Originally Posted by Jozrael

I see this sentiment rampant on the forums, and it saddens me. If you enjoy our product and are on these forums for discussion, why would you not engage and advocate for your beliefs? I frequently see players insulted for agreeing in the slightest with a Riot decision, as if being a 'fanboy' is a shameful thing. If I enjoy a product, chances are I'm a fan of it. People cast all advocates as delusional, as if you need to lose all measure of control of your reasoning faculties to make the ludicrous choice to do anything but complain.

I also question your argument. (While clearly you could consider me biased in this discussion, I came from the community and continue to represent what I understand to be its best interests both within Riot and on these boards.) Riot's vision statement is to be the most player-focused games company in the world. Dozens of times per day you can hear the questions:
'How will that impact the player?'
'Is that going to improve the player experience in X case?'
etc.
I personally feel that every effort is made to cleave true to this. While I do not blame healthy skepticism, I see utter cynical paranoia all too frequently on these boards (which thankfully I don't feel your post falls in), that Riot has it out for the player at every opportunity. The more people view us as a company, the easier it is to compartmentalize us as evil, greedy, soulless corporate automatons. Every member of Riot is a person who was screened on hire for not only competency but culture fit - and a key ingredient of Riot culture is an ability to empathize with the playerbase, as the vast majority of us are avid players of our own product.

The central tenet of your argument is that Riot makes decisions for profit. No one is arguing this point - Riot is a business and as such cannot support itself on goodwill and rainbows alone. However, the underlying implication is that this is a devious, corrupt goal, and that is the more important assertion and ultimately, I feel, incorrect. The goal of a business and the customer is to enter into a mutually beneficial relationship. Neither of us could exist without the other. We value our playerbase immensely - not only are you fun to play and interact with on a personal, individual level, but as a company you are eminently practical - you are what sustains us (not your sickness. Sorry, Mord joke). Likewise, while there are many enjoyable games out there, we create, maintain, develop, innovate upon, and push forward League of Legends. Without Riot, there is no LoL in the first place. This is not codependence, this is a mutually symbiotic relationship. I think there is nothing wrong with acknowledging this.

While I find your point about compensation irrelevant, I can absolutely attest that the ultimate motivation of all Rioters is the unique opportunity to work with and for you - any details of compensation are secondary. While there are geniuses here moving mountains and paid accordingly, I know many employees who could find a more profitable position in another field. However, it is here that they find fulfillment.

Joz out.

P.S. To be clear, I don't begrudge you your opinion or your skepticism in the slightest. The main point was simply to address the /riotdefensesquad jibe/mentality so that productive discussion can occur in a less hostile environment.
P.P.S. I've responded to a number of points in the following pages, including the original post's titular query. If you're reading this early on the 19th, check out [URL2=http://na.leagueoflegends.com/board/devtracker.php?g=Riot]our redtracker[/URL2] for a full list. If you're reading this later on, [URL2=http://clgaming.net/redtracker/topic/17792/?p=1]this redtracker[/URL2] has a more consolidated list.

Originally Posted by McMaster

Light grey words that are hard to read because I haven't accepted the summoner's code

Originally Posted by Jozrael

Nice post. On a tangent from the regular discussion - we (and I'm sure many players in general) do appreciate every (well thought out!) positive post, like this! It can be all too easy to speak up when you are unhappy and want something changed, and remain silent when you are content - it is only human nature! I sincerely appreciate when people make the effort to let their appreciation be known, and I suppose it's only fair if we make posts like this one to let you know that your voices are heard .



Sorry, let me rephrase. If you agree with a decision Riot made, other players sometimes automatically assume that you lack the ability to think for yourself. They do not discriminate between 'blind fanboyism' (oh how I hate that I'm using fanboy as a derogative term) and reasoned endorsement.



Here's the most recent thread I am avoiding: http://na.leagueoflegends.com/board/...php?p=16087574. This is because there is no positive value I can add to that thread. If I say 'cool idea!', which I think it is, people will build the expectation that something may come of it, and this is not my decision. Rest assured that we've see that thread, and that it'll be forwarded to the people who do make that decision. As for what decision is actually made, I have no idea on that.