EPTSetup a bunch of games with observing and switch when needed.. how hard is that... I feel for the casters.. they had to fill way too much time.
Thoughts Upon Returning to the Internetz After MLG - Page 6
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Romble
Canada19 Posts
Setup a bunch of games with observing and switch when needed.. how hard is that... I feel for the casters.. they had to fill way too much time. | ||
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Zorkmid
4410 Posts
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warsinger
United States17 Posts
I also let Sundance and his workers know what I did like. The best things were the seating (yay for padded chairs) and the Alienware booth where my son spent way too many hours playing SC2. It was especially great during the lag-induced downtime. After the event, you could tell Sundance was worn out but I made sure to let him know what went right. It was obvious that he was well aware of all the things that went wrong. Yesterday I bought my season pass to support NASL. I'm sure they will have some technical difficulties, but I'm excited at how they and others are really ramping things up this year. It was a pleasure meeting you, Anna. I too was thankful for your twitter reporting on many of the games around the venue. Thanks! | ||
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-Frog-
United States514 Posts
"MLG is absolutely fucking pathetic how can they be so incompetent ::rage::" ? Do you think MLG is unaware that people are upset that the stream is down? Or that they are upset that they paid money for a HQ pass but aren't getting the stream in HQ? It's not like there was someone overseeing the production side of things who was thinking "Oh well the stream is completely fucked but people will be ok with that - let's not bother trying to fix things." That being said it's of course necessary to give some sort of feedback and I think the point that that feedback should have some constructive aspect to it is a great one. How much more useful is it to say that there should be replays casted during the downtime than to say "This is fucking stupid I'd rather watch baby eagles." | ||
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Zorkmid
4410 Posts
While I agree with you that many people weren't constructive in their criticisms and that it's not helpful to the scene, it's unrealistic to expect everyone to adhere to your positive attitude. I beleive that when consumers are mad that they're getting fuck all for their money, they've got the right to be upset. For some of the hardcore SC2 observers, I'm sure that MLG Dallas is something that they've been looking forward to a long time. If I order a Pepperoni Pizza and the delivery guy brings me an empty box with a roughly pizza sized hunk of wood inside, I'm not going to call and tell the pizza place what they've done right! Me: "Hi Pizza place! First off, thanks for making the delivery on time, only took 22 minutes, wow! Also, the artwork on the box is just splendid! You did however, forget my Pizza, and next time I call and order one, I hope things are fixed on your end! Thanks for all your hard work and talk to you next week!" | ||
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-Frog-
United States514 Posts
No one should be happy with what happened at MLG this weekend but that doesn't mean you have to express your displeasure with curses and rage instead of maturity and a calm head. | ||
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Velr
Switzerland10685 Posts
Downtimes between games because only the mainstage got castet is just a no go. Not showing the RO8, i mean... That actually just makes me speechless. No "fluff". They did not show games, they did not show interviews or anything else. What did they actually do between games? Theyre not all tech stuff? A way to complicated Tournament system/bracket, you couldn't follow the tourney whiteout basically making your bachelor degree in tournament bracket searching and reading. Why is the MLG system more complicatet then that of all the others? Is there any reason except.. Halo? So much of the stuff that would counter these things is just Obvious, it was obvious after the first MLG and it still is obvious after the fourth, yet nothing changed (except the seating -.-). Why can Dreamhack, Assembly, IEM and loads of other organisations/lans bring decent streams on their first try while MLG is on their fourth and still not capable of doing so? All this other events also had their problems, but they showed game after game after game. You could follow the tournament, they weren't perfect but I and most others got entertained (and sometimes annoyed by casters or whatever  ).This MLG brought for the first 2 days no entertainment at all and at the third day it was just a "bad" entertainment with unessesary and uncomprehensible breaks. This all would be no big thing, if MLG 1-3 would have worked like a charm and such an emergency situation would have been a big surprice for everyone... But it wasn't, they knew that bad stuff can happen and they still weren't prepared for it, not in the least. As harsh as this may sound: As it seems the MLG is having such problems not just since SC2 joined it, it has them since an eternity and the solutions for unrealiable Streams and stuff like this is since an eternity the same.... As soon as the MLG will get serious competition, it will either improve like crazy (what has to be done is cristal clear)... or die. No one will miss it (if the new organisation is somewhat decent). Sundance taking care of the problem? Regarding the track record... I think Sundance is a part of the problem. Edit: I know that you want positive critism... But there is so much wrong with the event. The "big" stuff went wrong (payed HQ stream/stream alltogether), the smaller stuff went wrong (soundproofing)... It was one big mess and no matter how hard i try, i can't have a positive attitude to such an offensive showing of utter incompetence. | ||
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Anselm
United States45 Posts
On April 05 2011 23:33 uNcontroLable wrote: Guys, I'm really frustrated by the few people who are posting these type of thoughts without reading what I actually said. I stressed the importance of bringing concerns to the table and making disappointment known. The "No complaining rule" and "positive feedback" just meas committing to offer solutions alongside those concerns. Anna, I just want to offer you encouragement in what is certainly and extremely arduous endeavor. As it stands, you are asking people to have a mature outlook in a medium that has until now been exploited for the very reasons to the contrary. Anonymity and ease of access have encouraged the type of attitude that you are hoping to limit or eliminate all together. Forums are a place where people are able to get away with whatever they want based on these principles. There are many posts prior that exhibit the difficulty of the situation by themselves (IE asking people to be polite on the internet.) However, the topic in general, despite a few that seem to not have read it (like the one you are referring directly to) do show the desire of some to encourage this type of attitude. We do have the power to affect things for the better, as you are hoping to do and from what I have seen in the Starcraft community in general, reinforced by statements made by those in more prevalent positions in the community about the fans at events, show me that this is definitely not a futile endeavor. What you are hoping for and encouraging is something that is really special to the internet community in general, gaming communities in specific, that is a real possibility. We have the possibility to build a community that respects people and is, hopefully, a good and encouraging community for everyone who wants and is able to participate in it. The community, people, and personalities are the only reason I stick with Starcraft. The game is amazing but without the people behind it, it is just another game. We can shape what type of community this becomes. Thank you for your comments and work. Edits for the typos | ||
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qdenser
Canada133 Posts
On April 06 2011 00:20 Zorkmid wrote: I didn't know the government invested in it in SK, THAT's interesting. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2010/12/135_73794.html the ministry of culture, sports and tourism has a $3.1 billion USD budget in 2011 and some of it goes towards esports each year i guess. some of the money is spent on stuff like building esports stadiums. i'm sure there is good information on it somewhere on the internet had a decimal error lol | ||
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phantem
United States163 Posts
5/5 on the blog and 5/5 on the miss USA site =) | ||
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ptbl
United States6074 Posts
On April 05 2011 15:26 uNcontroLable wrote: 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. For Aiur, Anna You point is valid if the complaining is coming from employees of MLG. We all know that if you have a complaint, it's important that people offer a solution. However, the complaints are coming from consumers. As a for-profit organization, MLG would be committing financial suicide if it ignores the complaints of its viewers/consumers. The only viable way for a company to ignore the complaints of its consumer is if they own a monopoly in the market; MLG doesn't. | ||
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RoyalCheese
Czech Republic745 Posts
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Grantiere
United States129 Posts
On April 05 2011 23:39 uNcontroLable wrote: Just to clear this up: I have never been so far and am not at this point an employee of MLG. Also: this post uses MLG as an example, because that's where I just came from, but I really was writing more about a general concept to be applied across the board. Thanks for really good, interesting feedback everyone. In that case, shouldn't you be? Or maybe you'll be producing content for NASL, which would be just as nice. With the example of content produced by yourself, edwardstarcraft, mrbitter and others, wouldn't it behoove any e-sports organization to at least actively seek out and facilitate participation by content-producing members of the community? Roving reporters, live bloggers, maybe a sketch artist like cocoshoo - there are many ways in which a tournament can be turned into an event, rather than be treated as merely a bracket of individual games. Personally I'd love to see someone whose sole role is to create photoshopped pics / memes of noteworthy games / personalities / themes of an event. | ||
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Duravi
United States1205 Posts
Suggestion: Start on time? See how that approach kind of breaks down at a certain point? Without knowing all the specifics of why MLG perpetually starts late I cannot offer a constructive suggestion for something that is annoying to and greatly affects the viewers. It is very hard to give constructive feedback about problems they will not tell us the specifics of. | ||
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Treemonkeys
United States2082 Posts
On April 06 2011 04:32 Duravi wrote: Complaint: MLG habitually starts anywhere from 30 minutes to multiple hours late and not a single event last year started on time. Suggestion: Start on time? See how that approach kind of breaks down at a certain point? Without knowing all the specifics of why MLG perpetually starts late I cannot offer a constructive suggestion for something that is annoying to and greatly affects the viewers. It is very hard to give constructive feedback about problems they will not tell us the specifics of. Yeah, exactly. I agree with the merits of a positive attitude and offering solutions with complaints, but sometimes it's just too much. Complaint: Only the first set of games had commentary. Suggestion: Spend 5 minutes testing the sound system at the volume it needs to be used at to find out if the players can hear it. Plan ahead of time to either have or not have commentating instead of unprofessionally pulling at after the first set and with not official explanation or apology. Complaint: Only one set of games was shown on the main stage on saturday, and it was painfully laggy. Suggestion: As an IT professional, there is no good excuse as to why those computers were not running well and the majority of the other seemed fine. Obviously the main stage should have priority. If there was something wrong with the computers themselves, replace them. If there was a problem with the cable running to those computers, re run it. I could have fixed virtually any problem those computers were having in two hours or less. There was is no valid excuse for how bad MLG was, the only real suggestion is to put more effort into it and hire someone that gives a damn. They should refund people who purchased tickets to attend. | ||
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Flew
United Kingdom133 Posts
It was interesting to read Anna's post. It's always nice when someone posts something intelligent and well written on a forum. I like that positivity. It frustrates me so much when people say that we can't change the amount of shit on the internet, so just don't try. That makes me want to scream! We CAN change things - infact, TL.net is an example of how strong moderating can create high standards on an internet site. If only more forums did this. I think the amount of complaints about MLG were deserved, and I think many people stated their complaints in a reasonable way. I glad that the level of discontent caused MLG to give refunds, as this should put more pressure on them to improve next time or lose even more cash. I do applaud Anna's decision to ask people to think about how they complain however. Telling a company why you're not happy with the service and asking for a refund is completely acceptable. Calling a company and insulting their employees, threatening them, talking shit about their mothers and posting photoshopped pictures of them on the internet is immature and it puts you just as much in the wrong as them (if not more). It also gives a bad impression of the community when a lot of people get together and do it. | ||
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Treemonkeys
United States2082 Posts
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RoyalCheese
Czech Republic745 Posts
On April 06 2011 06:12 Treemonkeys wrote: I also wanted to write MLG a letter about the whole debacle but I couldn't find anything on their website to send feedback to, does anyone know how to contact them in a way that someone will actually read it? You can find Sundances email on his twitter account | ||
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Duravi
United States1205 Posts
I do applaud Anna's decision to ask people to think about how they complain however. Telling a company why you're not happy with the service and asking for a refund is completely acceptable. Calling a company and insulting their employees, threatening them, talking shit about their mothers and posting photoshopped pictures of them on the internet is immature and it puts you just as much in the wrong as them (if not more). It also gives a bad impression of the community when a lot of people get together and do it. I agree with this sentiment, but the point I was trying to make though is that in order to give constructive feedback you need a certain amount of knowledge about the inner-workings of a service that they do not (and in some cases should not) provide. If I get a black screen for 30 seconds during a critical play well watching the superbowl I could and should complain about it but any feedback I offered other than "dont screw up" would be pure speculation as to how the network planned and ran the event. When it comes to an entertainment product like this constructive criticism ends when you transition from "more things I would like to see" to "I'm not seeing much of anything". This is where I primarily have a bone to pick with what Anna is saying. | ||
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GreatFall
United States1061 Posts
Check out our show: http://traffic.libsyn.com/starcrack/Ep_16_-_MLGStreamfail.mp3 | ||
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