I have ummed and aahed about whether to respond to this post and have finally given in.
When writing something in the public domain like that, you have to consider what you want to achieve and whether the chosen method will further your aims.
My personal view, as someone who writes extensively as a content creator within the Elite community (and have done for the last 4 years) as well as managing a busy player group as well as acting as a bridge and friend to many other large player groups
It should be considered that posts of this nature have a destructive effect. They have the capability to damage staff morale at Frontier, actively reduce communication by making the team there defensive, paint the product and game (and this community) in a bad light, actively prevent new players from buying the game and as a result, harm the ongoing development for everyone else.
In broad terms, our response as "Hutton" has been to offer support to Frontier. How can we help? What detail do you need to help slay the bugs, what can we communicate to our community in terms of support to enable them to either avoid the bugs, or be aware of what's going on to fix them and most of all, ensure that those people giving up their free time to enjoy this particular game have fun, enjoy the social aspects and overall have a positive experience.
Yes, bugs are frustrating, no, they're not as life destroying/disastrous as I believe is often painted by the community.
I've been very vocal since the Galnet news feed petered out (*No pun intended on CMDR Wotherspoon's name) - mainly because our weekly news show and his twice weekly podcasts haven't had a feed of info we can bounce off and create content around. Yes, I wish there was more, that the Thargoid menace disappearing was supported "in fiction" with news and information to keep interest going, the same with the Interstellar Initiatives and Community Goals. That's a wish for things to be different though and not something that requires input on an "open letter". I wish we had more SRV types, I wish we had more puzzles like the "forgotten" generation ships, the thargoid things to be discovered, the Guardians. I also wish I knew what was coming out next year - but Frontier don't owe me that, and I know that when it's ready to be talked about, they'll talk about it.
I will also admit to a natural skepticism regarding the OP of the video put on here. The individual involved is a prolific streamer and has cultivated a style that relishes problems as something to talk about, garner subscribers and likes and ultimately, monetise the playing of Frontier's IP in the public domain (legitimately, streamers are a positively encouraged output). My advice would be to be careful not to saw off the branch that you're sitting on!
My skepticism has been broadly supported by the appearance of a subsequent video that actively demonstrates and wallows in the ability to read through game files/data being used for the game for nuggets of information that shouldn't be revealed, or are misleading. Mr Benedetti's cautious response was measured and sensible, and if I had been in his shoes, I would have taken a far harsher line with videos like that but he's treading a fine line and doing a good job.
To round this off - remember that the people at the other end of these messages are just that - people - they care about the product, they're fun and friendly, there are some excellent talents and skills in that company and they work immensely hard to ensure we all have fun. This game is huge, it's complex and in seeking to not only build and improve on it AND service their commercial aims to continue funding it long into the future for all our benefit, occasionally they drop a clanger.
I can't and won't support open letters like this, but what I can say is "Frontier - how can we help?"
#forthemug
