Yesterday I joined the GiantITP forums (the website where Rich Burlew's Order of the Stick is hosted) to post a message seeking information about the shipping date for the new OotS collection which features his comics from Dragon magazine. I needed info because I am about to relocate and was afraid that if the release of the book was delayed, it might get sent to the wrong address - but if I changed my info now, it would ship to my future residence, and I'd hate for the current occupants to be like, "What's this crap? A stick figure comic? Toss it in the garbage, honey." SADFACE.
Now, I will grant you that I probably should have emailed customer service at Ookoodook right off the bat - I think the Paizo message boards have spoiled me though, because their staff is so good about addressing customer questions in the forums. I also wondered if perhaps the book had already shipped and another person who had pre-ordered could have given me some reassurance, thus saving me the trouble of inconveniencing a customer service rep at the publishing company.
Almost immediately, my message was assaulted by another poster who addressed me in an accusatory fashion, asking why I didn't post in the stickied thread for the product discussion and furthermore why I was on the boards talking about it when I could just contact Ookoodook. I was apologetic in my response, which only seemed to further his irritation.
At that point, I pretty much gave up on the GITP message boards as a source of information. I emailed Ookoodook/APE and got a very helpful response from their representative, who told me how to handle the shipping address problem and also mentioned that the ship date for the book had been pushed back to late May.
In the thread that I had started on GITP, another poster had requested that I pass on any information I discovered in the stickied discussion thread. I returned to the GITP forums to do so, but the stickied thread had been closed by a moderator - so I posted the information in the thread I created.
Almost immediately thereafter, my thread was also locked.
Call me oversensitive, but if the publisher is willing to tell a customer what the prospective ship date for a product is, why is discussion of the same topic being systematically shut down by mods on the creator's website? I've long since given up on Rich Burlew doing anything in a timely fashion - the waiting is always the hardest part of being an OotS fan, and I accept that. But this seems like a very simple thing to inform your customers of - particularly when they're prepaid months in advance for a product that is being delayed.
So: Hostile forum environment with a ton of posting rules, bad communication with fans, capricious locking of discussion threads containing information that's readily available from the publisher - I think the GITP people could stand to hang around on the Paizo forums and learn a lesson or two from the awesome staff and friendly community we have here. As it is, I'm not sure I ever want to go back there. And GITP, you're producing a webcomic - it's not like you're Boeing or Lockheed Martin making top secret missiles and jet fighters here. Would it kill you to be upfront with your customers about product delays? You might save yourselves some ill will from your forum posters with a little more transparency, especially considering that the people who pre-ordered the book are bankrolling your initial print run.
End rant.
I had similar experiences. The group that hangs out there regularly came across as quite hostile. I go there a few times a week to check for the latest comic now and that's it. To me, it felt like every day was edition wars as far as the environment was concerned.
I go there a few times a week to check for the latest comic now and that's it.
I go a few times a year to check for new comics. I don't usually fall more than a half-dozen strips behind...
These boards are not the place to complain about other forums. Locking thread.