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Ask Massively: We do in fact have rules edition

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 21:30:00 EST

Filed under: Game mechanics, Opinion, Massively Meta, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous

I feel that right now would be an excellent time to refer everyone to a bit of supplemental reading that should be really fun -- our Code of Conduct! Yes, we have a set of rules that we expect everyone to follow, and no, we are not stupid. If you spend months trying to skirt those rules very carefully, we will be watching hawk-like for the moment you step out of line. And when that happens? There is cake.

Moving right along, it's time for another edition of Ask Massively. This time, we're discussing issues of balance and overall character depth as brought on by recent developments within the world of Darkfall. If you'd like to have a question answered in a future edition of the column, send it along to ask@massively.com or leave it in the comments afterward. Or use the comments to discuss something else; that does seem equally likely.

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Ask Massively: We do in fact have rules edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively's Code of Conduct reminder

Shawn Schuster — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Massively Meta

Hello faithful readers! As any Massively.com veteran may remember, this site established a code of conduct a few years ago for our commenters. This code is located under our Community link at the top of the page, and outlines common sense rules for commenting on the site, including the fact that we won't tolerate attacks on other readers or our writers.

But since the site has grown so drastically in the last year, we feel it's time to send out a friendly reminder for any new readers who may not be aware that there even is a code of conduct.

So we invite you all to take a moment to read over the rules, and note that our goal is to provide a place for readers to comment without fear of personal attacks or unnecessary trolling. We want you to be able to express your opinions in the comments (yes, even negative ones) without fear of being called names or cursed at, so we've been actively banning commenters who can't seem to understand the basics of grown-up human interaction. Plus, we expect that you would want us to concentrate our own time and energy into making this site the best it can be, instead of continuously giving warnings to people who troll the site and its readers.

And most importantly, if you see a comment that breaks a rule in our code of conduct, please report it so that we can take necessary measures from there. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at shawn@massively.com.

Massively's Code of Conduct reminder originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Update to the Massively makeover

Brianna Royce — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Bugs, Events, real-world, Massively Meta, Miscellaneous

Hello, readers! It's been a few weeks since our massive Massively site overhaul landed, and our web gurus have been scurrying in the background fixing bugs and responding to your reports. Not all of the bugs have been vaporized just yet, but we'd like to update you on the status of some of the problems that most affect you.

RSS -- Our most-reported problem over the last few weeks revolved around our RSS feeds. Many users reported a doubling-up of posts as the site spewed out two copies of every post. Others reported an inability to subscribe to specific categories and bloggers, and still others were finding that every RSS feed was producing copies of the podcast (great news for podcast fans, I guess!). Our techs currently report that all of our RSS feeds should be functioning now, but they note that many RSS readers do not well tolerate the kind of switcheroo we had to do. If you're still having problems, unsubscribe again from all of your Massively feeds and try resubbing one more time. I can tell you that I am using Google Reader and stopped having problems a few days ago. If you need to resub to specific feeds, this will help: for the writers, visit the individual pages on our team portal; for columns and features, hop over to our columns list; and for specific games, click on your chosen game in the games list for a category with a feed button.

There's more behind the cut... follow along!

Continue reading Update to the Massively makeover

Update to the Massively makeover originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ask Massively: Why so serious edition

Shawn Schuster — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Opinion, Humor, Ask Massively

It's that time again! Ask Massively has returned this week with answers to a handful of new questions. Since we didn't get too many this week, I went back and grabbed a few unanswered questions from our first week. Topics include Guild Wars population numbers, APB impressions and our new code of conduct.

Click right past the jump below for this week's answers. If you'd like to see your question answered next week, add it to the comments below or send it to ask AT massively DOT com. We'd love to hear from you!

Continue reading Ask Massively: Why so serious edition

Ask Massively: Why so serious edition originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The new Massively.com Code of Conduct

Seraphina Brennan — Fri, 28 May 2010 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Massively Meta

Well hey there readers! Today I come to you with a brief but important announcement -- we have a new code of conduct!

What does that mean for you? Well, in short, we want to take care of our comment section a little more closely than we have in the past. You're going to see us more frequently in the comments, discussing the news with you guys, and you're also going to see us moderating the comment section from time to time.

What does this not mean for you? Well, we're certainly not going to squelch your opinions. We're doing this to make our comments section a great place to discuss games, news, and MMOs at large, no matter your opinion. We just want to put a few ground rules into place, and let you all know what is and what is not acceptable to write down in our comments section.

For most of you, you're already abiding by the new code of conduct, so don't go worrying yourself. However, we certainly invite you all to go check out the new home of the Code of Conduct and familiarize yourself with the five basic rules of commenting. Plus, if you have any comments, questions, or concerns about any of this, you can always contact me personally at seraphina AT massively DOT com.

So no worries! Comment away, dear readers! We can't wait to see what opinions you have to share with us!

The new Massively.com Code of Conduct originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 May 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MMO Family: 17 internet safety tactics for gaming families

Lisa Poisso — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Kids, MMO Family, Family, Miscellaneous

MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family. From tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate niches for every family member, MMO Family offers you advice on MMO gaming of the family, by the family and for the family.

"Be careful, there's nasty stuff out there on the internet."

It's frustrating to hear this warning clarioned over and over again. We're gamers ourselves, after all. We know easily children can get in over their heads on the internet. "Be careful," intone the experts. "Watch carefully, and be very, very careful ..." But how? What must we be careful to do? To not do? What does "being careful" mean in actual practice? Specific online safety tactics - and putting them into practice without driving anyone crazy in the process - become an epic quest reward that always manages to stay two turn-ins out of reach.

As we mentioned last week, your main objective as the parent of a young MMO player is to remain figuratively logged in to their activity. When children are online, parents cannot afford to be figuratively AFK. We're not suggesting you pull up a chair and some popcorn to faithfully oversee kids' every move online. No child needs direct supervision to kill 10 rats (or pick 20 flowers or befriend 30 fairies or frag 50 enemies ...). But young gamers do need your boundaries and your guidance (as well as your feedback, your enthusiasm and your support). Just how strong the boundaries should be will depend on the age of your child and the game that they're playing. Apply common sense, based on your own MMO experience, along with these 17 tactics for safe online gaming.

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MMO Family: 17 internet safety tactics for gaming families originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Arming yourself in the battle against LotRO gold spam

Shawn Schuster — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Legal, Academic, Education

Following the release of their first paid expansion, Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria developer Turbine has released a reminder of their policy concerning gold-selling and real money transactions (RMT). The reminder post was written by Senior Game Master "Nod" on the official forums, and it contains their no-nonsense code of conduct when it comes to dealing with gold selling.

The rules themselves are fairly typical of an MMO's anti-RMT stance, yet this post also gives players information on how they can deal with gold sellers, spammers, farmers and gold-selling websites themselves. For example, to report a gold spammer, "right-click their spam in your chat window, click on Chat, then click Report as Gold Spammer. This will automatically block the spammer and report the spam to In-Game Support." If you've found yourself getting annoyed by the onslaught of gold spammers that plagues games as they increase in popularity (like LotRO), this information should help you in your battle.

Arming yourself in the battle against LotRO gold spam originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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