With Ban of Useful Tools, Neverwinter Subreddit Seems to Care More About PWE Than Players

[su_quote cite=”two31″ url=”https://www.nwo-uncensored.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=7377#p7377″]Reminder: The 1st rule of Neverwinter is don’t help each other make informed decisions.[/su_quote]

You might know I’m not a particular fan of how the official subreddit is run. The main reason is the overall lack of separation from official sources, both in the moderation team and allowed content. We have started to jokingly refer to the official PWE subreddit when mentioning it around here. And quite frankly, it’s because it is. The subreddit and community moderators insist that the reddit is an independent source of information that coincidentally developed the same philosophy, and hence simply took over the PWE terms of service as part of their ruleset.

That’s all fine and well. I have not witnessed the early days of the subreddit, but I do trust those in charge that they transferred it from a pure hellhole to a helping place by enforcing stricter rules. The question however remains what type of conversation the subreddit is able to add on top of the official forum. With the same set of rules you’re almost always better off posting to arcgames because of its better range.

The team says they differ because they are a bit more relaxed in terms of the ToS, but my personal observation is that they instead got more and more restrictive over the last months and suppress more stuff than ever. Our domain has long been completely banned, even the links that contain useful information and do not even remotely touch on anything violating the ToS. The reasoning is that our site as a whole does not align with the ToS, so it’s a per site and not per link judgement. I assume they are probably banning google next, because you could potentially search something exploit related there. And facebook. And Reddit? And… well, I think you got it.

It’s a black and white way of thinking, applying the PWE ToS first and then judging any source’s usefulness. You could witness the latest sad example of this narrow-minded philosophy this week when the subreddit added two31’s Bonus Insignia Tool to their blacklist because it contains datamined mounts that are not yet in the game. If you’re not familiar with the tool: It lists all available Insignia Bonuses and the Mounts that meet the slot requirements. It’s tremendously helpful in picking your Mounts based on the bonuses you aim for.

Sigh.

Look, here’s the thing. Does it violate the ToS? Yes. Should you give it a pass because its usefulness far outweighs its harm? Absofuckinglutely! At least if you’re looking at it from a player’s perspective. If you’re acting like the official PWE subreddit though and want to protect the interest of your company, the ban makes tons of sense.

It’s especially irritating since team member Ironzerg likes to reiterate how he’s a “player first” despite his official roles. So was this a “player first” move or a “company first” one? Judge for yourself. Moderating can be a necessity, but over-moderating is a pain especially if you pretend to serve as a true alternative to official sources.

Two31 by the way quickly gave in and scratched the mounts in question so that the tool could be posted on the subreddit again. This is what I probably would have done as well. And why do you bow to a system that you disapprove? Because some folks indeed care for the players and want to get useful information as widely spread as possible.

Unlike the subreddit, which makes sure to enforce PWE’s interests first with the way they are acting.

j0Shi

j0Shi plays the Neverwinter MMORPG since the open BETA in 2013 and is a regular contributor to the blog and the whole UN:Project. Originally a Guardian Fighter, he has built up ALTs of all classes and plays on BIS/near-BIS level.

8 thoughts on “With Ban of Useful Tools, Neverwinter Subreddit Seems to Care More About PWE Than Players

  • May 7, 2016 at 8:14 am
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    Insignia tool is best. I use it often, even just to link it to others who ask for info about specific insignias. Great work. Wont stop using it even some official dumbass ban it.

    • May 7, 2016 at 10:18 am
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      I got banned from the subreddit a long time ago for disagreeing with the way the game was being managed and saying so. lol Soon after I quit and started playing Black Desert Online, which I am enjoying. The NW subreddit is a joke and should allow dissenting voices and alternative points of view but because the mods love the perks of holding hands with PWE they squash everything, just like the official forum.

  • May 7, 2016 at 11:32 pm
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    The tools are a darling, that’s all that matters 😉

  • May 9, 2016 at 10:15 pm
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    The subreddit moderation is totally out of control. I was banned about six months ago for some very general, flaming comments about the development process. I did not single out any individual, nor was I malicious/racist/derogatory towards another specific person. It didn’t matter; I crossed an invisible line or some sort. What I find interesting is that Pirkel, the owner of the subreddit, doesn’t even participate in the sub, only jumping in with some snarky comment about how if you don’t like how the sub is moderated, then go somewhere else or make your own sub. It’s clear the discussion is not owned by the community in spirit, and there’s a clear conflict of interest for those moderators who man both the official forums and the sub. Yet they don’t see a problem with this. Ultimately, I don’t know who was responsible for my ban, but both Ironzerg and Gypsy had in the past and on more than one occasion used derogatory language toward me personally. It’s good to be the king (or queen), I guess. But, hey, it’s just a game, right?

  • May 10, 2016 at 5:22 am
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    I dont like the reddit format at all, regardless of what they allow or dont, PWE /cryptic basically assumes any position that makes them look bad, should be removed =P..

    THEY wont even tell you if something isnt WAI, but will give you warning over warning on it, they wont let you discuss anything, anywhere at any time.. and thay the arbitrary rule of basically , if we dont likez it, we removez it rule.

  • May 10, 2016 at 2:06 pm
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    I got banned from the sub for telling Cryptic to go fuck themselves after Coalgate. The fun part is I’ve seen posts worse than mine that weren’t even moderated, much less result in the user getting banned. That said, the hate thrown that way really doesn’t click with me. Moderating a community like that (much less two) is a cast iron bitch, and I don’t bear those guys any ill will.

    Mind you, I think their rules are stupid, and there is zero independence (the sub motto should be, “The official forum, but with cursing!”) but at least I don’t have to stare at pages full of animated GIFs when I’m reading the threads. 🙂

  • May 12, 2016 at 7:16 am
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    People should start a Reddit-Neverwinter Uncensored to compete with the regular one. Start advertising on the game, other places etc.

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