Discussion of the Week: Our Community

Hello, Forum Users.
As a member of the Graal Era community (even if the system hates me), I'd like to push forward an effort to maybe revive the forums and make them more active. So, I'm going to introduce a discussion of the week. Every Friday, I bring up a topic, and (hopefully) the thread will dissolve into a discussion and debate about the topic in an effort to make the forums more interesting.

Topic of the Week
So, we're gonna start off with something everyone complains about but never acts on: our community. We all know it's a landmine of toxicity, but my question is; why is it this way? Who is responsible for this sudden up rise of toxicity and unwanted behavior.

My Reasoning/Thoughts
My reasoning? Era's competitive scene has took a real uprising since 2016 (or the creation of Falcone which introduced gang wars and cartels). Things since then such as Multiplex Sparring and the sudden toll of new quests and updates made it so the players of Era have no other choice to spar, PK, streak and go for the gold. This creates a God Complex, as each player is fighting to be the best. It has become less of a community effort and more of a "u have minigun so ur noob becuz u kill me in tachi base." Gang Wars were invented and now you can't circle the map peacefully without coming across one group of people calling each other noobs and acting tough (on a kids game, mind you) about who can press a button and shoot a virtual gun which spread to the other players. And boom.

But, I wanna hear your thoughts and what you think.

Chao.

The community has always been toxic wym

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Originally Posted by imaginary

The community has always been toxic wym

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Yea what he said!

But dw.
With me, the head mod Era Go will be saved and everyone will be posting happily

*Close Thread*

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Originally Posted by imaginary

But dw.
With me, the head mod Era Go will be saved and everyone will be posting happily

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I believe it.

Well I failed miserably.

I think the whole gang wars/cartels idea with Falcone is a great thing in terms of creating a world riddled by gangs. It's just that, in all aspects the game is way too competitive for a friendly environment. Friends are made in according to skill level, same goes for basing gangs, too. To get into a large part of the community, you have to be good at the game and earn the respect of others. It's kind of sad, really.

Continue these weekly discussions. They sound interesting.

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Originally Posted by Vacci

I think the whole gang wars/cartels idea with Falcone is a great thing in terms of creating a world riddled by gangs. It's just that, in all aspects the game is way too competitive for a friendly environment. Friends are made in according to skill level, same goes for basing gangs, too. To get into a large part of the community, you have to be good at the game and earn the respect of others. It's kind of sad, really.

Continue these weekly discussions. They sound interesting.

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That made me think, maybe bases should be transformed to territory. Then it's a mafia type vibe and maybe instead of a certain flag or something in the territory there could be like war areas and tags compete in the areas and most kills on a tag in the area after a random amount of time set within 15 mins - 1 hour gets a Gang Poin (the gang holds it, basically in statics it could say like Gang Coins: x) and at like 250 coins you get 2k reward, 500 = 4k reward, (250 coins = 2k hrs in this) and could have a war 30 minutes after each ends so people could leave the one community and have some time for others idk just a thought lol

Hmm it'll be good to revive the forums. And idk why the community is toxic tbh. Here in the forums we got toxicity because of discussions against admins or we're just like this ig. In-game's toxicity is due to people who think they're the kings of Era lmao. Example: Many sparrers, Astros (ugh, astros) andd others. If They think saying 'spar me noob' is a good argument then they suk

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Btw, wrong posting section

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Originally Posted by Wast

Hmm it'll be good to revive the forums. And idk why the community is toxic tbh. Here in the forums we got toxicity because of discussions against admins or we're just like this ig. In-game's toxicity is due to people who think they're the kings of Era lmao. Example: Many sparrers, Astros (ugh, astros) andd others. If They think saying 'spar me noob' is a good argument then they suk

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Btw, wrong posting section

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We stopped caring about a lot of things because mods let us down all the time.
We began as a community who would give out ideas for the game, but none were heard. Perhaps seen, but not commented on.
Then the rants came in.
Forums mods don't really enforce their rules on here.
These forums could be improved, but no one is available to fix it.

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Originally Posted by ItzzEnnard

Hi I would like to say that my jail Auto release date is July 15 2018 19:11:38 pm and it?s 19:47:12 pm for me yet ima still jailed

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Submit a ticket to support.toonslab.com, they handle all jailing and account issues

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Originally Posted by Kendrick

We stopped caring about a lot of things because mods let us down all the time.
We began as a community who would give out ideas for the game, but none were heard. Perhaps seen, but not commented on.
Then the rants came in.
Forums mods don't really enforce their rules on here.
These forums could be improved, but no one is available to fix it.

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What kinds of rules are we not enforcing? Right now, we’re trying to be more lenient in our moderation so threads can stay open and discussion can continue. I do agree that it would be better for more staff to comment on or use ideas presented by players on the forums, though.

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Originally Posted by failure

Submit a ticket to support.toonslab.com, they handle all jailing and account issues

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What kinds of rules are we not enforcing? Right now, we’re trying to be more lenient in our moderation so threads can stay open and discussion can continue. I do agree that it would be better for more staff to comment on or use ideas presented by players on the forums, though.

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I wish staff told us more about what's being worked on. It just kind of stays in the dark until the rare update once or twice a year. Countryside, multiplex, even gst are all hyped up with anticipation. Sure countryside fell through (in an annoying, quiet way I might add), but developer notes are a great form of news. Personally, I feel led to believe nothing is being worked on other than holiday shops which I hope isn't true, but, staff participation in the community feels crucial.

As an add-on idea to dev notes and update news, maybe staff could come by more often asking for ideas on a specific thing they want to change, or ask for feedback on a holiday quest. Give us something to talk about and we would be a little happier I think.

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Originally Posted by failure

Submit a ticket to support.toonslab.com, they handle all jailing and account issues

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What kinds of rules are we not enforcing? Right now, we’re trying to be more lenient in our moderation so threads can stay open and discussion can continue. I do agree that it would be better for more staff to comment on or use ideas presented by players on the forums, though.

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I noticed that threads have been open when they usually haven't been like that in the past, thought it was because Tristan was gone tbh but glad to see that they're being left open

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Originally Posted by kaz210

I noticed that threads have been open when they usually haven't been like that in the past, thought it was because Tristan was gone tbh but glad to see that they're being left open

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Tristan and mods who warned for speaking diff language were hell

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Originally Posted by imaginary

Tristan and mods who warned for speaking diff language were hell

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なに？ばかやろう！ばか！ばか！ばか！ぼくは大好きじゃない！

 Spoiler

Nani> Bakayarou! Baka! Baka! Baka! Boku ha daisukijanai!

 Spoiler

What? You idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! I don't love you!

*runs away*

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Originally Posted by Kendrick

なに？ばかやろう！ばか！ばか！ばか！ぼくは大好きじゃない！

 Spoiler

Nani> Bakayarou! Baka! Baka! Baka! Boku ha daisukijanai!

 Spoiler

What? You idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! I don't love you!

*runs away*

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*Dies.*

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Originally Posted by Vacci

I wish staff told us more about what's being worked on. It just kind of stays in the dark until the rare update once or twice a year. Countryside, multiplex, even gst are all hyped up with anticipation. Sure countryside fell through (in an annoying, quiet way I might add), but developer notes are a great form of news. Personally, I feel led to believe nothing is being worked on other than holiday shops which I hope isn't true, but, staff participation in the community feels crucial.

As an add-on idea to dev notes and update news, maybe staff could come by more often asking for ideas on a specific thing they want to change, or ask for feedback on a holiday quest. Give us something to talk about and we would be a little happier I think.

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I do agree that it would be neat for staff to give little hints about what they were working on, but this brings up other issues. Like what happened with Country Side, the staff member working on it left before finishing, leaving everyone a little disappointed. Giving sneak peeks and estimated release dates opens the door for disappointment. Though with Plasma Corp and the upcoming house rating system, I think that the staff team is giving players at least a hint of what to expect.

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Originally Posted by failure

I do agree that it would be neat for staff to give little hints about what they were working on, but this brings up other issues. Like what happened with Country Side, the staff member working on it left before finishing, leaving everyone a little disappointed. Giving sneak peeks and estimated release dates opens the door for disappointment. Though with Plasma Corp and the upcoming house rating system, I think that the staff team is giving players at least a hint of what to expect.

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I guess with Plasma Corp and house rating, the staff in charge is dedicated and on track towards finishing? I'm not sure what happened with the CS staff member, but there must be a way to gauge when an update is safe for announcement. I think you guys are doing great with the recent updates. I really love knowing that something new is being worked on. Era has an odd way of dropping updates without organizing a release date, and I'm okay with that.

It'd be neat for there to be more global events. Grab the fountain was a great way of bringing everyone together and I wonder if it's possible to do something else in that way. You could shift everyone's attention to things that aren't done as much like mail delivery or grape smashing for a limited time prize or even a gralat bonus.

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Originally Posted by Vacci

I guess with Plasma Corp and house rating, the staff in charge is dedicated and on track towards finishing? I'm not sure what happened with the CS staff member, but there must be a way to gauge when an update is safe for announcement. I think you guys are doing great with the recent updates. I really love knowing that something new is being worked on. Era has an odd way of dropping updates without organizing a release date, and I'm okay with that.

It'd be neat for there to be more global events. Grab the fountain was a great way of bringing everyone together and I wonder if it's possible to do something else in that way. You could shift everyone's attention to things that aren't done as much like mail delivery or grape smashing for a limited time prize or even a gralat bonus.

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I have to agree with what failure says, that announcing something big before its release may open a door for disappointment. Lets remember that staff work voluntarily so they can leave at any time and finding a replacement (for that type of field) may be a bit hard and could take time. I would love to have some sort of announcement to hype the community and keep everyone updated, but I am also thinking of the spam that PR's may get because of this as well. Like questions regarding when it will be released or if it isn't released on the due date then it would be complaints on where the update is, or players trying to get information out of them as well.

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Originally Posted by NaniRima

I have to agree with what failure says, that announcing something big before its release may open a door for disappointment. Lets remember that staff work voluntarily so they can leave at any time and finding a replacement (for that type of field) may be a bit hard and could take time. I would love to have some sort of announcement to hype the community and keep everyone updated, but I am also thinking of the spam that PR's may get because of this as well. Like questions regarding when it will be released or if it isn't released on the due date then it would be complaints on where the update is, or players trying to get information out of them as well.

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Ahh, I understand better now about how PRs and other staff may be affected. I might have been guilty of talking to Meph about mpx before release back in the day. Thank you for the clarification.

Well maybe we can think together. How can we bring players closer together without triggering toxicity? Either with or without staff involvement.

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Originally Posted by failure

I do agree that it would be neat for staff to give little hints about what they were working on, but this brings up other issues. Like what happened with Country Side, the staff member working on it left before finishing, leaving everyone a little disappointed. Giving sneak peeks and estimated release dates opens the door for disappointment. Though with Plasma Corp and the upcoming house rating system, I think that the staff team is giving players at least a hint of what to expect.

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My question is though; why cant countryside be completed/released even?

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Originally Posted by kaz210

My question is though; why cant countryside be completed/released even?

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Era server can’t handle that large of a gmap or expansion; it’d have to be on it’s own server if implemented.

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Originally Posted by MrEpicGen

Era server can’t handle that large of a gmap or expansion; it’d have to be on it’s own server if implemented.

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Could probably just link it to the left side of the current map, since that wouldn't be an expansion to the main map really. With so many empty buildings you'd think they'd link the inside levels of those places to the empty buildings or make another like mall with a countryside like theme and put the stuff inside

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Originally Posted by kaz210

My question is though; why cant countryside be completed/released even?

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I think part of it is our current developers might not know enough about what was planned for it or are uninterested in finishing it. All I know is that we’re still pretty low on developers and it’s a development heavy project. Our devs might be doing their own thing and have no interest in finishing countryside since it wasn’t their brainchild. But I don’t know really.

The toxicity of the community sprouts from the community itself. The playerbase, how they handle the game, age, and of course all the typical influences that come with life in general.

One community may bother another one. A community who thinks something the general public considers extremely offensive is okay normally will clash with any community that gets offended. Maturity of the community goes a long way, and of course staff don't excluded from this, they are players after all. Toxicity may come from one bad experience caused by one person to one other person, or a whole group of people who are just overall unhappy.

I think it typically, like all things in life, starts with something small and becomes bigger. As the playerbase grew, and as time passed, things had to change; it's reality. Many people, however, are resistant to trial and error and change in itself. You can't expect anything to get better without either though. Mainly I just think it's just the people themselves. How they're raised, their beliefs, and how they feel once they step onto that online world.