I think it says something wonderful about this game when the individual staff members get their own fan clubs. The testers and the staff have formed an extremely close-knit group which should prove interesting when the game goes public.
Why is it creepy Stri? There are so many different types of groups, I think its sweet that someone created a group as a fan club. In my opinion, its a cute way to show that you appreciate all the hard work they do
the devs are good people and good communicators, but in terms of showing appreciation for the work, i prefer to show appreciation for "the work" directly and hope that the developers appreciate our appreciation of their craft.
also, there are a lot of developers working on glitch and while many of them do a ton of work, it is only the more public ones that get the fan club treatment. when you compliment their work, it's a compliment to everyone who worked on the stuff, not just the people who communicate with the players the most.
but mostly, when you applaud the work it's a compliment all the same, just without all the creepy baggage that comes along with the concept of fan clubs in general.
and i have a sneaking suspicion that some of the developers may be uncomfortable with certain types of .. let's say overly familiar .. attention from users.
i don't know who is and who isn't comfortable with what, so i figure if i focus on complimenting the work there is less potential for awkwardness but with the same level of praise and respect.
The kevbob fanclub started kinda as a dare. some of us were cheering him on as he was going through levels while the game was down. I told Piece of Serenity she ought to start a fanclub for him. She did and sent me the first invite. it took off from there.
The cheerleader bit was great, but I think after a while the various fanclubs should be abandoned and/or deleted and one massive dev fanclub created. no sense in having 40 fanclubs.
Ack Stri, it is all done for a bit of a laugh. As bored said, it started just before the week's test, when the updates kept showing KevBob repeatedly going from Level 41 to 42 and back to 41 etc. Some of us made a joke of him never getting to level 43 and willing him to reach it. It just lead to jokingly cheering him on and somehow a suggestion that a fan club be made for him. Then, one thing led to another. Nothing weird, or stalkery about it; just done for the hoot of it really!
We appreciate all of them, really we do, but things just kinda snowballed! :-)
BTW, as far as the KBFC is concerned, its sponsor, checked with KB before taking it any further. ;-)
That sounds like a bit much Djoe...but I wouldn't want to exclude devs. Thanks stri :D I partially made Kuku for Kukubee because I saw some of his artwork (outside the game) and decided it was awesome and around the same time Cupcake started a thread complimenting his work.
I agree more with @striatic about the matter. I've not been joining in any fan clubs. :) I just noticed the trend for them and figured it was time to bring up the subject. I also think that general compliments are better for the reasons cited previously. I have on occasion looked at a devs public profile information, but I also have done that with other players. It's a part a natural tendency to know and understand who I am having regular communications with. It helps me with recognizing and respecting their personal boundaries and helps me provide support to what they find important. When I use the term "close-knit" is usually mean that their is a strong friendship between the parties. Not quite sure what other meaning might be implied!
I can't speak for how any of the devs feel, but I didn't take it so seriously, just a silly way to say thanks. I personally didn't see anything wrong with it, but agree that instead of having a fan club for particular members of staff, perhaps there could be a "Thanks all who contributed to this greatness" group, that way it can't be interpreted as a negative.
So....I'm not a big fan club type. I'm also sort of an anti-joiner.
I joined kuku for kukubee because kukubee is actually a business and I am a fan of their designs. I assumed it was for people who loved their designs and not really a fan club of one of Glitch's staffers.
I see the fan clubs as harmless fun. If a dev had a problem with a fan club in his or her name, I'm sure they're more than capable of speaking up and saying "Hey, I don't like this! Please stop!". If that doesn't happen, then I'd assume that everything's just peachy.
I don't personally wish to join any fan clubs, as I'm a fan of all the staff, and wouldn't want to leave anyone out. They all make the game what it is, so they're all pretty awesome as far as I'm concerned. My addiction to playing should show that.
Also I'm in way too many groups already and only regularly use 2 of them. I don't particularly want to add more groups that I'll never open chat (when game's up) in.
I deleted a bunch of groups I've never used this morning, so I'm not looking to add more clutter.
g33kgurl, yeah, the kukubee thing is a bit different wot with it not just being a person but their brand and business and it's own thing within and out of glitch with tangible visual stuff [ie. work] to share and enjoy that might not otherwise be seen in the game and all that.
an appreciation group for all the developers all at once sounds like a really good idea, actually.
just a bit more balanced having things between one group of people and another group of people rather than from one group of people to a single individual. plus i'd guess it would attract more people and energy than a few little groups focusing on the particular predilections and personal idiosyncrasies of some staff member.
I have much appreciation and admiration for all at Tiny Speck, though am uncertain as to whether these fan clubs (individual or collective) are entirely harmless.
If some sort of dispute were to arise, for example, does the potential for perceived favouritism exist? Would a member of said fan club(s) be received more positively, or be given more attention in a given situation?
Not saying that the developers would be anything less than fair in their interactions, but that perhaps any question or doubt as to impartiality might serve more to divide a community in the long term.
Christine: "If some sort of dispute were to arise, for example, does the potential for perceived favouritism exist? Would a member of said fan club(s) be received more positively, or be given more attention in a given situation?"