Guild Wars 2

Sales are an important part of what I do for a living (in addition to service and manufacturing). It’s just an important part of business to learn how to read and handle people, and how to spin things. There’s a certain selection of vocabulary, turns of phrase, and ways of approaching and deflecting points that make this work on the average person. While I pride myself in being honest in what I do, it’s still a necessary skill. It’s not just as an offensive skill either, it’s important for defense. Recognizing when someone is trying to handle you (return fraud in particular), and knowing how to turn it on them or stalemate.

What I see on these forums? I don’t think so. There are some posts that get me to raise a brow, but I suspect they may just be from other eloquent individuals that may also have that capacity for reasons. After you’ve integrated reading and handling customers into yourself for years and decades, it can often leak into your normal conversation style.

Sometimes I find myself using my sales-speak on friends, so it happens.

Vayne.8563:

Im Mudbone.1437:

Vayne.8563:

Im Mudbone.1437:

fourhim.3584:

This accusation gets tossed around a lot – that certain people who post such high praise for Anet’s decisions might be rewarded in some way. I haven’t reached a decision on this yet, so I thought the best approach is just to come right out and ask.

Will someone at ANet please tell the rest of us if you reward certain people for their forum comments? If you could just issue a flat out denial then that might diminish the number of accusations, especially right now.

I don’t believe they do even though there are a few blind White Knights.

And therein lies the problem. Anyone who doesn’t agree with you is blind or a white knight or both.

Anyone who uses those terms, or hater for that matter, is doing themselves a disservice.

Exact same thing can be said for the White Knights.

No,. not at all.

I don’t call you a hater, or try to dismiss what you say by labeling you. You try to dismiss what I say by labeling me.

I might disagree with what you say, or more often how you say it, but I don’t use a single word to describe you that denotes blindness, or even bias.

When have I ever used the word blind in relation to what you’ve said?

See right now you are being blind in your answer(think really hard about it), and to my recollection I have never seen you call anyone blind or a hater but I have seen you blindly dismiss/discredit other peoples problems with the game as immaterial.

…Why would anet pay people to shill on their own forums? You send your goons to other sites!

No. Some people actually like this game and realize that spewing negativity all over the public forum will probably do more harm than good.

I don’t think the patch is that bad. The main frustration I have is that they decided to prioritize resources and time to this instead of developing endgame/pvp.

Trust me they do, they even have them over on Reddit (the mods are paid by them)

True or not, if this was the case they would certainly deny it.

Mark Katzbach.9084:

fourhim.3584:

This accusation gets tossed around a lot – that certain people who post such high praise for Anet’s decisions might be rewarded in some way. I haven’t reached a decision on this yet, so I thought the best approach is just to come right out and ask.

Will someone at ANet please tell the rest of us if you reward certain people for their forum comments? If you could just issue a flat out denial then that might diminish the number of accusations, especially right now.

We do not pay players to post on the forums nor do we make use of shill or sock puppet accounts. Honestly, I’m surprised if anybody takes these accusations seriously.

Thank you very much for responding, and for the candid answer. I am glad to hear that.

Nick.6972:

True or not, if this was the case they would certainly deny it.

Again though, it makes no sense for it to be true. Why would you pay for people to say nice things about you on your own forum where you could simply remove the not nice things?

As far as conspiracy theories go, this one fails the Occam’s Razor test by a huge margin.

BrotherBelial.3094:

fourhim.3584:

This accusation gets tossed around a lot – that certain people who post such high praise for Anet’s decisions might be rewarded in some way. I haven’t reached a decision on this yet, so I thought the best approach is just to come right out and ask.

Will someone at ANet please tell the rest of us if you reward certain people for their forum comments? If you could just issue a flat out denial then that might diminish the number of accusations, especially right now.

Do you exspect an answer? We know how much trouble it is for a member of ANet staff to post answers because of CP.

“I’m only allowed to tell you that I’m not allowed to tell you anything.”

And even with their answer (since they did answer, denied it), do you really expect them to actually say they do? No company would ever admit to it. Thats why I don’t actually believe the red post. It may very well be actually the truth, but there is no true proof one way or the other.

Mark Katzbach.9084:

sock puppet

This phrase is quite humorous to see used. +1.

:)

Mark Katzbach.9084:

We do not pay players to post on the forums nor do we make use of shill or sock puppet accounts. Honestly, I’m surprised if anybody takes these accusations seriously.

Mark Katzbach
Community Special Operations

! Suspicious. Of course the man leading such special operatives would appear here to deny your accusations and try to make you look ridiculous. We’re on to you

I’ve been giving out praise for free? I always miss out on the money making opportunities

ANET don’t pay me in coin but they shower me regularly in cuddles and infractions…

OP.. as if ANET are ever going to come out and admit to something like that, but there are certain posters who are in pretty much every thread and every forum section and on an almost 24/7/365 defending the game, the company and playing the white knight expert for everything GW2 etc – so I can understand where your conspiracy beliefs have been triggered.
Every MMO forum has their positioned posters though, just gotta consider it the norm and move on.

1. Is it really so hard to believe that some people like the game?
2. Is it really so hard to recognize that it’s a pastime for people to point out the flaws in other forum users’ posts?

One need look no further than these two points to explain people (trying to) counter(ing) other posts.

mtpelion.4562:

Nick.6972:

True or not, if this was the case they would certainly deny it.

Again though, it makes no sense for it to be true. Why would you pay for people to say nice things about you on your own forum where you could simply remove the not nice things?

As far as conspiracy theories go, this one fails the Occam’s Razor test by a huge margin.

Positioned posters don’t just post on their own forums…. sure you can remove things on here you don’t like.. on others sites – no so easy.

I guess if you’re satisfied by the official response, you will get something out of asking, but like others have said… if they were actually doing something like this, they would have absolutely no reason to answer truthfully.

If you want to believe in a conspiracy though, you can probably find much more interesting ones. Like Bilderberg something or the Illuminati.

I just look at it logically: We pretty much know for a fact that MMO forums are not watched by a high percentage of players, so what company in its right mind would waste money on hiring people to post positive stuff for a tiny overall audience, when they could just take that money and put it into producing more content? It’s a nonsensical business decision when you really stop and think about it.

And rewarding people is an even worse idea. Then you run the risk of some jaded player whistleblowing on you and ruining your entire reputation as a game company.

I just want to let Anet know that my services would also be available for hire. I can do 20 positive threads a day for a reasonable price. Please contact me via PM with details. I will provide my CV then also. Hope to hear from you soon.

Nick.6972:

True or not, if this was the case they would certainly deny it.

Oy vey. I just spent two decades as a criminal defense attorney. Even with judges steeped in “innocent until proven guilty,” the argument is still made by them and the prosecutors “You can’t trust the defendant’s testimony, of course he’ll say he didn’t do it.”

And then “now that you’ve convicted him, please give him a longer sentence for lying to you on the stand when he said he was innocent.” Hello, Fifth Amendment rights anyone? (Also ground my gears when they said “give him a longer sentence for wasting everyone’s time by exercising his right to a trial,” but that’s a separate issue).

Judge credibility via corroboration, via assessing the demeanor, via character evidence. Don’t do it just because you don’t want to believe the accusation is unjust.

Im Mudbone.1437:

Vayne.8563:

Im Mudbone.1437:

Vayne.8563:

Im Mudbone.1437:

fourhim.3584:

This accusation gets tossed around a lot – that certain people who post such high praise for Anet’s decisions might be rewarded in some way. I haven’t reached a decision on this yet, so I thought the best approach is just to come right out and ask.

Will someone at ANet please tell the rest of us if you reward certain people for their forum comments? If you could just issue a flat out denial then that might diminish the number of accusations, especially right now.

I don’t believe they do even though there are a few blind White Knights.

And therein lies the problem. Anyone who doesn’t agree with you is blind or a white knight or both.

Anyone who uses those terms, or hater for that matter, is doing themselves a disservice.

Exact same thing can be said for the White Knights.

No,. not at all.

I don’t call you a hater, or try to dismiss what you say by labeling you. You try to dismiss what I say by labeling me.

I might disagree with what you say, or more often how you say it, but I don’t use a single word to describe you that denotes blindness, or even bias.

When have I ever used the word blind in relation to what you’ve said?

See right now you are being blind in your answer(think really hard about it), and to my recollection I have never seen you call anyone blind or a hater but I have seen you blindly dismiss/discredit other peoples problems with the game as immaterial.

Maybe I didn’t do it “blindly”. Frankly, I find the way you phrase things offensive. It’s like you have a monopoly on seeing things, and I don’t see them that way, so I’m doing it blindly.

You’ve never seen me blindly do anything. You just call it that to try to discredit me.

Bloodstealer.5978:

mtpelion.4562:

Nick.6972:

True or not, if this was the case they would certainly deny it.

Again though, it makes no sense for it to be true. Why would you pay for people to say nice things about you on your own forum where you could simply remove the not nice things?

As far as conspiracy theories go, this one fails the Occam’s Razor test by a huge margin.

Positioned posters don’t just post on their own forums…. sure you can remove things on here you don’t like.. on others sites – no so easy.

That’s the point… it would only make sense to pay “stooges” on someone else’s forums, not your own.

Or maybe all the cynical, jaded posts are paid sock puppets of rival MMO companies?

More likely, this is an internet forum and not everyone will agree with you all the time OP. Consider this a useful life lesson for you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor

Some people like the game.

It’s a pretty good game.

lol okay guys… I feel like I have seen it all. If I facepalm anymore then I will end up killing myself.

Mark Katzbach.9084:

fourhim.3584:

This accusation gets tossed around a lot – that certain people who post such high praise for Anet’s decisions might be rewarded in some way. I haven’t reached a decision on this yet, so I thought the best approach is just to come right out and ask.

Will someone at ANet please tell the rest of us if you reward certain people for their forum comments? If you could just issue a flat out denial then that might diminish the number of accusations, especially right now.

We do not pay players to post on the forums nor do we make use of shill or sock puppet accounts. Honestly, I’m surprised if anybody takes these accusations seriously.

Stop lying, you have been stealth deleting my posts all day to combat the truth.

Someone being positive when talking about Gw2?

I voice my opinion. Pretty much always bluntly, but that’s how I am. Sometimes it’s favorable, sometimes it’s not. No one needs to pay me for that. Overly opinionated, loud mouth…that I am.

Of course, the day may come where they try to pay me to shut up, but I’m sure you can guess how well that’ll actually work….

chuckle

Vayne.8563:

Im Mudbone.1437:

Vayne.8563:

Im Mudbone.1437:

Vayne.8563:

Im Mudbone.1437:

fourhim.3584:

This accusation gets tossed around a lot – that certain people who post such high praise for Anet’s decisions might be rewarded in some way. I haven’t reached a decision on this yet, so I thought the best approach is just to come right out and ask.

Will someone at ANet please tell the rest of us if you reward certain people for their forum comments? If you could just issue a flat out denial then that might diminish the number of accusations, especially right now.

I don’t believe they do even though there are a few blind White Knights.

And therein lies the problem. Anyone who doesn’t agree with you is blind or a white knight or both.

Anyone who uses those terms, or hater for that matter, is doing themselves a disservice.

Exact same thing can be said for the White Knights.

No,. not at all.

I don’t call you a hater, or try to dismiss what you say by labeling you. You try to dismiss what I say by labeling me.

I might disagree with what you say, or more often how you say it, but I don’t use a single word to describe you that denotes blindness, or even bias.

When have I ever used the word blind in relation to what you’ve said?

See right now you are being blind in your answer(think really hard about it), and to my recollection I have never seen you call anyone blind or a hater but I have seen you blindly dismiss/discredit other peoples problems with the game as immaterial.

Maybe I didn’t do it “blindly”. Frankly, I find the way you phrase things offensive. It’s like you have a monopoly on seeing things, and I don’t see them that way, so I’m doing it blindly.

You’ve never seen me blindly do anything. You just call it that to try to discredit me.

As you also do as well, it all boils down to personal opinion and the thinking yours or mine is better, if you find that offensive my friend then you need a thicker skin.

Didn’t Samsung get caught for do this last year and had to end up paying a big fine?
I guess companies does it all the time.

Mark Katzbach.9084:

fourhim.3584:

This accusation gets tossed around a lot – that certain people who post such high praise for Anet’s decisions might be rewarded in some way. I haven’t reached a decision on this yet, so I thought the best approach is just to come right out and ask.

Will someone at ANet please tell the rest of us if you reward certain people for their forum comments? If you could just issue a flat out denial then that might diminish the number of accusations, especially right now.

We do not pay players to post on the forums nor do we make use of shill or sock puppet accounts. Honestly, I’m surprised if anybody takes these accusations seriously.

That’s a lie! You Pay us in Content updates!

I guess what raises eyebrows is when a single player account makes 500 post’s in a week all praising Anet. That volume seems to be unusually high.

Mark Katzbach.9084:

fourhim.3584:

This accusation gets tossed around a lot – that certain people who post such high praise for Anet’s decisions might be rewarded in some way. I haven’t reached a decision on this yet, so I thought the best approach is just to come right out and ask.

Will someone at ANet please tell the rest of us if you reward certain people for their forum comments? If you could just issue a flat out denial then that might diminish the number of accusations, especially right now.

We do not pay players to post on the forums nor do we make use of shill or sock puppet accounts. Honestly, I’m surprised if anybody takes these accusations seriously.

I bet you were paid to say that. #tinfoil

Where’s my money for “White Knight In Shining Armor” for you ANet!? =(

In all seriousness, nope not paid ever. I just have opinions like everyone else and I share them. Just so happens my opinions tend to not be as negative as others because I dont’ think like others? I don’t know I likes whut I likes and I don’t what I don’t.

I get rewarded with pleasure , when i shatter my opponents mind and lure him to say something foolish in front of the other ppl …

I find happiness , when in that frustration … anger … a bottle of beer and a half broken desk , forged by the furies of my fists when i read some comments … i try to find a ‘’middle ground’’ and spout any nonsense idea i think off …

Avoiding too much attraction and not letting others to feel the despair that i am one of the ‘’favored’ that i am always listened to
(like the ppl in the start of the game that wanted ascenand gear and the company trusted them ….)
’ and the others ppl ’’ideas’’ are not usefull and they shouldnt try anymore …

They called me : Dark Knight ….
… It’s not who I am underneath… but what I do… that defines me…

DeWolfe.2174:

I guess what raises eyebrows is when a single player account makes 500 post’s in a week all praising Anet. That volume seems to be unusually high.

It is hard to face up to rabid fans of something and not be a little surprised at just how hardcore defensive they can be about what they love.

Unfortunately for the surprised party, the rabid fans are usually just rabid fans and there is no great explanation, other than “they really love this thing.”

No one said ITT there would be white chocolate and a puppet show.

I just wanted to chime in here very briefly to express that I would not be adversely dispositioned to receive an adequate amount of two copper for my value adding posts here on this forum as a sign of appreciation regardless of quality or content of my posts.

For consideration,
yours truly.
Rouven

Mark Katzbach.9084:

fourhim.3584:

This accusation gets tossed around a lot – that certain people who post such high praise for Anet’s decisions might be rewarded in some way. I haven’t reached a decision on this yet, so I thought the best approach is just to come right out and ask.

Will someone at ANet please tell the rest of us if you reward certain people for their forum comments? If you could just issue a flat out denial then that might diminish the number of accusations, especially right now.

We do not pay players to post on the forums nor do we make use of shill or sock puppet accounts. Honestly, I’m surprised if anybody takes these accusations seriously.

If people took the ‘end of the world’ seriously, of course they will panic each time some one claims the sky is falling here.

fourhim.3584:

This accusation gets tossed around a lot – that certain people who post such high praise for Anet’s decisions might be rewarded in some way. I haven’t reached a decision on this yet, so I thought the best approach is just to come right out and ask.

Will someone at ANet please tell the rest of us if you reward certain people for their forum comments? If you could just issue a flat out denial then that might diminish the number of accusations, especially right now.

Your bang on, and did you notice how quick ppl denoted you?
They’re so desperate they have employes posting on this forum on diff accounts
but from the same IP address from Bellevue, Washington.

LIVE.4875:

They’re so desperate they have employes posting on this forum on diff accounts
but from the same IP address from Bellevue, Washington.

How do you know what IP address people are posting from? You must have some inside info if you do. This thread cracks me up. LOL

Tinfoil hat meet OP
OP meet Tinfoil hat. I think you guys will get along great!

Altie.4571:

Tinfoil hat meet OP
OP meet Tinfoil hat. I think you guys will get along great!

A little professional advice here, you have to be able to trust the source of the hat 100% in order to be certain it works.

I made one myself, still not sure about it …

On topic: How silly is that to even ask such a question. Think about it?

JustTrogdor.7892:

LIVE.4875:

They’re so desperate they have employes posting on this forum on diff accounts
but from the same IP address from Bellevue, Washington.

How do you know what IP address people are posting from? You must have some inside info if you do. This thread cracks me up. LOL

He has psychic powers.

We can only hope he doesn’t turn to the dark side.

Mark Katzbach.9084:

fourhim.3584:

This accusation gets tossed around a lot – that certain people who post such high praise for Anet’s decisions might be rewarded in some way. I haven’t reached a decision on this yet, so I thought the best approach is just to come right out and ask.

Will someone at ANet please tell the rest of us if you reward certain people for their forum comments? If you could just issue a flat out denial then that might diminish the number of accusations, especially right now.

We do not pay players to post on the forums nor do we make use of shill or sock puppet accounts. Honestly, I’m surprised if anybody takes these accusations seriously.

If they do well… To quote Forrest Gump, “Momma always says…”

Of course Anet employee will have private accounts, it’ll be naive to think they don’t. And of course they white knight these threads.

Is it illegal, no. Is it immoral..yes.

Perhaps some people just really love the game.

Sarabande.8260:

Perhaps some people just really love the game.

Yeah…thousands of post fighting all the negative comments. It would take a full-time job to do that, wait…

fourhim.3584:

This accusation gets tossed around a lot – that certain people who post such high praise for Anet’s decisions might be rewarded in some way. I haven’t reached a decision on this yet, so I thought the best approach is just to come right out and ask.

Will someone at ANet please tell the rest of us if you reward certain people for their forum comments? If you could just issue a flat out denial then that might diminish the number of accusations, especially right now.

If it were to be serious, I’d guess Vayne, but let’s face it – it would be below any level of decency for any company to do that.

Sarabande.8260:

Perhaps some people just really love the game.

I do.

Mark Katzbach.9084:

fourhim.3584:

This accusation gets tossed around a lot – that certain people who post such high praise for Anet’s decisions might be rewarded in some way. I haven’t reached a decision on this yet, so I thought the best approach is just to come right out and ask.

Will someone at ANet please tell the rest of us if you reward certain people for their forum comments? If you could just issue a flat out denial then that might diminish the number of accusations, especially right now.

We do not pay players to post on the forums nor do we make use of shill or sock puppet accounts. Honestly, I’m surprised if anybody takes these accusations seriously.

And I’m surprised you guys commented in the thread without locking this kitten