Disclaimer: This post is a response to the Discord reaction after my company, BigBloxGaming, posted a proposal that invited the DAO to support creating a 3D version of Splinterlands in Roblox where you can be your favorite character and fight battles, bringing the characters to life and bringing 1 billion ad impressions to Splinterlands by building a Roblox community to then love the Splinterlands' Web3 game.
Let me tell you a "little" story
I'm a great example of why Roblox is an actual asset to the community and not a detriment. I'm here in Splinterlands today because of Roblox. Roblox was the best thing that ever happened to me, one reason because it led me here, and I can't tell you how many adults I see there on a continuous basis for the very reasons I joined.
What the Media/Marketing Says Roblox is vs. What it Actually Is:
You see, I listened to the media tell me about the "evil" Roblox and believed them until I actually experienced the gameplay myself. My children wanted to play Roblox; however, I had heard about the inappropriate adult behavior that occurred there. I heard about all the marketing analytics as well, and believed them, until my children begged me to let them play. Being the mother I am, I wasn't going to let them join if I didn't understand it myself.
I joined Roblox, and was blown away. It's nothing like what the media says. It's a whole culture of gamers just waiting to find the next community to be a part of. It's adults and kids, who, like most online games, are looking to be a part of something greater than themselves. They are wanting to be part of a larger group, and that connection takes place by sharing a love for the game they play. It's in Roblox where I met a Splinterlands' player and came over to Splinterlands because of it. Therefore, if it happened for me, it will happen to others, especially if there's an actual Splinterlands' game in Roblox.
Ask Yourself These Questions:
So I would ask you all in this Mav chat: How many of you (1) Have Roblox accounts and (2) Actively play in Roblox/part of a Roblox community? If you can't answer yes to both these questions, then your ignorance has got the better of you when you speak as though you know all the answers about Roblox. I understand. I was the same, but to talk as if you have all the answers, sadly does you no favors. Asking questions is a MUCH better approach to discussion and helps you to learn and grow as a person rather than talking at people and making sure you inform everyone about how much you THINK you know.
My Response:
So, if I had listened to the media and the marketing statistics and all of that, I wouldn't be here today. I wouldn't be in Splinterlands, because I wouldn't have realized there were whole gaming communities out there. That's why Roblox is a GREAT place to onboard new players.
Roblox: The Meta Bridge
(1) Roblox is a gaming website full of gamers.
(2) I know we as members of Splinterlands thinks everyone knows about Crypto gaming but they really don't, and they don't understand it. Creating a game where you fall in love with Splinterlands' characters was a genius way to onboard new players.
(3) We went with numbers rather than sentiment for the proposal so that you could see we can get 1 BILLION impressions on this Splinterlands' Game. We said we want to make it ourselves because we know Roblox and it is obvious after yesterday's response that many here do not know or understand it. If you go in like these big brand names like Walmart, Gucci, etc. and make a game that people don't want, you end up losing big time. Again, Roblox is a culture you need to understand/experience and then you can share your knowledge. It's not about who is smarter here; it's about taking advantage of two long-time Splinterlands' members and using their talents and abilities and experience in Roblox to onboard more players.
What You Missed:
The proposal was taken down because I am a single mother (as many know if you've read my PeakD posts) and I have children to protect. I'm not interested in being personally attacked for who I am. I came here to discuss the pros and cons of why Splinterlands should consider a game in Roblox. Instead, people went personal. It would be very easy to actually know about me if you were to have gone to PeakD and read my story there. Coming after me for trying to help Splinterlands and suggesting I'm gaining so much out of this when I'm making an entire game by myself with just2random was too much. I don't need to be personally attacked for trying to help Splinterlands.
Why the Proposal Was Originally Created:
I was prompted to move forward on this proposal because of Aggy's comments in recent Town Halls. He is talking about creating a world where people come to Splinterlands to make games? Yeah, it 's going to be a hard sell if this is how you treat new people interested in the game engine.
When I joined Splinterlands, I started working on my development skills with the vision that one day I could really help this company. I don't know how to build Web3 games, but I can build 3D models and while I'm not some amazing genius or something, I've improved my skills over time and I felt I was up to the task of making characters that we love in Splinterlands and bringing them to life in a 3D world. It takes time though, and I don't have time to do this stuff for free. I'm sorry but I'm a single mother and I've given all my money to Splinterlands with the hope that one day that investment will be worth something.
I am not a person that sits around in Discord and talks about problems but does nothing to provide solutions. This was me giving my talents to you and doing it as cheaply as possible for you all. Building a whole game, marketing it, etc, for 100K is VERY cheap considering what has been paid in the past to other games.
Conclusion:
I hope this has answered your questions. Yes, the proposal was taken down for the reasons I stated. I just wanted to open the discussion, not be attacked personally. After those attacks, I just couldn't even engage any more; I was so disgusted that only a couple people took time out to call people out for their behavior and no Mod warned, banned or otherwise. That was way more upsetting that the troller even. In my Discord that would have been a temporary ban for sure. We don't tolerate that kind of sexual harassment, and sadly, it made me come to the conclusion that these just aren't my people. In other gaming communities I'm in, they would have instantly come to call out those people. It was just a complete distraction from the actual proposal, and the "let's stand around and watch this troll come after her" was eye-opening.
It made me say to myself, "why am I doing this for Splinterlands if so few are going to come to defend me as a person in how I'm being treated?" For those of you that were not involved in that first part of the discussion, then it didn't apply, but sadly it soured the whole rest of the conversation and for the sake of my safety and my children, it just had to stop. Since no one was kicking him, I then had to leave and lose my opportunity to answer some of the questions presented. Therefore, I'm here now, and hopefully they've been answered.
You all can talk now about the proposal itself, if it was a good idea or a bad one and that's great. I hope it gets your eyes to open to what you're missing out there. Make no mistake, NFTs are going to be a huge part of Roblox. When that happens, it would have been nice if Splinterlands had been ready for it. And to those who say they can build something better and more amazing that I can, I remind you to answer yes to the two questions: (1) Do you have a Roblox account and (2) are you part of an active Roblox community? If not, then you will make the foolish mistakes that many other huge brands like Walmart, Chipotle, etc have and become the laughing stock of Roblox in the eyes of the Roblox community. You HAVE to know what you're doing here not just rattling off statistics; it's not just about the GAME but it's about the community that is built from it (and onboarded to Splinterlands).
Sorry for the long post, but hopefully if you value Splinterlands, you've taken the time to read this post, and you'll realize there are things to be thinking about here that perhaps Splinterlands is missing.
I wasn't across the nastiness; the salty vibe has kinda killed my love of discord.
Sorry it didn't work out, Rosie. Appreciate where your head and heart are at.
Yes, Matt. It's quite an immature look with some of the chat that's for sure. And thank you for your kind words. I have always wished Splinterlands the best. I'm not sure everyone else has that same sentiment.
I hope you're doing well these days, Matt!! You're coming into winter I believe. :) Enjoy it! :)
Yes, and in my 40s now, so I'm hoping to regain sensation in my feet sometime in mid Sept :)
I was there during the entire discussion. The conversation was respectful and there were no personal attacks. There was only one comment by bronko regarding a in-game avatar. I am posting a comment by killjoy with his permission below, which I agree.
Readers can decide if this is in any way personal attack or not.
Rosie, now I am talking to you directly. We typically don’t call something “favor” when the party is asking for money. We call it service. When there is a service there is a price associated with it. The consumer decides if the price is right or not. Then the consumer can choose to purchase the product, or not, or can negotiate a lower price. That’s how real world works.
In the discord conversation that’s how the discussion went. If you like to disagree be my guest. We are used to discord drama and hive blockchain drama.
Totally agree would love to know why Rosie is trying to play a victim. She should've quoted and provided screenshots of where she felt she was being personally attacked.
People were just giving honest feedback about the proposal and she couldn't take it it seems. I guess the way they said it could've been in a better tone and maybe not sound so brutal? Anyways I'm sure most people know the feedback was for her to improve and refine her proposal not sure how she took it as a personal attack.
im feeling bullied by you when you writing a comment and i need to read it while having this profile-Picture attached to your account! it discriminates all other profile pictures that don't look so great.
dont we have other problems? 😂
Exactly!
And it's not just you. Many people feel bullied the moment I start writing any comments. Even if the comment is "thank you and have an excellent day" :)
🤣
ouch, hence I feel guilty - not in that case but probably during 50% of my conversation with ladies - might be a US thing to feel sexually harassed pretty soon right? pffff - that is kindergarten or totally a new culture to me then - confused indeed even I like the thinking of the proposal
I kept my mouth shut in mav even with temptation to talk shit. If that was offensive, then the internet is not a wise place to be as you will probably be miserable.
Also, every time I play Roblox with my kids, it bugs me how ever avatar on there is obsessed with wearing shorts or skirts so short that in real life they would be exposing people. As a parent, I teach my kids dress their avatars respectfully. It is a game for children.
I would respond with this: I think there's a reason you don't have many women talking in that Discord. I don't see anyone else talking about their looks in regards to a proposal and whether or not someone's wearing pants. It had nothing to do with the proposal and was unacceptable. In the Roblox world, you are banned from the gaming platform for that behavior. Here it seemed to be acceptable. I don't have to stick around and take that kind of trash talk. I'm a lady who deserves respect for taking the time to put out a proposal and I should have been taken seriously, not addressed about my pants. It's just immature and silly.
That post, however, was actually NOT the only time there was harassment, but I'm not going to find it for you as that would be foolish on my part and opens me up to more criticism. If you're that interested, you'll take the time to find it, but you're not, so no worries.
As I've said in the post above that perhaps you missed because it is a long post, it was not the harassment as much as it was the lack of stopping it that astounded me.
As far as about how customer and service works, etc. I'm a businessman's daughter. We live by a saying: "The customer is always right." The thing is, you're not the only customer. You are definitely allowed to say you won't be voting for it. However, to then go personal and say you will make sure no one votes for it is very petty. If you do believe that the customer gets to decide, then let the customer decide without feeling the need to bully them into deciding. Why feel the need to DEMAND no one votes for the proposal? An open discussion would have been much more fruitful and beneficial, regardless if the proposal passed.
I fully expected a discussion regarding the proposal. I did expect people not to understand the Roblox side of things, because they are limited in their experience but it seemed to trigger people that they didn't understand it so then a discussion wasn't possible. Rather, they were aggressive and rude instead of inquisitive.
Another point to consider is this: the customer is always right, but the business owner has the right to close shop as well. I would have been working day and night to accomplished what was asked and I would have happily done so for the customer if that customer wanted it. I definitely don't take it personally if the customer doesn't want the product. That is their choice and loss in my opinion. Please feel free to find someone else who would have as much heart and soul to spread the good news of Splinterlands for as little as was asked.
If I was the only one saying this proposal was a good idea, then maybe your response would have more merit, but as you can see, there are others who also agree with me, and I didn't use the weight of my money to entice them to say it, and I didn't bully them to say it. They have the freedom to speak their mind as you do, but to discount other people because they disagree with your view means no discussion is happening. No questions are being asked. No learning is occurring. I believe every day is a day to grow and learn to improve one's self.
Good luck to you and your ventures. I hope you will come up with some good ways to get Splinterlands known in a positive way with 1 billion impressions for less than 100K. :) This proposal isn't about me-- it should be about the success of Splinterlands. People wanted to make it personal and as I also wrote in the blog, I am a single mother who will not be stalked or attacked. I just exit the conversation. I will support any proposal, even one that is different than mine, if it is getting eyeballs to Splinterlands and building a positive community. It's clear we need that. Again, we all win here when Splinterlands wins.
If you are a business, you are free to close shop at any time you wish. You are also free to not allowing someone within your premises.
You see I can call this a personal attack to me. But I won't :)
Here is a fact. In the US, and elsewhere in the world, there is a thing called lobbying. I am a majority stakeholder. Not only I can vote the way I choose to vote. I am allowed to influence others on how they vote. This is very transparent process and public knowledge. If you are unaware, I am making you aware. This is the way decentralized governance work. It may or may not be your cup of tea. In that case choose NOT to participate.
it has to do with the proposal, it is your avatar in roblox, with the avatar with which you have built the supposedly existing community. the avatar with which you would promote splinterlands. you want to promote splinterlands in a children's game with such a half-naked character. and freak out when you say something about the character ?
it doesn't get much more unprofessional than that. there would be heaps of bad bad comments if you were to advertise the game. if you freak out at a question like that. how would you then chase away potential customers....`
do i need to remind you that you even made a post about symbols in tower defense? but talking about the avatar you use to promote splinterlands is taboo? 🤣
https://peakd.com/splinterlands/@rosiew/why-this-is-a-marking-nightmare-for-splinterlands
I am 100% in support here. I am also very sorry that you've received such abuse. The SPL Maverick community needs to take a step back, and cease sabotaging their own game.
I do not take part in Mav chat myself because I think it is often toxic and always a waste of energy. I post in the Tavern or on Twitter instead :).
Yes, I, too, have avoided Mav mainly because I didn't have time for it and building games, having jobs, etc. So, when I engaged due to my proposal, I was quite shocked by the behavior and chat.
As far as your support, that's wonderful! Thank you so very much! I just want Splinterlands to become a known game and this opportunity was just another avenue to do that.
The sad thing is, this is the sort of the stuff that the DAO should be used for, but most of the community just simply don't get it.
Thank you very much, holoz0r. Perhaps this situation will be eye-opening and some changes will happen. The toxic environment and the lack ability to discuss the issues really does the game a disservice. Thank you so much for reading my post and being here. Much appreciated!
As I said to your team mate yesterday on Discord (I missed the harassing discussions over night which is a shame): Do not give up, I am sure your proposal goes in the right direction AND full agreement here:
Thank you so much, uwelang! I appreciate your kind words and support very much! :)
Appreciate your candidness with this response which takes a significant amount of courage to do. You are 100% correct that the response was not beneficial to the overall idea of the proposal even with its flaws. A post like this would have helped a bit prior to the proposal I believe. Either way, I think taking your experience and assuming that will be the case when all data for Roblox points otherwise is a big step for many others to take. I own the stock and the age data and who they market to is not adults which is predominately who will be interested in a TCG. Hope we can find other ways to market using a similar strategy you presented but to a different audience. Thanks again for your post and commitment to the community!
Hi David. Roblox in the last couple of months came out to say they are now supporting gambling, online dating, voice chat and looser language controls, because they want to target the older demographic. When I say I know what Roblox is doing, I am not trying to be arrogant about it. I study it daily so that is why I had hoped we as Splinterlands could be one of the first to enter this realm. When the time is right for Splinterlands, I hope they take a closer look at it and these opportunities. And thank you so much for your comment and support. I appreciate it.
Thank you for sharing! I totally missed your proposal and all the talk in Mav-chat. To be honoust I stopped reading in Mav chat ages ago because for me it cost me more energy than it generated. I only Splintertalk in our guilds discord and that is all I need during the bear.
For your 2 questions my both answers are no. But I am a father of 3 teenagers heavily involved in Roblox. I have looked into this game and did understand how the community part of the game is so appealing. I never engaged because I barely can find the time to play Splinterlands. I have tried to get my kids into Splinterlands with giving them all an account and a starterdeck. And failed as every parent who tries to influence their offspring with too much enthousiasme.
I am sure if Splinterlands has a community within Roblox with the exposure levels you advertise. The brand name of Splinterlands will be etched into the collective memory of the next generation. It is possible Splinterlands would have been seen as the foundation of the bridge between web2 and web3 gaming. I am very sorry to see this bridge has been burned. It could have been what Splinterlands needed for future survival.
There is too much salt and negativity at the moment. It is so easy to ventilate negativity. But it is hard to come up with a good Idea and try to do something with it. Please keep your spirits up!
You have my vote for 100%!!!
I also have stepped away from Mav chat, but am sorry for the hostility you have experienced. When people argue that nothing of that sort has occurred, it just reinforces your point, Rosie. Thank you for the continued dialogue, and I do hope we can look ourselves in the mirror, come from a place of curiosity, and attempt to grow/learn.
My kids have played Roblox off and on for several years, and even saved up money to buy a share of the stock when it IPO'd. I think there's some validity to your proposal and would love to see some positive discussion about what aspects of your proposal could work, and what needs to change to gain traction.
Again, thank you for your continued time and energy you've invested in our community. I hope we as a community can stop and assess their behavior/actions rather than just deny that marginalized people in our community are being or have been marginalized. We are better than this and we need some diversity of thought, life experiences, etc.
Good luck with a possible re-proposal. I think your idea has merit and onboarding new players is one of the key metrics we need to improve upon before the next bull run.