( - SOE) - Community Manager Appreciation Day - 01-25-2012 05:57 PM

By: Donna “Danicia” Prior – Social Media Specialist

The great part about being a Social Media Specialist is that I get to see all the neat things happening on the internet, things which your Community Manager team doesn’t always get to see. As a previous Community Manager outside of SOE, I have been lucky to participate in the yearly Community Manager Appreciation Day. *We have a great Community Team at SOE and they took a few moments out of their day to answer some questions. Since I have put them on the spot, I’ll answer along with them.



1. What is your name/handle and what game(s) are you assigned to?

Tony “RadarX” Jones – DC Universe Online and Planetside 2


Eric “Piestro” Cleaver - EverQuest


Nedda “Shirra” Hosseinpour – I’m responsible for the international aspects of following games: EQII, DC Universe Online, Free Realms, Clone Wars Adventures, & Legends of Norrath.

Tiffany “Amnerys” Spence – EverQuest II

That’s Tiffany on the right in the corner at Comic Con 2010

Ted “Mepps” Stone – PoxNora, Magic: The Gathering – Tactics, DC Universe Online


Lydia “Zatozia”Pope – Free Realms & Clone Wars Adventures


Jennifer “Isulith” Bridges – EverQuest II


Robyn “Naylie” Vallee – I am the Community Manager for the Volunteer Events Guide Program and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. Since the Guides are in EverQuest, EverQuest II, and Vanguard, I tend to be a little nosy in those communities as well.

Here’s a picture of Naylie with the Guides at Fan Faire 2011. She is on the left, front row, in the black sweater.

Aimee “Ashlanne” Rekoske - I am not assigned to any particular games.* I am assigned to the SOE Community Council, a group of players who are respected in the gaming community who can best represent the general opinions of players from their specific games of interest, as well as from the gaming community at large.* These folks are nominated by their Community Manager and get to be a part of the program for at least one year.* We are currently in the process of working on the 2012/2013 term.

Linda “Brasse” Carlson – I am known as “Brasse” pretty much everywhere, and I play all SOE games, in Dwarf form wherever that race is offered. I started in EQ on launch day in 1999 and never looked back. We have so many games now that I find it hard to carve out the time, but I can tell you that I never, ever get bored. I am currently the Director of Global Community Relations, which means that I get to watch over the Community Managers for all of our games, and help drive Community services and policies for SOE, together with my team and our internal partners in Dev, PR, CS, Brand, QA and Legal.


Donna “Danicia” Prior – My primary function is to oversee the Social Media channels for SOE and for each game. I assist the Community Managers with their postings and run their promotions. When I see posts or comments from our communities which need attention I facilitate the communication from player to CM.


2. Why do you like being a Community Manager?

RadarX – I love being a part of the videogame industry and interacting with other fellow gamers.* Being a part of bringing exciting news and sharing about our products is the best part of what I do.

Piestro - I love MMOs because they are social games. Aas a matter of fact, I have a problem with staying interested in any single player game anymore! For me the most important part of a game is the community, so naturally I’d want to work with that part of our games. My job is at a certain level talking about video games all day long. What’s better than that?

Shirra - I’m involved in so many aspects of the games, which allows me to have lots of diversity in my work and gives me the opportunity to continue to develop my skills.

Amnerys - I love meeting our players and connecting through our mutual interest of EQII. I was an EQ and EQII player before I was an SOE employee, so I essentially get paid to hang out with thousands of friends. Can you think of a better job?

Mepps - We spend a lot of the day talking to players about games we love. What else could you ask for?

Zatozia – My favorite part about being a Community Manager is getting to share exciting news with the community.* I also love getting to chat with the players and seeing how excited they are about the game.

Isulith - I love helping people and this job lets me do just that! I get to interact with the players and get to know their needs, wants, and concerns. I hang out with them in-game, on the forums, and through social media. They rely on me to give them up-to-date, reliable information on their game so it’s an exciting challenge to meet their demands as well as those presented internally. I have a lot of fun with it though and consider the players and my team an extended family.

Naylie - I like being a Community Manager because I like how dynamic and involved the communities can be. I have been involved with the Guide program for 12 years in one way or another and it definitely has a family feel to it.

Ashlanne - I am not a Community Manager, so I will tell you why I LOVE being the Community Team’s Project Manager.* I have the best job in the whole world. Every day I get to work with the SOE Community Team.* I help them make sure their features go up on time.* I help to make sure we stay on schedule for Webcasts, Podcasts, Promotions, Events, and so many other things.* I get to be a part of the SOE games which aren’t just games; they are a way of life.* People have met their spouses in SOE Games, they have met best friends, and they forged life long relationships.* I get to come to work every day and be a part of that!

Brasse – I enjoy serving as a liaison between gamers and company staff. I am a gamer who loves working for SOE and am very comfortable on both sides of the fence. Every day is a challenge. Every day offers new learning opportunities. In analyzing and communicating the varied needs of players, game devs, and the brand perspective, while never losing sight of the bottom line, we have the most unique (and fun) job within SOE.

Danicia – Since my primary field is Social Media, I’m able to assist those players unable (or who dislike) our game forums. The communities from our Social Media spaces are equally important but sometimes very different. I love being able to promote their ideas and concerns to the proper Community Manager or internal SOE Team Member. I love meeting fans and players at conventions, conferences, and in-game events.

3. What do you love about your game(s) community?

Radar X - I really enjoy their enthusiasm and passion for their game. To some it’s what they can’t wait to do when they get home at night and they let us know about it.* There is nothing that drives me more than watching our players get excited over a new area or expansion coming out.

Piestro - The EverQuest community is probably the most intense and passionate community I’ve ever encountered on the internet. While things might not always run smoothly in the EQ community it’s never because people don’t care about the game (ironically the Dev team is exactly the same way). I think it’s an honor to be involved in a project people care so much about.

Shirra - The best part about being an International Community Manager is that I get to interact with players from all over the world.

Amnerys – My favorite thing about the EQII community is how creative we are. Whether it’s the decorating crowd who do amazing and insane things with homes and guild halls, or the roleplay folks and the incredible events they run, our players are always coming up with new and inventive ways to make their mark on the world we play in.

Mepps - Passion! There’s always something great when you’re around people who are doing what they love, even if virtually.

Zatozia – I love that Free Realms and Clone Wars Adventures players are very creative when it comes to player housing. They can take simple objects and turn them into a full architectural work of art on a blank lot.* I also love that on a daily basis, players from both communities share fantastic ideas for what they would like to see added to the game.

Insulith - My game community is extremely passionate and vocal. I have never encountered such a dedicated community before.

Naylie - I love being involved mostly on the technical side. I like the idea that I am empowering 300 people or so to be active in game or on the forums. Besides that I try to help the players be able to have a good gaming experience.

Ashlanne - The SOE Community Council is a great group of folks.* They all have one thing in common, a passion for the game they play.* They all want what is best for the game they play and they bring that to the table every time I chat with them.

Brasse - Every game is different. I love the rollicking good nature of the Free Realms folks, the dedication and commitment of EQ’s player base, the long-term social structure of Vanguard, the progressive nature of EQII, the smack talk of PlanetSide, the fast-paced communication and action in DCUO, and so on. I guess it’s the sheer variety I love the most. My main game is EQII at this time, because the game most closely suits my preferred playstyle. Still, nothing beats blowing stuff up in PS or a challenging round of Republic Defender in Clone Wars Adventures. Not only do I love my many alts, I love my many alt games! I also play games made by other companies, and quite openly. We can all learn a lot from each other, both what we do well, and where we can improve.

Danicia – I am very lucky as I get to interact with fans and players from all our games! I love how dedicated the PoxNora players are, how funny and awesome the Planetside 2 fans are, and how jazzed up the DC Universe Online players get over new items/DLC.

4. Name your favorite epic thread!

Radar X – DC Universe Online has a Costume thread which I believe is well over 250 pages of folks posting screenshots of their characters.* It’s a true testament to the creativity of our players.

Piestro - The story of fansy the famous bard.

Shirra - Do you really want me to quote a German thread? I thought so!

Amnerys – Mistmore Crag estates? – At the time it was active, this thread was deemed the most epic thread ever on EQII forums by the players. There is too much awesome in it to quote, but in a nutshell, players discovered the clicky for the 2010 vet reward (the Mistmoore Crag Estate) before we announced it, wondered what it was, and speculated on the forums. The dev team chimed in quickly and got incredibly silly with their attempts to throw players off the scent, complete with Photoshopped screenshots.

Mepps - The best part of being in Community is watching your community thrive. Nothing exemplifies that more than this thread where players from PoxNora gathered to post and share video commentaries of sometimes legendary matches.

Zatozia – My favorite threads were the ones that had Free Realms players requesting to have the NPC named Bruce returned to the game.* Some players used role-play to make their requests:

Dear Bruce,

Hello, my name is Kelvin. I am a big fan of yours, and I am just wondering, why have you not returned? You’ve been off-tour for such a long time that I’m not even sure if the newcomers to Free Realms knows who you are! Actually, I’m positive that their quite clueless when it comes to a rockstar named Bruce! All of your loyal fans miss you dearly, and wish you to return to the Snowhill or Wugachug stage! Seriously, Bruce, tell your agent that you have to come back on tour! We’re just dying here without you! Without you, how will we know that it really IS our world? So, Bruce, listen to me! Grab your guitar, get OFF of that couch (Or whatever you’re sitting on), grab your agent, and head back on tour! WE WANT YOU BACK!

Naylie – I don’t really have a topic thread, but I will soon. We have added a place on the guide forums to post blogs about their experiences in game. I can’t wait to see what comes from that.

Isulith – When we originally were going free-to-play, many of the players were really concerned. It turned out to be over 70 pages long! By the end of it though, the players came to terms with it and were eventually able to find middle ground with the decision. Now we have an even stronger, growing community and this has been reflected on the forums and social media, which is more active than ever.

Ashlanne - It has to be the Burnt Woods thread from way back…* Maybe Piestro can tell us where that zone is located this week

Brasse – I don’t have one. My favorite threads are the conversations that go on in game. I especially enjoy being on my play server (in any game) and talking directly to players. I don’t usually join in the open chat channels (I just eavesdrop on those), but happily converse in person with anyone who has the time for it.

Danicia – As a player of SWG from beta to the end times, I have lots of amazing stories and threads. My most favorite threads of all were the old rivalry between the Team Hawtpants, aka Tailors & then Entertainers and the Rangers, who formed RATGWNIWNU (Rangers Against That Garment Whose Name I Will Not Utter). There were many flags planted in each others forums those days, full of silliness and ascii flags.




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