. What happened?
It became inundated with PvP smack talk, random goofy things, stuff people should say using party, etc. You can't make people stop cluttering the general channel with rubbish, therefore the only solution, should one desire to eliminate it, is to disable general input from our chat windows.

[BlackSteel]

a general noob chat would be nice, have all new chars start out with that as their default window. Then anyone whose high level can enable it as they see fit. This chat would be worldwide of course, instead of being relegated to specific instances. Trade spam would be punishable just as it is when used in the LFM tab.

[branmakmuffin]

a general noob chat would be nice, have all new chars start out with that as their default window. Then anyone whose high level can enable it as they see fit.
That wouldn't help the issue the OP sees as a problem. If there are experienced players disabling general input, why are they going to enable what would essentially be an "inane spam" channel? There's no way to have a "new player reasonable questions and concerns" channel.

[ShaeNightbird]

But thats the problem right there. Bye ignoring everything we hurt our selves as a community. I cant count how many times ive seen someone ask a question in generall chat just to be ignored. And before i get some troll shooting their mouth off about "well why didnt you help them" i answered them in tell. Now maybe others did the same idk.

There was a time when the generl chat of ddo was used as a place for everyone to chat about what ever. What happened?

General chat can get really annoying, really quickly because from what I see, people aren't chatting. They're badmouthing, flaming other people and complaining, replete with the obligatory juvenile swearing. (Which makes them so cooool, of course.) What happened? Many times people don't behave themselves under cover of anonymity. Either they simply don't know how to behave, don't care, or they're trying to get away with the bad behaviour they could never get away with in RL. Or perhaps, they're equally obnoxious in RL too.

[Gorstag]

I am on the other side of the fence, and personally think that general chat should be removed. It's honestly little more than an annoyance, and in my nearly three years of playing I do not think that I have ever used it, nor ever will. I mean come on, it is already overfilled with people being childish, vulgor, and well, irritating to say the least. Now I am more for removeing general chat and perhaps renaming it the rp chat. Hence the rper's would be happy, but if that is done the rp portion should be enforced somehow. And no, I refuse to rp, I just wouldn't want that part of the community left out due to the fact that I LOATHE general chat.

[GeneralDiomedes]

There's no way to have a "new player reasonable questions and concerns" channel.

The public [Advice] channel in LOTRO works just fine.

[cardmj1]

I hate general chat for all the reasons mentioned already in this thread. I also realize that most new players do not know about the /join help channels. With that said, an advice channel is a great idea if it's worldwide. Leave General Chat and add another default for advice. I can get onboard with this idea.

[DoctorWhofan]

But thats the problem right there. Bye ignoring everything we hurt our selves as a community. I cant count how many times ive seen someone ask a question in generall chat just to be ignored. And before i get some troll shooting their mouth off about "well why didnt you help them" i answered them in tell. Now maybe others did the same idk.

There was a time when the generl chat of ddo was used as a place for everyone to chat about what ever. What happened?

I don't ignore them, I have found more players and helped them through general chat. I don't use private chat channels for that reason.

[DoctorWhofan]

I am on the other side of the fence, and personally think that general chat should be removed. It's honestly little more than an annoyance, and in my nearly three years of playing I do not think that I have ever used it, nor ever will. I mean come on, it is already overfilled with people being childish, vulgor, and well, irritating to say the least. Now I am more for removeing general chat and perhaps renaming it the rp chat. Hence the rper's would be happy, but if that is done the rp portion should be enforced somehow. And no, I refuse to rp, I just wouldn't want that part of the community left out due to the fact that I LOATHE general chat.

wow, overfilled? with Plat spammers but generally it is quiet. Look at WoW's "general" chat (which the trade channel): DDO doesn't have even that close to it noise. Rarely to I see nastiness on it. Also, that brings up another thing: WoW created trade channel to clear out their general. It ended up everyone is on the trade channel, and no one uses general, thus moving the problem, not fixing it.

[DoctorWhofan]

I hate general chat for all the reasons mentioned already in this thread. I also realize that most new players do not know about the /join help channels. With that said, an advice channel is a great idea if it's worldwide. Leave General Chat and add another default for advice. I can get onboard with this idea.

again, you are just sifting the problem to another line. THAT would become the new general.

[branmakmuffin]

The public [Advice] channel in LOTRO works just fine.
Is it policed, to keep inane smack-talk and random 12-year old swearing attempts off it? Otherwise, it'd eventually turn into just another spam channel like the general is.

[GeneralDiomedes]

Is it policed, to keep inane smack-talk and random 12-year old swearing attempts off it? Otherwise, it'd eventually turn into just another spam channel like the general is.

It's not policed, and it's been going for a couple years AFAIK. I have generally found it to be civil and helpful. The OOC (out of character) channel sometimes gets snippy, but then I just put the main perpetrator on /ignore and go about my business. I think the PvP zone absorbs 99% of the smack talk anyhow (their channels are separate).

But then again, perhaps the population of that game is a bit more mature on average. There just aren't a lot of inane 12-year olds walking around. I'd like to think the 12-year olds walking around are like the 13-year old that was me when I first read LOTR.