I think if players are going to have questions that they will only seek answers on from staff, they should just send it in a request, and not use the GDB.

Am I the only one who occasionally sees something that WOULD have been "Ask the staff" being answered by players, only to receive a "ok, but I want staff to answer" as a response?


Should we reinstate Ask the Staff, or should we maybe have a link on the forums that goes directly to the Request Tool?

Quote from: Riev on June 02, 2024, 04:59:29 PMI think if players are going to have questions that they will only seek answers on from staff, they should just send it in a request, and not use the GDB.

Am I the only one who occasionally sees something that WOULD have been "Ask the staff" being answered by players, only to receive a "ok, but I want staff to answer" as a response?


Should we reinstate Ask the Staff, or should we maybe have a link on the forums that goes directly to the Request Tool?

I always liked the, 'Ask the Staff' section, and it used to be the first place I'd go for answers on a particular subject before I submitted a request. I'd be all for having it back, as long as it's not too much load on staff - I'm sure with the Seasons content going in, they're probably pretty swamped with Requests and Builds and Code and all that.

Rearranging the GDB was one of the last things I helped with when I was on the moderator team.

The Ask-the-Staff channel predates the Request Tool, and it ultimately was replaced by it.

The last few usages of Ask-The-Staff were really statements aimed at playerbase in the form of questions towards the staff at large, in the form of a protest / soapbox forum.  It was also set that the moderators couldn't edit or moderate the content there, so we had to reach out to staff to ping them to edit / delete posts there.  It was just easier for the moderator team to have it removed.

A fine and fair justification for its removal, but it seems to have created posts in the reverse. Aimed at staff asking questions, but leaving it open for players to respond.

If we're going to keep it the way it is (which is fine), maybe we should try and either have specific Staff Q/A threads or keep those questions to the request tool?

Quote from: Riev on June 02, 2024, 09:58:48 PM...If we're going to keep it the way it is (which is fine), maybe we should try and either have specific Staff Q/A threads or keep those questions to the request tool?

I think the current method is okay?

Typically when a staff announcement is made, players (or staff) create a "Q&A" thread about that specific topic.
See:
Sessions Q&A: https://gdb.armageddon.org/index.php/topic,60175.0.html
Q&A for Advanced Start Updates:  https://gdb.armageddon.org/index.php/topic,60351.0.html
Discuss: Change to PK Guidelines:  https://gdb.armageddon.org/index.php/topic,60378.0.html

And the best response thread of all time:
Release Notes Discussion:  https://gdb.armageddon.org/index.php/topic,52143.0.html

Yes, I DID create that thread. I'm pretty cool.

I'm fine with the answers provided, honestly. Its the questions that are in a public discussion board but the poster is clearly only interested in the official staff response.

Do we just leave those be?

If they have questions that they only want an answer from staff about, I think it should be in a request. If they want a quicker response, they can always try and trust in the players by asking on gdb or discord. We have moderators and helper roles or just moderators?

I have a 19 year experience badge on Steam, where's my 20 year Arm badge to show off?! We need those 😏

Quote from: Riev on June 02, 2024, 10:55:24 PMYes, I DID create that thread. I'm pretty cool.

I'm fine with the answers provided, honestly. Its the questions that are in a public discussion board but the poster is clearly only interested in the official staff response.

Do we just leave those be?

I hope I'm understanding your query correctly, if the answer doesn't help feel free to rephrase.

In general, anything posted on the GDB should be done with the expectation that anyone can respond, although there may be specific rules or guidelines for certain threads to help maintain coherency (such as the ongoing tagline thread suggesting replies be kept to a minimum).

If a thread is created where a poster basically says "I am only interested in the official staff response", that would be out of place in an open discussion forum. If it's being posted by a new player I would probably shoot them a DM with instructions on how to access the request tool. Other situations would be handled case-by-case.

If a question in an ongoing thread is requesting staff clarification specifically, that's fine, although again, the best way to get their attention is via the request tool. The exception would be Q&A threads about recent changes since staff already watch those, looking for questions to answer.

It sounds like you're understanding it correctly. It isn't a swathe of these posts, but since ATS was taken down I see it more often. An "open question" that tends to follow the lines of "Okay but what is STAFF'S response".