It seems that you're using an outdated browser. Some things may not work as they should (or don't work at all).
We suggest you upgrade newer and better browser like: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Opera

×
If there's something like Karma, I suppose other forums should have a few rants threads about "those elitist at GOG" by now. Because here people get trolled for asking "when X game is going to be published" or get accused of being bots for posting links about random indie games.

Doesn't mean one should judge a whole board based on the attitude of a few people though.
avatar
Avogadro6: "when X game is going to be published"
Well ... People get touchy when there are 3 of those a day. Granted, I would myself be much rather if they just ignored them.

avatar
Avogadro6: get accused of being bots for posting links about random indie games.
When did that happen? I could see that happening to someone without avatar and title new user (yeah like you :D) and my little post about that not exactly being polite still applies.

Nevertheless, yeah, it's never good to badmouth any other board. Ever. Well except from old Czech Madbrahmin forums, but those were pretty .. Mad.
avatar
lowyhong: So I was quite excited at the time for the Sherlock Holmes Kickstarter project, and wanted to pimp it a bit, and also decided it was a good idea to maybe post in the RPS forum too. I'd honestly never even lurked on the RPS forums before, let alone posted in it, but I thought it'd be a good opportunity to jump in there, better late than never.
I don't hang out at RPS but I read reviews there, I don't know you or Mr Doo-whatever.

But this part of your post immediately grabbed me.
avatar
lowyhong: So I was quite excited at the time for the Sherlock Holmes Kickstarter project, and wanted to pimp it a bit, and also decided it was a good idea to maybe post in the RPS forum too. I'd honestly never even lurked on the RPS forums before, let alone posted in it, but I thought it'd be a good opportunity to jump in there, better late than never.
Every internet community is different. They all have their quirks, their ideas on how things should be done, their values.

To go to a forum where you admit you never even lurked, and post something that you have no idea would go over well or not, and then complain that you didn't like how they reacted - you really don't think that maybe this not a completely incomprehensible result?

I'm not saying you're the bad guy.

But if you go to a forum where you have no idea of the culture, no idea of the expectations - for instance, whether it's the kind of community where pimping a project in encouraged or discouraged - because you didn't bother to hang out for a while and find out, and then as your first post to dive in trying to make a big, pimpy splash, then can you really complain when a couple of the regulars get grumpy and say that's not how they do things there?

When you go someplace new, it's smart to get a feel for the place, at the very least, before you sound off without knowing how your post is going to go over.

Now, that is in no way a law, or requirement. But it is a good way to help get welcomed in new places online, rather than rejected.

Yes, the GOG forum community is great.

No, not every web community is nearly as laid back, welcoming, and supportive.

But there things that will smooth your introduction into any new group, online or off, and things that are less likely to do so.
Post edited March 25, 2012 by HetzerOne
Well if it's any consolation, I'm about to spam that Kickstarter project onto a forum I'm a regular at. :p
lol?

Mr Dog Poo has evidence you're the Dev of the game, or just talking his name-sake?

Put up, or STFU, DOOD!
avatar
Avogadro6: get accused of being bots for posting links about random indie games.
avatar
Fenixp: When did that happen? I could see that happening to someone without avatar and title new user (yeah like you :D) and my little post about that not exactly being polite still applies.
I have a feeling he's referring to me. Here's the thread.
avatar
lowyhong: Meh, honestly I should just laugh and be done with it, but just thinking about it riles me that there are some people in the community of a (professional) blog that embraces independent/old-school gaming who make the vibe appear so imbecilic. Anyway, pardon this rant. I've been in posting in 'politically correct' GOG.com for so long, I've forgotten what it is like to respond to sheer stupidity.
Well, I admire your spirit, and I definitely think that your heart was in the right place, but speaking from someone who's been on the other side of that fence before, I can kind of see where they're coming from. Kickstarter seems to be the latest gold rush in gaming, and with a lot of attention and growth being seen in Kickstarter projects it's only reasonable for people to be afraid that devs are going to be astroturfing their forums with Kickstarter promos.

That still doesn't excuse them acting like idiots though.
avatar
Twilight: Also, I like how gog forums always presume they are the most tolerant and cool, people here confirm that fact to each other and pat each other on the back :)
That's because in my experience, I've actually experienced a much more positive response to my own presence than I'd expect in other forums, as someone who plays GOG titles primarily on a Mac, with maybe one or two exceptions. I've also seen a very friendly reception to people who use Linux too. I can guarantee you that if someone asked "how can I play game X on my Mac?" on another forum, they'd get trolled and bashed right out of there.
avatar
Twilight: All that, while these forums are on a holy crusade against everything "rotten" on the internet (i.e. DRM) and lynch anyone who even dares to support some of these ideas :P
I think that's a gross oversimplification here. Much of the rage and frustration piled on services like Steam and Origin can be patently and objectively be justified. And yes, people have been lynched, but that's usually because they've made posts that have largely been wild, overreacting accusations.
Post edited March 25, 2012 by rampancy
avatar
Roman5: I have no experience with the RPS forum however I can indeed confirm that some people online are so paranoid and quick to judge it's amazing

I remember since I registered on GOG in 2010, to help spread to word and to help GOG I sometimes still to this day make posts on Forums/Boards/Other places online regarding cool new releases or great promos

50% of the posts that reply to me: accuse me of "Working for GOG"
avatar
lowyhong: Yes well we all know how zealous you can be, but I'll never think you're working for GOG. Bit over-the-top in your enthusiasm, and sometimes bordering on annoying - sorry for the bluntness lol - but I don't ever get the feeling you'd work out as a professional employee of GOG. Got any links?
Afraid I don't since all "Examples" are either gone or deleted at this point

In any case, I hope I made my point clear

It's also quite sad how much Hypocrisy there is on some places in the web, when a new release or deal pops up on Steam, when people discuss it - that's fine and perfectly acceptable

however when the same happens on GOG, GamersGate, other DD services - Apparently some people classify it as "Stealth Marketing"
avatar
rampancy: I can guarantee you that if someone asked "how can I play game X on my Mac?" on another forum, they'd get trolled and bashed right out of there.
They might be here too (often by me). But it depends totally on how the question is phrased.

If the question runs along the lines of "Hey, I just bought a shiny new Mac. Why won't the Windows game I just bought from here run on it? Give me official GOG Mac support NAOW!", it might well go as you describe.

On the other hand, if the poster says something like "Given that Mac ports of both DOSBox and ScummVM exist, can somebody give me any advice on how to run GOG games using either of those two engines/emulators on my Mac?", then chances are he'll be treated with politeness and respect, and that people will attempt to help him to the best of their ability.
avatar
rampancy: I can guarantee you that if someone asked "how can I play game X on my Mac?" on another forum, they'd get trolled and bashed right out of there.
avatar
Wishbone: They might be here too (often by me). But it depends totally on how the question is phrased.

If the question runs along the lines of "Hey, I just bought a shiny new Mac. Why won't the Windows game I just bought from here run on it? Give me official GOG Mac support NAOW!", it might well go as you describe.

On the other hand, if the poster says something like "Given that Mac ports of both DOSBox and ScummVM exist, can somebody give me any advice on how to run GOG games using either of those two engines/emulators on my Mac?", then chances are he'll be treated with politeness and respect, and that people will attempt to help him to the best of their ability.
I guess what I meant to say was that people asking help for getting GOG titles to work on their Mac would be more chided for acting like self-entitled brats or for not properly searching around for Mac-relevant threads (to be fair to them, common search terms like "Mac" or "Mac OS X" aren't picked up by this forum's search function).

What I'm glad to not see are people commenting on others' choice of platform with all the civility and maturity of a 12-year old on XBox Live.
avatar
Wishbone: I have a feeling he's referring to me. Here's the thread.
Actually no, sorry man, you didn't swear or were rude enough to qualify. :P

I was thinking about that couple of threads where a fresh user was trying to promote or asked for info about some obscure game and left a link to the official site.
Some people proceeded to insult him thinking he was a spambot (why would someone insult a bot is totally beyond me) and made some witty replies along the line of "you will find your info on GTFO.NET". A quite mortified OP posted back some time later, and I don't really remember how it ended.
Ok, I give up. For now, I take back any defense I may have had about people who comment on RPS, after seeing this gem of a comment made on RPS's post on the GOG ad campaign:

Is a drm-free installer (that you can only legally obtain by confirming that you have the rights to the digital material through their website) any different than having to authenticate with Steam or Impulse (ha, like anyone uses that) or Origin before downloading a game?
It is, because you can reinstall the GoG one whenever you want after a single simple download (I think most of the other sites need you to re-authenticate to install?). So is it any different from a lot of the older games where you just had to enter a serial and select “Full Installation”? Or, even better, some of the MS games where they would outright say “This is your serial, please don’t lose it” and let you just click next anyway?

By the broadest definition (so probably the real one), GoG has DRM. It just has one of the least noticeable approaches (and the marketing helps. A LOT). And, in all honesty, “DRM-Free” sounds a LOT better than “The most unobtrusive DRM scheme that still ensures we make some moneys.”

But most people don’t even know what DRM is, so they figure “If it bothers me, it is DRM”. Ironically, Steam stops being DRM for most gamers in that case (if you are already chatting with friends or online for multiplayer, does the authentication matter?)

So yeah, Valve and GoG basically have the same business plan (make the DRM such that it will bother the fewest number of the target demographic while still providing benefits to using the service), they just target different demographics. GoG favors the singleplayer gamer, Valve favors the multiplayer. And that is probably why they are the most well-known in their respective circles (Valve in DD in general, GoG in small-scale older-game oriented DD).
I...I'm just speechless.
avatar
rampancy: I...I'm just speechless.
FYI, the poster used to be a GOG forum regular (haven't noticed the avatar in a while). And quite frankly, the argument is somewhat extreme, but the core idea is solid, and in fact rather elegantly put ("So yeah, Valve and GoG basically have the same business plan (make the DRM such that it will bother the fewest number of the target demographic while still providing benefits to using the service)").
avatar
rampancy: ...
Yeah, gundato's trolling GoG forums too, don't worry :-P
avatar
rampancy: ...
Yeah, gundato's trolling GoG forums too, don't worry :-P

edit: ninjad.

avatar
rampancy: I...I'm just speechless.
avatar
bazilisek: FYI, the poster used to be a GOG forum regular (haven't noticed the avatar in a while). And quite frankly, the argument is somewhat extreme, but the core idea is solid, and in fact rather elegantly put ("So yeah, Valve and GoG basically have the same business plan (make the DRM such that it will bother the fewest number of the target demographic while still providing benefits to using the service)").
No it's not solid, not by a long shot. With that approach when you go to a shop and buy a DRM-free game, it's DRM, because you've had to go to the shop and buy the game. It's utter bollocks.
Post edited March 26, 2012 by Fenixp
avatar
Fenixp: No it's not solid, not by a long shot. With that approach when you go to a shop and buy a DRM-free game, it's DRM, because you've had to go to the shop and buy the game. It's utter bollocks.
You can't really merge those two together. "DRM", whatever its current definition is, is at its core about establishing your identity, which is something traditional retail is completely unconcerned with. Purely theoretically, a DRM free game should not even require a login to your GOG account, because that is providing your credentials in order to download the installer. You cannot argue around that.

It is an extreme viewpoint, yes. A purely DRM-free business model (in the Gundato sense of the word) couldn't ever possibly work, of course. But the logic behind it is sound.