Tip.it Times Presents: I could do that job so much better!

[Dudecrush8]

Nice, nice =D>

 

 

 

Some very good points made, mabey we should think of it for Jagexs point-of-view for a few minutes : .

[11the_mask_1]

woa! I so totally agree!

 

 

 

good read too :thumbsup:

 

 

 

~Mask~

 

 

 

ps, I could've written this article so much better :anxious:

 

[hide]Nah, I couldn't[/hide]

[snowball]

i agree with you fully, ppl shouldnt be complaining when there only paying 5 dallers a month or nothing for a perfectly good game

 

 

 

Some people can't exactly pay that much per month. They could be poor, or just need the money for something more important. BTW you spelled dollars wrong. :lol:

[The Observer]

Great article! :thumbsup: JAGeX does get bashed for no reason most of the time.

 

 

 

However, there is a slight bias at the end of the article against F2P.

 

 

 

Oh, and also, Customer Support HAS improved. Many people have received personal responses within the day.

[I_Like_Fire]

awsome

[pault]

Also, the amount of money we pay for the game is a really weak excuse, and I'd actually feel no fear in telling the Gowers that. I'd happily pay upto about ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã7.50 ($15) for the privalges of membership. They could also squeeze F2P, making it a 30-day trial period, at which point you either have to make a new account, or upgrade. To refer to the macro point, that would deal a little bit of damage to the F2P macro problem. The issue there is that we're paying for a service. If I bought an MP3 player for ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã20, and it broke within a weak, it'd be hard for the store I bought it off to use the excuse, "Well, it was only ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã20. What did you expect?".

 

 

 

 

 

Free to play is a necessary element of Runescape because of the user base of the game, which includes many kids who might not have means to pay for membership or buy membership for a short time then play free to play then switch back etc.... Also Runescape makes a large amount of money on advertisements. Bots don't click ads, though Jagex might record them as a unique visitor viewing the advertisement, thus creating a gap...obviously the business model changes as many people get membership but Jagex can't even keep an advertisement off their news and update pages? What about the level 3 default-clothed bots? These aren't game ruining defects but they are not unreasonably hard problems to solve.. Jagex make millions but Runescape is still treated as Andrews college hobby in some ways, it seems.

 

 

 

Bots aren't really ruining Free to play, and the gameplay is solid for a free experience. It seems the updates to shops and such (ironically in keeping with the world governments bailing out of the financial markets... ) has balanced the economy. There isn't anything truly wrong with Runescape, it could be better and it could be much worse. +

 

 

 

We need Runescape Classic back. Seriously, how much money does it cost to run a couple MUD servers? Making the source public would be an even better move. Yeah, I could deobfuscate it myself, but I can't. I'm lazy. Who cares, I'm mediocre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I see where you're going with this, some things (i.e Iraq) were planned badly. However I think i am going to have to agree with the Editor on this one, a lot of the things the government does are probably a lot harder than it looks like. All my friends keep saying that if so-and-so is elected president then the country will be fixed, but I think the editor has a point, if it was so easy to fix then how come no one has done it yet?

 

 

 

 

Pshh, Iraq was planned perfectly. The invading forces operate from fortified bases while pumping the oil out of the country as fast as possible while pitting the locals against eachother in a bloody religious conflict that has been fermented by years of clandestine cold-war operations. Greenspan who was Chairman of the Federal Reserve for decades, a leading position in the highest echelon of the US government, has asserted that the Iraq War is all about oil. It was planned brillianty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I agree with this article, most of it at least. But in the own shoes thing, no I won't think of me doing a better job or anything. But I can think there are people better suited to doing it. Knowing I can't do a better job does not mean I cannot criticize, I pay for the service, I expect the service to be good. I pay for the plumber, I don't know plumbing. But if he can't fix it, I find a better plumber.

 

 

 

 

Well there is no alternative provider of Runescape, just Jagex. However I agree that Runescape should be objectively examined regardless of previous knowledge on programming. It would appear as if Jagex is not doing all in its power to fix certain flaws yet if Jagex has the ability and chooses through meta decision making that it is better to leave some things alone I would not be surprised and this would be an example of forward thinking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

jagex wrote:

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

Since 2004, Jagex has donated over ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã200,000 to various charities including:

 

 

 

Save the Children

 

CAFOD

 

Hamlin Churchill Childbirth Injuries Fund

 

Cancer Research

 

Cystic Fibrosis Trust

 

The University of Pennsylvania

 

Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign

 

Bury Bombers Wheelchair Basketball

 

SOS Children's Villages

 

 

 

 

 

Who could complain about a company like this?

 

 

 

It is only

 

the deed performed in obscurity

 

that brings true merit

[Smavey]

All I know is that if I was andrew gower right now i'd fire all my staff and try to run rs by myself for a year and even though i'll probably fail miserably and the game will fall apart I'll probably make a good 6 million dollars right?

[qeltar]

I personally found this article to be very poorly thought out, naive and sycophantic. Disappointing to see everyone agreeing with it so easily.

 

 

 

A few specific points:

 

 

Java gaming experts, creators of Runescape. It would seem strange that the players of a game could be so critical of the gameÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢s very creators, but it would seem that there is no shortage of people who wish to take a shot at Jagex.

 

 

Sure, lots of the criticisms leveled at Jagex are unrealistic. But what the author here doesn't seem to understand is that Jagex often faces the ire of its customers for a simple reason.

 

 

 

Jagex puts making money ahead of customer satisfaction.

 

 

 

That's the bottom line, and it is the main difference between companies that are well respected and ones that are often abused. Jagex has become so big and successful that it is out of touch with what its regular customers need and want. And that's why people get frustrated and criticize the company.

 

 

Walk out of Falador and you will see the cluster of level 3s cutting down tree after tree without even flinching. Surly it canÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢t be too hard to ban those people? And how about customer support, why does it take 48+ hours to get a simple response from the staff? Clearly Jagex must simply not care about the game, or else they would do something to help alleviate the situation.

 

 

Basically correct.

 

 

 

Money talks, BS walks. When something is important, a company puts money into it; when something is neglected in terms of money, it usually means that it isn't considered a priority.

 

 

 

Jagex has shown time after time that its priority is making more and more and more money, NOT addressing the customer service and other issues that plague the game.

 

 

Pretty soon those servers are paid for but now you need to hire some staff. Staff are expensive, about fifty thousand dollars a year. ThatÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢s fifty thousand dollars that would have been yours if you didnÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢t need to hire them, but you want the game to prosper so you hire them.

 

 

This is a short-sighted way of looking at things. Staff are not an expense you reluctantly spend money on, they are an essential part of providing a service.

 

 

ThatÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢s six million dollars that could have been in your pocket. Is it really worth it to double that number just to cut customer service reply time in half?

 

 

Here's where we get to the naive part. Does this author have any idea how much money Jagex takes in member fees every year?

 

 

 

One hell of a lot more than $6 million, that's for sure.

 

 

 

Customer service is an essential part of customer satisfaction. Jagex has chosen to neglect CS in order to save money, and as a result, they are the subject of a lot of complaints. This isn't rocket science.

 

 

Not to mention adding more moderators wonÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢t fix the problem

 

 

The problem is that Jagex employees are barely ever seen in the game. They use player mods because they are free, and then hamper them with restrictions so they can't do anything.

 

 

 

Again.. their priority is money.

 

 

For starters, members pay a measly 5 dollars a month to play Runescape.

 

 

Yes. So?

 

 

 

Actually, some people pay more than that. But the point is that Jagex set the price and even at 5 dollars a month, people still have the right to have their account issues dealt with. Jagex is making more than enough money to address these problems. They simply don't consider it important enough to do.

 

 

 

There are lots, and I mean LOTS of other companies that provide far better service despite making a tiny fraction of the profits that Jagex does. It's all about intention and attitude.

 

 

 

This author is perpetuating Jagex's favorite paradigm, that we the customers are peons who should be grateful that they take our money and not demand anything in return. It's pretty disappointing to see, really.

 

 

I donÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢t doubt that those people would try their best to improve the game, but donÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢t you think the gameÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢s very creators are trying their best as well?

 

 

No, I don't.

 

 

 

When I read that the Gower brothers are worth something like a quarter of a BILLION dollars in net worth, but I have flustered, exasperated parents emailing me asking if I have any way of contacting Jagex because their kid's account has been messed up for months and they can't get a hold of someone at CS -- no, they are not trying their best.

 

 

 

Look at what they spend their money on. Did the game really need a German translation, for example? Was that more important than answering CS queries from paying customers?

 

 

 

Have you seen the state of the RSOF lately? What are there, three or four Jagex mods who ever show their faces in there?

 

 

 

How about the game? Do you really think Jagex does its best to make itself visible in the game? Amazing how a level 121 player like me has still never seen a single gold crown. Must just be bad luck, huh?

 

 

This isnÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢t just true for Runescape mind you, but for any field no matter how large scale. Not to generalize but it seems that many people (including the Editor) naturally seem to feel that they could fix the problems if only they were the ones in charge. Unfortunately, it isn't that easy.

 

 

It's as easy as giving a damn. That's what it all boils down to.

 

 

 

Jagex cares about expanding, expanding, expanding its member base, so they can make more in fees. NOT about spending the money necessary to support and assist those who are already paying.

 

 

 

So yes, I could do a better job, and so could many others, simply by being more concerned about quality than quantity.

 

 

 

~q

[qeltar]

jagex wrote:

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

Since 2004, Jagex has donated over ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã200,000 to various charities including:

 

 

 

Save the Children

 

CAFOD

 

Hamlin Churchill Childbirth Injuries Fund

 

Cancer Research

 

Cystic Fibrosis Trust

 

The University of Pennsylvania

 

Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign

 

Bury Bombers Wheelchair Basketball

 

SOS Children's Villages

 

 

 

 

 

Who could complain about a company like this?

 

 

 

I can only assume that this is a joke of some sort?

 

 

 

The Gower brothers alone are worth about 100 million pounds. For them, donating 200,000 pounds -- over three years! -- is anything but impressive.

[Wkw]

Qeltar just burnt both the editor and Jagex so badly...

[FalconBomba]

Who here even knows how to program Java? If you don't know that, don't even complain you could do better. Jagex does good in my opinion.

[mario_sunny]

Strong opinions by the editor; facts to back it up too. I noticed, though, in some sections in the article it seemed as if the editor was almost screaming at the reader, as if the editor had let the thousands of rants of angry players making false accusations of jagex' customer support get to him/her. I would have enjoyed it more if the article wasn't so "ranty"(more neutral based if you see what I'm saying), but overall it was a good read. Good job.

[maddudy]

very good now if only the rest of the rs players ranter can read this

[Earth_Poet]

I personally found this article to be very poorly thought out, naive and sycophantic. Disappointing to see everyone agreeing with it so easily.

 

 

 

A few specific points....

 

 

 

~q

 

 

 

 

 

i didn't quote the entire post because it's long.

 

 

 

i really must admit that qeltar has made a much more convincing argument from his point of view than that of the editor's. i'm not going to go as far to say that i agree 100% with everything that you stated, but you did raise some very valid points such as expanding the memberbase over addressing current customer problems. i myself have never had a problem with the game and therefore have never had to contact customer service (crosses fingers.) i can only go by what i hear on this part. the glaring fact that is made in your post is the complete lack of presence jagex seems to make within the game. it seems only a fraction more of a presence is seen on the RSOF. as far as member fees a year...i'm thinking that is supposed to mean 6 million dollars a month, not a year. if you have over 1 million members at 5 dollars each that's at least 5 million dollars a month.

 

 

 

overall i am happy with my personal experience with runescape. my complaints would be rather minor. if i were experiencing the horrid conditions that some attempt to make it out to be...i would have quit....and a long time ago at that. i would never let my frustrations outweigh my enjoyment of a game. there is an overwhelming amount of unrealistic and unreasonable criticism aimed at jagex. it seems the popular thing to do these days is grab your pitchfork and join in the riots outside the Jagex Towers. however, i believe there are some loyal players who actually love the game, but are frustrated by certain aspects that seems to be out of everyone's control. these few players feel they have a valid and reasonable complaint, and they wouldn't be complaining if they didn't care. sometimes their complaints seem to get swept under the rug like "oh...you're just another ranting lunatic who can't behave."

 

 

 

hopefully someone will see the points you make behind the frustration.

 

 

 

could someone do better? maybe, but i'd hate to see Gower sell runescape off to some corporation who's only concern would be the price of their stock. that could prove to be fatal.

[Matok]

I personally found this article to be very poorly thought out, naive and sycophantic. Disappointing to see everyone agreeing with it so easily.

 

 

 

A few specific points....

 

 

 

~q

(thx jp for the cutting :wink: )

 

sad to see you feel that way.

 

I believe Jagex bad CS are more a symptom of immature management and lack of resources , then pure greediness.Therefore i keep a more forgiving attitude towards their faults.

 

 

 

You are right, Jagex, in her current phase, should have hold already a descent customer support department , but i think they doing some efforts in that direction.

 

Dont forget that Jagex had to do some serios shifting in the last few years,from a startup to a compony with over 1 milion paying customers (and few mil ftp users). From 2 developers to over 300 employees.

 

Lots of unexperienced managers (as the Gowers were) would have make bigger mystakes than what Jagex done and still doing.

 

btw,lots of componies in the stage (and even earlier) hire professional managers who knows how to cope with rapid growth of customers,some even sell their compony.But i can understand why Gower doesn't want to give his baby a way (i wouldnt either).

 

Anyways, i think that at its current stage,Jagex's faults can still be tolerated. half year from now, no.

[Death_Dude74]

While the editor made some excellent points, the fact that criticism is often necessary to target and solve a problem holds. There's a distinct difference between: "Macroers are a problem. What can Jagex do to prevent/target them?" and, "Jagex I hate macroers. Stop them you idiots!"

 

 

 

One of them is taking a shot, the other works for a solution. I'll let you guys decide which is which.

[Earth_Poet]

Strong opinions by the editor; facts to back it up too.

 

 

 

i saw the numbers in the article, but i missed where the references to these statistics are...

 

 

 

gotta have accurate references listed..at least that's what my college professor told me before he failed my paper.

[xtrem121213]

Good article as always. many great points made. i agree that jagex is doing their best job getting rid of bots and with players paying only 5 bucks a month its not like they can do all that much to satisfy every1. and a majority of players dont even pay...

[beth990]

grea read good points included :D

[Doctorbender]

that was the best read ive had in ages! Raises some really good points, but i think your kind of rubbing in f2p'ers there :), but great work bets one (to me) so far!

[Nayarah]

Hey, ure absolutely right.

 

Ppl tend to see the things from their own and only point of view.

 

But now theres one thing id like to see jagex talk about in that home page of them... Banking system improvement!

 

 

 

Because its just great to see they do all those cool graphical improvements and production diaries...

 

 

 

But since they locked up the topic insid the suggestions forums, i dont see a word about bank improvement. I mean, id like to hear from them something more than "we already know its necessary and were working on that".

 

 

 

Id like to know if theyre actually working on that NOW and what stage they're in. Because regardless of if they will follow some players sophisticated suggestions or not (and those suggestions are not based on knoledge the game engine so the ppl behind them do not know if theyre possible to implement or not), SOME CHANGE is necessary, and now.

 

 

 

Do you believe we players can unite and ask them for a word about the subject? An answer about if theyre really actually working on that issue or not? And if theyre in doubt about how to do it?

 

 

 

Y not use their poll system to help, just like they did with the halloween event ? (that poll was almost a spoiler as i already knew where i was going and what was the reward!.....)

 

 

 

So that is, i love the game, i think they do a great job there, but i think theyre missing one major point that is this banking system problems.

[jasignhagj]

good read yeah but i suppose the thing we can do is use the suggestions forums well =). and yeah the goverment really could do a better job they really are very pathetic

 

 

 

what coundry do you live in do you live??

[I_Am_Dudd]

I personally found this article to be very poorly thought out, naive and sycophantic. Disappointing to see everyone agreeing with it so easily.

 

 

 

So yes, I could do a better job, and so could many others, simply by being more concerned about quality than quantity.

 

 

 

~q

 

 

 

from your post i gained the conclusion that every business is only concerned with the money they make, and the amount of people coming in, so when you say you could do a better job, it seems you are going against all that you just said.

 

 

 

i for one, dont believe jagex is in it just for the money, i think after all this time, they arent worried about how much they make

 

 

 

ive seen jmods walking around a few times, and there are some players (pmods) that see them nearly every day. they really are concerned for players, and we see that all the time.

 

 

 

i think there is much more going on than just making money...i believe there are trying to give people something they can enjoy for a long time