New York Cantina Cancellation

[Andryah]

Nah, the possibility of something like that happening at a small bar in NYC is literally equal to zero. The guy that did the Las Vegas shooting had 2 bags of weapons in a room at a hotel across from the concert, and was firing at people for about 2 minutes straight with semi-automatics.

 

Yeah... but you do not know that for sure. You feel that to be the case and brandish your New York street chops as proof.. but the reality is that over the last decade.. this same claim could have been made ahead of every mass shooting in the country... from the theater massacres, to the concert massacres, to the nightclub massacres, to ongoing school massacres. All despicable and all pretty well unimaginable until they actually happen.

 

The simple fact is that anyone (or anyones, plural) that wants to do this sort of violence against others in the US can and will find a way to do so.. and as such.. security methods and processes are constantly evolving (reactively for the most part) to try to close each new gaping hole in security driven by an atrocity people felt could never possibly happen. No venue or geographical location in the US is immune from this as a possibility. Note: I am not saying any of this is high possibility... only that the possibility is not zero and these sorts of nut jobs in some cases are quite capable of planning well in advance and finding a way through any security gaps.

Edited September 15, 2018 by Andryah

[Celise]

You do know that the information is publicly viewable here in the forum, to any active subscriber, right? People read my posting history all the time and make comments based on it. I don't feel invaded or intruded by it.. because I understand that that history is on public view for all other forum members. In fact.. I fully expect to be held accountable for my posting history when commenting on any topic, so I have no issue at all with other players reviewing my posting history. What exactly is it you are afraid of here?

 

Now.. why take time to review another posters post history in the context of a discussion? To better understand where they are coming from in general, rather then just make assumptions absent any facts, and to see if they are being honest about something or blowing smoke. In this case, I actually stated that I gave him the benefit of the doubt because I saw that he did not appear to be active in the forum at the time of the post I linked for him.

 

You wouldn't argue to allow a scammer into your life if you knew it, going through all your bank statement, medical statement, the types of things you eat, drink, the sort of people you chilled with and those you chill with these days and so on.

 

as much as you say you got nothing to hide, the fact is the more intrusive the searching gets, the more likely there are going to be things to be used against you may not even realise. This person may have loss a battle, but their war is far from over and hopefully you can take a little caution the next time this person comes after you again.

 

you can't always know what someone is like or what they are up to.

Edited September 16, 2018 by Celise

[MandFlurry]

You do know that the information is publicly viewable here in the forum, to any active subscriber, right? People read my posting history all the time and make comments based on it. I don't feel invaded or intruded by it.. because I understand that that history is on public view for all other forum members. In fact.. I fully expect to be held accountable for my posting history when commenting on any topic, so I have no issue at all with other players reviewing my posting history. What exactly is it you are afraid of here?

 

Now.. why take time to review another posters post history in the context of a discussion? To better understand where they are coming from in general, rather then just make assumptions absent any facts, and to see if they are being honest about something or blowing smoke. In this case, I actually stated that I gave him the benefit of the doubt because I saw that he did not appear to be active in the forum at the time of the post I linked for him.

 

Example: When I see a forum war break out in a discussion that for some reason pits PvPers vs PvEers (a fairly common theme in this forum) .. before commenting in the discussion.. I check to see who is on what side of this tribal event and then seek to understand where they are coming from personally, before commenting and potentially presenting comment that is not in context with their actual views about the game or the topic. Why? Because sometimes they make an inflammatory post that does not actually reflect their posting history and so before pushing back on them in replay, it's prudent to actually better understand where the person is coming from in general on the topic under discussion.

 

Why would I even bother in this case? Because he asked a questions... and was being quite dismissive by stating an assumption that what was being discussed did not actually happen and it was just the usual forum steam blowing. This is a serious topic and that was a serious moment of deliberate harassment and perhaps even intent to harm directed at a developer that did nothing more then communicate in the forum with players.

 

Back on topic... this is a very serious topic and it is relevant in the context of both what happened to a developer at the studio in May of 2015 as well as what happened recently in Jaxsonville at an EA sponsored esports event. Being dismissive any any manner, by anyone here, deserves plenty of push back because we are not talking about just salty behaviors in a gamer.. but life threatening actions. I'm sure all of EA is reviewing policy, process, and security considerations for any live events.. no matter how large or small as they move forward. This may mean more live events from the Austin studio once their reviews are completed, or it may mean the conclusion is to just not do them anymore except at gaming conventions and within the convention security perimeters. Only time will tell, and I do not blame them for any conclusion they reach as it pertains to the safety of studio staff, participating players, and bystanders.

 

Thing is, some people like you can go crazy with "so called public information", and misuse it in ways they are Not intended for self motivation. Again, this is subjective, and some things are defininitely and legally blurred. What you did is definitely also subjective to.

[Andryah]

Thing is, some people like you can go crazy with "so called public information", and misuse it in ways they are Not intended for self motivation. Again, this is subjective, and some things are defininitely and legally blurred. What you did is definitely also subjective to.

 

Thing is... I used the information in this case to actually give the poster I replied to the benefit of the doubt about their dismissive statements on the topic of severe harassment of the devs to the point of threats and stalking of a dev, AND their family, outside of the forum.... precisely because their posting history had a huge hole in it around the time of the Musco Harassment of Devs thread.

 

Now.. if someone is nervous about their posts being searchable in this forum.. then their sole choice is to NOT post. Period.

 

Posting history is actually an asset in better understanding where a player is coming from when they post something on the forum, and discussing it with them. Someone making a very snarky, abusive or emotional post in the forum.. first thing I do before responding is to see if this appears to be a pattern with them, or they are just obviously having a bad day. If the it's the first.. then I am more likely to challenge some of their outburst. If the latter then I will generally cut them some slack and just not bother posting any response because they are simply having a bad day and lashing out in frustration.

 

Each player is free to choose to post or not on this forum ... just like any other website or web app on the internet. And.. if they choose to.. they accept the terms and conditions of the web site which include the fact that posting history of a player is retrievable and searchable by other forum member who are active subscribers.

 

I personally do not have Twitter or Facebook or Instagram or any other social app because I understand that the companies the produce them can and will harvest and sell your data to 3rd parties, as well as allow 3rd party direct harvesting. I read the fine print and determined that their business model actually relies on this because it is actually user data that they generate all their revenue from. But in the case of a forum like SWTOR... they do not use the forum as a revenue stream, nor to they have any motive for selling or marketing that data to 3rd parties. SWTOR.com certainly uses all data about it's forum members for internal purposes, and I am fine with that.

[Andryah]

You wouldn't argue to allow a scammer into your life if you knew it, going through all your bank statement, medical statement, the types of things you eat, drink, the sort of people you chilled with and those you chill with these days and so on.

 

as much as you say you got nothing to hide, the fact is the more intrusive the searching gets, the more likely there are going to be things to be used against you may not even realise. This person may have loss a battle, but their war is far from over and hopefully you can take a little caution the next time this person comes after you again.

 

you can't always know what someone is like or what they are up to.

 

Wow.. talk about left field hyperbole.

 

This has absolutely nothing to do with the topic of this thread, nor any comments I made or the fact that reviewed a players post history before commenting back to them.

[IoNonSoEVero]

Nothing is ever free and neither can you go through life without risks. For piece of mind and to show that EA have taken the concerns seriously, a few extra thousand dollars is pocket change i would imagine they would happily take the hit on if it means keeping their games in the spotlight and keeping their customers and staff happy.

 

If EA thinks a few extra thousand is too rich for their blood? then they really are hiding under their bed over one incident. doesn't matter of the financial consideration, if they can't or won't cover that amount, they may as well completely pack up any future event. No, it makes no sense, EA will want to take the hit just to send the message and at least shown they have increased security and it will keep from any future liability cases, and if the security improvements actually help stop some new threat in the future? then it was money well spent.

 

It could be way more than that, though. And for something that is essentially a goodwill event that is only experienced in person by a few hundred people, they might decide the costs outweigh the benefits. Even if the money is technically a drop in the bucket, suits at companies make strange decisions on these things. I've personally worked with companies who make a mint but skimp on things that would improve the quality of their business and would result in increased revenue and benefit them in the long run, because they balk at the sticker price, whatever it is. Even at the risk of employee and guest safety.

 

What I am going to guess is that it's more likely that EA and other gaming companies will be inclined in future to do cantinas and fan outreach events within other events where the costs of security upgrades that apply to everyone can be shared or handled by the venue/larger event. Like doing the cantinas at comic conventions or the Star Wars Celebration or even the Star Wars lands at the Disney parks, but not outside them.

[Andryah]

What I am going to guess is that it's more likely that EA and other gaming companies will be inclined in future to do cantinas and fan outreach events within other events where the costs of security upgrades that apply to everyone can be shared or handled by the venue/larger event. Like doing the cantinas at comic conventions or the Star Wars Celebration or even the Star Wars lands at the Disney parks, but not outside them.

 

^^ Yeah.. I think this is the practical outcome of this. It is higher leverage for them from a marketing and dev-2-player interaction standpoint anyway.. and they get to leverage the security protocols inherent in a large venue like a comic convention or other conventions.

 

Livestreams are effective enough for smaller venues like what they typically have done with Cantina events..and actually could give them better overall success in player outreach as well.

 

Since the new big move in gaming access and delivery is moving toward streaming games under all-you-can-eat paid access model by the big gaming companies.... more streaming of events surrounding these same companies products and services is a natural. It's possible that within 5 years... everything will be live stream based in gaming... the games, the access to the games, events surrounding the games, etc. I'm old school and not a fan of streaming anything, so that may end up being my Alamo in gaming.

Edited September 16, 2018 by Andryah

[phalczen]

^^ Yeah.. I think this is the practical outcome of this. It is higher leverage for them from a marketing and dev-2-player interaction standpoint anyway.. and they get to leverage the security protocols inherent in a large venue like a comic convention or other conventions.

It will be interesting to see if there will be a cantina in Chicago next year at Celebration 2019

[Celise]

It could be way more than that, though. And for something that is essentially a goodwill event that is only experienced in person by a few hundred people, they might decide the costs outweigh the benefits. Even if the money is technically a drop in the bucket, suits at companies make strange decisions on these things. I've personally worked with companies who make a mint but skimp on things that would improve the quality of their business and would result in increased revenue and benefit them in the long run, because they balk at the sticker price, whatever it is. Even at the risk of employee and guest safety.

 

What I am going to guess is that it's more likely that EA and other gaming companies will be inclined in future to do cantinas and fan outreach events within other events where the costs of security upgrades that apply to everyone can be shared or handled by the venue/larger event. Like doing the cantinas at comic conventions or the Star Wars Celebration or even the Star Wars lands at the Disney parks, but not outside them.

 

What would be most helpful is if EA dropped a hint about the direction it might go regarding this event. I mean they could go in any direction on the matter. What we really need is something solid enough to work from. I'm sure we would all like to know what their reaction will be to this.

[Lium]

It's pretty scary that this has to be a concern for game developers - is it because of the recent attack at an EA event? Come to Britain - the worst you'll get from us fans/players here is a rant if the cafe runs out of tea! And maybe a protest balloon

Honestly, I cannot WAIT to move to Britain. :-)

[Giberelina]

October 5th?

 

I can't speak for others but since you announced this I've lost all interest in playing. I logged a while back and instantly felt a high distaste for the game at the thought of having to gear up my toons again, in order to be competitive in PVP. I couldn't even play 2 matches.

 

So I just have to cope with this nasty feeling towards SWTOR for 20 days? Can't you release the information before, regarding how tier 5 will be obtainable?

If not, knowing that there will be a bolster to cover all gear and augments would help a lot.

 

Unless the info is "yes we screw you again and you have to grind to eternity another tier". In that case congratulations for keeping us wondering.

[IoNonSoEVero]

What would be most helpful is if EA dropped a hint about the direction it might go regarding this event. I mean they could go in any direction on the matter. What we really need is something solid enough to work from. I'm sure we would all like to know what their reaction will be to this.

 

TBH I would guess that it might be a while before they can say anything. I would also guess that this is something a lot of game companies are discussing right now. The tragedy a few weeks ago happened at an EA event but it could have just as easily happened at any other gaming tournament or event.

 

Thus, I wouldn't be surprised if there are a lot of discussions happening, if many gaming companies are talking together about best practices for future tournaments and fan events, and that the Madden tournament incident is going to influence how many gaming companies hold events in the future.

 

Even without all that, new policies can take a while to be developed and green lit. Plus since it's Star Wars, Disney might need to be involved.

 

What I would guess is that when Celebration 2019 or another big comic convention gets closer or Star Wars Land is closer to opening, they might announce another event.