why are they charging $5 a month to post on public forum?

hercules

ok would have asked them if i could but since free registration cannot post asking here
i registered a while ago when game was new but forgot my access(was free registration also) so did it again
then i noticed you cannot post at all.checked and you can if you pay $5 a month for a game which is not even beta yet.heck even the basic pledge does not give you beta but it gives you access to post on forum.
Surely ,this appears greedy to deny people without paying access to a message board ?

SEANMCAD

well to be fair if i was to make a game I would not have forums anywhere but that is just me.

hercules

Crusadecrusher said:

[mod edit]

https://www.pantheonmmo.com/join/community/

Quite clearly says public forum so nothing private about it
marketing is vital for any mmorpg esp. one with a niche audience.
if you have a forum which only people pay can access be rest assured many will lose interest .
i  and my brother are big EQ fans so clearly have interest in this game and bought and played vanguard as well.
Both of us find it a bit fishy charging for a public forum .wonder how many ex EQ fans like us are troubled by this.
i be waiting for reviews post launch tbh before pledging my money based on this

Not sure fans like you are selling the game well

bartoni33

Echo Chamber. It's a voluntary paid echo chamber.

Talonsin

That might be a strong indicator that you should stay away from that product.

Sovrath

I suppose the way to look at it is that they need to raise money and the people who are giving the $5 per month are donating money to help the development. With that help they are given a place where they can discuss the game.

So the forum isn't for players, the forum is for patrons.

xyzercrime

It is for an assurance, I guess. You can complain/praise the team, but they really wanna make sure that you're not wasting their time.

Scorchien

Because they can , and it will keep those arent serious about the game out , for the most part.. Good move imo

Crusadecrusher

hercules said:

Crusadecrusher said:

[mod edit]

https://www.pantheonmmo.com/join/community/

Quite clearly says public forum so nothing private about it
marketing is vital for any mmorpg esp. one with a niche audience.
if you have a forum which only people pay can access be rest assured many will lose interest .
i  and my brother are big EQ fans so clearly have interest in this game and bought and played vanguard as well.
Both of us find it a bit fishy charging for a public forum .wonder how many ex EQ fans like us are troubled by this.
i be waiting for reviews post launch tbh before pledging my money based on this

Not sure fans like you are selling the game well

They are a private company NOT a pubic company.  The term "public" on forums refers to the fact you may be able to view the forums but as a PRIVATE COMPANY they have the right to set rules like almost every other Mmorpg has...in order to post you have to pay.  This is nothing new...are you new to mmorpgs? 

LIOKI

What a bunch of elitist's comments in here. Charging a fee to use a forum comes off as brash. I don't know much about the game....isn't there a patron section of the forum that backers/founders/suckers/whatever can post in separate from a public forum? That would make sense.

Crusadecrusher said:

hercules said:

Crusadecrusher said:

[mod edit] 

https://www.pantheonmmo.com/join/community/

Quite clearly says public forum so nothing private about it
marketing is vital for any mmorpg esp. one with a niche audience.
if you have a forum which only people pay can access be rest assured many will lose interest .
i  and my brother are big EQ fans so clearly have interest in this game and bought and played vanguard as well.
Both of us find it a bit fishy charging for a public forum .wonder how many ex EQ fans like us are troubled by this.
i be waiting for reviews post launch tbh before pledging my money based on this

Not sure fans like you are selling the game well

They are a private company NOT a pubic company.  The term "public" on forums refers to the fact you may be able to view the forums but as a PRIVATE COMPANY they have the right to set rules like almost every other Mmorpg has...in order to post you have to pay.  This is nothing new...are you new to mmorpgs? 

I've never had to pay to post in any mmorpg forum ever. wtf are you on about?

Crusadecrusher

LIOKI said:

What a bunch of elitist's comments in here. Charging a fee to use a forum comes off as brash. I don't know much about the game....isn't there a patron section of the forum that backers/founders/suckers/whatever can post in separate from a public forum? That would make sense.

Crusadecrusher said:

hercules said:

Crusadecrusher said:

To be a deterrent for people like you who clearly just want to complain. 

It's not a "public" forum it's a private forum. 

https://www.pantheonmmo.com/join/community/

Quite clearly says public forum so nothing private about it
marketing is vital for any mmorpg esp. one with a niche audience.
if you have a forum which only people pay can access be rest assured many will lose interest .
i  and my brother are big EQ fans so clearly have interest in this game and bought and played vanguard as well.
Both of us find it a bit fishy charging for a public forum .wonder how many ex EQ fans like us are troubled by this.
i be waiting for reviews post launch tbh before pledging my money based on this

Not sure fans like you are selling the game well

They are a private company NOT a pubic company.  The term "public" on forums refers to the fact you may be able to view the forums but as a PRIVATE COMPANY they have the right to set rules like almost every other Mmorpg has...in order to post you have to pay.  This is nothing new...are you new to mmorpgs? 

I've never had to pay to post in any mmorpg forum ever. wtf are you on about?

Go over to the WoW forums good luck posting without paying for a sub...swtor forums yep have fun posting without paying.  It's common in mmorpg which is what the forum he is talking about is. 

"Public" refers to the ability to view them, and yes in most forums post for free but you are still under the rules of the private company that runs the forums. 

Reddit is a "public"forum but much of the content is moderated to death.  If it were a true "public" forum free speech would be allowed it's clearly not. Same with this site at anytime they could change their mind and say hey we are getting rid of ads and charging $1/month to post why? Because these are private forums run by a private company. 

bartoni33

LIOKI said:

What a bunch of elitist's comments in here. Charging a fee to use a forum comes off as brash. I don't know much about the game....isn't there a patron section of the forum that backers/founders/suckers/whatever can post in separate from a public forum? That would make sense.

Crusadecrusher said:

hercules said:

Crusadecrusher said:

To be a deterrent for people like you who clearly just want to complain. 

It's not a "public" forum it's a private forum. 

https://www.pantheonmmo.com/join/community/

Quite clearly says public forum so nothing private about it
marketing is vital for any mmorpg esp. one with a niche audience.
if you have a forum which only people pay can access be rest assured many will lose interest .
i  and my brother are big EQ fans so clearly have interest in this game and bought and played vanguard as well.
Both of us find it a bit fishy charging for a public forum .wonder how many ex EQ fans like us are troubled by this.
i be waiting for reviews post launch tbh before pledging my money based on this

Not sure fans like you are selling the game well

They are a private company NOT a pubic company.  The term "public" on forums refers to the fact you may be able to view the forums but as a PRIVATE COMPANY they have the right to set rules like almost every other Mmorpg has...in order to post you have to pay.  This is nothing new...are you new to mmorpgs? 

I've never had to pay to post in any mmorpg forum ever. wtf are you on about?

The irony of your post and your signature is fascinating.

JudgeUK

The money gained is for forum development. When they get enough, they're going to add a new font.

SpottyGekko

hercules said:

... 

...
Both of us find it a bit fishy charging for a public forum .wonder how many ex EQ fans like us are troubled by this.
i be waiting for reviews post launch tbh before pledging my money based on this

Not sure fans like you are selling the game well

I'm not sure what makes indirectly charging for posting rights a "fishy" activity, lol

There have been sub-based AAA MMO's in the past that have restricted posting rights on their forums to currently active accounts only. It's nothing new, you just rarely see it anymore because F2P has made "currently active account" largely meaningless.

The owner of a site or forum has the right to set whatever rules they like regarding access to the content.

In this case, they obviously feel that excluding "random noise" from their forums is more beneficial than allowing free access.

Wellspring

I don't know. I think the paid forum in this case is a good idea. If for no other reason than they don't have to dedicate any resources to preventing bots from spamming the forums.

laxie

@hercules
I doubt monetising forums at 5$/month is their bread and butter in terms of funding.

The most likely reason is they don't want free non-paying members posting on their forums. After checking the links posted, if a person purchases any game pledge, they get full access to the forums by default (no extra purchase necessary). If you don't own the game, you can pay 5$ a month for forum access only.

There are a number of reasons a developer might want to do this:

• You lock out the majority of trolls. Most people trolling on forums are free users. If a paying member gets banned from the product, they will need to buy the product again to be disruptive.
  
  
• You focus on the experience of the paying customer. This is important especially for games that are starting out. You have an X number of employees in charge of the forums. Restricting forums to paying users only means your X employees are 100% dedicated to your paying members.
  
  
• You mainly get to hear the opinion of people who actually own the game. Non-paying customers may have great ideas, but a good part of them will never buy the game. This way the ideas on the forums are of people who are guaranteed to play your game on release (and pay for it).
  
  
• The forums tend to be more positive. People who post there are financially invested in the success of the product. This is very obvious with the more divisive crowdfunded products. Most public forums will be talking trash, but the official one will be full of hope and support for the devs.

There are reasons why you might not want to restrict forum access:

• Non-paying people might get involved in the forums and end up buying the game.
  
  
• You get to hear ideas from a larger population. Perhaps some of those ideas might lead to more people buying the game.

The developers made a decision that the positives of restricting access outweigh the negatives. I doubt the 5$ fee has much to do with it - the number of people only paying for forum access and not for the game has to be minuscule.

Also, keep in mind the number of people using forums in general is tiny. 95%+ of players will never visit the forums. Out of those who do, the number of people who would be active on the forums, without buying the game, is even smaller. You may very well be one of those people - if you are though, keep in mind you are a tiny majority of a tiny majority.

The number of people who would buy the game, due to already being active on the forums, is negligible in the grand scheme of things.

kitarad

I think paying to post for games like Pantheon is a great idea because it adds another filter making sure only people interested in the game actually participate. I doubt they're interested in the masses who come on forums and post ads and links to spam and so forth this makes sure you are there legitimately.

Neanderthal

I wasn't aware of this.  I have gone and browsed their forums a few times when I was bored but never created a forum account and tried to post. 

It seems kind of funny to me.  Only people who have already drank the koolaid can post.  Of course their comments are going to be overwhelmingly positive and fawning.  Apparently the devs of pantheon only want to hear from sycophantic yes-men. 

The emperor has no clothes?  I guess in this case he'll never know because only people who like looking at his hairy arse are allowed to talk.

flizzer

I would charge 50+ for a forum if I could get away with it. 

I always tell people if you want to talk about a game, especially criticize a game, you come to a place like MMORPG, and even that sometimes is problematic. 

Albatroes

Can't post on SE's forums without having a subscription...SWTOR same thing. Honestly, its pretty common.

Gyva02

I want a golden goose and I want it NOW!!!!!! lol... 

LIOKI

Crusadecrusher said:

LIOKI said:

What a bunch of elitist's comments in here. Charging a fee to use a forum comes off as brash. I don't know much about the game....isn't there a patron section of the forum that backers/founders/suckers/whatever can post in separate from a public forum? That would make sense.

Crusadecrusher said:

hercules said:

Crusadecrusher said:

To be a deterrent for people like you who clearly just want to complain. 

It's not a "public" forum it's a private forum. 

https://www.pantheonmmo.com/join/community/

Quite clearly says public forum so nothing private about it
marketing is vital for any mmorpg esp. one with a niche audience.
if you have a forum which only people pay can access be rest assured many will lose interest .
i  and my brother are big EQ fans so clearly have interest in this game and bought and played vanguard as well.
Both of us find it a bit fishy charging for a public forum .wonder how many ex EQ fans like us are troubled by this.
i be waiting for reviews post launch tbh before pledging my money based on this

Not sure fans like you are selling the game well

They are a private company NOT a pubic company.  The term "public" on forums refers to the fact you may be able to view the forums but as a PRIVATE COMPANY they have the right to set rules like almost every other Mmorpg has...in order to post you have to pay.  This is nothing new...are you new to mmorpgs? 

I've never had to pay to post in any mmorpg forum ever. wtf are you on about?

Go over to the WoW forums good luck posting without paying for a sub...swtor forums yep have fun posting without paying.  It's common in mmorpg which is what the forum he is talking about is. 

"Public" refers to the ability to view them, and yes in most forums post for free but you are still under the rules of the private company that runs the forums. 

Reddit is a "public"forum but much of the content is moderated to death.  If it were a true "public" forum free speech would be allowed it's clearly not. Same with this site at anytime they could change their mind and say hey we are getting rid of ads and charging $1/month to post why? Because these are private forums run by a private company. 

You're right, it has seem to become pretty common. I stand corrected, and I'm also a complete fucking moron. I'm going to hang myself in my garage now.

Arkade99

It's really pretty simple. They don't want people who aren't invested in their game posting on their forums. You may not like it, but that's perfectly within their rights. Crowfall does the same thing, though it's just a 1 time cost of $5.

This helps to keep out spam attacks and trolls who have no vested interest in the game.

SpottyGekko

Neanderthal said:

I wasn't aware of this.  I have gone and browsed their forums a few times when I was bored but never created a forum account and tried to post. 

It seems kind of funny to me.  Only people who have already drank the koolaid can post.  Of course their comments are going to be overwhelmingly positive and fawning.  Apparently the devs of pantheon only want to hear from sycophantic yes-men. 

The emperor has no clothes?  I guess in this case he'll never know because only people who like looking at his hairy arse are allowed to talk.

If you feel so strongly that your opinion is required to "enlighten the koolaid-drinkers", then I'm sure you'd be happy to pay $5 for the opportunity to perform a valuable public service !

However, I suspect the $5 charge exists largely to avoid random destructive criticism and the general negativity that's so popular in most open gaming forums.

mgilbrtsn

I'm usually an understanding kinda guy and pro developer, but to me this seems a bit much.   If it's to keep the riff raff, then I can go with it.  However, if it's just for the money, I think it's over the top.

tokini

LIOKI said:

What a bunch of elitist's comments in here. Charging a fee to use a forum comes off as brash. I don't know much about the game....isn't there a patron section of the forum that backers/founders/suckers/whatever can post in separate from a public forum? That would make sense.

there actually is an additional VIP only forum that the 'normal' donors cant use, or even see. i can only imagine what kind of a hot mess of pretension that is.... if the viewable forums are any indicator, the ideas and demands in the VIP must be truly bad to an astonishing level. (based on the attitudes of people that are known to be VIP that occasionally grace the pleb area with their presence)

so yeah, pay to post, pay extra to not have to deal with the 'rabble' that may have a differing view (read:doesnt believe EQ or vanguard are the height of western culture)