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Anyone else notice the amount of shilling taking...
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Exactly. Most times, when someone cries "Shill!", or "Fanboy!" or "Troll!" or "Hater!" or any other such term, it's essentially them demonstrating "You have an opinion different than mine, and I can't tolerate that! so I will attack you personally to invalidate your opinion!"
This image sums it up quite humorously...
Are there shills out there? Absolutely. I don't doubt that for a second. Is everyone with an opinion someone else doesn't agree with a "shill"? Absolutely not. Some people really are just that enthusiastic about something they're playing.
I'd also like to echo what was said in another post about how people assume that because someone says an issue isn't an issue for them, that they're denying that it exists. In many cases, all they're basically saying is "it isn't a big enough problem to ruin the experience for me". I extolled Final Fantasy XI for years as being the best MMO I'd ever played. And it was, to this day (until Abyssea happened). I was accused of "ignoring all the game's issues". Except I wasn't ignoring anything. I was fully aware of all the game's issues. And yes they were annoying. They simply weren't enough to significantly affect my overall opinion of the game itself.
I think even moreso than the "shill problem", people should really deal with their "intolerance" problems first.
Glad you see it as well Teala.
Yeah, it's getting to a saturation point where the whole site is just devalued to the point of being utterly useless.
The worst part about it is that you are not allowed to name them directly because of forum rules.
Even if i believe in Teala's theory why only single out those who say positive stuff about MMO? what about those who say nothing but negative things? shills can also be paid by rival companies to spread negativity you know? every coin has two sides.
Absolutely.
Hype, dehype.. it's all part of the same excercise in 'creative marketing'. Gush about your game, create concern and negative feeling about your rival.
You can 'opinion form' on the internet very easily by using sites like this.
I am suprised that more people are not aware of the extent of the practise, or not able to spot it easier.
I thought they were called Shrills? Atleast that makes more sense to me anyway ;D.
shrill - being sharply insistent on being heard; "strident demands"; "shrill criticism"
Not unless they are being PAID for it themselves. Shills get paid for selling the game. Fans (aka cultists), do it for free.
Shills can be shrill.
But then again, so can any random forum-goer.
Haha
On this site, if you post to say you like a game that someone else does not like, you are obviously a shill.
On this site, if you post to say you do not like a game that someone else likes, you are obviously a troll.
A creative person is motivated by the desire to achieve, not the desire to beat others.
Between the shills and goonswarm, its hard to tell who is who these days.
Its best to get your game info from the devs websites, youtube videos and beta invites.
How do you know more people aren't aware of it?
I catch what looks like it's probably a shill from time to time as well (low post-count, posts read more like an ad chock full of catch-phrases than a fan post, etc. etc). I simply don't feel the need to point it out every time I see it.
Further, I can't prove they're a shill, however strong my hunch is that they are. So, I simply take it as someone voicing their opinion, and then regard it the same as I do everyone else's. They have their point-of-view. I have mine. If something they say compels me to respond, then I do. Otherwise, I just move on and read the next post.
Are we all to take on the cynical view that every time we come to a site like this, there are shills trying to influence our opinions? Are people really so weak-minded and easily swayed that the overzealous hype or anti-hype of a handful of posters is going to totally change their perspectve on something?
See, I think at the end of the day, people know what they like and they know what they don't like. If someone is playing a game and find it to be terrible, someone telling them "But it's the best game ever! It has the best graphics! Smooth frame-rates!... etc." isn't going to suddenly make them go "Oh! This game is awesome!". If it is, then that person has a bigger problem than shills on a message forum.
Randomly checking people's prior posts shows that there may be some conspiracy going on. I believe one person kept posting deals on where he bought a certain game, about a dozen times. Mind you, he wasn't saying..here's a deal, thought you should know..he was all like...I was on the fence, but look a deal! Like a dozen times.
I've noticed a few others like that, but not as ...obvious.
The term is known here in the UK.
To sum it up a shill is somebody who publicly helps a party without disclosing the fact that s/he has a close relationship with them. It is the job of the shill to give onlookers the impression that s/he is enthusiastic about whatever the party is selling and act as an independent customer in order to raise sales and increase custom.
Shills can also be used in scams and are frequently used on a show called 'the real hustle' where a group of scam artists go around Britain scamming people and stealing their money.
Also in reverse. Stop disliking what I like. Regardless of direction, spew is still spew.
I don't mind that the fans and haters clash. It's just that at peak periods, it makes in nigh on impossible to find any other discussions on the forum.
Your avatar should be wearing a tin foil hat.
No doubt there's some shilling going on, and the really obvious ones get taken down with regularity.
Otherwise, you can't go around accusing people of shilling just because they promote (or slam a game)
One person said an obvious sign of shilling is when someone denies a games bad points. People point out EVE's 'flaws' all the time, and I refute almost all of them because I don't see the situation the same as they do. Does that make me a shill? Maybe so.
But for the record, I've never been asked to shill of any game (and have someone pay me for it) and I wanna know why!!!!
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I do not go around blanket accusing every positive or negative post on any game of being a shill. I didn't say that's what anyone should do. I merely said I question them all with that possibility in mind.
The fact that you agree that shilling is happening would mean, I would have thought, that you would do the same.
You're my new favorite person.
tldr; "Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence"
The above is my personal opinion. Anyone displaying a view contrary to my opinion is obviously WRONG and should STHU. (neener neener)
-The MMO Forum Community
Yeah, both the GW2 and TSW forums have a ton of this going on. It almost doesn't matter if the games are good or not, it is this level of creative marketing that is turning me off.
Not really, that would be a fanboy. For it to be considered shilling the person has to be on the payroll of the company making the game directly or indirectly, as in, being actually paid to pose as a fanboy/costumer with no ties to the company.
BTW... if talking good about a game is shilling, I'll BRB, I have to contact a few MMO companies, they owe me some money..
What can men do against such reckless hate?
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
But to be fair, I vote for haters who can't see the positive aspects of a game and only bash and trashtalks games as being shills too, of a rival company: or slander shills, smear campaigners, however you'd call those.
In the end, only people who can see and acknowledge both positive as well as negative points of a game have some degree of credibility, as it should be, the rest are all shills!! :-DEspecially distrust the ones that accuse others of being shills, they're the worst! And sneaky ^_^
edit: or maybe the OP needs to (s)chill and accept that a lot of ppl might like games more that she has no interest in at all, who knows.
If you talk about a game that polarizes, has both people that love it and people that hate it, does that make you a shitroll?
That's correct, but so is 'advertising' under the ROC. If you feel someone is shilling for a company, then report them. We'll investigate to the best of our ability and take any necessary action.