Hello Tahitoa, Caspian and Imoteph here. Thank you for agreeing to take part in this interview. I hope we find you well and eager to divulge a few little known fact about yourself.
I am part of the Funcom Volunteers Program that was started on the *old* pre-launch forums by Famine, Tarib and the then Community Manager, Pharamond. I was just a normal forum user and a fan of AoC then. When the program opened I did apply and was selected with few others. This was in about August/ September 2007 (Just before closed Beta started). From then I never looked back, I was just a Moderator on the pre-lunch forums, and was offered the Head Moderator position for the English EU forums when the game launched. As you correctly pointed out, the AoC forums are a big part of my life, I love what I do and I enjoy moderation although it can be a very hard job sometimes, as moderators are very exposed.
How important do you think a forum community is to the success of an online role-playing game and do you think spending too much time trolling threads can be slightly unhealthy?
I do believe a good forum community is essential for the success of an MMORPG. I think too many times in the past communities have been neglected by companies developing and running games and, by personal experience, I can tell you it’s very hard to reverse the reputation of a forum/community around a game. Funcom has always made a point to care for it’s community, starting very on in-game development and I think all the work of the Community Team does shows in the community we have today that I personally regard, one of the best in the world. Mind you, as I said it’s not always been plain sailing and we had our *dark* moments. For the Team was hard to be split (US/EU) when the game launched back in May, but we did over come that. We do try to be as consistent as we can, we do believe our forum rules are important and we are expecting our users to understand that and we will enforce them, even if this can sometime not be very popular. Trolling is not healthy at all on any Internet forums, there are different types of trolls and trolling and it’s up to the moderators to recognize them and try to stop them spreading. Most of the time trolling is done involuntarily and will not need heavy moderation, but there are times when trolls need to be stopped because they can do a lot of damage to a community and ultimately to the game.
A tricky question here... I understand there is a fine line with regards to free speech in all forums. Not everything is acceptable to all cultures. Have you ever had to close threads due to forum rules or constant flaming that you wish could have continued? Perhaps an example?
Closing a thread (any thread) is never an easy decision to make, even if users think it’s just something we do when we feel like it. We have our internal rules and regulations to follow and we will always consider the pro and cons before the ultimate lock strikes. If I close it means I have to because the thread is breaking the rules, therefore I don’t regret closing any threads to date. Often the freedom of speech argument is used on Internet Forums to question moderation, but freedom of speech is not an excuse to flame or offend or harass other users. It’s a delicate balance that we (moderators) need to maintain…and it’s very difficult. In an ideal world, we could discuss very hot topics (ie. Politic, religion, sex) without having to intervene, but we all know there is no such thing as a perfect world.
I understand that you are an avid role player but do not play Age of Conan yourself. Can you tell our readers why this may be?
Haha…I do not play Age of Conan as Tahi or Tahitoa…this does not mean I don’t play the game at all. I do play as a normal user when I can find the time. I think I can be considerate a very casual N00b that likes to role-play when it’s possible. I been playing Age of Conan since early closed Beta and I will not be online every day, but yes, I can still be found in Hyboria every now and then.
Tell us what kind of role-playing interests you and what would you consider a heavy role player to be? Perhaps you prefer intimate RP with a handful of friends or massive inter-guild organized events?
Total immersion and dedication to a character development, personal history and being constantly *in-character* when in the game (and on the forums to a certain extent) would be what I consider heavy RP. My roots into role play go back some years, I used to act and always enjoyed historical re-enactment events and dressing up, but as role play in game goes, I prefer to role play only with friends or even on a one-to-one. My characters tend to be always quite shy and solitary, in search of something or someone…a bit like me in real life, really.
Many people believe Age of Conan to be the place for mature role-play. How well do you feel the game facilitates user generated content (RP) compared to its rivals in such an over crowded market?
I think Hyboria is the perfect place for mature role-play. It’s a savage and brutal setting and the Conan lore is the perfect foundation for role-play to take place. There is always room for improvement, but I think Age of Conan has definitely an important place as role-play goes.
Although you do not play Age of Conan yourself you must have read quiet a few recruitment threads in your time. Which guild tempts your Role Playing taste buds? Has there been an event organized that has tempted you?
Hehe…I think I must change that signature as I see it’s very misleading…I do play the game I used to be in a guild on the pre-launch forum and I was their Ambassador. I had the time of my life role-playing even before the game was out. But I am not a guild-orientated player. I blame this on the fact I am casual …often I will be guild less, as I said I role-play solitary characters. If I had to pick a guild style, I would probably go for a single race one (probably Cimmerian) I adore Cimmeria. As events go, I like story-telling nights…
Now we understand the next couple of questions are not exactly part of your job but please pretend if you will you were playing this game. What do you think Funcom could do to improve the role playing experience?
I do play this game! There are several role-play elements in Age of Conan that could be improved, players have been asking for some features to be enhanced and for new ones to be introduced. I think Funcom is listening and taking notice of the player’s wishes, however there are important things around the game that need to be fixed or introduced first. The Game Director said not long ago in an interview, that they are going to look into the role-play needs but that it may take sometime. Some social clothing, maybe some new emotes would make may role-players happy, the big dream would be players housing but that’s a *biggie*
Some friends believe role players have been short changed in Age of Conan. Would you agree the RP community needs its own patch including RP gear, emotes or GM organised events. Do you have any inside information you might be able to share?
I have no inside information that I can share, sorry. I really understand the frustration of the role-players however I know they are not as neglected as they think they are. All players are listened to, and I know Funcom does value greatly the contributions and support it’s receiving from the role-play community around the game.
Despite the technical problems and work load moderating two merged forums, do you think its ideal to merge two role-playing servers each with there own history and user generated lore?
Personally I do not see that as a huge problem, I would take it a new challenge, merging story lines and history for a new beginning. History never stands alone in one place or one country for example, it does merge with more history and legends and tradition from other countries…if that can be done in real life, I am sure it can be done in role-play as well.
Some hardcore RP’ers argue that a character wishing to join a RP sever should level a character from the start and that players form a pure PvP guild should not have the option to transfer to a RP server. Would you agree?
This is a sticky point, and I can see why some role-players are feeling this way but I think that it’s important to remember that there are also people that chose to play on a RP server for other reasons then role-play. Some will simply play there due to the more relaxed and friendly atmosphere you usually find on a RP server. So no, I would not agree with that, I dislike extremes stand points as they often lead to conflict. I think it would be wrong to restrict players choices of transfer only on the base the server is a RP server and they do come from a pure PvP or PvE server, after all they may just want to try RP out, and that should be encouraged , I think.
Ok I think our Herald Readers would now like to know a few more personal questions behind Tahitoa we all know and love. What is your fascination with the little fluffy critters and how many pets do you have at home?
Haha…the cats well…all the EU forums are moderated by a band of felines, really…I have one cat in real life, a ginger tabby that loves to sit on my keyboard or sleep in front of the screen . I am a cat person, I like their independence, you never *own* a cat, this is probably the greatest attraction for me.
All the moderators can be easily contacted in game via PM’s. What is the weirdest personal message you have ever received on these forums? I assume you get a little bit more space allocated to your mails than the rest of us?
There are so many …haha, like the marriage proposal I got from a user once …and I think he was really serious when he asked. Then there was a guy that had a huge problem with my avatar….*because I don’t like to be told to shhh by anyone* …lol, that was fun. I have a much bigger inbox then normal users, it’s true …I like to be approachable but this leave me often exposed to users frustration and even anger, this is something all moderators need to learn to live with and it’s not always easy to keep one’s cool, but we have to.
I’m sure every loved one has said we all spend too much time online. What other hobbies do you enjoy in your free time?
I write and I read a lot and I spend time with my family and friends.
Thank you for taking time our to answer our questions. Perhaps before you go, you may quickly list 5 totally random facts about yourself!
1.I am extremely tidy
2.I have a secret crush on Edmund Blackadder
3. I love Celtic and Medieval music
4.I love pancakes
5.I have a strange accent
Thanks for having me
Thank you for taking the time out in your busy day to answer these questions. I’m sure the whole community will appreciate this little insight. I hope as a result you do not receive an overly large increase in ‘weird’ messages!
If you do be sure to pass them on. Perhaps you should start a thread. Caspian
Yes, thank you very much for your time Tahitoa and I hope to meet you sometime in Hyboria. Imoteph
