FAQ: Who are these “Correspondent” persons, and what do they do?

Before reading this, you might want to become familiar with the FAQ: Why don’t we see more Developers posting in our Forum? thread.  It gives a prelude as to why the Correspondents Program was created in the first place.  Go ahead… I’ll wait.

/taps_foot
/hums_StarWarsTheme
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There you are, Welcome back!

First off, let me introduce your current Fencer Correspondent… me!  My name is Raphayl.  How did I become the Fencer Correspondent?  Well, if you are really interested read on; but if not then skip down a bit to Correspondent Responsibilities.  At the time I was still a 4/4/4/3 Fencer on the Gorath server, and working my way up from Novice Fencer on the Radiant server.  I finally discovered the Profession forums, and began spending around an hour a day on the Fencer Forum, learning as much as I could from my fantastic peers, and offering assistance whenever the opportunity presented itself.

It was then I came on the revelation that I felt more enjoyment and fulfillment from testing data and trying to solve profession-related mysteries than from seeking in-game goals.  I also discovered that the Fencer Forum was filled with some of the best people around, and that it was easy to care to about them.  There was already a Fencer Correspondent at the time, and he was doing a great job.  But due to unfortunate personal circumstances, this Correspondent couldn’t maintain online presence shortly after being appointed, and we were denied his services.

A loophole in the program (Developers no longer visiting the Profession Forums, but no active Correspondent) kept Fencers from having any real communication with the Development Team.  For about two months Fencers were left completely out of the loop; leaving our questions, issues, requests, and suggestions unheard and unheeded.  This was indeed a rough and frustrating period for Fencers; as those still around from that time will recall.  We probably lost half our initial numbers (which were already few) because of it.

Finally, during a process of the Correspondent Program revamp, it was “discovered” that the Fencer Profession did not have active representation.  Xahn posted that the position needed to be filled and solicited candidates for the opening.  I saw the advertisement, but I knew that there were so many awesome candidates that had already applied that were knowledgeable, well spoken, and popular that I didn’t see a need to apply.  I had complete confidence that any number of them would have made excellent Fencer Correspondents.  However, at the prompting of some PMs I received, I finally threw my name in with the rest, and through some strange twist of fate… here I am.  While I cannot claim to have been the best choice, I do try very hard to provide the service for which I was appointed.

Ok, now that you know more about me than you probably wanted to hear, let’s see what my specific responsibilities are as the Fencer Correspondent.  I’ll list each of my appointed responsibilities, followed by my efforts to honor it.  (By the way, these responsibilities are paraphrased, not word-for-word.)

1.  Mandatory:  Maintain a character on Test Center focused on my specific profession and belong to the Correspondent/Developer PA.  This is intended to enable the Correspondent to thoroughly test new and old patch material as may be needed for their Profession, or at the request of the Developers.  It also provides a method for Correspondents and Developers to talk through Guild-chat while in game.  Some of the material I’m to test is announced in patch notes, and some of it is left out until further testing can be done to prevent mass reactions to incomplete or experimental changes.

I do maintain the required character on TC.  Her name is “Lyahpar” (My name spelled backwards) and she is “usually” a Master Fencer/Master Brawler.  I say “usually” because for testing purposes I sometimes strip away skills down to something less than Master Fencer, or perhaps I might drop Master Brawler, or exchange certain skills for others.  I try to schedule a minimum of 10 hours a week on TC to facilitate testing.

2.  Highly Recommended:  Maintain a character of my profession on a Live server to be able to compare differences between Test Center versions and Live server versions.  This is to enable the Correspondent to relate to the situations and experiences in which the majority of their peers operate.  (I’m genuinely surprised this isn’t mandatory.)

I have a Master Fencer on the Gorath server, also named “Lyahpar”, as well as a Master Fencer on the Radiant Server named “Lya H’par.”  They are very useful in testing as I can have several “Master Fencer +something-else” configurations going on at the same time, and can flip back and forth between them.

3.  Mandatory: Have a general working knowledge of the issues and concerns of the Fencer community and be able to present this knowledge on to the Development team, in a concise, unbiased, factual manner.

The first thing I do when I get home from work (after feeding the cat, and getting my 6-year-old settled in to do his homework) is grab my notebook and read through all my PMs, and any new posts on the Fencer Forum, and take notes where needed.  I cannot properly represent the community if there is a single unread message, so I don’t feel this is done until the entire “Unread Replies” column is zeros on all pages.  I might not always add a reply, but if you’ve posted it… I’ve read it.

Once I’m done reading I go over my notes and, based upon what turns up and its urgency, I’ll either head over the Correspondent Discussion forum to present it to the Developers in a post, or I will contact the appropriate one in with a more direct method.

4.  Mandatory:  As directed, identify/collect the current “Top 5 Issues,” either through a poll or by logical selection, and present them on the Correspondent Discussion Forum.  The issues are to be as profession-specific as possible, as not to overlap with the issues from other Correspondents’ Professions (IE:  Brawler’s have their own Correspondent collecting all Brawler issues, even those from the One-handed Specialist branch.  So if a Fencer issue is actually derived from this branch, the Brawler Correspondent really should be informed.  You might pay the Brawler Forum a visit periodically.)

The “Top Fencer Issue,” “Top 5 Fencer Issues,” as well as a composite list of all existing Fencer Issues have all been presented to the Developers.  The priorities of all these issues were voted upon by the Fencer community so that as various Issues are addressed, other issues can move up to take their spot.  If situations arise that automatically alter the priorities of certain issues then any necessary adjustments are made.  When brand new issues surface, they are first brought immediately to the Developers in the hopes of a hot-fix.  If they cannot be remedied in short order, they will be added to the existing list of issues.  At no point in time do the Developers have less than 5 highly-advertised Fencer Issues available to them.  If the list of Fencer Issues evolves to a point completely unrecognizable as the voted list, the new list will be presented again for a re-vote.

5.  Recommended:  Maintain a productive environment and professional atmosphere in the Fencer Profession Forum.  Promote collaboration and positive thinking, rather than fanning destructive flames, or allowing unproductive posts to become destructive or out of control.  First contact those perpetuating malignant/destructive posts or blatant forum abuse and try to politely dissuade this activity.  Report those that are uncooperative to the Administrators for attention.

There’s only so much a person can do with this, but I try.  Actually, I’ve been very fortunate in that most of people in this community voluntarily elect to act mature, and don’t require supervision over their forum use.  I REALLY hate being cornered into having to reprimand anyone on their posting practices, or feeling like I have to “tattletale” on someone to get them to act professionally, so I’m very grateful this community practices a bit of adult discretion, and there isn’t a common need for this unsavory task.

6.  Mandatory:  Be able to receive and logically discuss future proposals and new information from the Developers not yet approved for public release, while not allowing this information to become public.  Much of the information a Correspondent can be exposed to is still in the initial development phases, and allowing this information to become public prematurely can cause significant damage.

I adhere to my promise to keep this rule.  My word is the only thing in this world of which I’m in complete control its value.  However, sometimes it’s very hard to hold my tongue when I know something good is coming that will really help fencers, and/or that most of you will really enjoy.  You might find that I compensate by dropping subtle clues that “something” good is in the works.  Sometimes these hints might come in the form of not getting worked up over a certain issue that seems terrible to everyone else… simply because I already know the fix (or perhaps something even better) is already in-work.  Still, I won’t reveal any details until I’m permitted.

Well, that’s it for my “official” responsibilities.  I do take on a few other responsibilities in this role that I have placed upon myself.  These are generally in the form of additional research and information not directly to our issues to help us understand how things work.  As you become familiar with the forum, you might see what I mean.  Still, these are just a feeble attempt to give back to the community what you have given to me… I’ll never be completely successful.

Thankfully Correspondents have some tools available to them to help them perform their duties more efficiently.

1.  Correspondent Terminals on Test Center allow us to make certain changes to our skill point distribution to facilitate and speed up testing.

2.  Access to certain Moderator functions within our Profession Forum.  We can also request additional Administrator tasks to be performed for us when needed; such as the creation of polls, and so forth.  Thankfully the Administrators are quite helpful and accommodating.

3.  A Correspondent/Developer Forum to communicate and discuss various game information and issues, and work out solutions.  As well as a few more “direct” methods of contacting the Developers.

4.  Detailed information on how certain existing game mechanics work, and or how future game mechanics are planned to work.  (Although this isn’t always posted information, it’s still obtainable when approached right.)  This helps to identify problems more readily, and propose solutions.

5.  The appointment of a new Developer, Thunderheart, to help organize and coordinate the flow of information between the Developers and the Correspondents.  He’s sort of the “Correspondent-Correspondent.”  He’s a huge help when he focuses himself.

Correspondents also have limitations:

I am NOT a Developer.  I’m NOT a SOE employee.  I am a paying customer, just like you.  In the end I cannot “make” the Developers do anything they do not want to do.  All I can do is try to present a solid case, which I try to do with data from continuous testing, combined with your help and feedback, and hope that they are convinced our cause is true, unbiased, and accurate.

So there you have it.  That’s who the Fencer Correspondent is; why this person became the Correspondent; the various responsibilities, the tools available to accomplish them, and the limitations.

One last thing I’d like to add is that being a Correspondent is NOT a paid position.  There is no monetary compensation whatsoever, not even free playtime.  Nor are there any “extra perks” associated with the job outside of the tools essential to accomplish my responsibilities.  Any and all effort, time, or resources I place toward my office are invested on a completely voluntary basis.  The thought that I’m working to try and help the Fencer community is my paycheck.  All I ask is that you keep this in mind before you jump down my throat about issues that frustrate you.  Before you 1-star my posts that give you feedback from the Developers (which only hurts me, not the ones that make the call), you might remember that old adage about not shooting the messenger.  I’m a Fencer, too, after all… and bad news for you is bad news for me as well.

When all is said and done, please know that I truly am on your side and want you to enjoy your time as a Fencer.

Message Edited by Raphayl on 12-03-2003 08:24 PM