Strat-O-Matic Baseball 365

First off let me say this isn't a knock against those who have offered the many suggestions in the past that have helped better this game. There have been many here whose efforts have gone far beyond what could be expected of the average consumer. I could understand the disappointment with certain issues as well.

That said, reading through these threads I feel people have gotten way out of hand with their attitude towards SOM online. Instead of trying to make the game better I feel like now they may be alienating the new players with continuous complaints. Can the game and the customer service here get much better? Hell yes! Look, it's become quite clear the powers that be are doing things at their own pace, we could either wait for that to happen or leave. Instead it seems there are people who just post for the sake of trying to get banned, wondering aloud how long there negative post or thread will last....I just don't get it.

I started playing online at TSN about 8 or 9 years ago, left for quite a few years and have just recently returned. I can tell you the game is much better now than it was back then. Better control of your team, watching the games live, dice rolls, more stats etc...and even better yet its actually cheaper now to buy single teams and 5 packs than it was back then despite the better product. I know a lot of the improvements were due to suggestions from guys right from this message board and it certainly didn't happen over night, but I don't ever recall the backlash that's going on right now. If I were a new player and I was reading these boards i'd probably not want to buy a team with all the bashing that goes on. That's what will kill this game more than anything. I read on another thread about the "good ole days" and how the leagues and forums used to thrive, well driving people away with complaints certainly won't help that cause.

Despite its flaws I love playing this game and have met and played with many great people here....guys i'd love to grab a beer with someday and catch a game. The game is improving slowly but surely and I would hope we could all be just a bit more patient and maybe help keep the new players here so we can grow this game again.

I know this may not be a popular stance for some but it's just my $.02. Carry on...

well said sir.

People are whining because they are unhappy and do not feel they are being treated right.
If you want to see more positive threads I suggest you earn the money you are paid by starting some positive discussions.
Ironic that someone would start a thread whining about the whining.

Those who are pushing for further improvement in the game and improved customer service also love this game. I doubt those who spend the kind of money it takes to run 20-40 teams he at a time do not like playing strat. But playing that many games also puts them in a position to see flaws that more casual players like myself might miss. The only way they can know if other people see the same thing is to post here. Then either people confirm now that you mention it I see the same thing. Or if we do not then we disagree and often offer possible explanations why we think there is no problem. What some perceive as negative is the frustration many feel when the concerns raised are totally ignored.

Guys, try it in any environment. Husbands, ignore your wives for 6 months and see if she becomes more negative or more positive. Try it with your kids, coworkers, or boss. Then if any of the above still acknowledge you exist try being responsive and communicate. See if their reaction to you does not become more positive.

Bottom line this is a simple equation. Be responsive and make customers happy they will be happy and post happy. Do not treat them well they will be unhappy and they will post unhappy. Thus the tone of the boards is a reflection of the quality of service being provided.

I too love strat. That is why I stocked up on credits when TSN ran their last sale. I was not aware at the time strat would take over and the transition would go so poorly. For now I am playing out those credits and pushing whenever I can and to the extent I dare without being banned to get improvement. If things do not improve before I run out of credits I will probably disappear at that time. If they do improve I suppose the opposite is possible.

I seriously doubt people complaining on the boards is driving anyone away. I have not talked to one person who has said boards are too negative I am going to quit playing strat. I have heard many talk of leaving because of their perception management does not care about the customer. Whether this company thrives or not will not depend on whether people here appear happy. The quality of the product and support will determine that. But the quality of that support and responsiveness will determine whether the customer base is happy. And whether people are happy or not will drive whether the boards are positive or not.

I cannot speak for all so will just speak for myself. Those who are happy and want the boards to be positive need only start some positive threads. Those of us signing on to chat with friends will post appropriately in response to those just like we do complaining threads.

In conclusion if you do not work for strat there is little you can do to improve customer service and make people happier. But if you want to influence the attitude of fellow posters then post something positive worth discussing. I would love to join in on anything you come up with in that direction.

xxx

Some people are better suited to put up with mountains of BS followed by chasms of neglect.

I'm not a frequent flier, only 2 teams at a time, but when my credits run out, there's no more SOM online for me.

To be honest I think all things considered things are not all that negative. From what I have been reading and from what I remember from the old TSN days things are much more cordial than they were when the boards were flooded with activity. Clearly back in the good ole days few if any were being chased off by complainers.

But perhaps I do not see the negativity because I am too negative. So to improve myself I went in search of good examples of nice positive posts for me to emulate. I thought I would share some really positive posts so others could also have something they could model their good behavior on.

I've read about this and seen it first hand way too often for me to believe it's just the "roll of the dice"....

Please not ANOTHER mystery league. There are too many leagues already, that's why some take forever to fill.

John- Why would you be so quick to answer this question yet ignore the countless other posts, especially in the wishlist, suggestion forum? I would think that would be the only forum you would be spending your time in.

Even more evidence for what i've suspected for a long time....this online version is far from a random dice game...

Your right, I did miss that. I still don't understand that move though, doesn't make much sense to me.

Unless i'm missing something here (which is always possible) there is a pretty bad flaw in the game. Why in the world would Bobby Thomson be sent in to pinch hit for Josh Gibson (who leads the league in SLG, OPS, RBI, and runs created BTW)? Obviously I do not have Gibson set to be pinch hit for, and...

Yeah...the imaginary dice rolls..

This is why this game is so maddening at times...this is the 11.30 mil version of Maddux btw...Notice the walks from one of baseballs all-time great control pitchers.

Sometimes I believe that certain players or even teams are pre-ordained by the random number generator to do certain things regardless of what you do.
I couldn't agree more. I have felt this way a long time...

Ok, enough ribbing there. In case anyone thinks otherwise I like Corky. Just having some fun. The above were culled from his 48 posts. The rest obviously were either neutral or positive. And majority of what he posts I agree with.

Michael Grammes wrote:well said sir

Thanks Michael, nice to see there are others who might feel the same way.

Valen wrote:If you want to see more positive threads I suggest you earn the money you are paid by starting some positive discussions.

Um, huh?

Valen I don't think your post really offers anything new. I had already stated I appreciated all of the vets who had offered ideas and suggestions in the past to help better the game. I would hope we all continue to do that in the proper manner. Not sure why you would re-state this as if it's something I didn't mention.

Yeah we get why there are angry people here, we just disagree on the ways to get that across. We certainly disagree that this can't hurt possible new players. You think it can't, I certainly think it could. I myself would likely walk if I were browsing these boards as a newbie after reading all the complaints. I would think its a terrible game, which it's far from. While there are many improvements that could and hopefully will be made there are still many loyal players who love to play this game and are enjoying the improvements made thus far. A quick glance at the individual league forum would confirm that.

So no, I don't agree that we can't help because we don't work for strat. I can offer my suggestions and hope they try them someday, and at the same time I can provide some positive feedback for the newbie's in revealing what has happened for the positive since the earlier days when I played.

Nice Valen

So you proved i'm human and get frustrated at times. Bravo!

I have not hidden the fact that i'm suspicious of some of the dice rolls. But where have I continuously bashed the powers that be? The one post where I mentioned John Garcia was when he posted in these forums and I asked him why he wouldn't address other concerns brought forth, hoping that he would respond since he was online at the time. Never have I posted anything that would even be close to being ban worthy.

I think you get the wrong impression about me. I want the same things you do, i'm just looking for other ways to get that done.

I think it's not just being negative or positive. I think Valen hits hit on the head.

In the old days we could voice our opinions of what was very wrong, and we would get responses from ESL (yes around before Bernie) and Bernie. Things like waivers, then weighted waivers, were brought up and pushed for on the boards by many of the community. No one was chastised for complaining.

Now we have pages of suggestions and what is the one change that happens? Shuffle the deck which NO ONE even suggested.

Very simple, if the community had a voice that was actually listened to, not just ignored and/or reprimanded, you would find the tone of the boards would very quickly change.

SOM is reaping what they have sown.

geekor really expressed my thoughts extremely well like he just reached in my head and pulled them out.

So you proved i'm human and get frustrated at times. Bravo!

Main point in case it was missed is that if a person who thinks the boards are too negative and feels negativity is to be avoided gets frustrated enough to make the comments I quoted there must be letitimate reasons why people are unhappy. It is not just the disgruntled negative thinking grouches who get frustrated. It even includes normally positive people like Corky. Surely that being the case a course correction by those steering the ship may be needed.

But regardless if it is the posters who are viewed as the problem there is a simple solution. Post all the instances where HAL does exactly what you want and/or all the things Strat or John or whomever have done well.