Take Responsibility For Yourself
“We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.”
–Eric Hoffer
One of my favorite sketch comedy programs is Australia’s Ronnie Johns Half Hour, which — compared to the sterilized, politically correct cadaver Americans watch called Saturday Night Live — is a riotously irreverent program where you’re never quite sure what’s going to happen next. In particular, Heath Franklin’s running gag as Chopper Read (who is one of the scariest people you’ll ever hope to not meet), in which he tells people to harden up, has always had a special place in my heart.
Why am I bringing this up? Because there are people on the Sony forum who need to harden up.
I am referring, of course, to the 1,239,648,432nd time that the pointless and petulant debate over the Home Community Volunteers program has arisen.
It’s inevitable. What started as a birthday celebration — the HCV program celebrated three years of operation — degenerated once again into a sea of butt-hurt whinging about why the program is unfair, why it needs to change or be dissolved, et cetera. Christ, why not just slap an image of a giant windmill on the forum’s front page, just to see if anyone gets the Quixotic reference?
Before anyone screams, “You’re a pro-Sony shill! You don’t have any right to claim you’re an “objective” journalist! You don’t want anyone to dare question the establishment! Freedom of speech! FREEDOM OF SPEECH!” — take a deep breath and stop trying to apply the First Amendment incorrectly. I have no problem with people criticizing The Way Things Are. I’m not going to tell you to stop.
Instead, I’m suggesting that maybe, just maybe, you need to harden up.
Behold the face of Sony corruption.
Let’s invert reality for a moment. Let’s say the naysayers are right. Let’s say the Home Community Volunteer program is full of SCEA ass-kissers who are in it solely to get the ego boost and ridiculous amounts of free swag before anyone else. Let’s say that they’re all corrupt little minions of Satan who have no interest in helping the community at all. Let’s say that the program is an utter and total failure, created and perpetuated by an SCEA management team that doesn’t know from you or care about you at all.
Let’s go there. Let’s say it’s all true. ALL of it. The trolls are right. The anti-SCEA self-styled “watchdogs” who think they’re champions of the community are right. The specious opportunists looking for personal glory are right. The program’s a failure, corrupt and rotten to its core.
So what.
Let me repeat that.
SO WHAT.
Oh, did that not come through loud enough yet? Let’s try that again.
SO. WHAT.
Insert forum user names here.
Honestly, what the bleep difference does it make? Why does this affect you so deeply, so personally? We’re not talking about the real-life corruption of our banking system and government, turning our country into a banana republic; we’re talking about a volunteer program created by a for-profit enterprise which runs a free-to-access entertainment platform. They can run it anydamnway they want to. They can pick whomever they want for any bloody reason they want. They can give them the whole back catalog of virtual items and early access to every new commodity coming down the pipeline. That’s their right. How does this affect you? How does it affect me?
In case you’re struggling with this question, I’ll answer it for you: IT DOESN’T.
What the hell do I care if there’s a few dozen users out of 27,000,000 registered accounts who get stuff early for free in order to help promote it? What the hell do I care if that’s the only reason any of them signed up, and they just spouted platitudes about helping the community? How does any of this affect my ability to utilize the service for my own personal entertainment?
IT DOESN’T.
Christ. Harden the bleep up, people. If you’re going to have a cardiac infarction every time something in the universe seems “unfair” to you, then maybe you should spend more time in this virtual playground, because guess what — the real world is a cold, uncaring, unfair, specious and manipulative place. Get used to it.
Ze volunteers vill be ze only ones to get ze goodies! Und you vill like it!
Until such time as the HCV program negatively affects my ability to utilize and enjoy the Home experience, I don’t give a rat’s ass how the program is run, what benefits are conferred upon its chosen members, or what objectives it exists to serve. If some poor soul really thinks it’s worth standing in some estate for hours on end, answering the same bloody questions over and over, just to get the stupid thing a week early, then I’d say he’s more than earned that estate. If someone wants to be under the SCEA corporate microscope just to have the “bragging” rights to a GUIDE beacon, then hey, knock yourself out.
I’m going to go out on a limb here. For the most part, I’ll wager the people who are the most incensed over the HCV program are either:
1. People who applied and were rejected, or
2. Former members who did something stupid and were removed for being idiots.
…Call it a hunch.
He's just jealous he didn't have the strange woman toss a sword his way. #OccupyCamelot
It’s the way of things. The most vocal HSM detractors, on the forum and elsewhere, are nearly always former contributors or people who wanted access and were rejected. It’s blatantly obvious that they have an axe to grind, and it’s sadly predictable to watch all the various sniping that takes place, both overt and subtle. Generally speaking, the most ardent critic or debunker of any product or service is someone who wants to be associated with it, or was removed from it. I’ll wager it’s the same for the HCV program — only amplified, given that it’s a formal SCEA initiative, which means you’ve got a lot of fevered egos looking to be a part of it.
Sure, go ahead and write me off as a pro-Sony shill. But if you’re bleating and caviling about the HCV program on the forum, then I challenge you to publicly disclose if you’ve ever applied for the HCV program.
Even if you haven’t, we return to my original point: what’s the problem with Sony running their own program any way they want to? So long as it doesn’t adversely affect your ability to enjoy the system, what’s your personal stake in this? Particularly at this point in the game, when GlassWalls himself issued a public statement saying that the program was serving its intended purpose and would continue on as is? If you wanted to simply and truly help, the logical course of action is to contact The Powers That Be privately. So what’s your real motive for public declamations, hm?
(And don’t even get me started on the ridiculous contention that the Sony forum practices too much censorship and curtails “freedom of speech.” Please. That’s BS and you know it.)
Now, granted, you could try to turn right around and ask me why I’ve written fourteen-hundred words on this subject myself right now. My motive is simple. I’m tired of stupid behavior, and the utter speciousness that some are trying to guise it with. No, you’re not a “champion of the people” for decrying or challenging the HCV program, no matter how cleverly you try to disguise it. No, you’re not an “objective journalist.” No, you’re not “daring to speak the truth.”
You’re being petulant.
Worse, you’re being stupid.
You’re being stupid because you’re deliberately choosing to try to change the system in way that’s already been proven to not work. Einstein once famously defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. And he was right. If all you really care about is helping the HCV program — truly — then try a different approach that might actually have a better chance of success. At this point I really do have to question the motives of those who have been on the forum long enough to see the HCV debates rage over the years and see nothing change as a result of them. You know better. At a certain point, it simply becomes an excuse for muckraking, or a vain attempt at self-aggrandizing.
Which, hey, if that’s really what you want to do, then have fun. It’s not my place to police you. That’s up to Sony’s moderators. But drop the pretense. Seriously.
Or, better yet, harden up. Realize that it’s not that big of a deal. You’re letting a Sony program (which happens to run just fine, with some genuinely fantastic people involved in it) get to you that heavily? Do yourself a favor and let it go. It’s not worth it. Not for SCEA’s benefit — for your own.
In the immortal words of Monty Python, “Get on with it.”
May 25th, 2012 by NorseGamer | 22 comments
NorseGamer is the product manager for LOOT Entertainment at Sony Pictures, as well as the founder and publisher of HomeStation Magazine. Born and raised in Silicon Valley, he holds a B.A. in English/Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and presently lives in Los Angeles. All opinions expressed in HSM are solely his and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sony DADC.
LinkedIn
Twitter
Hey. I think you should know.. those 11 Anti-HCV posters are all getting grounded by their parents.
We rarely respond to those posts and We continue doing what we always do. Help others. Nothing will change there. We have been doing this for 3 years and no one has ever changed a thing we do. TBH, We only get stronger from it. It is truly shameful that helping others is frowned apon.
Comes with the territory. Sony, moderators and HCV bashing seems to be the ”In” thing. None of us lose any sleep over it. never have.
Supporting community is what WE do.
Curiously i can’t help but to feel targetted here…
No i’m not a former HCV. No i wasnt rejected. Yes targetting the HCV wasnt my brightest move. I have the outmost respect for volunteer work and probably have more experience of all the rant such a person can receive than you think. Yes Sony is a “for profit” organisation.h Should’nt they be able to afford peoples to do their sales and public relation then? Yes the way i used was akward. I’m relatively new to the forum and wasnt aware of all the hatred it could generate.
You stated “The real world is a cold, uncaring, unfair, specious and manipulativeplace” Well some of us will try to change that, no matter the odds are. Call me a fool if you want. I’m used to it.
Towards the end of the article:
“At this point I really do have to question the motives of those who have been on the forum long enough to see the HCV debates rage over the years and see nothing change as a result of them. You know better. At a certain point, it simply becomes an excuse for muckraking, or a vain attempt at self-aggrandizing.”
Be of good cheer; the ire of my keyboard wasn’t directed towards you.
Dr_Do-Little,
I know your post really wasn’t directed at me. I understand the events you went through that day so no worrys. What I do worry about is the perception on my team. It’s very unfair to the new HCVs and to those who come to the forums looking for help. The threads are not fostering community. they destroy.
Focusing your efforts to “take down” a group of volunteers in a virtual world seems entirely trivial to me.
@TheBrightestGlow,
Or any other helpful Home group. Ya know?
Bravo!!! Simply bravo! Thanks Norse for the article!
There is no aspect of the Sony PlayStation Network or Home that is not over scrutinize. No groups good or bad, nothing new that’s introduced or old that is deleted that doesn’t cause a certain few to see it as their chance to flex their vocal muscles and feel they are obligated and empowered to complain. Citing the First Amendment should not be the source of motivation to speak, just the freedom too. The motivation should come from common sense and something intelligent to say. Sour grapes, rejected egos, delusions of grandeur and the misconception that some people know how things work better than the professionals is all too often yet never for the better the high-octane fuel that burns in the troll engine. The turbo boost button apparently is acknowledging and disagreeing with their futile verbose rambling rants, not unlike this one with the exception that this had some thought put into it.
Complaining with tact is called constructive criticism. Complaining without tact is whiny. Complaining to draw attention to oneself is called sad.
An organization like the home community volunteers may not be perfect, although I can’t think of any fault right now. And if you don’t like them or think that you can do it better, then why aren’t you doing that? It’s easy to say how things should be done when you are not doing it. Put your controller where your mouth is and show the world how much better you could run things. Until then, try using constructive criticism! Whining and trolling will not gain you respect nor will it motivate change.
And if it’s so bad, and everything that is done is wrong, and Sony doesn’t care about anyone but themselves and the bottom line, and Home will never get better, and the mods don’t do their job, and the home community volunteers are power-hungry glory hogs… Feel free to run into the arms of Bill Gates and have fun on your Xbox 360 and pay a monthly charge for your hydrocephalus bobble headed avatar. To quote Dennis Miller… “But that’s just my opinion I could be wrong.”
LOL Bravo Olivia!!
wow “High-octane fuel that burns the troll engine!” brilliant!! I love it.
@Norse -- I love the fact that you got so worked up you censored yourself. Bleeping YEAH!
Being an HCV is luckily a desirable job for some. It helps Sony and other developers and they get paid in virtual items. Unless I am missing something, this is like being crossing guard at Elementary School (I was a crossing guard at my school); a prestige position for sure, but we had to get there earlier and stay later.
The HCV special power to make others feel like they are missing out is cool. But remember, you have to invite the vampire into your home for him to be able to use his powers on you. Same for HCVs.
I wish there was a way to check the age of the poster and whether they have multiple identities. I have a feeling that a lot of discussions would be ignored if we knew that the three people we were arguing with were really one thirteen year old kid. I imagine the people who run the forums must know and react to such arguments appropriately.
At some point, someone has to take their ball and go home. As a kid I dreaded that moment. As an adult I look forward to it.
I personally know that there is another group of morons in this big world that make it ugly. The people that hate those with advantage and will just sit in their underwear at the keyboard and do nothing but act like dogs with only a bark. They don’t look at the work it takes and the scrutiny from Sony to be a HCV. They simply see the freebies they are not getting, and find the first tool in the toolbox is rancor. I for one agree entirely that this is their playground, if they want to give all to a person on my blocked list, that’s their choice. When I own majority stock in Sony, maybe I have a voice, until then, I play for free, I friend for free, and I have tons of fun for free. Let Sony give what they want to who they want, and frankly Norse, if you wanted to be nothing more than a shill:it’s your freedom to promote a company like Sony, you could be far worse: a troll whining about Sony.The Eagles had a song:”Get Over It!”, good advice to the trolls and complainers and good article.
There are currently eight pages on the forum regarding this program and this is not the first time there has been a thread about this subject. I doubt it will be the last. What I’m seeing is that people feel strongly about this issue, for whatever reasons, and want to have changes made. I find it cold and unreasonable of GlassWalls to say that no changes will ever be made to the program. Maybe some people are feeling upset about the programs and venting their feelings in unhelpful ways. That doesn’t mean the good suggestions should be ignored. As I sift through the comments, I find a lot of good suggestions regarding changes to the program… changes that will benefit the community.
@Kassadee Marie,
I did not see one idea on the forums that we have not talked about and most over 2 years ago. Glasswalls being of sound mind has thought this out completely. Unless you see it from the inside you aren’t getting the full picture. Your assessment of Glasswalls was unwaranted but no fault as you do not have informed opinions.
Next time they start their ranting in the forums about this or other subjects just ask if they want any cheese with their whine. I will never understand the human need to express dissatisfaction over everything that doesn’t go their way. The world revolves around the sun, not YOU the last time I looked so like Norse has said so eloquently, get over it and over yourselves. If this kind of stuff is the worst thing that happens to you in your life then you are truly blessed. I think we should be thanking Sony for caring enough to even want a program such as the HCV in Home. They could have just sat back, done nothing at all and been within their rights to do so. As far as I am concerned it is like “looking a gift horse in the mouth” as they say, and not a good idea.
I say we praise the volunteers who give up the sometimes little time they have to spend in Home helping others rather than only thinking about themselves and their wants or needs like these people in the forums who seem to have nothing better to do with their energy.
Very well said Norse.
Please understand, at least for me, the HCV’s and the HCV program are not the same thing. I know some wonderful people in the program that are dedicated to Home and involved in many ways. Y2David is an especially dedicated volunteer.
Understood, Kas
Y2 and the others HCVs are fine additions to our program. I know the program inside out and trust me. It is on pace with how it was designed.
I can not go in to details but we are expanding and it will be nice for everyone when it does.
Although some will still find fault. it’s the way it is.
I posted this in the Sony forum, but I wanted to add it here as well, as it touches on why the HCV program is structured the way it is.
The only logistically feasible way to have an interactive help desk is if it’s completely automated — which is precisely what Lockwood has already done with VICKIE in the Sodium Hub.
For those who believe the HCV program should fulfill this function instead: the basic problem with this is logistics. Assume Home has, at any given time, 500,000 active users. Now assume one percent of them need help at any given time. That’s 5,000 users. A public space can hold a maximum of 64 people. That means you’d need 80 HCVs around the clock doing nothing but manning help desk instances. Even if we assume every HCV could run an eight-hour shift every day (which is unrealistic), that’s a minimum of 238 HCVs. And that’s assuming an average of 500,000 active users out of 27,000,000 registered accounts, with an average help load of only one percent of the active population.
There is no feasible way that the HCV program can possibly serve this function. I’d held off on going into this much detail elsewhere because I thought the math was fairly obvious. Hopefully this clarification helps explain things a bit.
The next problem with any sort of manned help center in Home is the human element. Picture an instance of 63 people tossing questions at one HCV, all at the same time. Even if some of the questions were easy and quick to answer, the only way to keep things from degenerating into chaos would be to implement a queue system, like some of the games in Home have. And how would you feel if you saw you were #60 in the queue? Would you stick around? Try another instance of the help desk (and end up with the same result)? In fact, would it create a very negative perception of Home?
Of course, you could try a free-for-all instead of a queue, but those don’t end well. Ever been to a public event where GlassWalls was in attendance? I’ve watched the poor guy get mobbed by people who saw the red jacket and immediately started unloading on him about personal tech support issues, which is very disruptive when he’s trying to host an event.
We’re also not taking into account the challenge of finding sufficient people who would be willing to endure such a thing, day in and day out. Annual call center turnover rates in the United States consistently hover around 30%. And those are paid employees. I shudder to think of what it would be with volunteers. And let’s not even get into the liabilities of having non-employees represent SCEA in such a support capacity.
I know there are people on the forum who froth at the mouth (for years…) because of what they perceive as a doorslam to HCV program feedback. Thing is, though, if you start really working out why things are the way they are, it’s not that hard to see why suggestions which seem good at face value are, in fact, doomed to failure from the get-go. And that’s just the good ideas; we’re not even tackling the people who have a personal axe to grind against the program.
HearItWow correctly observed that a lot of support resources are already built into the Home interface for people to utilize. The flaw that I personally see is that they’re not readily apparent, and since help items are designed to support those who probably know the least about the interface, this constitutes a design flaw with the Home interface. Which is why a publicly visible automated FAQ, such as what Lockwood did with VICKIE, is in my mind a good idea. Granted, there may be a reason this hasn’t been implemented.
The point remains, however, that accomplishing the most effective means of supporting the userbase is not the same thing as enhancing the HCV program, and the two items should be decoupled. Logistically, it’s fairly easy to see why. As far as I can ascertain, the HCV program is doing exactly what it’s designed to do — not necessarily what some people on this forum want it to do, but what it’s actually designed to do — and doing it quite well. From personal observation, though there are a few former HCVs whose behavior I find deplorable, I’d say the current group of HCVs — veteran and new alike — are a really good group.
Norsling, You make some great observations.
I really don’t see why all the fuss. Same with the velvet rope in the theater. Why all the fuss? I don’t feel slighted that people get free apartments in exchange for doing tours, or the HCVs getting items for providing a service. They are putting in the time. If it is really about helping people, who is stopping you? Frankly, I would rather help people on my own, rather than being dictated by another group. If you want to help, get out there and help those who need help. I know plenty of people who are not HCVs, but spend countless hours being available on Home to help people out. Why do you feel the need to be compensated for kindness? I don’t. If you already help people out, great. Why do you care that there is also an official group of people that also help people out? Do you walk into a Wallmart and tell the greeter and the people working there that they are unnecessary because the customers are more than capable of helping newer customers? Let’s all help each other out and “Get on with it.”
The “fuss” for me was all the “mini modding” i received from the HCV when i tried to make comments about the lack of communication from Sony on subject like the disconnection issue. When i realize they were receiving freebies thats when i started to link the dots… Little did i knew at that time about all the previous ranting about them.
While the thread may be anti HCV in general, if you sift through the BS, there are some valid points and observations. I made a few myself, and I’m not biased one way or the other. While the program is good in idea, it’s flawed in execution. I will certainly submit an article for approval stating what I think of it. While there is good, there is also bad.
I’d recommend sending it privately to the powers that be. There’s just too much accumulated history of public debate on this topic, fueled in large part by two key elements:
1. People have applied for it and been rejected, leading to resentment and anger;
2. There’s a disconnect between what the program is actually designed to do and what some people on the forum think it is designed to do.
Given the history of how polarizing and downright ugly the public HCV debates have gotten, coupled with how entrenched positions have gotten on this topic, it’s easy to see that a more effective means of offering feedback would be to submit it privately instead.