Challenge Links

[Tbone]

A few days in and the challenge still seems to be going strong, peaking people's interest. I'm trying to track down where there are discussions about it:

Original thread: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=216980
Alternate thread: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=217076
Recruitment thread: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=217630
FaintSignal profile: http://www.swtor.com/community/member.php?tab=visitor_messaging&u=727436#visitor_messaging
Quick Thanks: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=217085

LucasForums: *deleted*
DarthHater: *locked and moved*
SWTORStrategies: http://www.swtorstrategies.com/2010/10/mysterious-transmission-from-faint-old.html
SWTORLife: http://www.swtor-life.com/community-news/mysterious-transmission-from-faint-old-republic-signal/591/
SWTORExplorer: http://swtore.com/news/mysterious-transmission-from-faint-old-republic-signal/

Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/swtor/comments/durxc/incoming_transmission_from_a_faint_signal/
Followers of Palawa: http://palawa-online.guildlaunch.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5784900&gid=144432
Goha: http://forums.goha.ru/showthread.php?p=12268683

[Anamodiel]

Wow.

[Manic Velocity]

Something I was thinking about last night.  Would like some input:

I'm starting to wonder if we should have sent the signal to 500+ people.  People keep referring to it as spam, and they're not entirely wrong.  Our intent was for it to grow organically, when in fact we spread it around ourselves.  It got people talking, but only because we injected it so pervasively.  We've even already managed to piss the mods off, who have shown they will delete our recruitment thread on a whim when we've broken no rules.

At any rate, we can't exactly go back on it now.

The more I peruse the discussions of our challenge, the more I think that the majority of the TOR community actively dislikes the mystery and intrigue that we pride ourselves on.  Though I would say the fault of that lies more with them than with us.  I just hope we haven't done more harm than good.

[Tbone]

I think the reaction would have been the same even if we had posted the thread ourselves. The original thread probably would have been deleted by the mods, thinking it was spam, and we would have had to recreate it while trying to convince the mods that it isn't just garbage.

I had this debate with myself as well. It certainly was a risky move, perhaps more risky than we first perceived. I'm convinced, though, that it would not have gotten the traction it did had we gone about it any other way. Perhaps just posting a thread would have eventually gotten people's attention, but it seems less likely.

Controversy is still good publicity. Sending out the emails/PMs caused people to start their own discussions about it, whether it was on their blog or their own private forums. Will this do more harm than good? I don't think so. The alternative would have been to just be another guild, or maybe start a thread of our own that attracted a few RPers. That's less risky, but playing it that safe wouldn't have caused the effect that we saw.

What we were betting on is that, once discovered, the content of that PM would be interesting enough that people would forgive it's invasive nature, and for the most part, I'd say that's the case. There's people who are upset because they didn't get the PM and there are those that are offended it ever graced their Inbox.

It may have put us in the negative column with a few important people, but at least we're on the board! The quality of our work and our members should start to dissuade any leftover bitter feelings with time.

The Friday update was lame, so I think it is safe to assume that we were the highlight of the week in SWTOR. I think those that were turned off by it will forget it in a week and move on. But those who were inspired by it will remember it and us for a long time to come. We just have to be careful that we try to do more "positive" than "negative" in the coming months!

[Da6onet]

I seriously doubt that a one time message in someone's inbox actually pissed off people to the point they are saying they're pissed off.

I think they're actively pissed at us for deception reasons:
1. They thought it was a Bioware doing
2. They thought it was a beta invite
3. They thought it was a role-play game with some tangible reward.

Everyone else is jealous and/or fearful of our recruitment because it is much more thoughtful and in depth than their own. Also remember though, and Pax Republica is a good example of this, the average age of the detractors is hovering around 18-19 (just old enough to form a thought but still young enough to think they're special in some way and therefore their opinions matter)

I think it is fair to say the majority of people on the SWTOR forums bashing us are trolls (though few would ever admit it), seething with hatred for a variety of reasons (mommy didn't love them, Bioware didn't love them, etc), just looking for anyone and anything to hop on.

There is actually no real reason to hate us, or we would stand up and apologize to the community at large.

Think of it another way: The people who bash us/hate us/whatever, are they really the type of person that we would want to join FA? Are they the type of person that commands respect when it comes to actual friendships down the road? I suspect not.
Now the opposite, those that are not bashing us, perhaps just sitting on the sidelines watching all this. As evidenced by the applications we're receiving, leads me to believe that they are not hopping on the bandwagon of "FA sux, omg fail."

I guess like you though, I was hoping for a warmer reception, anticipating a much more active RP community in SWTOR, but alas, the sheer volume of assholery has quashed those assumptions. Oh well, back to business :-)

[Tbone]

I will say the one thing I do regret is that some people were sent the PM more than once because members submitted names without checking to make sure the person wasn't already listed. That was unfortunate.

And yeah, SWTOR is a larger community than MxO, so you should expect a lot of different responses.

[Shirokumo]

peaking people's interest.

http://dissociatedpress.net/2007/02/26/peak-vs-pique/

I still think you're a very sexy man.

Also, it was a mass sending, but sending it once to a single person shouldn't be enough to piss people off. Any reasonable person would go, "Oh, I got a PM regarding something I really am not all that interested in. Delete." The butthurt nerd raging QQ crowd heard other people got it and started screaming, "SPAM!" Had we sent multiple messages to the same people, I could see it getting irritating, but in a world where these people probably have 15 unread messages from facebook about people posting "" on their status I have a hard time believing that the uninterested people getting one PM are justified in being upset about it.

Edit: I didn't read Da6onet's post above before posting this, but I think he's right on. They're not pissed that they got a PM. They're pissed that they're overly optimistic and jumped to a conclusion. Of course, their conclusion was not fulfilled if they were hoping for beta invites or inside information from bioware. The nerdrage that overtook them is due in part to not getting their fabled beta key that they totally deserve and should have gotten by now, and also in part to people taking part in and genuinely enjoying something they don't think is anywhere near as cool as the beta key they should be getting.

Second edit: A passing thought: how many of our detractors are going to play Sith? Back in MxO the Machines and Mervs hated us so much that half the time they would work together when we were involved, only to turn on each other once we had left. I still have screenshots somewhere of a red faction spelling "FUCK FA" in the deja-vu black cats from that bugged mission. Our detractors are most likely equal parts jealous guild leaders/members, trolls sad about not getting beta keys, and people in the opposing faction starting their blind hatred early. Kind of awesome.

[Tbone]

peaking people's interest.

http://dissociatedpress.net/2007/02/26/peak-vs-pique/

Good one! I've never used "pique" before! Had no clue!

[Shirokumo]

I had noticed it in another thread discussing the challenge and assumed it was a typo. My grammar, spelling, and vocabulary are all garbage, but I know yours aren't, Mr. Actor Man.

I will say I'm really enjoying this publicity. I'm getting really into replying in character on the forums; something I never did in MxO. A question though, can we refer to ourselves as angels now, or are we still being secretive about the signal's origins? In my last post I wanted to say, "It is the business of Angels..." but opted not to in case we're still keeping the fact that we're the Furious Angels on the down low.

[Erathaol]

I don't necessarily think we did anything wrong in how we initiated our recruitment, but I too am quite disappointed at all the responses from people who just wanted it solved for them so they could get to the end or get their beta key.

If you look at a similar "stunt" done by Valve for Portal 2, the end result was ASCII of two robots (a teeny tiny sneak peak of the game) and the ones who had spent days figuring out the riddles and puzzles there (far more elaborate than ours) weren't very disappointed.

It is my opinion that a few bad eggs in the SW:TOR community are just trying to blow a stink on us for "wasting their time with a stupid guild invite."  If we had don the same thing with the Portal community, for instance, they would have thoroughly enjoyed it regardless of the end goal.

Bunch'a Negative Nacies, the lot of 'em!

[Tbone]

I will say I'm really enjoying this publicity. I'm getting really into replying in character on the forums; something I never did in MxO. A question though, can we refer to ourselves as angels now, or are we still being secretive about the signal's origins? In my last post I wanted to say, "It is the business of Angels..." but opted not to in case we're still keeping the fact that we're the Furious Angels on the down low.

Yes, I am enjoying your responses. I think you can bring Angels into the equation, though maybe not "Furious Angels" yet. That's too specific.

[Fuse]

I wish it was longer. If the mystery of the end was held out for more than 12 or so hours I think the intrigue would have been much more lasting. Those threads didn't get any flames until after it was completed and all the answers were out there.

[Tbone]

Yeah, I was hoping it would least take Friday to crack. I didn't anticipate people spam-clicking that start for two hours straight...lol.

[Tbone]

LucasForums and DarthHater deleted our threads...

[Fuse]

Found this one through google.
http://filloreansociety.forumotion.com/news-f6/follow-the-signal-t1897.htm