I’m sure most of you can feel it. There are big things happening in e-sports, and specifically in Starcraft. The State of the Game Panel maxed out the PAX East venue hours before it began, and flooded Kingston HyperX with love messages for their continued sponsorship. Starcraft 2 has been announced for World Cyber Games, and was given its own main stage at Major League Gaming Dallas this past weekend. In countless ways, the community is growing, it’s changing, and it’s creating a buzz. For many citizens of the e-sports world, this motivates us to ask “How can I help?” I suggest that, as a community, we collectively have the potential to be an unstoppable, positive, impactful force – but we may need to take a moment to re-align our approach if we are to make real progress.
Last year at MLG Dallas, sparse benches and a small room weren’t capable of containing the love that the community wanted to give Starcraft 2. We spoke out to MLG, and they listened. This year at MLG Dallas, we had a main stage with just as many seats as the shooters (still not quite enough ) and marked attention from the event organizers. It’s important that we count that improvement as a success, both on our part, and on the part of MLG. However, no-one, including MLG leadership, will tell you that the MLG experience this weekend was anywhere close to optimal. Issues with unstable live stream, in-game lag, and in-house audio containment kept many viewers from experiencing the event that they paid for, and, arguably, even impacted the outcome of a few matches. I am proud that, as a community, we are again making our voices known (and serious props to MLG for their sense of responsibility and continued desire to listen and improve http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=209086). That said, as we endeavor to make our concerns heard, it is imperative that we do so in a way that will maximize the chances of improvement.
I was recently encouraged to read “The No Complaining Rule” by Jon Gordon, and it opened my eyes to some enlightening research on the science of positivity, negativity, and getting results. According to research by John Gottman, cited in the book, work groups with positive to negative interaction ratios of 3:1 are significantly more productive than teams that do not reach this ratio. That’s not to say we shouldn’t ever have negative interactions – it’s necessary to address tough issues and hold each other accountable – what it does mean, though, is that positivity brings about change. When we mindlessly flame or troll an organization, person, or situation, we may feel better, we may get agreement from our peers, but rarely will we truly get the ear of those who are capable of implementing change.
As the book puts it “The goal is not to eliminate all complaining. The intent is to eliminate the kind of mindless complaining that doesn’t serve a greater purpose and allow complaining that is justified and worthwhile.” If you think about it, how much better and how much more powerful would we be if every member of our community was committed to offering a solution (or 2) alongside every complaint? “The lag @^#^& sucked and the audio in the venue makes the results invalid” does make known a concern, but how much more useful is “please push Blizzard to come alongside you with solutions like dedicated server or LAN support” and “I think sound-proof booths on the main stage would really improve the experience and, in the long run, save you money.” How much more are you willing to change for someone when they build you up instead of beat you down?
There is power both in our numbers and in our intellect, SC2 community. We have proven over and over that we are capable and willing to hold ourselves to a higher standard when it comes to conduct. We need leaders who will step up and take responsibility for the change we want to see in this industry. To that end, I propose a “No Complaining Rule” when it comes to our efforts to grow e-sports: a commitment to accompany every complaint with a solution, a culture with an attitude of positivity that will help us work together with the organizations that we care about, coming alongside them to offer guidance as we work toward a common goal: the realization of our mutual passions.
This "No Complaining Rule" would be a dream come true for me to see widely adopted. The sickening amounts of cynicism that run rampant these days can be so disheartening. Thanks for your post, Anna, and hopefully more people take your words to heart!
Why is complaining looked down at as a bad thing? MLG isn't a charity; it is a for-profit organization. It's goal is to make money off us, the viewers and players, so we are entitled to complain. We're both the consumers of their content and the product for their advertisers.
It really bothers me a lot when people jump up to defend companies. Their role is to satisfy us enough that they can take our money -- something MLG clearly didn't do well at last weekend.
Complaining and cynicism can be negative things, but they're absolutely crucial for improvement. We're no longer in grade school where constructive criticism is the only way to handle things. We're dealing with multimillion dollar organizations.
You are absolutely right. The SC2 community can't grow if all we do is bitch about everything, but instead we need to focus our energy on trying to improve and better the community.
You seemed quite busy running around left and right getting pictures and interviews. Thanks for your coverage at MLG this weekend!
I understand you have good intentions but people are going to shit on things, this is the internet, I'm pretty sure that's what the internet was invented for.
edit: I think people just need to learn and recognize the different between constructive criticism and stupid bitching and learn to ignore what needs to be ignored, I remember when GomTV was going to charge $20 for season tickets etc, complaining is what got everybody a more fair deal. The bitching and shitting on things isn't going anywhere, get used to it.
Well said and I agree. Personally heard back from some MLG people on twitter just because I was staying positive. It's VERY obvious MLG (and Sundance, their CEO) really care about SC2. People need to do their best to support MLG, not bash them for trying to give us something better. Sure, Dallas was, overall, a poor experience for anyone who wasn't there in person but MLG has made it clear they are not happy with that.
Like I said on twitter: MLG learned from Dallas and it will only get better.
Might not even be perfect in Columbus but by the time the 2011 season is over they will have this stuff mastered and bring us a really good show worthy of purchasing the HD pass for.
On April 05 2011 15:37 hmunkey wrote: Why is complaining looked down at as a bad thing? MLG isn't a charity; it is a for-profit organization. It's goal is to make money off us, the viewers and players, so we are entitled to complain. We're both the consumers of their content and the product for their advertisers.
It really bothers me a lot when people jump up to defend companies. Their role is to satisfy us enough that they can take our money -- something MLG clearly didn't do well at last weekend.
Complaining and cynicism can be negative things, but they're absolutely crucial for improvement. We're no longer in grade school where constructive criticism is the only way to handle things. We're dealing with multimillion dollar organizations.
Plz read the OP before debating.
As the book puts it “The goal is not to eliminate all complaining. The intent is to eliminate the kind of mindless complaining that doesn’t serve a greater purpose and allow complaining that is justified and worthwhile.” If you think about it, how much better and how much more powerful would we be if every member of our community was committed to offering a solution (or 2) alongside every complaint? “The lag @^#^& sucked and the audio in the venue makes the results invalid” does make known a concern, but how much more useful is “please push Blizzard to come alongside you with solutions like dedicated server or LAN support” and “I think sound-proof booths on the main stage would really improve the experience and, in the long run, save you money.” How much more are you willing to change for someone when they build you up instead of beat you down?
well written! Competitive gaming is in a constant state of flux, but is once again on a major upswing. If we continue to support those who can truly add value to eSports, and tell them how to improve, I believe we can make them listen
This is written like we're putting all our eSports eggs into MLG's basket. Last weekend for MLG, I just stopped watching the stream and didn't even bother trying to load it up and instead just deferred to TL's twitter. I'm getting a vibe that if I don't support a poorly run event, I'm not supporting eSports, which I don't understand. It's the Internet, and there will ALWAYS be unnecessary negativity, but saying that people are being too negative because they're being fairly critical isn't much better. I don't see how it's hard to sort out the good complaints from the bad ones.
I'll support eSports by supporting companies and events that are well run so that eSports is under good hands. I know MLG may have just fallen under unlucky times, but in the end they're going to have to find a streaming model that works because I'm not a fan of just hyping up a company just because they're under the mantra of "growing eSports".
hmunkey, you can't view MLG as just another business. If the Radio Shack in your town keeps messing up despite constant complaining, people will stop going there, and it will close down. Big deal. If that happens to Major League Gaming, suddenly we don't have a place to congregate, we don't have an avenue for live competitive play for thousands of dollars six times a year throughout the country. If we don't support MLG despite their short-comings, the game that we watch and play and discuss here every day would take a huge blow to its success and its feasibility for competition and for entertainment.
Edit: LOL LOOK I'M DREWBIE. Just kidding, this is JoshSuth. I'm using drewbie's laptop to export videos, forgot to log out. My bad. =P
On April 05 2011 15:37 hmunkey wrote: Why is complaining looked down at as a bad thing? MLG isn't a charity; it is a for-profit organization. It's goal is to make money off us, the viewers and players, so we are entitled to complain. We're both the consumers of their content and the product for their advertisers.
It really bothers me a lot when people jump up to defend companies. Their role is to satisfy us enough that they can take our money -- something MLG clearly didn't do well at last weekend.
Complaining and cynicism can be negative things, but they're absolutely crucial for improvement. We're no longer in grade school where constructive criticism is the only way to handle things. We're dealing with multimillion dollar organizations.
The problem (and point) is that complainers rarely bring anything new to the table or suggestions for change.
On April 05 2011 15:43 shindigs wrote: I'm trying to agree with this post, but I can't.
This is written like we're putting all our eSports eggs into MLG's basket. Last weekend for MLG, I just stopped watching the stream and didn't even bother trying to load it up and instead just deferred to TL's twitter. I'm getting a vibe that if I don't support a poorly run event, I'm not supporting eSports, which I don't understand. It's the Internet, and there will ALWAYS be unnecessary negativity, but saying that people are being too negative because they're being fairly critical isn't much better.
I'll support eSports by supporting companies and events that are well run so that eSports is under good hands. I know MLG may have just fallen under unlucky times, but in the end they're going to have to find a streaming model that works because I'm not a fan of just hyping up a company just because they're under the mantra of "growing eSports".
I agree completely. And the post you just made is well thought out and constructive. That's the kind of feedback we need: telling organizations what we want, and focusing on the ones that are working to get it right. I'm by no means advicating for or against MLG. Simply using them as an example to illustrate that we will get further with posts like this than anything else.
EPT
) and marked attention from the event organizers. It’s important that we count that improvement as a success, both on our part, and on the part of MLG. However, no-one, including MLG leadership, will tell you that the MLG experience this weekend was anywhere close to optimal. Issues with unstable live stream, in-game lag, and in-house audio containment kept many viewers from experiencing the event that they paid for, and, arguably, even impacted the outcome of a few matches. I am proud that, as a community, we are again making our voices known (and serious props to MLG for their sense of responsibility and continued desire to listen and improve http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=209086). That said, as we endeavor to make our concerns heard, it is imperative that we do so in a way that will maximize the chances of improvement.
