Ask the Devs is locked out

Thread limits are back in effect which means the thread was locked sooner than we expected by hitting the post cap. Go ahead and take this time to vote on the questions already posed. We'll use the thread cap for future Ask the Devs instead of an end-of-the-day timeline.

Sorry for the miscommunication, we didn't know the thread limits had been fixed and had anticipated manually locking it at the end of today.

Thread limits are back in effect which means the thread is locked sooner than we expected. Go ahead and take this time to vote on the questions already posed. We'll use the thread cap for future Ask the Devs instead of an end-of-the-day timeline.

Sorry for the miscommunication, we didn't know the thread limits had been fixed and had anticipated manually locking it.

Doesn't that thread cap seem pretty low? I've seen a lot of discussion threads go way beyond 26 pages. That limit seems like it would make keeping all discussion about a topic in a single thread extremely difficult.

It's the limit that has always existed on the World of Warcraft forums, and we've seen it serve us very well for these many years.

03/07/2011 11:39 AMPosted by Unjoiner

Any chance of locking that thread?

Can't vote on locked threads. :\ We need the votes still. I edited the OP multiple times to call out the cap.

03/07/2011 11:49 AMPosted by Dagnarus

I wanted to ask a question. ;_; Oh well, next time eh?

Yup, next time. We'll have to evaluate when we open them but they'll always be on a Monday.

Also, keep in mind that as this is a global Q&A we'll be answering questions from multiple regions. Just because you don't see your question asked here in the NA thread, doesn't mean someone in Taiwan isn't asking it, or Italy, etc. etc.

Yup, next time. We'll have to evaluate when we open them but they'll always be on a Monday.

Also, keep in mind that as this is a global Q&A we'll be answering questions from multiple regions. Just because you don't see your question asked here in the NA thread, doesn't mean someone in Taiwan isn't asking it, or Italy, etc. etc.

Heh, I'm expecting to see those threads capping even faster, given people will rush to post.

It's a good idea, don't get me wrong, but having thread through the questions, I worry about what that thread will become if it's a weekly thing. Thoughtful questions will give way to "must post now before it caps!" questions.

I disagree entirely. Now that everyone knows they're coming I believe many will have very well drafted questions prepared in advance.

03/07/2011 11:59 AMPosted by Yohko

It's outrageous that virtually every post in that thread was voted up. There's absolutely no way they have time to answer all of those questions. It was a noble gesture but I can't imagine the nightmare it's going to be trying to sort all of that out.

It's pretty easy, actually.

Well we've learned a lot from this first round. We're waiting for some of the other regions to report in but we have a good selection of questions to get answered. One thing we had originally planned in the initial discussions of starting this up was to theme the weekly questions so as to give some direction to what the topic will be. It was sort of put aside to see how the base idea would work out without any theme to drive the topic of questions. This first round of what people asked and especially what large numbers of people actually vote for has shown us it's something we'll in fact need to use.

For example, the #1 most voted for question on these forums? "What is your favorite escape/distraction when you arent working on WoW?" By far it got the most votes. It sort of indirectly reveals a flaw in a 'sky's the limit' approach for what can be asked. It puts us in a weird spot because you all voted for it! But at the same time most people would probably be pretty upset if we took the time to answer it over something with more substance. Hopefully we can guide future Ask the Dev's to have more substantive questions by providing a topic to stick to.

Well the problem was people were being lazy and greedy.

#1, they posted the same questions constantly, didn't bother to read through and see if it was already asked.

#2, people would post multiple times asking different questions.

Neither of those are actually the issue being discussed and neither directly resulted in any issues with the thread. If someone asks multiple questions in multiple posts, each of them valid, and they're voted up and answered, how is that a bad thing?

You could probably argue that repeat questions were a waste a space, but there's little we can do to help that with the way the caps work currently. Hopefully they can be improved, though.

03/08/2011 2:04 PMPosted by Lorinall

I think the problem with a general topic was that there were a lot of questions pertaining to a specific ability, rotation, or mechanic of one spec of one class in PVE or PVP, and that represents about one in thirty players. I saw a lot of Ret Pally questions. I didn't vote on any of them because I don't have a Paladin, and I don't care about that topic. I bet most of the class questions were only voted on by people who play those classes. I imagine that resulted in every class-specific question having a much lower rating that other questions in the thread, even if every player cares more about his class-specific question than any other topic in the thread. A class-specific topic, or a topic that asks posters to refrain from class-specific ability questions might solve that problem.

Totally. Very accurate description, and a good reason for us to guide the questions to specific topics. We probably won't do class specific Q&A's, it'd just take too long to rotate through them all and the information to remain pertinent, but something like focusing on the class roles should work out.

03/08/2011 2:09 PMPosted by Snooptrogg

You really shouldn't answer that question because it only allows your stalkers to track you down with greater ease. So think about that before you answer those questions, or else you might wake up one night with your head shaved and a guy sitting in the corner knitting your hair into a hat as we all know that the only way to keep you from invading our minds is to wear a hat made from your hair.

Larry? Is that you? Larry... where have you been? I've been growing my hair for you.

03/08/2011 2:11 PMPosted by Gotbeer

not to learn what type of stuffed animals the devs sleep with at night. End rant.

A koala bear. His name is Larry.