BitRunner, it really disturbs me to see someone I like and respect in so much pain. I can understand where this is coming from - many of us have had our own moments of despair in here. Many of us went through our own trials in Home before we started to find each other and create a common purpose: to make it better. Like the old cliche that it is "better to light a candle than to curse the darkness", a group started this magazine and others eagerly joined. We wanted to envision what can be as well as to celebrate the best that currently exists. Yes, the writers in HSM do take issue with situations that urgently needed to be addressed. Our method, however, is to propose possible solutions whenever we identify a problem.

If you will look at the articles and interviews in the latest issue of the magazine as well as past issues plus the 250+ website articles that appeared only in the website and not the magazine, you will see what we are doing. Is it working? Yes - slowly, tentatively, we are moving, working at getting through to the people who can make the changes to improve Home. We are reaching a huge audience: HSM is being read in 127 countries now by tens of thousands of Home users. We are also being read by almost every developer in the world and by many of the top executives of Sony/Home in NA and EU.

If you want a real discussion here, let's make it constructive: what are the things that need to be changed and how, realistically, how could they be changed? Let's take those issues one at a time and come up with a consensus. Some of the brightest minds in Home are either writing for HSM or reading it daily. In addition, we have programmers and developers and designers reading this thing. If an idea we propose is impossible ("That requires a complete core re-write!") then at least we know where the limits are. And if an idea we propose can be profitable, I think it is likely that at least one of the smart developers reading this will jump on it.

Let's do it, BitRunner. What do you have to lose? And please read my cover story for Issue 5, "Take An Inside Look At Home", before you decide.

Ok done reading,good job Keara.I'd really love to have a frank and honest discussion with you BitRunner but i'm not sure what potentialities you are refering to that never materialized except the trophy room which i'm kinda glad never made it.The only thing i can refer to for now is the hints of Mod misbehavior,i've seen and heard things that seem to indicate there might be something to it.Getting into an open and frank discussion might be hard as it seems some ppl are very emotional about certain aspects of Home so i hope you have a seat belt handy but i'll not accuse you of evil intent for merely bringing these things up.As my new favorite quote says"If everyone is thinking alike then someone's not thinking"-George Patton

Of course the above post isn't just for Sony,if any 1 has answers to those questions feel free to answer,i won't get offended honest.

Well i'll start with what i agree with you about,i agree that what i'd call "social games",games where the players can freely chat while playing,is a very good thing.Even if it's just text chatting,as poker used to be,it really gives the game an added dimension or 2.As for the HCV dating policy i'd agree in principle that romantic entanglements can cause big problems and probably should be disallowed to keep everything looking ethical.Now to the disagreement,as someone who is a total outsider to the HCV program it seems to me to fill a very real need in Home,basically it allows the average user a way to find things that might not be found so easily.On the 2or3 occasions that i've actually talked to an HCV they did seem to know or were able to find out fairly quickly the answers to some difficult questions.Atm Sony doesn't provide us with an info. booth so it's the best we have atm.As for facebook being essential to Homes future,i don't quite see why it would be so important.I can see why it might be useful but i don't see why it's an absolute must,maybe it's because i have no facebook account that i don't see it's import.What does seem vital to me however is that Sony listen to it's customers and give them as much as they can,realistically speaking,when it comes to options,games,and functionality.So if there is alot of ppl asking for the facebook thing then i'd agree it needs to happen but honestly this is the 1st time i've heard anyone ask for it.

I think a large part of the equation is money, BitRunner. We are talking about corporations that have to make a profit to survive. There is a big gulf between the older gamers in Home, most of whom started playing console games and PC games many years ago before online games, trophies, and posting high scores in games came along. In fact, on the message boards of places like GameFaqs umpteen years ago, being a 'completionist' was considered rather a sad way to spend one's life. You should read my article in here about Red Dead Redemption - it explores that issue in depth. I love playing RDR - alone. I hate playing RDR online.

And - the facts are - the over-35 age gamers have money. They buy lots of Sony products, not just games. They also spend a LOT of money in Home on personal spaces,items, clothes, Midway tickets, Lockwood tokens, etc. The social aspects of Home are far more important to them than any trophy room. Maybe if there had been trophies in Pong, I would have gotten hooked on them, but I managed to enjoy gaming ever since the days of Zork on an Apple II without them. It's the people who lay out the cash that makes a profit for the developers in Home who keep this place going,

The only way to bring back the poker rooms is to find a way to make it profitable to the developer who builds it and maintains it. That means fees for something. Maybe a set up like Midway with a few brief opportunities for free play and then tickets, tickets, tickets (ka-ching). Help me put together a plan that solves that situation, and we can take it to the developers as a suggestion. For example, your tournaments idea - yes, it would pack in the people but how would you attach fees to that to cover the costs of implementation? Let's think this through. I think it is possible.

Sure, Home has a lot of potential - but it costs money to create the new experiences, new spaces, new items. How much would you pay for that Trophy Room? Would it be worth $10. a month? Home has to be a profit center on its own. Read that interview with John Ardussi in Issue 5 that came out last night: 9 months of work by a lot of people (all of whom get paid salaries) to create a personal space that can sell for $4.99. How many people would have to be willing to pay enough for a Trophy Room to make it worth laying out the time and money to create? Or a new club room? Or a new poker parlor?

I completely agree with you about Hasbro games. The biggest demand I found in the market research I did on this issue was the demand for multi-player Scrabble. Again, the problem is the licensing fees. How many people would pay how much to play that in Home? I think Bingo has a better chance of being implemented for that very reason.

As for personalities in Home, people in Home are the same people in real life. BUT, in Home they have the shield of anonymity to hide behind and almost none of the social consequences for bad behavior. So - inhibitions disappear, pent-up anger and frustration leaking over from real life comes into play, and the 'real' person emerges. After I figured that one out, I stopped sweating the small "fecal matter". Trolls and pervs don't even faze me anymore. I realize they are probably sad pathetic loners in real life. But that's the small minority in Home. There are so many great people to meet, to talk with, to enjoy; just leave the others to torment themselves and anyone who pays attention to them.

Now as for this streaming idea: I want Country&Western music (lots of Garth Brooks, Travis Tritt, and Rascal Flatts, please, plus some classic Patsy Kline), comedy shows (especially Bill Hicks), and any movie with Johnny Depp in it. Otherwise, why would I want to pay for what it would cost to get the licensing rights to bring it into Home? There is such a huge cross-section of the NA population in here, who would decide what to stream? Would you want many different channels available to be able to satisfy everyone? Let's define exactly what we want and how we would pay for it.

As for anyone 'bombing' a thread in the Home Forum, ok, that does happen sometimes. Maybe that is why this Forum has become very popular with the 3-digit crowd (people with an IQ of at least 100). We don't get long threads by newcomers looking for the latest freebies or complaining because they cannot buy their favorite cartoon costumes here. The only time Norse yanks a post is when someone attacks another person, group, developer, or Sony itself. Constructive criticism, however, is welcomed - and encouraged - in HSM.

And please do not take my reply as any kind of an attack. Not at all. I respect your opinions and I am pushing you to take the next steps to go from recognizing a problem to creating a feasible solution. For example, I had the same thoughts about providing people a way to game together, talk to each other, build common interests. So I did a survey of 150 people in Home - a cross section of all ages, regions, etc. - and discovered that the most often requested games were Scrabble and Bingo. I also asked what they were willing to pay for more 'freemium' activities. I took that to I my developer friends and asked if these ideas were possible. Answers: Scrabble, No (licensing issues). Bingo, Possibly - and "we like the idea". Time frame for implementation: about 9 months. We can help make Home better, BitRunner.

You really need to go back to the steps you skipped and find out what this HSM crowd is all about. It might take you a few hours to go through the topics that do interest you but you will probably discover you have found a group of kindred souls. Welcome home!